The Brookhaven leader., 1885-01-08
Besieged City CT Vicksburg. and
How He
Was ProvidentiaiIy Preserved and
Safely Returned to Jackson.
Most Tragic Exploits Graphically
Portrayed.
All TO be Written on a Postal
Card,
And Exhibited at the Worlds Cot
ton Centennial.
III the New Mississlppian. I

| From the New Mississippian.
spent one week in Vicksburg be-
fore / felt that l was sufficiently
rested to undertake the return to
Gen. Johnston. | notified Gen.
Pemberton that l would try and be
ready on the 5th of June to start
back, and to have dispatches ready
for me on that day. l also notified
the different commands that would
take out word for any Of them to
their outside friends, but that l
could not take any letters bat mere
ly small strips OF paper with few
words thereon, written thus:
VICKsBURG, June 5tl, 1863.
Dear - am well and SO is -.
Ever Yours,
These / assorted, and filled my
saddle bags, packing them very
close, each State to itself. | took
out those that were addressed to
persons living between Vicksburg
and jackson, and the adjacent
country, and put them into tobac-
co bag, given Inc by Miss Anna
Gale. l placed it in an oil sack al
so. l replaced the saddle bags in
their water proof sack, and got
line with which to make them fast
in my dug out, as | knew that /
would he closely watched for by the
Federals, and that my capture would
be undertaken at all hazards, as
from my dispatches they could
learn the exact condition of the be-
sicged city. A reward Of ten thous
and dollars was offered for me, and
promulgated
THROUGH CUR OWN CAMP,
and ! was fearful that some of our
own men would be base enough To
betlay me, but they did not. | lcrl
the city at about eleven o'clock on
the night of the 9TH of June, 1868,
and found my little boat safely hid
where my kind friend Lynch said he
would have it for me, and | made
everything secure so that if want
ed to / could turn it over, and not
lose anything out of it. | then
pushed out and made for the center
of the river, and when i thought
that | was far enough out in the
gloom l turned down the stream
and began padding quite fast. Just
as | came in front of the old Prem
tiss House / heard picket sing
out, "Who goes thcre?" l made no
reply but lay down in my boat and
let it drift; again the voice sung
out, "Who goes there?" and a third
time, then, "Halt! Come in" l
did not pay any attention and
heard Lieut.. Tarpley, of the Provost
Guard, give the order to fire on me.
A shower of shot ratified around
me, and my little boat was struck
twice, hut l was not touched; a sec
ond volley was fired and all was
still. | heard voice say, 1T is
nothing but log," and they all
seemed to assent, and / was very
glad oft. floated on, but the fir
ing of our pickets had reused the
Federal fleet below the city, and put
them on the qui rire, and increased
my danger, and it seems that they
were looking for some coal barges
to run the blockade from above, and
they quit firing the river batteries,
for fear thai the fash of the guns or
the lurid light Of bursting shell,
would light up the river, and reveal
their Intentions to our men, and
that they would thus have opportu-
nifty to sink the coal barges. Pick
ct boats began to push out from the
fleet, and they began moving up the
river in one long line almost from
shore to shore. | soon found that
WOULD BE INTERCEPTED,
and my wits set to work how to
avoid them. l knew that / would
be seen and how to escape was the
puzzle. / remembered that if l
should turn my boat over suddenly
that / could catch some air in the
bottom. and that by diving my head
under it, / could press my face
against the bottom and thus breath
for a short time. So 1 felt sure
that / could do it. So ] fioated
down until in few hundred feet of
the line of boats. then slowly
eased myself into the river. j float
ed with my arms around the boat
until saw that they were attracted
by it. i then turned the dugout
over, and lay close alongside of it,
and when in few yards of one of
the boats, / dipped my head under
the dug out, and pressed my face
against the bottom. found that
my surmises were right and that ]
could breathe. / did so very slowly.
In moment or two an oar struck
my boat and the concussion was very