Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1865-01-20
uaIoNusn IN NoRwu cauoIsSa.

Captain Grant, Of the 10Th Wisconsin In
fantry, who recently escaped from the rebel
prison at Columbia, s. c., in an account of
his experience furnished to tue Cincinnati
Commercial, thus narratcs, ,tho.prcvalcuce of
Union sentiments in North Carolina
When he bad been twenty; ;days.out, and
had just crossed Tho line between North and
South Carolina, he was startled about the
middle Of the night by hearing voices in the
middle OF the road and approaching. Stsp
ping aside and listening closely, he was "a
assured by the discovery that one of the
voices was that of a negro, and supposed OF
course that the other was negro also -
lie called them, and inquired the road 10 a
town not tar distant, which vas in the dircc-
ton he wished 10 so. a white mans voice
replied:
Men Of your stamp don't want to 20 to
ihat town--you must flank it,"
" What do you mean by men Of my
stamp 7" was the response. .....
why" said the Caroiiuan, ct mean
that you d"a't want to go there, that's all
but you must flank it,"
But what do you suspect me Of being p''
| capt. Nfant inquired.
You are Il Yankee" replied the Carroll
man; Z" If you go there you will be made a
prisoner"
And il am Yankee" said the Cap
tain, I" and wanted to flank the town, is there
any body here who could show me how TO do
it?--is there such a man ~
That be" was the reply, and the Car.
olininn parted from his negro ccmpauiop.
who turned ont to be woman, md took
captain Grant TO his house, and called NJ
ms vile and had her get supper for the stran
ger. Captain Grant had been fer months in
rebel PRISONS, and Jared hard, and for twenty
days mad been sleeping by day in hiding
places, and crawling weary and sore footed
on his way by night, living on raw corn.--
The supper at the hospiiablc Carolinan's, h,
says, was the Aost he ever tasted There
were hot wheat cakes and cold chicken, and
preserves, and everything was inexpensive
| ly good.
Here Captain Grant got his first insight Of
| The talthinnrss, carnCStncSs and hopprulncss
oi the real Union party of North Carolina
! His host told him where and how to find
! unIHn men, and marked out the most favor
able roads for him to take, giving many di
rectlons, all Of which were proven to have
been given in good faith.
The mountains Of Western North Carroll
mn were found swarming with Union men,
refugees from the rebel conscription. Many
! OF them live in caves, venture out 10 see their
families at night, and altogether lead a very
strange and wild life. They were not alarm
ed at the idea of entering an army because
they feared to encounter The dangers of war.
but they had a horror Of ightin: against
| their country and the old flag, and would
undergo perils and privations, and die rather
! than do it. Captain Grant found in one
place den in tho woods, ingcniously con
, Structcd, in which fifteen Of these men lived.
W hen he reached these friendly people be
was in pitiable plight, his clothes being all
torn oil, and his boots worn until they ceas
ed to afford any protection to his feet. The
Union iugitives harhoring in onc of the hu,s
IN the woods, whore he found shelter, mend,
| cd his boots, so that they were made quite
| scruceablc. IL is the opinion Of Captain
Grant that there are from six TO ten thousand
Union men avoiding rebel conscription in
Western North Carolina, and that the Union
feeling is as general and positive as it eve,
was in East Tennessee. He actually raised
| a company, nearly one hundred strong, Of
the Carolina refugees, and brought them in
to East Tennessee, where they narrowly az.
capped being made prisoners by Cen Brcck.
cnrdgc, and he left his company in the
woods and proceeded 10 Knoxville with one
Of them, selected to be an officer, who re.
ceiycd II lioutenant's commission. and ,c.
tnrhcd to the men to complete their organi
Zaton. 1t is the number and zeal of the
Union men in North Carolina that enable so
many of our escaped prisoners to make their
way to our lines in East Tennessee.