The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1903-10-03
BACK TO THE OLD FLAG.
The Story of the Escape Of Two
Union Soldiers.

himself once slipped when he had
made up his mind that he did not care
to go to Andersonville. Thereby hangs
Il story which you can't get O'Brien to
tell. He is modest, rs becomes SOL
der, and one has to go to the records
to find out about it. When lecturer
the other day was lauding the valor of
the men who got out Of Libby by
means of hole in the ground, the
library guardian did say that he didn't
see that any extraordinary amount OF
pluck was required to go through a
tunnel. "A sentinel can't shoot
through ten feet of dirt" he said sue
emily. land more than that, he won't
shoot at all because he doesn't know
you are there" Then somebody else
said that he guessed O'Brien had Il
right to pass Judgment, and this led to
Il looking up Of records.
Thomas O'Brien went to war with
the Second Michigan Cavalry. He
was captured by party of Confeder-
ates at Crawfish Springs Sept. 20, 1863
and was shipped forthwith to Belle
Island and thence across the river to
Smith prison. There O'Brien met Cap
tain o. c. Bagley, of the Seventy -niuth
Illinois Volunteers. Bagley had been a
prisoner a week. The two became
chummy, and it was the commissioned
officer who. when he died few years
ago, left record of the events here
narrated. Captain said O'Brien one
day, lets get out of here. 1 don't
want to go to Andersonville." They
were in thick-walled basement with
one door, always open, but Leading into
a hallway twenty feet long, up and
down which paced a sentinel with
orders to kill any prisoner who as
much as peeped out. One night
O'Brien and Bagley cut up dirty old
blanket and made two rough coats.
Such attire was not unusual in the
South at that period of the war. The
blanket coats went over their blue
blouses. The next night O'Brien vol
unteering to go first, lay down near
the door. The sentinel passed, and
like flash aud with feet shod with
silence O'Brien was across the hall
and in the basement room beyond.
The sentry made the length of the hall
twice and then Bagley was over un-
seen and by O'Brien's side. They We're
in an unoccupied dark apartment with
two doors, one leading into the street
and another into side room. They
heard footsteps, and both jumped be-
hind the opened door of the small room
to the right. Three Confederate Off
GERS entered and sat ut center table
for thirty minutes within six feet Of
the door behind which stood, with
humping hearts, the two Yankee SOL
dicrs. Finally the Confederates left the
room. and Ragley and O'Brien went
into the big outer apartment and stole
to the street door. 1t was open, and
without. The guard passed the door
and O'Brien slipped out, walked quiet
ly for ten steps in the direction OPP
pOsite to that taken by the sentinel,
and then turning met him full and
fair. The Confederate had seen
O'Brien coming from a point beyond
the doorway and the thought of an es-
capped prisoner never entered his head.
The Yankee and the Johnnie snapped
Il good EVENING" and even stood for
moment and talked. 1t was case of
the winning out of a hard bluff, and
in a minute O'Brien was round the cor
ner of the building. Ragley and he
had made the agreement that if either
got out without being killed the other
was to follow. When the sentinel
passed the doorway Bagley slipped
through and made the corner of the
building without being seen. In a min
ute, with O'Brien, he was under the
shadow of heavy trees across tho
street.
Then there was an alarm and a
fugitive hunt. The thick ced"'
swamps, with no companions but ,le
robins and the waXwings, We're their
retreat by day and the thick bushes Of
the picket-patrolled wayside marked
their path by night. Hunger drove
them to the open. Boys" said
O'Brien to Il negro lad in a vain at
tempt to appear to belong to the region,
"havc you done seen anything Of a
stray horse 'roun' hyar?" 81 done
seen stray man 'roun' hyar. I know
you 'uns.' said the lad with a grin.
The boy was true blue and so were all
the negroes. Food was Forthcoming
whenever the blacks had it. Once
Baglcy and O'Brien lay in the loft OF
Il negro cabin while squad of search
ing soldiers ate in !: room below.
Baglcy has told this story. He was
an older man than O'Brien, and his
strength gave out. 1.-The last five miles
Of the way" he said in the telling,
that boy O'Bricn. though weak with
hunger. carried me on his shoulders
until lie dropped me safe inside the
Union lines and under the shadow of