The Maine bugle ... campaign; 1-5 Jan. 1894-Oct. 1898 - Maine.gov

PRISON LIFE AND ESCAPE. 107
to rob us but our captors proved to be good fellows and would
not allow it.
We passed six lines of rebels and Robinson had a pretty
sharp tilt of words with the rebel Gen. Gracie. Gracie
demanded how large force we had and Robinson answered,
" Keep on and you'll probably find out." Gracie presented a
revolver and threatened to shoot, but finally his attention was
attracted some other way, and we went on to the steam-boat
landing where our North Carolina guards left us. These North
Carolineans were just from Plymouth where they had captured
their uniforms from our folks.
One of our men, Lorenzo Racket, had been a prisoner of
war for some time. I remembered hearing Racket tell of the
refined barbarity of the rebels, how one of the squad to which
he belonged was shot by a guard from the street, the victim
being in the second story of Libby Prison, for no other reason
than that the poor fellow got near enough to the window for
the sentinel to see him. I confess to you I did not believe him
although I did not say so. Well, we landed and were immedi-
ately assailed by a crowd of dirty looking women who taunted
now you've
us with the newspaper cry, " On to Richmond !
got here, you black-hearted Yanks, etc." We marched to the
door of Libby Prison, when bang went a gun, and when we got
in we found a man had been shot and probably mortally
wounded through a window exactly as Racket had told me !
I mentally begged Racket's pardon there and then. Still I
had no idea that Racket was aware that I doubted his word till
I told him of this event years afterwards, when he said, " You
didn't believe me when I told you of just such a murder, did
you? " We were soon searched and robbed of all they could
find of value, except myself and a few others. I thought I
would try to dodge the search, and succeeded by flanking
Just before we were searched an officer accompanied by a dap-
per little clerk with a great big book came in. The officer
announced several times in a loud voice " that all prisoners
possessing money or valuables would do well to turn them over