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it trr- iTie Porter Guards—Arreat of Secession 1Recruits. i! GHead Quarter-, 1st Battirfiott, )dl ' _ 10th N, Y. V. Cuvalrv, I | (?lice-sein9eBack River, ltd.'. April 7th,' 1862. J Ed* CompilerThe telegraph, in reporting the arrest of tweuty-four recruits for ‘AtIDthe rebel army, op Back Riverp on the 4tb instant, failed to mention any particulars of ihe affair, or the connection of the For-^ ter Guards with it. A brief narrative of j** i fhe occurence wilt embrace something of 1, interest, and I subjoin it for yoi^r edifica- rr us * tion. You will Snd in it an illustration cf *j the spirit of rebellion which still e-ista in Maryland. iRumors of the operations of a Confederate ! °* on recruiting officer in Baltimore had reached di,r3 the Provost Marshal from time to time; ^ up and on the 2d instant positive information r.c ug readied him that some twenty-tour recruits ^ ng , that day actually left the city, and era-1 ]g n- haiked on a schooner, off North Point,%; re. j route for Dixie, Officers were immediately o* dispatched in pursuit; who, upon reaching the vicinity of the rebels, and learning that serious resistance might be expected, ap-on ! phed to Capt. Pratt for assistance. The k. j Captain immediately dibpalehed Lieutenantftp -■ wmplt;tl0(III irjondo1siWeed with ten men, to the place of embarkation—1which, it should be premised, j is about ten miles from oi*r Battalion head-: 0quarteis, and- perhaps six or eight from £ k. j Baltimore. The party weie armed with| muskeK in lieu of cm bines, With an extra ;11 cartridge fox each. ■ *'^1 Within an hour after their departure, the | ^ j Captain snd your informant rode over | C-, towards the Point, p::sfing the bo vs about ^ midway on the road. Our way led past the old North Point bat tic-field, and the spot where the British General, Itosc, foil, in that fi^ht. Soon after passing the latter phjce, we were met by one of the police, in _ . n wagon, who was driving back for the pur-iei lote of huirying the movements of the foblieis. Convinced by Im excited mania ner that the affair was shaping il*clf into | something of importance, and guided by _Jhis direction*, we galloped on at a pace n ( which quickly bi ought us to the ii1e of the r river. We reached it by leaving the roadftV\\at the point indicated, and rithng through vf:re 1 ; * - —jt scvei.il ploughed field-., ami past two or (Hnee hedge*. The place seemed to me to ! fi have been Eelected for its nbsemity, and t_ had undoubtedly been chosen by therr ‘ would-be rebels as the most available forlc their purpose.a Several policemen were upon the ground 1 t- when we arrived, having in chaige thireor four prisoners. whose arm* wwo closely ;e confined behind their banks. These, il ap-d peared, were a part of the- rebel l'jiiw. who,\\ unwarilv coming as] jore to obtain provisions,U Imd been entrapped and disarmed. The ie otfief-rs halt;l aKo in cl.nr^re n man whom— they had detected in ,m aftempt to ennvev a a small quantity of e itahh-s to tin* -obonnr r.e After the latter bad been boarded and car-ried, these provisions were consumed hv i onr hungry sold'ors, greatly to (ho aetonbh-r I twnt and disgust of those fur whom they 1- j were intended. p 111 The eeliooner lay at anchor about twentyn rods out in ihf* ^ti onm—her decks appa-j-s renily crowded wifh men. were in- ',l Joined by the officers that (hey had brtend hailed from the ve.p-el in words of challengeand defiance, and that the prisoner-, taken i1 in the mnrnins had viokiwl on’v after'i 1 **i making lho most savage threat*. These -'^ i■. c’rcumstnnces induced the belief thpt our ; lt;y attempt to outv the schooner would he i.*' i met. by a dcterm inert resistance * and ou r a little party therefore loaded *mu«kttfs and '^ f fixed bayonets in advance. While makinir . ’S’ ready for a start, a boat, containing four ] was seen to push off fiom the schoon- . I c er, and niako for the opposite shore.— I Lieut, 'Weed, with three men and ft boat,jh wa« inm.odiiitely sont in pur^uii ; whilo Hie ,:3 Captain, myself, ami tiu h.nlnnee of onr ;j pnrty, in two boats, pushed dinvtiy for the., frLooiH-r. The advance was in.ule in propera ^Hotter, and witii arms ;n.rearlinc«is for nse. a The necoMity, however, ivas not forced upon s f us ; as we carne within close inu?!sei-«hot of | the schooner, the rebels pnve three defiant: I cheers for the .Southern Confederacy, and r then stood passive, opj o«injx no ohstneJe to | otir coming aboard. Our little party speedi-I ly clambered to the deck, and lt;lriving the rebels info tl« hold, stood gnard over71 them. The fn-isoner* onshore were then brought aboard; and just at night-fall, Lionf. Weed returned with hi« men, having captured the fugitives after a chase of several ’ miles across the country. They proved to f, be no Icm persons than the recruiting otH- ! cer. and the captain and the lieutenant of! the com pan y.The fact now transpired that the arm1) of | t.he party—principally revolvers—a con fed-1 crate flag, a bundle cf correspondence, Ac., «ihad been thrown overboard on the near approach of the boats. The water is but nino , feet deep at this point, and an effort will J shortly be made to recover the articles.— The prisoners were taken to Fort McHenry, on the following day, under charge of Major Avery, where they are now confined, j The affair, as yon will naturally suppose, i
Newspaper Details
Gettysburg Compiler
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, US
Mon, Apr 14, 1862
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Robert O.
VA, USA 24 Jan 2017
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