The daily Evansville journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1862-1863, 1863-02-03
BY LAST NIGHTS MAIL.
An ATTEMPT TO RESCUE REBEL
PRISONERS.
A MOB OF SECESSIONISTS AT
TACK THE GUARD.
THEIR PLANS ARE THwARTED.

About six o'clock on Thursday even
ing a train laden with rebel prisoners,
arrived via the Chicago and St Louis
Railroad, and stopped for more than an
hour upon the track, short distance
south Of the Chicago, Burlington and
Quincy Railroad crossing. waiting for an
engine to take them across upon the
Illinois Central, opposite Camp Douglas
The train was behind time, and quite q
crowd had collected to meet it, for what
the sequel will show. Soon after the
traiu, several persons came forward and
shook hands with the prisoners, using
such expressions as these: You are
men after my own heart" We enter
tain the same sentiments that you do"
you are down on the id abolitionists
and so are we. Pass out your can
teens and We will bring you water" A
perfect shower of canteens was handed
from the cars by the prisoners, and ia
/ ken away by the sympathizers. A guard
requested that his too might be filled,
/ and received In reply, on id aboli-
ton rascal, Id see you ID first, and
then | wouldn't" While the filled can
teens were being passed hastily into the
/ cars, one of the captains discovered that
/ they were filed with whisky instead Of
water; and ordered the guard to empty
those that were presented containing
whisky, which they did.
By this time the crowd had increased
| to upwards of three hundred, of which
the officers and guard concluded from
their conversation and actions, fully two
Ii. l. u
emptying Of the whisky from the can
teens was made the signal for an attack
upon the officers and privates of the 9th
Iowa regiment, who were guarding the
prisoners. The mob tried to open the
doors of tie cars, threatening to kill the
officers if they didn't let them go in to
see their Southern friends, Others were
so defiant as to say that these men were
not, and never should be prisoners in
Camp Douglas During the melee w
W. White and another policeman came
up to quell the disturbance, and arrested
two men named Nike Conner and Will
liam Hickey, who appeared most
troublesome at the time One of the
policemen was knocked down by the
mob, but still held to his man, and with
the assistance of the guard the two men
were taken from the crowd, who were
only kept from following and rescuing
the men by line of guards being formed
across the street by Captain McClana-
han, of company F, which prevented the
mob followin the police.
Afterwards stout Individual was very
loud in his secesh demonstrations, and
tried to incite instruction among the
prisoners.-Refusing to desist from his
outrageous conduct, Capt McClanahan
placed guard around him, with fixed
bayonsts, and ordered them to run him
through if he still persisted in his har-
angue to the prisoners. Not until after
/ he had been pricked by the bayonets did
he believe them in earnest but he became
quiet just in time to save his life.
About dark, when the engine had ar
rived, another squad of men came run
ming up to the train, and one of them
asked the engineer how soon he was go
ing to start His reply was, ain about
two minutes" Can't you wait half an
hour? | have good reason for making
the request, said the leader of the gang
To this Capt. McClanahan replied, I'VE
are going to start within five minutes;
if you or any one of your secession
friends have any idea of attempting to
rescue these prisoners, now is your time /;
our men are fully prepared for you"
AS the train started, they were heard
to make some threatening reply, and
were seen in the dusky twilight hurrying
in different directions, as if to summon a
crowd together, but this was the end of
their demonstrations Chicago Tribune
Of Saturday.