The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1891-04-22
HOW FIFTY ESCAPED.
coNFeDERATES WORKED 4 CLEVER
SCHEME At CAMP BUTLER.


tracticn os employment Is capable q
schemes which rival fiction. Many
thrilling tales are told by prisoners Of
war about their prlvaaons and advent
ares while under the espionage Of an
alert and relentless enemy. An expert
ence worthy Of record was told an Amer
ican reporter. the other night, by man
who now stands high in public life in
Tennessee.
he was once a confederate soldier. He
mad the misfortune to be numbered with
the captured at Fort Donelson. and with
hundreds Of mis- comrades was hurried
across the Ohio and incarcerated In Camp
Butler. a spot which viii long be remem-
oered by those who were 50 unluczy as
70 be imprisoned within its battlements.
After pining for several weary months
for an exchange that was never effected
these southern patriots set about 70 ac-
complish their own deliverance. Vari-
Gus plans were concocted. but were all
successfully thwarted by the vigilance
Of their custodians- Finally the inspira-
ton Of this story hit upon a scheme
which for audacity and cleyeruess is IN
precedented. and won for its originator
a title and distinction among his com
panions which time has not yet obliter-
ated-
Among the prisoners at Camp Butler
were number Of boys who served the
Confederaey in the capacity Of powder
monkeys a function well known %
heavy artillerists.
IT WAS A CLEVER Plan
The duties Of these youngsters were
70 convey powder charges from ths
magazines 10 gunners IN trenches or to
assist in ike manner on the floating bat
teries which annoyed the federal gun
boats in the Mississippi river
Two Of these little fellows, who had
fallen into the hands Of the enemy, were
treated with the dignity due prisoners 0f
war. and consequently found themselves
hundreds Of miles away from home and
mamma and subject 10 all the heartless
discipline Of military prison. The manly
fortitude Of these two juvenile warriors
attracted the martial soul Of Colonel
Morrison, who commanded the post.
To make their imprisonment less arIu-
and sent them on the hundreds Of er-
rands which a commanding officer finds
a daily necessity in the discharge Of his
duty.
The little fellows were true patriots.
and no persuasion or punishment could
dissuade them from the cause Of their
fathers 1t was through them that the
hero Of this story accomplished his de-
signs The boys had access at all times
TO the coloners Office, likewise the adiu-
tant's desk One night they were hidden
to steal from the adjutant's desk lot Of
blank passports.
But what good were passports to a
soldier whose very uniform forbade exit
from the inner stocztde of the prison.
might be asked. Fortunately, however.
II the prison there was a sutler who pos
sessed all the venality characteristic Of
his cloth.
Among the prisoners in Camp Butler
there were several confederate soldiers
who were the sons of wealthy parents and
occasionally received money from home.
From this element a general fund was
and appropriated to the use Of
the pl0tters for deliverance. With the
sutler, whose loyalty to the American
dollar exceeded his fidelity to the Ameri-
an Union, it was an easy matter to
lnuggle in a suit Of citizens clothes now
md then.
FEW co AT A TINE.
On visiting days hundreds Of people
from the country around would throng
70 the post TO look at the fiery rebels.
They were shown, under the escort Of
guard. through every part Of the prison,
md on several occasions these parties. in
some unaccountablew way, would number
1ne or two more on coming out than
hey did on coming in. Each individual,
however. displayed his passport to the
guard at the gate, and retired unques-
toned from the portals of the fort into
the loyal praiTies Of Illinois.
Had the guards counted their guests
upon their arrival and departure some
startling surprises would have resulted
On one occasion two confederate officers
escaped BY the guard with forged passes
and had taken seats in carriage which
was waiting to serve visitors az the gate
Of the fort when Colonel Morrison him
self came out and, addressing them.
asked if they had seen all they wanted
TO see.
YES, sir, replied one Of the fugitives
suavely. They are a hard looking set,
amt they, colonely' At the same time
he was so alarmed that mis- tongue al
most refused to articulate.
By this process half a hundred Con-
were released from custody and
returned 20 their commands in the field
The reader must not imagine that these
men were not missed by their guardians,
for after every muster the guards were
doubled and many commissioned and
non-commissioned officers relieved, it be
ing suspected that they were responsible
for the mysterious disappearance Of the
prisoners
50 cleyerly did the plan operate under
cautious restrictions that the leak through
which the human contents Of that n0to-
rious pen escaped was not discovered
until the man who created it had been
duly exchanged and was fighting under
his own flag on the fields Of Ge0- a,
where he was known to the army as Colo
mel Morris0n's adjutant.-NashvllieA Am
ezican-