Trude Genealogy 9

Trude Family Genealogy
by Thomas Lee Trude

Biography of: Solomon Hartwell Trude.

9. Solomon Hartwell³ TRUDE, (John Albert², John¹), born 1 Feb 1816, died 14, Jan 1900, buried near Falkton, South Dakota. His wife's name was Rachel Elizabeth, (maiden name unknown). Rachel returned to Des Moines, Iowa after the death of Solomon, and is burried there. The name Hartwell Trude first appeared in the 1840 Wayne, Erie County Pennsylvania census; both he and his wife's age were listed as between 20 and 30, with one son under the age of 5 and one male between 60 and 70. Solomon moved West between 1840 and 1850 and settled in Janesville Wisconsin. He served in the Civil War, Union Army, enlisting at Janesville for a term of three years, on 4 Oct 1861, Company H, 13th Regiment; mustered out 20 Nov 1864 at Nashville, Tennessee. His Certificate of Service, states that he was 45 years old, had blue eyes, sandy hair, fair complexion, and was five feet nine and one half inches tall; by profession, he was listed as a mechanic. The story of Soloman Trude's escape from a confederate prison in 1864, was copied by a great grandson, from Soloman's account and edited by another great grandson. A brief outline of their work follows:

"I was captured in the second day's battle of Pleasant Hill and I, with many other comrades, was hustled through Rebel lines to the rear. I thought we had pretty hard fare in our army, but now I saw what hard fare really was!" Three days later, on Tuesday, the captives received a small piece of corn bread, about the size of a piece of cake; and two bites of salt beef--so salty it almost blistered the skin from their mouths. The prisoners were incarcerated in the court house at Mansfield, Louisiana with orders that if they showed themselves at the windows, they would be shot. The following Thursday the captives were marched to Tyler, Texas. When some of the Yanks were unable to walk, the Rebs put ropes about their necks, tied the ropes to a saddle and dragged them by their necks. When the prisoners reached their destination, they were shocked to see that the stockade in Tyler Texas was a pen, enclosed by standing logs on end in a trench filled with earth, with no roof to keep them dry. "The only covering I had" reported Soloman, "was one old cotton blanket for me and my bunk mates. I was taken with the fever and the ague. We didn't lie down for any length of time without lying in mud and water." "Prisoners were lying about dying without as much protection as our hogs get back home," said Soloman. A Negro who guarded the dump cart, was enticed to help some prisoners escape. "A couple of boys would jump into the cart and be covered with debris by their comrades. Then the Negro would call the guard to accompany him to the gate." The guard stopped at the gate, but the Negro dumped his load a quarter of a mile further in a hollow. About 150 men escaped this way before the Rebels discovered it. Nearly all were caught by the hounds, brought back, and severely punished. Fall required preparations for winter. "I began to think of escape," said Soloman. The commander appointed Soloman to issue supplies to his fellow prisoners on the first of October. For his services Soloman received six extra rations which he needed because he was down to 125 pounds. Soloman knew how to refrain from the pleasures of the moment to insure the future. So, some of the supplies went into a cache for an escape. Better times came when the Rebs appointed a lieutenant from the 13th Regiment as chief surgeon at the prison hospital which was just outside the stockade. "Through the surgeons influence," said Soloman, "The Rebs allowed six of our regiment per day to go outside on parole of honor; the forfeiture of parole meant death." Prisoners were allowed to forage anywhere within one mile of the stockade. They carried logs to build huts and had plenty of wood for fire. "We went into the fields," said Soloman, "and pulled grass for our beds." With increasing freedom for the prisoners, Soloman and some of the others were able to devise their escape. Then on April 29, 1865 they climbed over the wall to freedom. Soloman and two comrades, Jim Howard and Jewett, waited until after roll call in the hospital, then took cover there with the help of some comrades. When they took roll call in the stockade, they reported that 35 prisoners had escaped. Soloman and his comrades lounged around the hospital all day, and watched the Rebels bring back 15 escapees. As soon as it was dark, they left the hospital and started for Yankee land. Guided by the North Star they travelled fast, attempting to get as far as possible from the stockade. At twilight they came to the Sabine River which was very high at about midnight. Jim Howard was a very poor swimmer and had made Soloman promise to help him over the streams; so the men decided to wait until morning. In the morning, they could hear the hounds and knew they were on their trail. "then Howard leaped into the water and struck for the opposite shore as though a legion of Devils were after him." Once across the river they lay in the bushes waiting to see if the hounds would cross the river; much to their relief, they did not. After five nights of traveling, the trio camped in the brush near a large plantation. The Negroes on the plantation befriended them and gave them food. An old man gave them directions and accompanied them for eight miles, until they reached the Red River. The river was very wide and full of alligators. The three men made a raft of logs by tying them together with lyng vark (heather) and some old rope, and they pushed off across the river; they were in Indian territory and could hear drums beating in front of them. The three men skirted the Indian village and continued their journey, finding help along the way. Then Jewett struck out alone and got on the wrong road to Fort Smith and was captured by guerrillas. They condemned him to be hung without a jury. Some of the Rebs were curious as to what the government would do if they were to turn themselves in with Jewett; Jewett said that they would do nothing to them except give them food and supplies and let them return to their homes; some were divided in the decision and decided to hang him when the rebel lieutenant drew his revolver and said, "The first man to lay hands on that Yank will get a ball through him." The men gave up; gave Jewett a horse to ride; and they all started for Fort Smith. Soloman and Jim had decided to travel as Rebel soldiers on furlough. They were trying to find Mr. Whistle, a Union man who could help them. When they arrived at Mr. Whistle's house, a lady invited them in and said that Mr. Whistle had gone to the mill. Thinking they were among friends, Soloman said, "We have been directed to you by your brother as good Union people." They were surprised when the woman said that they were good confederate woman and that the only thing she had against her brother was that he was Union. The two men were worried for awhile, but it turned out that the women decided to let them go on their way. Soloman and Jim continued on their journey, pretending to be Rebel soldiers on furlough, and found food and help along the way. The disguise was tricky because some of the people were Union sympathizers and they had to be careful when they revealed themselves as Yankee escaped prisoners. As they neared the Union lines, their danger increased. Soloman's shoes were completely worn out and he had cut his rebel hat into two pieces and tied them on his feet. At last they came in sight of the glorious old Stars and Stripes. "We had often speculated," said Soloman "what our feelings would be when we saw the flag of our country. We had thought that we would feel like shouting for joy. I guess our emotions were too deep for words. Neither of us could speak. We grasped each others hand in silence and thanked God in our hearts that our long imprisonment was ended." They came upon a Missouri regiment and learned that Major Paulson, one of their old prison comrades, belonged to that regiment. The Major had escaped once and was captured; then, in spite of the risk, he escaped the second time and was taken sick 100 miles from Little Rock, Arkansas. A member of a Union family discovered him. and he was escorted to Little Rock by a Union scout. The two men went directly to his tent and were warmly welcomed. He wore the stars of a Colonel. Their flight to freedom was ended; they were going home. In 1887, Solomon and Rachel moved to South Dakota in a covered wagon with three of their sons to what is now Falkton where they remained the rest of their lives.

Children:

  48.    i.  Ephram⁴ TRUDE.

  49.   ii.  Charles⁴ TRUDE.

  50.  iii.  Will⁴ TRUDE.

  51.   iv.  Frank⁴ TRUDE.

  52.    v.  George⁴ TRUDE

  53.   vi.  John James⁴ TRUDE.

  54.  vii.  Clarence⁴ TRUDE.

+ 55. viii.  James John⁴ TRUDE, born Feb 1857.

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