The pungy "Trifle" (one of the captures)—Colonel McPhail—Major Blumenburg and his corrupted office—"Boney" Lee, Bob Miller, and other thugs.

Colonel McPhail was the Civil Provost Marshal of Maryland, having exclusively to do with enrollments and drafts; the office was entirely separated from the military service. He was a very clean, upright, honorable man. There was, however, a district under him, having at its head a Major Blumenburg, that was very corrupt.Soldiers were fleeced out of bounty money. Substitutes, quite frequently colored men, were paid large sums as bounties, more money than they had ever seen before. By collusion between officers and clerks in Blumenburg's office, and the substitute brokers, the substitutes were induced to invest in valueless gewgaws, sometimes paying for a two-dollar Oride watch as much as one hundred dollars.

One of the largest substitute brokerage concerns tried to reach me with an offer of five hundred dollars a week, for a period as long as I would let them alone. The offer was not "dangerously near my price." I cleaned up the whole business very soon.

Blumenburg appointed a lot of cut throats with authority to arrest deserters, paying them ten dollars for each deserter brought in. Their operations were conducted this way: One of these fellows would hail a soldier who was out on pass take it away from him, pronouncing it fraudulent, but would allow him to proceed on his way; shortly he would be hailed again, by a "pal," and having, of course, no pass to exhibit, he would be arrested charged with desertion.

I was over in Anne Arundel County one night with three or four of my men, intending to look after some blockade-runners, when four or five of Blumenburg's thugs picked us up, supposing we were deserters or else persons come to invade their territory. They were going to do all sorts of things to us and pulled out their revolvers. I made no parade of mine though my hand was on it all the time. I quietly informed them of their error, and promised them, each and every one of them, to give them a chance to "play checkers with their noses," and I kept my word, for within a short time I caught them in their nefarious treatment of honest soldiers.

The party was composed of "Boney" Lee, Bob Miller, —— Fletcher, and two others, each one was known to have "done time," yet Blumenburg licensed them. I broke it all up, and they became as meek as lambs.