Stampede from Castle Thunder
--Escape of Yankee Deserters.--Skillful Mining Operation. Last Friday night, between forty and fifty Yankee deserters escaped from Castle Thunder by mining under the Northern wall of the Castle into a private lot, and escaping into Main street. The officers of the Castle, it seems, suspected that some of the prisoners were making an effort to mine out, and when the sentinels were posted that night each one was cautioned to vigilance, but especially those on the south side of Cary street.The Castle, as our city readers will remember, fronts on the north side of Cary street, between 18th and 19th, and extends back to an alley about 15 feet wide, which is between Main and Cary streets.
The miners, it seems, commenced their operations several days since, in the east end of the Castle, allotted to Federal deserters, there being about six hundred in that part of the building, and by working down near the north wall, and concealing the dirt under a lot of old tobacco fixtures in their room, managed to escape detection. Having the exact width of the alley, which was constantly paced by sentinels, they worked a subterranean passage under the wall and alley, and cutting an outlet into a private yard, which was enclosed by a high board fence, between forty and fifty of them escaped into the yard, and from thence through a private alley into Main street, before they were detected by one of the sentinels, who gave the alarm, rushed into the yard, and with the point of his bayonet put an and to the exodus of the departing Federals.
During Saturday and yesterday some few of the self-liberated prisoners were arrested, and it is not improbable that others of them may yet be picked up by our pickets and scouts.
Since writing the above we learn that the number who escaped was thirty-five, all of whom were Federal deserters but one, who was a member of the 1st S. C. regiment. Of the thirty-five nineteen had been recaptured and returned to the Castle last night, and it was reported that five others were in custody of our cavalry, some twenty miles below the city.
