Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-08-14

die he broke out and stole the papers
In his case. He must have taken mine
also, for when the rebels came to take
up my case, they could find no papers,
my punishment was dropped and was
sent back to the prison at Macon in
stead. We were all moved from Ma
con to Columbia, S. c., where ! again
tried to escape, but with fellow pris-
oner | was recaptured and taken toI
the Lexington Jail, being later remoV-
ed to the prison camp near Columbia.
at was while at Columbia that II
made the greatest move of my life. II
have always written more or less poet
ry, both before and since the war,
and while we were in Columbia wei
read in the papers all about Sherman's
march. 1t struck me that the campaign
was more in the shape of grand trl-
umphant march to the sea than any
thing else, so I wrote the poem. 1
scratched it off with a lead pencil in
about an hour, and happened to read
it to a young Bostonlan, who was
member of the glee club organized i'll
the prison and composed of young men
from New England, who were all splen-
did singers. They used to give con-
certs in the stockade every night, and
they sang so sweetly that the rebels al
lowed them to sing union songs on
condition they sing rebel songs also.
Song Made Great Hit.
Zone night the leader said, We
will sing something about General
Sherman and when they had sung it
the people seemed to go wild. Some
one called for the author, and thinking
| the leader had written it, they carried
him around on their shoulders and
gave him a great ovation. Finally he
managed to tell them it was Byers
who did it, and some one asked: Who
is Byers?' Just then friend passed
and recognized me, and Immediately
| was introduced as the author of the
i song.
Even the rebels liked the song
and was told that could stay in the
hospital from that time forth, although
| protested l was not sick. But nay
Imprisonment in the hospital resulted
in my escape, for one night another
prisoner and myself sawed a hole in
) the ceiling, crawled into a narrow
place about two feet high and replac
ed the boards, as we heard the prison
ers were to be moved the next day
, and we planned to escape after they
had gone After the place was vacat
ed we stole out in the darkness, but
J we found that they had missed us and
; stationed a guard there to intercept
) us when we came out
,, Rescued at Last.
1--WE saw there was nothing to dc
! but to make a run for it. | was sue
cessful in reaching the cabin of an ole
darkey who was nursing his sick wife
and he kept me concealed until Shel
mans army came along. Some boys
: of the Thirteenth Iowa regiment res
: cued me after I had been prisone
} for sixteen months.
g | was taken Immediately befor'
: General Sherman, who was so delight
: ed with the way my song inspired hi
l men that he allowed me to carry dis
S patches concerning his victory t
e General Grant, the first he had sent
:. At Wilmington / was told that m
song had been sung in the theater tn
n night before, and that the whole arm
l. was in raptures over it. So am we
e satisfied with having written the sons
II although would give a good deal if
o could get the original copy that
h wrote. The soldier l gave it to
e dead, and so are all the men who san
e it in the prison"