"Yes, to General Grant! That would be a nice way to get off! I guess the best place for you to report is to the Provost-marshal!"
"General, I am a Mississippian, and a soldier sworn into the service of the United States; and I belong to the Army of the Tennessee, under General Grant; the 17th Army Corps, General McPherson; the 3d Division, General Logan; the 2d Brigade, General Leggett; the 20th Ohio Regiment, Col. M. F. Force, and to company H, Capt. E. C. Downs; and I am detached as a scout for General Grant."
"Yes, a _Mississippian_! There are a _great many_ Mississippians coming into our lines nowadays! Have you any papers to show that?"
"No, sir, I have not; but I can tell you all the principal movements of the Federal army on the east side of the Mississippi River, since the capture of Fort Donelson, up to the present time."
I then told him what they were, and where General Grant's forces then were; and then I added, "I can tell you all about your surrendering at Shiloh, and what Confederate regiments captured you."
"Well, that's quite likely; I suspected you could do as much. Now tell me about the movements of the army in Missouri and Arkansas."
"No, I don't expect that you can. I will now give you the following limits: You can go from my quarters to the Commercial House, and from there to the Provost-marshal's office and back; and if you undertake to get away I'll have you shot."
"General, I left papers in General Denver's possession, at Lagrange, Tennessee, that will show who I am and what my business is."
"Well, you can have the limits that I have given you, and if you have got papers to show who you are, the Provost-marshal will write for you and get them."
From the General's quarters I went to the Provost-marshal, and requested him to write to General Denver for the order he took from me, when on my way to Vicksburg and Jackson, Miss. I learned from him that there was an order, from the commander of the post, requiring all citizens within the lines to take the oath of allegiance to the Federal Government by 9 o'clock of the next Day, or be sent outside of the lines toward Little Rock.
I went to General Prentiss the next morning, and again assured him that I was a Federal soldier, and asked him if he required me to take the oath of allegiance.