The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-10-26
The story of the Camp Douglas Plot.

1n0 STORY OF the Camp douglas Plot.
Chicago Special.
The announcement Of the intended publica-
ton at Louisville of the correspondence and
secret history surrounding the operations of the
knights of the Golden Circle and the Sons of
Liberty in the Northern States during the clos
ing months of the great Rebellion, and their eff
Sorts to liberate confederate prisoners at Chi
sage and other points in the North, has called
sup thousand recollections In the minds of
persons still living who had a part in
the guarding of Camp Douglas, the
huge stockade here, where thousands
OF rebel prisoners were kept during all the war
period succeeding the fall of Fort Donelson.
Many of the men who had no small part in the
exciting incidents about this city and Camp
Douglas during the autumn OF 1864 are dead or
have been lost sight Of, while others do not care
TO even acknowledge that they ever knew of
such place as Camp Douglas or heard of the
two great copperhead organizations i'll the North
ern States Gen. B. j. Sweet, who commanded
the camp at that time, Is among the dead, but
his adjutant, Capt &c. r. p. Shurley, is a quiet
hard-working jeweler in State street Captain
Shurley familiar with all the details of the
steps taken to suppress the uprising of the Is :
600 prisoners at Camp Douglas, but he was re-
luctant to-day to talk about the matter.
when the camp closed" said Captain Shur-
ley, "all the official documents of the command
ants Office were forwarded to Washington In a
dry goods box. A clerk in the War Department
eold me, four years ago, that the box had never
been opened. think this Louisville book is
catchpenny arrangement, but, if the facts are
truly presented, the discussion that will follow
will surely bring out the truth, and the truth
will drag before the public in very disagreeable
way the names OF many people who are and have
been extremely prominent since those days.
I'VE had spies among the prisoners" said the
Captain, "and spies who were present at all the
TnaAtiupS 0f the KNIGHTS of GOldar Cirelo
which was back of the movement among the
eopperheads TO bring about the uprising. Our
spies made reports to us, and upon these we
acted We had no orders from Washington but
did what we thought best. Our force at Camp
Douglas numbered only 700 men. Had the
prisoners once obtained the upper hand. Chicago
would have been sacked and all the State of Illi-
nois between Chicago and st. Louis would have
been laid waste. The prisoners had plenty of
friends outside the camp. The day after ar
rested g. st. LeGer Grenfell, Gen. Vincent Mar
maduke, and Moffam, the Englisman, which
was two or three days before the presidential
election of 1864, we found six hundred stand of
arms in a barn not more than quarter of a
mile from the stockade The scheme was for
the escaped prisoners to sack plumber. and burn
the city, taking what they could with them, and
march down to Rock Island. About seven thou
sand prisoners were confined there, and with
these and number held at Alton, they expected
DO capture st. Louis and secure arms enough to
at out those still unequipped from the gun
stores OF this city and the intervening towns.
The outside plotters were in communication
with the prisoners, for when the latter
were finally released and sent home
l talked with many of the more
intelligent ones, and they said that the
entire number imprisoned in the stockade were
organized into companies, regiments and brl-
0ades and could have fallen in and marched out
like an army. Part of the general plot was to
seize the iron steamship Merchant, at her pier
here run her across to Canada, arm her with
cannon waiting there ana send her out to sweep
the lakes and free the confederate prisoners
here The same idea was to be carried into eff
feet by the captain of the boat running between
Sandusky aud Johnsons Island, with the view
of turning loose all the rebel prisoners held
there. l learned of this at meeting of the
Cleveland Chapter. Royal Arch Masons, where q
total stranger came up and told me the details
Of the plot, which he had overheard compile
OF men discussing. Subsequent investigation
verified the strangers story"