Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1867-05-16
Ghoife Wsisfellynu.
s,isJA TELEGRAPHERs STORY.
A Marrow Escape from Desth--saved by
% q Dispatch from President Lincoln.

lytis,IA TELEGRAPHERs STORY.
A Marrow Escape from Desth--saved by
~ q Dispatch from President Lincoln.
Elo 80. BY WILL 8, GENTRY .IfI s
ABOUT twenty-five years ago the first
| telegraph line III the world was built and
successfully operated, between Washing
ton City and Raltimore Since then a
network of wires has Been constructed
through this country, connecting every
city, town, and village of the slightest
Importance, in instantaneous communi-
| cation. There is hardly person now liv-
ing who has not, some time or other,
more or less, in some degree, been bene-
fitted by the telegraph. There Is hardly
to be found man or woman to whose
heart or pocket the telegraph has not
brought words of comfort or sorrow. As
an operator, 1 have In my long years of
toll, noticed, perhaps, more than most
others, the verification of this fact
Many, many times have /, in my capac-
ity as an operator, received messages of
death, which I shuddered to deliver;
and could not have the courage 10 wit
ness the grief, aye, theaGony of the be-
reaved, Sadly have l gazed upon the
anxious faces of husbands and wives,
parents, brothers and sisters, waiting in
telligence from the absent and forever
lost. Joyfully have hurriedly sought
parties, bearing to them welcome news
of the absent and saved. I have seen
eyes grow dim with sorrow; L have seen
them grow bright and glow with joy;
have thousands of times experienced
pleasure or pain in consequence of these
things; but never have I experienced
the same sensation as on one occasion, in
1854, when the lives of two innocent men
were in my hands, and but one short
natiaate to save them in, and eighty-one
account Of this occurrence is the object
of this sketch. 1.Il % ,'.i.l ~ p
During Hunter,s.raid through the VAL
ley Of Virginia and down the Kanawha,
two men, privates, worn out by fatigue,
loss of rest, and want of food, were left
behind. AS to their names, condition in
other circumstances or theincidents con-
necte6 with their enlistment, it is not
necessary to be specific, or to say other
than that they were Substitutes" and
Il am pretty certain belonged to Western
regiments. On that unprecedented
march of Hunters army up the Valley of
Virginia, there was not an individual
who participated in it, from theahighest
officer to the lowest private, but expert
ienced great suffering and priyation.-I
Even now, whenever we meet with one
who participated in that raid, we can
hear of extreme hardships of the men or
some exciting story of hairbreadth
escapes from the enemy, who followed SO
closely upon the line of march. Then it
is not strange that these two men strag-
gled, ION account of their worn-out con-
dition, and fell into the enemy's hands.
After being captured by the rebels,
they were heavily ironed and closely
guarded for some days. Their case was
deliberated on by a drum-head court
martial, which determined that as the
Confederacy was in great want Of men,
these parties must enlist in the Confed-
crate service and use their arms against
the Federal cause or be shot. The ultj-
naGtune of the court was presented to the
prisoners, and with terrible death star
ing them in the face, aftertwo hours they
determined to pursue the course which
promised life and perhaps escape, and ex-
pressed their willingness ito serve the
Confederacy. Their limbs We're at once
relieved of irons, and they We're given in
charge of company officer who, with
his command, Immediately, returned to
the East and reported himself and COM
pahy ready for service against the Fed
erals occupying the Valley of the Shen-
andoah. i h-" "a i9pi .l ...f II
They We're assigned toduty in Mosby's
guerrillas, under the notorious Harry
Gilmor, and SOON found active service
against the Federals in a raid upon the
line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
On this raid, which proved unsuccessful,
the party were eambuscadedb by a company
of FedeTals, and many ofthem, including
the two men who are the subject of my
story, were captured and taken to Har-
per's Ferry in irons. On arriving at the
Ferry, they were recognized, and al-'I
though they told their story in straight |
forward manner, they were "substitutes,
and the evidence of their guilt In being |
captured while bearing arms against the |
Government in the character Of guerrl-
lasTaboyel al, the most disrsputabie
them, and they were ordered to be tried /
By court-martiaI on the charge Of g deser-
ton . and .sboui tT jumping" After
several weeks Imprisonment in theguard- !
house, they were tried, found guilty and |
sentence to be shot. The sentence of the
court was approved by the commanding !
General, and the day set for the execu-
tion. The day before heexecution Father
f. a Catholic Priest and Chaplain of a
regiment then on duty at the Ferry, vis-
tied the prisoners, and they told him
their story and substantiated 1t so far as
their connection with lGilrhOr's robbers
was concerned, by the testimony Of one
or more rebel prisoners, whose evidence
was not allowed before the court-fnsrtials
Father F. believing their statement
became interested, but without giving I
any hope for a reprleve, heieharged tltemiF
to prepare for death His only chance
was with, tho President, and it being late
I'M the day-too late to reach Washington,
he determined To use the,telegraph. He
wrote his lnessageIto the President. giy-
ing a concise history of the case, and APP
pealed Mr.. Lincoln, asking Gods mercy
in behalf OF the poor cast down prisoners