The late Gen. Mitchel . . .

. . . stated to Henry Ward Beecher, that when he held 150 miles of the Tennessee river, he was enabled to do so because he ad intelligent slaves in his employ, who kept him advised of the movements of the enemy. As a reward for their fidelity, he gave his pledge of honor that they should not be returned to slavery; but when he was called to another field, Buell forced them right back into the hands of their masters, and the sufferings of many of them are now over.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, January 3, 1863