The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1905-12-02
A BIT OF HISTORY
How q Southern Bishop Saved
Two Union Officers.
Delayed Their Execution, Lin
coin Came to Rescue.

Under the heading, The Lottery o!
DEATH" Lieutenant James M. Stradling
who was a private in the First New
Jersey Cavalry in 1868, gives in tn
tory never before published. The
writer tells how two brave Union Of
ticers who were being led off to b.
hanged by the Confederates encoun
cred Southern Catholic Bishop, wht
was instrumental in causing a delay
that saved the lives of apparently
doomed men.
The men involved were Captain
Henry w. Sawyer, of the First New
Jersey Cavalry, and Captain John M
0linn, of Indiana. They were confined
II Libby Prison. On July they were
chosen by lot to be hanged.
The stirring events which followed
closely upon the drawing were related
to Lieutenant Stradling some twelve
vars ago as follows:
Mine Colt! Jim, I never felt SO weak
in all my life as 1 did when I found
had drawn death prize" My kind
friend, Captain Finn, was very pale
and much weaker than I; but we did
not have much time to think about it
or Confederate officer told us that his
verbal instructions were to have us ex-
ecuted before noon, and that he would
return in an hour, SO we asked permits
sion to have a few moments to write
letters to our homes and to our friends
before being executed. We. were re-
moved to a room by ourselves and fur
nished with writing material; but we
could not compose our nerves or oul
thoughts sufficiently to write. The Con-
federate officer was as humane as he
could be under the circumstances, and
instead of returning in an hour, did not
return for two hours. In the meantime
We babe our companions farewell, and
distributed a few trinkets we had or
our persons, and then after conf1dine
to our warmest friends a few messages
for our families, We waited as quietly
as we could the coming of the death
summons.
We did not have very long to wait
for soon a Confederate officer appeared
with a guard, and Finn and were
marched to the street, where we found
cart waiting for us. We took oul
seats in the cart, and the Confederate
,ficer and the guard of cavalry escorted
us through the streets of Richmond
The cart, if I remember rightly, was
drawn by oxen, and it did not move
very fast but thousand times too fast
or us. We had almost reached the city
limits when we met a prominent Roman
Catholic Bishop, who stopped to inquire
the cause of the intended execution
While the Bishop was inquiring Of the
Confederate officer about us, Captain
Finn, who was Catholic, said he wa:
being executed without the rites o.
clergy" The Bishop, who was a grea
friend and admirer of Jefferson Davis
president of the Southern Confederacy
exclaimed, that would never do" ant
he requested the Confederate officer tt
move slowly and he would hasten to see
President Davis, and if possible get {
delay for a short time. The cart moved
on and the Bishop hurried at a rapit
pace to Interview President Davis.
The Bishop was mounted on a full
blooded and a very spirited horse, ant
he seemed to us to go like the vino
when he started for the residenc of hi
friend. We moved on to a small hill OF
which was single tree and to THU
tree the cart took it's way. When thu
tree was reached ropes We're placed
around our necks, and we were doomed
to be hanged. This w>Nld have beer
an ignominous death IL We had beef
guilty Of any crime punishable by dealt
but we had committed no crime, ant
We had a slight ray Of hope in tn,
Bishops intercession for US, but it wal
too slight to allay our fears for thu
worst. was very weak. Mine Colt! Jim
l had never felt so badly in all my life
before l was so weak that the tire,
and the guards seemed to be moving IL
a circle around me. We stood up in the
cart, so when it moved away We would
dangle between the earth and sky, ant
in this way our existence was to end
No courier from the Bishop was II
sight, and mine Colt! Jim, the suspense
was terrible for us to bear The Con.
federate officer took out his watch, ant
Informed us that while his instruction.
were to have us executed before noon
he would wait until one minute o
twelve, and then If there was no sigl
Of courier, the cart would be brivel
away and the arbitrary orders of thu
War Department of the Southern Con
federacy would be obeyed.
Half-past II arrived and yet no sign:
of any courier from the Bishop. Min,
Colt! Jim, our legs became so veal
that We could not stand any longer, 81
we requested that we might be permit
ted to sit down in the cart until tn,
time for US to be executed arrived
Then We would stand up and the rope,