Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1899-11-01
CIVIL WAR EPISODE
THE RAID UPON PORT GIBSON AND
WHAT CAUSED 1T.
Fifty Aristocratic Southern Girls
Were Taken as Prisoners of War
and Were CARRIED 10 yicksburg
and There Held as Hostages.

and We're CARRIED 10 yicIxsburg
and There Held as Hostages.
81 was mixed up in one little unre-
corded event of the civil war" said
General b., that was interesting from
It's very unusualness, and which, as l
look back upon 1t, seems strangely pie
turesque. We were attached to what
was known as the marine brigade, u lit
tie fleet of ~ 'tlnclad' river steamboats,
that piled up anu down the Mississippi
river after the surrender of Vicksburg.
The term ,'tinclad,' by the way, is some
what misleading, as 1t Is not remotely
connected with the white metal, but sig
niles rather boats heavily planked with
oak for the purpose of protecting them
somewhat from the ravages of bullets.
zone 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
ed orders in regard to further proceed
ings. Imagine our surprise upon read
ing the instructions that we were ex
pected to capture and carry back to
Vicksburg as prisoners 80 of the most
aristocratic Confederate young women
In the city. However, we had served
long enough to obey orders without
question and, provided with guides ia
miliar with the town, we set about our
bizarre and not too agreeable task. We
first established headquarters at the
residence of a prominent Confederate
judge. @s
''Then different squads were sent out
to call at the homes of the young wom-
en- and escort them to the place of rem
devious. The instructions were that
they must report at headquarters with
In two hours on penalty of their family
residence being burned to the ground.
The only Information we could give
them 0he whole transaction was as
much mystery to us as to them was
that they We're to be taken to Vieks-
burg as prisoners of waiVe,ut were on
no account TO suffer any discomfort or
indignity.
''Of course, there was great weeping,
wailing and crashing of teeth from
tender mothers, loving sisters and irate
fathers and brothers. But the incident
had to be accepted as belonging to the
fortunes OF war, and at the end of two
hours 40 OF the 30, attended by anx
ious friends and relatives, were at the
rendezvous. Mercy was implored for
one delinquent. An additional hour was
granted. and, at their own suggestion,
several of the young women We're dis
patched to her home to persuade her
to follow their 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 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 captives
to Rodney, a distance of some 20 miles,
over roads that We're in a frlghtful con-
dition from the devastation of war and
consequent neglect. All the good
horses, too, like all the good men, were
of to the war, and as for carriages.
they had most decidedly fallen into
state OF lnnocuous desuetude
fhere was obviously hothihg Tor US
to do. therefore. but to gather together
all the broken down old horses and d.
lapldated vehicles in the vicinity,
Which we somehow managed TO hitch
together with pillow harnesses, bits or
fope, Straps cue +" IN 'hesc iiiipio''seu
eoaeneS' uia"n up INV i'i'', $50" III,
piocess Vi ioaoihs VI o"' N'e'''''S' anu
"nen 'nes ",ie an s.o"eu a"as
was hio'ies iooAii's piocess'on, . va"
ASs"e No' H'en 'ne so"ni " Ia
wells ana lhe sight Oh weeping eyes
could NOT pima us 10 the humorous as
pect Oh the scene lou mus, reneihoer