No 1 Camp Chickamanga Feb 22d [1864?] Dear Brother I received your long & welcome letter last night, & fearing that we might leave tomorrow, I leave a dirty gun in the [page torn - illegible in original] to answer it. In accordance with your request I will give you a brief account of my escape from the rebel prison at Danville Va. There were three thousand of us taken from Castle Pemberton in Richmond to Danville 140 miles S.W. from the former place and con- -fined in four prisons. Old tobacco factories 4 stories high on the windows of which the rebs had put bars outside of the glass. The guards were stationed about 15 or 20 ft outside of the prison and 20 ft distant from each other facing each other the prison, with positive orders to hold no communication with, or even speak to, a prisoner. I had resolved from the first to improve the first opportunity to escape, & the first two weeks of my stay was devoted to forming the acquaintance of those of my companions who looked as though they would be desirable companions for such an undertaking. I knew we had 280 miles of the enemy’s country to go through before we could reach our lines. It required men who had the courage & perseverance to endure cold, hunger & fatigue for an indefinite period of time, & at the same time to the presence of mind to meet and conquer any unlooked for danger that we should always be liable to en- -counter. I found plenty of men who would talk escape, oh yes, they would like a chance to go; but when I pointed out the only way which we could escape from the prison some would not incur the risk. Others when I had got their courage screwed up to that & pointing one danger after a- -nother we should be likely to en- -counter after we had got out before we arrived at our lines, & asked their opinion as to the best method of surmounting then I found none of them such men as I wanted except one orderly & two duty sergeants belonging to the 18th Pa cav. I proposed to cut the bars of a window my- -self & let them know when I was ready, then the first dark rainy night we would go. Well I got the bars cut so that a mere splinter held them in their place & the cracks carefully stopped with charcoal & tallow. One well directed blow would knock them off. We waited several days for rain & at last it came. I told them we would go that night, showed them the bars I had cut, pointed out the lane we should go through & the direction we should take when [page torn - illegible in original] street beyond. But said one that lane leads past the general quarters, not ten yards distant, we cant go past that it is brightly lit up all night, if the guards see & fire at us, it will alarm the corporal & guard who will rush out & we shall be in a trap. I replied, you are cor- -rect in everything but the trap The guards must see & hear us break the bars off, they will fire at us, but the close proximity of the guard- -quarters will give us a time to pass it before they can get out. We cant sneak out of this like a thief out of jail, where there are no guards but must make a bold dash for liberty & take our chance. No 2 rainy What then is the use of a dark ^ night said another. To keep the guards guns under their coat capes & their eyes full of water so that they will not have time to [page torn] deliberate aim until we get past them & they will fire in a hurry & miss us. Then it will help us about passing the picket lines, for we can sneak through them. Well said another, if old Abe don’t want me bad enough to exchange me, I don’t feel calld upon to run so much risk as one chance out of ten for escape. nor I nor I said the other two, very well said I, I thought you were brave men but I see you are cow- -ards I don’t want you. When I thought it time to go I went to the window, I could plainly see by the light which shone from the windows of the guard house (a 3 story brick built but unfinished by a union man who had to flee his country) every one of which was lit up by the light- pine knots pine knots [page torn] ^ burnt by the guards, that the two sentinels between which I had to pass were standing with their muskets under their blankets & their heads bent towards the rain apparently half frozen. I carefully removed the glass from the window & then thinking I would give every man a chance to follow me I woke up about 40 & told them they could leave dixie if they wished. They crowed around the window, but when they saw what the chance was they “turned back” I called them all a set of cowards & dared any one in the room to follow me A boy of 16 yr from the 41st O.V.I. answered It is a scaley chance, but I am tired of this, Ill follow you or die trying. Come on then said I & I kicked out the bars & jumped out. turned round & took him by the [page torn] pulled him out, set him on his feet & said, now run like the devil. We started, halt. halt halt. Bang, bang Corporal of the guard No 7 do no [illegible in original] & we were away. I felt a ball spat against my shoulder but it inflicted only a slight wound & did not hinder my running It took us all night to get past the pickets, when we got near where we thought they ought to be we crawled on our hands & knees stop- ping every few feet to listen. Just before daylight we found them & succeeded in getting through unobserved. We were then clear of the town & travelled about two miles when we found an old tobacco barn on the back end of a plantation filled with corn-fodder we crawled in amongst this & laid during the day & when night came we set out. We knew that the [page torn] of NC was without 300 [illegible in original] of us, took the stars for our guide. travelled by night & lived in the woods by day, lived on chickens & sweet potatoes which we captured from rebs & cooked in the woods. We had yet many difficulties to contend with. The bridges & ferries are all guarded to catch their soldiers who desert & go home by hundreds, so that we had to feel our way, when we had a stream to cross we went below the bridge or ferry & made rafts of rails old logs or anything we could find. Sometimes our rafts came to pieces in the middle of the stream & we had to gather as many rails as we could under one arm & swim with the other. No 3 We were often pursued by guards when we ran on to them unexpectedly but always either outran them or by some stratagem escaped them. At one time when within 18 miles of our lines & had crossed the last stream & nearly drowned ourselves in crossing, our clothes were wet it was very cold & we took our way across some fields to strike the road beyond the bridge across the stream we had just crossed & which was guarded. Some of our cavalry had made a raid on the bridge gh a few days before & frit ^ ened the guards out of their senses & captured 8 horses. We had nearly reached the road and were passing a house which stood a short dis- -tance from the road when we were accossted with hello who is that by a man behind a fence. He was in his drawers it was 10 Oclock at night & no light in the house. I answered friends. Well what friends I want to know who you are. I replied, without stopping, I haven’t time now, to tell you “all about it” well but stop I want to see who you are. Couldn’t think of it said I. Bill bring out my gun, bring out the dog quick said he. I laughed & kept on. Pretty soon I heard them coming over the frozen ground. I said to Jack, my comrade this is no place for us “light out” & off we went but our wet Clothes & shoes full of water pre- -vented our running fast & they were gaining on us. Something must be done. We were near the woods, if we could reach it in time to hide, we jumped the fence. They were close on to us. Stop said I to Jack. I turned round & commanded in a loud voice fall in quickly boys, here they come. Our pursuers stoped turned round & ran back faster than they came & I droped on the ground to recover my breath & strength. They there was a squad of Yankees in the woods & we had been sent to decoy them out. one This is but ^ of many narrow escapes we had, but we got through safe, were kindly recd by Col Mc Chesney Chesny at Washington, N.C. at the mouth of Tar river having been 25 days on the route from Danville. Came home by steamer to Baltimore & by rail from there to Chattanooga & right glad was I to get back to the Old 52d O.V.I. once more Good by Charlie I Expect to leave here soon but for what place I do not know from your Brother H.B. Jewell H.B. Jewell