Disloyalty.
--On Saturday last there was arrested and committed to Castle Thunder,
L. E. Babcock, a citizen of
Charles City;
William White, detailed conscript of
Richmond, and
Anthony Jones, slave of
Charles Christian, of
Charles City, charged with disloyalty and giving information to the enemy;
R. W. Pool, an Englishman belonging to the
Federal army, charged with attempting to palm himself off as a Yankee deserter, in order to obtain his parole, give information of our situation, and communicate the same to the enemy.
Pool, who was first arrested, confessed that he belonged to the
Federal army; but, being an Englishman of birth, had been selected by the
Yankee General Carr to proceed to
Richmond as a deserter, when he would probably be released, with the privilege to go at large about the city and its surroundings.
To carry out this plan,
Babcock was the man to bring him through and deliver him up to our authorities,
General Carr furnishing, before they started, one thousand dollars in new old-issue Confederate ten-dollar notes to defray the expenses of the route and to enable
Pool to live while here.
The pretended deserter had also been supplied with the address of a man named
William White, living near the
York River depot, who would aid him in finding out localities and other valuable information about affairs, and in communicating such to certain parties, who would secure its transmission to
General Carr, commanding the forces to which he belonged.--
Pool informed
Captain T. W. Doswell,
assistant provost-marshal, who conducted the investigation, that at his
General's headquarters there were several large boxes filled with Confederate (new issue) money, which was being freely distributed for similar objects which he had in view.
Upon hearing the statement above mentioned, detectives were sent off in search of
Babcock and
White; the first of whom (who is a respectable-looking country farmer) was found at the
Old Market, and the latter at his residence, described in the letter.
Babcock, when asked for his money, produced only forty dollars in Confederate funds and some few dollars in State bank notes; but, upon being informed by
Captain Doswell that
Pool had told all, and that he knew he had been furnished with one thousand dollars by
General Carr, he owned up, and told him that he had deposited the rest with a man named
Tower, an employee of
Hiram M. Smith.
Upon this statement,
Tower was sent for, and produced nine hundred and sixty dollars which he had received from
Babcock.
This transaction, in connection with the fact that he had before been intrusted with money which was to be paid over to parties charged with running persons through the lines, led
Captain Doswell to suspect
Tower's loyalty, and he was therefore required to give security for his appearance this morning to undergo an investigation.
