Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-08-05
A PERILOUs ADVENTURE.
Story of the War-Drawins Lois for
Death.

Col. Henry Sawyer, who has
lately been appointed Superintend-
ent of the lite-saving apparatus on
the New Jersey coast, once passed
through very perilous adventure.
He was among the Federal prison
ers in Libby Prison at the time
when the Confederate government
determined to retaliate in kind the
execution Of two Rebel officers by
one of our Western Generals. Mr..
Sawyer was at that time captain
in the First New Jersey cavalry,
and was of the grade of officers
from whom selections were to be
made for the victims Of Confeder-
ate vengeance. The officer who
was in charge of the prisoners at
that time was a kind-hearted and
agreeable man, and was regarded
by them with feelings of gratitude
and affection. On the morning in
question this officer entered the
room where the prisoners were con-
fined, and told all the officers TO
walk out into another room.
This order was obeyed with par
ticutar alacrity, as the prisoners
were daily expecting to be ex-
changed, and it was supposed that
the order had arrived and that they
were about to exchange their prison
quarters for home and freedom.
After they had all gathered in the
room their countenances lighted
up with this agreeable hope, the
officer came in among them, and
with very grave face, took a pa
per out of his pocket and told them
he had a very melancholy duty to
perform, the purport of which
would be better understood by the
reading of the order he held in his
hand, which he had just received
from the War Department. He
then proceeded to read TO the
amazed and Mortified group, an Or
der for the immediate execution of
two of their number, in retaliation
for the hanging of two Confederate
officers.
= As the reader ceased, the men
Cooked at each other with blanched
faces, and silence like death pres
vailed for some minutes in the
room. The Confederate officer
then suggested that perhaps the
better way would be to place a
number Of slips of paper, equal to
the whole number Of officers from
whom the victims were to be se-
lected, in a box, with the word
death" written on two of them,
and the rest blank-the two who
drew the fatal slips to be the
doomed men. This plan was ad
opted, and chaplain was appointed
to prepare the slips. The drawing
then commenced, the men advanc-
ing and taking out slip, and if it
proved a blank, taking their places
in another part of the room.
Tho drawing had proceeded for
some time, and fully q third of the
-qficers had exchanged gloomy
looks of apprehension, for a re-
Iieved aspect they could not avoid
showing, after escape from such
terrible peril, before fatal death
slip had been drawn. At the end
of about this period, however, the
first slip was drawn, and the name
of Capt. Henry Sawyer, of the
first New Jersey cavalry was
called out as the unfortunate man.
The Captain was of course deeply
agitated, but did not lose his self
possession. He Immediately be.
gan revolving in his mind some
plan for averting, or at least post
poning the immediate carrying out
of the sanguinary edict of the
Rebel government, and by the time
that he was joined by his compsn-
ion in misfortune-whO turned out
TO be a Capt. Flynn, of an Indiana
regiment-he had resolved upon his
course. The officers in command,
as soon as the drawing was COM
pleted, ordered the two men TO be
taken out and Immediately exc
cuted.
Capt. Sawyer, however, demand-
ed, as request, that no clvlllsed
nation could refuse under such Cir
cumstances, that he should have
permission TO write to his wife TO
inform her Of the terrible fate that
awaited him, and to have her come
on and bid him an eternal farewell.
Respite for n day or two was thus
Obtained, and Sawyer subsequently
obtained an interview with the
Rebel Secretary of War, and Sc
cured permission to write to his
wife, which he did. His object il
writing to her was principally for
our government to be made ac'
quainted with the predicament in
which the two officers were placed
, and to secure hostages and threaten
ICldlldllOH .SuOulu INC OiuOl Vi Ih'
Rebels be carried out.
4 1t turned out precisely as Sawye,
hoped and expected. Our govern
ment was informed of the condition
of affairs, and promptly seized
son of Gen. Lee, and one of som
other prominent Rebel, and threat
encd TO hang them, if the Uniol
officers were executed. By Thu
means the lives of the two doomed
men were saved, as the Confederat
government did not dare to carr,
out their threats. After a fey
months more confinement Capt
Sawyer was exchanged. CapGai
Flynn, his companion in misfortune
came out of the ordeal with hi
hair as white as snOw-turned gra
by the mental sufferings he endul
ed. Capt. Sawyer in a week or tw
was as good as new" and serve
through the war.
A GERMAN in Kalamazoo, Mich. we,
into the army in 1862 lie was report,
missing; had gone into battle, and /
A e him He