The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1865-1866, 1866-04-06

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Homsn sc the " 81 ::
MIlling lures OF
hYotnng!;: 81 and j Beautiful
Woman.
among the manythrilling everts of
t6 lite war, none cxceedthe adyen>
Mrs. Loretta eGsfnp;, the SUBJ:
jatdthis sketch. yeg imp, whose
.mkiden name was Roach, was. boin 10 the.
Indies, inlSSs, and sfss now II " about
tvEaky yseight years of agc 9 AT an early,
ipdf1cd Her. parents. moved to. the United
SHgs. and settled m the Perish of ST.
JaSs odisiana TIE current .ofher
lift saSs on until the outbreak
% atheras ind depepde1ee,3.
;sssns ffFsd sntki iis ;ss
Mbusht, the cause Of liberty, she donned
tit male attire, and was among the first
tofush to arms. Raising company of
cavalry and equipping it at her own ex-
peIse, she proceeded to Virginia, aud
tliire served for eight months on the Pc
riSsula, under the command of the cele>
bracd Col. Drcux, before her sex was
discovered. When this occurred she was
at Snce mustered out and ordered home.
Instead CT obeying the order, she pro.
ceeded to Columbus, Kentucky, and was
serving with Gen. Polk at the evacuation
of that place.
She proceeded to Island No. 10, but
not being satisfied with the manner in
which affairs were conducted there, she
left and went to Fort Pillow, where she
was elected lst Lieutenant in Capt. Phil
lips Company of Independent Tennessee
Cavalry. With her company she pro-
cetded to Corinth, and reported to Gen.
Albert Sidney Johnson. At the battle of
Shiluh, Capt. Phillips fell mortally
wounded, and the command then devolv-
ed'on her. While gallantly leading her
company in a charge she was twice wound
I'd and carried from the field. After the
retreat from Corinth, she was taken to
New Orleans for surgical treatment, and
when tile city fell into the Federal hands,
she was amongst those token prisoner
After a confinement of several months,
she Was paroed and soon exchanged.
Proceeding at once to Richmond, the
disguised female soldier was commis
stoned 1st Lieutenant in the Adlutant
Generals Department, and ordered to
report to Gen. Marcus J. Wright, CONS
maapding the district of Atlanta. Upon
reporting, she was assigned to duty with
the proves: marshal, as chief Of detectives
and military conductor. Serving for
several months in this capacity, she met
Maj. DeCamp of the Third Arkansas
Cavalry, to whom she WAS engaged to be
married previous 10 the war. The cere>
,nouy was then performed at Atlanta
and fr"m The dashing Lieut.. Roach she
was transformed to the sober Mrs. Maj.
DeCamp. From this time, her services
ceased as un officer in the field, and she
was engaged i'll secret ser, ice-some!imes
in the Confcderacy, again in England, and
then iu Canada.
Ip 1864, she spent several months
travelling in the United States, and even
went as far as the Sioux country, in Min
{ cssota. IIcr father, who was taken
prisoner in the tall Of 1863, while scrv'
ing with his regiment in Georgia, was
carried to New Yurk. After a long and
arduous siege, she at length succeeded in
getting him paroled, in January, 1860,
but he lived only eight days after his re-
lease from prison. Subsequently to the
death of her husband, lin January 1862
she proceeded to Columbus, Ohio, to
watch over the interest of the Confeder-
ate prisoners con6ued at Camp Chase
After the final collapse of the Conted-
eracy, Mrs. DeCamp remained III the
North until January. when she returned
to her home, in Louisiana; but remain,
ing there only a few days, she proceeded !
to Memphis and purchased u stock OF
goods, which were shipped on the ill-fa-
ted steamer Miami, which was blown up
on the Arkansas in February. She was
one of the two ladies who were saved, but
with the sacrifice Of all her baggage and
goods. BY an unfortunate oversight on
the part of her merchants, her goods
were not insured, and, consequently, she
lost her all.
Mrs. DeCamp is now in this city, and
at the Southern Hotel. Many
who served in the Confederate arm y will
remember the dasEing Lieut.. Roach, OF
whom 80 much was said in Mobile and
Selma, in 1865. Our space will not per-
NIT full recital of her adyentures.-'&.
T,.. D,.,,I1,,,.,