Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1864-07-28


said 1t might possibly be 10, but 11G it
could never be; and the Inspector also con-
Guided he must have made mistake Of 100.
We were soon ordered to fall in for another
roll call, and we were, of course, anxious to
know what the trouble was. The sergeant
Informed me that ten prisoners had escaped,
and he knew four Of them, naming Col
Streight and three others; and that he also
knew where they had gotten out, viz be
tween posts six and seven, by bribing the
guards. OF course we rather encouraged
them in this belief but at the second count
they found out they were right the first time,
and knew that so many could not have es-
capped by bribery. Then came the search for
the place of escape. The carpenters came in
and examined all the window bars, and the
floors and walls from top to bottom, but could
find no place of egress and gave up in de-
spair. Soon We saw Adjutant La Touche
walking arm in arm with another man around
the prison at some distance, as if taking their
IL oruing walk, but their minds were evident
ly occupied with something, if the close scru-
tiny with which they surveyed the premises
around them was any criterion. After walk
ing up the canal and examining it's banks as
closely as circumstances would permit, they
entered the yard where the tunnel emerged
from the ground, and soon found it. But
here they seemed to fear some Yankee trick,
and Adiutant La Touche sent for a negro
whom he ordered through the tunnel first
and then followed himself, when he found
there was no danger. He traced the tunnel
to the basement room of the building, but
how they had entered this room still puzzled
him, and this was not found out until one of
the recaptured prisoners told it. | saw La
Touche one day examine the holes in the
wall where the bricks had been left out for
the staging, if perchance lie might obtain
some clue to the passage leading into the
basement. A tin cup had been placed in one
OF them by somebody to get it out of the
way, and this one was examined particularly
close.
During the evening Of May 9th, rumors
were flying about the prison that we were to be
moved, and at II o'clock we received notice
that we must be ready to march for Peters
burg at o'clock the next morning. We
were allowed to take nothing with us but
two blankets and tin cup and plate, so the
order said. We were around at the appoint
ed time, but did not leave the depot till near
ly II o'clock, and then it was for Danville
instead Of Petersburg, the "Beast being so
near the road leading to the latter place that
Trey did not think it safe to take us that way,
There was about one guard to every two
prisoners, three of them stationed in the car
to watch the door, and the rest on the top of
the car. Every body seemed to think they
were going to escape on this trip, or at least
seemed determined to try it, for nearly every
car had at least one hole, and most of them
two sawed in the bottom. We made saws
out Of our table knives, and while some were
at work saving, others stood up around the
guard talking, to prevent them from observ-
ing what was going on. But we were discov-
cred and our plans frustrated by the vigilance
of the officer in charge of us. Every time
the train stopped one man descended at each
corner of the car and remained on guard on
the ground until the cars commenced NOV
ing, when he again assembled to the top of
car, but then it was too late to do anything
We arrived at Danville Sunday morning,
May Sth, and we then found out that three
officers had escaped, notwithstanding the Wig
lance of the guard. One poor fellow who
jumped out through the door while the cars
were in notion received seven bullets in
his body, and was afterwards found dead in
the bushes.
Thursday, the 18th, we left Danville for
Greensboro, n. c., and after going sixteen
miles OH the cars, we had to walk seven
miles where the railroad was not completed
We were forced sometimes to walk ankle
deep i'll mud and knee deep in water on the
road, whilst the guard, marching on either
side, had it comparatively dry; and l saw
rebel cock his gun at one of our officers for
sitting down on a log by the side of the road
to rest, while we were waiting for some who
had fallen in the rear to catch up. We ar
rived at Charlotte, n. c., at ten o'clock A.
NJ, the 18th, without having found chance
of I,Arh TO-
tie KNOLL on the edge of the town, where we
stayed until four P NJ, when we were put
aboard another train, and started for Colum-
bus, S. c. We were promised rations at
Charlotte, but, for some reason, did not re-
ceive them.
Let me here introduce to the reader Capt.
S G. Honeycutt and 1t. VIM. P. Hodges, of
the Second East Tennessee infantry. The
former is the same Honeycutt who wrote from
Libby to Mrs. Lincoln for box of provis-
ions. | have no doubt Mrs Lincoln sent
the box, and only regret that the Captain did
not stay IN Dixie long enough to receive it.
Capt. HOneycutt and Lieut.. Hodges were
both born and raised in East Tennessee. The
germ of liberty was planted in their breasts
while children; it grew, expanded and gain
ed strength amid the bracing air and noun
tain homes of their native country, and now
they were ready to do and dare ANYTHING to
regain the lost treasure. The above men
toned officers and myself formed partner
ship with view of escaping together if pos
slble. We had almost given up the hope of
getting out except by jumping through the
door while the cars were in motion, and with
this in view, we wished to get as near the
rear of the train as possible, in order that we
might draw the fewer shots from the guards
on the top of the train. We succeeded in
getting into next to the rear car with priso-
ners, though there were some ten or a dozen
empty ears still in the rear, on which there
were no guards, except one man on the ex-
IRENE rear car, as a sort of lookout Capt.
Honeycutt was the first man in the car, and
as he looked around for favorable place, he
found hole in the bottom large enough for
man to pass through, but it was only about
foot from the door where the guard was to
sit. He Immediately spread his blanket
over it and sat down, and we sat down by his
side.
We soon had the guards interested in con-
versation, and awaited with feverish expecta-
ton the approach of night. At stations we
got out, on various pretences, to examine the
brakes in order to see if it would be possible
to lie down under the cars and let them
pass over US but after a thorough examina-
ton we had to abandon that project, for,
thong b some of the brakes might pass over
US without injury, others went so low as to
crush US. The only thing left for US was to
lie down quietly under the cars and, as soon
as they began to move, jump outside and lie
under the edge of the ears as much as posi-
Die, and this we determined to do Accord
ngly, when it was nearly dark, we GOT one
man to sit between the hole in the car and
the guard, for which there was just sufficient
room, and when the cars stopped, several of
the sick officers, of which the car load was
mostly composed, placed themselves around