Daniel Avery Langworthy

“ As the moon was nearing the horizon, one of the comrades said: "If you start when that man is near this end of the beat as you are crossing the guard line he will be at the other end of his beat, he will have turned around and will see you for there is a fire on both sides." ”

“ The captain of our guard was an imperious man; he straightened himself up and said: "Captain Wirtz, I am ordered to turn these prisoners over to you." "I cannot take the officers," repeated Captain Wirtz. "I have no place for them. God knows my place is bad enough for the men!" "Captain Wirtz," insisted the captain of our guard, "I shall turn all these prisoners over to you." "Do what you d——n please," said Wirtz. "Turn them loose if you want to, but I tell you I will not take the officers." He then turned his horse and rode away. ”

“ The guards are beyond, but so near that no one will go to the mill who is afraid of the guard. The man who owns the mill is a bachelor and sleeps there, a good Union man. Call him up, he will care for you and in the morning will show you the guards."
We started on. The moon was shining brightly. Soon one or two who were ahead were rolling a small animal around which was lying in the road and apparently dead. Captain Aldrich came up and said, "He is not dead. If you think he is feel of him, it is a possum. ”

“ The road was lined on both sides with trees and plenty of brush. The guide and I went ahead. Someone spoke to us. Looking toward the side of the road we saw two soldiers sitting on the ground holding their horses. We supposed they belonged to the guerrillas. Our comrades came up, we talked a little and went on to the river, where we got a boat. I asked one of the oarsmen where their ferry boat was. He said: "This is it." "I mean one that will take a team or horses or cattle," I said. "The only way they can take horses across is to go in the boat themselves, lead their horses and let them swim. ”

“ Before the Civil War I was a young physician in New York city, had been brought up a strong Whig and fully believed that slavery was entirely wrong. After the beginning of the war I felt it my duty to go and help and thought that the privates, the men who carried and used rifles were what was wanted; hence I went to Elmira, New York, and enlisted on September 10th, 1861, in the Eighty-fifth New York Regiment, which regiment was being recruited in Allegany County in the locality where my father lived, so that I might be with my former associates. ”

“ We went over a ridge of the mountains, down the other side and across a small stream, when the guide said to me: "There is no use in our trying to go ahead now; we cannot see anything to tell in what direction we are going and are just as apt to go into trouble as away from it. They will not attempt to follow us tonight; dogs could not follow our trail through this rain. ”

“ When outside he said to his comrade: "You go ahead and carefully look around a certain place two miles ahead; it is a bad place." He did so, met us and reported. We came to some woods and the guide said: "There is a path going through these woods leading to the road which goes to the sheriff. If we can find it, it will save us several miles." They hunted up and down the edge of the woods until they found the path. We then went through the woods, struck the road and went on until we came in sight of the sheriff's house, rather late in the evening. ”

“ We established a guard and lay down in the yard. In the morning we started out with this gentleman as a guide, going carefully through the woods. We had not gone very far before our guide was called by name by someone in the woods who said: "Where are you going?" "A piece with some friends," he replied. "You are taking a very great risk," he was told. At one place the guide said: "See that large plantation over there and those men digging a grave—the man who lived there was shot by the guerrillas yesterday."
[Pg 63]
We kept on till, late in the afternoon, we came to a road. ”

“ I have learned that we are going North, I think to Charleston. When we get about so far from here we will be only about twelve miles from our men at such a place on the coast. I will be sure to get in the front car and will detail officers to be in command of each of the other cars. They will detail men to look after the guard in their cars. At the proper time I will swing a lantern out of the side door of the front car and swing it around as a signal for you to overcome the guards in your cars. ”

“ There is a terrible state of affairs here so near the border, so much worse than it is in the North. My neighbors, some of them, are Confederates and others good Union men. They do not mind going out and shooting each other. Some of the Union men who do not wish to abandon everything and go north, but will not enter the Southern army, stay in the woods in the mountains. ”

“ The first one who even strikes a match is a dead man." The guide said: "That's all right, Captain. You may be sure we will not do anything of the kind. We should have known better."
In the morning we went on and got along fairly well up and down the ridges of the mountains until one afternoon the guide said: "Now we are all right; while we are not at the Union lines, we are near enough to be safe. The people here are all right. Down below here are some friends of mine, a man and his wife, who will help us." ”

“ The stockade was a tight board fence twelve feet high, with a walk on the outside near the top and a railing outside of it for the guard, where they could see everything. On the inside, about forty feet from the stockade, was a picket fence called "the dead line." That is, if anyone approached it, he was to be shot.
After the enclosure was completed, one morning we noticed a crowd of men being marched inside the stockade. They were prisoners from Libby. Soon after we followed them. With these prisoners came Lieutenant Davis of Baltimore, who had charge of the prison. ”

“ He is allowed to be at home because he is a sheriff, but there isn't a better Union man." We went on, got through to the other shop all right, were cared for, put into the woods for the day. At night we started on with two colored men, who would take us to the sheriff. Neither of the men had been there, but the older one, who acted as our guide, thought he could find the way. We had not gone far when he stopped at a servant's house back of a plantation house, saying he wanted to go in there. ”

“ But our guide took us through all right to the other side and away from the guerrillas. We came to a road leading up into the mountains. Our guide said: "You want to go the way this road runs. You had better stay in the woods until morning, then go up the mountain the way this road goes. When you come to four corners, a signboard and a schoolhouse there is the line between North and South Carolina. Keep straight ahead, but about two miles beyond the [Pg 51] schoolhouse are some soldiers beside the road. Do not let them see you, but go well around them. They stop everybody that comes along. ”

“ They looked fine and said they were well-treated while prisoners and had no reason to complain." "My good lady," said Hastings, "I am very glad to know that they were well-treated and that you had a good visit with them. We have been prisoners of war from six [Pg 45] months to one and a half years each. We have nothing to say about how your government has treated us, perhaps it did as well by us as it could. A few days ago we made our escape when the guards did not see us and they probably do not know it now. We are making every effort to get home to our mothers, wives, sisters and daughters. ”

“ We are in the woods apparently out of sight of every one, we have [Pg 43] matches, why can't we make a hole in the ground, start a little fire, put our corn around it, over it, all about it, let it toast, roast or burn? It will be much better than it is now." We did so, and were watching the fire when we saw a woman with a plain gray cotton dress, hanging from the shoulders like a night dress, coming toward us. Presuming that she was a colored woman, we said: "Hastings, go and make friends with that Auntie or we will be in trouble." ”

“ Colored Woman at Macon, Georgia
During my prison life I met comrades who had been, I think, in most of the places where our men were confined and they all practically told the same story; that when they were turned over to the local authorities they were well treated, but that when they came under the Richmond or Winder care it was as different as it well could be. ”

“ Then, the fresh dirt must not be seen, nor the openings of the tunnels. While we worked entirely in the night, our work must not be discovered by the guards, and several tunnels were under way. One or two of them were nearly to the stockade when, one morning, they came in as usual to count us. We were lined up at one end with the guard around us, and were ready to march through between two guards and be counted, when Lieutenant Davis pulled the ramrod out of the rifle of one of the guards and went around and pushed it into all of the tunnels, showing us that he knew of them. ”

“ After two or three days one afternoon we saw some men coming toward us through the woods. We supposed they were after us, but as they came nearer we saw that one of them was the sheriff. He had five other prisoners who had escaped from Columbia. All officers, of course. Three of them were from the 101st and 103rd Pennsylvania regiments, which were in our brigade. So our force was doubled.
After three or four days the sheriff told us: "I have arranged for you to go ahead in the morning. A good guide, who has been several times to the Union lines, will go with you and a few who wish to go north. ”

“ A few less were George Jones, a few less George Washington Jones, a few less were sergeants and in Company 'E,' and in the Eighty-fifth New York, etc., until I got down to one man [Pg 35] and am quite sure he was the right one." I thanked her and told her how greatly I was obliged to her, and said: "Sister, I certainly have no reason to doubt what you say, but cannot understand it." "How so?" she asked. "I know those men thoroughly," I said, "and know them not only to be good soldiers, but truly honest, truthful, upright, manly men." ”

“ An officer was detailed for each locality who must have a pack of good dogs and a posse of men always ready and every person was under strict orders to report to said officer any strangers, stragglers, suspicious persons or any unusual circumstances they might know of. Fresh tracks were looked after and these officers and men were returned to the front if their work was not satisfactory. ”

“ I would like to learn all I can about them." "They are very bad," she said, "that is about all. We tried to minister to one poor fellow this morning. In giving him a bath we scraped quantities of maggots from under his arms and other parts of his body. They are very, very bad." ”

“ We went on and were told we would arrive at Louisville at one o'clock the next morning, where we had planned to take a steamer to Cincinnati. Major Diven was a son of General Diven, who lived in Elmira, New York, near where my father-in-law lived. The two families were intimate and when I was married, the Divens, including the Major, were present.
My comrades asked me where I was going to stop when we got to Louisville. I said the Galt House. "Aren't you very tony? Do you suppose they will take us?" they asked. ”

“ Had they been, the majority of them, like our men, would have died there. Of my company forty-eight good, healthy, robust young men went into Andersonville that day and the remains of thirty of them are there now; while of the officers of our regiment who were captured, all lived to return North. While that was the only time I ever saw Captain Wirtz, that event, and what I learned afterward, gave me a strong impression that the [Pg 17] authorities at Richmond, and especially Winder, were responsible for the treatment of the prisoners at Libby, Belle Island, Andersonville, etc. ”

“ Some one out shooting or chopping wood, or doing various other things. One night about midnight we came to the edge of the woods, and as the woods did not run in the right direction, and there were no houses in sight and a road which ran in the direction we were going we decided that we would follow it, being careful to keep on the sides and not leave any tracks, until we could reach another stretch of woods. ”

“ Hastings then said: "We have talked long enough. I am not a Confederate soldier, but a Union officer, an escaped prisoner of war." "Why didn't you tell me that before?" asked the man. "Come, wife, get up and give this poor fellow something to eat." There was a bed in the room, an open fireplace with a fire in it. "I am not alone," said Hastings. "I have four comrades outside." "Outside in this hard rain? ”

“ They doubtless know that we have started for the Union lines, hence will have every pass over the mountains guarded. We want to go where no one would be expected to go, over the highest, roughest and worst peak of the Allegheny Mountains. ”

“ We were fed and he told us what to do; to go down the road and avoid all the houses which we would have to pass, some we must go well around, not leaving a track, others to go right past. At the last house near the bridge there would be a light, but to go right ahead. A poor man was dying there. ”

“ It may be found, but if it is we will hope we will be far enough away so that they will not find us." The diary probably was found and returned to Columbia, for one morning when they came in to count the prisoners, the officer in charge said: "Men, I suppose you all know that five of your number"—giving our names—"got out from here on the morning of October 3rd. They did nicely for a while, got to such a place, were discovered and a posse sent after them. ”