Ironton Register 2 August 1888 – Judge Joseph J. O’Neil Commander of the Department of Ohio G.A.R. visited Ironton last week and took part in a glorious campfire and a happy reception.
When met by the Register reporter, he extended his left hand and gave a warm salutation. His right arm hangs uselessly at his side and has been badly shot at the Battle of Chickamauga. We explained our mission which was to interview him on a “Narrow Escape.” He took the orderly kindly and with a twinkle in his eye and a faraway gaze said:
“Well”, said Judge O’Neil, “let me see about as narrow an escape as any was when a bullet grazed my skull just here pointing to a place about two inches above the left temple. If it had been a sixteenth of an inch lower it would have killed me, but as it was it got under the scalp and tore a groove around my head thus, indicating with his finger a semicircle to the back of the head. That was a pretty close shave.
“But I expect what you want is some incident. There have been several published, but I will give you a little circumstance that to me was very thrilling. I spent a good deal of my time in prison pens during the war and being a boy of strong physical powers, I managed the survive them but several times I made desperate attempts to escape. One of these little adventures I will tell.
“While imprisoned at Danville, Virginia four of us boys managed to break out of the prison. For some reason or other we mistook our course when we got out and after some days of toil and hardships found that we were in North Carolina. Then we bent our steps to the West and after two or three weeks [of] hard traveling and constant danger of recapture, we got into the mountains of Tennessee. Our assistance during our weary journey had been given by the colored people who on every occasion were as true as steel. Was it not for them we could not have been able to travel a day?” said Judge O’Neil.
“Well we got into Tennessee and coming insight of a negro cabin one of the parties was sent to reconnoiter for food and information. It happened that a colored man first saw him who hastened to apprise him of his danger for there were four rebels in that very house.
These rebs were at that time on a scout for some runaway slaves and were hunting them with bloodhounds. Our comrade backed out and aimed to escape but the bloodhounds got wind of his presence and soon treed him. His capture incited to further search with the bloodhounds and more bad fortune fell upon us for my other two comrades were soon tracked down and captured. It began to look very blue to me.
I was then within thirteen miles of our lines and visions of the home had begun to brighten my hopes. After weeks of toil to be within a day’s journey of friends was a joy itself, but the joy would soon be blasted,” Judge O’Neil continued.
“Now left alone I sought to hide, hoping the capture of the two companions would satisfy my pursuers. I had found a low marshy place overgrown with weeds and scrubby oaks. It was hardly a swamp, but the ground was low and wet.
My pursuers passed in that neighborhood and the dogs howled and ripped about there and I heard one of the rebs say, ‘there is another Yankee in that marsh.’ And so, they sent the dogs howling and sniffing all through the place. All this time I was lying behind a big log with some brush and leaves hastily drawn over to conceal me.
I could hear the dogs near and hear the rebs, too and that very plainly for one of them came and sat on the log behind which I lay and talked to two or three other rebs who discussed the probability of another yank being around there. Some were of the opinion there wasn’t, he had skipped while others said the dogs wouldn’t carry on so if there wasn’t a yank in that neighborhood. And the dogs did carry on furiously.
“Actually, they came on the side of the log opposite to me and raising up on their forefeet would stick their bloody jaws into the air and moan. For some reason, they couldn’t locate me. The odor of a stranger was in the gale, but the dogs couldn’t trace it.
Once the rebs started to leave the swamp and the dogs howled worse and the rebs returned for another search getting on my side of the log they espied me and then farewell to freedom. I was in their clutches and in a few days afterward back in Danville Prison greatly worse off for having made my escape.”
Judge O’Neil then started to tell us of another attempt to escape but he was called away by other and more pressing demands upon his time we have given enough to show that our Department Commander has seen some of the romance and rigors of war.
Hamilton Evening Journal, Hamilton, Ohio 1 April 1893 – Judge J. W. O’Neil, of Lebanon, will deliver the address at the Memorial Day services at Anderson, Georgia, on May 30th. The Judge was once confined in this famous war prison.
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