New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1894-02-14
Wars Brave Deeds,

/
There are different qualities of physi
cal courage, just as there are of cloth
There are men and have seen them
who, in company, would rush with {
shout upon battery, but who, if alone
would be incapable of anything like
| reckless daring. Lieutenant Kupp, o1
the Eighty Eighth Pa. Volunteers, was
a tall, Iank, slab sided young man, who
spoke but little, and that little with q
! drawl and vino in appearance and man
ner was far from being an ideal soldier
He had fair reputation in his regiment
in which there were great many sturdy
! 'sPennsylvania Dutch'' from Reading
and Berks counties,
first Saw Kupp in Libby prison in
the early part Of 1864. He, with large
number of his regiment had been cap
tured at Gettysburg, I believe, and eight
months in prison had reduced his uni
form to rags. At this time the Richmond
authorities permitted the friends of prl-
soners in the North to send through, un-
! der flag Of truce, boxes containing food
and clothing, provided the clothing was
such as is worn by citizens.
Kupp was fortunate in getting a box
| and in the box there was a suit of brown
clothes, the cloth of which looked as il
| it were made at home; there was nc
doubt that the tailoring was done there
Dressed in this butternut costume the
lieutenant bore striking resemblance to
one of those North Carolinians so fami-
liar to all at the front. Indeed, his friends
in 1.-the upper east room'' called him a
Tar heel" and made frequent inquiries
about the last news from 'North Killeny''
which he bore with characteristic good
nature, if not actual indifference. But
all the time Kupp was 'doin' powerful
sight of thinkin','' and more than once
he amused his friends by saying that he
had serious notions of escaping, at which
they laughed,
Every morning at daylight a little
clerk named Ross, with sergeant and
guard, came in to count the prisoners
the process was known as "roll CALI
Sometimes Confederate soldiers on leave
in Richmond, and even private citizens,
came in with the guard to see the ''caged
Yankees"
One dull morning early in February
the guards were going down the steps
leading to the office of Turner, the COM
mandant, on the ground floor in the
west end of the building. when, to the
unspeakable amazement of all who saw
the act, Kupp fell in behind them. The
guards passed directly through Maj.
Turner's quarters and out to the street:
but here Kupp hung back. After few
minutes the commandant entered, and
supposing him to be Confederate pri-
vate he shouted out:
sHello! What in the devil do you
want"
"Waal," drawled Kupp, II got a fur
longh to come up to Richmond, and so I
thought I'd like to drop in and take a
looks at the Yanks, if so be you don't
| mind"
"But I do mind! Get out of here, con-
found you, and go to the front, where
you'll see Yankees enough to scare you
to dcath,' and Turner motioned him
| to the door.
Kupp said Call right kernal," and left
the prison by order of his keeper.
An ordinary man would have made
tracks as soon as he got out, but not So
Kupp. The man had no nerves, no fit
ting sense of the danger of his situation
He crossed to the other side of Carey
street, and stood looking up at the bars
behind which swarned his astonished
friends. At length he lifted his hat and
made bow that even set the guards a
laughing. He edeserved to get through
and he did. Up to this time Kupp's es-
cape ranks first IN my memory of all the
| acts of cool daring witnessed during the
war. Capt. George ?. Singer.
Told by Capt. Dawn.
| saw hard service, from Mill Springs,
in Kentucky, till the surrender Of Gen.