The daily morning Alaskan., 1899-12-14
WAR EPISODE
rHs RAID UPON PORT GIBSON AND
 WHAT CAUSED IT.


 Were TaLj as Prisoners of War and Were Carried to vieksburG and There Held Rs Hostages.
 q was mixed up ln one little unre- corded event of the civil war;" said General B., 6that was interesting from it's very unusualness. and which, as l look back upon It, seems strangely pie turesque. We were attached to what was known as the marine brigade a ut' tie fleet of r. tlnclad' river steSmooats that piled up and down the Mississippi river after the surrender of Vlcksburg. The term .tlnclad.' by the way. Is some what misleading. as lt Is not remotely connected with the white metal, but sig nifes rather boats heavily planked with oak for the purpose of protecting them somewhat from the ravages of bullets.
 "one day our little battalion of four companies was ordered to steam down the river, dlsembark at Rodney march to Port Gibson and there consult seal cd orders lu regard to further proceed ings. Imagine our surprise upon read ing the instructions that wo were ex' pected to capture and carry back to vicksburg Rs prisoners 50 Of the most arlstocratic Confederate young women in the city However. we bad served long enough O obey orders without question. aud, provided with guides ta' mllIar with the town. we set about our bizarre and not too agreeable task. We first established headquarters at tho residence ot prominent Confederate judge.
 "Then different squads were sent out to call at the homes of the young wom' CD and escort them to the place of rem dezyous. The instructions were that they must report at headquarters with in two hourson penalty of their family residence being burned to the ground. The only Information we could give them (the whole transaction was as much a mystery to us as to them) was that they we're to be taken to Vicks- burg as prisoners of war, but were on no account t6 suffer any discomfort or indiguity.
 "Of course, there was great weeping walllng and gnashlng of teeth from tender mothers, loving sisters and irate fathers and brothers. But the Incident had to be accepted as belonging to tho fortunes of war. and at the end of two hours 70 ot the 30, attended by anx- lous friends And relatives, were at the rendezvous. Mercy was implored Tor one delinquent. An additional hour was granted. and, at their own suggestion. several of tl1 young women were d's' patched to her home to persuade her to follow thelT example In gracefully submitting to the inevitable. The result was that before the hour was up the last fair prisoner had put In an appear ance, though In a very defiant mood.
 "Our troubles, however. by no means ended here. Indeed. they were hardly fairly begun. The next question was how to transport our beautiful captves to Rodney. a distance of some 20 miles, over roads that were In frlghtful con dltlon from the devastation of war and consequent Areglect An the good horses. too, Ike all the good men. were on to the war, and as for carriages, they had most decidedly fallen Into n state Of lnnocuous desuetude
 There was obviously nothing for as to do. therefore. but to gather together all the broken down old horses and d. lapldatcd vehicles n the vicinity. which we somehow managed tO hitch | together with blow harnesses. bits of rope, straps. etc. With these lmproviscd coaches. drawn up into line, began the process Of loading on our victims. and when they were all slowed away lt was q motley looking procession, can assure you Even the sound of fare wells and The sight Of weeping eyes could not blind us tO the humorous as pect of the ,cenc. You must remember that We were all pretty young fellows lu iSG3 The civil war was fought by men whose average age was only =3 Well. We made our way slowly, amid tears and laughter, to Rodney, where we embarked for Vlcksburg. Upon arriving there the young women were taken before the provost marshal who put them on parole, conhning them to the limits of the city. Most of them had friends In the town with whom they chose to remain, and suit able quarters were found for the rest.
 "The reason for the whole transac- ton then transplred. It seemed that some northern young women school teachers had been taken prisoners by the Confedcrates and were at that mo- ment ln theli camps. where they were forced to wash and mend for the sol dlers and perform other menial sery' Ices. These Confederate young women were. therefore, to be held as hostages until the northern women were re leased.
 There was little delay In the eI' change. and we had our visitors In vlcksburg only 30 days. They were however, very gay, delightful days Yankee officers and Confederate maid ems lntcrmlngled socially. and the ac' Qualntance so rudely forced upon the beautiful southerners proved In some instances a mutual pleasure. could Indeed, point to more than one roman tic marriage that was the direct out come of our raid upon Port Gibson Washington Times.