THE ESCAPE OF MAJOR OUSLEY.
A court martial to try Major Kit Ousley was soon organized and his trial
resulted easily in conviction, as he occupied the position of a spy,
being captured in citizen’s clothes. Very soon his sentence was returned
from General Burnside, and approved by him, General Burnside being in
command of Kentucky and Ohio, with his headquarters at Cincinnati.
Major Ousley, while recruiting up in the Blue Grass region near
Lexington, married a very wealthy and beautiful young lady, who as soon
as she heard of his capture and imprisonment at Bowling Green, came down
to render what assistance she could, and succeeded in bribing a
lieutenant, who had an office in town, paying him eight thousand dollars
for his assistance. This officer kept her posted and gave her the
information about the return that evening of the verdict of the court
martial, approved by General Burnside, which was his conviction as a spy
and his punishment death by hanging. He was to be placed over in the
courthouse in irons under a special guard until the day of his
execution, which was fixed for the 29th of May, while this information
was imparted on the 14th of May.
Major Ousley asked permission that evening to go to a barber shop, which
permission was granted by sending a special guard with him. At this
barber shop he met his wife, who succeeded in obtaining a private
interview with him, when she imparted the information about having
bribed this lieutenant and the location of his office, which Ousley
understood, as he was well acquainted in Bowling Green. She had also
received from the lieutenant a pair of surgeon’s shoulder straps and the
password for that night, which was “Columbia,” and which was imparted to
Lieutenant Clark and myself by Ousley, after he returned to the prison.
Major Ousley had a visit that evening from several officers of the court
martial, who seemed to be old acquaintances of his and had quite a long
chat with them, with a good deal of levity, which of course was a matter
of surprise to Clark and myself, as he seemed to be completely at ease.
Considering his condition with his doom already sealed, we thought he
displayed more nerve than any man we ever saw.
Major Ousley requested his officer friends, before they left him, to
send him a bottle of brandy, which they did and which he distributed
freely among the guards on duty in the lower room, hoping to load them
up, and in doing this we were afraid he imbibed a little too much
himself.
Now, it was imperative for him to make his escape that night, for, as
stated, he was to be placed in irons the next day and kept in the
courthouse under special guard. With Clark and myself, and other trusted
friends in the prison, we planned that the only means of his escape
would be to cut a hole through the plastering overhead large enough to
admit a man into the attic; then take a sufficient number of brick out
of the gable end which connected with the roof of a single-story house
adjoining, all of which was done by the willing hands of our comrades;
but a mistake was made in the location of the hole through the brick
wall. This hole opened on top of a roof, on the side facing the street
in full view of the headquarters on the other side. Major Ousley
imparted the countersign to Clark and myself with an injunction and
earnest request not to attempt to get out until after giving him four
hours the start, as his case was the most desperate one and we had not
been tried by the court martial. This promise we fully kept.
When Major Ousley passed through the hole in the brick wall on to the
roof of the other house, it was drizzling rain and the night was very
dark, so the hole could not be discovered on the other side of the
street. He laid flat on the roof for a few minutes, then quietly crawled
over the comb of the house, on the other side, out of sight of the
street, then to the far end of the roof away from the prison and dropped
down into the yard of a private residence when a large dog got after
him, giving one bark and no more. Ousley told me afterwards that he hit
this dog with his fist and said, “I reckon I killed him!” Some of the
guards in our prison yard rushed to the fence and asked a lady who came
to the door, what was the matter; she said, “Nothing that I know of,
everything is all right over here,” which seemed to quiet their
suspicion, so they went back to their tents. Major Ousley soon was heard
to come down the walk in front of our prison. He was halted by the
guard, asking, “Who comes there?” “A friend with the countersign.”
“Advance, friend, and give the countersign.” He gave the countersign and
passed on down the street and found the lieutenant’s room. The
lieutenant told him it would not be safe for him to attempt to go out
that night, but to go down into the river bottoms, stay there all next
day, then return to his office, when he would have a horse and side arms
for him and give him the new countersign for that night. Ousley went
down to the river bottoms and spent the day until very near night. Then,
being very hungry, he decided to go to a friend’s house, who lived away
out in the suburbs and get something to eat. Just before reaching his
friend’s house, he struck the big road and immediately heard the running
of a horse behind him, which proved to be a man on horseback loping
towards town. Though he did not suspect any such thing, the man
evidently went to town and raised the alarm. On entering the house his
friend’s wife met him. She was well acquainted with Ousley, but her
husband was not at home, and she, of course, was surprised and alarmed,
as she knew that he was a prisoner. When he made known his wants, she
rushed in and prepared a lunch, while he stood at the front door,
watching. As soon as the lunch was ready, she invited him into the
diningroom and took his place watching. Before he finished his lunch she
rushed into the diningroom, saying, “My God, Major Ousley, you are lost,
you are lost.” He told her to keep perfectly quiet. “The safest place is
among the enemy,” he said, and grabbed a couple of biscuits, stuck them
into his coat pocket, and started out of the front door when a couple of
guards behind a rosebush, jumped up, threw their guns down on him and
told him to halt. He cursed them and told them to get behind that bush.
Major Ousley would see them, making them believe that he was one of
their own officers.
I forgot to mention that he had the surgeon’s shoulder straps sewed on
to his coat at the shoulders, the same as was the custom in the Federal
Army. As already stated, when captured, he had on a splendid
double-breasted frock coat and black pants, all of which in the dark
could easily be mistaken for a Federal uniform, hence on the spur of the
moment, he made the two guards believe that he was one of their own
officers. He walked to the gate and passing outside, walked very fast up
the fence, and when about a hundred yards these men began to call,
“Halt,” when he broke into a run and left them firing after him, not
receiving a scratch. While, of course, they ran after him I imagine they
didn’t try very hard to catch him, fearing perhaps that he had
accomplices, prepared to defend him.
Major Ousley next circled around the town and again made his way to the
lieutenant’s room, who had a horse ready for him, gave him a couple of
six-shooters and the countersign for that night. He boldly rode down the
main street leading to Barren River bridge, where he gave the
countersign to the guards, then up the pike towards Louisville.
After an all-night’s ride he pulled up at a friend’s house, where he
decided to stay until Morgan’s command came in there and go with them
back to our main army, telling his friend his purpose. His friend said,
“Major, you can’t stay here; there is a brigade of Yankees camped at a
spring about a mile from here and Colonel Gross, the commander, comes
over occasionally and has a game of poker with me.” Ousley told him that
would not make any difference, he was going to stay anyway and take a
hand with him at poker. He then proceeded to disguise; cut off a heavy
mustache, and also cut his hair short, which made him look like a
different man; and he actually stayed at this friend’s house for nearly
three weeks, joining his friend and Colonel Gross in several games of
poker. He finally heard of Morgan’s command in the blue grass region,
mounted his horse to try to find them and telling his friend good-bye
and to give him a half hour’s start, and then to tell Colonel Gross who
he was and tell him the next time they met pistols would be trumps. His
friend said that he wouldn’t do such a thing for anything in the world;
he said, “Colonel Gross never will find out through me or mine who you
were.”
Major Ousley succeeded in finding Morgan’s command and went out of the
State with them, reporting to the War Department at Richmond, and was
given a job in the department and an order forbidding him to re-enter
the army. I met him again at Richmond, where he detailed all of the
features and incidents of his escape from the time he dropped into the
adjoining yard and knocked over the dog.