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HISTORIC 
 PULASKI 
 
 BIRTHPLACE OF THE KU KLUX KLAN 
 SCENE OF EXECUTION OF SAM DAVIS 
 
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 Copyright, 1913 
 
 BY 
 
 W. T. Richardson 
 
R. J. BRUNSON 
 
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 Pulaski: Rich in song and story. 
 Pulaski: Hallowed on the page of glory. 
 Pulaski: God's blessings rest on thee. 
 Pulaski: The garden spot of Tennessee. 
 
 Pulaski: The gift of a princely hand. 
 Pulaski: Who gave the flower of her land. 
 Pulaski: Sent them forth man after man. 
 Pulaski: Mother of the Ku Klux Klan. 
 
 Elizabeth Wilkes Romine, 
 
PREFATORY. 
 
 In July, 1867, J. P. Abernathy approached me 
 in Pulaski and asked me if I would not like to 
 join the K. K. K. I told him that I would. He 
 appointed a night for me and Carson P. Reed, 
 Ruff Workman, and James Dickson to meet him 
 at Sharon Church, where he would initiate us. We 
 went down into the creek bottom below the church, 
 and he organized Den No. 4. That was the fourth 
 den of the original K. K. K. that was organized. 
 J. Polk Abernathy was Grand Cyclops, and I 
 (R. J. Brunson) was elected Secretary. We then 
 selected the best men in our district who wished 
 to join us, and they were initiated. J. Polk Aber- 
 nathy served as Cyclops for twelve months, George 
 Newbill for twelve months, and J.'N. Brunson 
 for twelve months. 
 
 In July, 1868, I was going on a visit to South 
 Carolina, and Gen. George W. Gordon requested 
 me to take some of our rituals and organize the 
 K. K. K. in South Carolina, which I did. From 
 the original head den here at Pulaski, I was the 
 sole organizer or starter of the K. K. K. in South 
 Carolina. I stayed in South Carolina about three 
 months, and several dens were organized during 
 
 (7) 
 
8 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 the three months that I was there ; then I returned 
 home. On July 4 I was in the Pulaski parade men- 
 tioned in this book. We were law-abiding citizens, 
 and were organized only for the protection of our 
 women, children, and homes, and to enforce the 
 law and insist on its enforcement. 
 
 After returning home I raided with Den No. 4 
 until the disbandment. After the disbandment I 
 kept the alphabet, ritual, and regalia ; and in order 
 to make this an interesting book and that the 
 world may have the truth in regard to the organi- 
 zation of the K. K. K., I allow these to be printed. 
 
 R. J. Brunson^. 
 
 April 21, 1913. 
 
HISTORIC PULASKI, 
 
 THE KU KLUX KLAN: OEIGIN, GROWTH, 
 AND DISBANDMENT. 
 
 I. 
 
 Origin. 
 
 There is no stronger chapter in American 
 history than the one which bears for a title 
 "Ku Klux Klan." The organization which bore 
 this name went out of life as it came into it, 
 shrouded in deepest mystery. Its members would 
 not disclose its secrets; others could not. Even 
 the investigation committee appointed by Con- 
 gress was baffled. The voluminous reports con- 
 taining the results of that committee's tedious and 
 diligent inquiry do not tell when and where and 
 how the Ku Klux Klan originated. The veil of 
 secrecy still hangs over its grave. We propose to 
 lift it. 
 
 The time has now arrived when the history of 
 the origin, growth, and final decay of "The In- 
 visible Empire" may be given to the public. Cir- 
 cumstances not necessary to detail have put it in 
 the power of the writer to compile such a history. 
 • . (9) 
 
10 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 For obvious reasons, the names of individuals are 
 withheld. But the reader may feel assured that 
 this narrative is drawn from sources which are 
 accurate and authentic. 
 
 The writer does not profess to be able to dis- 
 close the secret signs, grips, and passwords of the 
 order. These have never been disclosed and proba- 
 bly never will be. But we claim to narrate facts 
 relating to the order which have a historic and 
 philosophic value. It is due to the truth of his- 
 tory, to the student of human nature, to the states- 
 men, and to the men who were engaged in this 
 movement that the facts connected with this re- 
 markable episode in our nation's history be frank- 
 ly and fairly told. A wave of excitement, spread- 
 ing by contagion till the minds of a whole peo- 
 ple are in a ferment, is an event of frequent oc- 
 currence. The Ku Klux movement was peculiar by 
 reason of the causes which produced and fed the 
 excitement. It illustrates the weird and irresist- 
 ible power of the unknown and mysterious over 
 the minds of men of all classes and conditions in 
 life. And it illustrates how men by circumstances 
 and conditions, in part of their own creation, may 
 be carried away from their moorings and drift 
 along in a course against which reason and judg- 
 ment protest. 
 
 The popular idea supposes the Ku Klux move- 
 
flisTomc Pulaski. 11 
 
 ment to have been conceived in malice, and nursed 
 by prejudice and hate, for lawlessness, rapine, and 
 murder. The circumstances which brought the 
 Klan into notice and notoriety were of a character 
 to favor such conclusions. No other seemed pos- 
 sible. 
 
 The report of the Congressional investigation 
 committee confirmed it. Even if that report be 
 true, like everything else which is known of the 
 Ku Klux, it is fragmentary truth. The whole 
 story has never been told. And the impression 
 prevails that the Ku Klux Klan was conceived 
 and carried out in pure and unmixed deviltry. 
 The reader who follows this narrative to its end 
 will decide, with the facts before him, whether 
 this impression is just and true. 
 
 The Ku Klux Klan was the outgrowth of pe- 
 culiar conditions, social, civil, and political, which 
 prevailed in the South from 1865 to 1869. It 
 was as much a product of those conditions as 
 malaria is of a swamp and sun heat. Its birth- 
 place was Pulaski, the capital of Giles County, 
 one of the southern tier of counties in Middle Ten- 
 nessee. Pulaski is a town of about three thou- 
 sand inhabitants. Previous to the war its citizens 
 possessed wealth and culture. They retain the sec- 
 ond; the first was lost in the general wreck. The 
 most intimate association with them fails to dis- 
 
12 fliSTOKIO f ULASKI. 
 
 close a trace of the diabolism wliich, according to 
 the popular idea, one would expect to find charac- 
 terizing the people among whom the Ku Klux 
 Klan originated. A male college and a female 
 seminary are located at Pulaski and receive lib- 
 eral patronage. It is a town of churches. There, 
 in 1866, the name Ku EQux first fell from human 
 lips. There began a movement which in a short 
 time spread as far north as Virginia and as far 
 south as Texas, and which for a period convulsed 
 the country and attracted the attention of the civ- 
 ilized world. Proclamations were fulminated 
 against the Klan by the President and by the 
 Governors of States ; and hostile statutes were en- 
 acted both by State legislatures and national Con- 
 gress. It was finally quieted, but not until there 
 had become associated with the name Ku Klux 
 gross mistakes and lawless deeds of violence. To 
 this day there are localities where the utterance of 
 it awakens awe and fear. 
 
 During the entire period of the Klan's organ- 
 ized existence Pulaski continued to be its central 
 seat of authority. Some of its highest officers re- 
 sided there. This narrative, therefore, will relate 
 principally to the growth of the Klan and the 
 measures taken to suppress it in Tennessee. It is 
 necessary to a clear understanding of the move- 
 ment to observe that the history of the Klan is 
 
Historic Pulaski. 13 
 
 marked by two distinct and well-defined periods. 
 The first period covers the time from its organiza- 
 tion, in 1866, to the summer of 1867, the sec- 
 ond from the summer of 1867 to the date of its 
 disbandment in the early part of the year 1869. 
 
 The first period contains but little of general 
 interest, but it is necessary to describe it some- 
 what minutely because of its bearing on subse- 
 quent events. When the war ended, the young 
 men of Pulaski who had escaped death on the 
 battle field returned home and passed through a 
 period of enforced inactivity. In some respects it 
 w^as more trying than the ordeal of war which lay 
 behind them. The reaction which followed the 
 excitement of army scenes and service was in- 
 tense. There was nothing to relieve' it. They 
 could not engage at once in business or profes- 
 sional pursuits. In the case of many, business 
 habits were broken up. Few had capital to enter 
 mercantile or agricultural enterprises. There was 
 a total lack of the amusements and social diver- 
 sions which prevail wherever society is in a normal 
 condition. 
 
 One evening in May, 1866, a few of these young 
 men met in the office of one of the most prominent 
 members of the Pulaski bar. In the course of the 
 conversation one of the number said: "Boys, let 
 us get up a club or society of some description." 
 
14 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 The suggestion was discussed with enthusiasm. 
 Before they separated it was agreed to invite 
 others, whose names were mentioned, to join them 
 and to meet again the next evening at the same 
 place. At the appointed time eight or ten young 
 men had assembled. A temporary organization 
 was effected by the election of a Chairman and a 
 ^Secretary. There was entire unanimity among 
 the members in regard to the end in view, which 
 was diversion and amusement. The evening was 
 spent in discussing the best means of attaining 
 the object for which they were seeking. Two 
 committees were appointed, one to select a name, 
 the other to prepare a set of rules for the govern- 
 ment of the society and a ritual for initiation of 
 new members. The club adjourned to meet the 
 following week to hear and act upon the reports 
 of these committees. Before the arrival of the 
 appointed time for the next meeting one of the 
 wealthiest and most prominent citizens of Pulaski 
 went on a business trip to Columbus, Miss., tak- 
 ing his family with him. Before leaving he in- 
 vited one of the leading spirits of the new society 
 to take charge of and sleep at his house during 
 his absence. This young man invited his com- 
 rades to join him there. And so the place of 
 meeting was changed from the law office to this 
 residence. The owner of it outlined the Ku Klux 
 

Historic Pulaski. 15 
 
 Klan and died ignorant of the fact that liis lionse 
 was the place where its organization was fully 
 effected. 
 
 This residence afterwards came into the pos- 
 session of Judge H. M. Spofford, of Spofford- 
 Kellogg fame. It was his home at the time of his 
 death, and is still owned by his widow. The com- 
 mittee appointed to select a name reported that 
 they had found the task difficult, and had not 
 made a selection. They claimed that they had 
 been trying to discover or invent a name which 
 would be, to some extent, suggestive of the charac- 
 ter and objects of the society. They mentioned 
 several which they had been considering. In this 
 number was the name "Kukloi," from the Greek 
 word luUos, meaning a band or circle. At 
 mention of this some one cried out: "Call it 
 Ku Klux." ''Klan" at once suggested itself, and 
 was added to complete the alliteration. So in- 
 stead of adopting a name, as was the first inten- 
 tion, which had a definite meaning, they chose 
 one which to the proposer of it, and to every one 
 else, was absolutely meaningless. 
 
 This trivial and apparently accidental incident 
 had a most important bearing on the future of 
 the organization so singularly named. Looking 
 back over the history of the Klan, and at the 
 causes under which it developed, it is difficult to 
 
16 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 resist the conclusion that the order would never 
 have grown to the proportions which it afterwards 
 assumed^ or wielded the power it did, had it not 
 borne this name or some other equally as meaning- 
 less and mysterious — ^mysterious because mean- 
 ingless. Had they called themselves the ^^JoUy 
 Jokers of the Adelphi/' or by some similar ap- 
 pellation, the organization would doubtless have 
 had no more than the mere local and ephemeral 
 existence which those who organized it contem- 
 plated for it. Hundreds of societies have origi- 
 nated just as this one did, and after a brief exist- 
 ence have passed away. But in this case there 
 was a weird potency in the very name Ku Klux 
 Klan. Let the reader pronounce it aloud. The 
 sound of it is suggestive of bones rattling to- 
 gether ! The potency of the name was not wholly 
 in the impression made by it on the general pub- 
 lic. It is a singular fact that the members of the 
 Klan were themselves the first to feel its weird 
 influence. They had adopted a mysterious name. 
 Thereupon the original plan was modified so as 
 to make everything connected with the order 
 harmonize with its name. Amusement was still 
 the end in view. But now the methods by which 
 they proposed to win it were those of sdcrecy and 
 mystery. So when the report of the committee 
 on rules and ritual came up for consideration, the 
 
Historic Pulaski. 17 
 
 recommendations were modified to adapt them to 
 the new idea. The report as finally adopted pro- 
 vided for the following officers : a Grand Cyclops, 
 or President; a Grand Magi, or Vice President; 
 a Grand Turk, or Marshal; a Grand Exchequer, 
 or Treasurer ; and two Lictors, the outer and inner 
 guards of the den, as the place of meeting was des- 
 ignated. 
 
 The one obligation exacted from members was 
 to maintain profound and absolute secrecy with 
 reference to the order and everything pertaining 
 to it. This obligation prohibited those who as- 
 sumed it from disclosing that they were Ku Klux, 
 or the name of any other member, and from so- 
 liciting any one to become a member. The last 
 requirement was a singular one. It was enacted 
 for two reasons: 
 
 First, it was in keeping with the determination 
 to appear as mysterious as possible, and thus play 
 upon the curiosity of the public. 
 
 Second, and mainly, it was designed to prevent 
 unpleasantness following initiations. They wished 
 to be able to say to novices: "You are here on 
 your own solicitation, and not by invitation from 
 us." They desired accessions; to have them was 
 indispensable; but they knew human nature well 
 enough to know that if they made the impression 
 that they wished to be exclusive and select^ then 
 
18 HisTOEic Pulaski. 
 
 applications for membership would be numerous. 
 The result showed that they reasoned correctly. 
 
 Each member was required to provide himself 
 with the following outfit: A white mask for the 
 face, with orifices for the eyes and nose; a tall, 
 fantastic cardboard hat, so constructed as to in- 
 crease the wearer's apparent height; a gown, or 
 robe, of sufiScient length to cover the entire per- 
 son. No particular color or material was pre- 
 scribed. These were left to the individual's taste 
 and fancy, and each selected what in his judg- 
 ment would be the most hideous and fantastic, 
 with the aim of inspiring the greatest amount of 
 curiosity in the novice. These robes, of different 
 colors, often of the most flashy patterns of ^^Dolly 
 Varden" calicoes, added vastly to the grotesque ap- 
 pearance of the assembled Klan. Each member 
 carried also a small whistle, with which, by means 
 of a code of signals agreed upon, they held com- 
 munications with one another. The only utility 
 of this device was to awaken inquiry. And the 
 object of all this was amusement — "only this, and 
 nothing more." 
 
 A few young men debarred for the time by 
 circumstances from entering any active business 
 or professional pursuits, and deprived of the or- 
 dinary diversions of social life, were seeking in this 
 way to amuse and employ themselves. The or- 
 
HisTOKic Pulaski. 19 
 
 ganization of this Klan was to them both diversion 
 and occupation. But where, it may be asked, did 
 the fun come in ? Partly in exciting the curiosity 
 of the public, and then in baffling it; but mainly 
 in the initiation of new members. The ritual 
 used in the initiation was elaborate, but not worthy 
 of reproduction. It is enough to say that it was 
 modeled on and embraced the leading features 
 cyf the ritual of an order which has long been 
 popular in colleges and universities under vari- 
 ous names. In one place it is the "Sons of Con- 
 fucius,^^ in another the "Guiasticutus,'' but every- 
 where the "Ancient and the Honorable'^ and the 
 "Mirth-Provoking.'^ The initiations were at first 
 conducted in the law oflSce where the suggestion 
 for the formation of the Klan had been made. 
 But it was not a suitable place. The room was 
 small. It was near the business portion of the 
 town, and while in session there they never felt 
 entirely free "from apprehensions of interruption. 
 They soon found a place in every respect better 
 adapted to their purposes. On the brow of a 
 ridge that runs along the western outskirts of the 
 town there used to stand a handsome and com- 
 modious residence. The front, or main building, 
 was of brick, the ^T^" of wood. In December, 
 1865, the brick portion of this house was demol- 
 ished by a cyclone. The "L'' remained standing, 
 
20 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 but tenantless. It consisted of three rooms. A 
 stairway led from one of them to a large cellar 
 beneath. Ko other houses stood near. Around 
 these ruins were the storm-torn, limbless trunks 
 of trees which had once formed a magnificent 
 grove. Now they stood up, grim and gaunt, like 
 specter sentinels. A dreary, desolate, uncanny 
 place it was. But it was in every way most suit- 
 able for a den, and the Klan appropriated it. 
 When a meeting was held, one Lictor was sta- 
 tioned near the house, the other fifty yards from 
 it on the road leading into town. These were 
 dressed in the fantastic regalia of the order and 
 bore tremendous spears as the badge of their ofiice. 
 As before stated, and for the reasons assigned, 
 the Ku Klux did not solicit any one to join them ; 
 yet they had applications for membership. While 
 members were not allowed to disclose the fact of 
 their membership, they were permitted to talk 
 with others in regard to anything that was a 
 matter of common report with reference to the 
 order. If they chose, members were allowed to 
 say to outsiders: ^^I am going to join the Ku 
 Klux." If the persons addressed expressed a de- 
 sire to do likewise, the Ku Klux would say, if the 
 party was a desirable one: "Well, I think I know 
 how to get in. Meet me at such a place, on such 
 a night, at such an hour, and we will join to- 
 
Historic Pulaski. 21 
 
 gether/^ Other similar subterfuges were resorted 
 to to secure members without direct solicitation. 
 Usually curiosity would predominate over every 
 other consideration, and the candidate would be 
 found waiting at the appointed place. As the 
 Ku Klux and the candidate approached the senti- 
 nel Lictor, they were hailed and halted and ques- 
 tioned. Having received the assurance that they 
 desired to become Ku Klux, the Lictor blew the 
 signal for his companion to come and take charge 
 of the novices. The candidate, under the impres- 
 sion that his companion was similarly treated, was 
 blindfolded and led to the den. The prelimi- 
 naries of the initiation consisted in leading the can- 
 didate around the rooms and down into the cellar, 
 now and then placing before him obstructions 
 which added to his discomfort, if not to his mysti- 
 fication. After some rough sport of this descrip- 
 tion, he was led before the Grand Cyclops, who 
 solemnly addressed to him numerous questions. 
 Some of these questions were grave, and occasion- 
 ally a faulty answer resulted in the candidate's 
 rejection. For the most part they were absurd to 
 the last degree. If the answers were satis'factory, 
 the obligation to secrecy, already administered, 
 was exacted a second time. Then the Grand Cy- 
 clops commanded: ^Tlace him before the royal 
 altar and adorn his head with the regal crown." 
 
22 HisTOEic Pulaski. 
 
 The ^^royal altar'^ was a large looking-glass. The 
 "regal crown" was a huge hat^ bedecked with two 
 enormous donkey ears. In this headgear the can- 
 didate was placed before the mirror and directed 
 to repeat the couplet : 
 
 "O wad some power the giftie gie us 
 To see oursel's as others see us!" 
 
 As the last word was falling from his lips, the 
 Grand Turk removed the bandage from his eyes, 
 and before the candidate was his own ludicrous 
 image in the mirror. To increase the discomfiture 
 and chagrin which any man in such a situation 
 would naturally feel, the removal of the bandage 
 was the signal to the Klan -for indulgence in the 
 most uproarious and boisterous mirth. The Grand 
 Cyclops relaxed the rigor of his rule, and the de- 
 corum hitherto maintained disappeared, and the 
 den rang with shouts and peals of laughter; 
 and worse than all, as he looked about him, he 
 saw that he was surrounded by men dressed in 
 hideous garb and masked, so that he could not 
 recognize one of them. 
 
 The character of these initiatory proceedings 
 explains why, from the very first, secrecy was so 
 much insisted on. A single "tale out of school" 
 would have spoiled the fun. For the same reason 
 the Klan, in its early history, was careful in re- 
 
Historic Pulaski. 23 
 
 gard to the character of the raen admitted. Kash 
 and imprudent men — such as could not be confi- 
 dently relied upon to respect their obligation to 
 secrec}^ — were excluded. Nor were those admitted 
 who were addicted to the use of intoxicants. Later 
 on in their history they were not so careful, but in 
 the earlier period of its existence the Klan was 
 composed of men of good habits. In some in- 
 stances persons not regarded as eligible to mem- 
 bership, or not desirable, were persistent even to 
 annoyance in their efforts to gain admission to 
 the order. Such persistence was occasionally re- 
 buked in a manner more emphatic than tender. 
 One young man had a consuming desire to be a 
 Ku Klux. The sole objection to him was his 
 youth. When he presented himself to the Lictor, 
 the latter received him kindly and led him blind- 
 folded, ^^over the hill and far away/^ to a secluded 
 spot, and left him with the admonition to ^Vait 
 there till called for.^^ After hours of weary wait- 
 ing, the young man removed the bandage from his 
 eyes and sought the shelter of the paternal roof. 
 Another of riper years, but for some reason not 
 acceptable to the order, made repeated efforts to 
 join the Klan. For his special benefit they ar- 
 ranged to have an initiation not provided 'for in 
 the ritual. A meeting was appointed to be held 
 on the top of a hill that rises by a gentle slope to 
 
24 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 a considerable height on the northern limits of 
 Pulaski. The candidate, in the usual way — blind- 
 fold excepted — was led into the presence of the 
 Grand Cyclops. This dignitary was standing on 
 a stump. The tall hat, the flowing robe, and the 
 elevated position made him appear not less than 
 ten feet tall. He addressed to the candidate a few 
 unimportant and absurd questions, and then, 
 turning to the Lictors, said : ^^Blindfold the candi- 
 date and proceed/^ The ^^proeedure" in this case 
 was to place the would-be Ku Klux in a barrel 
 provided for the purpose, and to send him whirl- 
 ing down the hill ! To his credit, be it said, he 
 never revealed any of the secrets of the Ku Klux 
 Klan. 
 
 These details have an important bearing on the 
 subsequent history of the Ku Klux. They show 
 that the originators of the Klan were not meditat- 
 ing treason or lawlessness in any form. Yet the 
 Klan's later history grew naturally out of the 
 measures and methods which characterized this 
 period of it. Its projectors did not expect it to 
 spread. They thought it would 'Tiave its little 
 day and die." It lived; it grew to vast propor- 
 tions. 
 
II. 
 
 The Spread of the Klan". 
 
 The devices for attracting attention were emi- 
 nently successful. During the months of July 
 and August, 1866, the Klan was much talked 
 about by the citizens of Pulaski. Its mysterious- 
 ness was the sensation of the hour. Every issue 
 of the local paper contained some notice of the 
 strange order. These notices were copied into 
 other papers, and in this manner the way was pre- 
 pared for the rapid growth and spread of the Klan 
 which soon followed. Six weeks or less from the 
 date of the organization the sensation in Pulaski 
 had reached its height and was waning. Curiosity 
 in regard to it had abated to such a degree that 
 the Klan would have certainly fallen to pieces 
 but for the following circumstances : 
 
 By the time the eligible material in the town 
 had been used up, the young men from the coun- 
 try, whose curiosity had been inflamed by the 
 newspaper notices, began to come in and apply for 
 admission to the Klan. Some of these applica- 
 tions were accepted. In a little while the mem- 
 bers from the country asked permission to estab- 
 lish dens at various points in the county. No 
 
 (25) 
 
^6 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 provision had been made for such a contingency, 
 but the permission was granted; had it not been, 
 the result in all probability would have been the 
 same. 
 
 As the ritual followed by the Pulaski Klan 
 could not be conveniently carried out in the coun- 
 try, various modifications and changes were per- 
 mitted. But the strictest injunctions were laid on 
 these new lodges, or dens, in regard to secrecy, 
 mystery, and the character of the men admitted. 
 The growth in the rural districts was more rapid 
 than it had been in the town. Applications 'for 
 permission to establish dens multiplied rapidly. 
 
 The news that the Ku Klux were spreading to 
 the country excited the attention of the country 
 people more generally than the existence of the 
 Klan in the town had done. The same cause re- 
 kindled the waning interest of the town people. 
 Every issue of the local papers in the "infected 
 regions" bristled with highly mysterious and ex- 
 citing accounts of the doings of the "fantastic 
 gentry." 
 
 During the fall and winter of 1866 the growth 
 of the Klan was rapid. It spread over a wide ex- 
 tent of territory. Sometimes, by a sudden leap, 
 it appeared in localities far distant from any ex- 
 isting den. A stranger from West Tennessee, 
 Mississippi, Alabama, or Texas, visiting a neigh- 
 
Historic Pulaski. 27 
 
 borhood where the order prevailed, would he ini- 
 tiated, and on his departure carry with him per- 
 mission to establish a den at home. In fact, it 
 was often done without such permission. The 
 connecting link between these dens was very 
 fragile. By a sort of tacit agreement the Pulaski 
 Klan was regarded as the source of power and 
 authority. The Grand Cyclops of this den was 
 virtually the ruler of the order; but as he had no 
 method of communicating with the subjects or 
 subordinates, and no way in which to enforce his 
 mandates, his authority was more fancy than fact. 
 But so far there had appeared no need for compact 
 organization, rigid rules, and close supervision. 
 The leading spirits of the Ku Klux Klan were 
 contemplating nothing more serious than amuse- 
 ment. They enjoyed the baffled curiosity and wild 
 speculations of a mystified public even more than 
 the rude sport afforded by the ludicrous initia- 
 tions. 
 
 Such is the account of the Ku Klux Klan in 
 the first period of its history from June, 1866, 
 to April, 1867; yet all this time it was graduall}^, 
 in a very natural way, taking on new features not 
 at first remotely contemplated by the originators 
 of the order — features which finally transformed 
 the Ku Klux Klan into a band of regulators. 
 The transformation was effected by the combined 
 
28 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 operation of several causes: (1) Tlie impressions 
 made by the order upon the minds of those who 
 united with it, (2) the impressions upon the 
 public by its weird and mysterious methods, (3) 
 the anomalous and peculiar condition of affairs in 
 the South at this time. The mystery with which 
 the Klan veiled itself made a singular impression 
 on the minds of many who united with it. 
 
 The prevalent idea was that the Klan contem- 
 plated some great and important mission. This 
 idea aided in its rapid growth, and, on the other 
 hand, the rapid extension of the Klan confirmed 
 this idea of its purposes. When admitted to mem- 
 bership this conclusion, in the case of many, was 
 deepened rather than removed by what they saw 
 and heard. There was not a word in the ritual 
 or in the obligation or in any part of the cere- 
 mony to favor such a conclusion; but the impres- 
 sion still remained that this mysteriousness and 
 secrecy, the high-sounding titles of the officers, the 
 grotesque dress of the members, and the formid- 
 able obligation all meant more than mere sport. 
 This impression was ineradicable, and the attitude 
 of many of the members continued to be that of 
 expecting great developments. Each had his own 
 speculations as to what was to be the character of 
 the serious work which the Klan had to do. But 
 they were satisfied that there was such work. It 
 
Historic Pulaski. 29 
 
 was an unhealthy and dangerous state of mind for 
 men to be in ; bad results in some cases very natu- 
 rally followed from it. 
 
 The impression made by the Klan on the public 
 was the second cause which contributed to its 
 transformation into a band of regulators. When 
 the meetings first began to be held in the dilapi- 
 dated house on the hill^ passers-by were frequent. 
 Most of them passed the grim, ghostly sentinel on 
 the roadside in silence, but always with a quick- 
 ened step. Occasionally one would stop and ask : 
 ^'Who are you?" In awfully sepulchral tones, the 
 invariable answer was: "A spirit from the other 
 world. I was killed at Chickamauga." Such an 
 answer, especially when given to a superstitious 
 negro, was extremely terrifying; and if, in addi- 
 tion, he heard the uproarious noises issuing from 
 the den at the moment of the candidate's in- 
 vestiture with the "regal crown," he had the foun- 
 dation for a most awe-inspiring story. There came 
 from the country similar stories. The belated 
 laborer, passing after nightfall some lonely aud 
 secluded spot, heard horrible noises and saw fear- 
 ful sights. These stories were repeated with such 
 embellishments as the imagination of the narrator 
 suggested, till the feeling of the negroes and of 
 many of the white people, at mention of the Ku 
 KluXj was one of awe and terror, 
 
30 HisTOKic Pulaski. 
 
 In a short time the Lictor of the Pulaski den 
 reported that travel along the road on which he 
 had his post had almost entirely stopped. In the 
 country it was noticed that the nocturnal per- 
 ambulation of the colored population diminished 
 or entirely ceased wherever the Ku Klux ap- 
 peared. In many ways there was a noticeable im- 
 provement in the habits of a large class who had 
 hitherto been causing great annoyance. In this 
 way the Klan gradually realized that the most 
 powerful devices ever constructed for controlling 
 the ignorant and superstitious were in their hands. 
 Even the most highly cultured were not able 
 wholly to resist the weird and peculiar feeling 
 which pervaded every community where the Ku 
 Klux appeared. Each week some new incident 
 occurred to illustrate the amazing power of the 
 unknown over the minds of men of all classes. 
 Circumstances made it evident that the measures 
 and methods employed for sport might be effectu- 
 ally used to subserve the public welfare — to sup- 
 press lawlessness and protect property. When 
 propositions to this effect began to be urged, there 
 were many who hesitated, fearing danger. The 
 majority regarded such fears as groundless. They 
 pointed to the good results which had already 
 been produced. The argument was forcible — 
 almost unanswerable. And the question was de- 
 
HisTOEio Pulaski. 31 
 
 cided without formal action. The very force of 
 circumstances had carried the Klan away from its 
 original purpose. So that in the beginning of the 
 summer of 1867 it was virtually, though not yet 
 professedly, a band of regulators, honestly, but in 
 an injudicious and dangerous way, trying to pro- 
 tect property and preserve peace and order. 
 
 After all, the most powerful agency in effecting 
 this transformation, the agency which supplied 
 the conditions under which the two causes just 
 mentioned became operative, was the peculiar 
 state of affairs existing in the South at that time. 
 As every one knows, the condition of things was 
 wholly anomalous, but no one can fully appreciate 
 the circumstances by which the people of the 
 South were surrounded except by personal obser- 
 vation and experience; and no one who is not 
 fully acquainted with all the facts in the case is 
 competent to pronounce a just judgment on their 
 behavior. On this account, not only the Ku Klux, 
 but the mass of the Southern people, have been 
 tried, convicted, and condemned at the bar of 
 public opinion, and have been denied the equity 
 of having the sentence modified by mitigating cir- 
 cumstances, which in justice they have a right 
 to plead. 
 
 At that time the throes of the great revolution 
 were settling down to quiet. The almost universal 
 
32 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 disposition of the better class of tHe people was 
 to accept the arbitrament which the sword had 
 accorded them. On this point there was practical 
 unanimity. Those who had opportunity and fa- 
 cilities to do so engaged at once in agricultural, 
 professional, or business pursuits. There was but 
 little disposition to take part in politics. 
 
 But there were two causes of vexation and ex- 
 asperation which the people were in no good mood 
 to bear. One of these causes related to that class 
 of men who, like scum, had been thrown to the 
 surface in the great upheaval. It was not simply 
 that they were Union men from conviction. That 
 would have been readily forgiven then^ as can be 
 shown by pointing to hundreds of cases. But the 
 majority of the class referred to had played traitor 
 to both sides, and were Union men now only be- 
 cause that was the successful side. And worse 
 than all, they were now engaged in keeping alive 
 discord and strife between the sections as the 
 only means of preventing themselves from sink- 
 ing back into the obscurity from which they had 
 been upheaved. Their conduct was malicious in 
 the extreme and exceedingly exasperating. These 
 men were a "thorn in the flesh" of the body 
 politic and social, and the effort to expel it set 
 up an inflammation which for a time awakened 
 the gravest apprehensions as to the result. 
 
HisTOKio Pulaski. 33 
 
 The second disturbing element was the negroes. 
 Their transition from slavery to citizenship was 
 sudden. They were not only not fitted for the 
 cares of self-control and maintenance so suddenly 
 thrust upon them, but many of them entered their 
 new roles in life under the delusion that freedom 
 meant license. They regarded themselves as freed- 
 men, not only from bondage to former masters, 
 but from the common and ordinary obligations of 
 citizenship. Many of them looked upon obedience 
 to the laws of the State — which had been framed 
 by their former owners — as in some measure a 
 compromise of the rights with which they had 
 been invested. The administration of civil law 
 was only partially reestablished. On that account, 
 and for other reasons, there was an amount of dis- 
 order and violence prevailing over the country 
 which has never been equaled at any period of its 
 history. 
 
 If the officers of the law had had the disposition 
 and ability to arrest all lawbreakers, a jail and 
 courthouse in every civil district would have been 
 required. 
 
 The depredations on property by theft and by 
 wanton destruction for the gratification of petty 
 revenge were to the last degree annoying. A large 
 part of these depredations was the work of bad 
 white men, who expected that their lawless deeds 
 
34 HisTOEic Pulaski. 
 
 would be credited to the negroes. But perhaps the 
 most potent of all causes which brought about this 
 transformation was the existence in the South 
 of a spurious and perverted form of the Union 
 League. 
 
 It would be as unfair to this organization, as it 
 existed at the North, to charge it with the out- 
 rages committed under cover of its name as it is 
 to hold the Ivu Klux Klan responsible for all the 
 lawlessness and violence with which it is credited. 
 
 But it is a part of the history of those times that 
 there was a widespread and desperately active or- 
 ganization called the Union League. It was 
 composed of the disorderly element of the negro 
 population, and was led and controlled by white 
 men of the basest and meanest type just now re- 
 ferred to. They met frequently, went armed to the 
 teeth, and literally "breathed out threatening and 
 slaughter.'^ They not only uttered, but in many 
 instances executed, the most violent threats against 
 the persons, families, and property of men, whose 
 sole crime was that they had been in the Confeder- 
 ate army. It cannot be truthfully denied that the 
 Ku Klux committed excesses and were charged 
 with wrongdoing. But they were never guilty of 
 the disorderly and unprovoked deeds of deviltry 
 which mark the history of the Southern Union 
 League. It was partly — I may say chiefly — to re- 
 
Historic Pulaski. 35 
 
 sist this aggressive and belligerent organization 
 that the Ku Klux transformed themselves into a 
 protective organization. 
 
 Whatever may be the judgment of history, those 
 who know the facts will ever remain firm in the 
 conviction that the Ku Klux Klan was of immense 
 service at this period of Southern history. With- 
 out it in many sections of the South life to de- 
 cent people would not have been tolerable. It 
 served a good purpose. Wherever the Ku Klux 
 appeared, the effect was salutary. For a while the 
 robberies ceased. The lawless class assumed the 
 habits of good behavior. 
 
 The Union League relaxed its desperate sever- 
 ity and became more moderate. Under their fear 
 of the dreaded Ku Klux, the negroes made more 
 progress in a few months in the needed lessons of 
 self-control, industry, and respect for the rights of 
 property and general good behavior than they 
 would have done in as many years but for this or 
 some equally powerful impulse. It was a rough 
 and a dangerous way to teach such lessons, but, un- 
 der all the circumstances, it seemed the only pos- 
 sible way. 
 
 Of course these men were trying a dangerous 
 experiment. Many of them knew it at the time, 
 and did not expect it, on the whole, to turn out 
 more successfully than others of a similar charac- 
 
36 HisTOKic Pulaski. 
 
 ter. But there seemed to be no other alternative 
 at the time. Events soon occurred which showed 
 that the fears of those who apprehended danger 
 were not groundless, and it became evident, unless 
 the Klan should be brought under better control 
 than its leaders at this time exercised over it, that 
 while it suppressed some evils it would give rise 
 to others almost, if not fully, as great. 
 
III. 
 
 The Tkaksformation. 
 
 Until the beginning of the year 1867 the move- 
 ments of the Klan had, in the main, been charac- 
 terized by prudence and discretion ; but there were 
 some exceptions. In some cases there had been a 
 liberal construction of order and of what was by 
 common consent the law of the Klan. In some the 
 limits which tacitly it had been agreed upon not 
 to pass had been overstepped. 
 
 Attempts had been made to correct by positive 
 means evils which menaces had not been sufficient 
 to remove. Eash, imprudent, and bad men had 
 gotten into the order. The danger which the more 
 prudent and thoughtful had apprehended as possi- 
 ble was now a reality. Had it been possible to do 
 BO, some of the leaders would have been in favor 
 of disbanding. That could not well be done, be- 
 cause at that time the organization was so loose 
 and imperfect. So to speak, the tie that bound 
 them together was too shadowy to be cut or untied. 
 They had evoked a spirit from "the vasty deep." 
 It would not down at their bidding. And, besides, 
 the Klan was needed. The only course which 
 seemed to promise any satisfactory solution of the 
 
 (37) 
 
38 HisTOKic Pulaski. 
 
 difficulty was this: To reorganize the Klan on a 
 plan corresponding to its size and present pur- 
 poses ; to bind the isolated dens together ; to secure 
 unity of purpose and concert of action; to hedge 
 the members up by such limitations and regula- 
 tions as were best adapted to restrain them within 
 proper limits; to distribute the authority among 
 prudent men at local centers, and exact from them 
 a close supervision of those under their charge. 
 
 In this way it was hoped the impending dangers 
 would be effectually guarded against. With these 
 objects in view, the Grand Cyclops of the Pulaski 
 den sent out a request to all the dens of which he 
 had knowledge to appoint delegates to meet in con- 
 vention at Nashville, Tenn., in the early summer 
 of 1867. At the time appointed this convention 
 was held. Delegates were present from Tennessee, 
 Alabama, and a number of other States. A plan 
 of reorganization, previously prepared, was sub- 
 mitted to this convention and adopted. After the 
 transaction of some further business, the conven- 
 tion adjourned and the delegates returned home 
 without having attracted any attention. 
 
 At this convention the territory covered by the 
 Klan was designated as the "Invisible Empire." 
 This was subdivided into "realms" coterminous 
 with the boundaries of States. The "realms" were 
 divided into "dominions" corresponding to Con- 
 
Historic JPulaski. S9 
 
 gressional districts, the '"dominions" into prov- 
 inces" coterminous with counties, and the "prov- 
 inces" into ^^dens." To each of these departments 
 officers were assigned. 
 
 Except in the case of the supreme officer, the 
 duties of each were minutely specified. 
 
 These officers were : 
 
 The Grand Wizard of the Invisible Empire and 
 his ten Genii. The powers of this officer were al- 
 most autocratic. 
 
 The Grand Dragon of the Eealm and his eight 
 Hydras. 
 
 The Grand Titan of the Dominion and his six 
 Furies. 
 
 The Grand Cyclops of the Den and his two 
 Night Hawks. 
 
 The Grand Monk. 
 
 A Grand Scribe. 
 
 A Grand Exchequer. 
 
 A Grand Turk. 
 
 A Grand Sentinel. 
 
 The Genii, Hydras, Euries, Goblins, and Night 
 Hawks were staS officers. The gradation and dis- 
 tribution of authority were perfect. But for the 
 source of weakness, the Klan, under this new or- 
 ganization, was one of the most perfectly organized 
 orders that ever existed in the world. 
 
 As we shall see presently, it was vulnerable and 
 
40 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 failed because of the character of its methods. Se- 
 crecy was at first its strength. It afterwards be- 
 came its greatest weakness. As long as mystery 
 was conjoined with it, it was strength. When 
 masks and disguises ceased to be mysterious, se- 
 crecy was weakness. 
 
 One of the most important things done by this 
 Nashville convention was to make a positive and 
 emphatic declaration of the principles of the or- 
 der. It was in the following terms : "We recognize 
 our relations to the United States government, 
 the supremacy of the Constitution, the constitu- 
 tional laws thereof, and the union of States there- 
 under." 
 
 If these men were plotting treason, it puzzles 
 us to know why they should make such a statement 
 as that in setting forth the principles of the order. 
 The statement above quoted was not intended for 
 general circulation and popular effect. So far as 
 is known, it is now given to the public for the first 
 time. We must regard it, therefore, as accurately 
 describing the political attitude which the Ku 
 Klux proposed and desired to maintain. Every 
 man who became a member of the Klan really took 
 an oath to support the Constitution of the United 
 States. 
 
 This Nashville convention also defined and set 
 forth the peculiar objects of the order, as follows : 
 
HisTOEic Pulaski. 41 
 
 1. To protect the weak, the innocent, and the de- 
 fenseless from the indignities, wrongs, and outrages 
 of the lawless, the violent, and the brutal; to relieve 
 the injured and the oppressed; to succor the suffer- 
 ing, and especially the widows and orphans of Con- 
 federate soldiers. 
 
 2. To protect and defend the Constitution of the 
 United States, and all laws passed in conformity 
 thereto, and to protect the States and the people 
 thereof from all invasion from any source whatever. 
 
 3. To aid and assist in the execution of all con- 
 stitutional laws, and to protect the people from un- 
 lawful seizure, and from trial except by their peers 
 in conformity to the laws of the land. 
 
 This last clause was the result of the infamous 
 and barbarous legislation of that day. On June 
 3, 1865, the Thirty-Fourth General Assembly of 
 Tennessee revived the sedition law and restricted 
 the right of suffrage. A negro militia, ignorant 
 and brutal, were afterwards put over the State, 
 and spread terror throughout its borders. Men 
 felt that they had no security for life, liberty, or 
 property. They were persecuted if they dared to 
 complain. It was no strange thing if they re- 
 sorted to desperate measures for protection. The 
 emergency was desperate. Taking all the circum- 
 stances and aggravations into consideration, one 
 cannot but be surprised that men so persecuted and 
 oppressed remained so moderate and forbearing. 
 
 The legislation of the Nashville convention of 
 
42 EisTORic Pulaski. 
 
 Ku Klux bears internal evidence of what we know 
 from other sources to be true. Whilst devising 
 measures for protection to life and property, and 
 for the resistance of lawlessness and oppression, 
 whether from irresponsible parties or from those 
 who professed to be acting legally and under cover 
 of authority, they were anxious also to control the 
 Klan itself and to keep it within what they con- 
 ceived to be safe limits. 
 
 Up to this time the majority had shown a fair 
 appreciation of the responsibilities of their self- 
 imposed task of preserving social order. But un- 
 der any circumstances the natural tendency of an 
 organization such as this is to violence and crime, 
 much more under such circumstances as those then 
 prevailing. 
 
 Excesses had been committed. Whether justly 
 BO or not, they were credited to the Klan. And it 
 was foreseen and feared that if such things con- 
 tinued or increased the hostility of State and Fed- 
 eral governments would be kindled against the 
 Klan and active measures taken to suppress it. 
 The hope was entertained that the legislation 
 enacted by the convention and the reorganization 
 would not only enable the Klan to play its role as a 
 regulator with greater success, but would keep its 
 members within the prescribed limits, and so guard 
 against the contingencies referred to. They de- 
 
Historic Pulaski. 43 
 
 sired, on the one hand, to restrain and control their 
 own members; on the other, to correct evils and 
 promote order in society ; and to do the latter sole- 
 ly by utilizing for this purpose the means and 
 methods originally employed for amusement. In 
 each direction the success was but partial, as will 
 be told presently. 
 
 By the reorganization no material change was 
 made in the methods of the Klan's operations. 
 Some of the old methods were slightly modified; 
 a few new features were added. The essential fea- 
 tures of mystery, secrecy, and grotesqueness were 
 retained, and steps were taken with a view to deep- 
 ening and intensifying the impressions already 
 made upon the public mind. They attempted to 
 push to the extreme limits of illustration the power 
 of the mysterious over the minds of men. 
 
 Henceforth they courted publicity as assiduously 
 as they had formerly seemed to shun it. They ap- 
 peared at different points at the same time, and al- 
 ways when and where they were the least ex- 
 pected. Devices were multiplied to deceive peo- 
 ple in regard to their numbers and everything else, 
 and to play upon the fears of the superstitious. 
 
 As it was now the policy of the Klan to appear 
 in public, an order was issued by the Grand Dragon 
 of the Eealm of Tennessee to the Grand Giants of 
 the Provinces for a general parade in the capital 
 
44 HiSTOKIC PULASKl. 
 
 town of eacli province on the niglit of July 4, 1867. 
 It will be sufficient for this narrative to describe 
 that parade as witnessed by the citizens of Pulaski. 
 Similar scenes were enacted at many other places. 
 
 On the morning of July 4, 1867, the citizens of 
 Pulaski found the sidewalks thickly strewn with 
 slips of paper bearing the printed words: ^^The 
 Ku Klux will parade the streets to-night." This 
 announcement created great excitement. The peo- 
 ple supposed that their curiosity, so long baffled, 
 would now be gratified. They were confident that 
 this parade would at least afford them the oppor- 
 tunity to find out who were the Ku Klux. 
 
 Soon after nightfall the streets were lined with 
 an expectant and excited throng of people. Many 
 came from the surrounding country. The mem- 
 bers of the Klan in the county left their homes in 
 the afternoon and traveled alone or in squads of 
 two or three, with their paraphernalia carefully 
 concealed. If questioned, they answered that they 
 were going to Pulaski to see the Ku Klux parade. 
 After nightfall they assembled at designated points 
 near the four main roads leading into town. Here 
 they donned their robes and disguises and put cov- 
 ers of gaudy materials on their horses. A sky- 
 rocket sent up from some point in the town was 
 the signal to mount and move. The different com- 
 panies met and passed each other on the public 
 
HisTOEic Pulaski. 45 
 
 square in perfect silence. The discipline appeared 
 to be admirable. Not a word was spoken. Neces- 
 sary orders were given by means of the whistles. 
 In single file, in deathlike stillness, with funeral 
 slowness they marched and countermarched 
 throughout the town. While the column was 
 headed north on one street, it was going south on 
 another. By crossing over in opposite directions, 
 the lines were kept up in almost unbroken conti- 
 nuity. The eSect was to create the impression of 
 vast numbers. This marching and countermarch- 
 ing was kept up for about two hours, and the Klan 
 departed as noiselessly as they came. The public 
 were more than ever mystified. Curiosity had not 
 been satisfied, as it was expected it would be. The 
 efforts of the most curious and cunning to find out 
 who were Ku Klux failed. One gentleman from 
 the country, a great lover of horses, who claimed to 
 know every horse in the county, was confident that 
 he would be able to identify the riders by the 
 horses. With this purpose in view, he remained in 
 town to witness the parade. But, as we have said, 
 the horses were disguised as well as the riders. 
 Determined not to be bafiied, during a halt of the 
 column he lifted the cover of a horse that was near 
 him — the rider offering no objection — and recog- 
 nized his own steed and saddle upon which he had 
 ridden into town. The town people were on the 
 
46 HisTOEic Pulaski. 
 
 alert also to see who of the young men of the town 
 would be with the Ku Klux. All of them, almost 
 without exception, were marked, mingling freely 
 and conspicuously with the spectators. Those of 
 them who were members of the Klan did not go 
 into the parade. 
 
 This demonstration had the effect for which it 
 was designed. Perhaps the greatest illusion pro- 
 duced by it was in regard to the numbers partici- 
 pating in it. Reputable citizens — men of cool and 
 accurate judgment — were confident that the num- 
 ber was not less than three thousand. Others, 
 whose imaginations were more easily wrought upon, 
 were quite certain that there were ten thousand. 
 The truth is that the number of Ku Klux in the 
 parade did not exceed four hundred. This de- 
 lusion in regard to numbers prevailed wherever the 
 Ku Klux appeared. It illustrates how little the 
 testimony of even eyewitnesses is worth in regard 
 to anything which makes a deep impression on him 
 by reason of its mysteriousness. The Klan had a 
 large membership ; it exerted a vast, terrifying, and 
 wholesome power; but its influence was never at 
 any time dependent on or proportioned to its mem^ 
 bership. It was in the mystery in which the com- 
 paratively few enshrouded themselves. Genera) 
 Forrest, before the investigation committee, placed 
 the number of Ku Klux in Tennessee at 40,000, 
 
Historic Pulaski. 47 
 
 and in the entire South at 550,000. This was with 
 him only a guessing estimate. Careful investiga- 
 tion leads to the conclusion that he overshot the 
 mark in both cases. It is an error to suppose that 
 the entire male population of the South were Ku 
 Klux, or that even a majority of them were privy 
 to its secrets and in sympathy with its extremest 
 measures. To many of them, perhaps to a major- 
 ity, the Ku Klux Klan was as vague, impersonal, 
 and mysterious as to the people of the North or of 
 England. They did attribute to it great good, and 
 to this day remember with gratitude the protection 
 it afforded them in the most trying and perilous pe- 
 riod of their history, when there was no other earth- 
 ly source to which to appeal. 
 
 One or two illustrations may here be given of 
 the methods resorted to to play upon the supersti- 
 tious fears of the negroes and others. At the pa- 
 rade in Pulaski, while the procession was passing 
 a corner on which a negro man was standing, a 
 tall horseman in hideous garb turned aside from 
 the line, dismounted, and stretched out his bridle 
 rein toward the negro, as if he desired him to hold 
 his horse. Not daring to refuse, the frightened 
 African extended his hand to grasp the rein. As 
 he did so, the Ku Klux took his own head from his 
 shoulders and offered to place that also in the out- 
 stretched hand. The negro stood not upon the or^ 
 
48 HisTOEic Pulaski. 
 
 der of his going, but departed with a yell of terror. 
 To this day he will tell you: "He done it, suah, 
 boss. I seed him do it.'' The gown was fastened 
 by a drawstring over the top of the wearer's head. 
 Over this was worn an artificial skull made of a 
 large gourd or of pasteboard. This, with the hat, 
 could be readily removed, and the man would then 
 appear to be headless. Such tricks gave rise to the 
 belief — still prevalent among the negroes — that the 
 Ku Klux could take themselves all to pieces when- 
 ever they wanted to. 
 
 Some of the Ku Klux carried skeleton hands. 
 These were made of bone or wood, with a handle 
 long enough to be held in the hand, which was con- 
 cealed by the gown sleeve. The possessor of one 
 of these was invariably of a friendly turn and of- 
 fered to shake hands with all he met — with what 
 effect may be readily imagined. 
 
 A trick of frequent perpetration in the country 
 was for a horseman, spectral and ghostly looking, 
 to stop before the cabin of some negro needing a 
 wholesome impression and call for a bucket of wa- 
 ter. If a dipper or gourd was brought, it was de- 
 clined and the bucket full of water demanded. As 
 if consumed by a raging thirst, the horseman 
 grasped it and pressed it to his lips. He held it 
 there until every drop of the water was poured into 
 a gum or oiled sack concealed beneath the Ku 
 
Historic Pulaski. 49 
 
 Klux robe. Then the empty bucket was returned 
 to the amazed negro, with the remark: "That's 
 good. It is the first drink of water I have had since 
 I was killed at Shiloh.'' Then a few words of coun- 
 sel as to future behavior made an impression not 
 easily forgotten or likely to be disregarded. Un- 
 der ordinary circumstances such devices are un- 
 justifiable. But in the peculiar state of things 
 then existing they served a good purpose. It was 
 not only better to deter the negroes from theft and 
 other lawlessness in this way than to put them in 
 the penitentiary, but it was the only way at this 
 time by which they could be controlled. The jails 
 would not contain them. The courts could not or 
 would not try them. The policy of the Klan all 
 the while was to deter men from wrongdoing. It 
 was only in rare, exceptional cases, and these the 
 most aggravated, that it undertook to punish. 
 4 
 
IV. 
 
 The Decline. 
 
 For a while after the reorganization of the Klan 
 those concerned for its welfare and right conduct 
 congratulated themselves that all was well. 
 Closer organization and stricter official supervision 
 had a restraining influence upon the members. 
 Many things seemed to indicate that the future 
 work of the Klan would be wholly good. 
 
 These hopes were rudely shattered. Erelong offi- 
 cial supervision grew less rigid or was less re- 
 garded. The membership was steadily increasing. 
 Among the new material added were some bad men 
 who could not be — at least were not — controlled. 
 
 In the winter and spring of 1867 and 1868 
 many things were done by members, or professed 
 members, of the Klan which were the subject of 
 universal regret and condemnation. In many ways 
 the grave censure of those who had hitherto been 
 friendly to it was evoked against the Klan, and 
 occasion, long sought for, was given its enemies to 
 petition the intervention of the government to sup- 
 press it. The end came rapidly. We must now 
 trace the causes which wrought the decay and 
 downfall of the "Invisible Empire.'^ 
 
 In regard to the doings of the Ku Klux, two ex- 
 (50) 
 
HisTOKio Pulaski. 51 
 
 treme positions have been advocated. On the one 
 hand, it is asserted that the Ku Klux committed 
 no outrages. On the other, that they were the au- 
 thors of all the depredations committed by masked 
 and disguised men in the Southern States from 
 1865 to 1869. The truth lies between these two 
 extremes. Great outrages were committed by bands 
 of disguised men during those years of lawlessness 
 and oppression. And the fact must be admitted 
 that some of these outrages were committed, if not 
 by the order and approbation of the Klan, at least 
 by men who were members of it. 
 
 The thoughtful reader will readily understand 
 how this came about. There was a cause which 
 naturally and almost necessarily produced the re- 
 sult. Men of the character of the majority of those 
 who composed the Klan do not disregard their own 
 professed principles and violate self-assumed obli- 
 gations without cause. We have seen that the Klan 
 was, in the main, composed of the very best men of 
 the country — peaceable, law-loving, and law-abid- 
 ing men, men of good habits and character, men 
 of property and intelligence. 
 
 We have seen that the organization had no po- 
 litical significance; they expressly and in solemn 
 secret compact declared their allegiance to the Con- 
 stitution and all constitutional laws, and pledged 
 themselves to aid in the administration of all such 
 
52 HisTOKio Pulaski. 
 
 laws. To see such men defying law and creating 
 disorder is a sight singular enough to awake in- 
 quiry as to the causes which had been at work upon 
 them. The transformation of the Ku Klux Klan 
 from a band of regulators, honestly trying to pre- 
 serve peace and order, into the body of desperate 
 men who, in 1869, convulsed the country and set 
 at defiance the mandates of both State and Federal 
 government is greater than the transformation 
 which we have already traced. 
 
 In both cases there were causes at work adequate 
 to the results produced — causes from which, as re- 
 marked before, the results followed naturally and 
 necessarily. These have never been fully and fair- 
 ly stated. They may be classed under three general 
 heads: (1) Unjust charges. (2) Misapprehension 
 of the nature and objects of the order on the part 
 of those not members of it. (3) Unwise and over- 
 severe legislation. 
 
 As has already been pointed out, the order con- 
 tained within itself, by reason of the methods prac- 
 ticed, sources of weakness. The devices and dis- 
 guises by which the Klan deceived outsiders en- 
 abled all who were so disposed, even its own mem- 
 bers, to practice deception on the Klan itself. It 
 placed in the hands of its own members the facility 
 to do deeds of violence for the gratification of per- 
 sonal feeling and have them credited to the Klan. 
 
HisTOKic Pulaski. 53 
 
 To the evilly disposed, membersliip in the Klan was 
 an inducement to wrongdoing. It presented to all 
 men a dangerous temptation, which, in certain con- 
 tingencies at any time likely to arise, it required a 
 considerable amount of robustness to resist. Many 
 did not withstand it. And deeds of violence were 
 done by men who were Ku Klux, but who, while 
 acting under cover of their connection with the 
 Klan, were not under its orders. But because these 
 men were Ku Klux the Klan had to bear the odium 
 of wrongdoing. 
 
 In addition to this, the very class which the 
 Klan proposed to hold in check and awe into good 
 behavior soon became wholly unmanageable. 
 Those who had formerly committed depredations 
 to be laid to the charge of the negroes, after a 
 brief interval of good behavior, assumed the guise 
 of Ku Klux and returned to their old ways, but 
 with less boldness and more caution, showing the 
 salutary impression which the Klan had made 
 upon them. In some cases the negroes played Ku 
 Klux. Outrages were committed by masked men 
 in regions far remote from any Ku Klux organiza- 
 tion. The parties engaged took pains to assert 
 that they were Ku Klux, which the members of 
 the Klan never did. This was evidence that these 
 parties were simply aping in Ku Klux disguises. 
 The proof on this point is ample and clear. After 
 
54 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 the passage of the anti-Ku Klux statute by the 
 State of Tennessee several instances occurred of 
 parties being arrested in Ku Klux disguises; but 
 in every instance they proved to be either negroes 
 or "radical'^ Brownlow Eepublicans. This oc- 
 curred so often that the statute was allowed by the 
 party in power to become a dead letter before its 
 repeal. It bore too hard on "loya?^ men when 
 enforced. 
 
 The same thing occurred in Georgia and other 
 States. (See testimony of General Gordon and 
 others before the Investigating Committee.) No 
 single instance occurred of the arrest of a masked 
 man who proved to be, when stripped of his dis- 
 guises, a Ku Klux. 
 
 But it came to pass that all the disorder done in 
 the country was charged upon the Ku Klux, be- 
 cause done under disguises which they had in- 
 vented and used. The Klan had no way in which 
 to disprove or refute the charges. They felt that 
 it was hard to be charged with violence of which 
 they were innocent. At the same time they felt 
 that it was natural and, under the circumstances, 
 not wholly unjust that this should be the case. 
 They had assumed the office of regulators. It was 
 therefore due society, due themselves, and due the 
 government, which so far had not molested them, 
 that they should at least not afford the lawless 
 
Historic Pulaski. 55 
 
 classes facilities for the commission of excesses 
 greater than any they had hitherto indulged in, 
 and, above all, that they should restrain their own 
 members from lawlessness. 
 
 The Klan felt all this; and in its efforts to re- 
 lieve itself of the stigma thus incurred it acted in 
 some cases against the offending parties with a se- 
 verity well merited, no doubt, but unjustifiable. 
 As is frequently the case, they were carried beyond 
 the limits of prudence and right by a hot zeal for 
 self-vindication against unjust aspersions. They 
 felt that the charge of wrong was unfairly brought 
 against them. To clear themselves of the charge 
 they did worse wrong than that alleged against 
 them. 
 
 The Klan from the first shrouded itself in deep- 
 est mystery. Out of this fact grew trouble not at 
 first apprehended. They wished people not to un- 
 derstand. They tried to keep them profoundly 
 ignorant. The result was that the Klan and its 
 objects were wholly misunderstood and misinter- 
 preted. Many who joined the Klan and many who 
 did not were certain that it contemplated some- 
 thing far more important than its overt acts gave 
 evidence of. Some were sure that it meant treason 
 and revolution. The negroes and the whites whose 
 consciences made them the subjects of guilty fears 
 were sure it boded no good to them. 
 
56 HisTOEic Pulaski. 
 
 When the first impressions of awe and terror 
 which the Klan had inspired to some extent wore 
 off, a feeling of intense hostility toward the Ku 
 Klux Klan followed. This feeling was the more 
 bitter because founded, not on overt acts which the 
 Ku Klux had done, but on vague fears and sur- 
 mises as to what they intended to do. Those who 
 entertained such fears were in some cases impelled 
 by them to become aggressors. They attacked the 
 Ku Klux before receiving from them any provoca- 
 tion. The negroes formed organizations of a mili- 
 tary character and drilled by night, and even ap- 
 peared in the day armed and threatening. The 
 avowed purpose of these organizations was ^^to 
 make war upon and exterminate the Ku Klux.'^ 
 On several occasions the Klan was fired into. The 
 effect of such attacks was to provoke counter hos- 
 tility from the Klan; and so there was irritation 
 and counterirritation, until, in some places, the 
 state of things was little short of open warfare. 
 In some respects it was worse; the parties wholly 
 misunderstood each other. Each party felt that 
 its cause was the just one. Each justified its deed 
 by the provocation. 
 
 The Ku Klux, intending wrong, as they be- 
 lieved, to no one, were aggrieved that acts which 
 they had not done should be charged to them and 
 motives which they did not entertain imputed to 
 
Historic Pulaski. 57 
 
 them, and were outraged that they should be mo- 
 lested and assaulted. The other party, satisfied 
 that they were acting in self-defense, felt fully jus- 
 tified in assaulting them, and so each goaded the 
 other on from one degree of exasperation to an- 
 other. 
 
 The following extracts from a general order of 
 the Grand Dragon of the Eealm of Tennessee will 
 illustrate the operation of both of these causes. It 
 was issued in the fall of the year 1868. It shows 
 what were the principles and objects which the 
 Klan still professed, and it also shows how it was 
 being forced away from them : 
 
 General Order No. 1. 
 
 Headquarters Realm "No. 1, 
 Dreadful Era, Black Epoch, Dreadful Hour. 
 
 Whereas information of an authentic character has 
 reached these headquarters that the blacks in the 
 counties of Marshall, Maury, Giles, and Lawrence 
 are organized into military companies, with the 
 avowed purpose to make war upon and exterminate 
 the Ku Klux Klan, said blacks are hereby solemnly 
 warned and ordered to desist from further action in 
 such organizations, if they exist. 
 
 The G. D. [Grand Dragon] regrets the necessity 
 of such an order. But this Klan shall not be out- 
 raged and interfered with by lawless negroes and 
 meaner white men, who do not and never have un- 
 derstood our purposes. 
 
 In the first place, this Klan is not an institution 
 
S8 Historic PulaskI 
 
 of violence, lawlessness, and cruelty; it is not lawless; 
 it is not aggressive; it is not military; it is not revo- 
 lutionary. It is essentially, originally, and inherent- 
 ly a protective organization. It proposes to execute 
 law instead of resisting it; and to protect all good 
 men, whether white or black, from the outrages and 
 atrocities of had men of both colors, who have been 
 for the past three years a terror to society and an in- 
 jury to us all. 
 
 The blacks seem to be impressed with the belief 
 that this Klan is especially their enemy. We are not 
 the enemy of the blacks as long as they behave them- 
 selves, make no threats upon us, and do not attack 
 or interfere with us. But if they make war upon us, 
 they abide the awful retribution that will follow. 
 
 This Klan, while in its peaceful movements and 
 disturbing no one, has been fired into three times. 
 This will not be endured any longer; and if it occurs 
 again and the parties be discovered, a remorseless 
 vengeance will be wreaked upon them. 
 
 We reiterate that we are for peace and law and or- 
 der. No man, white or black, shall be molested for 
 his political sentiments. This Klan Is not a political 
 party; it is not a military party; it is a protective 
 organization, and will never use violence except in re- 
 sisting violence. 
 
 Outrages have been perpetrated by irresponsible 
 parties in the name of this Klan. Should such par- 
 ties be apprehended, they will be dealt with in a man- 
 ner to insure us future exemption from such imposi- 
 tion. These impostors have, in some instances, 
 whipped negroes. This is wrong, wrong! It is de- 
 nounced by this Klan, as it must be by all good and 
 humane men. 
 
Historic Pulaski. 59 
 
 The Klan now, as in the past, is prohibited from 
 doing such things. We are striving to protect all 
 good, peaceful, well-disposed and law-abiding men, 
 whether white or black. 
 
 The G. D. deems this order due to the public, due 
 to the Klan, and due to those who are misguided and 
 misinformed. We therefore request that all news- 
 papers who are friendly to law and peace and the pul> 
 lie welfare will publish the same. 
 
 By order of the G. D. Realm No. 1. 
 By the Grand Scribe. 
 
 This order doubtless expresses the principles 
 which the Klan, as a body, was honestly trying to 
 maintain. It also illustrates how they were driven 
 to violate them by the very earnestness and ve- 
 hemence with which they attempted to maintain 
 them. 
 
 The question naturally arises, Why, under the 
 embarrassing circumstances, did not the Klan 
 disband and close its operations? The answer is 
 that the members felt that there was now more rea- 
 sons than ever for the Klan's existence. They felt 
 that they ought not to abandon their important 
 and needful work because they encountered unfore- 
 seen difficulties in accomplishing it. It is an illus- 
 tration of the fatuity, which sometimes marks the 
 lives of men, that they do not perceive what seems 
 perfectly clear and plain to others. Nothing is 
 more certain than that a part of the evils which the 
 Klan was combating at this period of its history 
 
60 HisTOEic Pulaski. 
 
 grew out of their own methods, and might be ex- 
 pected to continue as long as the Klan existed. 
 Men are not always wise. But even in cases where 
 their conduct does not permit of vindication and 
 excuse, justice requires that a fair and truthful 
 statement be made of the temptations and embar- 
 rassments which surrounded them. Placing all the 
 circumstances before us fully, who of us is pre- 
 pared to say that we would have acted with more 
 wisdom and discretion than these men ? 
 
 Matters grew worse and worse, until it was im- 
 peratively necessary that there should be interfer- 
 ence on the part of the government. In Septem- 
 ber, 1868, the Legislature of Tennessee, in obedi- 
 ence to the call of Governor Brownlow, assembled 
 in extra session and passed a most stringent and 
 bloody anti-Ku Klux statute. This was the cul- 
 mination of a long series of the most infamous 
 legislations which ever disgraced a statute book. 
 It began in 1865, as we have seen, in the passage 
 of the alien and sedition act, and grew worse and 
 worse until the passage of the anti-Ku Klux stat- 
 ute in 1868. Forty years have passed since then, 
 and many into whose hands this book will come 
 have never seen the anti-Ku Klux law. We 
 quote it entire to show the character of the legisla- 
 tion of those times, as well as for the sake of its 
 bearing on the matter in hand : 
 
HisTOEic Pulaski. 61 
 
 Sectioit 1. Be it enacted hy the General Assembly 
 of Tennessee, That if any person or persons shall 
 unite with, associate with, promote or encourage any 
 secret organization of persons who shall prowl 
 through the country or towns of this State, by day 
 or by night, disguised or otherwise, for the purpose 
 of disturbing the peace or alarming the peaceable 
 citizens of any portion of this State, on conviction 
 by any tribunal of this State, shall be fined not less 
 than five hundred dollars, imprisoned in the peni- 
 tentiary not less than five years, and shall be ren- 
 dered infamous. 
 
 Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the 
 duty of all the courts in this State, before the im- 
 paneling of any grand jury or petit jury in any cause 
 whatever, to inquire of the juror on oath whether he 
 shall be associated in any way obnoxious to the first 
 section of this act; and if such juror shall decline to 
 give a voluntary answer, or shall answer affirmative- 
 ly, such person shall be disqualified as a juror in any 
 case in any court in this State. 
 
 Sec. 3. Be it further enacted, That, for the purpose 
 of facilitating the execution of the provisions of this 
 act, it shall be the duty of the prosecuting attorneys 
 of this State or grand jurors, or either of them, to 
 summons or cause to be summoned any person he 
 shall have a well-grounded belief has any knowledge 
 of such organization as described by the first section 
 of this act; and if any person shall fail or refuse to 
 obey such summons, or shall appear and refuse to 
 testify, such persons so summoned shall suffer the 
 penalty imposed by the first section of this act; and 
 if such witness shall avoid the service of said subpoena 
 or summons, the sheriff or other officer shall return 
 
62 HisTOKic Pulaski. 
 
 such fact on said process, when the court shall order 
 a copy of said process to be left at the last place of 
 residence of such persons sought to be summoned; 
 and if such person shall fail to appear according to 
 the command of said process, said court shall enter a 
 judgment nisi against such person for the sum of five 
 hundred dollars, for which sci. fa. shall issue, as in 
 other cases of forfeiture of subpoena. 
 
 Sec. 4. Be it further enacted, That no prosecutor 
 shall be required on any indictment under the pro- 
 visions of this act, and all the courts of the State 
 shall give a remedial construction to the same; and 
 that no presentment or indictment shall be quashed 
 or declared insufficient for want of form. 
 
 Sec. 5. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the 
 duty of all the courts of this State, at every term, for 
 two years from and after the passage of this act, to 
 call before it all the officers thereof, who shall be 
 sworn and have this act read or explained to them; 
 and the court shall ask said officers if they shall 
 have any knowledge of any person of the State or 
 out of it that shall be guilty of any of the offenses 
 contained in this act; and that, if at any time they 
 shall come in such knowledge or shall have a well- 
 grounded belief that any person or persons shall be 
 guilty of a violation of this act or any of its pro- 
 visions, they will immediately inform the prose- 
 cuting attorney for the State thereof; and if such 
 prosecuting attorney, upon being so informed, shall 
 fail, refuse, or neglect to prosecute such person or 
 persons so informed on, he shall be subject to the 
 same penalties imposed by the first section of this act, 
 and shall be stricken from the roll of attorneys in 
 said court. 
 
Historic Pulaski. 63 
 
 Sec. 6. Be it further enacted, That if any ofl&cer or 
 other person shall inform any other person that he 
 or she is to be summoned as a witness under any of 
 the provisions of this act, or any other statute or law 
 of this State, with the intent and for the purpose of 
 defeating any of the provisions of this act or any 
 criminal law of this State; or if any oflEicer, clerk, 
 sheriff, or constable shall refuse or fail to perform 
 any of the duties imposed by this act, upon conviction, 
 shall suffer the penalties by the first section of this 
 act, and shall be disqualified from holding office in 
 this State for two years. 
 
 Sec. 7. Be it further enacted, That if any person 
 shall voluntarily inform on any person guilty of any 
 of the provisions of this act, upon conviction, such 
 informant shall be entitled to and receive one-half of 
 the fine imposed; and if any oflacer, three-fourths. 
 
 Sec. 8. Be it further enacted, That if any person, 
 guilty of any of the provisions or offenses enumerated 
 in this act, that shall appear before any jury or pros- 
 ecuting officer of the State, and shall inform him or 
 them of any offense committed by any person or per- 
 sons against the criminal laws of this State, such 
 person or witness shall not be bound to answer to any 
 charge for the violations of any provisions of any law 
 about which such person or witness shall be exam- 
 ined; and the court shall protect such witness from 
 any prosecution whatever. 
 
 Sec. 9. Be it further enacted, That where any proc- 
 ess shall be issued against the person of any citizen 
 in any county of this State for any violation of the 
 provisions of this act, and such shall be returned not 
 executed, for any cause whatever, by the sheriff or 
 other officer, to the court from which it v/as issued. 
 
64 HisTOKio Pulaski. 
 
 with an afladavit appended thereto, plainly setting 
 forth the reason for the nonexecution of such process, 
 then it shall be the duty of the clerk, without delay, 
 to issue an alias capias to the same county, if the 
 home of the defendant shall be in said county, either 
 in part or in whole, when said sheriff or other officer 
 shall give notice to the inhabitants of said county by 
 posting such notice at the courthouse of said county 
 of the existence of said capias; and if the inhabitants 
 of such county shall permit such defendant to be or 
 to live in said county, in part or in whole, the in- 
 habitants shall be subject to an assessment of not 
 less than five hundred dollars nor more than five 
 thousand dollars, at the discretion of the court, which 
 said assessment shall be made in the following man- 
 ner — to wit: When the sheriff or other officer shall 
 return his alias capias, showing that said defendant 
 is an inhabitant of said county, in part or in whole, 
 and the citizens thereof have failed or refused to ar- 
 rest said defendant, which every citizen is hereby 
 authorized to do or perform, said court shall order 
 sci. /a. to issue to the proper officer to make known 
 to the chairman, judge, or other presiding officer of 
 the County Court to appear and show cause why final 
 judgment should not have been entered up accord- 
 ingly, which, if any County Court fails or refuses to 
 do and perform, any judge, in vacation, shall grant 
 a mandamus to compel said County Court to assess 
 and collect said assessment, to be paid into the State 
 treasury for the benefit of the school fund; provided, 
 that said assessment shall not be made of the sheriff 
 or other officer, upon the return of the original or 
 alias writs, show cause why the same cannot be exe- 
 
Historic Pulaski. 65 
 
 cuted, which may be done by his affidavit and two 
 respectable witnesses known to the court as such. 
 
 Sec. 10. Be it further enacted, That all the inhab- 
 itants in this State shall be authorized to arrest any 
 person defendant, under the provisions of this act, in 
 any county in this State, without process. 
 
 Sec. 11. Be it further enacted, That if any person 
 or persons shall write, publish, advise, entreat, or 
 persuade, privately or publicly, any class of persons 
 or any individual to resist any of the laws of this 
 State calculated to molest or disturb the good people 
 and peaceable citizens of the State, such persons 
 shall be subject to the penalties of the first section 
 of this act; and if an attorney at law, he shall be 
 stricken from the roll of attorneys and be prevented 
 from ;practicing in any court in this State. 
 
 Sec. 12. Be it further enacted, That if any person 
 shall make threats against any elector or person au- 
 thorized to exercise the elective franchise with the 
 intention of intimidating or preventing such person 
 or persons from attending any election in this State, 
 they shall be subject to the penalties inflicted by the 
 first section of this act. 
 
 Sec. 13. Be it further enacted, That if any person 
 or persons shall attempt to break up any election in 
 this State, or advise the same to be done, with a view 
 of preventing the lawful or qualified citizens of this 
 State from voting, they shall be subject to the penal- 
 ties prescribed by the first section of this act; and the 
 attorney of the State, in all convictions under the pro- 
 visions of this act, shall be entitled to a tax fee of one 
 hundred dollars, to be taxed in the bill of costs and 
 to be paid by the defendant. And the attorney prose- 
 cuting for the State shall keep all information given 
 5 
 
66 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 him a secret, unless it shall be necessary, in the opin- 
 ion of the court, that the same should be made public. 
 
 Sec. 14. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the 
 duty of all the judges in this State to read this act to 
 the grand juries and give it especially in charge to 
 said juries. 
 
 Sec. 15. Be it further enacted, That the Treasurer 
 of this State shall not be authorized to pay any judge 
 in this State any salary, or to any clerk, sheriff, or 
 attorney any fee or bill of cost that may accrue to 
 such parties under the provisions of this act until 
 such judge or other oflBcer shall have filed with the 
 Comptroller or Treasurer an affidavit plainly setting 
 forth that he has fully complied with the provisions 
 of this act. 
 
 Sec. 16. Be it further enacted, That if any person 
 or citizen of this State shall voluntarily feed or lodge 
 or entertain or conceal in the woods or elsewhere any 
 offender known to such person to be charged with 
 any criminal offense under this act, such person shall 
 suffer the penalty prescribed by the first section of 
 this act; provided, that this section shall not apply 
 to persons who, under the ancient law, might feed or 
 conceal the party charged. 
 
 Sec. 17. Be it further enacted, That if any person 
 guilty of any of the offenses enumerated in this act 
 shall have, own, or possess any real estate held by 
 deed or grant or entry or by fee or entail in law or 
 equity, the same shall be bound for costs, fines, or 
 penalties imposed by any of the provisions of this 
 act; and a lien is hereby declared to attach to all 
 estates in law or equity, as above, dating from the 
 day or night of the commission of the offense, which 
 fact may be found by the jury trying the cause, or any 
 
HisTOEic Pulaski. 67 
 
 other jury impaneled for that purpose; and if, in the 
 opinion of the court, the defendant has evaded the 
 law, the jury shall find such fact, and the estate of 
 the defendant shall be made liable for the costs of the 
 State, and there shall be no limitation to the recovery 
 of the same. 
 
 Sec. 18. Be it further enacted, That if any person 
 or persons shall be guilty of a violation of any of the 
 provisions of this act, to the prejudice or injury of 
 any individual, the jury trying the defendant shall, 
 or may, find such fact with the amount of injury sus- 
 tained, which shall be paid to the injured party or 
 person entitled to the same by the laws of descent of 
 this State, with all costs, and who shall have the 
 same lien on the property of the defendant that is 
 possessed or given to the State by this act. 
 
 Sec. 19. Be it further enacted, That if any person 
 shall knowingly make or cause to be made any uni- 
 form or regalia, in part or in whole, by day or by 
 night, or shall be found in possession of the same, he, 
 she, or they shall be fined, at the discretion of the 
 court, and shall be rendered infamous. 
 
 Sec. 20. Be it further enacted. That, in addition to 
 the oath prescribed by the Constitution and oath of 
 office, every public officer shall swear that he has 
 never been a member of the organization known as 
 the Ku Klux Klan or other disguised body of men 
 contrary to the laws of the State, and that he has 
 neither directly nor indirectly aided, encouraged, sup- 
 ported, or in any manner countenanced said organiza- 
 tion. 
 
 Sec. 21. Be it further enacted. That the attorneys 
 or prosecuting officers for the State shall be entitled 
 to and receive five per cent on all forfeitures or as- 
 
68 HisTOEic Pulaski. 
 
 sessments made by this act on compensations to be 
 paid by the defendant. 
 
 Sec. 22. Be it further enacted, That the standard 
 of damages for injuries to individuals shall be as 
 follows: For disturbing any of the officers of the 
 State or other person, by entering the house or 
 houses or place of residence of any such individual in 
 the night in a hostile manner or against his will, the 
 sum of ten thousand dollars; and it shall be lawful 
 for the person so assailed to kill the assailant. For 
 killing any individual in the night, twenty thousand 
 dollars; provided such person killed was peaceable at 
 that time. That all other injuries shall be assessed 
 by the court and jury in proportion; and the court 
 trying said causes may grant as many new trials as 
 may, in his opinion, be necessary to attain the end of 
 justice. 
 
 Sec. 23. Be it further enacted, That all persons 
 present, and not giving immediate information on 
 the offenders, shall be regarded as guilty of a mis- 
 demeanor against the law, and shall be punished ac- 
 cordingly. 
 
 Sec. 24. Be it further enacted, That it shall not be 
 lawful for any persons to publish any proffered or 
 pretended order of said secret, unlawful clans; and 
 any person convicted under any of the provisions of 
 this act shall not claim, hold, or possess any property, 
 real or personal, exempt from execution, fine, pen- 
 alty, or costs under this act; provided, that nothing 
 herein contained shall be so construed as to prevent 
 or exempt any person heretofore guilty of any of the 
 offenses herein contained from prosecution under the 
 law as it now stands. This act to take effect from 
 and after its passage. 
 
Historic Pulaski. 69 
 
 The same legislature passed a bill authorizing 
 the Governor to organize, equip, and call into ac- 
 tive service, at his discretion, a volunteer force to 
 be known as the Tennessee State Guards, to be 
 composed of one or more regiments from each Con- 
 gressional district of the State; provided, always, 
 that said Tennessee State Guards shall be com- 
 posed of loyal men. 
 
 And it was further provided by the ^^Militia 
 Law'' that, upon the representation of "ten Union 
 men or three Justices of the Peace in any county 
 in the State," that the presence of these troops was 
 needed, the Governor might declare martial law 
 in such counties, and send thither troops in such 
 numbers as, in his judgment, were necessary for 
 the preservation of peace and order. And it was 
 provided that the expense of these troops to the 
 State should be collected from the counties where 
 they were quartered. 
 
 The reader has now some insight into the char- 
 acter of the legislation directed against the Ku 
 Klux. He will not only note the general severity 
 and harshness of it, but the following features in 
 particular: (1) the anti-Ku Klux statute was ex 
 post facto, as expressly declared by Section 24 of it. 
 (2) It presented no way in which a man could re- 
 lieve himself from liability to it, except by turn- 
 ing informer, and as an inducement to do this a 
 
70 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 large bribe was offered. (3) It encouraged strife 
 by making every inhabitant of the State an officer 
 extraordinary with power "to arrest without proc- 
 ess" when he had ground to suspect. (4) It must 
 be remembered that in those days in Tennessee "to 
 be loyal" had a very limited meaning. It meant 
 simply to be a subservient tool and supporter of 
 Governor Brownlow. If a man was not that, no 
 matter what his past record or what his political 
 opinion, he was not "loyal." (5) While the law 
 professed to be aimed at the suppression of all law- 
 lessness, it was not so construed and enforced by 
 the party in power. The Union or Loyal League 
 was never molested, though this organization 
 met frequently, and its members appeared by day 
 and by night, armed, threatening, and molest- 
 ing the life and property of as peaceable and quiet 
 citizens as any in the State. No attempt was ever 
 made to arrest men except in Ku Klux disguises. 
 But, as before remarked, there is no instance on 
 record of a Ku Klux being arrested, tried, and con- 
 victed. Invariably the party arrested while depre- 
 dating as Ku Klux turned out to be, when stripped 
 of their disguises, "loyal" men. 
 
 In some sections of the State a perfect reign of 
 terror followed this anti-Ku Klux statute. The 
 members of the Klan were now in the attitude of 
 men fighting for life and liberty. Hundreds, per- 
 
Historic Pulaski. 71 
 
 haps thousands, of them were not lawbreakers and 
 did not desire to be. There had been no law 
 against association with the Klan; they had con- 
 ceived and done no wrong during their connection 
 with it. They had had no participation in or 
 knowledge of the excesses in which some of the 
 Klan had indulged or were charged with having 
 indulged in. But now their previous connection 
 with the Klan was made a penal offense ; and tliey 
 had no hope except on terms which, to men of hon- 
 or and right principle, were more odious than 
 death. 
 
 These men were made infamous, made liable to 
 fine and imprisonment, exposed to arrest without 
 process by any malicious negro or mean white man, 
 and even their wives and children were outlawed 
 and exposed to the same indignities; and it is no 
 strange thing if they were driven to the very verge 
 of desperation. It is not denied that they did 
 many things for which the world has been exceed- 
 ingly slow to accept apology or excuse. But his- 
 tory is challenged to furnish an instance of a peo- 
 ple bearing gross wrong and brutal outrage perpe- 
 trated in the name of law and loyalty with pa- 
 tience, forbearance, or forgiveness comparable to 
 that exhibited by the people of the Southern States, 
 and especially of Tennessee, during what is called 
 the "Reconstruction Period" and since. There 
 
72 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 may be in their conduct some things to regret and 
 some to condemn; but he who gets a full under- 
 standing of their surroundings — social, civil, and 
 political — if he is not incapable of noble senti- 
 ment, will also find many things to awaken his 
 sympathy and call forth his admiration. 
 
DiSBANDMENT. 
 
 On February 20, 1869, Governor Brownlow re- 
 signed his position as Governor to take the seat in 
 the United States Senate to which he had been 
 elected. The last paper to which he affixed his sig- 
 nature as Governor of Tennessee proclaimed mar- 
 tial law in certain counties and ordered troops to 
 be sent thither. This proclamation was dated 
 February 2, 1869. In a short while it was followed 
 by a proclamation from the "Grand Wizard of the 
 Invisible Empire" to his subjects. This procla- 
 mation recited the legislation directed against the 
 Klan, and stated that the order had now, in large 
 measure, accomplished the objects of its existence. 
 At a time when the civil law afforded inadequate 
 protection to life and property, when robbery and 
 lawlessness of every description were unrebuked, 
 when all the better elements of society were in con- 
 stant dread for the safety of their property, per- 
 sons, and families the Klan had afforded protec- 
 tion and security to many firesides and in many 
 ways contributed to the public welfare. But great- 
 ly to the regret of all good citizens, some members 
 of the Klan had violated positive orders; others, 
 under the name and disguises of the organization, 
 
 (73) 
 
•^4 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 had assumed to do acts of violence for which the 
 Klan was held responsible. The Grand Wizard 
 had been invested with the power to determine ques- 
 tions of paramount importance to the interests of 
 the order. Therefore, in the exercise of that pow- 
 er, the Grand Wizard declared that the organiza- 
 tion heretofore known as the Ku Klux Klan was 
 dissolved and disbanded. Members were directed 
 to burn all regalia and paraphernalia of every de- 
 scription and to desist from any further assemblies 
 or acts as Ku Klux. The members of the Klan 
 were counseled in the future, as heretofore, to assist 
 all good people of the land in maintaining and up- 
 holding the civil laws and in putting down law- 
 lessness. This proclamation was directed to all 
 realms, dominions, provinces, and dens in the 
 "Empire." It is reasonably certain that there were 
 portions of the "Empire'^ never reached. The 
 Klan was widely scattered, and the facilities for 
 communication were exceedingly poor. The Grand 
 Wizard was a citizen of Tennessee. Under the 
 statute just now quoted newspapers were forbidden 
 to publish anything emanating from the Klan ; so 
 that there was no way in which this proclamation 
 could be generally disseminated. Where it was 
 promulgated, obedience to it was prompt and im- 
 plicit. Whether obeyed or not, this proclamation 
 terminated the Klan's organized existence as de- 
 
SisTORic Pulaski. 'J'5 
 
 cisively and completely as General Lee's last gen- 
 eral order, on the morning of April 10, 1865, dis- 
 banded the Army of Northern Virginia. 
 
 When the office of Grand Wizard was created 
 and its duties defined, it was explicitly provided 
 that he should have "the power to determine ques- 
 tions of paramount importance, and his decision 
 shall be final." To continue the organization or to 
 disband it was such a question. He decided in fa- 
 vor of disbanding, and so ordered. Therefore the 
 Ku Klux Klan had no organized existence after 
 March, 1869. 
 
 The report of the Congressional Investigating 
 Committee contains some disreputable history 
 which belongs to a later date, and is attributed to 
 the Klan, but not justly so. For several years 
 after March, 1869, the papers reported and com- 
 mented on "Ku Klux outrages" committed at va- 
 rious points. The authors of these outrages may 
 have acted in the name of the Klan and under its 
 disguises; it may be that in some cases they were 
 men who had been Ku Klux. But it cannot be 
 charged that they were acting by the authority of 
 an order which had formally disbanded. They 
 were acting on their own responsibility. 
 
 Thus lived and so died this strange order. Its 
 birth was an accident, its growth was a comedy, 
 its death a tragedy. It owed its existence wholly 
 
76 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 to the anomalous condition of social and civil af- 
 fairs in the South during the years immediately 
 succeeding the unfortunate contest in which so 
 many brave men in blue and gray fell, martyrs to 
 their convictions. There never was, before or 
 since, a period of our history when such an order 
 could have lived. May there never be again ! 
 
 When the mission of the Ku Klux Klan in re- 
 claiming the South from the carpetbag rule had 
 been finished, the disbanding of its members was 
 attended with weird ceremonies still fresh in the 
 memory of many of its faithful men. Perhaps the 
 most unique and weird of all the ceremonies at- 
 tended the disbanding of the Nashville Den, led 
 by John W. Morton, ex- Secretary of State, who 
 lived in Davidson County. The last act of the real 
 Klan was a warning to the spurious Klan, organ- 
 ized for lawlessness, by marching through the 
 streets of Nashville. 
 
 The original Klan was organized to protect the 
 homes and the liberties of the South. White, the 
 symbol of purity, was the most appropriate color 
 of their uniforms. After their work was done and 
 they had disbanded by order of General Forrest, 
 some reckless firebrands, who had private hatreds 
 to appease, organized bands of night riders, and 
 had the audacity to call themselves the Ku Klux 
 Klan. Some strange sense of the eternal fitness of 
 
Historic Pulaski. 'i'Y 
 
 things, however, made them discard the white 
 robes of the real Klan and don flaming red, which 
 has always been the badge of bloodshed, of an- 
 archy, and of disorder. No wonder that their evil 
 deeds inspired a temporary reign of terror until 
 they were wiped out of existence ! For a time the 
 story of their crimes was attached to the real Ku 
 Klux Klan, but as time passed even the people of 
 the North learned to distinguish between the real 
 and the bogus Klans. 
 
 The order for the dissolution of the Klan issued 
 by General Forrest was in every way characteristic 
 of the man. When the whites had redeemed six 
 Southern States from the negro rule, in 1870, the 
 Grand Wizard knew that his mission was accom- 
 plished and issued an order at once that the Klan 
 be disbanded. The execution of this order by John 
 W. Morton, the Cyclops of the Nashville Den, also 
 of the Grand Wizard, is typical of what happened 
 throughout the South. 
 
 Thirty-five picked men, mounted, armed, and in 
 full Ku Klux regalia for both horses and men, 
 were selected for the ceremony and ordered to 
 boldly parade through the streets of Nashville. 
 The capital was in charge of 3,000 Eeconstruction 
 militia and 200 metropolitan police, who had 
 sworn to take every Ku Klux Klansman, dead or 
 alive, who dared show himself abroad. On the 
 
78 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 night appointed a squadron of thirty-five white 
 and scarlet Klansmen moved out of the woods and 
 bore down upon the city. The streets were soon 
 crowded with people watching the strange proces- 
 sion of ghostlike figures. On the principal streets 
 police blew their whistles and darted here and there 
 in great excitement, but made no move to stop the 
 daredevil paraders. 
 
 On they rode up the hill and passed the Capitol, 
 around which the camp fires of a thousand soldiers 
 burned brightly, and not a hand was lifted against 
 them. They turned south into High Street, now 
 Sixth Avenue. Along the line of march ladies 
 waved their handkerchiefs from windows and men 
 shouted suppressed oaths. 
 
 Before the Klansmen reached Broad Street the 
 police began to summon citizens to aid in their ar- 
 rest. On reaching Broad Street, John Morton, who 
 rode at the head of the squadron, observed a line of 
 police drawn across the street with the evident in- 
 tention to stop or arrest the riders. Turning to 
 Mart N". Brown, a gallant Klansman, who rode by 
 his side, Morton said: "What shall we do, Mart?^^ 
 
 "Turn into Vine Street," he quickly answered, 
 "and pass around them." 
 
 "No," came an order from Morton, "ride straight 
 through without a change of gait." 
 
 And they did. The astonished police, dumb- 
 
HisTOKic Pulaski. 79 
 
 founded at the boldness of the strange men, opened 
 their lines, and the white horsemen rode slowly- 
 through without a word. 
 
 In their last march down Broad Street they 
 passed a frame building used as a carpetbag mili- 
 tary armory. It was full of negroes. Directly in 
 front of the building Morton halted his line of 
 white figures, drew them up at dress parade, rode 
 up to the door and knocked. The negroes rushed 
 to the doors and windows, and seeing in the bright 
 moonlight the grim figures of the dreaded Klan, 
 they forgot the 200 friendly police and the 3,000 
 Reconstruction soldiers guarding Nashville. Mak- 
 ing a wild and disorderly break for the rear, they 
 went out through every opening without knowledge 
 of any obstruction. Many of them wore window 
 sashes home for collars. 
 
 Wheeling again into double column, the Ivlans- 
 men silently rode away to their old rendezvous. 
 Their mission was at an end. They had over- 
 thrown the carpetbaggers' regime and restored 
 home rule. Their last act was a warning. 
 
 Outside the city they entered the shadows of the 
 forest. Down its dim aisles, lit by threads of 
 moonlight, the horsemen slowly wound their way 
 to the appointed place. For the last time the 
 chaplain led in prayer. The men disrobed, and, 
 drawing from each horse his white mantle, opened 
 
80 HisTOEic Pulaski. 
 
 a grave and silently buried their regalia, sprink- 
 ling the folds with the ashes of a copy of their 
 burned ritual. In this weird ceremony ended the 
 most remarkable revolution in history. 
 
 We here append the original Prescript and the 
 cypher code used by the Klan in secret correspond- 
 ence, neither of which has ever been published be- 
 fore, and no copy is known to exist except the origi- 
 nals here reproduced. 
 
Historic Pulaski. 81 
 
 'Damnant quod non intelligunt." [1 
 
 PRESCRIPT 
 OP THE 
 
 ***** 
 
 What may this mean, 
 That thou, dead corse, again, in complete steel, 
 Revisit'st thus the glimpses of the moon. 
 Making night hideous; and we fools of nature. 
 So horridly to shake our disposition, 
 With thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls? 
 
 An' now auld Cloots, I ken y«'re thinkin', 
 A certain Ghoul is rantin', drinkin'. 
 Some luckless night will send him linkin'. 
 
 To your black pit; 
 But, faith! he'll turn a corner jinkin'. 
 
 An' cheat you yet. 
 
82 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 2] Amici humani generis. 
 
 CREED. 
 
 We, the * * , reverently acknowledge 
 the Majesty and Supremacy of the Divine Being, 
 and recognize the Goodness and Providence of the 
 Same. 
 
 PREAMBLE. 
 
 We recognize our relations to the United States 
 Government, and acknowledge the supremacy of 
 its laws. 
 
 APPELLATIOISr. 
 
 Article I. This organization shall he styled and 
 denominated the * * 
 
 titles. 
 
 Art. II. The officers of this * shall consist of 
 a Grand Wizard of the Empire and his ten Genii, 
 a Grand Dragon of the Realm and his eight Hy- 
 dras, a Grand Titan of the Dominion and his six 
 Furies, a Grand Giant of the Province and his four 
 Goblins, a Grand Cyclops of the Den and his two 
 Night Hawks^ a Grand Magi, a Grand Monk, a Grand 
 Exchequer, a Grand Turk, a Grand Scribe, a Grand 
 Sentinel, and a Grand Ensign. 
 
 Sec. 2. The body politics of this * shall be des- 
 ignated and known as "Ghouls." 
 
 DIVISIONS. 
 
 Art. III. This * shall be divided into five de- 
 partments, all combined, constituting the Grand 
 
 * of the Empire. The second department to be 
 called the Grand * of the Realm. The third, the 
 Grand * of 'the Dominion. The fourth, the Grand 
 
 * of the Province. The fifth, the * of the Den. 
 
 DUTIES OF OFFICERS. 
 GRAND WIZARD. 
 
 Art. IV. Sec. 1. It shall be the duty of the Grand 
 Wizard, who is the Supreme Officer of the Empire, 
 to communicate with and receive reports from the 
 
 Magna est Veritas, et prcevalebit. 
 
HisTOKic Pulaski. 83 
 
 Nee scire fas est omnia. [3 
 
 Grand Dragons of Realms, as to the condition, 
 strength, efficiency and progress of the *s 
 within their respective Realms. And he shall com- 
 municate from time to time, to all subordinate *s, 
 through the Grand Dragons, the condition, strength, 
 efficiency, and progress of the *s throughout his vast 
 Empire; and such other information as he may deem 
 expedient to impart. And it shall further be his du- 
 ty to keep by his G. Scribe a list of the names (with- 
 out any caption or explanation whatever) of the Grand 
 Dragons of the different Realms of his Empire, and 
 shall number such Realms with the Arabic nume- 
 rals, 1, 2, 3, &c., ad finem. And he shall instruct 
 his Grand Exchequer as to the appropriation and 
 disbursement which he shall make of the revenue 
 of the * that comes to his hands. He shall have 
 the sole power to issue copies of this Prescript, 
 through his Subalterns and Deputies, for the organ- 
 ization and establishment of subordinate *s. And 
 he shall have the further power to appoint his Ge- 
 nii; also, a Grand Scribe and a Grand Exchequer 
 for his Department, and to appoint and ordain 
 Special Deputy Grand Wizards to assist him in the 
 more rapid and effectual dissemination and estab- 
 lishment of the * throughout his Empire. He is 
 further empowered to appoint and instruct Depu- 
 ties, to organize and control Realms, Dominions, 
 Provinces, and Dens, until the same shall elect a 
 Grand Dragon, a Grand Titan, a Grand Giant, and 
 a Grand Cyclops, in the manner hereinafter provid- 
 ed. And when a question of paramount impor- 
 tance to the interest or prosperity of the * arises, 
 not provided for in this Prescript, he shall have 
 power to determine such question, and his decision 
 shall be final, until the same shall be provided for 
 by amendment as hereinafter provided. 
 
 Ne vile fano. 
 
84 HisTOEio Pulaski. 
 
 4] Ars est celare artem. 
 
 Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of the Grand Dragon 
 who is the Chief Oflacer of the Realm, to report to 
 the Grand Wizard when required by that oflacer, 
 the condition, strength, eflaciency, and progress of 
 the * within his Realm, and to transmit through 
 the Grand Titan to the subordinate *s of his Realm, 
 all information or intelligence conveyed to him by 
 the Grand Wizard for that purpose, and all such oth- 
 er information or instruction as he may think will 
 promote the interests of the *s. He shall keep by his 
 G. Scribe a list of the names (without any caption) 
 of the Grand Titans of the different Dominions of 
 his Realm, and shall report the same to the Grand 
 Wizard when required; and shall number the Do- 
 minions of his Realm with the Arabic numerals, 1, 
 2, 3, &c., ad finem,. He shall instruct his Grand 
 Exchequer as to the appropriation and disburse- 
 ment of the revenue of the * that comes to his 
 hands. He shall have the power to appoint his 
 Hydras; also, a Grand Scribe and a Grand Excheq- 
 uer for his Department, and to appoint and ordain 
 Special Deputy Grand Dragons to assist him in the 
 more rapid and effectual dissemination and estab- 
 lishment of the * throughout his Realm. He is 
 further empowered to appoint and instruct Depu- 
 ties to organize and control Dominions, Provinces 
 and Dens, until the same shall elect a Grand Titan, 
 a Grand Giant, and Grand Cyclops, in the manner 
 hereinafter provided. 
 
 GRAND TITAN. 
 
 Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the Grand Titan 
 who is the Chief Officer of the Dominion, to report 
 to the Grand Dragon when required by that officer, 
 the condition, strength, efficiency, and progress of 
 the * within his Dominion, and to transmit, 
 through the Grand Giants to the subordinate *s 
 
 Nusquam tuta fides. 
 
HiSTOEIC PULASKi. SS 
 
 Quid faciendum? [5 
 
 of his Dominion, all information or intelligence con- 
 veyed to him by the Grand Dragon for that pur- 
 pose, and all such other information or instruction 
 as he may think will enhance the interests of the *. 
 He shall keep, by his G. Scribe, a list of the names 
 (without caption) of the Grand Giants of the differ- 
 ent Provinces of his Dominion, and shall report the 
 same to the Grand Dragon when required; and he 
 shall number the Provinces of his Dominion with 
 the Arabic numerals, 1, 2, 3, &c., ad finem. And he 
 shall instruct and direct his Grand Exchequer as to 
 the appropriation and disbursement of the revenue 
 of the * that comes to his hands. He shall have 
 power to appoint his Furies; also to appoint a Grand 
 Scribe and a Grand Exchequer for his department, 
 and appoint and ordain Special Deputy Grand Ti- 
 tans to assist him in the more rapid and effectual 
 dissemination and establishment of the * through- 
 out his Dominion. He shall have further power to 
 appoint and instruct Deputies to organize and con- 
 trol Provinces and Dens, until the same shall elect 
 a Grand Giant and a Grand Cyclops, in the manner 
 hereinafter provided. 
 
 GRAND GIANT. 
 
 Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of the Grand Giant, 
 who is the Chief Officer of the Province, to super- 
 vise and administer general and special instruc- 
 tion in the formation and establishment of *s 
 within his Province, and to report to the Grand 
 Titan, when required by that officer, the condition, 
 strength, progress and efficiency of the * through- 
 out his Province, and to transmit, through, the 
 Grand Cyclops, to the subordinate *s of his Prov- 
 ince, all information or intelligence conveyed to 
 him by the Grand Titan for that purpose, and such 
 other information and instruction as he may think 
 
 Fide non armis. 
 
86 Historic Pulas:^!. 
 
 5] Fiat justia. 
 
 will advance the interests of tlie *. He shall keep by 
 his G. Scribe a list of the names (without caption) of 
 the Grand Cyclops of the various Dens of his Prov- 
 ince, and shall report the same to the Grand Titan 
 when required; and shall number the Dens of his 
 Province with the Arabic numerals, 1, 2, 3, &c., ad 
 finem. And shall determine and limit the number 
 of Dens to be organized in his Province. And he 
 shall instruct and direct his Grand Exchequer as to 
 what appropriation and disbursement he shall make 
 of the revenue of the * that comes to his hands. 
 He shall have power to appoint his Goblins; also, 
 a Grand Scribe and a Grand Exchequer for his de- 
 partment, and to appoint and ordain Special Depu- 
 ty Grand Giants to assist him in the more rapid 
 and effectual dissemination and establishment of 
 the * throughout his Province. He shall have 
 the further power to appoint and instruct Deputies 
 to organize and control Dens, until the same shall 
 elect a Grand Cyclops in the manner hereinafter 
 provided. And in all cases, he shall preside at and 
 conduct the Grand Council of Yahoos. 
 
 GRAND CYCLOPS. 
 
 Sec. 5. It shall be the duty of the Grand Cyclops 
 to take charge of the * of his Den after his election, 
 under the direction and with the assistance (when 
 practicable) of the Grand Giant, and in accordance 
 with, and in conformity to the provisions of this Pre- 
 script, a copy of which shall in all cases be obtained 
 before the formation of a * begins. It shall fur- 
 ther be his duty to appoint all regular meetings of 
 his * and to preside at the same — to appoint irregu- 
 lar meetings when he deems it expedient, to preserve 
 order in his Den, and to impose fines for irregularities 
 or disobedience of orders, and to receive and initiate 
 candidates for admission into the * after the same 
 shall have been pronounced competent and wor- 
 
 Hic manent vestigia morientis liberatis. 
 
Historic Pulaski. ^"J^ 
 
 Curae leves loquntur, ingentes stupent. [7 
 
 thy to become members by the Investigating Com- 
 mittee. He shall make a quarterly report, to the 
 Grand Giant, of the condition, strength and ef- 
 ficiency of the * of his Den, and shall convey to 
 the Ghouls of his Den, all information or intelli- 
 gence conveyed to him by the Grand Giant for that 
 purpose, and all such other information or instruc- 
 tion as he may think will conduce to the interests 
 and welfare of the *. He shall preside at and con- 
 duct the Grand Council of Centaurs. He shall have 
 power to appoint his Night Hawks, his Grand 
 Scribe, his Grand Turk, his Grand Sentinel, and 
 his Grand Ensign. And he shall instruct and di- 
 rect the Grand Exchequer of his Den, as to what 
 appropriation and disbursement he shall make of 
 the revenue of the * that comes to his hands. 
 And for any small offense he may punish any mem- 
 ber by fine, and may reprimand him for the same. 
 And he may admonish and reprimand the * of 
 his Den for any imprudence, irregularity or trans- 
 gression, when he is convinced or advised that the 
 interests, welfare and safety of the * demand it. 
 
 GRAND MAGI. 
 
 Sec 6 It shall be the duty of the Grand Magi, 
 who is the Second Officer, in authority, of the Den, 
 to assist the Grand Cyclops and to obey all the 
 proper orders of that officer. To preside at all 
 meetings in the Den in the absence of the Grand 
 Cyclops; and to exercise during his absence all the 
 powers and authority conferred upon that officer. 
 
 GRAND MONK. 
 
 Sec. 7. It shall be the duty of the Grand Monk, 
 who is the third officer, in authority, of the Den, to 
 assist and obey all the proper orders of the Grand 
 Cyclops and the Grand Magi. And in the absence 
 of both of these officers, he shall preside at and con- 
 duct the meet ings in the Den, and shall exercise all 
 
 Dat Deus his quoque finem. 
 
88 HisTOKic Pulaski. 
 
 8] Cessante causa, cessat effectus. 
 
 the powers and authority conferred upon the Grand 
 Cyclops. 
 
 GRAND EXCHEQUER. 
 
 Sec. 8. It shall be the duty of the Grand Excheq- 
 uers of the different Departments of the * to keep 
 a correct account of all the revenue of the * that 
 shall come to their hands, and shall make no appro- 
 priation or disbursement of the same except under 
 the orders and direction of the chief officer of their 
 respective departments. And it shall further be 
 the duty of the Grand Exchequer of Dens to collect 
 the initiation fees, and all fines imposed by the 
 Grand Cyclops. 
 
 GRAND TURK. 
 
 Sec. 9. It shall be the duty of the Grand Turk, 
 who is the Executive Officer of the Grand Cyclops, 
 to notify the Ghouls of the Den of all information or 
 irregular meetings appointed by the Grand Cyclops, 
 and to obey and execute all the lawful orders of that 
 officer in the control and government of his Den. 
 It shall further be his duty to receive and question 
 at the Out Posts, all candidates for admission into 
 the *, and shall there administer the preliminary 
 obligation required, and then to conduct such can- 
 didate or candidates to the Grand Cyclops at his 
 Den, and to assist him in the initiation of the same. 
 And it shall further be his duty to act as the Ex- 
 ecutive officer of the Grand Council of Centaurs. 
 
 GRAND SCRIBE. 
 
 Sec. 10. It shall be the duty of the Grand Scribes 
 of the different departments to conduct the corre- 
 spondence and write the orders of the chiefs of their 
 departments, when required. And it shall further 
 be the duty of the Grand Scribes of the Den to keep 
 a list of the names (without caption) of the Ghouls 
 of the Den — to call the Roll at all regular meetings 
 and to make the quarterly report under the direc- 
 tion of the Grand Cyclops. 
 
 Droit et avant. 
 
Historic Pulaski. 89 
 
 Cave quid dicis, quando, et cui. [9 
 
 Sec. 11. It shall be the duty of the Grand Senti- 
 nel to detail, take charge of, post and instruct the 
 Grand Guard under the direction and orders of the 
 Grand Cyclops, and to relieve and dismiss the same 
 when directed by that officer. 
 
 GRAND ENSIGN. 
 
 Sec. 12. It shall be the duty of the Grand Ensign 
 to take charge of the Grand Banner of the *, to 
 preserve it sacredly, and protect it carefully, and to 
 bear it on all occasions of parade or ceremony, and 
 on such other occasions as the Grand Cyclops may 
 direct it to be flung to the night breeze. 
 
 ELECTION OF OFFICEBS. 
 
 Art. V. Sec. 1. The Grand Cyclops, the Grand 
 Magi, the Grand Monk, and the Grand Exchequer 
 of Dens, shall be elected semi-annually by the 
 Ghouls of Dens. And the first election for these 
 officers may take place as soon as seven Ghouls have 
 been initiated for that purpose. 
 
 Sec. 2. The Grand Wizard of the Empire, the 
 Grand Dragons of Realms, the Grand Titans of Do- 
 minions, and the Grand Giants of Provinces, shall 
 be elected biennially, and in the following man- 
 ner, to wit: The Grand Wizard by a majority vote 
 of the Grand Dragons of his Empire, the Grand 
 Dragons by a like vote of the Grand Titans of his 
 Realm; the Grand Titans by a like vote of the 
 Grand Giants of his Dominion, and the Grand Gi- 
 ant by a like vote of the Grand Cyclops of his Prov- 
 ince. 
 
 The first election for Grand Dragon may take 
 place as soon as three Dominions have been organ- 
 ized in a Realm, but all subsequent elections shall 
 be by a majority vote of the Grand Titans through- 
 out the Realm, and biennially as aforesaid. 
 
 The first election for Grand Titan may take place 
 
 Dormitur aliquando jus, moritur nunquam. 
 
96 HisTOEic Pulaski. 
 
 10] Deo adjuvante, non timendum. 
 
 as soon as three Provinces have been organized in a 
 Dominion, but all subsequent elections shall be by a 
 majority vote of all the Grand Giants throughout 
 the Dominion and biennially as aforesaid. 
 
 The first election for Grand Giant may take place 
 as soon as three Dens have been organized in a 
 Province, but all subsequent elections shall be by a 
 majority vote of all the Grand Cyclops throughout 
 the Province, and biennially as aforesaid. 
 
 The Grand Wizard of the Empire is hereby cre- 
 ated, to serve three years from the First Monday 
 in May, 1867, after the expiration of which time, 
 biennial elections shall be held for that office as 
 aforesaid. And the incumbent Grand Wizard shall 
 notify the Grand Dragons, at least six months be- 
 fore said election, at what time and place the same 
 will be held. 
 
 JUDICIARY. 
 
 Art. VI. Sec. 1. The Tribunal of Justice of this 
 * shall consist of a Grand Council of Yahoos, and 
 a Grand Council of Centaurs. 
 
 Sec. 2. The Grand Council of Yahoos, shall be 
 the Tribunal for the trial of all elected officers, and 
 shall be composed of officers of equal rank with the 
 accused, and shall be appointed and presided over 
 by an officer of the next rank above, and sworn by 
 him to administer even-handed justice. The Tribu- 
 nal for the trial of the Grand Wizard, shall be com- 
 posed of all the Grand Dragons of the Empire, and 
 shall be presided over and sworn by the senior 
 Grand Dragon. They shall have power to summon 
 the accused, and witnesses for and against him, and 
 if found guilty they shall prescribe the penalty and 
 execute the same. And they shall have power to 
 appoint an Executive officer to attend said Council 
 while in session. 
 
 Spectemur agendo. 
 
HisTOEic Pulaski. 91 
 
 Nemo nos impune l acessit. [11 
 
 Sec. 3. The Grand Council of Centaurs shall be 
 the Tribunal for the trial of Ghouls and non-elective 
 officers, and shall be composed of six judges appoint- 
 ed by the Grand Cyclops from the Ghouls of his Den, 
 presided over and sworn by him to give the ac- 
 cused a fair and impartial trial. They shall 
 have power to summon the accused, and wit- 
 nesses for and against him, and if found guilty 
 they shall prescribe the penalty and execute the 
 same. Said judges shall be selected by the Grand 
 Cyclops with reference to their intelligence, integri- 
 ty and fair-mindedness, and shall render their ver- 
 dict without prejudice or partiality. 
 
 EEVENUE. 
 
 Art. VII. Sec. 1. The revenue of this * shall 
 be derived as follows: For every copy of this Pre- 
 script issued to the *s of Dens, Ten Dollars will 
 be required. Two dollars of which shall go into 
 the hands of the Grand Exchequer of the Grand Gi- 
 ant, two into the hands of the Grand Exchequer of 
 the Grand Titan, two into the hands of the Grand 
 Exchequer of the Grand Dragon, and the remaining 
 four into the hands of the Grand Exchequer of the 
 Grand Wizard. 
 
 Sec. 2. A further source of revenue to the Empire 
 shall be ten per cent of all the revenue of the 
 Realms, and a tax upon Realms, when the Grand 
 Wizard shall deem it necessary and indispensable 
 to levy the same. 
 
 Sec. 3. A further source of revenue to Realms 
 shall be ten per cent of all the revenue of Domin- 
 ions, and a tax upon Dominions when the Grand 
 Dragon shall deem such tax necessary and indispen- 
 sable. 
 
 Sec. 4. A further source of revenue to Domin- 
 ions shall be ten per cent of all the revenue of Prov- 
 
 Patria cara, carior libertas. 
 
92 HisTOKio Pulaski. 
 
 12] Ad unum omnes. 
 
 inces, and a tax upon Provinces when the Grand 
 Titan shall deem such tax necessary and indispen- 
 sable. 
 
 Sec. 5. A further source of revenue to Provinces 
 shall he ten per cent, on all the revenue of Dens, 
 and a tax upon the Dens, when the Grand Giant 
 shall deem such tax necessary and indispensable. 
 
 Sec. 6. The source of revenue to Dens, shall be 
 the initiation fees, fines, and a per capita tax, when- 
 ever the Grand Cyclops shall deem such tax indis- 
 pensable to the interests and purposes of the *. 
 
 Sec. 7. All of the revenue obtained in the man- 
 ner herein aforesaid, shall be for the exclusive ben- 
 efit of the *. And shall be appropriated to the 
 dissemination of the same, and to the creation of a 
 fund to meet any disbursement that it may become 
 necessary to make to accomplish the objects of the 
 *, and to secure the protection of the same. 
 
 OBLIGATIOTiT. 
 
 Art. VIII. No one shall become a member of 
 this * unless he shall take the following oath or 
 obligation: 
 
 "I, of my own free will and accord, and in 
 
 the presence of Almighty God, do solemnly swear 
 or affirm that I will never reveal to any one, not a 
 member of the * * ijy any intimation, sign, 
 symbol, word or act, or in any other manner what- 
 ever, any of the secrets, signs, grips, passwords, 
 mysteries or purposes of the * * , or that I am 
 a member of the same or that I know any one who 
 is a member, and that I will abide by the Prescript 
 and Edicts of the * *. So help me God." 
 
 Sec. 2. The preliminary obligation to be adminis- 
 tered before the candidate for admission is taken 
 to the Grand Cyclops for examination, shall be as 
 follows: 
 
 "I do solemnly swear or affirm that I will never 
 
 Deo duce, ferro comitante. 
 
HisTOKio Pulaski. 93 
 
 Tempore mutantur, et nos mutamur in illis. [13 
 
 reveal anything that I may this day (or night) 
 learn concerning the * *. So help me God." 
 
 ADMISSION. 
 
 Art. IX. Sec. 1. No one shall be presented for 
 admission into this *, until he shall have been 
 recommended by some friend or intimate, who is sl 
 member, to the Investigating Committee, which 
 shall be composed of the Grand Cyclops, the Grand 
 Magi, and the Grand Monk, and who shall investi- 
 gate his antecedents and his past and present stand- 
 ing and connections, and if after such investigation, 
 they pronounce him competent and worthy to become 
 a member, he may be admitted upon taking the ob- 
 ligation required and passing through the ceremo- 
 nies of initiation. Provided, That no one shall be 
 admitted into this * who shall have not attain- 
 ed the age of eighteen years. 
 
 Sec. 2. No one shall become a member of a dis- 
 tant * when there is a * established and in 
 operation in his own immediate vicinity. Nor 
 shall any one become a member of any * after 
 he shall have been rejected by any other *. 
 
 ENSIGN. 
 
 Art. X. The Grand Banner of this * shall be 
 in the form of an isosceles triangle, five feet long 
 and three wide at the staff. The material shall be 
 yellow, with a red scalloped border, about three 
 inches in width. There shall be painted upon it, 
 in black, a Dracovolans, or Flying Dragon,t with 
 the following motto inscribed above the Dragon, 
 "Quod semper, quod ubique, quod ab omnibus."$ 
 
 amendments. 
 Art. XI. This Prescript or any part or Edicts 
 thereof, shall never be changed except by a two- 
 
 +See Webster's Unabridged Pictorial. 
 
 *""Wliat always, what everywhere, what by all is held to be 
 true.*' 
 
 O temporal O mores! 
 
14] Ad utrumque paratus. 
 
 thirds vote of the Grand Dragons of the Realms, in 
 Convention assembled, and at which Convention 
 the Grand Wizard shall preside and be entitled to a 
 vote. And upon the application of a majority of 
 the Grand Dragons, for that purpose, the Grand 
 Wizard shall appoint the time and place for said 
 Convention; which, when assembled, shall pro- 
 ceed to make such modifications and amendment as 
 it may think will advance the interest, enlarge the 
 utility, and more thoroughly effectuate the purpos- 
 es of the *. 
 
 INTERDICTION. 
 
 Art. XII. The origin, designs, mysteries, and 
 ritual of this * shall never be written, but the 
 same shall be communicated orally. 
 
 REGISTER. 
 
 I. 1st— Dismal. 7th— Dreadful. 
 2nd— Dark. 8th— Terrible. 
 3rd — Furious. 9th — Horrible. 
 4th — Portentous. 10th — Melancholy. 
 5th— Wonderful. 11th— Mournful. 
 6th — Alarming. 12th — Dying. 
 
 II. I— White. IV— Black. 
 II— Green. V— Yellow. 
 
 Ill— Blue. VI— Crimson. 
 
 VII— Purple. 
 
 III. 1— Fearful. 7— Doleful. 
 2— Startling. 8— Sorrowful. 
 3 — Awful. 9 — Hideous. 
 4— Woeful. 10— Frightful. 
 5— Horrid. 11 — Appalling. 
 6— Bloody. 12— Last. 
 
 EDICTS. 
 
 I. The Initiation Fee of this * shall be one 
 dollar, to be paid when the candidate is initiated 
 and received into the *. 
 
 II. No member shall be allowed to take any in- 
 toxicating spirits to any meeting of the *. Nor 
 shall any member be allowed to attend a meeting 
 when intoxicated; and for every appearance at a 
 meeting in such a cond ition, he shall be fined the 
 
 Cavendo Tutus. 
 
 ' (94) ^ -^ 
 
Historic Pulaski. 95 
 
 Astra Castra, numen lumen. [15 
 
 sum of not less than one nor more than five dollars, 
 to go into the revenue of the *. 
 
 III. Any member may be expelled from the * 
 by a majority vote of the officers and Ghouls of the 
 Den to which he belongs, and if after such expulsion 
 such member shall assume any of the duties, rega- 
 lia or insignia of the * or in any way claim to be 
 a member of the same, he shall be severely punish- 
 ed. His obligation of secrecy shall be as binding 
 upon him after expulsion as before, and for any 
 revelation made by him thereafter, he shall be held 
 accountable in the same manner as if he were then 
 a member. 
 
 IV. Every Grand Cyclops shall read or cause to 
 be read this Prescript and these Edicts to the * 
 of his Den, at least once in every three months — 
 and shall read them to each new member when he 
 is initiated, cr present the same to him for person- 
 al perusal. 
 
 V. Each Den may provide itself with the Grand 
 Banner of the *. 
 
 VI. The *s of Dens may make such addition- 
 al Edicts for their control and government as they 
 shall deem requisite and necessary. Provided, No 
 Edict shall be made to conflict with any of the pro- 
 visions or Edicts of this Prescript. 
 
 VII. The strictest and most rigid secrecy, con- 
 cerning any and everything that relates to the * 
 shall at all times be maintained. 
 
 VIII. Any member who shall reveal or betray the 
 secrets or purposes of this * shall suffer the ex- 
 treme penalty of the law. 
 
 Hush, thou art not to utter what 
 I am. Bethink thee; it was our covenant. 
 I said that I would see thee once again. 
 
 Ne quid detrimenti; Respublica capiat. 
 
96 HisTOEic Pulaski. 
 
 16] Amici usque ad aras. 
 
 L'ENVOI. 
 To the lovers of Law and Order, Peace and Jus- 
 tice, we send greeting; and to the shades of the 
 venerated Dead, we affectionately dedicate the * *. 
 
 Nos ducit amor libertatis. 
 
HisTOEio Pulaski. 97 
 
 cJ ■ 
 
 n c c 
 
 ice J ' 
 
 H < { ft ' 
 
 /c V \ ^ • 
 / / / > • 
 
 1 d f 
 
 CYPHER CODE USED BY THE KLAN IN SECRET CORRESPOND- 
 ENCE. 
 
SAM DAVIS : HIS CAPTURE, DEATH, AND 
 MONUMENT AT PULASKI. 
 
 BY MES. W. B. ROMINE. 
 
 Pulaski's fame, so fair and white. 
 Was blistered with a withering blight; 
 For the darkest deed of the four years' strife 
 Was the taking here of a fair, young life. 
 
 'Twas a deed which the ages shall not erase, 
 'Twas a deed which time cannot efface; 
 For 'twas from her own sacred sod 
 Sam Davis's soul went home to God. 
 
 I WAS standing a few days since on the now sa- 
 cred hillside which overlooks Pulaski and which 
 was once the selected place for a sad and awful 
 scene. I have been told that on that day in late 
 November the skies were gray and overcast, verg- 
 ing on tears which later fell in copious showers of 
 softest sympathy on the new-made grave of that 
 brave boy-martyr, Sam Davis, who had so nobly 
 met his fate a few hours earlier. 
 
 All that day, after the heart-rending execution, 
 
 sere brown leaves wet with a dreary rain were 
 
 driven in swirling hosts across the distant hills and 
 
 their deep, dark valleys by a harsh and nipping 
 
 (98) 
 
Historic Pulaski. 99 
 
 wind which heralded the approach of winter and 
 chanted in tones now loud, now low, the requiem 
 of the dying year and the dead hero. 
 
 Forty-three years later, as I stood there, the wind 
 was again cold as it blew the bright-hued autumn 
 leaves, one by one, from the red and gold maples 
 which now stand as stately sentinels on the same 
 hillside; but a glorious sun bathed the earth and 
 sky with splendor, and it seemed that all the beau- 
 ties of nature conspired together to flatter and 
 adorn the little town which nestled amid the scarlet 
 and bronze of the autumn groves. 
 
 Supurb clouds, like snow-white barges with sails 
 uplifted, swept across the brilliant blue sea of ether 
 above it, and the beech woods which girdle it on 
 every side were painted in broad bands of richest 
 colors. 
 
 In the valleys the eye traveled through a deep 
 magnificence of shade to the sunlight beyond, which 
 was falling like our Father's benediction upon the 
 gleaming marble of a shaft erected in memory of 
 that same young martyr whose soul passed to the 
 home of the brave and the blest on that dreary 
 November morning. 
 
 As I stood there so filled with exalted memories 
 of his loyalty and the lovely characteristics which 
 he evinced in every way during his imprisonment 
 and at his trial by court-martial and in his match- 
 
100 HisTOEio Pulaski. 
 
 less death, I almost felt that the spot whereon my 
 feet rested was holy ground. 
 
 I fell to thinking of that warm, bright afternoon 
 of the long ago when he was making his way out of 
 the little town with those prized documents con- 
 cealed in the sole of his boot, and of how he was 
 overtaken and captured by the Federal officers on 
 the Lamb's Ferry Eoad (which I could see winding 
 its white length from the southwest limits of the 
 town), and a graphic account of which has been 
 furnished by Joshua Brown, a fellow scout, and 
 which I will give as a true and accurate descrip- 
 tion. 
 
 As I stood on the same spot where he stood and 
 looked across to the hill opposite me, his monu- 
 ment, which has been erected by the untiring labor 
 and devotion of the Daughters of the Confederacy 
 of Pulaski and Giles County, gleamed upon my 
 sight. In its white purity it seemed emblematic of 
 his life and death, as it was silhouetted sharp and 
 vehement, full-bodied and rich, against the wide 
 horizon, infinitely clear from its background of 
 blazing intensity of light from the setting sun, 
 which was slowly and regally sinking to rest on his 
 couch of gold in the purple west. 
 
 This monument and many others which are be- 
 ing built all over this fair Southland of ours are 
 but fit testimonials from her loving women. And 
 
Historic Pulaski. 101 
 
 the entire American nation is fast awakening to 
 this same desire to show in this way their apprecia- 
 tion of the valor and bravery of the men who wore 
 the gray — the truest types of manhood and honor 
 which walk the earth or sleep beneath her sod to- 
 day. The sons and daughters of this generation are 
 fast coming to a fuller realization of these facts, 
 and are more and more filled with a determination 
 to give just recognition from man to man for deeds 
 of bravery done and hard-fought battles, whether 
 lost or won. 
 
 "And above the sad world's sobbing, 
 
 And the strife of clan with clan, 
 I can hear the mighty throbbing 
 
 Of the heart of God in man. 
 And a voice sounds through the chiming 
 
 Of the bells, and seems to say: 
 'We are climbing, we are climbing. 
 
 As we circle on our way.' " 
 
SAM DAVIS : HIS CAPTURE, TRIAL, AND 
 EXECUTION. 
 
 BY JOSHUA BROWN. 
 
 In the fall of 1863 we were ordered into Mid- 
 dle Tennessee to report to Dr. Shaw, known as 
 Captain Coleman. Dr. Shaw was the chief of 
 the secret service of General Bragg's army, and 
 created and commanded what was known as 
 the Coleman Scouts. He ordered us to different 
 duties in this part of the State. We were in- 
 structed in those duties, and were to get all the in- 
 formation we could as to the numbers and posi- 
 tions of the Federal army. The country became 
 so overrun with the Federal cavalry, the Six- 
 teenth Corps of General Dodge's command, that it 
 was dangerous for us to travel except at night, and 
 he ordered us to separate and make our way 
 south. The papers and information that had 
 been collected from his many agents in the line, 
 and from Nashville and other points, were col- 
 lected into different packages and were intrusted 
 to Sam Davis, who was considered the best scout, 
 as he knew the country better and was more relia- 
 ble than any other scout. To him was intrusted 
 this responsibility. 
 (103) .. 
 
SAM DAVIS MONUMENT 
 
Historic Pulaski. 103 
 
 The night we were ordered to separate and go 
 south we crossed the Tennessee River, and, if we 
 succeeded, were to report to the Confederate au- 
 thorities. Just as we started out that night we 
 met a deserter, who led us into a trap, and we 
 were captured by the Seventh Kansas Cavalry, 
 known as Jayhawkers, on Agnew Creek, in Giles 
 County, Tenn. Sam Davis was captured a little 
 later farther out on or near the Lamb's Ferry Eoad. 
 We were all brought in to Pulaski, and were put in 
 the old Jail, on the corner of the Square, which has 
 since been torn down. We were all searched and 
 our saddle seats cut to pieces. The papers were 
 found in Sam Davis's boots, and the maps of the 
 fortifications at Nashville were found in his saddle 
 seat. The next day he was taken to the headquar- 
 ters of General Dodge and questioned in regard to 
 it, but he refused to say anything. They then came 
 and searched me again and took me to headquar- 
 ters, but could find nothing on me. However, 
 charges were preferred against me; but there was 
 no proof, and I was later on sent to Eock Island 
 Prison. Sam Davis was tried by a court-martial 
 and condemned to be hanged the following Fri- 
 day. We were captured, my recollection is, on 
 the Friday before. The day that he was condemned 
 was Thursday. We were ordered to get ready to 
 leave the jail. Just before we left we were cook- 
 
104 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 ing our breakfasts, and Sam Davis was brought 
 handcuffed from his cell into our room to get his 
 breakfast. I was cooking some meat on a stick 
 as he came in, and I gave the meat with the 
 hardtack to him, and had some conversation with 
 him. I expressed sympathy and the hope that 
 there was some chance for him, and he was taken 
 back to his cell after bidding us good-by. We 
 were ordered over to the courthouse under guard, 
 where some other prisoners were. All the other 
 prisoners confined in the jail were taken out and 
 carried over across the street to the old courthouse. 
 Sam Davis was alone in the jail, and they doubled 
 their guard around him. The next morning early 
 a regiment of infantry, with their drums beating 
 a funeral march, and accompanied by an army 
 wagon with a coffin, marched by. In a few min- 
 utes he was taken out; he got up in the wagon 
 and sat down on his coffin. Then he looked around 
 the Square, saw us in the courthouse looking 
 through a window, turned as he went by, stood up 
 in his wagon, and saluted us a farewell, one of the 
 most dramatic things I have ever seen in my life. 
 There were tears in the eyes of all of us who wit- 
 nessed that scene. Captain Shaw, standing there 
 by me, said : ^'If Sam Davis tells, they will hang us 
 all ; but Sam will never tell.^' He then remarked : 
 "I am getting old and have not many years, and I 
 
HisTOKic Pulaski. 105 
 
 would gladly give my life to save him, but it is 
 impossible for me to do it." In about an hour 
 afterwards tlie provost marshal who hanged Sam 
 Davis returned to the courthouse, and with tears 
 in his eyes informed us that Sam Davis was no 
 more. Then he spoke of him, declaring that he 
 would almost rather have died than to have exe- 
 cuted such a noble boy. Then he told us what 
 Sam Davis said — that he would have lost a thou- 
 sand lives before he would betray his friends or his 
 country. He then told us of how Sam Davis was 
 offered his life and great rewards and an escort 
 south of the Tennessee Eiver to tell, and how he 
 refused. That same afternoon we were all ordered 
 to get ready to be sent to prison, and some army 
 wagons were brought up. We were put into these 
 wagons, and were taken out eight or ten miles to- 
 ward Columbia. Several of us made an attempt to 
 escape that night, but did not succeed. The next 
 day we were taken to Columbia, and were put in 
 the old jail there for two days. Then we were 
 ordered to prepare to march to Franklin, the 
 terminus of the railroad at that time, and early 
 the next morning we were ordered out. Our 
 escort was a German regiment, the members of 
 which could not speak English, and they were very 
 cruel to us and threatened to bayonet us for not 
 walking faster. 
 
106 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 Captain Shaw (known as Dr. Shaw then) was 
 very feeble, was distressed over Sam Davis's death, 
 and was unable to walk very fast. He had his 
 saddlebags, which I carried for him. His physical 
 condition was very pitiful. Many writers on Sam 
 Davis have condemned Captain Shaw for not tell- 
 ing that he was the one who gave Sam Davis the 
 papers, thinking that it would have saved Sam 
 Davis's life. Captain Shaw would gladly have 
 done that if it had been in his power, for I 
 heard him say so ; but such a thing was impossible 
 under the law, and he would simply have thrown 
 away his own life and endangered the lives of all 
 of us connected with him. When we arrived in 
 Nashville, we were taken to the penitentiary, and 
 in a few days we were sent, most of us, to Rock 
 Island Prison. I remained there over a year, and 
 escaped just before the end of the war by jumping 
 from a train at night near Chicago, and in a few 
 days made my way into Canada, crossing at De- 
 troit, there joining some escaped Confederate 
 prisoners. In a few weeks General Lee surren- 
 dered. I did not go home until the following July, 
 and was taken to the old Zollicoffer residence in 
 Nashville, which was then the office of the provost 
 marshal of the Federal army, where all Confeder- 
 ate soldiers had to report to get their parole. I then 
 went to my old home, at Clarksville, and in a few 
 
HisTomc Pulaski. 107 
 
 months went into business at Nashville for a few 
 years. Then I went to New York, where I have 
 lived more or less ever since. I have always had 
 a great desire to return to Pulaski and see the 
 town and renew my friendship with the people 
 who were so kind and sympathetic toward us in 
 our great trouble. In 1912 I determined to go, 
 and was anxious to see the beautiful monument 
 erected by the people of Giles County to the mem- 
 ory of Sam Davis, one of the greatest patriots 
 known to history, who gave up his life for duty 
 and principle, and whose deed should be known to 
 the coming generations as an example for all boys. 
 On June 17, 1912, I arrived in Pulaski for the 
 first time in over forty years, and I cannot express 
 to you the feeling that came over me as I viewed 
 the scene of the long-past tragedy and recalled 
 to mind the memory of those days that tried the 
 souls of men who were an example to the coming 
 generations. Wlien I stood in front of that beau- 
 tiful statue of Sam Davis and looked upon it 
 with awe and reverence, I was requested by some 
 of the old citizens to have my picture taken by 
 the side of the monument, being one of the few 
 of the men living that were with Sam Davis and 
 were tried for the same offense. 
 
 I was deeply touched at the kindness and con- 
 sideration which the people of Pulaski have shown 
 
108 Historic Pulaski. 
 
 me, and I will always hold the memory of them 
 dear; and it will be a source of pleasure to know 
 that I was so kindly remembered by old friends 
 and the people of Giles County.