The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1863-11-10
The Michigan SharpshoOters5and
oOtheir Prisoners-Life I'm Camp
9gs Douglas. -.ss y

1me michigan snarpsnooserSoRno
tneir PRISONERS IN C"'.
.e 20 Douglas. !,
Cor, of the Adyertser and Tribune. ~
~ eos oAIoAeo, Oct. 2s, 1903,
The lst Michigan Sharpshooters under cam
msnd Of Major Piper, has become more eff
cient than it ever was. Their gauard duty
aud responsibility of the service seems to brinf
otu the capabilities of the boys and alread
they have acquired very much Of the tact and
manner Of old soldiers. Ono thing very essen
ftiai TO their own personal welfare ihey have
learned, and tha, Is, how to take care Of them
selves. They have also become more comp
etent at drill. As they form into line now
on dress parade, ia the, evening, it does not
need very skillful eve to .eIl where the line
Is: but every man is,in his place. and the line
s a straight one, and the aorder arms, ;"
ashonlders arms" .present arms" &c !, are al
executed adecently aud 10 order''--the thumpl
Of the musk,ts along on the ground are all tc
gether as one lhump, and the presentations
&c., are all correct and in unison.
80 - ESCAPE OF REBEL PRISONERS.
Notwithstanding tho "etcrual yigilepce" ex
ercised over III q prisoners. tbey sill make
their attempts Al escane. We have alreadv '
recorded a number Of instances and have ia
NH mind another - The nablic NAV have hear;
of The ascane Of soma % tronty s;r ., .svan ny;.on
ers who were confined in The 6nngeon .oma
two weeks AGO. The .circumstsnces We're
All these fellows had attemnicd once before.
by different methods 10 ' oct sway. Being
roilcd' IL their epdeayor. tIey were sufT.ripsS
pu punish ii me ut for the deed by being confined
in tho DUNGEON. Desperate felIows thew were
and as cup5ipa as a., we're desperate. thew man
aoed bv some means 70 en-, = bols IN The
heavy pIanked Aoor of their room which lar
them down into lover dena,tnant. and then
bv taking nm some boards, thev cama d;rec,lv
10 the oround Tbis nos;lion was h The na;ob
Dor hood Of twenty or TWENTY-FIVE feet from
the biob board fonco which runs around bo.
tween tho fence which rms oronnd The camn
and by the dungeon. Between the fence and
the Dungeon bniIdino Z ouard !. s,ationel
continuallv. waIking The heat bsck ward and
for ward. To do r;ebItT nuder The feet Of this
sentinel and uo,ds !. he fence. and 40 make a
hole bio enouob n, escana ,brougb almos, NO
one would have thought possible and the i'm.
practicabiIity of the. Affair increases slil more
when we remember tbt atbev had no suitable
implemepts 10 die with: the only instruments
thew had wera soma old broken nla,as and
the {inocrs God cave ihem Nevertbeless
with such imple mepts as lhev had. tbey
managed 10 die on and on. during the NIGHT
time we sunnose mostIv IN slence and soc,et
and at last secceded in Working hole tb,ouob
However the difficulties wsre no, vet ali snr
miountel Tbeey could not pet down iInto the
IL or room Tbev Gould crawl tbroonob tbo'
hole. but how should ,hey avoid the notice Of
Tho euard wLo wero stationed Al lthe dungeon
doorl For this thew wapted 4 derk nigl,t' and
a stormy one-a niob, wien the storm wonld
drown all their noise and tho darkness wooJd
hide their being see,n. lust sucb niobt as
that bappened 10 intervene il was the dark.
est. coldest. stormiost nioht that has occurred
since W. have Leep hero and it was nnder Gov.
or of This thai the nr;soners ran axav Thew
~ ran away 60 steal,I,ilv tina, the cuarJ station.
ed at The doo,G. e on the outsi5e Of the door
tho door being sbYt.) did not know of il till.
tho next morn,no bn, snp,c sed tbov we're All
in there. The whole affair was one thai eonld
not have becu nroyideJ aqainst.a Notbino Of
lbe kind ever occurred before. Noope would
susDpctod such adventure. and the
ionard did his duty 10 the axtent of his know.
LEDGE. Nature for once seemed to work in
their favor. However tho runaways have
not escaped vet. A number of them have
been retakep. and such measures have been
tried "a will secure tho arrest of Others. All
oftbem might be captured. or would have
been brought lack into camp before this, if
there were no copperheals to assist them.
TEMPER OF TIE PR. R.soNRRs. r.
The spirit of ali the pris ,uers since the bat.
tie of Chickamauga seems to be considerably
CHANGED. We do not hear 40 much about tho
"good Union meoo among the number. and in
eyery way thew are moro insubordina,e and
restless. Even now willie / am writing, for
tile manifestation Ct such spirit the authorities
have under guard whole squad of tho grey
backs-pumbcrng as mauy as fifty perhaps.
A Union man belonging to the mess had his
life threatend by them; the reason eor the
threat was that he had manifested desire to
leave them bv taking the oath OF allegi nee.
ffe never was rebel bnt was couscripted into
their service. The intention of the authoities
is to keep that squad there until the men who
uttered the threat are delivered up.
TIC give you some idea of the manner 10
which prisoners are taken care of here, a state.
meint Of the amount of ''greenbac' - received
c.o... I'll. -, ho,.s. ill 80 L. - r