The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-07-18
A STORY OF THE WAR
AS TOLD BY CAPTAIN W. ]. ROBE,
OF Company 4, FIrat ElrEiaIA InfAatrI-GsusrAI
KslIsJ's story Ab'ut Captain GSrdon cOrrob.
- Oratsd-L Prisoner who dld not Kaow
HoW Near he was to the GIllews.

Yesterday an ISTELLIGEScER historian
met Captain ". j. Robb on the street and
asked him Il he was the man referred to
in an article published in Tuesdays issue,
in which it was stated that he was held as
hostage for Captain Gordon OF the Con-
iederacy, who was arrested by General
Kelley as a spy and condemned to death.
ayes, ! suppose l am. There was no
other Captain Robb from this city that
know Of" s s.r.aa Ms ..
"Well, you read the article?" queried the
reporter. -.' .r
"oh, yes" answered the Captain, "but
| ind great many mistakes in it regard
ing dates" e.
Flows that?" inquired the almanac ed
itor. .,g,,o,l..
I'm the first place" said the Captain, II
was captured in January, 1864. The story
you print places my capture in 1852. Gem
eral Kelley tell the story, bat the reporter
who talked with him mnst have forgotten
the dates, because in 1852 General Kelley
had not yet recovered from his wounds
you know he was wounded at Phlippl."
The young Macauley OF the press admit-
ted that the Captain was better posted
than he, as he was there, and asked for
definite information 4i
II was captured" said Captain Robb,
his eyes swapping as it were when he rec
objected the event, "fn the latter part OF
January 1884 We were on the retreat. The
night before Gen. Calf was captured before
Petersburg and hel,i ~ special hostage.
That night was the darkest ever saw; the
gloom was so dense you could feel it At
dawn the CoufetleratSs had part of US dead,
and we were captured"
where did they take you?" asked the
interested young man.
"Ha! hat" laughed the Captain, who
finally Rubduins his mirih said, "Why,
they took US all over the Con'ederaCy. We
we're almost in every prison from Libby 10
Macon, Georgia" -.....s
Wasn't in Andersonville?
"No; we wanted to get there"
"How's that| asked the juvenile in as.
constituent. ..si O-. 4a
"Well, sixty.fve officers, from Brigadier
Generals down to Captains, wanted to be
sent to Andsrsonville, lst to see the boys,
you known aaS l.
The reporter expressed his surprise that
any soldier should want 10 be sent to An
dersonvilte, and pressed the Captain for
reason for this strange desire.
"Iou see we had an object. We intend
ed to mix with the 25,0O0 prisoners there
and get up rebellion, and il we had sue
ceeded in getting into that prison" said the
Captain, I'VE would have made Rome
howl" .s. g -a
''Were you In as bad prisons az Ander-
sonville ?" asked the reporter. .....
"0h, yes, Salisbury, North Carolina, was
as bad. What aggravated the horrors OF
Andersonyile was the large number OF
kept separate from the p-iyates, and while
there were only 1900 officers confined in
other prisons, the hiark hn'H Of Anderson
vile contained over 25, 900"
Did you know auytuIug about the e1-,
change referred to in yesterdav's INrELLI.
oENcER, and the close call you had?"
mo. WAS discharged IRON prison in
March, 1885, and never knew why l was
exchanged until was told OF the reason
afterwards. BY the way, Captain Gordon,
who was arrested as spy was an old
Wheeling boy, too. His father had a
cabinet makers shop where the Hess block
now stands, on: Market street. at the jlnc-
ton Of Eleventh. His grandfather used to
keep the United States Hotel (the present
St James,. His father was living in Balti-
more the last l heard from him."
swell, there is no mistake about your
neck having been in danger il Gordon had
been hung as aspyT'
-"lt 1t ever was never knew OF It. Still,
General Kelleys story is correct, because
have heard General Ddval repeat il a.
having been told to him by General
Kelley" faa