The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1886-12-23
THOMpSOA'S ESCAPE.
BY JAMES FRANKLIN Fits.

This sketch will relate the adventures Of
Dennis Thompson upon his efforts to es-
cape, and his final escape from inside the
Confederate lines in the Shenandoah VAL
ley, in October, 1864. The hero is now
living in Chenaugo County, New York-a
very plain, unpretentious kind of man, and
who would never sound his own trumpet:
but he will cheeYfully youch for the truth
of this narrative. He related all its stirring
details to me one night 10y a campfire on
the Cedar Greek battle ground, very shortly
after his return from captivity. His whole
experience with the Confederates as a
prisoner was embrac ID within the time of
about one week; but it was a week which
he will not be likely TO forget. The thou
sands and tens of thousands of thrilling
adventures of the volunteer soldiers in the
field took almost every shape and form;
many escapes were more arduous, and en-
tailed far more suffering, but few We're
more curious or more exciting than that of
my good comrade, Dennis Thompson.
He WAS of Company l, One Hundred
and Fourteenth New York Volunteers, and
had been in the service two years, He had
been made Lieutenant for merit and good
conduct, and at the time of his capture h
was attached to the ambulance train of the
Nineteenth Army Corps. War Is crowded
with chances and changes, and the impos-
sible, or the apparently impossible, Is what
frequently happens; but the man who had
predicted before the thing occurred that
any one with that train stood in the least
danger Of capture by the enemy would
have been regarded as a lunatic. The trim
was parked in a grove, well-nigh a mile III
rear of our lines, with sufficient escort to
protect ii from the guerrIllas; and what
could possibly be feared from Earlys
army, lying somewhere off beyond the
heights Of Fishers Hill, with twenty thou
sand Union soldi rs encamped between?
Yet III Just this situation was Thompson
made captive; and to make 1t clear how
this could be, as well as TO give IA better
understanding of his situation after being
taken, brief reference TO the battle of
Cedar Creek becomes necessary.
Gallons Of good ink lave been spilled
over the controve sizes arising from that his
toric field. and the poet, r. Buchanan
Read, has immortali2ed II and its most
conspicuous actor in some verses which are
full of poetic eXaggerdtlon, as well as stir
ring rhyme. All that Is necessary for me
to say here about 1t, as connected with
Lieutenant Thompson adventures, l., that
before daylight on the foggy morning of
Octob T -, 1854, the Confederates, having
silently gained our left by n movement
which, for difficulty and audacity. can hard
ly be palalleled III the whole history OF the
war, attacked the Eighth Corps, and we'll
nigh dispersed it, struck the Nineteenth,
which, after n brief and bloody resistance,
was also compelled 10 retire; that the SIKH
Corps, coming up to meet the shock. was
also, after Il good hight, thanked, and forced
back that these last two corps retreated
some three OF four miles, to position IN
the woods near Middletown. where with the
cavalry on the TANKS t-ey presented good
front, and would have repealed any attack
the enemy might have made on them, even
if Sheridan had not come MP; that the
Confederaies, as we'll as our forces, had
been severely punished in the mornings
fight, and were very chary about further
attack; that up to this Joint, nevertheless,
the day was decided defeat for us, since
we had been compelled to retire from our
ground, had lost half our artillery. had suf-
fered heavily in killed and wounded, and
had probably not less than six thousand
stragglers on the turnpike between Middle
town and Winchester; that about one
o'clock Sheridan came up, hot-foot, from
the latter place, hundreds, and possibly
thousands, of the stampeded follow
ing him back TO their duty; that he visited
every regiment, and succeeded IN putting
his own fiery spirit into every one of them;
that about four o'clock our whole line adj
vanced. and, after very brief but sharp
fight, drove the enemy pell- before it,
taking hundreds OF prisoners, relaxing
every piece of our captured artillery, and
twenty-four Others; and that we never
stopped the pursuit until we had reached
and occupied our camps again, which we
did near dark. Our cavalry kept up the
chase some hours longer, bringing IN many
more prisoners. This is my view in brief
of this toilSome, sanguinary, and glorious
day; and, as the writer passed through
these scenes with regiment whose killed
and wounded amounted to one hundred and
nineteen out Of two hundred and fifty en-
gagged, he may claim to know something
about IT.
1t is necessary to add only that in the
surprise of the early morning the Confed-
crates secured at least fifteen hundred pris-
oners; that they were marched TO n place
near Strasburg, perhaps three miles from
the field, and kept there all day until the
stragglers of Eatly's army, late IN the after
noon, reported that the fortunes of the day
had completely changed, when they Were
rapidly put in motion and marched SO fal
the same night that they were beyond the
ItbCut VI our CuNdli y Ihc JUN VI thSii
were landed in the Richmond prisons {
week later. Why Thompson was no
among them at that time We will now allow
him TO tell for himself.
When The great uproar of the attack burst
npon the lett of our army, our train was
speedily hitched up and galloped across
the fields 10 point near Middletown. by
the time we had reached there daylight was
coming on, aud our Captain paused TO take
On observation. by the great noise of ar
tillery aid musketry, the clouds of smok,
which drifted further and farther westward
and the multitudes of retreating soldier
who came our way, with and without arms
il was plain 60 lie seen that a first class bat
tie was in progress, and that our army wa
decidedly setting the worst of 1t. No lonl
time elapsed b.fcr, / could see that tu'
lines of he enemy were far west of wher
the Nineteenth Corps had camped. II wa
imprudent for us TO venture up toward tn
lines nj all. rs there was danger of mcetIn
some detachment of the enemy; but j wa
filled with anxiety for my comrades OF th
regiment. and wanted to learn something o