THE
Overland Monthly
DEVOTED TO
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY.
Vol. 5.—SEPTEMBER, 1870.—No. 3.
TWELVE DAYS’ “ABSENCE WITHOUT LEAVE.”
DURING the winter of 1863-64, there were confined, as prisoners of war, in the somewhat famous “Libby Prison,” Richmond, Virginia, some twelve hundred Northern army-officers, of all ranks.
The sad accounts of the capture of these men, and their prison life, have been too often given to require repetition: my story relates entirely to the execution of a plan of escape, by which a party of three, afterward four, succeed- ed in gaining their liberty.
In the middle of one of the long nights in January, while wrapped in my blanket, soundly sleeping on the floor, I was sud- denly aroused by the hoarse call of “ Major,” accompanied by the pressure of a hand upon my arm.
Awakened in an instant, I struggled into a sitting posture, to recognize the Hibernian accent of my whole - hearted, impulsive Irish friend, Tom Huggins, Lieutenant 82d New York Volunteers.
He spoke in whispers, as he undoubt- edly thought, but to those great lungs a whisper was a kind of roar, and I could
feel that my companions on either side were fully awake to this extraordinary proceeding, although hearing in unim- posed confidence.
The conversation was carried on most- ly by my friend of the Green Isle, in a rich brogue, which rendered the disclos- ure irresistibly droll.
“‘Major,” said he, “there is the big- gest kind of a lay going on down below.”
Tom had been, in peaceful times, a New York City policeman, and his for- mer calling was often indicated in his speech.
“Well, what is it?”
“It’s a secret; you mustn’t tell.”
“Well, I won’t tell.”
“They are digging a tunnel across the yard, and it’s half through. I’ve been down in it, and we'll all be out of this in a week.”
Feeling the importance of shutting the ready mouth of my friend, who, while obeying the impulse of his kind heart, would have ruined the whole plan by his imprudence, (if there were any truth in it) I told him we would talk the mat-
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by Jonn H. Carmany, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the District of California.
