The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-05-10
HOPEFUL DAYS IN LIBBY
RAID RAISED THE
PRISONERS SPIRITS.

,
in Richmond.
FROM the NeU York Times.
T5a success of the tunnel out Of Libby
,rsa,, the confederates to redoubIe their
,iyflsuce. They placed guards in the cook
an after dark. AMI a guard was kept
down in the hospital. and every hour after
o o'clock a sergeant and four guards. all
carving lanterns, made a tour of ell the
r-ors in the prison. The latter precaution
va. not only necessary, hut it disturbed the
--isopers greatly. At night the men Law
sacked in long, close lines along the floor,
and in making their way through them the
Guards frequently stepped on an unfort-
mate sleeper. The stamping woke nearly
every one up, the glare Of the lights sud-
5srlv flashing in the face was binding, and
che whole scheme was as useless as it was
t9rturing.
Some of the men, whom no suffering
could discourage, imagined they could
,ataiIaue on the men with the lanterns by
vbistling, in chorus, THE Rogaes' March,
whenever they appeared; but it is unneces-
,ary to say that it was not effective in
sbating the hourly nuisance. II is said that
men can accustom themselves to the most
irving situations. Certain it is that most
4 Of US soon grew SO Indifferent TO the coming
of the guards at night as to sleep on without
Jelng disturbed
The first weeks in March, 1854, were the
gloomiest of all the gloomy time spent
within the walls Of Libby. The rations
did not impoverished, they grew less i'll
ousntity aud worse in Quality-aud, if this
we're to continue, we felt that the time was
not far distant when the strongest must
give up the desplriting struggle. About this
time our government again offered to send
through food, clothing, medicines and doc
tors, for the stories of the men who had
reached our lines by way of the tunnel had
stirred the people of the north to a horror
Of the suffering of the prisoners; but, true
70 the policy persisted in from the first the
authorities in Richmond refused to receive
such supplies.
The dependency caused by this news was
followed by reaction, and the prison buzzed
from morning till night with runors of ex-
change, and there were those who knew
how they learned nobody could find out
that on the Monday following we should
leave Richmond under flag of truce and
march down below the Rockets to a place
where fleet of well-provisioned transports
was waiting to carry US north. In the midst
of all the excitement there came to us the
more reliable news that the yankee cavalry,
under Gen. Fitzpatrick, was advancing in
force on Richmond to release the prisoners
in Libby prison and on Belle Isle.
Through the few men, who still had q
little confederate money left, we obtained
the Richmond papers, and from them we
learned of the raid. The roads were frozen,
so that horses in good condition could be
moved with rapidity. There were no
veteran organizations in or near to Rich
mond at this time, and the companies of
department. clerks and invalids then in the
city could offer no serious resistance to
dashing attack made on a well-selected
point. As soon as it became certain that
our cavalry were actually advancing the
excitement in LIBBY rose to fever heat, and
men who had been fretting themselves
about the exchange that never came began
to pray fo- the advent Of the raiders
| recall distinctly the great change this
news wrought in my companions, and it
must have had the same effect on myself.
The weakest grew suddenly strong and the
Respondent cheerful. Men who had not
smiled for months went about rubbing their
hands gleefully and laughing at everytn
that was said, and knots of the younger
men could be seen here and there listening
to the advice of some older officer who
sought to explain just how we prisoners
could help along the enterprise having our
release in view.
Col Carlton of the One Hundredth Ohio,
Upper Chickamauga room, was young
man, but his rank, intelligence, and the fact
that he had been educated at West Point
made him an authority in our part of the
prison on military matters. 1t was his
opinion that, if our friends succeeded in
getting into Richmond, we could arm the
prisoners, and either hold the city till help
came or else SGT fire to the public buildings,
aud destroy the bridges over the James
after we had passed to the south of the
river.
There were about l 400 officers in Libby,
ranking from veteran brigadier generals
down to beardless second lieutenants, but
all true and tried soldiers, ard in mood of
this time to take the most desperate
chances. In the Pemberton building and
other warehouses, including Castle Thunder,
and on Belle Isle, we had about 10000 men,
to which force we might add with conf
dence 5000 colored men, who would
Join US from in and about the
city. Fitzpatrick was reported to have
with him some 5000 troopers, SO
that if he could once force his way in we
should have at least 28 900 men IN the con-
federate capital. A majority of these men
were weakened by privation, but this point
was carefully thought over in Libby, and
1t was the general opinion that except the
wounded, and those not able to move with
out assistance, all would be found reason
ably efficient when the hour for action
came.
1t was known that much of Lees reserve
field artillery was then in Richmond. The
old arsenal was full of muskets and infantry
equipments, and In the same building there
was great quantity Of fixed ammunition
or all kinds. Here, too, were the quarter
masters stores and the buildings of the
medical purveyors, with their supplies for
the army of Northern Virginia. Here,
too, were the clothing factories,
the Tredegar gun works, and all the me-
chanlcal establishment on which the con-
tlnuance of the war, in Virginia, at least,
depended. These were grand prizes, and
the possession was of the greatest import
ance to the undertaking that was
so eiaborately planned in Libby. But [
must confess, the capture of Jefferson Davis
ana his cabinet, with the members of the
confederate congress then in Richmond was
not overlooked in this plan of campaign.
ms was not the dreaming Of a lot Of en-
thuslastic boys. but the result of the careful
elaboration Of many officers who had al
ready distinguished themselves in the war;
lts feasibility could not be questioned; but
one thing was necessary to certain success,
and that was the jingle of union scabbards
and the blast of yankee bugles in the streets
ot Richmond. And the fact that while the
prisoners were laying out the work to be
done, the union troopers we're pushing south
with all speed, and coming nearer every
hour, assured us of success. The very
thought Of it made the most sluggish blood