The Union. [volume] (Georgetown, Del.) 1863-1866, 1863-09-18
Southern Refugees.

The st. Louis Union of the 9Th inst, pub
fishes the followings
"The drill room at police headquarters
last evening presented a scene in which the
deplorable results and miseries entailed by
the rebellion were exhibited in vivid light.
Several familiss, including three male mem
bers, and the rest women and children, num-
bering twenty, were ranged on the benches.
They were fngitives from Arkansas and
Texas, having been driven from their homes
in consequence of having avowed Union sem
timents. They came from Springfield to
Rolla on o Government train, and the rail
road fare was betrayed to this city by the
Government The men had letters to the
agent of the Refugee Aid Society in this city
from the chaplain of the post regiment at
Springfield. William W. Fansworth had his
wife and nine little girls. This family were
refugees from Carroll county, Ark. One
man, named Lewis, had his three little girls
with him. The mother of the children was
dragged out of bed by the barbarians last
spring and died.
Among the party was woman named
De Lamirande, who came all the way on foot
to Springfield from Granville, Cook county,
Texas, bringing with her little girl about
two yearsof age. She had experienced trou-
bles enough to have borne down dozen
rather less resolute women. The history
given by this woman was thrilling. She re-
lates that in Cook county, last fall, forty
seven Union men were hung and two were
shot, Her husband, whose name was Joel
Francis de Lamirande, was tried for treason
against the Confederate Government and
sentenced to the penitentiary for life. His
wife moved an appeal. and while he was still
in Jail she contrived scheme to effect his
release. She procured saw and auger, and
contrived to get them into her husbands cell.
He soon bored out, and giving her directions
to make her way toward the North, while he
would join the first Northern troops he met
with, and fight until the end of the war, then
he would join her.
"Her husband was born in st Louis, and
when four years old was taken to New York.
At the age of seventeen he Joined the army,
and went to Mexico, where he married the
woman who gave this information, about
eight years ago. Mrs. De Lamirande was
born and raised in Morgan county, Illinois,
and went to Texas quite young. They ac-
quired competence, and had one thousand
dollars in gold laid up when the war broke
out
CATER her husbands escape, she was
threatened with hanging, and escaped in the
night, taking horse, which she sold for
money enough to pay her expenses on the
way to Missouri, and has ten dollars left.
She travelled part of the way with man
named York, who stopped at the Ribedeaux.
In reply to our question, whether York was
a good Union man, she replied; "Why, mis-
ter he was Union man from the word
jumpp
"On her route she passed through the In
dian nation. She says that she has seen SO
much trouble that sometimes she can't re-
tain her right mind In answer to a uues-
ton, she said there was right smart Union
feeling in Texas, but they dar'nt own it, In
Collier county there were over three hundred
Union people laying out for our troops to
come" |