  Arrest of T.A. Menzier and exposÉ of a prominent railroad official— Arrest of Barton R. Zantzinger, involving Milnor Jones—Arrest of John Henry Skinner Quinn, alias J.Y. Plater, alias Simpson, a spy—Arrest of E.R. Rich, a spy. Headquarters, Middle Department, Capt. W.H. Wiegel, Captain.—I have the honor to report that by direction of General Wallace, I arrested Mr. T.A. Menzier and locked him up in this jail, and ordered the officer of the Navy that was in company with him, Surgeon L.J. Draper, of the Receiving-Ship "Princeton," Philadelphia Harbor, to report to you at ten o'clock A.M. to-day. These parties were in town yesterday morning and intend to return to Philadelphia this evening; neither of them had papers. Menzier's sister, at The rebs were having a grand jubilee over his visit. The Doctor had no arms. I am, Captain, I found in this house a number of prominent citizens, among whom was a very high officer in a big railroad company. He begged me not to report his presence, with which request I complied, in my written report, but did not, of course, fail to report verbally to General Wallace. This man was in confidential relations with the departments at Washington. Menzier was a Rebel assistant surgeon. Both were turned over to Commodore Dornin, for the Navy's disposition. Headquarters, Middle Department, Capt. W.H. Wiegel, Captain.—I have the honor to report that I confined Barton R. Zantzinger, from the Rebel Army. Herewith I hand you his statement, which places Mr. Milnor Jones in a worse fix than ever. Perhaps this corroborative I think Zantzinger should be detained as a witness, if for nothing else. I am Captain, Headquarters, Middle Department, Capt. W.H. Wiegel, Captain.—I have the honor to report the arrest of John Henry Skinner Quinn, alias J.Y. Plater, alias Simpson, on charge of being a spy. I hand you two sworn statements that he made to me, also his memorandum book in which is a partial description of his first visit to Baltimore, also some entries, some of which he explains in his statement. I also hand you his furlough, which he said he did not have, in his first statement. On this trip he registered at Miller's Hotel as "Simpson." On 23d April last, he registered at same hotel as John Y. Plater. You can see by his statements that he tries to conceal the He came to this office to report as a Rebel deserter, but when he found that I had been on his track, he owned up, but refused to implicate his friends. I am, Captain, As General Wallace had said, it was our duty to ascertain by every means, the status of all persons; our archives were crowded with information, which materially helped us to avoid the dilemma General Schenck described. Headquarters, Middle Department, Capt. W.H. Wiegel, Captain.—I have the honor to report the arrest of E.R. Rich, of the 1st Md. Rebel Cavalry, on the charge of being a spy. He came to this office to report and take the oath of allegiance, but I think he did not come until he heard from his friend Quinn, with whom he came to this city. I hand you herewith his You will also see an entry in his memoranda where Skinner Quinn (now in prison) started for Baltimore last spring, which corroborates Quinn's statement. You will also see that he registered under several names. The memorandum book shows that it was his intention to return for good to Virginia. Very respy. your obdt. servt, Both Quinn and Rich were sentenced to be hanged, but their sentences were finally commuted to imprisonment during the continuance of the war. |
|
