Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-01-31

to October, 1864, be told, the story
would be entitled to take its place be-
side the most thrilling and entertain
ing Of its kind. Unfortunately, I heard
the tale under circumstances that did
not allow me chance to get all it's
particulars in shape for publication,
and the strange incident that closes it
IS all that | can give with the fullness
that is desirable. The hero of the story
related it at q reunion of the One Hun
dred and Sixteenth New York Volun-
teers last August, and his name has
escaped me. No matter for that; the
familiar old name of Smith can always
be- depended upon to do duty for an
allas Let this good soldier and COM
rade be referred to as Private Smith.
lie was taken prisoner near Baton
Rouge, La, in March, 1868; he finally
escaped near Atlanta, Ca, in Septem-
Der, 1864. His regiment had in the
meantime tsa been transferred to Virginia
with the Nineteenth Army Corps; he
relolned it in the Shenandoah Valley q
lew days before the battle of Cedar
Creek.
At the time of his capture Growers
division, TO which the One Hundred
and Sixteenth New York was then at
,ached, lay at Baton Rouge as kind
OF corps of observation upon Port Hud-
son. 1t was about this time that his
Command te9 was pushed out to make q
l n!, demonstration against the Little
Gs.lDraltar," the object of which was to
alvert the attention of the garrison
rom the river, and thus aid Farragut
NJ LII ms effort to pass above, which, it
WI De y. remembered, was heroically &C.
comphshed, with some loss of ships
and sailors.
IL was just before or just after this
demonstration that Private Smith,
'ent,u1rmg but short distance beyond
uar INES, was snapped up by small
marry OF the enemy lying in conceal
n lueht' probably trying to make discov-
e,les as to the Federal force in and
ABOUT Baton Rouge.
ne was then, as I understood it,
saAen up to Port Hudson and confined
~. n time; then, as the investment of
.nat place was threatened, he was re-
uo'ed under guard into Mississippi,
a "no' with a considerable party of pris-
o onefs' changed about under guard from
ene place to another, always getting
a aa1 I, east. During that summer
s;nl: iall they progressed across Missis-
ss app and Alabama, and after various
w ,uasuhes and adventures the prisoners
S Mefe placed in stockade at or near
~''sSeon, Georgia, with many others.
a. ohlth was one of the kind who never
s give up hope, and are always looking
I IaV lof chance to escape. With the
M ves' OF treatment that any prisoner
wa, was likely to get, North or South, the
s stndltlon of the captives in these
1t1I 'od was hapless enough, and
s thousands died at Elmira and John
win vii, Island, as we'll as at Anderson
; ,n.e and Millen, from hopeless yield
~ 10 the miseries of the situation.
d.: tougher fiber than this was our
nl Ilsate Smith. Before reaching the
p mas OF final imprisonment he had
dow Two unsuccessful efforts for free
coan: Ihey We're bound to be unsuc-
tha ~ our soldier was too far from
co ,u 1uif to warrant the hope that he
too oala get to a blockading vessel, and
r roo lar from the Union lines in any di-
ro o.ioh to make it even possible to
wei WI them at that time. The fact
noa eiy shows that he was one Of those
wpea, na spirits of whom there
a1 vie 80 many in our armies, who were
"SSS ready and eager to "take the