CHAPTER XXVI. THE REBEL TRAP
ON the first of April Frank received the following letter from hisfather. It was the more welcome because nearly a month had elapsedsince anything had been received, and the whole family had become quiteanxious:
"Dear Frank," the letter commenced, "you are no doubt feeling anxious onaccount of my long silence. You will understand the cause of it whenI tell you that since the date of my last letter I have been for afortnight in the enemy's hands as a prisoner. Fortunately, I havesucceeded in effecting my escape. You will naturally be interested tolearn the particulars.
"Three weeks since, a lady occupying an estate about five miles distantfrom our camp waited on our commanding officer and made an urgentrequest to have a few soldiers detailed as a guard to protect her andher property from molestation and loss. Our colonel was not at firstdisposed to grant her request, but finally acceded to it, ratherreluctantly, declaring that it was all nonsense. I was selected, withfive other men, to serve as a guard. Mrs. Roberts--for this was hername--appeared quite satisfied to find her request granted, and droveslowly home under our escort.
"On arriving, we found a mansion in the old Virginia style, low inelevation, broad upon the ground, and with a piazza extending along thefront. Surrounding it was a good-sized plantation. At a little distancefrom the house was a row of negro huts. These were mostly vacant, theformer occupants having secured their freedom by taking refuge withinour lines.
"As sergeant in command--you must know that I have been promoted--Iinquired of Mrs. Roberts what danger she apprehended. Her answers werevague and unsatisfactory. However, she seemed disposed to treat me verycivilly, and at nine o'clock invited the whole party into the house topartake of a little refreshment. This invitation was very welcome tosoldiers who had not for months partaken of anything better than campfare. It was all the more acceptable because outside a cold rain wasfalling, and the mod was deep and miry.
"In the dining-room we found a plentiful meal spread, including hotcoffee, hot corn bread, bacon, and other viands. We were not, however,destined to take our supper in peace. As I was drinking my second cupof coffee I thought I heard a noise outside, and remarked it to Mrs.Roberts.
"'It is only the wind, sergeant,' said she, indifferently.
"It was not long before I became convinced that it was something moreserious. I ordered my men to stand to their arms, in spite of the urgentprotestations of the old lady, and marched them out upon the lawn, justin time to be confronted by twenty or thirty men on horseback, clad inthe rebel uniform.
"Resistance against such odds would have been only productive of uselessloss of life, and with my little force I was compelled to surrendermyself a prisoner.
"Of course, I no longer doubted that we were the victims of a trick, andhad been lured by Mrs. Roberts purposely to be made prisoners. If I hadhad any doubts on the subject, her conduct would have dissipated them.She received our captors with open arms. They stepped into our places asguests, and the house was thrown open to them. Our arms were taken fromus, our hands pinioned, and a scene of festivity ensued. A cask of winewas brought up from the cellar, and the contents freely distributedamong the rebels, or gray backs, as we call them here.
"Once, as Mrs. Roberts passed through the little room where we wereconfined, I said, 'Do you consider this honorable conduct, madam,to lure us here by false representations, and then betray us to ourenemies?'
"'Yes, I do!' said she hotly. 'What business have you to come downhere and lay waste our territory? There is no true Southern woman butdespises you heartily, and would do as much as I have, and more, too.You've got my son a prisoner in one of your Yankee prisons. When I heardthat he was taken, I swore to be revenged, and I have kept my word. I'vegot ten for one, though he's worth a hundred such as you!'
"So saying, she swept out of the room, with a scornful look of triumphin her eyes. The next day, as I afterward learned, she sent word to ourcolonel that her house had been unexpectedly attacked by a large partyof the rebels, and that we had been taken prisoners. Her complicity wassuspected, but was not proved till our return to the camp. Of course, afurther guard, which she asked for, to divert suspicion, was refused.
"Meanwhile we were carried some twenty miles across the river, andconfined in a building which had formerly been used as a storehouse.
"The place was dark and gloomy. There were some dozen others who sharedour captivity. Here we had rather a doleful time. We were supplied withfood three times a day; but the supply was scanty, and we had meatbut once in two days. We gathered that it was intended to send us toRichmond; but from day to day there was a delay in doing so. We decidedthat our chance of escape would be much better then than after wereached the rebel capital. We, therefore, formed a plan for defeatingthe intentions of our captors.
"Though the building assigned to us as a prison consisted of twostories, we were confined in the lower part. This was more favorable toour designs. During the night we busied ourselves in loosening two ofthe planks of the flooring, so that we could remove them at any time.Then lowering two of our number into the cellar, we succeeded inremoving enough of the stone foundation to allow the escape of one manat a time through the aperture. Our arrangements were hastened by theassignment of a particular day on which we were to be transferred fromour prison, and conveyed to Richmond. Though we should have been glad toenter the city under some circumstances, we did not feel very desirousof going as prisoners of war.
"On the night selected we waited impatiently till midnight. Then, assilently as possible, we removed the planking, and afterwards thestones of the basement wall, and crept through one by one. All this waseffected so noiselessly that we were all out without creating any alarm.We could hear the measured tramp of the sentinel, as he paced up anddown in front of the empty prison. We pictured to ourselves his surprisewhen he discovered, the next morning, that we escaped under his nosewithout his knowing it!
"I need not dwell upon the next twenty-four hours. The utmost vigilancewas required to elude the rebel pickets. At last, after nearly twentyhours, during which we had nothing to eat, we walked into camp,exhausted with hunger and fatigue, to the great joy of our comrades fromwhom we had been absent a fortnight.
"On receiving information of the manner in which we had been captured,our commanding officer at once despatched me with a detachment of men toarrest Mrs. Roberts and her daughter. Her surprise and dismay at seeingme whom she supposed safe in Richmond were intense. She is still underarrest.
"I suppose our campaign will open as soon as the roads are dried up. Themud in Virginia is much more formidable than at the North, and presentsan insuperable, perhaps I should say an unfathomable, obstacle to activeoperations. I hope General Grant will succeed in taking Vicksburg. Theloss of that important stronghold would be a great blow to the rebels.
"You ask me, in your last letter, whether I see much of the contrabands.I have talked with a considerable number. One, a very intelligentfellow, had been very much trusted by his master, and had accompaniedhim to various parts of the South. I asked him the question: 'Is ittrue that there are a considerable number of slaves who would prefer toremain in their present condition to becoming free?'
"'Nebber see any such niggers, massa,' he answered, shaking his headdecisively. 'We all want to be free. My old massa treated me kindly, butI'd a left him any minute to be my own man.'
"I hope the time will soon come, when, from Canada to the Gulf, therewill not be a single black who is not his own man. We in the army aredoing what we can, but we must be backed up by those who stay at home.My own feeling is that slavery has received its death-blow. It maycontinue to live for some years, but it has fallen from its pomp andpride of place. It is tottering to its fall. What shall be done withthe negroes in the transition state will be a problem for statesmen toconsider. I don't think we need fear the consequences of doing right,and on this subject there can be no doubt of what is right; The apparentinsensibility and brutish ignorance which we find among some of
theslaves will wear away under happier influences.
"There is a little fellow of perhaps a dozen years who comes into ourcamp and runs of errands and does little services for the men. Yesterdaymorning he came to my tent, and with a grin, said to me, 'De ol' mandied last night.'
"'What, your father?' I inquired in surprise.
"'Yes, massa,' with another grin: 'Goin' to tote him off dis mornin'.'
"As he only lived a quarter of a mile off, I got permission to go overto the house, or cabin, where Scip's father had lived.
"The outer door was open, and I entered without knocking. A woman wasbending over a washtub at the back part of the room. I looked around mefor the body, but could see no indication of anything having happenedout of the ordinary course.
"I thought it possible that Scip had deceived me, and accordingly spoketo the woman, inquiring if she was Scip's mother.
"She replied in the affirmative.
"'And where is his father?' I next inquired.
"'Oh, he's done dead,' she said, continuing her washing.
"'When did he die?'
"'Las' night, massa.'
"'And where is the body?'
"'Toted off, massa, very first t'ing dis mornin'.'
"In spite of this case of apparent insensibility, the negro's familyattachments are quite as warm naturally as our own. They have littlereason, indeed, to mourn over the loss of a husband or father, since, inmost cases, it is the only portal to the freedom which they covet. Theseparation of families, too, tends, of course, to weaken family ties.While I write these words I cannot help recalling our own happy home,and longing for an hour, if not more, of your society. I am glad thatyou find Mr. Morton so agreeable an inmate. You ought to feel quiteindebted him for his assistance in your studies. I am glad you haveformed a boy's company. It is very desirable that the elements ofmilitary science should be understood even by boys, since upon them mustsoon devolve the defense of their country from any blows that maybe directed against her, whether by foes from within or enemies fromabroad.
"The coming season will be a busy one with you. When you receive thisletter it will be about time for you to begin to plow whatever land isto be planted. As I suggested in my first letter from camp, I shouldlike you to devote some space-perhaps half an acre-to the culture ofonions. We find them very useful for promoting health in the army. Theyare quite high on account of the largely increased demand, so that itwill be a good crop for financial reasons."
(Here followed some directions with regard to the spring planting, whichwe omit, as not likely to interest our readers.) The letter ended thus:
"It is nearly time for me to mail this letter, and it is already muchlonger than I intended to write. May God keep you all in health andhappiness is the fervent wish of
"Your affectionate father,
"HENRY FROST."
The intelligence that their father had been a prisoner made quite asensation among the children. Charlie declared that Mrs. Roberts was awicked woman, and he was glad she was put in prison--an expression ofjoy in which the rest fully participated.