The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1863-12-10

ed the convention Tor their preferences an
courtesy, oomphment'ng then ON their sue
cessful organization, &c.
On motion the convention adiouraed s;n
de. aa fi
Two Escaped Illinois Soldier
from Libby Prison. i
| This morning we had conversatio " It'll
young man named Thomas j. Orr, pri
vate in company r, 18th Illinois infantry
who with another prisoner, escaped from
Libby Prison Richmond on the night Of tn
14th Of November, and succeeded in safely
reaching the Federal lines. The other pris
oner's name is William Cammire, ser
geant in the 73d regiment Illinois infantry
Orr is native Of Canada East, near Mon
treal, and enlisted At Sycamore. in this
State, and was captured on the 14th Of Ju
", ut jackson Mississippi. Oammire was
wounded and captured an the Chickamauga
| The manner of their escape is thus stat
ed: The night was very boistrous and rainy
and taking advantage Of this circumstances
Orr and Cammire made rope Of their bed
cloths, and with it let themselves dowr
from three story window, to q sidewalk
on public street of Richmond. There
were two sentinals near the spot, only fif
teen feet apart, but owingto the noise and
binding effect of the rain. the prisoners
were not discovered, and hastened out o.
the city rs speedily IS possible |; swan
James River below the city, and by OR.
cuitous route reached White Oak swamps
on the Peninsula, and concealing themselves
by day and travelling Ia tie night, reached
the Onion lines at williamsburg week af
ter leaving Richmond. The negroes along
their line of escape provided them With
food. Thew passed through line Of forti.
fications some three miles In extent, near
James River. about tbur miles from Rich.
mond. Heavy guns were In position. and
many Of them, but nots soldier was to be
seen in or about the works. and Orr says
that fhe could have found any spiking ma
terials be certainly could and would have
spiked every gun on the fcrti6cations, there
being nothing to prevent him. But he had
no time for delay, especially since his com.
panion, having . painful wound, required
much care and could not walk rapidly.
Having safely arrived at Williamsburg.
which is garrisoned by our forces, the two
had no further difficulty. They went to
Yorktown. then to Fortress Monroe, and
thence BY bost to Baltimore. where they
were granted twenty days furlough to
come home, They reached this city last
night.
Orr, who appears like very modest and
candid goung man, in answer to our ques-
ton whether the published report about
the ill-treatment and severe hardsbips of our
prisoners at Richuoud, are true, declared
that the treatment Of our men at Richmond
cannot be exaggerated-their sunsrings and
hsrdships are horrible. and the tFeament
by the rebels is heartless and barbarous
The daily food furnished to each prisoner
consists of only ten ounces of corn-brsad,
made Of ppsifted meal, and an ounce and.a
half Of boiled msat--th!s Is the regular ra-
ion for twenty -four hours. When he left,
the prisoners were dying at the rate Of
from 80 to 100 = day--some Of the disease
called bloody Aux, which could not be cur
ed or checked for want of proper medicines,
and others Of actual starvation and diseases
engendered by the want Of sufficient or
wholesome food. The rebels At Richmond
claim that the number of Yankee prison
ers' there is ls,7o0, and they were making
arrangements to transfer many of them to
Lynchburg and Danville, Va. The num-
Der in Libby Prison was 500. Layman
Dennis, Of the 9Th Illinois cavalry, was
very sick in Libby when Orr left, and was
not expected to i've. There were very few
Illinois and Wisconsin soldiers among the
prisoners at Richmond. though quite mum.
Der from Iowa-most Of the prisoners are
Eastern men. -'3.
Orr feels quite certain that the number
Of rebel soldiers garrisoning Richmond does
not exceed 1000. ..z..,..
Orr, with four other prisoners, made his
escape once before. but was recaptured,
He vss then among those in the Belle Isl:
and prison, in James River. They knock.