CHAPTER VIII
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.