The Washington herald., 1913-10-31

|, three United States officers, twenty
Confederate convicts and deserters from
the Confederate army, and a score or
more of Union sailors were in the
prison.
Richardson and Browne found life
more ,supportable here than at Rich
mond. They were shown many covert
attentions by certain citizens of Sails
bury, who, concealing their fealty to the
Union. were permitted to visit the pris-
on enclosure during stated hours
Early in the summer of 1864 the Trib-
une correspondents were Joined by WILL
lam E. Davis, correspondent of the Gin
cinnati Gazette and also clerk Of the
Ohio State Senate. who had been taken
in North Georgia while accommodating
near the Confederate lines. The Cincin-
matt man was a welcome companion to
both Richardson and Browne.
With Davis came Thomas E. Wolfe.
captain of a merchant ship. These four
congenial companions in misery formed
mess, which stuck together until all
four of the members were safe within
the Union lines.
Employed in Hospitals.
Early in October, 1864 the Salisbury
prison was crowded by the arrival of
10.GO0 thinly clad and half-starved Union
Eoldiers from Belle Isle prison at Rich
mond and Andersonville, in Georgia. The
hospitals, ten in number, were filed to
overfiowing.
This change brought welcome work to
the correspondents. Davis was made
superintendent of the hospital Browne
was put in charge of the outdoor medi-
cine distribution. Richardson kept the
records of the hospitals.
These posts gave all four men extra
privileges, and they were permitted, fire.
quently, to pass the inner gate of the
prison without a challenge
On November Is about 500 prisoners fell
upon the relief guard of sixteen men
and attempted TO overpower them.
They failed. The entire force Of guards
being called out, fired into the crowd of
prisoners, killing sixteen and wounding
sixty. The correspondents were not hurt.
In December the Tribune men resolved
upon an attempt to escape. Their reso-
lutions were fixed by the report that
Gen. Bradley T. johnson, who was
known as a strict disciplinarian, had
been appointed commandant. 1t was
feared escape would be impossible after
he arrived.
Much time had been spent by the pris-
oners in the digging of tunnels. Each
effort had been detected, and an outer
guard had been posted 100 feet outside
the walls.
The Tribune men had watched the
tunnel work with anxious interest, but
they now turned their thoughts to other
means Of escape.
Escape from Prison.
Singularly, among the officers of the
prison there were three Union men-two
lieutenants and surgeon. Through the
kindness of these officers the three
correspondents and Capt. Wolfe, who
abled often to go outside of the prison
stockade.
On December IS, a half hour before
dark, Browne, Davis, and Wolfe. by vir-
tue of their known connection with hos
pital work, passed out of the inner gate
of the yard and thence through the outer
gate. Richardson. without a regular
pass had obtained the document which
had been given Browne. With this pass
and a box OF medicine, which lie ap-
peared to be carrying to a hospital,
Richardson walked through both gates.
Outside the gates the men were met
by Lieut.. John r. Welborn, of the prison
force, who guided them to a barn, where.
almost within earshot of the seutinels
on the prison walls, they concealed them
selves in a hsymow.
All that night and the next day the
four men remained in the barn, with
out water or food. On the second night,
at o'clock, they emerged cautiously
and met Lieut., Welborn in a field. He
gave them minute directions for cross
ing the mountains into Tennessee. That