The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1863-08-28

'''cs iioih tile city. Ihey con
sisted oil two cavalry regiments, and it is
supposed of eight infantry regiments, as
eight regimen.al flags were counted. Al
last accounts they were this side of Bot
TOMS Bridge.
ESCAPE OF PRISONERS FROM FoR7
DELAWARE Yesterday afternoon five
Confederate prisoners: A. l.. Brool 8
and G. j. Fuller, company G, 9th
Georgia; }. Marian, company d, 9th Ga;
VIM. f. Classy, co b, 18th Miss, and
Jno. Dorsey, co. A, Stuarts Horse Ar
tillery, arrived here from Fort Delaware.
having made their escape from Fort Del.
aware on the night of the 10Th inst. The
narrative of their escape is interesting.
Having formed the plan TO escape, they
'mprovised life preservcrs by tying four
can,eens, we'll corked, around the body
of each man, and on the night of the
18th inst. proceeded to leave the island.
The night being dark they got into the
water and swan off from the back OF
the island for the shore. Three of them
swan four miles, and landed about two
miles below Delaware City; the other
two, being swept down the river, fioated
down sixteen miles, and landed at Chris
tine Creek. Another soldier "a Phiadei-
phian) started with them, but was drown
ed short distance from the shore. He
said he was not coming back to the Con
tederacy, but was going TO Philadelphia.
He had eight canteens around his body,
but was not an expert swimmer
The three who landed near Delaware
City laid in cOrnfield all night, and the
next evening, About dark, started on
their way South, after first having made
known their condition to farmer, who
gave them good supper They ira
yelled that night twelve miles through
Kent county, Del, and the next day lay
in gentleman's barn. From
there they went to Kent county, Nd,
where the citizens gave them new clothes
and money. After this their detection
was less probable, as they had been
wearing their uniforms the two days pre-
rious. They took the cars on the Phila
ielphia and Baltimore Railroad at Town
send and rode to Dover, the capital OF
Delaware. Sitting near them in the cars
were a Yankee Colonel and Captain, and
the provost guard passed through ire-
luently. They were not discovered,
however, though to escape detection
seemed almost impossible. They got of
Lhe train at Delamar and went by way
of Barren Creek Springs and Quantico,
Nd, to the Nanticoke river, and got into
a canal.
Here they parted company with five
others who had escaped from Fort Della
ware some days previous, as the canoe
would not hold ten of them. In the
canoe they went to rangier's Sound, and,
crossing the Chesapeake, landed in Nor
county, below Point Look
Dut, point at which the Yankees are
building fort for the confinement Of
prisoners They met with great kind
ness from citizens of Hcathsyille, who
contributed Sl20 10 aid them on their
route They soon met with our pickets,
and came to this city on the York River
Railroad. These escaped prisoners ex-
press in the liveliest terms their graft
.ude to the people Of Maryland and Del
lwaro who did everything they could to
lid them. There was no difficulty expe
.ienced in either State in finding gener
nus people Of Southern sympathies, who
would give them both money and cloth
ng, and put themselves to any trouble to
lelp them on their journey.
These gentlemen state that a large num-
,er Of our prisoners at Fort Delaware
nave taken the oath and enlisted in the
Yankee service. The Yankees have al
'eady, from prisoners who have taken the
oath. enlisted 27O men in the Sd Mary
and cavalry, 100 men in battalion of
leavy>artillery, and 100 in an infantry
.egiment. To effect these enlistments
hey circulate all sorts Of lies among the
prisoners. The chief lies are to the eff
ect that Gen Lee has resigncd-that
North Carolina has withdrawn from the
Confederacy and sent commissioners from
he State on to Washington to make
erms for re-entering the Union, and that
Virginia is only waiting for Lees army
o be driven from her borders, to resume
her connection with the Yankee nation.
They tell the men if they will enlist
.hey will be sent out West to fight the
indians, and will never be sent South
where there would be any danger Of
heir capture. When prisoner agrees
% enlist his name is put down in book,
md he is marched from the main body OF
he prisoners to another part Of the island
% Join his companions in shame, who
i've in tents there. He never comes back
among his old comrades, for fear, as one
,f our informants remarked, I'VE should
cut his id throat" They are jeered
and hooted by their late companions as