The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1864-02-04
From the New York Herald 49,,
= Escape Of j. IF. ,&lkeltOn.

~
I From the New York Herald
\ f,s Escape Of J. IF. ,Skelton.
: y The escape Of our prisoners from the pes
houses in which they were confined ,nr R,ch
mond has become Of late SO common tia
they fail to create any sensation here; bu
. in the North vhere7our people, have thei
eyes strained to the; ;deyelopmsnts at this dis
tant point, the accounts Of hairbreath es
capes, gallant deeds, and successful efort
for liberty, together, with the Insight they
give Of rebel affairs, never can prove tam,
or uninteresting. arEsr f.ss ,tss7s
i The last who have thus come into. oul
lines, are Captain M. T. Anderson, Fifty.
first Indiana volunteers, and Lieutenant
John E. Skelton. Seventeenth. Iowa regt
The first was c,ptured on, the third day Of
May last, near Rome, Georgia, with Colonel
Streight's command, on his famous raid
;. through Alabama the latter was taken al
Jackson, Mississippi. He was attached to
Grants army. 75foi
1esss-H1f .t'>oe THE PLANS os@r SAosTa
4 for the escape were formed for some time
before an opportunity presented for their
execution. They were confined, it must be
understood. in the Libbey, and were con-
stantly under strong guard Their escape.
of course, was the more miraculous from
this fact Finally, however, the oprortu-
| nifty presented itself, and they. bold hearted
and hardened by long suffering, were not
10th to avail themselves Of it. 81 7'' '7' 'at.a
TIE ARRANGEMENTS IN PRISON
aided them materially in their bold emprise,
The rooms of the building are all opcn to in
gress and egress on the part Of the prison.
ers. aIn the southeast corner of the PRISON
is a hospital room. and beneath. and con.
Meeting with it is a Kitchen This last room
was the one which. after repeated obscrva-
ton, and some deliberation, they determined
should be the scene Of their operations and
escape, for leading from this culinary estsb.
|Ii>hment into the street and canal was door,
old, and apparently for some time unused.
Ii was nailed up, and securely boltei and
barred on the inside. The elects were taken
off by our heroes during the night, nails
drawn, and everything successfully pr epared
for their noiseess exit TO open air nd liberty.
ssuuH sTHR ESCAPE 4aua sas faaa
took place on the Nth, by the two officers
simply taking off the door, and at the same
time taking off themselves in cool and un.
iceremonions manner. which created no sus-
picion whatever. Finding themselves free
and undiscovered they walked deliberately,
and without undue haste, down Carey street
two blocks, turned into Main street, and
thea down the river and through Rocksfts.
aLol the thing was dnne, and neatly 90, at
ter the most approved Yankee fashions. f.sf
THE MAIN DIFFICULTIES, qg e.ii 7a
not to mention the sufferinn---h-eNm, how
ever, after they were once freed Of the limits
of the city. They, however had the acute
ness and 70. esight necessary. TO- carry them
throughali the perious work they had nn-
dertaken. t.On y ljustbe eytnd Richmond
they observed a battery. which they took
the precaution to avol. They fianksd it in
fine style, and passed on unn,olested. After
this unpleasant reDcontre thay kept on
through woods aud fields, briers and marshes
for three miles, when they finalystruck the
road to Bottoms bridge. While lying con-
cealed near the bridge, and near the force of
rebels guarding it, they saw a cart ap roach
ing, with negro driving. Determined to
gain information wherhe- they could find a
passage around the bridge through the
swamp, the lieutenant stepped out into the
roa but found to his horror that there was
alsos white man in this cart Nothing bnt
GOODNESS and ready wit saved him from re-
capture. With marvellous possession of
mind he pretended to be in search Of slave
who had run away from him at Richmond
After taking the psendonym which he lieu
tenant gave him as his own, the white man
and his darkey drove on, never suspecting
with, whom be had been conversing. T
htiw t,i9aHauo THE TRAMP lg sansEs3isg
was not taken mp again, after this narrow
escape, until the night of the 18th, when
they succeeded in reaching the battle field
of Seyen Pines. 1t fained very heavily at
this stage of their journey, and they were
forced to remain quiet during the rest of the
night, sat the imminentI risk Of freezing to
death, for it was at the same time bittencold
On the morning of the 18th they started off
again, after having been forced 10 utloff
their boots their feet having swollen to 4
painful degree "A dusk they arrived at the
Chickahoniny, and laid near the road lead
ing from Dispatch to Bottoms Bridge
Here il rained again all night, and their
sufferings' were intense. 20 io,- s yTfsd q
asso yHRm ANOTHER .BscAPE.a sr1e yt7s
aOn the incoming Of the 14th, ss the ad-
vsnturers were in the act of climbing over
tho fence INTO the road, . mounted rebel
scout came along, Retreat was impossible.
The we're seen before they could withdraw,
but determinsd toSact in manner equal to
the emergency and their critical condition.
They firmly, olutched the stout cudgels
which they had cut in the woods. to help
them on their way. and there would, doubt.
less, shava bSen fsund murdsredH maas on
that lonely road, had the single soldier At