Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1864-03-11
[vor the Auscatine J0urnal.l
Four MuScatine Soldiers Captured
by the keDels-AcCount Of their
Treatment and Release.

EDITOR JOURNAL Perhaps it would not
be uninteresting to your many readers to
learn how few Of our boys Of company F
went, like Caleb of old, to spy out the land
of the enemy. On the 9Th inst. companies
A and F were sent out from this place to get
lumber to build barracks, as none Of the reg
iment had tents, and from each of the com.
panies which formed the expedition, detail
OF eight men was made to 60 foraging. Tho
four from company were named as follows:
j. D. Vandervert A. Riggs, N. V. Barlow
and R. Mccoy. Unfortunately they were
separated from the boys Of company A, who,
not thinking Of danger, were not sufficiently
careful about keeping within "supporting
distance" You can imagine the surprise Of
the above named boys-all soldiers are boys
when they heard the rafting Of leaden
hail in close proximity to their heads. Nor
were they long in coming to the sensible
conclusion that thirteen horsemen, armed to
the teeth, and dashing furiously upon them,
could not be checked by their limited mum
Der, and acting upon the plan that discre-
ton is the better part Of valor," surrendered.
1t appears that eight Of their captors were Of
the rebel army, and Eve guerrillas, who had
no further interest in taking prisoners than
to rob and plumber.
The first thing after the prisoners fell into
their hands was to rob them Of their money,
hats, watches and valuables that could be
easily carried. But our two companies were
within two miles Of them, and no time was
to be lost. The gusrrillas said they would
shoot, hang or let the id Yankees 60, as
they were of no use to them, and there would
be trouble in getting them to Richmond, as
Sherman had gone out ria Jackson and Bran
don with Federal force but Capt. Collins,
who was in command Of the squad belonging
to the regular rebel army, proved to be q
more humane man than is every day to be
met with among the confederate soldiers, and
did all he could for the prisoners under the
circumstances, which were not the most TO-
vorable. For fear they would be re-captured
the prisoners we taken upon their horses be-
hind the rebel soldiers, and like Gpin erode
. race" for few miles, when they were or
dered down and compelled to proceed on
foot, and on the double quick, until at night
they put up at the house Of lady rebel,
who gave the boys as good treatment as could
be expected. On the 9th they were marched
on the Brandon road few miles, when the
Captain thought it would be more healthy, as
he termed it, to get over the ground faster,
and pressed two horses into the service, and
mounting the prisoners "double." they pur-
sued the even tenor of their way for few
miles undisturbed, except by the fear of in
vading Yankees, who have such failing for
wandering over this Mississippi country, and
that, too, in such numbers as to create a
panic among the secesh poultry, swine, &c,
and to bring terror to the hearts of those in
human monsters who deal in human flesh.
But our good Captain Collins, ever mind
full of the welfare Of the citizens Of the bogus
confederacy, sent back the horses and press
ed three mules, and on they pushed. At
night they stayed with we'll tried rebel
who had fled from Warrington at the time
our forces marched on that place nearly .
year ago. He told the boys he thought the
Yankees could do almost anything, and he
had kind of superstitious fear of the crea-
lures. The next morning proved he was not
without cause for his fears, for each of the
prisoners had taken the seat out Of the old
gentleman's spring bottom chairs for pillow,
and hugely enjoyed what the old fellow would
fain have denied them.
On the morning Of the 10th the prisoners
were ordered to continue their journey as
the day before, on mules, aoithout saddles.-
This was better-they consoled themselves
with the idea-than going on foot on the
double quick. Evening found them many
miles from where they had rested so well the
night before at the expense of the spring
bottom chairs.
On the morning of the II tn they were turn
ed over to Capt John McCaleb, who, by the
way, is quite wag, and is too good fellow
to be engaged in so bad a cause. Nothing
can overcome his love of practical jokes, and
our prisoners took advantage of his good ma
ture to make their pilgrimage as pleasant as
possible.
must relate one or two incidents which
sre fresh in the minds of the boys, and which
illustrates the negro to be ever true to the
Union, while the whites are either Union or
Confederate as occasion requires. It appears
that our prisoners were as guilty Of loving
good joke as was Capt John McCaleb, and
so each worked to the others hand in carry
ing out the plans suggested to =" have little
fun" The party espies negro, and all agree
that they will try him on" so one Of the
prisoners, who is dressed in blue, advances and
halts Mr.. negro, first questions him where
Port Gibson is, and then how many rebs are
there, and who commands the place &C.,
&C., to all of which he pleads ignorance, and
by his actions indicates that he don't care.
By this time the balance Of the prisoners
come up, and our worthy gentleman of color,
lifting his great eyes, which contrast so
strongly with the color of his complexion,
and showing his ivory until one might think
there would be found no market for such vast
quantities Of that article, exclaims in tone
of surprise, "wall. didn't know youans all
our men," The sell was complete, he having
taken the first to be a rebel in disguise. But
when he saw more of the Federal uniforms
he had come to the conclusion that they were
" our men,
Our worthy friend, the Captain, being sat.