lice *Lobe.
HUNTINGDON, PA.
Wednesday inotning t Des. 9 t 1863.
W.. Lewis ; Editor and Proprietor.
Our Flag Forever.
" I know of no mode in which a loyal citi
zen may so well demonstrate his de&otion io
ha country as by sustaining the Flag, the
Constitution and the Union, under all circum
stances, and UNDSIS STYMY ADMINISTRATION,
NZGARDLICBB OP PARTY POLITICS, AGAINST ALL
SABAILANTS, AT MOM& AND AUROAD."-STEPIISN
A. DOUGLAS.
CONGRESS.
Both Houses organized at 12 o'clock
on Monday last. Hon. Schuyler Col
fax of Indiana, Union camas nominee,
was elected Speaker by twenty-one
majority. The result was received
with great applause in the galleries.
The President's Message will be
sent in to-day, Tuesday ; if possible,
our readers shall receive it this week.
LATEST NEWS.—Advices from Kings
ton state that Sherman's expedition
bad Longstreet hemmed in, with a
poor chance to escape.
ma-Richmond papers of the 4th,
-say that tho firing continues from our
side, and that new guns bearing on
Charleston have been mounted, and a
new battery has also been unmasked•
Breekinridge not Dead.—The Rich
mond papers contain a dispatch sta
ting that Breckinridge and Bragg
were serenaded at Dalton on the 2nd.
The great traitor is therefore not dead.
Cormasss met on Monday last, De
cember the 7th. TlAo following is a
Est of tho Senators and Representa
tives from Pennsylvania, viz :
SENATOItS
Edgar Cowan, Greensburg.
Charles R. Buckalew, Bloomsburg.
REPRESENTATIVES.
1. Samuel J Randall, Philadelphia. •
2. Charles O'Neill, Philadelphia.
3. Leonard Myers, Philadelphia.
4. William D Kelley, Philadelphia.
5. M Russell Thayer, Chestnut Hill.
6. John D. Stiles, Allentown.
7. John M Broomall, Chester.
8. Sydenham E Ancona, Reading.
9. Thaddeus Stevens, Lancaster.
10. Myer Strouso, Pottsville.
11. Philip Johnson, Easton.
12. Charles Dennison, Wilkesbarre.
18. Et M Tracy, Standing Stone.
14. William H Miller, Harrisburg.
15. Toile& Bailey, Newport.
16. A II Coffroth, Somerset.
17. Arch. McAllister, Springfield Fur
18. James T. Hale, Bellefonte. •
19. Glenni W Schofield, Warren -
• 20.-Amoo-m-ters;ollirion.
91: - John L. Dawson, Brownsville.
22. James K Moorhead, Pittsburg.
23. Thomas Williams, Pittsburg.
24. Jesse Lazear, Waynesburg.
The War Democrats of the North-
CM
'the Conference of War Democrats,
held at Chicago on Wednesday 26th
nit was attended by some forty per
sons, representing the States of Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Min
nesota. A declaration of principles
was adopted, and measures taken
—looking to a national organization.—
The platform declares unequivocally
in favor of the Union, denies that thei
Constitution affords any pretext fpr
secession, providing, on the contrary,
a peaceful remedy for every grievance
that may occur in any part of the
country :
"That, during the existence of this
rebellion to destroy the Union, we
hereby declare that the preservation
of the Union under the Constitution
shall be the paramount issue with us,
and we hereby proclaim fellowship
with and desire the cooperation of, all
who will unite with us for the attain
ment of this object; and we repudiate
parties and their sympathizers, as well
as all platforms, which seek
.. or tend to
embroil the people of States and in
cite treason, and array resistance to
law anywhere, and whose avowed or
motet purpose, if consummated, must
end in disunion.
"That this meeting recommend the
war Democracy of the several States
to meet in delegate national conven
tion, at Cincinnati, on the first Wed
nesday in May, 1864, for the purpose
of taking such action as they may
think best touching the nomination of
candidates for President and Vice
President of the United States, and
determine other matters as they may
think proper, and that there be a Na
tional Executive Committee of. one
from each State, to promote the object
of the resolution.
"The following gentlemen were
named as members of the Nationol
Executive Committee for the States
reported : Amos Lovering Hubbard,
Indiana; John A McOlernand, Illinois;
Joseph E. Egley, Ohio ; Matthew H.
Carpenter, Wisconsin ; Henry M. Rice,
Minnesota."
1864.—The Old Franklin, Baer's
Lancaster, the Eagorstown, and other
Almanacs, for sale at Lewis' Book
Store.
Ifxs. Jane M. Pierce, wife of
Ex• President Pierce, died Wednesday
at Andover, Ilase. She had been in
failing health for a long time.
as. Scarlet fever is carrying off
scores of children in a portion of Cam
bria county. Hundreds have died
'into tba middle of Ootobor.
Itor to Help the Richmond Prieon-
EU
The suffering of our prisoners in
the Richmond jails is still:a topic of
painful interest in every newspaper,
and at almost every hearthstone in the
country. Several plans have been
proposed for the relief of the unfortu
nate victims of rebel barbarities, and
among others a proposition, made in
onr columns some days ago, that a
volunteer army of one or two hundred
thousand mon shall be immediately
raised, acting under the plans and au
thority of the War Department, and
co-operating with the armies already
in the field, but•designed only for the
special purpose of taking Richmond.
Many good and sensible men, and es
pecially many enthusiastic and san
guine, have favored the idea. The
Washington authorities, laying aside
enthusiasm, and viewing the entire
question in the light of dispassionate
calmness, have thought loss favorably
of the proposed crusade, and thereof
have naturally, and no doubt properly,
refused to sanction it. It will require
but a moment's reflection to ascertain
the considerations which must have
influenced the Government iu reaching
this decision—a decision which no
doubt very many thoughtless people
have regarded as extremely unfeeling.
In the first place, the very attempt to
organize an army of the independent
nature proposed would defeat the ob.
jest sought to be accomplished in its
organization. To raise, equip, and
place in the field, one hundred thou
sand men, would be the work of weeks,
if not of months; to transfer the fifteen
thousand Union prisoners from Rich
mond to the" interior of North and
South Carolina would be the work of
a very few days—and the effect would
be to intensify the sufferings of the.
unfortunate creatures, if such a thing
were possible. We know that the re
bels would not hesitate to do this;
and, indeed, we noticed in a late Rich
mond paper, a statement that several
hundred of the prisoners had been re
moved to Danville, a town upon the
southern boundary-line of Virginia,
the southwestern terminus of the Pe
tersburg Railroad, and so far inland
as not to be easily accessible to inva
ding armies. The advantage of rail
-1 roads, and of interior lines, would
again avail the enemy here, as it has
so often done before, and might prove
an equal offset to the valor and enthu
siasm of our soldiers.
In the second place, the 'raising and
equiping of one hundred thousand mon
. for a special purpose, and but a short
term of service, would materially in
terfere with the plans and operations
of the Government just at tho present
time, when the levy of troops recently
made is yet to be complied with in all
the States. And in the third place, as
there would be no time for drilling,
the collection in one body of the num
ber of men specified, nine-tenths of
them wholly undisciplined, would not
be an army at all, but a mob, from
which nothing bettor could be reason
ably expected than a repetition of the
first Bull Run campaign. Row, then,
can Richmond be taken, and our star
ving men released ? Not by the adop
tion of Quixotic enterprises, but by
the prosecution of the war, as system
atically as ever, and as much more vig
orously as possible. So far as the des
truction-Of power of the
rebellion is concerned, little else than
the breaking up of Leo's army now re
mains to be accomplished. It is true
that Bragg's army has not yet been
annihilated; and a possibility still ex
ists that it may be reinforced by Long
street. Nevertheless, it is a broken,
demoralized army, poorly supplied as
to food and clothing, and can never
again present a formidable front to
General Grant. It is true, also, that
there would seem to be an army of
some magnitude at Charleston, which,
in the event of the capture of that city,
would be enabled to join either Bragg
or Lee. And it is true that, at Savan
nah, Mobile, and west of tho Mississip
pi, there are some thousands of rebel
troops. Still, the fact is not to be dis
puted that Lee's army is the mainstay
of the rebellion, and, with its destruc
tion-, the—rerbell.
the Government. If we destroy that
army we batter down the fortifications
of Richmond, and break the prison
bars that confine our famished, dying
soldiers. • If we would effect their re
lease, and bring the war to a sudden
and triumphant close, we must take
advantage of the present weakness of
the rebellion and hurl against it all
the strength it is possible to concen
trate. The Government has as much
need of troops now as ever it had.
Vie Army of the Potomac) should
be reinforced, if not voluntarily, then
by the unsatisfactory but necessary
process of a draft. It is unquestion
ably true that a hundred thousand
men would volunteer for a single cam
paign against the rebel capital, where
twenty-five thousand would hesitate
to volunteer for a term of three years',
service. But lit is also unquestiona
bly true that the twenty-five thou
sand, or even ono-half of that number,
distributed among the veteran Regi
ments, would do quite as good
service for the Union as the hundred
thousand raw recruits starting forth
upon a chimerical expedition. No bet
ter opportunity than the present, for
rendering such service, has ever been
presented to loyal mon.
We can help to strengthen the Army
of the Potomac if we will; we can help
to destroy the rebel army—once the
right wing, but now the forlorn hope
of the rebellion— if we will; we can
help to close up the war before another
twelvemonth has elapsed, if we 'ill;
and in doing all this we may have the
satisfaction of knowing that while we
aro fulfilling a sacred obligation tow
ards the Government, we are at the
same time, in a military sense, render
ing the most effective service possible
towards the relief of our imprisoned
and etarving brethren in Richmond.
To accomplish their release may seem
but a subordinate purpose in the ad
vance of General Meade; but of Wawa
may rest assured, that in no way can
that object be more speedily, or_fhlly,
or satisfactorily effected, than by a
crushing victory over tbe*6l army
under Leo, such as has justbeen gain:
ed over the army of Brea. Itumau
ity and patriotism alike inspire us to
give unanimity and vigor to this last
effort of the war, and so to strengthen
our srmies that the plans and pros
poets of the Government will be thril
led against failurcjin the future.-.... The
Press.
WAR FOR THE UNION.
FROM CHARLESTON.
Reasons why we have thus far Accom
plished so Little—Why the City is not
Shelled
The Washington correspondent of
the Chicago Tribune, (a high Republi
can authority, that seems to know a
good deal about the naval and milita
ry operations before Charleston,) thus
speculates upon the prospect of redu
cing that city:
"I have no doubt the reason of the
city not being shelled will be found in
the too great strain put upon the hea
vy rifled guns. They either burst
outright, or give away in the rifling
or vents, most probably the latter, af
ter a few shots. A gentleman from
the fleet informs me that the rifled
guns will stand but fifteen hundred
rounds of horizontal firing. Every
round after that, and, indeed, after the
twelfth hundred, is fired at the risk of
explosion. The strain on the piece is
so great that the reinforce of wrought
iron around the breech separates from
the gun. Of course this destroys the
piece. The vent pieces also have a
tendency to blow out. At Vicksburg,
I have been informed by an intelligent
gentleman, the 200-pound Parrotta
blew out their vent pieces almost after
one hundred rounds.
"A Washington paper, indeed, a few
days since, stated that none of the 800
pound Parrots have yet stood the test
even of horizontal firing. The truth
would appear to be, then, that our
Parrott gun hae precisely similar de
fects to the Armstrong, Whitworth
and Blakoly guns. Two Whitworth .
guns, used by Gilmore, at Charleston,
I learn, burst at the fourth or fifth
round, but whether in horizontal or
vertical firing I could not learn. All
know that the celebrated 600-pounder
Blakoly gun burst in the hands of the
rebels, upon a trial of vertical firing,
and they have never, once dared to
use the other pieces in their bands of
the same calibre. Are not these, then
the causes of the failure to shell Char
leston, and thus compel the surrender
of the forts? I leave your readers to
judge.
"It now begins to be the opinion of
military men before Charleston that
the proper mode ofprocoeding against
it, ie by landing a force whore General.
Mitchell landed his—near the Charles
ton and Savannah Railroad—and
thence advance upon the place and at
tack it in the rear. Another plan is
for Gen. Grant to advance to Atlanta
and Augusta, Georgia, and lay regular
siege to it from the rear also. In the
meantime, if it is designed to attack
Charleston with the fleet heavily rein
forced, it will be necessary to supply
new 15-inch guns to those at present
in the fleet, as no smooth-bore gun will
stand more than a certain number of
rounds, 5ay.1,200 or 1,500, without
rendering it liable to explosion.
"This is a heavy and expensive job,
and necessarily takes time. A gen
tleman from the scone of operations,
in whose opinion I have much confi
dence, (and ho has beer, in South Car
olina, or on the coast, since the victo.
ry of Adirel Dupont, at Hilton Head,)
informs me that he has no expectation
of the reduction of the place by the
fleet and land forces now there before
the first day of January, under the
most favorable circumstances.
"The monitors fall in concentration
of fire. This is a nice thing, but in na
val affairs bas been seldom successful.
Nelson tried it, and won, at Copenha
gen, by mere good fortune.. He was
really defeated in the action against
.the forts of the Danes, and the latter
were really more scared than hurt.
Lord Exmouth also tried it and won,
at Algiers, in almost a precisely simi
lar manner. But he was fighting a
gainst barbarians, provided with badly
constructed works, defective guns,
and badly worked batteries. In al
most all other notable instances on
record it has failed. Tho fact of it is,
the powe,r,ottlefence...against naval.at
c -Of - holds ite own, notwithstand
ing the iron-clad movement."
The Bombardment of the Rebel Forts
Still Going on.
PHILADELPHIA, Dee. 4
The 'United States supply steamer
Missachusetts, Lieut. West command
ing, arrived at the Navy Yard at 9 o'-
clock this morning, in sixty-three
hours from Charleston bar, having left
there on Tuesday evening.
When the Massachusetts left, the
bombardment of the forts off Charles
ton was going on night and day. The
firing on Sumter had ceased, and Gen
eral Gillinore turned his attention to
the forts in the inside of the harbor. A
terrific fire was kept up on Fort John
son, which must be reduced before
further progress can be made in the
siege.
Tho news of Gen. Grant's victories
had been received, and on Tuesday
lust salutes wore fired in honor of it
from all the vessels of the fleet and
from the batteries on shore.
The Army of the Cumberland.
A REBEL ATI% DE TOTALLY DE
• MATED BY EURNSIDD.
Death of Gen. kw. 0 Breekiaridge.
Important News from Knoxville
Chattanooga, Dec. 2.—A dispatch
to the Bulletin says: The movements
of this army now going on cannot be
reported.
There are questionable reports of a
rebel raid across .the Chickamauga
river at Red House ford, and that the
families took refuge in the town.
Rumors continue to thicken of rebel
doings in the border counties of Ten
nessee. Reports say that Faulkner
and his men are not Only conscripting
all the men, but taking all the horses,
mules, cattle and hogs, without re
gard to the political sentiments of their
own ere.
New York, Deo. special des
patch to the Tribune contains the fol.
lowing highly important intelligence :
Knoxville, Nov. 80.—During Satur
day night, Nov. 28th, the enemy made
a general attack in force on a large
portion of our skirmishing line, and at
about midnight, succeeded in driving
In our picket& Tills was intended as
a feint to conceal the real point con
templated for assault, and confuse our
army. Cannonading and skirmishing
continued during the entire night.
Early in the morning the enemy
charged in strong force upon General
Ferrior's position, at Fort Saunders.
They were met mid-way by a murder
ous discharge of grape and canister,
and a steady fire from the rifle-pits,
under which they faltered, and finally
tell back in broken fragments, leaving
two colonels, several captains, and, in
all, over a hundred dead on the field.
A considerable force reached the
port of the parapets, whore the woun
ded and dead were piled in an undis
tinguishable mass. We captured 234
prisoners, and the loss of the enemy
in the assault was not far from 700,
while that on ous side was less than 25
General Burnside humanely offered
a truce to Gen. Longstreet until five
o'clock this afternoon, to afford him an
opportunity for the removal of his
wounded and the burial of his dead.—
The truce was accepted, and the time
subsequently extended for two hours.
The rebel wounded are being bro't
into our hospitals, or conveyed in our
ambulances to the enemy's line.
Three stands of colors wore captur
ed from the rebels.
On this (Monday) morning the wea
ther is clear, with frost. All is quiet
around our lines.
Chattanooga, Dec. 2.—ft is reported
by deserters, as well as by citizens ar
riving here, that Gen. John C. Brock
inridge has died of the wounds he re
ceived at the fight near Ringgold. A
son of Breckinridge and one of his
cousins are among the prisoners cap
tured in the recent engagement.
Louisville, Dec. 3d—Midnight.—A
special dispatch to the Journal of this
city, says that General Wilcox has tel
egraphed from Gen. Burnside's head-
quarters at Knoxville, on the 30th ult.
"that• at 11 o'cloek on the evening of
the 2g i th the rebels attempted to sur
prise his forte and succeeded in dri
ving our skirmishing line to the right
wing, which was posted on the Kings
ton road, and forced it back to Fort
Saunders. We afterwards regained
our position, and had sharp skirmish
ing with the enemy all night.
"On Monday morning at 7 o'clock,
the rebels moved a force of three brig
ades against Fort, Saunders, a portion
of Which, notwithstanding our heavy
fire, gained the ditch, but could not
ascend the parapet.
"We took three hundred prisoners
and three stands of colors. The rebel
loss in killed and wounded was over
three hundred, while our loss was over
twenty.
"Longstreot then accepted General
Burnside's offer for a cessation of hos
tilities to enable the rebels to attend
to their wounded. The wounded sol
diers were exchanged for loyal soldiers
wounded in previous engagements,
and the rebel dead sent through our s
lines.
"Col. Russ, commanding the assault:
ing party, Col. McElroy, and Lt. Col.
Thomas, of the enemy, were killed.
"An assault was simultaneously
mado on the right of our line, but the
rebels were driven back. Our loss on
that side was about forty, while the
enemy's loss was much greater.
"Our supplies are ample for the pre
sent.
"The rebels have boon reinforced by
ono or two rogtmentsof Gen. Bushrod
Johnston's divition." -
Cincinnati, Dec. 4.—The Gazette's
dispatch, dated Chattanooga, Dec. 4,
says: Everything is quiet along our
entire lino. Our casualties in the late
battle were 4,500. Prisoners captured,
6,400. Guns, 46.
A special dispatch to the Commer
cial, dated Cumberland Gap, Dec. 4th;
says : General Foster has driven the
enemy from Clinch river and is in
pursuit. Our chiick* yesterday, how
ever, will doubtless secure Longstreet's
retreat.
From the Army of the Potomac
The Cause of the Retrograde Movement
Strength of the Enemy's Position.
READHINS.. ABM OF Trig PAW. At,
WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 1863.
The Army of the Potomac crossed
the Rapidan in three columns on the
26th of November, and concentrated
the following day on Mine Run.
The enemy occupied the hills on the
opposite side of the stream in full
force.
The position of the enemy was nat
urally a very strong one, and he was
found to be intrenched along his en
tire line, his works being a continua
tion of those on the Rapidan, to turn
which was the object of our army.
The enemy's position was too for
midable to be carried by assault.
The great difficulty of keeping up
the supplies of the troops at this seas
on of the year at any distance from
the railroad, as well as the impractica
bility of the country for offensive mili
tary operations, prevented a more ex
tensive movement, and the army re
turned to the north side of the Rapi
dan.
The falling back to our present po
sition was accomplished without loss
of men or property.
The entire casualties during the
campaign will not exceed one thous
and in killed, wounded and missing.
. A few men who forded• Mine Bun
and lay on picket duty during Monday
night, were frozen to death, and sev
eral bodies of rebel , skirmishers were
carried to the rear on stretchers the
same morning.
With the exception of a few caval
ry skirmishes, the enemy did not at
tempt to annoy our rear on our re
turn.
WASHINGTON, Deo, 3.—The dispatch
es from the army of the Potomac yes
terday to the Associated Press failed,
owing to uncontrollable circumstan
ces on the way, to reach Washington,
until to-day, and a similar misfortune
attended the telegram from Rappa
hannock Station. Much of what has
now come to hand has been anticipa
ted through other channels.—lt ap
pears, however, from the dispatches,
that it was evidently intended to at
tack the enemy's extended works on
Monday. Cannonading was opened
from our batteries between 8 and 9 o'-
clock, and the right wing skirmishers
were advanced to Mine Run, whore it
was found the enemy had built a suc
cession of dams, which raised the
stream to a depth of from four to five
feet, with swampy margins. On our
extreme right it was found the enemy
bad formed an abattis several hundred
yards in width in front of their works ;
and directly under their guns.
On the left, Gen. Warren tricVed
forward his line, and discovered the
enemy in such numbers and so strong
ly intrenched as to make it more than
hazardous to attack them in front.
He however drove them back from
the advanced post behind their works,
and awaited further instructions. These
and perhaps other considerations indu
ced a postponement of the premedita
ted attack.
It is understood that Gen. Meade
visited the entire line, carefully noting
the enemy's strong positions, formida
ble batteries and earthworks, and af
ter consulting with his officers, deem
ed it advisable to withdraw to the
north side of the Rapidan, and orders
were accordingly issued to that effect.
Gen. Meade abandoned the campaign
when it became evident that the ene
my had anticipated his advance and
rendered an approach to Gordonsville
and Orange Court House an impossi
bility.
DECEMBER 4th, P. M
A light division of rebel troops cros
sed the Rapidan this afternoon, at
some point above Raccoon Ford, prob.
ably on a reconnoisance. Since this
information came to camp considera
ble cannonading has been heard in
that direction, and it is supposed that
their advance has been checked by
our light batteries, which have been
attached to the cavalry arm of the
service, in pursuance of General
Meade's orders.
DEPARTMENT OF' THE GULP.
Progress of the Union Fleet and Army
in Texas.—lmportant from Texas.
CINCINNATI, Dec. B.
A dispatch to the Bulletin says:
The Memphis Argus has just recei
ved froin its special correspondent
with the Brazos Santiago expedition
the following news:
Theteet left Brazos •Santiago Pass
on the evening of Nov. 17. The fol
lowing afternoon several regiments
were landed on Mustang Island, and
marched nearly all night, reaching
the vicinity of the rebel works about
daylight. Slight skirmishing took
place between our advance, which was
thrown across the island, so that no
one might escape, while the gunboat
Monongahela throw a number of 11
inch shells among the rebels, which
immediately caused a panic.
A half hour later, when General
Ransom came up with two regiments
in line of battle, the rebels threw a
white shirt on the point of a bayonet,
and made an unconditional surrender
of their fort, troops and munitions of
war.
This capture of a company of artil
lery and a squadron of cavalry was ef
fected without the loss of a man. Wo
now possess, and will continue to hold
Brazos, Santiago Island, Point Isabel,
Brownsville, Fort Brown and Mustang
Island. Ere the month is ended the
flag of the Union will float over sever
al other points on the coast of Texas
FROM WASHINGTON.
WASHINGTON, Dee. 6
The Potomac Armies.—There is some
activity along the Rapidan and Rap
pahannock in the twu armies. Tho
rebels yesterday give every evidence
118 if intending to resume the offensive,
and got between Meade and the Rap.
pahannock, but our forces were on the
look out, and were ready for the ene
my, who have doubtless construed
Meade's withdrawal into apparent
weakness.
Fraudulent Contractors Disappear
ing.—The sentence of several contrac
tors to the penitentiary has created
quite a hubbub among a certain class
of them, who have mysteriously dis
appeared within a day or so.
Quartermaster Arrested.—Quarter
master Stoddard was arrested at Alex
andria, yesterday, on allegations of
fraud. Others will soon follow.
Sent to Penitentiary.—By a general
order iust_madooublia-in_thA -Rmith.
son case, the banker lately sentenced
to penitentiary for treason, it appears
that he was convicted under the 57th
Article of War, for writing letters un
der an assumed name, and directed in
cypher to one of Beauregard's officers
at Aianassas, in 1861. The letters
contained valuable information rela
ting to the disposition of troops, and
steps going forward to put down the
rebellion, besides warm expressions of
sympathy, even to the donation of all
of his property to the rebels.
Dismissed the Service.—Second Lieu
tenant George Wiseburne, charged
and convicted of using contemptuous
and disrespectful language of Presi
dent, by declaring that the Executive
had seen fit to make the emancipation
of the negro slaves the whole work of
the army, has been dismissed the ser
vice.
The Escape of Morgan.
How his Liberty was Effected—A Curl
ous Letter—Where the Blame Rests
CINCINNATI, Nov. 30.—The six offi
cers who escaped from the penitentia
ry at Columbus, with Morgan, were
Captains Bennett, Taylor, Sheldon,
Hines, B.ackersmith, and Magee.
John H. Morgan, on retiring, chan
ged with his brother Dick from the
top coil to the lower tier. The floor
of the lower cell is two and a half in
ches thick, in which a hole was cut,
running to the main wall around the
penitentiary. This wall was cut un
der, and the party escaped into the
open country. The night was dark
and a heavy rain was falling. Not
the slightest clue has boon discovered
of their whereabouts, or the route they
have taken.
The Governor has telegraphed 411
the military committees of the State
to arouse their several counties, and
Col. Parrott, the Provost Marshal Gen
eral of the State, has notified every
provost marshal within his jurisdiction
to scour their several districts thor
oughly.
The most plausible theory mention
ed is that they escaped in time to take
the Cincinnati train via Dayton, which
started from Columbus at 2A. M. on
Friday night. That their escape'was
connived at by sympathizers there is
little doubt.
The manner of their escape was in
genious, but after all simple enough,
bused upon the almost certain theory
that they were correctly informed as
to the ground they bad to work thro'.
They, by patient labor for nearly
four weeks, by means of email pocket
knives, dug through the floors of their
cells, composed of about one foot of
stone and brick, down into a four-feet
sewer.
Two.weelts ago one of the escaped
prisoners asked the guard for a few
boards to cover the bottom of their
cells, giving as an excuse that the
damp stone was injuring their health.
Their unspicious guard granted the
request. The boards were used to
cover up the holes they were cutting.
On the night of their final escape,
on retiring to their several cells, Dick
Morgan managed to change with his
brother John from the lower to the
upper tier.
After getting into the sewer they
crawled to the heavy grating and ma
sonry at its mouth, and found they
could not escape by that route. They
however, made a hole upward to a
heavy pile of coal, which rolled in on
them to such .an extent that they were
forced to go further back into the
yard; they then excavated the soft
earth clear under the main wall, and
so correctly was the distance calcula
ted, that they came out into the open
road way one foot from the founda
tion.
One of the party (Captain Hines)
was by trade a brickmason, and seems
to have had the management of the
whole affair. A note signed by that
worthy, written in a fine, commercial
hand, was left behind, as follows:
"To Captain Merlon,. Warden of the
Penitentiary, Castle . Merlon, Cell No.
20, Nov. 27th, 1863:
"Commencement November 4th,
1863; conclusion November 20th, 1863
Number of hours for labor per day,
three; tools, two small knives.
"La patience est amere, maisicen fruit
est flails." (Patience is bitter, but its
fruit is sweet.)
"By order of my six honorable Con
federates.
"T. HENRY HINES,
"Captain C. S. A."
Public opinion is divided as to whero
the blame rests. It is proper to state,
however, that for the last two weeks
several of the most prominent Copper
heads of the State have been putting
up at the principal hotels, laying their
heads together, without any visible
reason therefor.
THE RICHMOND BASTILES.
Statement of a Paroled Prisoner.
Horrible Barbarity of the Rebels.
Threatened Riots in Richmond.
ANNAPOLIS, Md., Nov. 26, 1863
Messrs. Editors Baltimore American
Sias—The roady demand and well
deserved attention your paper meets
with from the patients and attendants
of this extensive hospital are eviden
ces sufficient that your columns prop
substantially the only only strong ar
ches of sure success—the army and
soldier—and it is in compliance with
a request made by my late comrades
in the Richmond prisons that I solicit
space in your columns to publish to
their friends, their counry, and the
world an account of their present con
dition.
In spite of the trifling falsehoods
and sickly excuses of the Richmond
press, they belie themselves and their
government in every issue. .They
charge the Yankees with lying and
misrepresenting their miserable condi
tion to their Government, while in al
most the same breath they plead ne
cessity for the outrageous treatment
of our men. Observation, with other
good sources of information, inclines
me to credit the latter plea to a great
extent. The guards on duty at our
prison got only small rations of beef'
and corn bread twice a day. A rebel
guard also told me that it was almost
impossible to get beef, that there were
neither cattle nor hogs to be had, and
that mulch cows bad been pressed for
beef by the government.
.._The Richmond. papaya Ita-vo appeal
ed time and again to the patriotism of
the farmers, to bring in their grain and
save the city from famine and its dire
results. Every resort and inventioh
has been exhausted. The people have
no confidence in the money,.and even
hid their commodities from impress
ment. The city has been on the eve
of open riot three times within the
last six weeks. The last time hostili
ties began and several soldiers and
citizens wore wounded and killed, and
there were great fears of a general up
rising. On the night of this occasion
the guards were doubled at the prison,
lights extinguished, and all prisoners
ordered away from the windows. The
government had pressed in all the
bread at the bakeries,•and the citizens
could not get bread at any price, when
the people rose up and threatened to
loose the Yankees. Every means had
to be used to reconcile the mob. They
were told that the Yankees would be
speedily released, and that bread
should be furnished at low rates.—
Since then bread has risen twenty-five
cents on the loaf, but King Jeff, Phar
oah like, has hardened his promise to
his people, and will not let the Yan
kees go. The Enquirer of a late date
complains bitterly of this " foreign
population," and says "it seems that
even in times of war wo are to be sub
jected to Yankee monopoly," and inti
mates to their gallant soldiers that the
people don't want them to take any more
prisoners.
This last hint is significant, and
should be understood by our gallant
soldiers.
Several thousand of our men were
being sent away from Richmond as 1
left, while a large percentage of the
remainder will, I fear, sacrifice their
bones to the founding of a Yankee
Golgotha at the shrine of the Rebel
Moloch. Our blankets, overcoats,
knapsacks, and many other articles
were taken from us by the sneaking,
thieving, cowardly home guard of At
lanta, Georgia.
After arriving at the rebel Mecca,
one thousand were put into a factory,
so crowded that we could hardly lie
down, and the atmosphere oppressive
almost beyond endurance. One man
was taken out dead next morning, and
many others sadly ailing. In a few
days we changed to the building of
Messrs. Rueter & Brother, and after
wards to the house known as "Scott's
Exchange Prison," but the change was
like the change of kings which Jupiter
gave the frogs—from bad to worse.—
Here we dragged out some of the most
miserable days and nights that ever
cursed hurdan existence. The rations
were at fiii3 . l half a loaf of bread and
slight ration' of beef (mostly without
salt) date' a day; no soup. Soon beef
got Mires!, and wo got in lien half a
plot of ride and two large spoonsful of
horse peas. Next wheat became
scarce, and we got What they called a
pound of corn bread,- hat I think they
used to weigh by shim Troy weight:
This bread, ernes- !miry diet, made .
of corn meal and water one day be
forehand, was mit' de4ll trait and gave
nearly all the soldiers the' diarrhoea ?
this was given us very irregularly, and
we found it to be just Ongh to sus
tain life and no more'. kut we were
doomed to be furter puesoonted. Solna
of the tobacco fixtures Ware removed
or misplaced, when our corn meal was,
cut off for one day. It seemed as tho'
we should famish. I heard men 'say
they would give all their worldly pos
session for one.loaf of bread. A dog,
belonging in an adj3ing stable, strayed
in at night, was killed and cooked over
the gaslight and eaten. The Rebel
Surgeon would not believe the story
until he was shown the animal's skin,-
when he shook his head and said it
was hard. My head grew dizzy, my
tongue coated, and I felt very fhinty,
as if just recovered from a fit of severs
sickness.
The floors were washed once a week
and sometimes late in the day, when
we would be obliged to lay down and
pass a chilly November night, eoattess,
blanketless, pillowless, sleepless. and
hungry,-on the damp, cold floor.. This
will send many a. good 'soldier to his
tong account and a prernature grave.
The basement story of our prison
contained two hundred and eighty
men, and bad an old rotten-floor of
slabs partly torn up, and when . the
water was thrown among this dirt and
decayed wood, it left a sickening and
disgusting stench. The room '-''was
dark as a dungeon, and the haggard
beings seemed, as they moved about,
more like spectral forms than natural
beings. •
The sink was on the same floor in
one end of the building. WeL cohid
get no fresh air or sunlight only down
the narrow alleys bet Ween the build
ings. We had not even light enough
to kill the vermin which were literally
eating us up: They could be seen
crawling on the floor and outside of
men's clothes. I have gone to the
window and killed'and counted thirty
one body lice at a single searching"of
my blouse. As I write, there is a
young man lying near me who was
sick in hospital, whose skin is, iu many
places, a solid scab. The Old Jersey
prisonship, with all its horrors, could
hardly surpass in filthiness and human
degradation, this damp dungeon.—
Some have no hats or caps, nor trous
ers enough to hide their nakedness;
others have old socks, pieces of blous
es, or a shred of blanket tied on their
shoeless feet.
The average number of deaths in
the prisons and on Belle Isle is about
thirty-five per day, and of course oo
the increase. A greater portion of
the prisoners are Western men, and
when captured were hearty and robust
in health.
To the freque,M, inquiry, what, is the
exchange news, or do you think we
will get away soon ? the rebel officers
sertervaly- 8 ;...A. - 4 'At
no doubt to cause the men to,become
disaffected or to censure their Govern
ment, or perhaps to induce them to
take the oath; but the men generally
bear their fate with the heroic spirit
of Spartans, and say the black fiag on
the battle-field of Gbicamauga, whore
they were captured, would have boon
far more honorable to their enemies.
It was with feelings of pride as well
as regret and Borrow that I beheld tho
emaciated and haggard faces and
tearful oyes of those once hardy vete
rans, whom I have known in more
glorious days—days of Shilob, Perry
ville and Murfreesboro—as they Math-.
ered around me to give their family
addresses, that I might notify their
friends that they were well and would
soon be bottle.
Alas 1 oor fellows, I fear many of
them will never reach their earthly
home. No exchange—no parole—hope
seems a delusion.at present.
Some things I have noticed may at
first appear exaggerated, or the over
told work of hatred to my persecutors,
but there are those in this hospital,
besides hundreds of fellow soldiers
who were in, the same prison, that
will bear witness to the truth, yea,
more than what I have told.
We have no record in the history
of civilized nations of a body of pris
oners being treated as barbariously as
the Federals now in the Bastiles at;
Richmond, and whether from necessi
ty or gross inhumanity, it is equally
disgraceful to a people who lay.cluim
to religious civilization or pretend a
nationality. Bankruptcy, corruption
and starvation are the powerful allies
of the Yankee bayonets, and a single
mishap at this time will explode their
baseless fabric of finance, and with it
goes the hopes of the nevo dynasty.
C. W. EVERS,
2d Kentucky Infantry, United States
Hospital, Section 5.
Statement of Union Surgeons Corrobora
ting the Reports of the Horrible Trea .
meta of Union Prisoners.
The Union surgeons who haVe just
been released from Richmond prisons
have drawn up a membrial to the Pres
ident, setting forth the things which
they have seen and suffered, which,
will be presented by a committee, of
which Dr. Ashmun, of Ohio, is chair
man. The surgeons state that from
50 to 60 of our men die daily, not ex
actly of starvation, but of diseases
contracted in consequence of the un. ;
healthiness and insufficiency of the food
and the filth of the prisons., They
confirm the report that the ' rations
sent by Government • have never rea
ched the mouths of our famishing. sol
diers, although a portion of them were
stored in full view of the prison win
dows, as if to tantalize. Beans 3-0 7
mained in the rain until they swelled
and burst the barrels. The bread fur
nished by the rebels was putrid and
mouldy two days after it was baked.
Some of the surgeons were eye-wit
hesses of the vilest atrocities commit
ted on the battle-field of Chickamauga
where the rebels robbed and even
stripped our wounded, Terry, the mur
derer of Senator Broderick, with oth
er officers, hounding them on with the
declaration that Yankees deserve no
better treatment.