[The following is in regards to one of the Jones County Scouts, a group formed by the anti-Confederate Newton Knight, who deserted the Confederacy and then fought a guerrilla campaign against it during the height of the American Civil War.]
Two weeks later, the [Confederate] cavalry returned in search of Alpheus. When he heard the troopers approaching, he crawled up the chimney and ordered Mary [his wife] to light a fire. His new bride was so nervous as the Confederates interrogated her that she continually fed more wood to the flames. As the troopers searched the rooms, under beds, and in the barn, Alpheus sweated and turned black in the smokestack. At last the soldiers left, and Alpheus climbed out of the chimney, his rear end roasted.
Source:
Jenkins, Sally, and John Stauffer. “Banners Raised and Lowered.” The State of Jones: The Small Southern County That Seceded from the Confederacy. Anchor Books, 2010. 226-27. Print.
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I imagine his wife politely asking one of the soldiers to "please bring in some more firewood"