I. THE SECRET SERVICE. CHAPTER I.

II. THE FIELD. CHAPTER IX.

III. THE DUNGEON. CHAPTER XXVIII.

IV. THE ESCAPE. CHAPTER XXXIX.

The transcribers' notes follow the text.

THE

SECRET SERVICE,

THE FIELD, THE DUNGEON,

AND

THE ESCAPE.

BY

ALBERT D. RICHARDSON,

TRIBUNE CORRESPONDENT.

Hartford, Conn.,

AMERICAN PUBLISHING COMPANY.

JONES BROS. & CO., PHILADELPHIA, PA., AND CINCINNATI, OHIO.

R. C. TREAT, CHICAGO, ILL.

1865.

Entered according to an Act of Congress, in the year 1865,
Albert D. Richardson,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the District
of Connecticut.

[Pg 4]
[Pg 5]

List of Illustrations.

• Facing Title-page. I.—Portrait of the Author
• Facing page 17
  II.— A Group of Army Correspondents: Portraits of Messrs.
  Charles C. Coffin, Boston Journal;
  Junius H. Browne, New York Tribune;
  Thomas W. Knox, New York Herald;
  Richard T. Colburn, New York World;
  L. L. Crounse, New York Times;
  William E. Davis, Cincinnati Gazette, and
  William D. Bickham, Cincinnati Commercial
• Opposite page 83 III.—The Mississippi Convention viewed by a Tribune Correspondent
• Opposite page 281 IV.—Opening of the Battle of Antietam.—General Hooker
• V.—Facsimile of an Autograph Letter of President Lincoln
• Opposite page 343 VI.—The Capture, while running the Rebel Batteries at Vicksburg
• Opposite page 415 VII.—Interior View of a Hospital in the Salisbury Prison
• Opposite page 419 VIII.—The Massacre of Union Prisoners attempting to Escape from Salisbury, North Carolina
• Opposite page 441 IX.—Escaping Prisoners fed by Negroes in their Master's Barn
• Opposite page 471 X.—Fording a Stream
• Opposite page 489 XI.—Dan Ellis
• Opposite page 501 XII.—"The Nameless Heroine" piloting the Escaping Prisoners out of a Rebel Ambush
• Opposite page 512 XIII.—"The Nameless Heroine"

CONTENTS.

• I.—THE SECRET SERVICE.

  CHAPTER I.

  Going South in the Secret Service.—Instructions from the Managing Editor.—A Visit to the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky.—Nashville, Tennessee.—Alabama Unionists.—How the State was Precipitated into the Rebellion.—Reaching Memphis.—Abolitionists Mobbed and Hanged.—Brutalities of Slavery.

• CHAPTER II.

  In Memphis.—How the Secessionists Carried the Day.—Aims of the Leading Rebels.—On the Railroad.—A Northerner Warned.—An Amusing Dialogue.—Talk about Assassinating President Lincoln.—Arrival in New Orleans.—Hospitality from a Stranger.—An Ovation to General Twiggs.—Braxton Bragg.—The Rebels Anxious for War.—A Glance at the Louisiana Convention.

• CHAPTER III.

  Association with Leading Secessionists.—Their Hatred of New England.—Admission to the Democratic Club.—Abuse of President Lincoln.—Sinking Buildings, Cellars and Walls Impossible.—Cemeteries above Ground.—Monument of a Pirate.—Canal Street.—The Great French Markets.—Dedication of a Secession Flag in the Catholic Church.—The Cotton Presses.—Visit to the Jackson Battle-ground.—The Creoles.—Jackson's Head-Quarters.—A Fire in the Rear.—A Life Saved by a Cigar.—A Black Republican Flag.—Vice-President Hamlin a Mulatto.—Northerners leaving the South.

• CHAPTER IV.

  How Letters were Written and Transmitted.—A System of Cipher.—A Philadelphian among the Rebels.—Probable fate of a Tribune Correspondent, if Discovered.—Southern Manufactures.—A Visit to a Southern Shoe Factory.—Where the Machinery and Workmen came from.—How Southern Shoes were Made.—Study of Southern Society.—Report of a Slave Auction.—Sale of a White Woman.—Girls on the Block.—Husbands and Wives Separated.—A most Revolting Spectacle.—The Delights of a Tropical Climate.

• CHAPTER V.

  A Northerner among the Minute Men.—Louisiana Convention.—A Lively Discussion.—Boldness of the Union Members.—Another Exciting Discussion.—Secessionists Repudiate their Own Doctrines.—Despotic Rebel Theories.—The Northwest to Join the Rebels.—The Great Swamp.—A Trip through Louisiana.—The Tribune Correspondent Invited to a Seat in the Mississippi Convention.

• CHAPTER VI.

  The Mississippi State-House.—View of the Rebel Hall.—Its General Air of Dilapidation.—A Free-and-Easy Convention.—Southern Orators.—The Anglo-African Delegate.—A Speech Worth Preserving.—Familiar Conversation of Members.—New Orleans Again.—Reviewing Troops.—New Orleans Again.—Hatred of Southern Unionists.—Three Obnoxious Northerners.—The Attack on Sumter.—Rebel Bravado.

• CHAPTER VII.

  Abolition Tendencies of Kentuckians.—Fundamental Grievances of the Rebels.—Sudden Departure from New Orleans.—Mobile.—The War Spirit High.—An Awkward Encounter.—"Massa, Fort Sumter has gone Up."—Bells Ringing.—Cannon Booming.—Up the Alabama River.—A Dancing Little Darkey.—How to Escape Suspicion.—Southern Characteristics and Provincialism.—Visit to the Confederate Capital.—At Montgomery, Alabama.—Copperas Breeches vs. Black Breeches.—A Correspondent under Arrest.

• CHAPTER VIII.

  A Journey Through Georgia.—Excitement of the People.—Washington to be Captured.—Apprehensions about Arming the Negroes.—A Fatal Question.—Charleston.—Looking at Fort Sumter.—A Short Stay in the City.—North Carolina.—The Country on Fire.—Submitting to Rebel Scrutiny.—The North Heard From.—Richmond, Virginia.—The Frenzy of the People.—Up the Potomac.—The Old Flag Once More.—An Hour with President Lincoln.—Washington in Panic.—A Regiment which Came Out to Fight.—Baltimore under Rebel Rule.—Pennsylvania.—The North fully Aroused.—Uprising of the whole People.—A Tribune Correspondent on Trial in Charleston.—He is Warned to Leave.—His Fortunate Escape

• II.—THE FIELD.

  CHAPTER IX.

  Sunday at Niagara Falls.—View from the Suspension Bridge.—The Palace of the Frost King.—Chicago, a City Rising from the Earth.—Mysteries of Western Currency.—A Horrible Spectacle in Arkansas.—Patriotism of the Northwest.—Missouri.—The Rebels bent on Revolution.—Nathaniel Lyon.—Camp Jackson.—Sterling Price Joins the Rebels.—His Quarrel with Frank Blair.—His Personal Character.—St. Louis in a Convulsion.—A Nashville Experience.—Bitterness of Old Neighbors.—Good Soldiers for Scaling Walls.—Wholesome Advice to Missouri Slaveholders

• CHAPTER X.

  Cairo, Illinois.—A Visit from General McClellan.—A little Speech-making.—Penalty of Writing for The Tribune.—A Unionist Aided to Escape from Memphis by a Loyal Girl.—The Fascinations of Cairo.—The Death of Douglas.—A Clear-headed Contraband.—A Review of the Troops.—"Not a Fighting Nigger, but a Running Nigger."—Capture of a Rebel Flag

• CHAPTER XI.

  Missouri Again.—The Retributions of Time.—A Railroad Reminiscence.—Jefferson City.—A Fugitive Governor.—"Black Republicanism."—Belligerent Chaplain.—A Rebel Newspaper Converted by the Iowa Soldiers.—Two Camp Stories of the Marvelous

• CHAPTER XII.

  Chicago.—Corn, not Cotton, is King.—Curious Reminiscences of the City.—A Visit to the Grave of Douglas.—Patriotism of the Northwestern Germans.—Their Social Habits.—Cincinnati in the Early Days.—A City Founded by a Woman.—The Aspirations of the Cincinnatian.—Kentucky.—Treason and Loyalty in Louisville.—A Visit to George D. Prentice.—The first Union Troops of Kentucky.— Struggle in the Kentucky Legislature.—What the Rebel Leaders Want.—Rousseau's Visit to Washington.—His Interview with President Lincoln.—Timidity of the Kentucky Unionists.—Loyalty of Judge Lusk.

• CHAPTER XIII.

  Western Virginia.—Campaigning in the Kanawha Valley.—A Bloodthirsty Female Rebel.—A Soldier Proves to be a Woman in Disguise.—Extravagant Joy of the Negroes.—How the Soldiers Foraged.—The Falls of the Kanawha.—A Tragedy of Slavery.—St. Louis.—The Future of the City.—A disgusted Rebel Editor.

• CHAPTER XIV.

  The Battle of Wilson Creek.—Daring Exploit of a Kansas Officer.—Death of Lyon.—His Courage and Patriotism.—Arrival of General Fremont.—Union Families Driven Out.—An Involuntary Sojourn in Rebel Camps.—A Startling Confederate Atrocity.

• CHAPTER XV.

  Jefferson City, Missouri.—Fremont's Army.—Organization of the Bohemian Brigade.—An Amusing Inquiry.—Diversions of the Correspondents.—A Polite Army Chaplain.—Sights in Jefferson City.—"Fights mit Sigel."—Fremont's Head-Quarters.—Appearance of the General.—Mrs. Fremont.—Sigel, Hunter, Pope, Asboth, McKinstry.—Sigel's Transportation Train.—A Countryman's Estimate of Troops.

• CHAPTER XVI.

  A Kid-gloved Corps.—Charge of Fremont's Body-guard.—Major White.—Turning the Tables.—Welcome from the Union Residents of Springfield.—Freaks of the Kansas Brigade.—A Visit to the Wilson-Creek Battle-Ground.—"Missing."—Graves Opened by Wolves.—Capture of a Female Spy.—Fremont's Farewell to His Army.—Dissatisfaction Among the Soldiers.—Spurious Missouri Unionists.—The Conduct of Secretary Cameron and Adjutant-General Thomas.

• CHAPTER XVII.

  Rebel Guerrillas Outwitted.—Expedition to Fort Henry.—Scenes in the Captured Fort.—Commodore Foote in the Pulpit.—Capture of Fort Donelson.—Scenes in Columbus, Kentucky.—A Curious Anti-Climax.—Hospital Scenes.

• CHAPTER XVIII.

  Down the Mississippi.—Bombardment of Island Number Ten.—Sensations under Fire.—Flanking the Island.—Daily Life on a Gunboat.—Triumph of Engineering Skill.—The Surrender.

• CHAPTER XIX.

  The Battle of Shiloh.—With the Sanitary Commission.—A Union Orator in Rebel Hands.—Grant and Sherman in Battle.—Hair-breadth 'Scapes.—General Sweeney.—Arrival of Buell's Army.—The Final Struggle.—Losses of the Two Armies.

• CHAPTER XX.

  Grant under a Cloud.—He Smokes and Waits.—Military Jealousies.—The Union and Rebel Wounded.

• CHAPTER XXI.

  An Interview with General Sherman.—His Complaints about the Press.—Sherman's Personal Appearance.—Humors of the Telegraph.—Our Advance upon Corinth.—Weaknesses of Sundry Generals.—"Ten Thousand Prisoners Taken."—Halleck's Faux Pas at Corinth.—Out on the Front.—Among the Sharp-shooters.—Halleck and the War Correspondents.

• CHAPTER XXII.

  Bloodthirstiness of Rebel Women.—The Battle of Memphis.—Gallant Exploit of the Rams.—A Sailor on a Lark.—Appearance of the Captured City.—The Jews in Memphis.—A Rebel Paper Supervised.—"A Dam Black-harted Ablichiness."—Challenge from a Southern Woman.—Valuable Currency.—A Rebel Trick.—One of Sherman's Jokes.—Fictitious Battle Reports.—Curtis's March through Arkansas.—The Siege of Cincinnati.

• CHAPTER XXIII.

  With the Army of the Potomac.—On the War-Path.—A Duel in Arizona.—How Correspondents Avoided Expulsion.—Shameful Surrender of Harper's Ferry.—General Hooker at Antietam.—"Stormed at with Shot and Shell."—A Night Among the Pickets.—The Battlefield.

• CHAPTER XXIV.

  The Day after the Battle.—Among the Dead.—Lee Permitted to Escape.—The John Brown Engine-House.—President Lincoln Reviewing the Army.—Dodging Cannon Balls.—"An Intelligent Contraband."—Harper's Ferry.—Curiosities of the Signal Corps.—View from Maryland Hights.

• CHAPTER XXV.

  Marching Southward.—Rebel Girl with Sharp Tongue.—A Slight Mistake.—Removal of General McClellan.—Familiarity of the Pickets.—The Life of an Army Correspondent.—A Negro's Idea of Freedom.—The Battle of Fredericksburg.—A Telegraphic Blunder.—The Batteries at Fredericksburg.—A Disappointed Virginian.—The Spirit of the Army under Defeat.

• CHAPTER XXVI.

  Reminiscences of President Lincoln.—His Great Canvass with Douglas.—His Visit to Kansas.—His Manner of Public Speaking.—High Praise from an Opponent.—A Deed without a Name.—Sherman's Quarrel with the Press.—An Army Correspondent Court-Martialed.—A Visit to President Lincoln.—Two of his "Little Stories."—His familiar Conversation.—Opinions about McClellan and Vicksburg.—Our best Contribution to History.

• CHAPTER XXVII.

  Reminiscences of General Sumner.—His Conduct in Kansas.—A Thrilling Scene in Battle.—How Sumner Fought.—Ordered Back by McClellan.—Love for his Old Comrades.—Traveling Through the Northwest.—A Visit to Rosecrans's Army.—Rosecrans in a Great Battle.—A Scene in Memphis.

• III.—THE DUNGEON.

  CHAPTER XXVIII.

  Running the Vicksburg Batteries.—Expedition Badly Fitted Out.—"Into the Jaws of Death."—A Moment of Suspense.—Disabled and Drifting Helplessly.—Bombarding, Scalding, Burning, Drowning.—Taking to a Hay Bale.—Overturned.—Rescued from the River.—The Killed, Wounded, and Missing.

• CHAPTER XXIX.

  Standing by Our Colors.—Confinement in the Vicksburg Jail.—Sympathizing Sambo.—Parolled to Return Home.—Turning the Tables.—Visit from Many Rebels.—Interview with Jacob Thompson.—Arrival in Jackson, Mississippi.—Kindness of Southern Rebels.—A Project for Escape.

• CHAPTER XXX.

  A Word with a Union Woman.—Grierson's Great Raid.—Stumping the State.—An Enraged Texan Officer.—Waggery of a Captured Journalist.—The Alabama River.—Atlanta Editors Advocate Hanging the Prisoners.—Renegade Vermonters.

• CHAPTER XXXI.

  Arrival in Richmond.—Lodged in Libby Prison.—Sufferings from Vermin.—Prisoners Denounced as Blasphemous.—Thieving of a Virginia Gentleman.—Brutality of Captain Turner.—Prisoners Murdered by the Guards.—Fourth of July Celebration.—The Horrors of Belle Isle.

• CHAPTER XXXII.

  The Captains Ordered Below.—Two Selected for Execution.—The Gloomiest Night in Prison.—Glorious Revulsion of Feeling.—Exciting Discussion in Prison.—Stealing Money from the Captives.—Horrible Treatment of Northern Citizens.—Extravagant Rumors among the Prisoners.

• CHAPTER XXXIII.

  Transferred to Castle Thunder.—Better than the Libby.—Determined Not to Die.—A Negro Cruelly Whipped.—The Execution of Spencer Kellogg.—Steadfastness of Southern Unionists.

• CHAPTER XXXIV.

  A Waggish Journalist.—Proceedings of a Mock Court.—Escape by Killing a Guard.—Escape by Playing Negro.—Escape by Forging a Release.—Escaped Prisoner at Jeff Davis's Levee.

• CHAPTER XXXV.

  Assistance from a Negro Boy.—The Prison Officers Enraged.—Visit from a Friendly Woman.—Shut up in a Cell.—Stealing from Flag-of-Truce Letters.—Parols Repudiated by the Rebels.—Sentenced to the Salisbury Prison.—Abolitionists before the War.

• CHAPTER XXXVI.

  The Open Air and Pure Water.—The Crushing Weight of Imprisonment.—Bad News from Home.—The Great Libby Tunnel.—Escape of Colonel Streight.—Horrible Sufferings of Union Officers.—A Cool Method of Escape.—Captured through the Obstinacy of a Mule.—Concealing Money when Searched.—Attempts to Escape Frustrated.—Yankee Deserters Whipped and Hanged.

• CHAPTER XXXVII.

  Great Influx of Prisoners.—Starving in the Midst of Food.—Freezing in the Midst of Fuel.—Rebel Surgeons Generally Humane.—Terrible Scenes in the Hospitals.—The Rattling Dead-Cart.—Cruelty of our Government.—General Butler's Example of Retaliation.

• CHAPTER XXXVIII.

  Attempted Outbreak and Massacre.—Cold-blooded Murders Frequent.—Hostility to The Tribune Correspondents.—A Cruel Injustice.—Rebel Expectations of Peace.—The Prison Like the Tomb.—Something about Tunneling.—The Tunnelers Ingeniously Baffled.

• IV.—THE ESCAPE.

  CHAPTER XXXIX.

  Fifteen Months of Fruitless Endeavor.—A Fearful Journey in Prospect.—A Friendly Confederate Officer.—Effects of Hunger and Cold.—Another Plan in Reserve.—Passing the Sentinel.—"Beg Pardon, Sir."—Encountering Rebel Acquaintances.

• CHAPTER XL.

  "Out of the Jaws of Death."—Concealed in Sight of the Prison.—Certain to be Brought Back.—Commencing the Long Journey.—Too Weak for Traveling.—Severe March in the Rain.

• CHAPTER XLI.

  A Cabin of Friendly Negroes.—Southerners Unacquainted with Tea.—Walking Twelve Miles for Nothing.—Every Negro a Friend.—Touching Fidelity of the Slaves.—Pursued by a Home-Guard.—Help in the Last Extremity.—Carried Fifteen Miles by Friends

• CHAPTER XLII.

  A Curious Dilemma.—Food, Shelter, and Friends.—Loyalty of the Mountaineers.—A Levee in a Barn.—Visited by an Old Friend.—A Day of Alarms.—A Woman's Ready Wit.—Danger of Detection from Snoring.—Promises to Aid Suffering Comrades.—A Repentant Rebel

• CHAPTER XLIII.

  Flanking a Rebel Camp.—Secreted among the Husks.—Wandering from the Road.—Crossing the Yadkin River.—Union Bushwhackers.—Union Soldiers "Lying Out."—An Energetic Invalid

• CHAPTER XLIV.

  Money Concealed in Clothing.—Peril of Union Citizens.—Fording Creeks at Midnight.—Climbing the Blue Ridge.—Crossing the New River at Midnight

• CHAPTER XLV.

  Over Mountains and Through Ravines.—Mistaken for Confederate Guards.—A Rebel Guerrilla Killed.—Meeting a Former Fellow-Prisoner.—Alarm about Rebel Cavalry.—A Stanch old Unionist.—The Greatest Danger.—A Well Fortified Refuge

• CHAPTER XLVI.

  Dan Ellis, the Union Guide.—In Good Hands at Last.—Ellis's Bravery.—Lost! A Perilous Blunder.—A most Fortunate Encounter.—Rejoining Dan and His Party.—A Terrible March

• CHAPTER XLVII.

  Fording Creeks in the Darkness.—Prospect of a Dreary Night.—Sleeping among the Husks.—Turning Back in Discouragement.—An Alarm at Midnight.—A Young Lady for a Guide.—The Nameless Heroine.

• CHAPTER XLVIII.

  Among the Delectable Mountains.—Separation from Friends.—Union Women Scrutinizing the Yankee.—"Slide Down off that Horse."—Friendly Words, but Hostile Eyes.—Hospitalities of a Loyal Patriarch.—"Out of the Mouth of Hell."

THE FIELD, THE DUNGEON, AND THE ESCAPE.