Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-07-13
In War Prison Together.

| A w aSh1nStOnlan, JOnn L. 1dildSH
who resides at the Cumberland apart
ments. was confined at Camp Chase
with Justice Lurton. and relates an
interesting war anecdote in connection
with their imprisonment. Mr.. Callashan
said today:
| Mr. Justice Lurton and ! messed and
| bunked together at Camp Chase. He
was captured along with many other
men in Gen. Morgan's command rms
followed raid through Indiana and
| Ohio in July 1863. Gen. Morgan had
planned to recross the Ohio near
Buffiingtons Island. A dense fog arose
and retarded fording. and many OF the
! command fell into the enemy's hands as
| prisoners.
Camp Chase was a prison pen near
Columbus. and there the men were
I taken. Lurton tried to ESCAPE by
crawling under the flooring while the
prisoners were being transferred in
July. 1864. to new prison pen. Poked
out of his hiding place by the bayonets
| Of the guards. he was thrown into the
| by his failure. He was taken ulti-
mate1y to .Johnsons Island prison,
where he was stricken with pneumonia.
His mother. hearing that he was dying.
came to Washington and personally
pleaded with President Lincoln to re-
lease him so that he might die at home.
The President generously complied at
once.
Received at Gate by Mother.
John H. Croford. now of San Fran
cisco. wrapped Lurton in his old gray
shawl. which he had taken into the war
and carried him to the prison gate to his
mother, who was waiting outside. Lur-
tons father was a skillful physician in
Clarksvile Tenn. and the son quickly re-
covered.
Justice Lurton to the end was true to
his old comrades, never missing an OPP
portunity to serve them in any way. When
our choice of prisons. and Lurton and
Croford elected ODE taken to Johnsons
Island, but I refused to go there. l did
| not see Justice Lurton again until he
came to Washington to go on the Su-
preme Bench.
We spent many evenings together here
in Washington after that. Croford never
knew that his comrade had recovered
from that spell Of pneumonia until he
heard he had been given a seat in the
highest court of the land"
Close Friend Of President Taft.
When Justice Lurton came to Washing
ton to take his seat on the bench he went
with his family to a downtown hotel
That afternoon President Taft and the
| late Maj. Archibald W. Butt, White
House aid. had gone for walk. and on
the way back President Taft suggested
that they should stop in at the hotel and
pay Judge Lurton visit. The two men
had not yet seen each other upon this
occasion.
The hotel attaches we're astonished
when the President suddenly appeared at
the desk and casually inquired if Judge
Lurton was in He had gone, it seems.
for a walk.
Too Dad the President said. Just
tell him that I dropped in on him to say
'how-do.' -
The friendship between the two men
was exemplified in many other ways
while Mr.. Taft was President.
Justice Lurton resided in Washington
with his family at 1920 n street north
west. They took possession of this resi-
dence two years ago. first occupying a
residence on 1 street. Mrs. Lurton and
the late justice entertained largely, as
sisted by their son and daughter Horace
Lurton. jr.. and his wife and children.
make their home at the house on n
street. and Mrs. Horace Van Devanter
of Nashville. Tenn, the daughter. was
frequent visitor