COL Streight, Abel Delos

Abel Delos Streight

:us34stars:
Streight.jpg


Born: June 17, 1828

Birthplace: Wheeler, New York

Father:
Asa Streight 1800 – 1883

Mother: Lydia Spaulding 1804 – 1870

Wife: Lovina McCarthy 1830 – 1910
(Buried: Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana)​

Married: January 14, 1849 in Bath New York

Children:

John Streight 1856 – 1905​
(Buried: Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana)​

Occupation before War:

Publisher of Books and Maps in Indianapolis, Indiana​

Civil War Career:

1861: Author of The Crisis of Eighteen Hundred and Sixty – one
1861 – 1865: Colonel of 51st​ Indiana Infantry Regiment​
1861 – 1862: Saw very little service during the first two years.​
1863: Proposed a plan to General Garfield to raid the Deep South.​
The plan was to disrupt the Weldon and Atlantic Railroad.​
1863: Led around 2,000 men on what would be Streight’s raid.​
1863: The Command was mounted on mules instead of horses.​
1863: Captured by Nathan Bedford Forrest near Rome, Georgia.​
1863 – 1864: Prisoner of War held at Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia​
1864: Successfully Escaped from Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia​
1864: Participated in the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee​
1864: Participated in the Battle of Nashville, Tennessee​
1865: Resigned from the Union Army on March 16th​

Occupation after War:

1866: Confirmed as Brevet Brigadier General to rank from March 1865​
Lumber and Manufacturing Businessman in Indianapolis, Indiana​
1876: Unsuccessful Candidate for Indiana State Senator​
1880: Unsuccessful Republican Candidate for Governor of Indiana.
Streight 1.jpg
1888: Indiana State Senator​

Died: May 27, 1892

Place of Death: Indianapolis, Indiana

Cause of Death: Bright’s disease

Age at time of Death: 63 years old

Original Burial Place: Front Lawn, 4121 East Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana

Burial Place: Since 1902: Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana
 
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I would think a feeling of resentment toward Streight would have been felt by others not treated "near as well" in the prison. That could have led to mistrust, an element neither needed nor welcome when helping organize and contemplating an escape.I would also like to know how Streight fared compared to Col. Rose's treatment.Why was Streight given special treatment?
He was a better 'hustler'. He figured out how to get others to stuff for him
both CSA and US POW's
I mentioned earlier in a post that he was a smart guy
 
Per Streight's report, "My officers and myself were confined in Libby Prison, where we remained until the night of February 9 last, when four of my officers and myself, together with several other prisoners, succeeded in making our escape, and reached Washington in safety about March 1."

This is in a report to William D. Whipple with the Army of the Cumberland.

An article from the National Tribune (a post-Civil War publication) in 1907 per a Union soldier by the name of T. Mays from the 65th Ohio Infantry says:

"Col. Streight, Lieut. Setzer and Adj't Ramsey went together in front. The Colonel was a large man, and he had some difficulty in getting through the tunnel. Aunt Rhoda, a good old colored mammy, somehow got an intimation of what was going on, and smuggled in two broken knives, with directions to come to her house when they got out..."

The story seems genuine.
 
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