The Portland daily press., 1895-03-28
A THRILLING EXPERIENCE.
Col. A. M. Benson Talks to Comrades of
Kinsley Post.

Colonel A. M. Benson, who, after the
war was a resident of Portland until a
few years ago, and who is brother-in-
law of Gen. Charles P. Mattocks, is now
living in Boston. He was gallant offic-
er OF the First District of Columbia Cav
alry-at the breaking out of the Rebel
lion which was afterwards merged in
the First Maine Cavalry.
At meeting of Kinsley Post, G. A. R.. !,
in Boston, Tuesday night, Col. Benson
favored the comrades with such thrill
ling narrative of personal experience in
the war as few can boast of. .
The story opened with the raid of Will
sons Cavalry, $4,000 troopers, around
the rebel army to cut the Southside and
Petersburg and Weldon and Richmond
and DaEville railroads, thus shutting off
Richmond. 1t was in June %, '64, when
destroyed it for distance of forty-six
miles, from Reams Station. The colon
ell was hit by canister shot in the thigh
while making an attempt to burn a
bridge at Roanoke river, and on the re-
treat of the raiders, was captured by
two stragglers, when he found himself
obliged to leave the elegant silver mount
ed coach pressed into service and take to
the woods, because Wade Hampton,
Fitzhugh Lee and Billy Mahone's divis-
ion blocked the way. They were taken
first to Libby for few days.
Then followed a graphic recital of the
two and half days ride down to Macon
in a train of box cars, 65 men.to car.
Col. Benson told of two tunnels, made
at Macon by himself and comrades, one
of the tunnels being 120 feet long, and
only discovered by the unhappy slump
ing in of COW who was grazing in the
field in which the tunnel debouched.
The rebel guard sat down to wait, and
when the first captain tried it, he felt
the cold steel of the Johnny's bayonet
en- to Savnnah and there started another
tunnel from the hospital stockade
through an old vault. This, too, was
discovered, and Col. Benson and Capt
Grant of Wisconsin both occupied loath-
some dungeons in the Jail for 16 days,
until the colonel, who had just Joined
the Knights Templar before1his service,
made himself known as Templar to an
officer who came to visit him. The reb-
ell proved to be Mason, and the COM
mander of the prison was himself the
commander of the Templars in the state.
Through this agency he secured the re-
moval of both himself and Capt. Grant,
the latter barely 10 season to save his
life. Then they went to Charleston with
the 1900 under fire. There both were pa.
rolled, thanks to a letter from Col Wayne
of Savannah. and enjoyed shrimps and
the fat of the land down upon an old
place between the Ashley and the Cooper
rivers, while they watched the shells
bursting at the.rate of 100 per day right
over the city, the pieces going every
where. After this they went to Colum-
bia, from whence they ran the rebel
guard, composed of 15-year-old boys aud
men Of 65, who carried cane in one
hand, while they shouldered their mus
ket with the other and paced the beat.
Running guard. at night on the first
of Novem ber, Col. Benson, with three
other officers, Capt. Grant having jumped
from train. on the way up from Charles.
ton, made his way over 800 miles oil
country across the mountains to Knox.
vile. Tennessee. During his trip be
was given reception at midnight by a
party of twenty-five negroes who came
miles to see them; was initiated into the
famous Red String Loyal League of the
Union Mountaineers of East Tennessee
and joined with.the famous Kirk boys in
a raid on their rebel neighbors. Fifteen
years after the war he renewed his ac.
quaintance with Capt. Grant in Wash.
ington, not having seen him before sin &C
he leaped from the train in South Caro-.
lima.
The colonel was warmly applauded al
the close. There was jolly collation..