Page:The Immortal Six Hundred.djvu/242

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED


Prewitt, and myself were put in a dark cell; no dry clothing given us, and no fire allowed us, nor would Captain Sexton, the provost-marshal, allow us to have fire to dry our wet clothing.

Why Gillispie betrayed us has always been a mystery to me. He worked just as hard as any one of our party to cut the tunnel through the walls, and ate his corn meal and pickle with us. I can only account for his conduct on the ground that when it came to killing the sentinel over the boats he thought, if the escape failed, we would all be shot; and this broke his nerve and made him shout as he did. Afterward, shame of his conduct made him take the oath, that he would not be put in the cell with us. I never liked Gillispie. He was at heart a coward. I heard Lieut. Hugh Dunlap, of Tennessee, one of the most generous and kind men of our party, in a very gentle manner correct some statement Gillispie made about the Western army. Gillispie persisted in his statement. Lieu-


183