Submit_John_William

Submitted by Steven.

A story of about his 2nd Great Grand Uncle John William Craft (1849-1880)

Durring the Civil War - John was in the home Home Guard near Randolph County, Alabama. During n the last few months of the war a small band of Union Soldiers came in to Randolph County and took John and another boy in the home guard as prisioners. The soldiers took them down to the Tallapoosa River and tied them to a tree. The next mourning, one of the soldiers came to them and told them that the other soldiers were going to turn them loose and if the could swim across the river they would let them go free. The soldier warned them that the other soldiers were going to to start shooting at them as soon as they got in the water. He told them that as soon as they jumped in in to go under the water and swim downstream as far as they could before the came out. When the soldiers untied them, they jumped in the water and went under and started swimming down stream. The soldiers started shooting into the water where the boys had ! gone under, thinking that they would try to swim across the river.. John and his companion came out of the water down stream, out of sight of the Union Soldiers and by staying in the woods they were able to escape..