My War Record

My War Record

by 6. W. F. Hummer

(Conclusion) One of the prisoners that went to the camp with me was Robert Riland, who was acquainted with a family that lived by our camp. He called to some of them and asked them to take our meal and coffee, and make us some bread and a pot of coffee which they did and they gave us some butter so we had a very good supper. I had a blanket and one of the other prisoners had one. We four lay down on one of the blankets and covered ourselves with the other, but I did not go to sleep, and about eleven o'clock I got up and looked around. I [saw seven or eight men stand ing by a fire, but I was a prison er and I knew that I would remain one if I did not try to get away. I walked very light ly for about fifty yards and then did the best running I could do to a piece of woods, about 100 yards farther, where I hid in some thick bushes. I thought when I was running thij|< someone was running after me, but when I was still, r fftrflflr T Was ''thistaken, I thKHfthe thumping Of my he art made me think someone was following me. I kept away from the campfires, and in about three hours I was out of the encampment. I came to a stream of water which I suppose was about thirty or forty yards wide. I went along the bank for some distance, looking for a crossing place. Not finding one I decided to swim it, supposing it to be deep. I went in and found the water not ankle deep which was an agreeable surprise. About five orclock in the morning I stopped at a large house. When I got to the front gate 1 saw three women crossing the yard at the back of the house, with chickens in their hands. I called to them, they dropped the chickens, ran into the house, went to a window upstairs, and asked me who 1 was. I did not think it was worth while to tell my name, thinking they would not know me. I told them I had been a prisoner and had escaped from the Yankees. One of them asked me if I knew any other prison er. I told her I knew Robert Riland. She turned and spoke to those behind her, and I heard her say "brother*. I then asked if Mrs. Riland lived there. She told me she did. I then told my name and they came down and let me in. They had often heard of me^ and I had often heard of them, but we had never met, and we have never met since. They told me it would not do for me to stay there. They said the Yankees had been there that night at nine o'clock and had taken all the breadstuff they had. They supposed as I was a soldier, that I must be hungry. All they had to give me to eat was some sweet cakes. I told them as they had nothing to bake, they had better keep what they had. I had had a good supper and was going to a place where I could get plenty. I asked one of them to point the direction to William Berkeley's farm. I did not travel the roads. The direction they gave me was north. The moon was not about south, so all I had to do was to follow my shadow, and at day light I was on Maj. Berkeley's farm where I got breakfast. I then went over to the other Berkeley farm where I got a horse but could not get a saddle. I got an old blanket and a blind bridle. When I got back to the road that Sheri dan had traveled the day before,! stopped to talk to a man I knew named Hundley. He told

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