The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1858-09-22

With his little party he was always how
eripg about the eueny's camp, and wa
ffequeutly bringing in prisoners
Jas el had a brother who | ad as
poused the other side Of the contest, anc
was at this period in the British garri
son at Ebeuezer, holding the rank of .
sSrgeau.. Wishing to see his brother
Jasper made his appearance in the Brit
nfgJ,arrison, much to the alarm of ths
ofhtr. ai i-
S..What brings you here, William
Your anne is we'll kuowu! You will be
hung for spy!" agitatcdly remarked
The tory brother. ..-.
+"Give yourself no uncasiness, broth
er," coolly replied Jasper-"I am &c
longer an American soldier" lie check
ed the 10y which this declaration excited
in his brothers mind, by assuring him
that, though he found little encourage
ment in fl ghting for his country "he
had not the heart to fight against her "
Our scout fingered for two or three day>
ia the British camp, and th' n, by de-
tour, regained that of the Americans
reporting to his commander all that he
had seen. H. Was encouraged to repeat
his visit few weeks after, but this time
he took with him coinrado, one Ser
eeant Newton, fellow quite as brave
in spirit and strong III body as himself
Here he was again well received by his
brother, who entertained the guests
kindly for several days. Meanwhile, a
s,hall party of Americans were brought
into Ebenczer as capt vcs, over whom
hurg the danger of short shrift and
sudden cord" They we're OH their way
to. Savannah for trial. They had taken
arms with the British, as hundreds more
had doHe, when the country was deemed
reeouuucred; but, on the approach of the
American army, had rejnined their couh-
trymen, and we're now ouce more at the
mercy Of the power with which they had
broken faith cit will go hard with
them," said the tory Jasper to his whig
brother; but the secret comment of the
other was, :" it shall go hard with the
fist" There was Mrs. Jones, the
wife of one of the prisoners, who, with
her child, kept them company. William
Jasuer aud his friend were touched by
the spectacle of their distress; and they
Conferred together, as soon as they were
alone, as to the Possibility of resculng
them. Their plan was soon adopted
1t was a simple one, such as naturally
suggests itself to hardy and magnani-
NOUS character The prisoners had
scarcely left the post for Savannah, un-
der guard of eight meu, sergeant aud
co,boral, wien jasper aud his friend
| de;FaEtsd alse, though ia different
| direction from the guar1 Changi g
! their course, when secure from observa-
ton, they stretched across the country
aud followed the footsteps of the uuhap-
| py capt.ves. But it was only in the
pursuit that they became truly conscious
/ of the difficulty, nay, seeming impossi
bility, of effecting their object. The
guard was armed, and ten i'll number;
they hut two and weaponlcss. Hope
l,ss. they nevertheless followed on,
Within two miles of Savannah there
is spriug, famous for its good water,
and at which travellers almoGt iuvaria-
bly, st, pped to drink and refresh. 1t
occurred to Jasper that most likely the
guard would halt at this spring; and the
nearts IF the two friends were Instantly
animated with revived hope that an
ouortuuity to rescue the cuptives might
vet present itself Immediately they
lastened on by short cut through the
woods and reached the spring before the
guard came in sight, Hiding them
selves amidst the foliage aud shade of
shrubbery growing clos, to the spring.
they lay waiting for the appearance of
the guard which shortly came along,
and, as Jasper had expected, the ser
geant commanded halt. The corporal,
with four men, conducted the prisoners
to the spring; the sergeant, with the
other four, after grounding their arms
near the road. following. The long
walk had fatigued the hand cuffed pris-
oners, and they were granted permission
to rest themselves on the earth. They
availed themselves of this, and the VIC
man. with her child, sat next to her
husband. Two men were ordered tC
keep guard; the others were to supply
the captives with water from the spring
These last, stood their muskets against
tree, and having drank themselves
refilled their canteens to supply the
prisoners Now was the time for y as
per and his friend, and 5urstingsout
fr.. m their concealmen they seized upon
the two muskets, and at once shot dowr
the two men that were keeping guard.
Clubbing their guns, the daring friend:
rushed forward upon the astonlshcd foe
and a conflict for the loaded guns of
the fallen soldiers ensued. The brains
of the sergeant and corporal were beater
in, and Jasper and Newton secured the
muskets. Such was the panic of the
guard, growing out of the audacity ant
bold decision of the two Americans
that, without any further resistance
they then surrendered.
The handouts Of the captives were
now broken off, and musket was placed
in the hands of each. With the cap
tured British, and the released Amerl
cans, the brave Jasper and his new
friend now hurried away from the spring
and reached the army at Perrysburg y
safety.
Two days after the battle of For
Moultrie, Mrs. Barnard Elliott ha'
presented an elegant pair of embrold
cred colors to the second regiment, wit
Il brief address, in which she expresse'
her co"viction that they would ''stant
. by them as they could wave IN the al
of liberty" II was in fulfilling III
;. pledge made by Gen. Mou!trie, on tha
occasion, in behalf of the regiment, TIN
the brave Jasper lost his lifo before th
walls of Savannah.
During the assault, two officers ha
been killed, aud one wounded, epdea'
oring to place these colors upon th
enemv's parapet of the Spring Hill RI