GEORGIA MILITARY CIVIL WAR 9th Regiment - Escape from Ft. Delaware ***************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm *********************** This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Neil Griffin Gainf9reg@aol.com For much more information on the entire 9th Regiment-- excellent graphics, photos, newspaper accounts, rosters-- all in a much easier to read format, see Neil Griffin's wonderful site. This site continues to grow. http://members.aol.com/Gainf9reg/index2.html Escape from Fort Delaware The "Richmond Dispatch" Newspaper of Aug. 28th, 1863 contained the following: [Ed. note--The abbreviation "inst.", is short for "instant", an archaic English term meaning "of this month". The men of the 9th Georgia were captured at Gettysburg, 2 July, 1863] Fort Delaware was a Union POW camp in the State of Delaware, on an island. Yesterday afternoon five Confederate prisioners, A.L. Brooks and C.F. Fuller, Company "G" Ninth Georgia Regiment; John Marion, Company "D" Ninth Georgia; Wm. E. Glassey Co. "B" 18th Miss.;and John Dorsey, Company "A", Stuart's Horse Artillery, arrived here from Fort Delaware, having escaped therefrom on the night of the 12th inst. The narrative of their escape is interesting. Having formed the plan to escape, they improvised life preservers by tying four canteens, well corked, around the body of each man, and on the night of the 12th inst. preceeded to leave the island. The night before being dark, they got into the water and swam off from the back of the island for the shore. Three of them swam four miles and landed about two miles below Delaware City; the other two being swept down the river, floated down sixteen miles, and landed on Christine Creek. Another soldier, a Philadelphian, started with them, but was drowned a short distance from the shore. He said he was not going back to the Confederacy, but was going to Philadelphia. He had eight canteens around his body, but was not an expert swimmer. The three who landed near Delaware City laid in a corn field all night, and next evening about dark started on their way south, after first having made their condition known to a farmer, who gave them a good supper. They travelled that night twelve miles through Kent County, Maryland, where the citizens gave them new clothes and money. After this their detection was less probable, as they had been wearing their uniforms the two days previous. They took the cars on the Philadelphia and Baltimore railroad at Townsend, and rode to Dover, the capital of Delaware. Sitting near them in the cars were a Yankee colonel and captain, and the provost guard passed them frequently. They were not discovered, however, though to escape detection seemed impossible. They got off the train at Delamar, and went by way of Barren Creek Springs, and Quantico, Maryland, to Nanticoke River, and got into the canal. Here they parted company with five others who had escaped from Fort Delaware some days previous as the canoe would not hold ten of them. In the canoe they went to Tangier, Chesapeake, landed in Northumberland County below Point Lookout, a point at which the Yankees were building a fort for the confinement of prisoners. They met with great kindness from the citizens of Heathville, who contributed a hundred and twenty dollars to aid them on their route. They soon met with our pickets, and came to this city on the York River Railroad. These escaped prisoners expressed in the livliest terms their gratitude to the people of Maryland and Delaware who did everything they could to aid them. There was no difficulty experienced in either State in finding generous people of Southern sympathies, who put themselves to trouble to help them on their journey. I also maintain the sites on The Ninth Georgia Infantry, CSA The Sumter County Confederate Soldiers Website, and Camp 78, Sons of Confederate Veterans (Americus, Ga.) Questions, comments? Please email me, Neal Griffin, at Gainf9reg@aol.com Neal GriffinCopyright © 2004.