14th KY Cavalry, Co. K
Bill Strong Interview
Louisville Courier-Journal - January 6, 1879 [Excerpt]
LC-J: I have seen the King Bee at last and am now ready to introduce Captain William Strong to the readers of the Courier-Journal. He came to my room this evening; just before the winter sun sank to rest beyond the western hills, sans horns, war paint and other paraphernalia. Instead of looking fierce as the lion in his native jungle, or the tiger in defense of her cub, his face was as calm as the surface of a sleeping lake and reminded me no more of war than do the innocent flowers of May. I felt considerably relieved when I shook hands with him and beheld that springtime smile upon his face, for my memory was just then quite vivid with recollection of the adverse criticisms I had indulged in toward the mountain Captain, and the smile dispelled the thought that he had come to chaw me up. After sharpening three lead pencils to be used in the approaching interview, I said, Captain Strong, candor compels me to say to you that I have heretofore criticized you freely in the columns of the Courier-Journal. The other side has been told, and yours would have been long since, if I could have had the pleasure of seeing you. The Courier-Journal always likes to give both sides to a mooted question. Hence I am now ready to hear your version of the Breathitt County troubles.
Strong: Well, sir, I am willing to tell you everything I know about it, and I will just tell you p'int blank how it was. Where shall I begin?
LC-J: Go back to the antebellum days, or at least to the days of '61, when the cry on one side was that 'one Southern man can whip five Yankees,' and on the other that 'It will only take a little picnic excursion to crush the Hydra head of the rebellion.' Remember that time, don't you?
Strong: I rather think I do. You want me to tell you about my Army record, I suppose?
LC-J: The report is generally circulated that during the war you commanded a home guard company, and that you murdered unoffending citizens and confiscated their effects. What is your plea to the indictment?
Strong: It is all an infamous lie from beginning to end. I never killed one citizen during the whole time, and my nearest neighbors know I never robbed anybody. I commanded a company in the 14th Kentucky, and when that was mustered out, I returned home to live in peace, if I could. In the 14th Regiment were several men from Breathitt County ... their depredations upon the people as soon as they returned home, and I was the first man they robbed. They stole some hogs from me and I had them indicted. Just before the war closed, the Amises and their gang got to be so bad a large number of people called on me to raise a company of militia for home protection. The state issued us rations. I raised my company and it was composed of half Union soldiers and half Rebels. Their orders from me were to protect everybody from thieves and murderers, and they done it, too. One day I went with two other men to a raft where four of the Amises were getting out logs. I told them I had come to see about my hogs, and if they didn't give them up, I intended to prosecute them. One of them was willing to do so, but the others swore they wouldn't do it and drew their guns on me. We got the drop on them, and I told them if they didn't put down their guns, we would kill them. They put them down, and I went off. From that time on, we had it rough and tumble. One morning 47 of them came to my house and attacked me. I had only six men. We fought two hours and forty-six minutes (2:46), when they retired with four wounded. After that, John and Alfred Amy and Wilson Callahan were killed. I sent County Judge Ned Strong word that I was willing to surrender and submit to an investigation if he would promise us protection. He agreed to do so and both sides were bound over to appear before the Circuit Court. The court came on and the judge dismissed the charges. I went home, the Amises moved off to Kansas, and that was the end of the difficulty.
