Brockett, Linus Pierpont; The camp, the battle field, and the hospital : or,
Lights and shadows of the great rebellion. Including adventures of spies and
scouts, thrilling incidents, daring exploits, heroic deeds, wonderful escapes,
sanitary and hospital scenes, prison scenes, etc., etc., etc.; Philadelphia:
National publishing co. c1866. pp. 280-282
NARRATIVE OF
CAPTAIN JOHN F. PORTER, JR., FOURTEENTH NEW YORK CAVALRY - PARTICULARS OF HIS
ESCAPE.
CAPTAIN JOHN F. PORTER, of the Fourteenth New York Cavalry,
arrived in New York on Monday night, February 15th, 1864, from
Washington, having escaped from Richmond., where he was a prisoner of war.
Captain Porter was taken prisoner on the 15th of June, 1863, in the
attack on Port Hudson. He was carried to Jackson, and thence conducted to the
rebel capital, which he reached on the 29th of June. In Richmond, he
was incarcerated in the now famous Libby prison.
Some two months previous to his escape, Captain Porter
determined upon making such an attempt. He then tried to purchase a rebel
uniform, but could not get it. At a later date, however, he succeeded in
procuring rebel clothing, several brother officers in prison providing him with
each article suitable for his purpose, which they possessed. Captain Porter was
so emaciated from want of food and the sufferings while in prison, as well as a
revere wound which he received at the second Bull Run, that he found much
difficulty in walking; but after taking a little exercise daily, and gradually
increasing the same, he soon found his strength increasing, and nerved himself
to the task of an effort to escape.
On the morning of the 29th of last January,
accompanied by Major E. L. Bates of the Eighteenth Illinois Volunteers, Captain
Porter made his first attempt. He went down to the main entry of the prison and
entered the surgeon’s room. Here he informed the surgeon that he was attacked
with chills, and so deceived this excellent medical gentleman that he gave him
medicine for the disease. He next passed down into the room occupied by the
commissary, shaved his beard and darkened his eyebrows and hair, thus disguising
himself perfectly. Captain Porter did not then endeavor to pass out of the gate,
but waited until three o’clock in the afternoon, which was the hour designated
for roll-call. At this time he went into the middle room of the prison, and,
roll-call being over, went down with the guard. Captain Porter then waited until
the guard went into the building, and while a new one was being placed on duty,
passed Post No. 1, down Carey street, in which Libby Prison is situated. Having
got outside of the city limits, he suddenly stumbled against a battery, and,
seeing a negro in the vicinity, asked the name of the battery, and was told it
was No. 4. Passed out along the Nine Mile road, and, coming to a wood, stayed
there over night, and returned to Richmond next morning, in order to await a
more favorable opportunity for reaching the Union lines. In Richmond, Captain
Porter now remained nine days without suspicion, during which time he passed
around the entire fortifications of the city. At the end of that time he
procured a passport from a rebel officer, and, in company with a family of Irish
refugees, started for the Army of the Potomac. Arriving at Cat Tail Church, in
Hanover county, the party were suddenly surrounded by rebel cavalry. Captain
Porter’s passport was rigorously examined, and his person robbed of one
hundred dollars Confederate money, the rebels leaving him fifty in his
possession. Two days after, having reached the Rappahannock, the river was
crossed into Richmond county, and the party reached the banks of the Potomac on
Thursday. They were secreted in the house of a Union gentleman until Friday
night, who, for twenty dollars in gold, chartered a boat to carry them to
Maryland. They were then landed at Clement’s bay, St. Mary’s county,
Maryland. Captain Porter here fell in with a detachment of the Second, Fifth,
and Sixth Regular Cavalry, and was by them escorted to Leonardtown. Here the
escaped officer was provided with transportation to Point Lookout, where, on
reporting to General Manton, he was sent on to Washington.
Major Bates, who escaped a few hours previous to Captain
Porter, was subsequently recaptured.
Captain Porter says that the tunnel by which the last batch
of officers made their escape from Libby Prison, was commenced on last
New Year’s Night. It extended from one of the lower rooms of the prison some
two hundred yards into the street, opening on a vacant lot.
Brockett, Linus Pierpont; The Camp, the Battle Field,
and the Hospital : or, Lights and Shadows of the Great Rebellion. Including
adventures of spies and scouts, thrilling incidents, daring exploits, heroic
deeds, wonderful escapes, sanitary and hospital scenes, prison scenes, etc.,
etc., etc.; Philadelphia: National publishing co. c1866. pp. 285-292
HOW THE PRISONERS
ESCAPED FROM THE RICHMOND JAIL-INCREDIBLE UNDERGROUND WORK, — FRIENDSHIP OF
VIRGINIA NEGROES.
ABOUT the beginning of the year 1864 the officers confined
in Libby
Prison conceived the idea of effecting their own exchange, and after the
matter had been seriously discussed by some seven or eight of them, they
undertook to dig for a distance toward a sewer running. into a basin. This they
proposed doing by commencing at a point in the cellar near to the chimney. This
cellar was immediately under the hospital, and was the receptacle for refuse
straw, thrown from the beds when they were changed, and for other refuse matter.
Above the hospital was a room for officers, and above that yet another room. The
chimney ran through all these rooms, and prisoners who were in the secret,
improvised a rope, and night after night let working parties down, who
successfully prosecuted their excavating operations.
The dirt was hid under the straw and other refuse matter in
the cellar, and it was trampled down to prevent too great a bulk. When the
working party had got to a considerable distance underground, it was found
difficult to haul the dirt back by hand, and a spittoon, which had been
furnished the officers in one of the rooms, was made to serve the purpose of a
cart. A string was attached to it, and it was run in the tunnel, and as soon as
filled was drawn out and deposited under the straw. But after hard work, and
digging with finger nails, knives, and chisels, a number of feet, the working
party found themselves stopped by piles driven in the ground. These were at
least a foot in diameter. But they were not discouraged. Penknives, or any other
articles that would cut, were called for, and after chipping, chipping,
chipping, for a long time, the piles were severed, and the tunnelers commenced
again, after a time reaching the sewer.
But here an unexpected obstacle met their further progress.
The stench from the sewer and the flow of filthy water was so great that one of
the party fainted, and was dragged out more dead than alive, and the project in
that direction had to be abandoned. The failure was communicated to a few others
beside those who had first thought of escape, and then a party of seventeen,
after viewing the premises and surroundings, concluded to tunnel under Carey
street. On the opposite side of this street from the prison was a sort of
carriage house or outhouse, and the project was to dig under the street, and
emerge from under or near the house. There was a high fence around it, and the
guard was outside of this fence. The prisoners then commenced to dig at the
other side of the chimney, and after a few handfuls of dirt had been removed
they found themselves stopped by a stone wall, which proved afterward to be
three feet thick. The party were by no means daunted, and with pocket-knives and
penknives they commenced operations upon the stone and mortar.
After nineteen days and nights at hard work they again
struck the earth beyond the wall, and pushed their work forward. Here, too
(after they got some distance under ground) the friendly spittoon was brought
into requisition, and the dirt was hauled out in small quantities. After digging
for some days the question arose whether they had not reached the point aimed
at; and in order if possible to test the matter, Captain Gallagher, of the
Second Ohio Regiment, pretended that he had a box in the carriage house over the
way, and desired to search it out. This carriage house, it is proper to state,
was used as a receptacle for boxes and goods sent to the prisoners from the
North, and the recipients were often allowed to go, under guard, across the
street to secure their property. Captain Gallagher was allowed permission to go
there, and as he walked across under guard, he, as well as he could, paced off
the distance, and concluded that the street was about fifty feet wide.
On the 6th or 7th of February the
working party supposed they had gone a sufficient distance, and commenced to dig
upward. When near the surface they heard the rebel guards talking above them,
and discovered they were two or three feet yet outside the fence.
The displacing of a stone made considerable noise, and one
of the sentinels called to his comrade and asked him what the noise meant. The
guards, after listening a few minutes, concluded that nothing was wrong, and
returned to their beats. The hole was stopped up by inserting into the crevice a
pair of old pantaloons filled with straw, and bolstering the whole up with
boards, which they secured from the floors, etc., of the prison. The tunnel was
then continued some six or seven feet more, and when the working party supposed
they were about ready to emerge to daylight, others in the prison were informed
that there was a way now open for escape. One hundred and nine of the prisoners
decided to make the attempt to get away. Others refused, fearing the
consequences if they were recaptured.
At half-past eight o’clock on the evening of the 9th
the prisoners started out, Colonel Rose, of New York, leading the van. Before
starting, the prisoners had divided themselves into squads of two, three, and
four, and each squad was to take a different route, and after they were out were
to push for the Union lines as fast as possible. It was the understanding
that-the working party were to have an hour’s start of the other prisoners,
and, consequently, the rope-ladder in the cellar was drawn out. Before the
expiration of the hour, however, the other prisoners became impatient, and were
let down through the chimney successfully into the cellar.
The aperture was so narrow that but one man could get
through at a time, and each squad carried with them provisions in a haversack.
At midnight a false alarm was created, and the prisoners made considerable noise
in their quarters. Providentially, however, the guard suspected nothing wrong,
and in a few moments the exodus was again commenced. Colonel Kendrick and his
companions looked with some trepidation upon the movements of the fugitives, as
some of them, exercising but little discretion, moved boldly out of the
enclosure into the glare of the gaslight. Many of them were, however, in
citizen’s dress, and as all the rebel guards wore the United States uniform,
but little suspicion could be excited, even if the fugitives had been accosted
by a guard.
Between one and two o’clock the lamps were extinguished
in the streets, and then the exit was more safely accomplished. There were many
officers who desired to leave, who were so weak and feeble that they were
dragged through the tunnel by mere force, and carried to places of security,
until such time as they would be able to move on their journey. At half-past two
o’clock, Captain Joyce, Colonel Kendrick, and Lieutenant Bradford passed out
in the order in which they are named, and as Colonel Kendrick emerged from the
hole he heard the guard within a few feet of him sing out: “Post No. 7,
half-past two in the morning and all is well.” Lieutenant Bradford was
intrusted with the provisions for this squad, and in getting through was obliged
to leave his haversack behind him, as he could not get through with it upon him.
Once out they proceeded up the street, keeping in the shade
of the buildings, and passed eastwardly through the city.
A description of the route pursued by this party, and of
the tribulations through which they passed, will give some idea of the rough
time they all had of it. Colonel Kendrick had, before leaving the prison, mapped
out his course, and concluded that the best route to take was the one toward
Norfolk or Fortress Monroe, as there were fewer rebel pickets in that direction.
They therefore kept the York River railroad to the left, and moved toward the
Chickahominy river. They passed through Boar Swamp, and crossed the road leading
to Bottom Bridge. Sometimes they waded through mud and water almost up to their
necks, and kept the Bottom Bridge road to their left, although at times they
could see and hear the cars travelling over the York River road.
While passing through the swamp near the Chickahominy,
Colonel Kendrick sprained his ankle and fell. Fortunate, too, was that fall for
him and his party, for while he was lying there one of them chanced to look up,
and saw in a direct line with them a swamp bridge, and in the dim outline they
could perceive that parties with muskets were passing over the bridge. They
therefore moved some distance to the south, and after passing through more of
the swamp, reached the Chickahominy about four miles below Bottom Bridge. Here
now was a difficulty. The river was only twenty feet wide, but it was very deep,
and the refugees were worn out and fatigued. Chancing, however, to look up,
Lieutenant. Bradford saw that two trees had fallen on either side of the river,
and that their branches were interlocked. By crawling up one tree and down the
other, the fugitives reached the east bank of the Chickahominy.
They subsequently learned from a friendly negro that, had
they crossed the bridge they had seen, they would assuredly have been
recaptured, for Captain Turner, the keeper of Libby
Prison, had been out and posted guards there, and in fact had alarmed the
whole country, and got the people up as a vigilant committee to capture the
escaped prisoners.
After crossing over this natural bridge they laid down on
the ground and slept until sunrise on the morning of the 11th, when
they continued on their way, keeping eastwardly as near as they could. Up to
this time they had had nothing to eat, and were almost famished. About noon of
the 11th they met several negroes, who gave them information as to
the whereabouts of the rebel pickets, and furnished them with food.
Acting under the advice of these friendly negroes, they
remained quietly in the woods until darkness had set in, when they were
furnished with a comfortable supper by the negroes, and after dark proceeded on
their way, the negroes (who everywhere showed their friendship to the fugitives)
having first directed them how to avoid the rebel pickets. That night they
passed a camp of rebels, and could plainly see the smoke and camp fires. But
their wearied feet gave out, and they were compelled to stop and rest, having
only marched five miles that day.
They started again at daylight on the 13th, and
after moving awhile through the woods they saw a negro woman working in a field
and called her to them. From her they received directions and were told that the
rebel pickets had been about there looking for the fugitives from Libby. Here
they laid down again, and resumed their journey when darkness set in, and
marched five miles, but halted till the morning of the 14th, when the journey
was resumed.
At one point they met a negress in a field, and she told
them that her mistress was a secesh woman, and that she had a son in the rebel
army. The party, however, were exceedingly hungry, and they determined to secure
some food. This they did by boldly approaching the house and, informing the
mistress that they were fugitives from Norfolk, who had been driven out by
Butler; and the secesh sympathies of the woman were at once aroused, and she
gave them of her substance, and started them on their way, with directions how
to avoid the Yankee soldiers, who occasionally scouted in that vicinity. This
information was exceedingly valuable to the refugees, for by it they discovered
the whereabouts of the Federal forces.
When about fifteen miles from Williamsburg the party came
upon the main road and found the tracks of a large body of cavalry. A piece of
paper found by Captain Jones satisfied him that they were Union cavalry; but his
companions were suspicious, and avoided the road and moved forward. At the
“Burnt Ordinary” (about ten miles from Williamsburg) they awaited the return
of the cavalry that had moved up the road, and from behind a fence corner, where
they were secreted, the fugitives saw the flag of the Union, supported by a
squadron of cavalry, which proved to be a detachment of Colonel Spear’s 11th
Pennsylvania Regiment, sent out for the purpose of picking up escaped prisoners.
Colonel Kendrick says his feelings at seeing the old flag are indescribable.
At all points along the route the fugitives describe their
reception by the negroes as most enthusiastic, and there was no lack of white
people who sympathized with them and helped them on their way.
In their escape the officers were aided by citizens of
Richmond; not foreigners or the poor class only, but by natives and persons of
wealth. They know their friends there, but very properly withhold any mention of
their names. Of those who got out of Libby
Prison there were a number of sick ones, who were cared for by Union
people, and will eventually reach the Union lines through their aid.
