CHAPTER ONE, the escape!

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Orion.M.E

Private
Joined
Jan 17, 2021
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War, something that would undoubtedly affect many families for years to come. In prison things we’re almost impossible to handle for anyone as it was barbaric. Men dug in holes to warm themselves as they had almost no blankets, you had comrades fight each other for things that anyone should have access to in life, water was contaminated, food was bad. People looked almost like skeletons and you couldn’t go a day without seeing a man die. In other words, escape was the best chance you had for getting out alive. There were other options, but many didn’t like the options. Joining the confederate forces was one but that would ruin the honor you obtained through your efforts in battle.

As rations were distributed to the prisoners they would either line up or scramble in haste. A young fellow, probably no more then twenty three was slightly in better condition then you’d expect. He had a lazy eye and a tuft of his brown hair sticking out on his left. He had been a prisoner for almost an entire year now, a year from that faithful day at stone river that remains crystal clear in his mind. It was early in the morning, it was foggy and a sense of dread has gone through the ranks. Artillery and muskets shot everyone around him, five of their color bearers got shot and the colonel had been shot. Just ten minutes after the colonel was shot almost everyone around him had dropped like flys, give ground was the only solution. You couldn’t know if you were winning or not, too foggy. Then looking up there were a Calvary, a rebel Calvary. Reflecting on that day was hard. Before stone river they had a amazing victory’s. He thought back to the day of his first major battle at Shiloh, hearing the artillery from a far, marching to the battle. What really added to his pride was he had the honor of being the one to fire the first shot at Shiloh of his whole regiment. But pride isn’t getting him nowhere in prison. He got on his feet and got out of his tent, he had been waiting for the right moment. Them rebel guards were probably off playing some cards, good they better keep that up he thought to himself. His senses were heightened, it was like he could almost feel everything around him. Conditions were rough, it was winter season, he’d need more than a Christmas miracle for a successful prison escape, he will need the will. The wit, and quick thinking. The tunnel he had been digging for some time was ready for use, just crawl through it and your a free man, after that it’s about maintaining your freedom long enough until you get back to union lines. Then the sound pierced through him like a bullet “HEY WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING!?” His cover was blown as that rebel guard yelled those words. He started crawling as fast as he could, a bullet hit the dirt next to him. The guard cursed and yelled for more guards. This wasn’t supposed to happen, why was there a guard?! There was no time to think just get out of there. After a full on sprint for sometime he gasped for breath laying down against a tree. He thought about just seeing his family again, back at the farm, getting married, seeing his friends again. But you have to get back to the army, fight some more and then you can see your family again, go back to farming and have kids. A moment of calmness went over him as he thought about going back to the farm, plowing the fields, planting the foods.... *ark ark bark!* his moment was soon interrupted by the barking of the rebel bloodhounds getting ever closer. These bloodhounds were as ruthless as the guards, they would bite so deep that you might not even make it long enough to be captured. He got up as fast as he could, tripping from getting up to fast. His knees were scratched and dry now covered in the dirt. His nose went red and his breath was visible now in the cold. The aches in hip he was shot at during Shiloh came back, he could still feel the bullet inside him if he moved in specific ways, like stretch to much or bend down. Right now it felt as if any movement caused his hip pain, but the pain was drowned out by the adrenaline rushing through him as he ran for his freedom, for his life. As he was running a light came from the ground in front of him, he slowed down cautiously.
The light was the moons reflection against the water of what was ever a creek or river. Then he came up with his last option, jump into the water to remove his scent and get away. At the chance of getting a terrible cold from the freezing waters. The barking was getting louder even faster, his scent must be strong for the hounds. Without anything to lose but his life he jumped into the freezing water, his clothes felt lighter as the freezing current rubbed against him. The water made his hands and feet twitch and he had been so exhausted he barely had any air in his lungs left. With what little energy he had left he moved his arms across and paddled his feet as fast as he could, the coldness of the water went through him, and what felt like his soul. He ran out of air, he couldn’t hold his breath any longer. And with what little energy he had left he did a hard thrust with his arms and legs with his remaining strength. His body emerged to the other side, it was freezing as the air hit his body. He crawled ever so slowly trying to maintain breath, he had never needed to breath this bad in his life. The barking went quiet, the leafs began the rustle loudly, if the guards were close he wouldn’t know. He crawled slower and slower and then he rested against a tree once more, maintaining his breath, excepting whatever will happen to him next. If something happened now he couldn’t do anything about it, he needed rest but fate never rests. The hounds stayed quiet, he escaped. “That’s what happened, I’ve spent the past two or five days just wandering around, I tell you I’m not a spy I’m not a rebel.” He said desperately to the union soldier in front of him. “Then” the man answered as he bend back to grab a piece of paper to write on. “Tell me who are you.” “I’m with the 34th Illinois, I’m a private in company A.” The man wrote this info down and looked back up, “Then I’m going to need your first, middle, and last name.” There was a pause between the two, then after a few seconds he responded. “I’m Charles Bond Wilson and I’m not a rebel.”
 
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Also as a note you will probably see the cover change as I’m working to make it the best as I can
 
Great tale of a man's desperate flight. His inner thoughts running in his mind as fast as his legs would carry him. Plunging into the icy waters to escape the dogs had to be an excruciating painful event.
 
Great tale of a man's desperate flight. His inner thoughts running in his mind as fast as his legs would carry him. Plunging into the icy waters to escape the dogs had to be an excruciating painful event.
Ya, it’s intense to think it really happened. I did my best to express my ancestors escape in writing
 
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