Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1888-10-05
SOLDIERS DEPARTMENT.
WAR "REMINISCENCES.

Adventures of Lieutenant willis, Ono Q
Colonel stroights Raiders.
The story of Colonel Streight's raid an
of his subsequent escape from Libby pris
on has always held its place rs ono of tn
most exciting and interesting incidents o
the war, but there has been little writtoi
with regard to the individual experience
of the men who were with him, and TO
that reason we reproduce tho story o
Lieutenant VIM. Willis, OF the Fifty frs
Indiana.
II was when General Rosecrans wa
commanding the army of tho Cumberland
md, with headquarters at Murfreesboro
that the raid was conceived and carried
into effect. Tho idea was TO frustrato tn,
heart OF the Confederacy and cripple IL
efforts by n system of wholesale destruc
tion. The party left Rosecrans' army or
April 2. 1868, with Rome, Ca, as the OBJ.
jective point, where they were to destroy
the railroads in Bragg's rear and make
things generally uncomfortably for him
and his army. The raidng party con
sisted 81 four regiments, the Fifty first
Indiana, the Seventy third Indiana, the
Eightioth Ohio and the Third Ohio, and
the whole was commanded by Colonel A.
d. Stroight, of the Fifty-first Indiana,
Lieutenant Willis says;
We were pursued by Forests men, and
had to fight them continuous running
battle. IL we stopped TO feed our horses
Forests men were on us, and we had to
get into line and hold them at bay while
our animals were at their meals. We were
on our horses day and night, and the
weary fight, as it might almost be called,
wore out both men and beasts. But still
the unuttered command was:
"On on! Fight and awayw
There was no time for rest or pity for
man or beast. In the very heart of the
Southern territory our ammunition gave
out without hope for fresh supply. We
were too far away in our virtually dis
armed condition to try to get back to the
Union lines. In sight of Rome, GA, on
the morning of May 3, 1863, we gave up
and surrendered to General Forrest
AS nn officer l was sent to Libby prison
May 10, and found there about two hum
dred other commissioned officers. 1t is
well known that before the war Libby was
great tobacco warehouse. A single street
separated 1t from the James river canal,
and the narrow tow-path interviewed be-
tween the canal and the river. In addi-
tion to the cellar the building was three
stories high and built of brick, The cell
lar, unused, was full of straw, old boxes
and rubbish, and the prisoners had FREQ
access to it, as well as to all other parts Of
tho building.
The third story, to which was assigned,
was in three rooms called the east.
middle and west rooms. Tho latter room
had windows at close intervals in the brick
wall NIL tho way around, affcrdng plenty
of light. 1t was about forty by one hum
dred and fifty feet, and it was there, with
almost one hundred and fifty others, that
had my quarters, which consisted of just
space enough on the floor on which to lie
down. i secured spot near window on
the north side rs precaution against the
hot nights of the coming summer. We lay
down with our heads to tho wall all around
the room, and n long row of sleepers occu-
pied the center of the room, having an
aisle on each side of them, next to the
wall-sleepers, for those who might wish to
move about after the others had lain
down.
By way Of rntions we had hard, dry corn
bread, uncooked black beans and coffee.
We had two stoves in the room on which
to cook our coffee and beans. At roll call
we were driven into the east room. There
two guards were stationed at the door,
with bayonets just far enough to let man
pass through, and ns we filed out we were
counted.
When Colonel Streight and the other one
hundred and thirty odd men escaped
through the tunnel beneath the street and
the opposite lot it had n wonderfully
buoyant effect upon those of us left behind.
1t gave us something new to think and
talk about The tunnel opened to the
great free world outside, near n gas-lamp
at street corner. On the night of the
escape, rs on every other night, this lamp
was lighted Just before the attempt was
made for freedom, n Pennsylvania Colonel,
whose name / have forgotten, passed out
through the tunnel to reconnoiter the
situation. He climbed up that lamp-pos
and coolly turned out the gas, then walked
all around the prison, came back and re-
ported 'all clear"
The escape is matter of history, and |
the events in the prison next morning
We're lively and interesting, The roll-call |
proceeded rs usual by files of four, but |
when IL was over there We're not enough |
OF prisoners by over one hundred. The |
Confederates were not satisfied with the |
count, and had us stand in the west room |
while they counted the files of four again. |
These files were not at all full, and the |
boys held up their hats on their hands in |
the vacant places in tho adjacent files. |
Still the count was short By this time |
the counters We're swearing mad, but it |
had not yet dawned upon them that there
was any thing wrong Then they drove
us all out into the east room, and made us
pass between the points of the two hun
cry looking bayonets as they counted us
singly. While this counting was going on
the boys sawed a hole through the parti-
tion and went back into the east room and
were counted n second time The boys did
this just n little too good, however, for
this time the count run over one hundred.
Then we were put into the east room again,
and there was no chance of fooling this
time. When they reached hundred they
put down pencil mark on a piece of pa
per and stood the hundred up away Off in
one corner Of the west room; but when they
gotdown they wero hundred short again.
Then they had the idea thoy must have
missed putting down mark for one of the
hundreds. They reported to the prison
authorities and were sent back to do their
work over again. Roll-call always came
before breakfast, but we cared nothing for
breakfast that morning. We knew that
every moment we gained for the poor fell
lows who were gone was valuable to them,
and we fooled the counters by every device
we could think of until ten O'Clock in the
morning. Then suspicion seemed to take
hold of them, and they came into the west
room and demanded:
"Where is Colonel Streght!"
"Why, he just this minute went into the
east room" some one answered. Into the
middle room they went and asked:
"Where is Colonel Streightg"
'Wby he just went into the east room"
Then they went into the east room and
propounded the same conundrum:
"Where is Colonel Streights"
He's just gone down below" responded
some cunning fellow, promptly.
Then they hunted for Colonel Streight,
and found him not.
The evening after the escape some of
the men were brought bnck. They had
been overtaken. The most of them had
been recaptured, but they did lot get Colo
mel Streight. Some of the mon brought in
were terribly torn by bloodhounds.
As soon as General Grant took command