The Dickinson press., 1899-12-02
ACIyIL WAR EPISODE
THE RAID UPON PORT GIBSON AND
WHAT CAUSED n.

THE RAID UPON PORT GIBSON AND
WHAT CAUSED II.
Fsfsy A~1fss1e,stie sosthern Girls
We're TakeH ~ Pr1sensrs Of was
snd We're CarrseA Ia vieksksrs
snA There Held rs Hostages.
II was mixed up in one little unre.
corded event of the civil war" said
General T.. that was interesting from
It's very ~unusnaTness, and which, as I
look back upon 1t, seems strangely pic
tures1ue. We were attached to what
was known as the marine brigade, 81 lit
tie fleet Of II tfnclaH river steamboats,
that Piled up and down the mississippi
river after the surrender Ut Ficssburg.
The term 'tinclad,' by the way, IN some,
what misleading. as IL Is no remotely
connected with the white metal, but sig.
hifics rather boats heavily ptankcd with
OAK for the purpose: Of protecting them
somewhat from the ratages Of bullets.
zone day our little battalion Of foiir
companies was ordered to steam down
the river, diaembark at Rodney, march
to Port Gibson and there consult seal
Cd orders in regard to further proceed
tnGs. Imagine our aurpris. upon read,
Ing the Instructions that W. were tx.
pcctcd to capture and carry back Is
Vickabtrg as prisoners 10 OF the most
~hrist0cratic Confederate young women
In the city. However. VIC had served
long enough to obey orders without
question. and, provided with guides IA
mil1ar With the town, We get about our
bizarre and not too agreeable task. We
first established headquarters at the
residence Of IL prominent Confederate
judge.
"Then different squads were gent out
to Gull Mt the homes Of the young WON
On md escort them to the place Of rem
devious. The Instructions were that
they must report ut headquarters with
III two hours on penalty Of their family
residence being burned to the ground.
The only information we could give
them niie whole transaction vas NJ
much II mystery to us ns to them waz
that they were to be taken to VickB-
burg ns prisoners Of war. but were on
no account to suffer my discomfort or
lndtgnity.
"Of cOursc, there was great weeping,
Willing and gnnal,ing Of tcctl, from
tender mothers, loving listers and irate
fathers aud brothers. But the incident
had to he accepted M belonging to ths
fortunes OF war, and ut the end OF two
hours 40 Of the 80, attended by anx-
ioua friends md relatives, were Mt the
rendezvous. Mercy was implorcd for
one delinquent. An additional hour wae
granted, and, Mt their W suggestion,
several Of the young womcn were dis
patched to her home to persuade her
to follow their example In gracefully
submitting to the inevitable. The result
n that before the hour was up the
last fair prisoner had put In IN appear
ancc, though In II very defiant mood.
"Our troubles, however. by no meang
ended here. Indeed, they were hardly
fairly begun. The next question was
how to transport our beautiful captlvca
to Rodney, II distance Of some 20 miles,
Ovcr roads that were In Il frlghtful con-
dition from the devastation Of war n11d
consequent neglect. All the good
horses, too, like nll the good men, were
Off to the war, and rs for carriages,
they had most decidedly fallen into a
state Of %innOcuous dcBllctude.
"T'hcrc was obviously nothing for us
to do, therefore, but to gather together
oil the broken down old horses and d.
lApidntcd vehicles In the vicinity,
which we somehow managed to hitch
together with plow harnesses, bits Of
rope, straps, etc. With these %improvised
coaches, drawn up into line, began the
process OF londing III our victims, and
when they were all slowed away II
was Il motley looking procession, l = car
assure you. Even the sound Of fare
wells and the sight Of weeping eyes
could not blind us to the humorous as
pGct of the scene. You must remember
tlnt we were all pretty young fellows
In 1863. The civil war was fought by
men whose average nge was only 70.
"Wcll, we made our way slowly
amid tears and laughter, to Rodney
where we embarked for V%icksburg
Upon arriving there the young womer
were tnltcn before the provost marshal
who put them on parole, combining
them to tho limits pf the city. Mos
OF them Ind friends in the town Will
whom they chose to remain, and suit
able quarters were found for the rest.
"Thc reason for the whole trnnsac
tion then t%rnnspircd. 1t seemed thu
somc northern young women school
teachers had been taken prisoners b,
the C%onfcderatcs and werd ut that md
ment III their camps, where they wcr
forced to wash and mend for the sol
dlcrs and perform other mental scrv
Ices. Thesc Confederate young womcl
were, therefore, to be held as hostage
until the northern women were re
leased.
%rhcre WIS little delay in the CT
J. change, and wn had our visitors !
V%icksburg only 30 days. They were
however, very guy, delightful day.
y Yankee officers and Confederate mait
ems intcrminglcd socially, and the az
auaintancp SO rHaely forced upon tn
beautiful southcrners proved Ia SON
= instances a mutual pleasure. could
indeed, point to more than one ronal
j tic marriage that was the direct on
!. como Of our raid upon Port Gibson
y Washington Times.
y N.~>voss uvN nofnIcss RnmhntOMe