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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/4259-h.zip b/4259-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..2b15552 --- /dev/null +++ b/4259-h.zip diff --git a/4259-h/4259-h.htm b/4259-h/4259-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a7c88f2 --- /dev/null +++ b/4259-h/4259-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,7272 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <title> + ANDERSONVILLE, By John McElroy, Vol. 3 + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Andersonville, Volume 3, by John McElroy + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Andersonville, Volume 3 + +Author: John McElroy + +Release Date: August 22, 2006 [EBook #4259] +Last Updated: November 17, 2012 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANDERSONVILLE, VOLUME 3 *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <h2> + ANDERSONVILLE, By John McElroy, Vol. 3 + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + ANDERSONVILLE + </h1> + <h2> + A STORY OF REBEL MILITARY PRISONS + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h3> + FIFTEEN MONTHS A GUEST OF THE SO-CALLED + </h3> + <h3> + SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY + </h3> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h3> + A PRIVATE SOLDIERS EXPERIENCE + </h3> + <h3> + IN + </h3> + <h3> + RICHMOND, ANDERSONVILLE, SAVANNAH, MILLEN + </h3> + <h3> + BLACKSHEAR AND FLORENCE + </h3> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h3> + BY JOHN McELROY + </h3> + <h3> + Late of Co. L. 16th Ill Cav. + </h3> + <h3> + 1879 + </h3> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h3> + Volume 3. + </h3> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkcover" id="linkcover"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="cover.jpg (204K)" src="images/cover.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + TO THE HONORABLE + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h3> + NOAH H. SWAYNE. + </h3> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h3> + JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, + </h3> + <h3> + A JURIST OF DISTINGUISHED TALENTS AND EXALTED CHARACTER; + </h3> + <h3> + ONE OF THE LAST OF THAT + </h3> + <h3> + ADMIRABLE ARRAY OF PURE PATRIOTS AND SAGACIOUS COUNSELORS, + </h3> + <h3> + WHO, IN + </h3> + <h3> + THE YEARS OF THE NATION'S TRIAL, + </h3> + <h3> + FAITHFULLY SURROUNDED THE GREAT PRESIDENT, + </h3> + <h3> + AND, WITH HIM, BORE THE BURDEN + </h3> + <h3> + OF + </h3> + <h3> + THOSE MOMENTOUS DAYS; + </h3> + <h3> + AND WHOSE WISDOM AND FAIRNESS HAVE DONE SO MUCH SINCE + </h3> + <h3> + TO + </h3> + <h3> + CONSERVE WHAT WAS THEN WON, + </h3> + <h3> + THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED WITH RESPECT AND APPRECIATION, + </h3> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h3> + BY THE AUTHOR. + </h3> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp000" id="linkp000"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p000.jpg (129K)" src="images/p000.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /> <a href="images/p000.jpg">Enlarge</a> <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + CONTENTS: + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#linkch41">CHAPTER XLI.</a> + </h3> + <p> + CLOTHING: ITS RAPID DETERIORATION, AND DEVICES TO REPLENISH IT—DESPERATE + EFFORTS TO COVER NAKEDNESS—"LITTLE RED CAP" AND HIS LETTER. + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#linkch42">CHAPTER XLII.</a> + </h3> + <p> + SOME FEATURES OF THE MORTALITY—PERCENTAGE OF DEATHS TO THOSE LIVING + —AN AVERAGE MEAN ONLY STANDS THE MISERY THREE MONTHS—DESCRIPTION + OF THE PRISON AND THE CONDITION OF THE MEN THEREIN, BY A LEADING + SCIENTIFIC MAN OF THE SOUTH. + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#linkch43">CHAPTER XLIII.</a> + </h3> + <p> + DIFFICULTY OF EXERCISING—EMBARRASSMENTS OF A MORNING WALK—THE + RIALTO OF THE PRISON—CURSING THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY—THE + STORY OF THE BATTLE OF SPOTTSYLVANIA COURTHOUSE. + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#linkch44">CHAPTER XLIV.</a> + </h3> + <p> + REBEL MUSIC—SINGULAR LACK OF THE CREATIVE POWER AMONG THE + SOUTHERNERS —CONTRAST WITH SIMILAR PEOPLE ELSEWHERE—THEIR + FAVORITE MUSIC, AND WHERE IT WAS BORROWED FROM—A FIFER WITH ONE + TUNE. + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#linkch45">CHAPTER XLV.</a> + </h3> + <p> + AUGUST—NEEDLES STUCK IN PUMPKIN SEEDS—SOME PHENOMENA OF + STARVATION —RIOTING IN REMEMBERED LUXURIES. + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#linkch46">CHAPTER XLVI.</a> + </h3> + <p> + SURLY BRITON—THE STOLID COURAGE THAT MAKES THE ENGLISH FLAG A BANNER + OF TRIUMPH—OUR COMPANY BUGLER, HIS CHARACTERISTICS AND HIS DEATH—URGENT + DEMAND FOR MECHANICS—NONE WANT TO GO—TREATMENT OF A REBEL + SHOEMAKER —ENLARGEMENT OF THE STOCKADE—IT IS BROKEN BY A STORM + —THE WONDERFUL SPRING. + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#linkch47">CHAPTER XLVII.</a> + </h3> + <p> + "SICK CALL," AND THE SCENES THAT ACCOMPANIED IT—MUSTERING THE LAME, + HALT AND DISEASED AT THE SOUTH GATE—AN UNUSUALLY BAD CASE—GOING + OUT TO THE HOSPITAL—ACCOMMODATION AND TREATMENT OF THE PATIENTS + THERE—THE HORRIBLE SUFFERING IN THE GANGRENE WARD—BUNGLING + AMPUTATIONS BY BLUNDERING PRACTITIONERS—AFFECTION BETWEEN A SAILOR + AND HIS WARD —DEATH OF MY COMRADE. + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#linkch48">CHAPTER XLVIII.</a> + </h3> + <p> + DETERMINATION TO ESCAPE—DIFFERENT PLANS AND THEIR MERITS—I + PREFER THE APPALACHICOLA ROUTE—PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE—A + HOT DAY—THE FENCE PASSED SUCCESSFULLY PURSUED BY THE HOUNDS—CAUGHT + —RETURNED TO THE STOCKADE. + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#linkch49">CHAPTER XLIX.</a> + </h3> + <p> + AUGUST—GOOD LUCK IN NOT MEETING CAPTAIN WIRZ—THAT WORTHY'S + TREATMENT OF RECAPTURED PRISONERS—SECRET SOCIETIES IN PRISON—SINGULAR + MEETING AND ITS RESULT—DISCOVERY AND REMOVAL OF THE OFFICERS AMONG + THE ENLISTED MEN. + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#linkch50">CHAPTER L</a> + </h3> + <p> + FOOD—THE MEAGERNESS, INFERIOR QUALITY, AND TERRIBLE SAMENESS —REBEL + TESTIMONY ON THE SUBJECT—FUTILITY OF SUCCESSFUL EXPLANATION. + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#linkch51">CHAPTER LI.</a> + </h3> + <p> + SOLICITUDE AS TO THE FATE OF ATLANTA AND SHERMAN'S ARMY—PAUCITY OF + NEWS —HOW WE HEARD THAT ATLANTA HAD FALLEN—ANNOUNCEMENT OF A + GENERAL EXCHANGE—WE LEAVE ANDERSONVILLE. + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#linkch52">CHAPTER LII.</a> + </h3> + <p> + SAVANNAH—DEVICES TO OBTAIN MATERIALS FOR A TENT—THEIR ULTIMATE + SUCCESS —RESUMPTION OF TUNNELING—ESCAPING BY WHOLESALE AND + BEING RECAPTURED EN MASSE—THE OBSTACLES THAT LAY BETWEEN US AND OUR + LINES. + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#linkch53">CHAPTER LIII.</a> + </h3> + <p> + FRANK REVERSTOCK'S ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE—PASSING OFF AS REBEL BOY HE + REACHES GRISWOLDVILLE BY RAIL, AND THEN STRIKES ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOR + SHERMAN, BUT IS CAUGHT WITHIN TWENTY MILES OF OUR LINES. + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#linkch54">CHAPTER LIV.</a> + </h3> + <p> + SAVANNAH PROVES TO BE A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER—ESCAPE FROM THE BRATS + OF GUARDS—COMPARISON BETWEEN WIRZ AND DAVIS—A BRIEF INTERVAL + OF GOOD RATIONS—WINDER, THE MAN WITH THE EVIL EYE —THE + DISLOYAL WORK OF A SHYSTER. + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#linkch55">CHAPTER LV.</a> + </h3> + <p> + WHY WE WERE HURRIED OUT OF ANDERSONVILLE—THE OF THE FALL OF ATLANTA + —OUR LONGING TO HEAR THE NEWS—ARRIVAL OF SOME FRESH FISH—HOW + WE KNEW THEY WERE WESTERN BOYS—DIFFERENCE IN THE APPEARANCE OF THE + SOLDIERS OF THE TWO ARMIES. + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#linkch56">CHAPTER LVI.</a> + </h3> + <p> + WHAT CAUSED THE FALL OF ATLANTA—A DISSERTATION UPON AN IMPORTANT + PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEM—THE BATTLE OF JONESBORO—WHY IT WAS + FOUGHT —HOW SHERMAN DECEIVED HOOD—A DESPERATE BAYONET CHARGE, + AND THE ONLY SUCCESSFUL ONE IN THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN—A GALLANT + COLONEL AND HOW HE DIED—THE HEROISM OF SOME ENLISTED MEN—GOING + CALMLY INTO CERTAIN DEATH. + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#linkch57">CHAPTER LVII.</a> + </h3> + <p> + A FAIR SACRIFICE—THE STORY OF ONE BOY WHO WILLINGLY GAVE HIS YOUNG + LIFE FOR HIS COUNTRY. + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#linkch58">CHAPTER LVIII.</a> + </h3> + <p> + WE LEAVE SAVANNAH—MORE HOPES OF EXCHANGE—SCENES AT DEPARTURE + —"FLANKERS"—ON THE BACK TRACK TOWARD ANDERSONVILLE—ALARM + THEREAT —AT THE PARTING OF TWO WAYS—WE FINALLY BRING UP AT + CAMP LAWTON. + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#linkch59">CHAPTER LIX.</a> + </h3> + <p> + OUR NEW QUARTERS AT CAMP LAWTON—BUILDING A HUT—AN EXCEPTIONAL + COMMANDANT—HE IS a GOOD MAN, BUT WILL TAKE BRIBES—RATIONS. + </p> + <h3> + <a href="#linkch60">CHAPTER LX.</a> + </h3> + <p> + THE RAIDERS REAPPEAR ON THE SCENE—THE ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE THOSE + WHO WERE CONCERNED IN THE EXECUTION—A COUPLE OF LIVELY FIGHTS, IN + WHICH THE RAIDERS ARE DEFEATED—HOLDING AN ELECTION. <br /><br /><br /><br /> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h3> + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + </h3> + <blockquote> + <p> + <br /><a href="#linkp287">74. The Author's Appearance on Entering Prison</a> + <br /><a href="#linkp288">75. His Appearance in July, 1864</a> <br /><a + href="#linkp291">76. Little Red Cap</a> <br /><a href="#linkp293">77. + "Fresh Fish"</a> <br /><a href="#linkp295">78. Interior of the Stockade, + Viewed from the Southwest</a> <br /><a href="#linkp307">79. Burying the + Dead</a> <br /><a href="#linkp312">80. The Graveyard at Andersonville, as + the Rebels Left It</a> <br /><a href="#linkp325">81. Denouncing the + Southern Confederacy</a> <br /><a href="#linkp328">82. The Charge</a> + <br /><a href="#linkp338">83. "Flagstaff"</a> <br /><a href="#linkp339">84. + Nursing a Sick Comrade</a> <br /><a href="#linkp344">65. A Dream</a> + <br /><a href="#linkp346">86. The English Bugler</a> <br /><a + href="#linkp351">87. The Break in the Stockade</a> <br /><a + href="#linkp353">88. At the Spring</a> <br /><a href="#linkp356">89. + Morning Assemblage of Sick at the South Gate</a> <br /><a href="#linkp361">91. + Old Sailor and Chicken</a> <br /><a href="#linkp363">92. Death of Watts</a> + <br /><a href="#linkp365">93. Planning Escape</a> <br /><a href="#linkp370">94. + Our Progress was Terribly Slow—Every Step Hurt Fearfully</a> <br /><a + href="#linkp372">95. "Come Ashore, There, Quick"</a> <br /><a + href="#linkp375">96. He Shrieked Imprecations and Curses</a> <br /><a + href="#linkp376">97. The Chain Gang</a> <br /><a href="#linkp386">98. + Interior of the Stockade—The Creek at the East Side</a> <br /><a + href="#linkp389">99. A Section from the East Side of the Prison Showing + the Dead Line</a> <br /><a href="#linkp395">100. "Half-past Eight + O'clock, and Atlanta's Gone to H—l!"</a> <br /><a href="#linkp397">101. + Off for "God's Country"</a> <br /><a href="#linkp399">102. Georgian + Development of the "Proud Caucasian"</a> <br /><a href="#linkp405">103. + It was Very Unpleasant When a Storm Came Up</a> <br /><a href="#linkp406">104. + When We Matched Our Intellects Against a Rebel's</a> <br /><a + href="#linkp410">107. His New Idea was to have a Heavily Laden Cart + Driven Around Inside the Dead Line</a> <br /><a href="#linkp411">108. + They Stood Around the Gate and Yelled Derisively</a> <br /><a + href="#linkp413">110. "See Heah; You Must Stand Back!"</a> <br /><a + href="#linkp415">111. He Bade Them Goodbye</a> <br /><a href="#linkp422">112. + "Wha-ah-ye!"</a> <br /><a href="#linkp445">114. One of Ferguson's Cavalry</a> + <br /><a href="#linkp448">115. Then the Clear Blue Eyes and + Well-remembered Smile</a> <br /><a href="#linkp454">117. Millen</a> <br /><a + href="#linkp457">118. A House Builded With Our Own Own Hands</a> <br /><a + href="#linkp459">119. Our First Meat</a> <br /><a href="#linkp463">120. A + Lucky Find</a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + <a name="linkch41" id="linkch41"></a>CHAPTER XLI. + </h2> + <p> + CLOTHING: ITS RAPID DETERIORATION, AND DEVICES TO REPLENISH IT—DESPERATE + EFFORTS TO COVER NAKEDNESS—"LITTLE RED CAP" AND HIS LETTER. + </p> + <p> + Clothing had now become an object of real solicitude to us older + prisoners. The veterans of our crowd—the surviving remnant of those + captured at Gettysburg—had been prisoners over a year. The next in + seniority—the Chickamauga boys—had been in ten months. The + Mine Run fellows were eight months old, and my battalion had had seven + months' incarceration. None of us were models of well-dressed gentlemen + when captured. Our garments told the whole story of the hard campaigning + we had undergone. Now, with months of the wear and tear of prison life, + sleeping on the sand, working in tunnels, digging wells, etc., we were + tattered and torn to an extent that a second-class tramp would have + considered disgraceful. + </p> + <p> + This is no reflection upon the quality of the clothes furnished by the + Government. We simply reached the limit of the wear of textile fabrics. I + am particular to say this, because I want to contribute my little mite + towards doing justice to a badly abused part of our Army organization + —the Quartermaster's Department. It is fashionable to speak of + "shoddy," and utter some stereotyped sneers about "brown paper shoes," and + "musketo-netting overcoats," when any discussion of the Quartermaster + service is the subject of conversation, but I have no hesitation in asking + the indorsement of my comrades to the statement that we have never found + anywhere else as durable garments as those furnished us by the Government + during our service in the Army. The clothes were not as fine in texture, + nor so stylish in cut as those we wore before or since, but when it came + to wear they could be relied on to the last thread. It was always + marvelous to me that they lasted so well, with the rough usage a soldier + in the field must necessarily give them. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a + name="linkp287" id="linkp287"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p287.jpg (14K)" src="images/p287.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + But to return to my subject. I can best illustrate the way our clothes + dropped off us, piece by piece, like the petals from the last rose of + Summer, by taking my own case as an example: When I entered prison I was + clad in the ordinary garb of an enlisted man of the cavalry—stout, + comfortable boots, woolen pocks, drawers, pantaloons, with a + "reenforcement," or "ready-made patches," as the infantry called them; + vest, warm, snug-fitting jacket, under and over shirts, heavy overcoat, + and a forage-cap. First my boots fell into cureless ruin, but this was no + special hardship, as the weather had become quite warm, and it was more + pleasant than otherwise to go barefooted. Then part of the underclothing + retired from service. The jacket and vest followed, their end being + hastened by having their best portions taken to patch up the pantaloons, + which kept giving out at the most embarrassing places. Then the cape of + the overcoat was called upon to assist in repairing these + continually-recurring breaches in the nether garments. The same insatiate + demand finally consumed the whole coat, in a vain attempt to prevent an + exposure of person greater than consistent with the usages of society. The + pantaloons—or what, by courtesy, I called such, were a monument of + careful and ingenious, but hopeless, patching, that should have called + forth the admiration of a Florentine artist in mosaic. I have been shown—in + later years—many table tops, ornamented in marquetry, inlaid with + thousands of little bits of wood, cunningly arranged, and patiently joined + together. I always look at them with interest, for I know the work spent + upon them: I remember my Andersonville pantaloons. + </p> + <p> + The clothing upon the upper part of my body had been reduced to the + remains of a knit undershirt. It had fallen into so many holes that it + looked like the coarse "riddles" through which ashes and gravel are + sifted. Wherever these holes were the sun had burned my back, breast and + shoulders deeply black. The parts covered by the threads and fragments + forming the boundaries of the holes, were still white. When I pulled my + alleged shirt off, to wash or to free it from some of its teeming + population, my skin showed a fine lace pattern in black and white, that + was very interesting to my comrades, and the subject of countless jokes by + them. + </p> + <p> + They used to descant loudly on the chaste elegance of the design, the + richness of the tracing, etc., and beg me to furnish them with a copy of + it when I got home, for their sisters to work window curtains or tidies + by. They were sure that so striking a novelty in patterns would be very + acceptable. I would reply to their witticisms in the language of Portia's + Prince of Morocco: + </p> + <p> + Mislike me not for my complexion— + </p> + <p> + The shadowed livery of the burning sun. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a + name="linkp288" id="linkp288"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p288.jpg (11K)" src="images/p288.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + One of the stories told me in my childhood by an old negro nurse, was of a + poverty stricken little girl "who slept on the floor and was covered with + the door," and she once asked— + </p> + <p> + "Mamma how do poor folks get along who haven't any door?" + </p> + <p> + In the same spirit I used to wonder how poor fellows got along who hadn't + any shirt. + </p> + <p> + One common way of keeping up one's clothing was by stealing mealsacks. The + meal furnished as rations was brought in in white cotton sacks. Sergeants + of detachments were required to return these when the rations were issued + the next day. I have before alluded to the general incapacity of the + Rebels to deal accurately with even simple numbers. It was never very + difficult for a shrewd Sergeant to make nine sacks count as ten. After + awhile the Rebels began to see through this sleight of hand manipulation, + and to check it. Then the Sergeants resorted to the device of tearing the + sacks in two, and turning each half in as a whole one. The cotton cloth + gained in this way was used for patching, or, if a boy could succeed in + beating the Rebels out of enough of it, he would fabricate himself a shirt + or a pair of pantaloons. We obtained all our thread in the same way. A + half of a sack, carefully raveled out, would furnish a couple of handfuls + of thread. Had it not been for this resource all our sewing and mending + would have come to a standstill. + </p> + <p> + Most of our needles were manufactured by ourselves from bones. A piece of + bone, split as near as possible to the required size, was carefully rubbed + down upon a brick, and then had an eye laboriously worked through it with + a bit of wire or something else available for the purpose. The needles + were about the size of ordinary darning needles, and answered the purpose + very well. + </p> + <p> + These devices gave one some conception of the way savages provide for the + wants of their lives. Time was with them, as with us, of little + importance. It was no loss of time to them, nor to us, to spend a large + portion of the waking hours of a week in fabricating a needle out of a + bone, where a civilized man could purchase a much better one with the + product of three minutes' labor. I do not think any red Indian of the + plains exceeded us in the patience with which we worked away at these + minutia of life's needs. + </p> + <p> + Of course the most common source of clothing was the dead, and no body was + carried out with any clothing on it that could be of service to the + survivors. The Plymouth Pilgrims, who were so well clothed on coming in, + and were now dying off very rapidly, furnished many good suits to cover + the nakedness of older, prisoners. Most of the prisoners from the Army of + the Potomac were well dressed, and as very many died within a month or six + weeks after their entrance, they left their clothes in pretty good + condition for those who constituted themselves their heirs, administrators + and assigns. + </p> + <p> + For my own part, I had the greatest aversion to wearing dead men's + clothes, and could only bring myself to it after I had been a year in + prison, and it became a question between doing that and freezing to death. + </p> + <p> + Every new batch of prisoners was besieged with anxious inquiries on the + subject which lay closest to all our hearts: + </p> + <p> + "What are they doing about exchange!" + </p> + <p> + Nothing in human experience—save the anxious expectancy of a sail by + castaways on a desert island—could equal the intense eagerness with + which this question was asked, and the answer awaited. To thousands now + hanging on the verge of eternity it meant life or death. Between the first + day of July and the first of November over twelve thousand men died, who + would doubtless have lived had they been able to reach our lines—"get + to God's country," as we expressed it. + </p> + <p> + The new comers brought little reliable news of contemplated exchange. + There was none to bring in the first place, and in the next, soldiers in + active service in the field had other things to busy themselves with than + reading up the details of the negotiations between the Commissioners of + Exchange. They had all heard rumors, however, and by the time they reached + Andersonville, they had crystallized these into actual statements of fact. + A half hour after they entered the Stockade, a report like this would + spread like wildfire: + </p> + <p> + "An Army of the Potomac man has just come in, who was captured in front of + Petersburg. He says that he read in the New York Herald, the day before he + was taken, that an exchange had been agreed upon, and that our ships had + already started for Savannah to take us home." + </p> + <p> + Then our hopes would soar up like balloons. We fed ourselves on such stuff + from day to day, and doubtless many lives were greatly prolonged by the + continual encouragement. There was hardly a day when I did not say to + myself that I would much rather die than endure imprisonment another + month, and had I believed that another month would see me still there, I + am pretty certain that I should have ended the matter by crossing the Dead + Line. I was firmly resolved not to die the disgusting, agonizing death + that so many around me were dying. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp291" + id="linkp291"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p291.jpg (18K)" src="images/p291.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + One of our best purveyors of information was a bright, blue-eyed, + fair-haired little drummer boy, as handsome as a girl, well-bred as a + lady, and evidently the darling of some refined loving mother. He + belonged, I think, to some loyal Virginia regiment, was captured in one of + the actions in the Shenandoa Valley, and had been with us in Richmond. We + called him "Red Cap," from his wearing a jaunty, gold-laced, crimson cap. + Ordinarily, the smaller a drummer boy is the harder he is, but no amount + of attrition with rough men could coarse the ingrained refinement of Red + Cap's manners. He was between thirteen and fourteen, and it seemed utterly + shameful that men, calling themselves soldier should make war on such a + tender boy and drag him off to prison. + </p> + <p> + But no six-footer had a more soldierly heart than little Red Cap, and none + were more loyal to the cause. It was a pleasure to hear him tell the story + of the fights and movements his regiment had been engaged in. He was a + good observer and told his tale with boyish fervor. Shortly after Wirz + assumed command he took Red Cap into his office as an Orderly. His bright + face and winning manner; fascinated the women visitors at headquarters, + and numbers of them tried to adopt him, but with poor success. Like the + rest of us, he could see few charms in an existence under the Rebel flag, + and turned a deaf ear to their blandishments. He kept his ears open to the + conversation of the Rebel officers around him, and frequently secured + permission to visit the interior of the Stockade, when he would + communicate to us all that he has heard. He received a flattering + reception every time he cams in, and no orator ever secured a more + attentive audience than would gather around him to listen to what he had + to say. He was, beyond a doubt, the best known and most popular person in + the prison, and I know all the survivors of his old admirer; share my + great interest in him, and my curiosity as to whether he yet lives, and + whether his subsequent career has justified the sanguine hopes we all had + as to his future. I hope that if he sees this, or any one who knows + anything about him, he will communicate with me. There are thousands who + will be glad to hear from him. + </p> + <p> + A most remarkable coincidence occurred in regard to this comrade. Several + days after the above had been written, and "set up," but before it had yet + appeared in the paper, I received the following letter: + </p> + <blockquote> + <blockquote> + <p> + ECKHART MINES, + </p> + <p> + Alleghany County, Md., March 24. + </p> + </blockquote> + </blockquote> + <p> + To the Editor of the BLADE: + </p> + <p> + Last evening I saw a copy of your paper, in which was a chapter or two of + a prison life of a soldier during the late war. I was forcibly struck with + the correctness of what he wrote, and the names of several of my old + comrades which he quoted: Hill, Limber Jim, etc., etc. I was a drummer boy + of Company I, Tenth West Virginia Infantry, and was fifteen years of age a + day or two after arriving in Andersonville, which was in the last of + February, 1884. Nineteen of my comrades were there with me, and, poor + fellows, they are there yet. I have no doubt that I would have remained + there, too, had I not been more fortunate. + </p> + <p> + I do not know who your soldier correspondent is, but assume to say that + from the following description he will remember having seen me in + Andersonville: I was the little boy that for three or four months + officiated as orderly for Captain Wirz. I wore a red cap, and every day + could be seen riding Wirz's gray mare, either at headquarters, or about + the Stockade. I was acting in this capacity when the six raiders —"Mosby," + (proper name Collins) Delaney, Curtis, and—I forget the other names—were + executed. I believe that I was the first that conveyed the intelligence to + them that Confederate General Winder had approved their sentence. As soon + as Wirz received the dispatch to that effect, I ran down to the stocks and + told them. + </p> + <p> + I visited Hill, of Wauseon, Fulton County, O., since the war, and found + him hale and hearty. I have not heard from him for a number of years until + reading your correspondent's letter last evening. It is the only letter of + the series that I have seen, but after reading that one, I feel called + upon to certify that I have no doubts of the truthfulness of your + correspondent's story. The world will never know or believe the horrors of + Andersonville and other prisons in the South. No living, human being, in + my judgment, will ever be able to properly paint the horrors of those + infernal dens. + </p> + <p> + I formed the acquaintance of several Ohio soldiers whilst in prison. Among + these were O. D. Streeter, of Cleveland, who went to Andersonville about + the same time that I did, and escaped, and was the only man that I ever + knew that escaped and reached our lines. After an absence of several + months he was retaken in one of Sherman's battles before Atlanta, and + brought back. I also knew John L. Richards, of Fostoria, Seneca County, O. + or Eaglesville, Wood County. Also, a man by the name of Beverly, who was a + partner of Charley Aucklebv, of Tennessee. I would like to hear from all + of these parties. They all know me. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Editor, I will close by wishing all my comrades who shared in the + sufferings and dangers of Confederate prisons, a long and useful life. + </p> + <blockquote> + <blockquote> + <blockquote> + <blockquote> + <p> + Yours truly, + </p> + <p> + RANSOM T. POWELL + </p> + </blockquote> + </blockquote> + </blockquote> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp293" id="linkp293"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p293.jpg (34K)" src="images/p293.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + <a name="linkch42" id="linkch42"></a>CHAPTER XLII + </h2> + <h3> + SOME FEATURES OF THE MORTALITY—PERCENTAGE OF DEATHS TO THOSE LIVING + —AN AVERAGE MEAN ONLY STANDS THE MISERY THREE MONTHS—DESCRIPTION + OF THE PRISON AND THE CONDITION OF THE MEN THEREIN, BY A LEADING + SCIENTIFIC MAN OF THE SOUTH. + </h3> + <p> + Speaking of the manner in which the Plymouth Pilgrims were now dying, I am + reminded of my theory that the ordinary man's endurance of this prison + life did not average over three months. The Plymouth boys arrived in May; + the bulk of those who died passed away in July and August. The great + increase of prisoners from all sources was in May, June and July. The + greatest mortality among these was in August, September and October. + </p> + <p> + Many came in who had been in good health during their service in the + field, but who seemed utterly overwhelmed by the appalling misery they saw + on every hand, and giving way to despondency, died in a few days or weeks. + I do not mean to include them in the above class, as their sickness was + more mental than physical. My idea is that, taking one hundred ordinarily + healthful young soldiers from a regiment in active service, and putting + them into Andersonville, by the end of the third month at least + thirty-three of those weakest and most vulnerable to disease would have + succumbed to the exposure, the pollution of ground and air, and the + insufficiency of the ration of coarse corn meal. After this the mortality + would be somewhat less, say at the end of six months fifty of them would + be dead. The remainder would hang on still more tenaciously, and at the + end of a year there would be fifteen or twenty still alive. There were + sixty-three of my company taken; thirteen lived through. I believe this + was about the usual proportion for those who were in as long as we. In all + there were forty-five thousand six hundred and thirteen prisoners brought + into Andersonville. Of these twelve thousand nine hundred and twelve died + there, to say nothing of thousands that died in other prisons in Georgia + and the Carolinas, immediately after their removal from Andersonville. One + of every three and a-half men upon whom the gates of the Stockade closed + never repassed them alive. Twenty-nine per cent. of the boys who so much + as set foot in Andersonville died there. Let it be kept in mind all the + time, that the average stay of a prisoner there was not four months. The + great majority came in after the 1st of May, and left before the middle of + September. May 1, 1864, there were ten thousand four hundred and + twenty-seven in the Stockade. August 8 there were thirty-three thousand + one hundred and fourteen; September 30 all these were dead or gone, except + eight thousand two hundred and eighteen, of whom four thousand five + hundred and ninety died inside of the next thirty days. The records of the + world can shove no parallel to this astounding mortality. + </p> + <p> + Since the above matter was first published in the BLADE, a friend has sent + me a transcript of the evidence at the Wirz trial, of Professor Joseph + Jones, a Surgeon of high rank in the Rebel Army, and who stood at the head + of the medical profession in Georgia. He visited Andersonville at the + instance of the Surgeon-General of the Confederate States' Army, to make a + study, for the benefit of science, of the phenomena of disease occurring + there. His capacity and opportunities for observation, and for clearly + estimating the value of the facts coming under his notice were, of course, + vastly superior to mine, and as he states the case stronger than I dare + to, for fear of being accused of exaggeration and downright untruth, I + reproduce the major part of his testimony—embodying also his + official report to medical headquarters at Richmond—that my readers + may know how the prison appeared to the eyes of one who, though a bitter + Rebel, was still a humane man and a conscientious observer, striving to + learn the truth: <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp295" id="linkp295"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p295.jpg (126K)" src="images/p295.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + MEDICAL TESTIMONY. + </h2> + <p> + [Transcript from the printed testimony at the Wirz Trial, pages 618 to + 639, inclusive.] + </p> + <blockquote> + <blockquote> + <blockquote> + <blockquote> + <p> + OCTOBER 7, 1885. + </p> + </blockquote> + </blockquote> + </blockquote> + </blockquote> + <p> + Dr. Joseph Jones, for the prosecution: + </p> + <p> + By the Judge Advocate: + </p> + <p> + Question. Where do you reside + </p> + <p> + Answer. In Augusta, Georgia. + </p> + <p> + Q. Are you a graduate of any medical college? + </p> + <p> + A. Of the University of Pennsylvania. + </p> + <p> + Q. How long have you been engaged in the practice of medicine? + </p> + <p> + A. Eight years. + </p> + <p> + Q. Has your experience been as a practitioner, or rather as an + investigator of medicine as a science? + </p> + <p> + A. Both. + </p> + <p> + Q. What position do you hold now? + </p> + <p> + A. That of Medical Chemist in the Medical College of Georgia, at Augusta. + </p> + <p> + Q. How long have you held your position in that college? + </p> + <p> + A. Since 1858. + </p> + <p> + Q. How were you employed during the Rebellion? + </p> + <p> + A. I served six months in the early part of it as a private in the ranks, + and the rest of the time in the medical department. + </p> + <p> + Q. Under the direction of whom? + </p> + <p> + A. Under the direction of Dr. Moore, Surgeon General. + </p> + <p> + Q. Did you, while acting under his direction, visit Andersonville, + professionally? + </p> + <p> + A. Yes, Sir. + </p> + <p> + Q. For the purpose of making investigations there? + </p> + <p> + A. For the purpose of prosecuting investigations ordered by the Surgeon + General. + </p> + <p> + Q. You went there in obedience to a letter of instructions? + </p> + <p> + A. In obedience to orders which I received. + </p> + <p> + Q. Did you reduce the results of your investigations to the shape of a + report? + </p> + <p> + A. I was engaged at that work when General Johnston surrendered his army. + </p> + <p> + (A document being handed to witness.) + </p> + <p> + Q. Have you examined this extract from your report and compared it with + the original? + </p> + <p> + A. Yes, Sir; I have. + </p> + <p> + Q. Is it accurate? + </p> + <p> + A. So far as my examination extended, it is accurate.' + </p> + <p> + The document just examined by witness was offered in evidence, and is as + follows: + </p> + <p> + Observations upon the diseases of the Federal prisoners, confined to Camp + Sumter, Andersonville, in Sumter County, Georgia, instituted with a view + to illustrate chiefly the origin and causes of hospital gangrene, the + relations of continued and malarial fevers, and the pathology of camp + diarrhea and dysentery, by Joseph Jones; Surgeon P. A. C. S., Professor of + Medical Chemistry in the Medical College of Georgia, at Augusta, Georgia. + </p> + <p> + Hearing of the unusual mortality among the Federal prisoners confined at + Andersonville; Georgia, in the month of August, 1864, during a visit to + Richmond, Va., I expressed to the Surgeon General, S. P. Moore, + Confederate States of America, a desire to visit Camp Sumter, with the + design of instituting a series of inquiries upon the nature and causes of + the prevailing diseases. Smallpox had appeared among the prisoners, and I + believed that this would prove an admirable field for the establishment of + its characteristic lesions. The condition of Peyer's glands in this + disease was considered as worthy of minute investigation. It was believed + that a large body of men from the Northern portion of the United States, + suddenly transported to a warm Southern climate, and confined upon a small + portion of land, would furnish an excellent field for the investigation of + the relations of typhus, typhoid, and malarial fevers. + </p> + <p> + The Surgeon General of the Confederate States of America furnished me with + the following letter of introduction to the Surgeon in charge of the + Confederate States Military Prison at Andersonville, Ga.: <br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <blockquote> + <p> + CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, + </p> + <p> + SURGEON GENERAL'S OFFICE, RICHMOND, VA., + </p> + <p> + August 6, 1864. + </p> + </blockquote> + </blockquote> + <p> + SIR:—The field of pathological investigations afforded by the large + collection of Federal prisoners in Georgia, is of great extant and + importance, and it is believed that results of value to the profession may + be obtained by careful investigation of the effects of disease upon the + large body of men subjected to a decided change of climate and those + circumstances peculiar to prison life. The Surgeon in charge of the + hospital for Federal prisoners, together with his assistants, will afford + every facility to Surgeon Joseph Jones, in the prosecution of the labors + ordered by the Surgeon General. Efficient assistance must be rendered + Surgeon Jones by the medical officers, not only in his examinations into + the causes and symptoms of the various diseases, but especially in the + arduous labors of post mortem examinations. + </p> + <p> + The medical officers will assist in the performance of such post-mortems + as Surgeon Jones may indicate, in order that this great field for + pathological investigation may be explored for the benefit of the Medical + Department of the Confederate Army. + </p> + <blockquote> + <blockquote> + <p> + S. P. MOORE, Surgeon General. + </p> + </blockquote> + </blockquote> + <p> + Surgeon ISAIAH H. WHITE, + </p> + <p> + In charge of Hospital for Federal prisoners, Andersonville, Ga. <br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + In compliance with this letter of the Surgeon General, Isaiah H. White, + Chief Surgeon of the post, and R. R. Stevenson, Surgeon in charge of the + Prison Hospital, afforded the necessary facilities for the prosecution of + my investigations among the sick outside of the Stockade. After the + completion of my labors in the military prison hospital, the following + communication was addressed to Brigadier General John H. Winder, in + consequence of the refusal on the part of the commandant of the interior + of the Confederate States Military Prison to admit me within the Stockade + upon the order of the Surgeon General: <br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <blockquote> + <p> + CAMP SUMTER, ANDERSONVILLE GA., + </p> + <p> + September 16, 1864. + </p> + </blockquote> + </blockquote> + <p> + GENERAL:—I respectfully request the commandant of the post of + Andersonville to grant me permission and to furnish the necessary pass to + visit the sick and medical officers within the Stockade of the Confederate + States Prison. I desire to institute certain inquiries ordered by the + Surgeon General. Surgeon Isaiah H. White, Chief Surgeon of the post, and + Surgeon R. R. Stevenson, in charge of the Prison Hospital, have afforded + me every facility for the prosecution of my labors among the sick outside + of the Stockade. + </p> + <blockquote> + <blockquote> + <p> + Very respectfully, your obedient servant, + </p> + <p> + JOSEPH JONES, Surgeon P. A. C. S. + </p> + </blockquote> + </blockquote> + <p> + Brigadier General JOHN H. WINDER, + </p> + <p> + Commandant, Post Andersonville. <br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + In the absence of General Winder from the post, Captain Winder furnished + the following order: <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <blockquote> + <p> + CAMP SUMTER, ANDERSONVILLE; + </p> + <p> + September 17, 1864. + </p> + </blockquote> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + CAPTAIN:—You will permit Surgeon Joseph Jones, who has orders from + the Surgeon General, to visit the sick within the Stockade that are under + medical treatment. Surgeon Jones is ordered to make certain investigations + which may prove useful to his profession. By direction of General Winder. + Very respectfully, W. S. WINDER, A. A. G. + </p> + <p> + Captain H. WIRZ, Commanding Prison. <br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <blockquote> + <h3> + Description of the Confederate States Military Prison Hospital at + Andersonville. Number of prisoners, physical condition, food, + clothing, habits, moral condition, diseases. + </h3> + </blockquote> + </blockquote> + <p> + The Confederate Military Prison at Andersonville, Ga., consists of a + strong Stockade, twenty feet in height, enclosing twenty-seven acres. The + Stockade is formed of strong pine logs, firmly planted in the ground. The + main Stockade is surrounded by two other similar rows of pine logs, the + middle Stockade being sixteen feet high, and the outer twelve feet. These + are intended for offense and defense. If the inner Stockade should at any + time be forced by the prisoners, the second forms another line of defense; + while in case of an attempt to deliver the prisoners by a force operating + upon the exterior, the outer line forms an admirable protection to the + Confederate troops, and a most formidable obstacle to cavalry or infantry. + The four angles of the outer line are strengthened by earthworks upon + commanding eminences, from which the cannon, in case of an outbreak among + the prisoners, may sweep the entire enclosure; and it was designed to + connect these works by a line of rifle pits, running zig-zag, around the + outer Stockade; those rifle pits have never been completed. The ground + enclosed by the innermost Stockade lies in the form of a parallelogram, + the larger diameter running almost due north and south. This space + includes the northern and southern opposing sides of two hills, between + which a stream of water runs from west to east. The surface soil of these + hills is composed chiefly of sand with varying admixtures of clay and + oxide of iron. The clay is sufficiently tenacious to give a considerable + degree of consistency to the soil. The internal structure of the hills, as + revealed by the deep wells, is similar to that already described. The + alternate layers of clay and sand, as well as the oxide of iron, which + forms in its various combinations a cement to the sand, allow of extensive + tunneling. The prisoners not only constructed numerous dirt huts with + balls of clay and sand, taken from the wells which they have excavated all + over those hills, but they have also, in some cases, tunneled extensively + from these wells. The lower portions of these hills, bordering on the + stream, are wet and boggy from the constant oozing of water. The Stockade + was built originally to accommodate only ten thousand prisoners, and + included at first seventeen acres. Near the close of the month of June the + area was enlarged by the addition of ten acres. The ground added was + situated on the northern slope of the largest hill. + </p> + <p> + The average number of square feet of ground to each prisoner in August + 1864: 35.7 + </p> + <p> + Within the circumscribed area of the Stockade the Federal prisoners were + compelled to perform all the offices of life—cooking, washing, the + calls of nature, exercise, and sleeping. During the month of March the + prison was less crowded than at any subsequent time, and then the average + space of ground to each prisoner was only 98.7 feet, or less than seven + square yards. The Federal prisoners were gathered from all parts of the + Confederate States east of the Mississippi, and crowded into the confined + space, until in the month of June the average number of square feet of + ground to each prisoner was only 33.2 or less than four square yards. + These figures represent the condition of the Stockade in a better light + even than it really was; for a considerable breadth of land along the + stream, flowing from west to east between the hills, was low and boggy, + and was covered with the excrement of the men, and thus rendered wholly + uninhabitable, and in fact useless for every purpose except that of + defecation. The pines and other small trees and shrubs, which originally + were scattered sparsely over these hills, were in a short time cut down + and consumed by the prisoners for firewood, and no shade tree was left in + the entire enclosure of the stockade. With their characteristic industry + and ingenuity, the Federals constructed for themselves small huts and + caves, and attempted to shield themselves from the rain and sun and night + damps and dew. But few tents were distributed to the prisoners, and those + were in most cases torn and rotten. In the location and arrangement of + these tents and huts no order appears to have been followed; in fact, + regular streets appear to be out of the question in so crowded an area; + especially too, as large bodies of prisoners were from time to time added + suddenly without any previous preparations. The irregular arrangement of + the huts and imperfect shelters was very unfavorable for the maintenance + of a proper system of police. + </p> + <p> + The police and internal economy of the prison was left almost entirely in + the hands of the prisoners themselves; the duties of the Confederate + soldiers acting as guards being limited to the occupation of the boxes or + lookouts ranged around the stockade at regular intervals, and to the + manning of the batteries at the angles of the prison. Even judicial + matters pertaining to themselves, as the detection and punishment of such + crimes as theft and murder appear to have been in a great measure + abandoned to the prisoners. A striking instance of this occurred in the + month of July, when the Federal prisoners within the Stockade tried, + condemned, and hanged six (6) of their own number, who had been convicted + of stealing and of robbing and murdering their fellow-prisoners. They were + all hung upon the same day, and thousands of the prisoners gathered around + to witness the execution. The Confederate authorities are said not to have + interfered with these proceedings. In this collection of men from all + parts of the world, every phase of human character was represented; the + stronger preyed upon the weaker, and even the sick who were unable to + defend themselves were robbed of their scanty supplies of food and + clothing. Dark stories were afloat, of men, both sick and well, who were + murdered at night, strangled to death by their comrades for scant supplies + of clothing or money. I heard a sick and wounded Federal prisoner accuse + his nurse, a fellow-prisoner of the United States Army, of having + stealthily, during his sleep inoculated his wounded arm with gangrene, + that he might destroy his life and fall heir to his clothing. <br /> + </p> + <p> + .................................... + </p> + <p> + The large number of men confined within the Stockade soon, under a + defective system of police, and with imperfect arrangements, covered the + surface of the low grounds with excrements. The sinks over the lower + portions of the stream were imperfect in their plan and structure, and the + excrements were in large measure deposited so near the borders of the + stream as not to be washed away, or else accumulated upon the low boggy + ground. The volume of water was not sufficient to wash away the feces, and + they accumulated in such quantities in the lower portion of the stream as + to form a mass of liquid excrement heavy rains caused the water of the + stream to rise, and as the arrangements for the passage of the increased + amounts of water out of the Stockade were insufficient, the liquid feces + overflowed the low grounds and covered them several inches, after the + subsidence of the waters. The action of the sun upon this putrefying mass + of excrements and fragments of bread and meat and bones excited most rapid + fermentation and developed a horrible stench. Improvements were projected + for the removal of the filth and for the prevention of its accumulation, + but they were only partially and imperfectly carried out. As the forces of + the prisoners were reduced by confinement, want of exercise, improper + diet, and by scurvy, diarrhea, and dysentery, they were unable to evacuate + their bowels within the stream or along its banks, and the excrements were + deposited at the very doors of their tents. The vast majority appeared to + lose all repulsion to filth, and both sick and well disregarded all the + laws of hygiene and personal cleanliness. The accommodations for the sick + were imperfect and insufficient. From the organization of the prison, + February 24, 1864, to May 22, the sick were treated within the Stockade. + In the crowded condition of the Stockade, and with the tents and huts + clustered thickly around the hospital, it was impossible to secure proper + ventilation or to maintain the necessary police. The Federal prisoners + also made frequent forays upon the hospital stores and carried off the + food and clothing of the sick. The hospital was, on the 22d of May, + removed to its present site without the Stockade, and five acres of ground + covered with oaks and pines appropriated to the use of the sick. + </p> + <p> + The supply of medical officers has been insufficient from the foundation + of the prison. + </p> + <p> + The nurses and attendants upon the sick have been most generally Federal + prisoners, who in too many cases appear to have been devoid of moral + principle, and who not only neglected their duties, but were also engaged + in extensive robbing of the sick. + </p> + <p> + From the want of proper police and hygienic regulations alone it is not + wonderful that from February 24 to September 21, 1864, nine thousand four + hundred and seventy-nine deaths, nearly one-third the entire number of + prisoners, should have been recorded. I found the Stockade and hospital in + the following condition during my pathological investigations, instituted + in the month of September, 1864: <br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h3> + STOCKADE, CONFEDERATE STATES MILITARY PRISON. + </h3> + <p> + At the time of my visit to Andersonville a large number of Federal + prisoners had been removed to Millen, Savannah; Charleston, and other + parts of, the Confederacy, in anticipation of an advance of General + Sherman's forces from Atlanta, with the design of liberating their captive + brethren; however, about fifteen thousand prisoners remained confined + within the limits of the Stockade and Confederate States Military Prison + Hospital. + </p> + <p> + In the Stockade, with the exception of the damp lowlands bordering the + small stream, the surface was covered with huts, and small ragged tents + and parts of blankets and fragments of oil-cloth, coats, and blankets + stretched upon stacks. The tents and huts were not arranged according to + any order, and there was in most parts of the enclosure scarcely room for + two men to walk abreast between the tents and huts. + </p> + <p> + If one might judge from the large pieces of corn-bread scattered about in + every direction on the ground the prisoners were either very lavishly + supplied with this article of diet, or else this kind of food was not + relished by them. + </p> + <p> + Each day the dead from the Stockade were carried out by their + fellow-prisoners and deposited upon the ground under a bush arbor, just + outside of the Southwestern Gate. From thence they were carried in carts + to the burying ground, one-quarter of a mile northwest, of the Prison. The + dead were buried without coffins, side by side, in trenches four feet + deep. + </p> + <p> + The low grounds bordering the stream were covered with human excrements + and filth of all kinds, which in many places appeared to be alive with + working maggots. An indescribable sickening stench arose from these + fermenting masses of human filth. + </p> + <p> + There were near five thousand seriously ill Federals in the Stockade and + Confederate States Military Prison Hospital, and the deaths exceeded one + hundred per day, and large numbers of the prisoners who were walking + about, and who had not been entered upon the sick reports, were suffering + from severe and incurable diarrhea, dysentery, and scurvy. The sick were + attended almost entirely by their fellow-prisoners, appointed as nurses, + and as they received but little attention, they were compelled to exert + themselves at all times to attend to the calls of nature, and hence they + retained the power of moving about to within a comparatively short period + of the close of life. Owing to the slow progress of the diseases most + prevalent, diarrhea, and chronic dysentery, the corpses were as a general + rule emaciated. + </p> + <p> + I visited two thousand sick within the Stockade, lying under some long + sheds which had been built at the northern portion for themselves. At this + time only one medical officer was in attendance, whereas at least twenty + medical officers should have been employed. + </p> + <p> + Died in the Stockade from its organization, February 24, 186l to + </p> + <p> + September 2l ....................................................3,254 + </p> + <p> + Died in Hospital during same time ...............................6,225 + <br /> + </p> + <p> + Total deaths in Hospital and Stockade ...........................9,479 + <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp307" id="linkp307"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p307.jpg (40K)" src="images/p307.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + Scurvy, diarrhea, dysentery, and hospital gangrene were the prevailing + diseases. I was surprised to find but few cases of malarial fever, and no + well-marked cases either of typhus or typhoid fever. The absence of the + different forms of malarial fever may be accounted for in the supposition + that the artificial atmosphere of the Stockade, crowded densely with human + beings and loaded with animal exhalations, was unfavorable to the + existence and action of the malarial poison. The absence of typhoid and + typhus fevers amongst all the causes which are supposed to generate these + diseases, appeared to be due to the fact that the great majority of these + prisoners had been in captivity in Virginia, at Belle Island, and in other + parts of the Confederacy for months, and even as long as two years, and + during this time they had been subjected to the same bad influences, and + those who had not had these fevers before either had them during their + confinement in Confederate prisons or else their systems, from long + exposure, were proof against their action. + </p> + <p> + The effects of scurvy were manifested on every hand, and in all its + various stages, from the muddy, pale complexion, pale gums, feeble, + languid muscular motions, lowness of spirits, and fetid breath, to the + dusky, dirty, leaden complexion, swollen features, spongy, purple, livid, + fungoid, bleeding gums, loose teeth, oedematous limbs, covered with livid + vibices, and petechiae spasmodically flexed, painful and hardened + extremities, spontaneous hemorrhages from mucous canals, and large, + ill-conditioned, spreading ulcers covered with a dark purplish fungus + growth. I observed that in some of the cases of scurvy the parotid glands + were greatly swollen, and in some instances to such an extent as to + preclude entirely the power to articulate. In several cases of dropsy of + the abdomen and lower extremities supervening upon scurvy, the patients + affirmed that previously to the appearance of the dropsy they had suffered + with profuse and obstinate diarrhea, and that when this was checked by a + change of diet, from Indian corn-bread baked with the husk, to boiled + rice, the dropsy appeared. The severe pains and livid patches were + frequently associated with swellings in various parts, and especially in + the lower extremities, accompanied with stiffness and contractions of the + knee joints and ankles, and often with a brawny feel of the parts, as if + lymph had been effused between the integuments and apeneuroses, preventing + the motion of the skin over the swollen parts. Many of the prisoners + believed that the scurvy was contagious, and I saw men guarding their + wells and springs, fearing lest some man suffering with the scurvy might + use the water and thus poison them. + </p> + <p> + I observed also numerous cases of hospital gangrene, and of spreading + scorbutic ulcers, which had supervened upon slight injuries. The scorbutic + ulcers presented a dark, purple fungoid, elevated surface, with livid + swollen edges, and exuded a thin; fetid, sanious fluid, instead of pus. + Many ulcers which originated from the scorbutic condition of the system + appeared to become truly gangrenous, assuming all the characteristics of + hospital gangrene. From the crowded condition, filthy habits, bad diet, + and dejected, depressed condition of the prisoners, their systems had + become so disordered that the smallest abrasion of the skin, from the + rubbing of a shoe, or from the effects of the sun, or from the prick of a + splinter, or from scratching, or a musketo bite, in some cases, took on + rapid and frightful ulceration and gangrene. The long use of salt meat, + ofttimes imperfectly cured, as well as the most total deprivation of + vegetables and fruit, appeared to be the chief causes of the scurvy. I + carefully examined the bakery and the bread furnished the prisoners, and + found that they were supplied almost entirely with corn-bread from which + the husk had not been separated. This husk acted as an irritant to the + alimentary canal, without adding any nutriment to the bread. As far as my + examination extended no fault could be found with the mode in which the + bread was baked; the difficulty lay in the failure to separate the husk + from the corn-meal. I strongly urged the preparation of large quantities + of soup made from the cow and calves' heads with the brains and tongues, + to which a liberal supply of sweet potatos and vegetables might have been + advantageously added. The material existed in abundance for the + preparation of such soup in large quantities with but little additional + expense. Such aliment would have been not only highly nutritious, but it + would also have acted as an efficient remedial agent for the removal of + the scorbutic condition. The sick within the Stockade lay under several + long sheds which were originally built for barracks. These sheds covered + two floors which were open on all sides. The sick lay upon the bare + boards, or upon such ragged blankets as they possessed, without, as far as + I observed, any bedding or even straw. <br /> + </p> + <p> + ............................ + </p> + <p> + The haggard, distressed countenances of these miserable, complaining, + dejected, living skeletons, crying for medical aid and food, and cursing + their Government for its refusal to exchange prisoners, and the ghastly + corpses, with their glazed eye balls staring up into vacant space, with + the flies swarming down their open and grinning mouths, and over their + ragged clothes, infested with numerous lice, as they lay amongst the sick + and dying, formed a picture of helpless, hopeless misery which it would be + impossible to portray bywords or by the brush. A feeling of disappointment + and even resentment on account of the United States Government upon the + subject of the exchange of prisoners, appeared to be widespread, and the + apparent hopeless nature of the negotiations for some general exchange of + prisoners appeared to be a cause of universal regret and deep and + injurious despondency. I heard some of the prisoners go so far as to + exonerate the Confederate Government from any charge of intentionally + subjecting them to a protracted confinement, with its necessary and + unavoidable sufferings, in a country cut off from all intercourse with + foreign nations, and sorely pressed on all sides, whilst on the other hand + they charged their prolonged captivity upon their own Government, which + was attempting to make the negro equal to the white man. Some hundred or + more of the prisoners had been released from confinement in the Stockade + on parole, and filled various offices as clerks, druggists, and + carpenters, etc., in the various departments. These men were well clothed, + and presented a stout and healthy appearance, and as a general rule they + presented a much more robust and healthy appearance than the Confederate + troops guarding the prisoners. + </p> + <p> + The entire grounds are surrounded by a frail board fence, and are strictly + guarded by Confederate soldiers, and no prisoner except the paroled + attendants is allowed to leave the grounds except by a special permit from + the Commandant of the Interior of the Prison. + </p> + <p> + The patients and attendants, near two thousand in number, are crowded into + this confined space and are but poorly supplied with old and ragged tents. + Large numbers of them were without any bunks in the tents, and lay upon + the ground, oft-times without even a blanket. No beds or straw appeared to + have been furnished. The tents extend to within a few yards of the small + stream, the eastern portion of which, as we have before said, is used as a + privy and is loaded with excrements; and I observed a large pile of + corn-bread, bones, and filth of all kinds, thirty feet in diameter and + several feet in hight, swarming with myriads of flies, in a vacant space + near the pots used for cooking. Millions of flies swarmed over everything, + and covered the faces of the sleeping patients, and crawled down their + open mouths, and deposited their maggots in the gangrenous wounds of the + living, and in the mouths of the dead. Musketos in great numbers also + infested the tents, and many of the patients were so stung by these + pestiferous insects, that they resembled those suffering from a slight + attack of the measles. + </p> + <p> + The police and hygiene of the hospital were defective in the extreme; the + attendants, who appeared in almost every instance to have been selected + from the prisoners, seemed to have in many cases but little interest in + the welfare of their fellow-captives. The accusation was made that the + nurses in many cases robbed the sick of their clothing, money, and + rations, and carried on a clandestine trade with the paroled prisoners and + Confederate guards without the hospital enclosure, in the clothing, + effects of the sick, dying, and dead Federals. They certainly appeared to + neglect the comfort and cleanliness of the sick intrusted to their care in + a most shameful manner, even after making due allowances for the + difficulties of the situation. Many of the sick were literally encrusted + with dirt and filth and covered with vermin. When a gangrenous wound + needed washing, the limb was thrust out a little from the blanket, or + board, or rags upon which the patient was lying, and water poured over it, + and all the putrescent matter allowed to soak into the ground floor of the + tent. The supply of rags for dressing wounds was said to be very scant, + and I saw the most filthy rags which had been applied several times, and + imperfectly washed, used in dressing wounds. Where hospital gangrene was + prevailing, it was impossible for any wound to escape contagion under + these circumstances. The results of the treatment of wounds in the + hospital were of the most unsatisfactory character, from this neglect of + cleanliness, in the dressings and wounds themselves, as well as from + various other causes which will be more fully considered. I saw several + gangrenous wounds filled with maggots. I have frequently seen neglected + wounds amongst the Confederate soldiers similarly affected; and as far as + my experience extends, these worms destroy only the dead tissues and do + not injure specially the well parts. I have even heard surgeons affirm + that a gangrenous wound which had been thoroughly cleansed by maggots, + healed more rapidly than if it had been left to itself. This want of + cleanliness on the part of the nurses appeared to be the result of + carelessness and inattention, rather than of malignant design, and the + whole trouble can be traced to the want of the proper police and sanitary + regulations, and to the absence of intelligent organization and division + of labor. The abuses were in a large measure due to the almost total + absence of system, government, and rigid, but wholesome sanitary + regulations. In extenuation of these abuses it was alleged by the medical + officers that the Confederate troops were barely sufficient to guard the + prisoners, and that it was impossible to obtain any number of experienced + nurses from the Confederate forces. In fact the guard appeared to be too + small, even for the regulation of the internal hygiene and police of the + hospital. + </p> + <p> + The manner of disposing of the dead was also calculated to depress the + already desponding spirits of these men, many of whom have been confined + for months, and even for nearly two years in Richmond and other places, + and whose strength had been wasted by bad air, bad food, and neglect of + personal cleanliness. The dead-house is merely a frame covered with old + tent cloth and a few bushes, situated in the southwestern corner of the + hospital grounds. When a patient dies, he is simply laid in the narrow + street in front of his tent, until he is removed by Federal negros + detailed to carry off the dead; if a patient dies during the night, he + lies there until the morning, and during the day even the dead were + frequently allowed to remain for hours in these walks. In the dead-house + the corpses lie upon the bare ground, and were in most cases covered with + filth and vermin. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp312" id="linkp312"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p312.jpg (58K)" src="images/p312.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + ............................ + </p> + <p> + The cooking arrangements are of the most defective character. Five large + iron pots similar to those used for boiling sugar cane, appeared to be the + only cooking utensils furnished by the hospital for the cooking of nearly + two thousand men; and the patients were dependent in great measure upon + their own miserable utensils. They were allowed to cook in the tent doors + and in the lanes, and this was another source of filth, and another + favorable condition for the generation and multiplication of flies and + other vermin. + </p> + <p> + The air of the tents was foul and disagreeable in the extreme, and in fact + the entire grounds emitted a most nauseous and disgusting smell. I entered + nearly all the tents and carefully examined the cases of interest, and + especially the cases of gangrene, upon numerous occasions, during the + prosecution of my pathological inquiries at Andersonville, and therefore + enjoyed every opportunity to judge correctly of the hygiene and police of + the hospital. + </p> + <p> + There appeared to be almost absolute indifference and neglect on the part + of the patients of personal cleanliness; their persons and clothing inmost + instances, and especially of those suffering with gangrene and scorbutic + ulcers, were filthy in the extreme and covered with vermin. It was too + often the case that patients were received from the Stockade in a most + deplorable condition. I have seen men brought in from the Stockade in a + dying condition, begrimed from head to foot with their own excrements, and + so black from smoke and filth that they, resembled negros rather than + white men. That this description of the Stockade and hospital has not been + overdrawn, will appear from the reports of the surgeons in charge, + appended to this report. + </p> + <p> + ......................... + </p> + <p> + We will examine first the consolidated report of the sick and wounded + Federal prisoners. During six months, from the 1st of March to the 31st of + August, forty-two thousand six hundred and eighty-six cases of diseases + and wounds were reported. No classified record of the sick in the Stockade + was kept after the establishment of the hospital without the Prison. This + fact, in conjunction with those already presented relating to the + insufficiency of medical officers and the extreme illness and even death + of many prisoners in the tents in the Stockade, without any medical + attention or record beyond the bare number of the dead, demonstrate that + these figures, large as they, appear to be, are far below the truth. + </p> + <p> + As the number of prisoners varied greatly at different periods, the + relations between those reported sick and well, as far as those statistics + extend, can best be determined by a comparison of the statistics of each + month. + </p> + <p> + During this period of six months no less than five hundred and sixty-five + deaths are recorded under the head of 'morbi vanie.' In other words, those + men died without having received sufficient medical attention for the + determination of even the name of the disease causing death. + </p> + <p> + During the month of August fifty-three cases and fifty-three deaths are + recorded as due to marasmus. Surely this large number of deaths must have + been due to some other morbid state than slow wasting. If they were due to + improper and insufficient food, they should have been classed accordingly, + and if to diarrhea or dysentery or scurvy, the classification should in + like manner have been explicit. + </p> + <p> + We observe a progressive increase of the rate of mortality, from 3.11 per + cent. in March to 9.09 per cent. of mean strength, sick and well, in + August. The ratio of mortality continued to increase during September, for + notwithstanding the removal of one-half of the entire number of prisoners + during the early portion of the month, one thousand seven hundred and + sixty-seven (1,767) deaths are registered from September 1 to 21, and the + largest number of deaths upon any one day occurred during this month, on + the 16th, viz. one hundred and nineteen. + </p> + <p> + The entire number of Federal prisoners confined at Andersonville was about + forty thousand six hundred and eleven; and during the period of near seven + months, from February 24 to September 21, nine thousand four hundred and + seventy-nine (9,479) deaths were recorded; that is, during this period + near one-fourth, or more, exactly one in 4.2, or 13.3 per cent., + terminated fatally. This increase of mortality was due in great measure to + the accumulation of the sources of disease, as the increase of excrements + and filth of all kinds, and the concentration of noxious effluvia, and + also to the progressive effects of salt diet, crowding, and the hot + climate. <br /><br /> + </p> + <h3> + CONCLUSIONS. + </h3> + <p> + 1st. The great mortality among the Federal prisoners confined in the + military prison at Andersonville was not referable to climatic causes, or + to the nature of the soil and waters. + </p> + <p> + 2d. The chief causes of death were scurvy and its results and bowel + affections-chronic and acute diarrhea and dysentery. The bowel affections + appear to have been due to the diet, the habits of the patients, the + depressed, dejected state of the nervous system and moral and intellectual + powers, and to the effluvia arising from the decomposing animal and + vegetable filth. The effects of salt meat, and an unvarying diet of + cornmeal, with but few vegetables, and imperfect supplies of vinegar and + syrup, were manifested in the great prevalence of scurvy. This disease, + without doubt, was also influenced to an important extent in its origin + and course by the foul animal emanations. + </p> + <p> + 3d. From the sameness of the food and form, the action of the poisonous + gases in the densely crowded and filthy Stockade and hospital, the blood + was altered in its constitution, even before the manifestation of actual + disease. In both the well and the sick the red corpuscles were diminished; + and in all diseases uncomplicated with inflammation, the fibrous element + was deficient. In cases of ulceration of the mucous membrane of the + intestinal canal, the fibrous element of the blood was increased; while in + simple diarrhea, uncomplicated with ulceration, it was either diminished + or else remained stationary. Heart clots were very common, if not + universally present, in cases of ulceration of the intestinal mucous + membrane, while in the uncomplicated cases of diarrhea and scurvy, the + blood was fluid and did not coagulate readily, and the heart clots and + fibrous concretions were almost universally absent. From the watery + condition of the blood, there resulted various serous effusions into the + pericardium, ventricles of the brain, and into the abdomen. In almost all + the cases which I examined after death, even the most emaciated, there was + more or less serous effusion into the abdominal cavity. In cases of + hospital gangrene of the extremities, and in cases of gangrene of the + intestines, heart clots and fibrous coagula were universally present. The + presence of those clots in the cases of hospital gangrene, while they were + absent in the cases in which there was no inflammatory symptoms, sustains + the conclusion that hospital gangrene is a species of inflammation, + imperfect and irregular though it may be in its progress, in which the + fibrous element and coagulation of the blood are increased, even in those + who are suffering from such a condition of the blood, and from such + diseases as are naturally accompanied with a decrease in the fibrous + constituent. + </p> + <p> + 4th. The fact that hospital Gangrene appeared in the Stockade first, and + originated spontaneously without any previous contagion, and occurred + sporadically all over the Stockade and prison hospital, was proof positive + that this disease will arise whenever the conditions of crowding, filth, + foul air, and bad diet are present. The exhalations from the hospital and + Stockade appeared to exert their effects to a considerable distance + outside of these localities. The origin of hospital gangrene among these + prisoners appeared clearly to depend in great measure upon the state of + the general system induced by diet, and various external noxious + influences. The rapidity of the appearance and action of the gangrene + depended upon the powers and state of the constitution, as well as upon + the intensity of the poison in the atmosphere, or upon the direct + application of poisonous matter to the wounded surface. This was further + illustrated by the important fact that hospital gangrene, or a disease + resembling it in all essential respects, attacked the intestinal canal of + patients laboring under ulceration of the bowels, although there were no + local manifestations of gangrene upon the surface of the body. This mode + of termination in cases of dysentery was quite common in the foul + atmosphere of the Confederate States Military Hospital, in the depressed, + depraved condition of the system of these Federal prisoners. + </p> + <p> + 5th. A scorbutic condition of the system appeared to favor the origin of + foul ulcers, which frequently took on true hospital gangrene. Scurvy and + hospital gangrene frequently existed in the same individual. In such + cases, vegetable diet, with vegetable acids, would remove the scorbutic + condition without curing the hospital gangrene. From the results of the + existing war for the establishment of the independence of the Confederate + States, as well as from the published observations of Dr. Trotter, Sir + Gilbert Blane, and others of the English navy and army, it is evident that + the scorbutic condition of the system, especially in crowded ships and + camps, is most favorable to the origin and spread of foul ulcers and + hospital gangrene. As in the present case of Andersonville, so also in + past times when medical hygiene was almost entirely neglected, those two + diseases were almost universally associated in crowded ships. In many + cases it was very difficult to decide at first whether the ulcer was a + simple result of scurvy or of the action of the prison or hospital + gangrene, for there was great similarity in the appearance of the ulcers + in the two diseases. So commonly have those two diseases been combined in + their origin and action, that the description of scorbutic ulcers, by many + authors, evidently includes also many of the prominent characteristics of + hospital gangrene. This will be rendered evident by an examination of the + observations of Dr. Lind and Sir Gilbert Blane upon scorbutic ulcers. + </p> + <p> + 6th. Gangrenous spots followed by rapid destruction of tissue appeared in + some cases where there had been no known wound. Without such + well-established facts, it might be assumed that the disease was + propagated from one patient to another. In such a filthy and crowded + hospital as that of the Confederate States Military Prison at + Andersonville, it was impossible to isolate the wounded from the sources + of actual contact of the gangrenous matter. The flies swarming over the + wounds and over filth of every kind, the filthy, imperfectly washed and + scanty supplies of rags, and the limited supply of washing utensils, the + same wash-bowl serving for scores of patients, were sources of such + constant circulation of the gangrenous matter that the disease might + rapidly spread from a single gangrenous wound. The fact already stated, + that a form of moist gangrene, resembling hospital gangrene, was quite + common in this foul atmosphere, in cases of dysentery, both with and + without the existence of the disease upon the entire surface, not only + demonstrates the dependence of the disease upon the state of the + constitution, but proves in the clearest manner that neither the contact + of the poisonous matter of gangrene, nor the direct action of the + poisonous atmosphere upon the ulcerated surfaces is necessary to the + development of the disease. + </p> + <p> + 7th. In this foul atmosphere amputation did not arrest hospital gangrene; + the disease almost invariably returned. Almost every amputation was + followed finally by death, either from the effects of gangrene or from the + prevailing diarrhea and dysentery. Nitric acid and escharotics generally + in this crowded atmosphere, loaded with noxious effluvia, exerted only + temporary effects; after their application to the diseased surfaces, the + gangrene would frequently return with redoubled energy; and even after the + gangrene had been completely removed by local and constitutional + treatment, it would frequently return and destroy the patient. As far as + my observation extended, very few of the cases of amputation for gangrene + recovered. The progress of these cases was frequently very deceptive. I + have observed after death the most extensive disorganization of the + structures of the stump, when during life there was but little swelling of + the part, and the patient was apparently doing well. I endeavored to + impress upon the medical officers the view that in this disease treatment + was almost useless, without an abundant supply of pure, fresh air, + nutritious food, and tonics and stimulants. Such changes, however, as + would allow of the isolation of the cases of hospital gangrene appeared to + be out of the power of the medical officers. + </p> + <p> + 8th. The gangrenous mass was without true pus, and consisted chiefly of + broken-down, disorganized structures. The reaction of the gangrenous + matter in certain stages was alkaline. + </p> + <p> + 9th. The best, and in truth the only means of protecting large armies and + navies, as well as prisoners, from the ravages of hospital gangrene, is to + furnish liberal supplies of well-cured meat, together with fresh beef and + vegetables, and to enforce a rigid system of hygiene. + </p> + <p> + 10th. Finally, this gigantic mass of human misery calls loudly for relief, + not only for the sake of suffering humanity, but also on account of our + own brave soldiers now captives in the hands of the Federal Government. + Strict justice to the gallant men of the Confederate Armies, who have been + or who may be, so unfortunate as to be compelled to surrender in battle, + demands that the Confederate Government should adopt that course which + will best secure their health and comfort in captivity; or at least leave + their enemies without a shadow of an excuse for any violation of the rules + of civilized warfare in the treatment of prisoners. + </p> + <p> + [End of the Witness's Testimony.] + </p> + <p> + The variation—from month to month—of the proportion of deaths + to the whole number living is singular and interesting. It supports the + theory I have advanced above, as the following facts, taken from the + official report, will show: + </p> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + In April one in every sixteen died.<br /> In May one in every + twenty-six died.<br /> In June one in every twenty-two died.<br /> In + July one in every eighteen died.<br /> In August one in every eleven + died.<br /> In September one in every three died.<br /> In October one + in every two died.<br /> In November one in every three died.<br /> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + Does the reader fully understand that in September one-third of those in + the pen died, that in October one-half of the remainder perished, and in + November one-third of those who still survived, died? Let him pause for a + moment and read this over carefully again; because its startling magnitude + will hardly dawn upon him at first reading. It is true that the fearfully + disproportionate mortality of those months was largely due to the fact + that it was mostly the sick that remained behind, but even this diminishes + but little the frightfulness of the showing. Did any one ever hear of an + epidemic so fatal that one-third of those attacked by it in one month + died; one-half of the remnant the next month, and one-third of the feeble + remainder the next month? If he did, his reading has been much more + extensive than mine. + </p> + <p> + The greatest number of deaths in one day is reported to have occurred on + the 23d of August, when one hundred and twenty-seven died, or one man + every eleven minutes. + </p> + <p> + The greatest number of prisoners in the Stockade is stated to have been + August 8, when there were thirty-three thousand one hundred and fourteen. + </p> + <p> + I have always imagined both these statements to be short of the truth, + because my remembrance is that one day in August I counted over two + hundred dead lying in a row. As for the greatest number of prisoners, I + remember quite distinctly standing by the ration wagon during the whole + time of the delivery of rations, to see how many prisoners there really + were inside. That day the One Hundred and Thirty-Third Detachment was + called, and its Sergeant came up and drew rations for a full detachment. + All the other detachments were habitually kept full by replacing those who + died with new comers. As each detachment consisted of two hundred and + seventy men, one hundred and thirty-three detachments would make + thirty-five thousand nine hundred and ten, exclusive of those in the + hospital, and those detailed outside as cooks, clerks, hospital attendants + and various other employments—say from one to two thousand more. + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + <a name="linkch43" id="linkch43"></a>CHAPTER XLIII. + </h2> + <p> + DIFFICULTY OF EXERCISING—EMBARRASSMENTS OF A MORNING WALK—THE + RIALTO OF THE PRISON—CURSING THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY—THE + STORY OF THE BATTLE OF SPOTTSYLVANIA COURTHOUSE. + </p> + <p> + Certainly, in no other great community, that ever existed upon the face of + the globe was there so little daily ebb and flow as in this. Dull as an + ordinary Town or City may be; however monotonous, eventless, even stupid + the lives of its citizens, there is yet, nevertheless, a flow every day of + its life-blood—its population towards its heart, and an ebb of the + same, every evening towards its extremities. These recurring tides mingle + all classes together and promote the general healthfulness, as the + constant motion hither and yon of the ocean's waters purify and sweeten + them. + </p> + <p> + The lack of these helped vastly to make the living mass inside the + Stockade a human Dead Sea—or rather a Dying Sea—a putrefying, + stinking lake, resolving itself into phosphorescent corruption, like those + rotting southern seas, whose seething filth burns in hideous reds, and + ghastly greens and yellows. + </p> + <p> + Being little call for motion of any kind, and no room to exercise whatever + wish there might be in that direction, very many succumbed unresistingly + to the apathy which was so strongly favored by despondency and the + weakness induced by continual hunger, and lying supinely on the hot sand, + day in and day out, speedily brought themselves into such a condition as + invited the attacks of disease. + </p> + <p> + It required both determination and effort to take a little walking + exercise. The ground was so densely crowded with holes and other devices + for shelter that it took one at least ten minutes to pick his way through + the narrow and tortuous labyrinth which served as paths for communication + between different parts of the Camp. Still further, there was nothing to + see anywhere or to form sufficient inducement for any one to make so + laborious a journey. One simply encountered at every new step the same + unwelcome sights that he had just left; there was a monotony in the misery + as in everything else, and consequently the temptation to sit or lie still + in one's own quarters became very great. + </p> + <p> + I used to make it a point to go to some of the remoter parts of the + Stockade once every day, simply for exercise. One can gain some idea of + the crowd, and the difficulty of making one's way through it, when I say + that no point in the prison could be more than fifteen hundred feet from + where I staid, and, had the way been clear, I could have walked thither + and back in at most a half an hour, yet it usually took me from two to + three hours to make one of these journeys. + </p> + <p> + This daily trip, a few visits to the Creek to wash all over, a few games + of chess, attendance upon roll call, drawing rations, cooking and eating + the same, "lousing" my fragments of clothes, and doing some little duties + for my sick and helpless comrades, constituted the daily routine for + myself, as for most of the active youths in the prison. + </p> + <p> + The Creek was the great meeting point for all inside the Stockade. All + able to walk were certain to be there at least once during the day, and we + made it a rendezvous, a place to exchange gossip, discuss the latest news, + canvass the prospects of exchange, and, most of all, to curse the Rebels. + Indeed no conversation ever progressed very far without both speaker and + listener taking frequent rests to say bitter things as to the Rebels + generally, and Wirz, Winder and Davis in particular. + </p> + <p> + A conversation between two boys—strangers to each other who came to + the Creek to wash themselves or their clothes, or for some other purpose, + would progress thus: <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp325" id="linkp325"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p325.jpg (29K)" src="images/p325.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + First Boy—"I belong to the Second Corps,—Hancock's, [the Army + of the Potomac boys always mentioned what Corps they belonged to, where + the Western boys stated their Regiment.] They got me at Spottsylvania, + when they were butting their heads against our breast-works, trying to get + even with us for gobbling up Johnson in the morning,"—He stops + suddenly and changes tone to say: "I hope to God, that when our folks get + Richmond, they will put old Ben Butler in command of it, with orders to + limb, skin and jayhawk it worse than he did New Orleans." + </p> + <p> + Second Boy, (fervently :) "I wish to God he would, and that he'd catch old + Jeff., and that grayheaded devil, Winder, and the old Dutch Captain, strip + 'em just as we were, put 'em in this pen, with just the rations they are + givin' us, and set a guard of plantation niggers over 'em, with orders to + blow their whole infernal heads off, if they dared so much as to look at + the dead line." + </p> + <p> + First Boy—(returning to the story of his capture.) "Old Hancock + caught the Johnnies that morning the neatest you ever saw anything in your + life. After the two armies had murdered each other for four or five days + in the Wilderness, by fighting so close together that much of the time you + could almost shake hands with the Graybacks, both hauled off a little, and + lay and glowered at each other. Each side had lost about twenty thousand + men in learning that if it attacked the other it would get mashed fine. So + each built a line of works and lay behind them, and tried to nag the other + into coming out and attacking. At Spottsylvania our lines and those of the + Johnnies weren't twelve hundred yards apart. The ground was clear and + clean between them, and any force that attempted to cross it to attack + would be cut to pieces, as sure as anything. We laid there three or four + days watching each other—just like boys at school, who shake fists + and dare each other. At one place the Rebel line ran out towards us like + the top of a great letter 'A.' The night of the 11th of May it rained very + hard, and then came a fog so thick that you couldn't see the length of a + company. Hancock thought he'd take advantage of this. We were all turned + out very quietly about four o'clock in the morning. Not a bit of noise was + allowed. We even had to take off our canteens and tin cups, that they + might not rattle against our bayonets. The ground was so wet that our + footsteps couldn't be heard. It was one of those deathly, still movements, + when you think your heart is making as much noise as a bass drum. + </p> + <p> + "The Johnnies didn't seem to have the faintest suspicion of what was + coming, though they ought, because we would have expected such an attack + from them if we hadn't made it ourselves. Their pickets were out just a + little ways from their works, and we were almost on to them before they + discovered us. They fired and ran back. At this we raised a yell and + dashed forward at a charge. As we poured over the works, the Rebels came + double-quicking up to defend them. We flanked Johnson's Division quicker'n + you could say 'Jack Robinson,' and had four thousand of 'em in our grip + just as nice as you please. We sent them to the rear under guard, and + started for the next line of Rebel works about a half a mile away. But we + had now waked up the whole of Lee's army, and they all came straight for + us, like packs of mad wolves. Ewell struck us in the center; Longstreet + let drive at our left flank, and Hill tackled our right. We fell back to + the works we had taken, Warren and Wright came up to help us, and we had + it hot and heavy for the rest of the day and part of the night. The + Johnnies seemed so mad over what we'd done that they were half crazy. They + charged us five times, coming up every time just as if they were going to + lift us right out of the works with the bayonet. About midnight, after + they'd lost over ten thousand men, they seemed to understand that we had + pre-empted that piece of real estate, and didn't propose to allow anybody + to jump our claim, so they fell back sullen like to their main works. When + they came on the last charge, our Brigadier walked behind each of our + regiments and said: + </p> + <p> + "Boys, we'll send 'em back this time for keeps. Give it to 'em by the + acre, and when they begin to waver, we'll all jump over the works and go + for them with the bayonet.' + </p> + <p> + "We did it just that way. We poured such a fire on them that the bullets + knocked up the ground in front just like you have seen the deep dust in a + road in the middle of Summer fly up when the first great big drops of a + rain storm strike it. But they came on, yelling and swearing, officers in + front waving swords, and shouting—all that business, you know. When + they got to about one hundred yards from us, they did not seem to be + coming so fast, and there was a good deal of confusion among them. The + brigade bugle sounded: + </p> + <p> + "Stop firing." + </p> + <p> + "We all ceased instantly. The rebels looked up in astonishment. Our + General sang out: + </p> + <p> + "Fix bayonets!' but we knew what was coming, and were already executing + the order. You can imagine the crash that ran down the line, as every + fellow snatched his bayonet out and slapped it on the muzzle of his gun. + Then the General's voice rang out like a bugle: + </p> + <p> + "Ready!—FORWARD! CHARGE!' <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp328" + id="linkp328"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p328.jpg (48K)" src="images/p328.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + "We cheered till everything seemed to split, and jumped over the works, + almost every man at the same minute. The Johnnies seemed to have been + puzzled at the stoppage of our fire. When we all came sailing over the + works, with guns brought right, down where they meant business, they were + so astonished for a minute that they stood stock still, not knowing + whether to come for us, or run. We did not allow them long to debate, but + went right towards them on the double quick, with the bayonets looking + awful savage and hungry. It was too much for Mr. Johnny Reb's nerves. They + all seemed to about face' at once, and they lit out of there as if they + had been sent for in a hurry. We chased after 'em as fast as we could, and + picked up just lots of 'em. Finally it began to be real funny. A Johnny's + wind would begin to give out he'd fall behind his comrades; he'd hear us + yell and think that we were right behind him, ready to sink a bayonet + through him'; he'd turn around, throw up his hands, and sing out: + </p> + <p> + "I surrender, mister! I surrender!' and find that we were a hundred feet + off, and would have to have a bayonet as long as one of McClellan's + general orders to touch him. + </p> + <p> + "Well, my company was the left of our regiment, and our regiment was the + left of the brigade, and we swung out ahead of all the rest of the boys. + In our excitement of chasing the Johnnies, we didn't see that we had + passed an angle of their works. About thirty of us had become separated + from the company and were chasing a squad of about seventy-five or one + hundred. We had got up so close to them that we hollered: + </p> + <p> + "'Halt there, now, or we'll blow your heads off.' + </p> + <p> + "They turned round with, 'halt yourselves; you —— Yankee + —— ——' + </p> + <p> + "We looked around at this, and saw that we were not one hundred feet away + from the angle of the works, which were filled with Rebels waiting for our + fellows to get to where they could have a good flank fire upon them. There + was nothing to do but to throw down our guns and surrender, and we had + hardly gone inside of the works, until the Johnnies opened on our brigade + and drove it back. This ended the battle at Spottsylvania Court House." + </p> + <p> + Second Boy (irrelevantly.) "Some day the underpinning will fly out from + under the South, and let it sink right into the middle kittle o' hell." + </p> + <p> + First Boy (savagely.) "I only wish the whole Southern Confederacy was + hanging over hell by a single string, and I had a knife." <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + <a name="linkch44" id="linkch44"></a>CHAPTER XLIV. + </h2> + <p> + REBEL MUSIC—SINGULAR LACK OF THE CREATIVE POWER AMONG THE + SOUTHERNERS —CONTRAST WITH SIMILAR PEOPLE ELSEWHERE—THEIR + FAVORITE MUSIC, AND WHERE IT WAS BORROWED FROM—A FIFER WITH ONE + TUNE. + </p> + <p> + I have before mentioned as among the things that grew upon one with + increasing acquaintance with the Rebels on their native heath, was + astonishment at their lack of mechanical skill and at their inability to + grapple with numbers and the simpler processes of arithmetic. Another + characteristic of the same nature was their wonderful lack of musical + ability, or of any kind of tuneful creativeness. + </p> + <p> + Elsewhere, all over the world, people living under similar conditions to + the Southerners are exceedingly musical, and we owe the great majority of + the sweetest compositions which delight the ear and subdue the senses to + unlettered song-makers of the Swiss mountains, the Tyrolese valleys, the + Bavarian Highlands, and the minstrels of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. + </p> + <p> + The music of English-speaking people is very largely made up of these + contributions from the folk-songs of dwellers in the wilder and more + mountainous parts of the British Isles. One rarely goes far out of the way + in attributing to this source any air that he may hear that captivates him + with its seductive opulence of harmony. Exquisite melodies, limpid and + unstrained as the carol of a bird in Spring-time, and as plaintive as the + cooing of a turtle-dove seems as natural products of the Scottish + Highlands as the gorse which blazons on their hillsides in August. + Debarred from expressing their aspirations as people of broader culture do—in + painting, in sculpture, in poetry and prose, these mountaineers make song + the flexible and ready instrument for the communication of every emotion + that sweeps across their souls. + </p> + <p> + Love, hatred, grief, revenge, anger, and especially war seems to tune + their minds to harmony, and awake the voice of song in them hearts. The + battles which the Scotch and Irish fought to replace the luckless Stuarts + upon the British throne—the bloody rebellions of 1715 and 1745, left + a rich legacy of sweet song, the outpouring of loving, passionate loyalty + to a wretched cause; songs which are today esteemed and sung wherever the + English language is spoken, by people who have long since forgotten what + burning feelings gave birth to their favorite melodies. + </p> + <p> + For a century the bones of both the Pretenders have moldered in alien + soil; the names of James Edward, and Charles Edward, which were once + trumpet blasts to rouse armed men, mean as little to the multitude of + today as those of the Saxon Ethelbert, and Danish Hardicanute, yet the + world goes on singing—and will probably as long as the English + language is spoken—"Wha'll be King but Charlie?" "When Jamie Come + Hame," "Over the Water to Charlie," "Charlie is my Darling," "The Bonny + Blue Bonnets are Over the Border," "Saddle Your Steeds and Awa," and a + myriad others whose infinite tenderness and melody no modern composer can + equal. + </p> + <p> + Yet these same Scotch and Irish, the same Jacobite English, transplanted + on account of their chronic rebelliousness to the mountains of Virginia, + the Carolinas, and Georgia, seem to have lost their tunefulness, as some + fine singing birds do when carried from their native shores. + </p> + <p> + The descendants of those who drew swords for James and Charles at Preston + Pans and Culloden dwell to-day in the dales and valleys of the Alleganies, + as their fathers did in the dales and valleys of the Grampians, but their + voices are mute. + </p> + <p> + As a rule the Southerners are fond of music. They are fond of singing and + listening to old-fashioned ballads, most of which have never been printed, + but handed down from one generation to the other, like the 'Volklieder' of + Germany. They sing these with the wild, fervid impressiveness + characteristic of the ballad singing of unlettered people. Very many play + tolerably on the violin and banjo, and occasionally one is found whose + instrumentation may be called good. But above this hight they never soar. + The only musician produced by the South of whom the rest of the country + has ever heard, is Blind Tom, the negro idiot. No composer, no song writer + of any kind has appeared within the borders of Dixie. + </p> + <p> + It was a disappointment to me that even the stress of the war, the passion + and fierceness with which the Rebels felt and fought, could not stimulate + any adherent of the Stars and Bars into the production of a single lyric + worthy in the remotest degree of the magnitude of the struggle, and the + depth of the popular feeling. Where two million Scotch, fighting to + restore the fallen fortunes of the worse than worthless Stuarts, filled + the world with immortal music, eleven million of Southerners, fighting for + what they claimed to be individual freedom and national life, did not + produce any original verse, or a bar of music that the world could + recognize as such. This is the fact; and an undeniable one. Its + explanation I must leave to abler analysts than I am. + </p> + <p> + Searching for peculiar causes we find but two that make the South differ + from the ancestral home of these people. These two were Climate and + Slavery. Climatic effects will not account for the phenomenon, because we + see that the peasantry of the mountains of Spain and the South of France + as ignorant as these people, and dwellers in a still more enervating + atmosphere-are very fertile in musical composition, and their songs are to + the Romanic languages what the Scotch and Irish ballads are to the + English. + </p> + <p> + Then it must be ascribed to the incubus of Slavery upon the intellect, + which has repressed this as it has all other healthy growths in the South. + Slavery seems to benumb all the faculties except the passions. The fact + that the mountaineers had but few or no slaves, does not seem to be of + importance in the case. They lived under the deadly shadow of the upas + tree, and suffered the consequences of its stunting their development in + all directions, as the ague-smitten inhabitant of the Roman Campana finds + every sense and every muscle clogged by the filtering in of the insidious + miasma. They did not compose songs and music, because they did not have + the intellectual energy for that work. + </p> + <p> + The negros displayed all the musical creativeness of that section. Their + wonderful prolificness in wild, rude songs, with strangely melodious airs + that burned themselves into the memory, was one of the salient + characteristics of that down-trodden race. Like the Russian serfs, and the + bondmen of all ages and lands, the songs they made and sang all had an + undertone of touching plaintiveness, born of ages of dumb suffering. The + themes were exceedingly simple, and the range of subjects limited. The + joys, and sorrows, hopes and despairs of love's gratification or + disappointment, of struggles for freedom, contests with malign persons and + influences, of rage, hatred, jealousy, revenge, such as form the motifs + for the majority of the poetry of free and strong races, were wholly + absent from their lyrics. Religion, hunger and toil were their main + inspiration. They sang of the pleasures of idling in the genial sunshine; + the delights of abundance of food; the eternal happiness that awaited them + in the heavenly future, where the slave-driver ceased from troubling and + the weary were at rest; where Time rolled around in endless cycles of days + spent in basking, harp in hand, and silken clad, in golden streets, under + the soft effulgence of cloudless skies, glowing with warmth and kindness + emanating from the Creator himself. Had their masters condescended to + borrow the music of the slaves, they would have found none whose + sentiments were suitable for the ode of a people undergoing the pangs of + what was hoped to be the birth of a new nation. + </p> + <p> + The three songs most popular at the South, and generally regarded as + distinctively Southern, were "The Bonnie Blue Flag," "Maryland, My + Maryland," and "Stonewall Jackson Crossing into Maryland." The first of + these was the greatest favorite by long odds. Women sang, men whistled, + and the so-called musicians played it wherever we went. While in the field + before capture, it was the commonest of experiences to have Rebel women + sing it at us tauntingly from the house that we passed or near which we + stopped. If ever near enough a Rebel camp, we were sure to hear its + wailing crescendo rising upon the air from the lips or instruments of some + one more quartered there. At Richmond it rang upon us constantly from some + source or another, and the same was true wherever else we went in the + so-called Confederacy. I give the air and words below: <br /><br /><br /><br /> + <a name="linkp334" id="linkp334"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p334.jpg (38K)" src="images/p334.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + All familiar with Scotch songs will readily recognize the name and air as + an old friend, and one of the fierce Jacobite melodies that for a long + time disturbed the tranquility of the Brunswick family on the English + throne. The new words supplied by the Rebels are the merest doggerel, and + fit the music as poorly as the unchanged name of the song fitted to its + new use. The flag of the Rebellion was not a bonnie blue one; but had + quite as much red and white as azure. It did not have a single star, but + thirteen. + </p> + <p> + Near in popularity was "Maryland, My Maryland." The versification of this + was of a much higher Order, being fairly respectable. The air is old, and + a familiar one to all college students, and belongs to one of the most + common of German household songs: + </p> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + O, Tannenbaum! O, Tannenbaum, wie tru sind deine Blatter!<br /> Da + gruenst nicht nur zur Sommerseit,<br /> Nein, auch in Winter, when es + Schneit, etc.<br /> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + which Longfellow has finely translated, + </p> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + O, hemlock tree! O, hemlock tree! how faithful are thy branches!<br /> + Green not alone in Summer time,<br /> But in the Winter's float and + rime.<br /> O, hemlock tree O, hemlock tree! how faithful are thy + branches. Etc.<br /> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + The Rebel version ran: + </p> + <h3> + MARYLAND. + </h3> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <br />The despot's heel is on thy shore, <br /> Maryland! + <br />His touch is at thy temple door, <br /> Maryland! + <br />Avenge the patriotic gore <br />That flecked the streets of + Baltimore, <br />And be the battle queen of yore, <br />Maryland! My + Maryland! <br /> <br />Hark to the wand'ring son's appeal, <br /> Maryland! + <br />My mother State, to thee I kneel, <br /> Maryland! + <br />For life and death, for woe and weal, <br />Thy peerless chivalry + reveal, <br />And gird thy beauteous limbs with steel, <br />Maryland! + My Maryland! <br /> <br />Thou wilt not cower in the duet, <br /> Maryland! + <br />Thy beaming sword shall never rust <br /> Maryland! + <br />Remember Carroll's sacred trust, <br />Remember Howard's warlike + thrust— <br />And all thy slumberers with the just, <br />Maryland! + My Maryland! <br /> <br />Come! 'tis the red dawn of the day, <br /> Maryland! + <br />Come! with thy panoplied array, <br /> Maryland! + <br />With Ringgold's spirit for the fray, <br />With Watson's blood at + Monterey, <br />With fearless Lowe and dashing May, <br />Maryland! My + Maryland! <br /> <br />Comet for thy shield is bright and strong, <br /> + Maryland! <br />Come! for thy dalliance does thee wrong, <br /> + Maryland! <br />Come! to thins own heroic throng, <br />That stalks with + Liberty along, <br />And give a new Key to thy song, <br />Maryland! My + Maryland! <br /> <br />Dear Mother! burst the tyrant's chain, <br /> + Maryland! <br />Virginia should not call in vain, <br /> + Maryland! <br />She meets her sisters on the plain— <br />'Sic + semper' 'tis the proud refrain, <br />That baffles millions back amain, + <br /> Maryland! <br />Arise, in majesty + again, <br />Maryland! My Maryland! <br /> <br />I see the blush upon thy + cheek, <br /> Maryland! <br />But thou + wast ever bravely meek, <br /> Maryland! + <br />But lo! there surges forth a shriek <br />From hill to hill, from + creek to creek— <br />Potomac calls to Chesapeake, <br />Maryland! + My Maryland! <br /> <br />Thou wilt not yield the vandal toll. <br /> + Maryland! <br />Thou wilt not crook to his control, <br /> + Maryland! <br />Better the fire upon thee roll, <br />Better the blade, + the shot, the bowl, <br />Than crucifixion of the soul, <br />Maryland! + My Maryland! <br /> <br />I hear the distant Thunder hem, <br /> + Maryland! <br />The Old Line's bugle, fife, and drum. <br /> + Maryland! <br />She is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb— <br />Hnzza! + she spurns the Northern scum! <br />She breathes—she burns! + she'll come! she'll come! <br />Maryland! My Maryland! + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + "Stonewall Jackson Crossing into Maryland," was another travesty, of about + the same literary merit, or rather demerit, as "The Bonnie Blue Flag." Its + air was that of the well-known and popular negro minstrel song, "Billy + Patterson." For all that, it sounded very martial and stirring when played + by a brass band. + </p> + <p> + We heard these songs with tiresome iteration, daily and nightly, during + our stay in the Southern Confederacy. Some one of the guards seemed to be + perpetually beguiling the weariness of his watch by singing in all keys, + in every sort of a voice, and with the wildest latitude as to air and + time. They became so terribly irritating to us, that to this day the + remembrance of those soul-lacerating lyrics abides with me as one of the + chief of the minor torments of our situation. They were, in fact, nearly + as bad as the lice. + </p> + <p> + We revenged ourselves as best we could by constructing fearfully wicked, + obscene and insulting parodies on these, and by singing them with + irritating effusiveness in the hearing of the guards who were inflicting + these nuisances upon us. + </p> + <p> + Of the same nature was the garrison music. One fife, played by an + asthmatic old fellow whose breathings were nearly as audible as his notes, + and one rheumatic drummer, constituted the entire band for the post. The + fifer actually knew but one tune "The Bonnie Blue Flag" —and did not + know that well. But it was all that he had, and he played it with + wearisome monotony for every camp call—five or six times a day, and + seven days in the week. He called us up in the morning with it for a + reveille; he sounded the "roll call" and "drill call," breakfast, dinner + and supper with it, and finally sent us to bed, with the same dreary wail + that had rung in our ears all day. I never hated any piece of music as I + came to hate that threnody of treason. It would have been such a relief if + the old asthmatic who played it could have been induced to learn another + tune to play on Sundays, and give us one day of rest. He did not, but + desecrated the Lord's Day by playing as vilely as on the rest of the week. + The Rebels were fully conscious of their musical deficiencies, and made + repeated but unsuccessful attempts to induce the musicians among the + prisoners to come outside and form a band. <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + <a name="linkch45" id="linkch45"></a>CHAPTER XLV + </h2> + <p> + AUGUST—NEEDLES STUCK IN PUMPKIN SEEDS—SOME PHENOMENA OF + STARVATION —RIOTING IN REMEMBERED LUXURIES. + </p> + <p> + "Illinoy," said tall, gaunt Jack North, of the One Hundred and Fourteenth + Illinois, to me, one day, as we sat contemplating our naked, and sadly + attenuated underpinning; "what do our legs and feet most look most like?" + </p> + <p> + "Give it up, Jack," said I. + </p> + <p> + "Why—darning needles stuck in pumpkin seeds, of course." I never + heard a better comparison for our wasted limbs. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a + name="linkp338" id="linkp338"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p338.jpg (9K)" src="images/p338.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + The effects of the great bodily emaciation were sometimes very startling. + Boys of a fleshy habit would change so in a few weeks as to lose all + resemblance to their former selves, and comrades who came into prison + later would utterly fail to recognize them. Most fat men, as most large + men, died in a little while after entering, though there were exceptions. + One of these was a boy of my own company, named George Hillicks. George + had shot up within a few years to over six feet in hight, and then, as + such boys occasionally do, had, after enlisting with us, taken on such a + development of flesh that we nicknamed him the "Giant," and he became a + pretty good load for even the strongest horse. George held his flesh + through Belle Isle, and the earlier weeks in Andersonville, but June, + July, and August "fetched him," as the boys said. He seemed to melt away + like an icicle on a Spring day, and he grew so thin that his hight seemed + preternatural. We called him "Flagstaff," and cracked all sorts of jokes + about putting an insulator on his head, and setting him up for a telegraph + pole, braiding his legs and using him for a whip lash, letting his hair + grow a little longer, and trading him off to the Rebels for a sponge and + staff for the artillery, etc. We all expected him to die, and looked + continually for the development of the fatal scurvy symptoms, which were + to seal his doom. But he worried through, and came out at last in good + shape, a happy result due as much as to anything else to his having in + Chester Hayward, of Prairie City, Ill.,—one of the most devoted + chums I ever knew. Chester nursed and looked out for George with wife-like + fidelity, and had his reward in bringing him safe through our lines. There + were thousands of instances of this generous devotion to each other by + chums in Andersonville, and I know of nothing that reflects any more + credit upon our boy soldiers. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp339" + id="linkp339"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p339.jpg (28K)" src="images/p339.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + There was little chance for any one to accumulate flesh on the rations we + were receiving. I say it in all soberness that I do not believe that a + healthy hen could have grown fat upon them. I am sure that any good-sized + "shanghai" eats more every day than the meager half loaf that we had to + maintain life upon. Scanty as this was, and hungry as all were, very many + could not eat it. Their stomachs revolted against the trash; it became so + nauseous to them that they could not force it down, even when famishing, + and they died of starvation with the chunks of the so-called bread under + their head. I found myself rapidly approaching this condition. I had been + blessed with a good digestion and a talent for sleeping under the most + discouraging circumstances. These, I have no doubt, were of the greatest + assistance to me in my struggle for existence. But now the rations became + fearfully obnoxious to me, and it was only with the greatest effort—pulling + the bread into little pieces and swallowing each, of these as one would a + pill—that I succeeded in worrying the stuff down. I had not as yet + fallen away very much, but as I had never, up, to that time, weighed so + much as one hundred and twenty-five pounds, there was no great amount of + adipose to lose. It was evident that unless some change occurred my time + was near at hand. + </p> + <p> + There was not only hunger for more food, but longing with an intensity + beyond expression for alteration of some kind in the rations. The + changeless monotony of the miserable saltless bread, or worse mush, for + days, weeks and months, became unbearable. If those wretched mule teams + had only once a month hauled in something different—if they had come + in loaded with sweet potatos, green corn or wheat flour, there would be + thousands of men still living who now slumber beneath those melancholy + pines. It would have given something to look forward to, and remember when + past. But to know each day that the gates would open to admit the same + distasteful apologies for food took away the appetite and raised one's + gorge, even while famishing for something to eat. + </p> + <p> + We could for a while forget the stench, the lice, the heat, the maggots, + the dead and dying around us, the insulting malignance of our jailors; but + it was, very hard work to banish thoughts and longings for food from our + minds. Hundreds became actually insane from brooding over it. Crazy men + could be found in all parts of the camp. Numbers of them wandered around + entirely naked. Their babblings and maunderings about something to eat + were painful to hear. I have before mentioned the case of the Plymouth + Pilgrim near me, whose insanity took the form of imagining that he was + sitting at the table with his family, and who would go through the show of + helping them to imaginary viands and delicacies. The cravings for green + food of those afflicted with the scurvy were, agonizing. Large numbers of + watermelons were brought to the prison, and sold to those who had the + money to pay for them at from one to five dollars, greenbacks, apiece. A + boy who had means to buy a piece of these would be followed about while + eating it by a crowd of perhaps twenty-five or thirty livid-gummed + scorbutics, each imploring him for the rind when he was through with it. + </p> + <p> + We thought of food all day, and were visited with torturing dreams of it + at night. One of the pleasant recollections of my pre-military life was a + banquet at the "Planter's House," St. Louis, at which I was a boyish + guest. It was, doubtless, an ordinary affair, as banquets go, but to me + then, with all the keen appreciation of youth and first experience, it was + a feast worthy of Lucullus. But now this delightful reminiscence became a + torment. Hundreds of times I dreamed I was again at the "Planter's." I saw + the wide corridors, with their mosaic pavement; I entered the grand + dining-room, keeping timidly near the friend to whose kindness I owed this + wonderful favor; I saw again the mirror-lined walls, the evergreen decked + ceilings, the festoons and mottos, the tables gleaming with cutglass and + silver, the buffets with wines and fruits, the brigade of sleek, black, + white-aproned waiters, headed by one who had presence enough for a major + General. Again I reveled in all the dainties and dishes on the + bill-of-fare; calling for everything that I dared to, just to see what + each was like, and to be able to say afterwards that I had partaken of it; + all these bewildering delights of the first realization of what a boy has + read and wondered much over, and longed for, would dance their rout and + reel through my somnolent brain. Then I would awake to find myself a + half-naked, half-starved, vermin-eaten wretch, crouching in a hole in the + ground, waiting for my keepers to fling me a chunk of corn bread. + </p> + <p> + Naturally the boys—and especially the country boys and new prisoners + —talked much of victuals—what they had had, and what they + would have again, when they got out. Take this as a sample of the + conversation which might be heard in any group of boys, sitting together + on the sand, killin lice and talking of exchange: + </p> + <p> + Tom—"Well, Bill, when we get back to God's country, you and Jim and + John must all come to my house and take dinner with me. I want to give you + a square meal. I want to show you just what good livin' is. You know my + mother is just the best cook in all that section. When she lays herself + out to get up a meal all the other women in the neighborhood just stand + back and admire!" + </p> + <p> + Bill—"O, that's all right; but I'll bet she can't hold a candle to + my mother, when it comes to good cooking." + </p> + <p> + Jim—"No, nor to mine." + </p> + <p> + John—(with patronizing contempt.) "O, shucks! None of you fellers + were ever at our house, even when we had one of our common weekday + dinners." + </p> + <p> + Tom—(unheedful of the counter claims.) I hev teen studyin' up the + dinner I'd like, and the bill-of-fare I'd set out for you fellers when you + come over to see me. First, of course, we'll lay the foundation like with + a nice, juicy loin roast, and some mashed potatos. + </p> + <p> + Bill—(interrupting.) "Now, do you like mashed potatos with beef? The + way may mother does is to pare the potatos, and lay them in the pan along + with the beef. Then, you know, they come out just as nice and crisp, and + brown; they have soaked up all the beef gravy, and they crinkle between + your teeth—" + </p> + <p> + Jim—"Now, I tell you, mashed Neshannocks with butter on 'em is + plenty good enough for me." + </p> + <p> + John—"If you'd et some of the new kind of peachblows that we raised + in the old pasture lot the year before I enlisted, you'd never say another + word about your Neshannocks." + </p> + <p> + Tom—(taking breath and starting in fresh.) "Then we'll hev some + fried Spring chickens, of our dominick breed. Them dominicks of ours have + the nicest, tenderest meat, better'n quail, a darned sight, and the way my + mother can fry Spring chickens——" + </p> + <p> + Bill—(aside to Jim.) "Every durned woman in the country thinks she + can 'spry ching frickens;' but my mother—-" + </p> + <p> + John—"You fellers all know that there's nobody knows half as much + about chicken doin's as these 'tinerant Methodis' preachers. They give 'em + chicken wherever they go, and folks do say that out in the new settlements + they can't get no preachin', no gospel, nor nothin', until the chickens + become so plenty that a preacher is reasonably sure of havin' one for his + dinner wherever he may go. Now, there's old Peter Cartwright, who has + traveled over Illinoy and Indianny since the Year One, and preached more + good sermons than any other man who ever set on saddle-bags, and has et + more chickens than there are birds in a big pigeon roost. Well, he took + dinner at our house when he came up to dedicate the big, white church at + Simpkin's Corners, and when he passed up his plate the third time for more + chicken, he sez, sez he:—I've et at a great many hundred tables in + the fifty years I have labored in the vineyard of the Redeemer, but I must + say, Mrs. Kiggins, that your way of frying chickens is a leetle the nicest + that I ever knew. I only wish that the sisters generally would get your + reseet.' Yes, that's what he said,—'a leetle the nicest.'" + </p> + <p> + Tom—"An' then, we'll hev biscuits an' butter. I'll just bet five + hundred dollars to a cent, and give back the cent if I win, that we have + the best butter at our house that there is in Central Illinoy. You can't + never hev good butter onless you have a spring house; there's no use of + talkin'—all the patent churns that lazy men ever invented—all + the fancy milk pans an' coolers, can't make up for a spring house. + Locations for a spring house are scarcer than hen's teeth in Illinoy, but + we hev one, and there ain't a better one in Orange County, New York. Then + you'll see dome of the biscuits my mother makes." + </p> + <p> + Bill—"Well, now, my mother's a boss biscuit-maker, too." + </p> + <p> + Jim—"You kin just gamble that mine is." + </p> + <p> + John—"O, that's the way you fellers ought to think an' talk, but my + mother——" + </p> + <p> + Tom—(coming in again with fresh vigor) "They're jest as light an' + fluffy as a dandelion puff, and they melt in your month like a ripe + Bartlett pear. You just pull 'em open—Now you know that I think + there's nothin' that shows a person's raisin' so well as to see him eat + biscuits an' butter. If he's been raised mostly on corn bread, an' common + doins,' an' don't know much about good things to eat, he'll most likely + cut his biscuit open with a case knife, an' make it fall as flat as one o' + yesterday's pancakes. But if he is used to biscuits, has had 'em often at + his house, he'll—just pull 'em open, slow an' easy like, then he'll + lay a little slice of butter inside, and drop a few drops of clear honey + on this, an' stick the two halves back, together again, an—" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, for God Almighty's sake, stop talking that infernal nonsense," roar + out a half dozen of the surrounding crowd, whose mouths have been watering + over this unctuous recital of the good things of the table. "You blamed + fools, do you want to drive yourselves and everybody else crazy with such + stuff as that. Dry up and try to think of something else." <br /><br /><br /><br /> + <a name="linkp344" id="linkp344"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p344.jpg (16K)" src="images/p344.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + <a name="linkch46" id="linkch46"></a>CHAPTER XLVI. + </h2> + <p> + SURLY BRITON—THE STOLID COURAGE THAT MAKES THE ENGLISH FLAG A BANNER + OF TRIUMPH—OUR COMPANY BUGLER, HIS CHARACTERISTICS AND HIS DEATH—URGENT + DEMAND FOR MECHANICS—NONE WANT TO GO—TREATMENT OF A REBEL + SHOEMAKER —ENLARGEMENT OF THE STOCKADE—IT IS BROKEN BY A STORM—THE + WONDERFUL SPRING. + </p> + <p> + Early in August, F. Marriott, our Company Bugler, died. Previous to coming + to America he had been for many years an English soldier, and I accepted + him as a type of that stolid, doggedly brave class, which forms the bulk + of the English armies, and has for centuries carried the British flag with + dauntless courage into every land under the sun. Rough, surly and + unsocial, he did his duty with the unemotional steadiness of a machine. He + knew nothing but to obey orders, and obeyed them under all circumstances + promptly, but with stony impassiveness. With the command to move forward + into action, he moved forward without a word, and with face as blank as a + side of sole leather. He went as far as ordered, halted at the word, and + retired at command as phlegmatically as he advanced. If he cared a straw + whether he advanced or retreated, if it mattered to the extent of a pinch + of salt whether we whipped the Rebels or they defeated us, he kept that + feeling so deeply hidden in the recesses of his sturdy bosom that no one + ever suspected it. In the excitement of action the rest of the boys + shouted, and swore, and expressed their tense feelings in various ways, + but Marriott might as well have been a graven image, for all the + expression that he suffered to escape. Doubtless, if the Captain had + ordered him to shoot one of the company through the heart, he would have + executed the command according to the manual of arms, brought his carbine + to a "recover," and at the word marched back to his quarters without an + inquiry as to the cause of the proceedings. He made no friends, and though + his surliness repelled us, he made few enemies. Indeed, he was rather a + favorite, since he was a genuine character; his gruffness had no taint of + selfish greed in it; he minded his own business strictly, and wanted + others to do the same. When he first came into the company, it is true, he + gained the enmity of nearly everybody in it, but an incident occurred + which turned the tide in his favor. Some annoying little depredations had + been practiced on the boys, and it needed but a word of suspicion to + inflame all their minds against the surly Englishman as the unknown + perpetrator. The feeling intensified, until about half of the company were + in a mood to kill the Bugler outright. As we were returning from stable + duty one evening, some little occurrence fanned the smoldering anger into + a fierce blaze; a couple of the smaller boys began an attack upon him; + others hastened to their assistance, and soon half the company were + engaged in the assault. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp346" + id="linkp346"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p346.jpg (19K)" src="images/p346.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + He succeeded in disengaging himself from his assailants, and, squaring + himself off, said, defiantly: + </p> + <p> + "Dom yer cowardly heyes; jest come hat me one hat a time, hand hI'll + wollop the 'ole gang uv ye's." + </p> + <p> + One of our Sergeants styled himself proudly "a Chicago rough," and was as + vain of his pugilistic abilities as a small boy is of a father who plays + in the band. We all hated him cordially—even more than we did + Marriott. + </p> + <p> + He thought this was a good time to show off, and forcing his way through + the crowd, he said, vauntingly: + </p> + <p> + "Just fall back and form a ring, boys, and see me polish off the—-fool." + </p> + <p> + The ring was formed, with the Bugler and the Sergeant in the center. + Though the latter was the younger and stronger the first round showed him + that it would have profited him much more to have let Marriott's challenge + pass unheeded. As a rule, it is as well to ignore all invitations of this + kind from Englishmen, and especially from those who, like Marriott, have + served a term in the army, for they are likely to be so handy with their + fists as to make the consequences of an acceptance more lively than + desirable. + </p> + <p> + So the Sergeant found. "Marriott," as one of the spectators expressed it, + "went around him like a cooper around a barrel." He planted his blows just + where he wished, to the intense delight of the boys, who yelled + enthusiastically whenever he got in "a hot one," and their delight at + seeing the Sergeant drubbed so thoroughly and artistically, worked an + entire revolution in his favor. + </p> + <p> + Thenceforward we viewed his eccentricities with lenient eyes, and became + rather proud of his bull-dog stolidity and surliness. The whole battalion + soon came to share this feeling, and everybody enjoyed hearing his + deep-toned growl, which mischievous boys would incite by some petty + annoyances deliberately designed for that purpose. I will mention + incidentally, that after his encounter with the Sergeant no one ever again + volunteered to "polish" him off. + </p> + <p> + Andersonville did not improve either his temper or his communicativeness. + He seemed to want to get as far away from the rest of us as possible, and + took up his quarters in a remote corner of the Stockade, among utter + strangers. Those of us who wandered up in his neighborhood occasionally, + to see how he was getting along, were received with such scant courtesy, + that we did not hasten to repeat the visit. At length, after none of us + had seen him for weeks, we thought that comradeship demanded another + visit. We found him in the last stages of scurvy and diarrhea. Chunks of + uneaten corn bread lay by his head. They were at least a week old. The + rations since then had evidently been stolen from the helpless man by + those around him. The place where he lay was indescribably filthy, and his + body was swarming with vermin. Some good Samaritan had filled his little + black oyster can with water, and placed it within his reach. For a week, + at least, he had not been able to rise from the ground; he could barely + reach for the water near him. He gave us such a glare of recognition as I + remembered to have seen light up the fast-darkening eyes of a savage old + mastiff, that I and my boyish companions once found dying in the woods of + disease and hurts. Had he been able he would have driven us away, or at + least assailed us with biting English epithets. Thus he had doubtless + driven away all those who had attempted to help him. We did what little we + could, and staid with him until the next afternoon, when he died. We + prepared his body, in the customary way: folded the hands across his + breast, tied the toes together, and carried it outside, not forgetting + each of us, to bring back a load of wood. + </p> + <p> + The scarcity of mechanics of all kinds in the Confederacy, and the urgent + needs of the people for many things which the war and the blockade + prevented their obtaining, led to continual inducements being offered to + the artizans among us to go outside and work at their trade. Shoemakers + seemed most in demand; next to these blacksmiths, machinists, molders and + metal workers generally. Not a week passed during my imprisonment that I + did not see a Rebel emissary of some kind about the prison seeking to + engage skilled workmen for some purpose or another. While in Richmond the + managers of the Tredegar Iron Works were brazen and persistent in their + efforts to seduce what are termed "malleable iron workers," to enter their + employ. A boy who was master of any one of the commoner trades had but to + make his wishes known, and he would be allowed to go out on parole to + work. I was a printer, and I think that at least a dozen times I was + approached by Rebel publishers with offers of a parole, and work at good + prices. One from Columbia, S. C., offered me two dollars and a half a + "thousand" for composition. As the highest price for such work that I had + received before enlisting was thirty cents a thousand, this seemed a + chance to accumulate untold wealth. Since a man working in day time can + set from thirty-five to fifty "thousand" a week, this would make weekly + wages run from eighty-seven dollars and fifty cents to one hundred and + twenty-five dollars—but it was in Confederate money, then worth from + ten to twenty cents on the dollar. + </p> + <p> + Still better offers were made to iron workers of all kinds, to shoemakers, + tanners, weavers, tailors, hatters, engineers, machinists, millers, + railroad men, and similar tradesmen. Any of these could have made a + handsome thing by accepting the offers made them almost weekly. As nearly + all in the prison had useful trades, it would have been of immense benefit + to the Confederacy if they could have been induced to work at them. There + is no measuring the benefit it would have been to the Southern cause if + all the hundreds of tanners and shoemakers in the Stockade could have, + been persuaded to go outside and labor in providing leather and shoes for + the almost shoeless people and soldiery. The machinists alone could have + done more good to the Southern Confederacy than one of our brigades was + doing harm, by consenting to go to the railroad shops at Griswoldville and + ply their handicraft. The lack of material resources in the South was one + of the strongest allies our arms had. This lack of resources was primarily + caused by a lack of skilled labor to develop those resources, and nowhere + could there be found a finer collection of skilled laborers than in the + thirty-three thousand prisoners incarcerated in Andersonville. + </p> + <p> + All solicitations to accept a parole and go outside to work at one's trade + were treated with the scorn they deserved. If any mechanic yielded to + them, the fact did not come under my notice. The usual reply to + invitations of this kind was: + </p> + <p> + "No, Sir! By God, I'll stay in here till I rot, and the maggots carry me + out through the cracks in the Stockade, before I'll so much as raise my + little finger to help the infernal Confederacy, or Rebels, in any shape or + form." + </p> + <p> + In August a Macon shoemaker came in to get some of his trade to go back + with him to work in the Confederate shoe factory. He prosecuted his search + for these until he reached the center of the camp on the North Side, when + some of the shoemakers who had gathered around him, apparently considering + his propositions, seized him and threw him into a well. He was kept there + a whole day, and only released when Wirz cut off the rations of the prison + for that day, and announced that no more would be issued until the man was + returned safe and sound to the gate. + </p> + <p> + The terrible crowding was somewhat ameliorated by the opening in July of + an addition—six hundred feet long—to the North Side of the + Stockade. This increased the room inside to twenty acres, giving about an + acre to every one thousand seven hundred men,—a preposterously + contracted area still. The new ground was not a hotbed of virulent poison + like the olds however, and those who moved on to it had that much in their + favor. + </p> + <p> + The palisades between the new and the old portions of the pen were left + standing when the new portion was opened. We were still suffering a great + deal of inconvenience from lack of wood. That night the standing timbers + were attacked by thousands of prisoners armed with every species of a tool + to cut wood, from a case-knife to an ax. They worked the live-long night + with such energy that by morning not only every inch of the logs above + ground had disappeared, but that below had been dug up, and there was not + enough left of the eight hundred foot wall of twenty-five-foot logs to + make a box of matches. + </p> + <p> + One afternoon—early in August—one of the violent rain storms + common to that section sprung up, and in a little while the water was + falling in torrents. The little creek running through the camp swelled up + immensely, and swept out large gaps in the Stockade, both in the west and + east sides. The Rebels noticed the breaches as soon as the prisoners. Two + guns were fired from the Star Tort, and all the guards rushed out, and + formed so as to prevent any egress, if one was attempted. Taken by + surprise, we were not in a condition to profit by the opportunity until it + was too late. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp351" id="linkp351"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p351.jpg (50K)" src="images/p351.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + The storm did one good thing: it swept away a great deal of filth, and + left the camp much more wholesome. The foul stench rising from the camp + made an excellent electrical conductor, and the lightning struck several + times within one hundred feet of the prison. + </p> + <p> + Toward the end of August there happened what the religously inclined + termed a Providential Dispensation. The water in the Creek was + indescribably bad. No amount of familiarity with it, no increase of + intimacy with our offensive surroundings, could lessen the disgust at the + polluted water. As I have said previously, before the stream entered the + Stockade, it was rendered too filthy for any use by the contaminations + from the camps of the guards, situated about a half-mile above. + Immediately on entering the Stockade the contamination became terrible. + The oozy seep at the bottom of the hillsides drained directly into it all + the mass of filth from a population of thirty-three thousand. Imagine the + condition of an open sewer, passing through the heart of a city of that + many people, and receiving all the offensive product of so dense a + gathering into a shallow, sluggish stream, a yard wide and five inches + deep, and heated by the burning rays of the sun in the thirty-second + degree of latitude. Imagine, if one can, without becoming sick at the + stomach, all of these people having to wash in and drink of this foul + flow. + </p> + <p> + There is not a scintilla of exaggeration in this statement. That it is + within the exact truth is demonstrable by the testimony of any man—Rebel + or Union—who ever saw the inside of the Stockade at Andersonville. I + am quite content to have its truth—as well as that of any other + statement made in this book—be determined by the evidence of any + one, no matter how bitter his hatred of the Union, who had any personal + knowledge of the condition of affairs at Andersonville. No one can + successfully deny that there were at least thirty-three thousand prisoners + in the Stockade, and that the one shallow, narrow creek, which passed + through the prison, was at once their main sewer and their source of + supply of water for bathing, drinking and washing. With these main facts + admitted, the reader's common sense of natural consequences will furnish + the rest of the details. + </p> + <p> + It is true that some of the more fortunate of us had wells; thanks to our + own energy in overcoming extraordinary obstacles; no thanks to our gaolers + for making the slightest effort to provide these necessities of life. We + dug the wells with case and pocket knives, and half canteens to a depth of + from twenty to thirty feet, pulling up the dirt in pantaloons legs, and + running continual risk of being smothered to death by the caving in of the + unwalled sides. Not only did the Rebels refuse to give us boards with + which to wall the wells, and buckets for drawing the water, but they did + all in their power to prevent us from digging the wells, and made + continual forays to capture the digging tools, because the wells were + frequently used as the starting places for tunnels. Professor Jones lays + special stress on this tunnel feature in his testimony, which I have + introduced in a previous chapter. + </p> + <p> + The great majority of the prisoners who went to the Creek for water, went + as near as possible to the Dead Line on the West Side, where the Creek + entered the Stockade, that they might get water with as little filth in it + as possible. In the crowds struggling there for their turn to take a dip, + some one nearly every day got so close to the Dead Line as to arouse a + suspicion in the guard's mind that he was touching it. The suspicion was + the unfortunate one's death warrant, and also its execution. As the + sluggish brain of the guard conceived it he leveled his gun; the distance + to his victim was not over one hundred feet; he never failed his aim; the + first warning the wretched prisoner got that he was suspected of + transgressing a prison-rule was the charge of "ball-and-buck" that tore + through his body. It was lucky if he was, the only one of the group + killed. More wicked and unjustifiable murders never were committed than + these almost daily assassinations at the Creek. + </p> + <p> + One morning the camp was astonished beyond measure to discover that during + the night a large, bold spring had burst out on the North Side, about + midway between the Swamp and the summit of the hill. It poured out its + grateful flood of pure, sweet water in an apparently exhaustless quantity. + To the many who looked in wonder upon it, it seemed as truly a + heaven-wrought miracle as when Moses's enchanted rod smote the parched + rock in Sinai's desert waste, and the living waters gushed forth. <br /><br /><br /><br /> + <a name="linkp353" id="linkp353"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p353.jpg (25K)" src="images/p353.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + The police took charge of the spring, and every one was compelled to take + his regular turn in filling his vessel. This was kept up during our whole + stay in Andersonville, and every morning, shortly after daybreak, a + thousand men could be seen standing in line, waiting their turns to fill + their cans and cups with the precious liquid. + </p> + <p> + I am told by comrades who have revisited the Stockade of recent years, + that the spring is yet running as when we left, and is held in most pious + veneration by the negros of that vicinity, who still preserve the + tradition of its miraculous origin, and ascribe to its water wonderful + grace giving and healing properties, similar to those which pious + Catholics believe exist in the holy water of the fountain at Lourdes. + </p> + <p> + I must confess that I do not think they are so very far from right. If I + could believe that any water was sacred and thaumaturgic, it would be of + that fountain which appeared so opportunely for the benefit of the + perishing thousands of Andersonville. And when I hear of people bringing + water for baptismal purposes from the Jordan, I say in my heart, "How much + more would I value for myself and friends the administration of the + chrismal sacrament with the diviner flow from that low sand-hill in + Western Georgia." <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + <a name="linkch47" id="linkch47"></a>CHAPTER XLVII. + </h2> + <p> + "SICK CALL," AND THE SCENES THAT ACCOMPANIED IT—MUSTERING THE LAME, + HALT AND DISEASED AT THE SOUTH GATE—AN UNUSUALLY BAD CASE—GOING + OUT TO THE HOSPITAL—ACCOMMODATION AND TREATMENT OF THE PATIENTS + THERE—THE HORRIBLE SUFFERING IN THE GANGRENE WARD—BUNGLING + AMPUTATIONS BY BLUNDERING PRACTITIONERS—AFFECTION BETWEEN A SAILOR + AND HIS WARD —DEATH OF MY COMRADE. + </p> + <p> + Every morning after roll-call, thousands of sick gathered at the South + Gate, where the doctors made some pretense of affording medical relief. + The scene there reminded me of the illustrations in my Sunday-School + lessons of that time when "great multitudes came unto Him," by the shores + of the Sea of Galilee, "having with them those that were lame, blind, + dumb, maimed, and many others." Had the crowds worn the flouting robes of + the East, the picture would have lacked nothing but the presence of the + Son of Man to make it complete. Here were the burning sands and parching + sun; hither came scores of groups of three or four comrades, laboriously + staggering under the weight of a blanket in which they had carried a + disabled and dying friend from some distant part of the Stockade. Beside + them hobbled the scorbutics with swollen and distorted limbs, each more + loathsome and nearer death than the lepers whom Christ's divine touch made + whole. Dozens, unable to walk, and having no comrades to carry them, + crawled painfully along, with frequent stops, on their hands and knees. + Every form of intense physical suffering that it is possible for disease + to induce in the human frame was visible at these daily parades of the + sick of the prison. As over three thousand (three thousand and + seventy-six) died in August, there were probably twelve thousand + dangerously sick at any given time daring the month; and a large part of + these collected at the South Gate every morning. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a + name="linkp356" id="linkp356"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p356.jpg (54K)" src="images/p356.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + Measurably-calloused as we had become by the daily sights of horror around + us, we encountered spectacles in these gatherings which no amount of + visible misery could accustom us to. I remember one especially that burned + itself deeply into my memory. It was of a young man not over twenty-five, + who a few weeks ago—his clothes looked comparatively new —had + evidently been the picture of manly beauty and youthful vigor. He had had + a well-knit, lithe form; dark curling hair fell over a forehead which had + once been fair, and his eyes still showed that they had gleamed with a + bold, adventurous spirit. The red clover leaf on his cap showed that he + belonged to the First Division of the Second Corps, the three chevrons on + his arm that he was a Sergeant, and the stripe at his cuff that he was a + veteran. Some kind-hearted boys had found him in a miserable condition on + the North Side, and carried him over in a blanket to where the doctors + could see him. He had but little clothing on, save his blouse and cap. + Ulcers of some kind had formed in his abdomen, and these were now masses + of squirming worms. It was so much worse than the usual forms of + suffering, that quite a little crowd of compassionate spectators gathered + around and expressed their pity. The sufferer turned to one who lay beside + him with: + </p> + <p> + "Comrade: If we were only under the old Stars and Stripes, we wouldn't + care a G-d d—n for a few worms, would we?" + </p> + <p> + This was not profane. It was an utterance from the depths of a brave man's + heart, couched in the strongest language at his command. It seemed + terrible that so gallant a soul should depart from earth in this miserable + fashion. Some of us, much moved by the sight, went to the doctors and put + the case as strongly as possible, begging them to do something to + alleviate his suffering. They declined to see the case, but got rid of us + by giving us a bottle of turpentine, with directions to pour it upon the + ulcers to kill the maggots. We did so. It must have been cruel torture, + and as absurd remedially as cruel, but our hero set his teeth and endured, + without a groan. He was then carried out to the hospital to die. + </p> + <p> + I said the doctors made a pretense of affording medical relief. It was + hardly that, since about all the prescription for those inside the + Stockade consisted in giving a handful of sumach berries to each of those + complaining of scurvy. The berries might have done some good, had there + been enough of them, and had their action been assisted by proper food. As + it was, they were probably nearly, if not wholly, useless. Nothing was + given to arrest the ravages of dysentery. + </p> + <p> + A limited number of the worst cases were admitted to the Hospital each + day. As this only had capacity for about one-quarter of the sick in the + Stockade, new patients could only be admitted as others died. It seemed, + anyway, like signing a man's death warrant to send him to the Hospital, as + three out of every four who went out there died. The following from the + official report of the Hospital shows this: <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Total number admitted ........................................12,900 + Died ................................................. 8,663 + Exchanged ............................................ 828 + Took the oath of allegiance .......................... 25 + Sent elsewhere ....................................... 2,889 + + Total ........................................................12,400 + + Average deaths, 76 per cent. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + Early in August I made a successful effort to get out to the Hospital. I + had several reasons for this: First, one of my chums, W. W. Watts, of my + own company, had been sent out a little whale before very sick with scurvy + and pneumonia, and I wanted to see if I could do anything for him, if he + still lived: I have mentioned before that for awhile after our entrance + into Andersonville five of us slept on one overcoat and covered ourselves + with one blanket. Two of these had already died, leaving as possessors + of-the blanket and overcoat, W. W. Watts, B. B. Andrews, and myself. + </p> + <p> + Next, I wanted to go out to see if there was any prospect of escape. I had + long since given up hopes of escaping from the Stockade. All our attempts + at tunneling had resulted in dead failures, and now, to make us wholly + despair of success in that direction, another Stockade was built clear + around the prison, at a distance of one hundred and twenty feet from the + first palisades. It was manifest that though we might succeed in tunneling + past one Stockade, we could not go beyond the second one. + </p> + <p> + I had the scurvy rather badly, and being naturally slight in frame, I + presented a very sick appearance to the physicians, and was passed out to + the Hospital. + </p> + <p> + While this was a wretched affair, it was still a vast improvement on the + Stockade. About five acres of ground, a little southeast of the Stockade, + and bordering on a creek, were enclosed by a board fence, around which the + guard walked, trees shaded the ground tolerably well. There were tents and + flies to shelter part of the sick, and in these were beds made of pine + leaves. There were regular streets and alleys running through the grounds, + and as the management was in the hands of our own men, the place was kept + reasonably clean and orderly for Andersonville. + </p> + <p> + There was also some improvement in the food. Rice in some degree replaced + the nauseous and innutritious corn bread, and if served in sufficient + quantities, would doubtless have promoted the recovery of many men dying + from dysenteric diseases. We also received small quantities of "okra," a + plant peculiar to the South, whose pods contained a mucilaginous matter + that made a soup very grateful to those suffering from scurvy. + </p> + <p> + But all these ameliorations of condition were too slight to even arrest + the progress of the disease of the thousands of dying men brought out from + the Stockade. These still wore the same lice-infested garments as in + prison; no baths or even ordinary applications of soap and water cleaned + their dirt-grimed skins, to give their pores an opportunity to assist in + restoring them to health; even their long, lank and matted hair, swarming + with vermin, was not trimmed. The most ordinary and obvious measures for + their comfort and care were neglected. If a man recovered he did it almost + in spite of fate. The medicines given were scanty and crude. The principal + remedial agent—as far as my observation extended—was a rank, + fetid species of unrectified spirits, which, I was told, was made from + sorgum seed. It had a light-green tinge, and was about as inviting to the + taste as spirits of turpentine. It was given to the sick in small + quantities mixed with water. I had had some experience with Kentucky + "apple-jack," which, it was popularly believed among the boys, would + dissolve a piece of the fattest pork thrown into it, but that seemed balmy + and oily alongside of this. After tasting some, I ceased to wonder at the + atrocities of Wirz and his associates. Nothing would seem too bad to a man + who made that his habitual tipple. + </p> + <p> + [For a more particular description of the Hospital I must refer my reader + to the testimony of Professor Jones, in a previous chapter.] + </p> + <p> + Certainly this continent has never seen—and I fervently trust it + will never again see—such a gigantic concentration of misery as that + Hospital displayed daily. The official statistics tell the story of this + with terrible brevity: There were three thousand seven hundred and nine in + the Hospital in August; one thousand four hundred and eighty-nine—nearly + every other man died. The rate afterwards became much higher than this. + </p> + <p> + The most conspicuous suffering was in the gangrene wards. Horrible sores + spreading almost visibly from hour to hour, devoured men's limbs and + bodies. I remember one ward in which the alterations appeared to be + altogether in the back, where they ate out the tissue between the skin and + the ribs. The attendants seemed trying to arrest the progress of the + sloughing by drenching the sores with a solution of blue vitriol. This was + exquisitely painful, and in the morning, when the drenching was going on, + the whole hospital rang with the most agonizing screams. + </p> + <p> + But the gangrene mostly attacked the legs and arms, and the led more than + the arms. Sometimes it killed men inside of a week; sometimes they + lingered on indefinitely. I remember one man in the Stockade who cut his + hand with the sharp corner of a card of corn bread he was lifting from the + ration wagon; gangrene set in immediately, and he died four days after. + </p> + <p> + One form that was quit prevalent was a cancer of the lower one corner of + the mouth, and it finally ate the whole side of the face out. Of course + the sufferer had the greatest trouble in eating and drinking. For the + latter it was customary to whittle out a little wooden tube, and fasten it + in a tin cup, through which he could suck up the water. As this mouth + cancer seemed contagious, none of us would allow any one afflicted with it + to use any of our cooking utensils. The Rebel doctors at the hospital + resorted to wholesale amputations to check the progress of the gangrene. + </p> + <p> + They had a two hours session of limb-lopping every morning, each of which + resulted in quite a pile of severed members. I presume more bungling + operations are rarely seen outside of Russian or Turkish hospitals. Their + unskilfulness was apparent even to non-scientific observers like myself. + The standard of medical education in the South—as indeed of every + other form of education—was quite low. The Chief Surgeon of the + prison, Dr. Isaiah White, and perhaps two or three others, seemed to be + gentlemen of fair abilities and attainments. The remainder were of that + class of illiterate and unlearning quacks who physic and blister the poor + whites and negros in the country districts of the South; who believe they + can stop bleeding of the nose by repeating a verse from the Bible; who + think that if in gathering their favorite remedy of boneset they cut the + stem upwards it will purge their patients, and if downward it will vomit + them, and who hold that there is nothing so good for "fits" as a black + cat, killed in the dark of the moon, cut open, and bound while yet warm, + upon the naked chest of the victim of the convulsions. + </p> + <p> + They had a case of instruments captured from some of our field hospitals, + which were dull and fearfully out of order. With poor instruments and + unskilled hands the operations became mangling. + </p> + <p> + In the Hospital I saw an admirable illustration of the affection which a + sailor will lavish on a ship's boy, whom he takes a fancy to, and makes + his "chicken," as the phrase is. The United States sloop "Water Witch" had + recently been captured in Ossabaw Sound, and her crew brought into prison. + One of her boys—a bright, handsome little fellow of about fifteen—had + lost one of his arms in the fight. He was brought into the Hospital, and + the old fellow whose "chicken" he was, was allowed to accompany and nurse + him. This "old barnacle-back" was as surly a growler as ever went aloft, + but to his "chicken" he was as tender and thoughtful as a woman. They + found a shady nook in one corner, and any moment one looked in that + direction he could see the old tar hard at work at something for the + comfort and pleasure of his pet. Now he was dressing the wound as deftly + and gently as a mother caring for a new-born babe; now he was trying to + concoct some relish out of the slender materials he could beg or steal + from the Quartermaster; now trying to arrange the shade of the bed of pine + leaves in a more comfortable manner; now repairing or washing his clothes, + and so on. + </p> + <p> + All the sailors were particularly favored by being allowed to bring their + bags in untouched by the guards. This "chicken" had a wonderful supply of + clothes, the handiwork of his protector who, like most good sailors, was + very skillful with the needle. He had suits of fine white duck, + embroidered with blue in a way that would ravish the heart of a fine lady, + and blue suits similarly embroidered with white. No belle ever kept her + clothes in better order than these were. When the duck came up from the + old sailor's patient washing it was as spotless as new-fallen snow. <br /><br /><br /><br /> + <a name="linkp361" id="linkp361"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p361.jpg (24K)" src="images/p361.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + I found my chum in a very bad condition. His appetite was entirely gone, + but he had an inordinate craving for tobacco—for strong, black plug + —which he smoked in a pipe. He had already traded off all his brass + buttons to the guards for this. I had accumulated a few buttons to bribe + the guard to take me out for wood, and I gave these also for tobacco for + him. When I awoke one morning the man who laid next to me on the right was + dead, having died sometime during the night. I searched his pockets and + took what was in them. These were a silk pocket handkerchief, a gutta + percha finger-ring, a comb, a pencil, and a leather pocket-book, making in + all quite a nice little "find." I hied over to the guard, and succeeded in + trading the personal estate which I had inherited from the intestate + deceased, for a handful of peaches, a handful of hardly ripe figs, and a + long plug of tobacco. I hastened back to Watts, expecting that the figs + and peaches would do him a world of good. At first I did not show him the + tobacco, as I was strongly opposed to his using it, thinking that it was + making him much worse. But he looked at the tempting peaches and figs with + lack-luster eyes; he was too far gone to care for them. He pushed them + back to me, saying faintly: + </p> + <p> + "No, you take 'em, Mc; I don't want 'em; I can't eat 'em!" + </p> + <p> + I then produced the tobacco, and his face lighted up. Concluding that this + was all the comfort that he could have, and that I might as well gratify + him, I cut up some of the weed, filled his pipe and lighted it. He smoked + calmly and almost happily all the afternoon, hardly speaking a word to me. + As it grew dark he asked me to bring him a drink. I did so, and as I + raised him up he said: + </p> + <p> + "Mc, this thing's ended. Tell my father that I stood it as long as I + could, and——" + </p> + <p> + The death rattle sounded in his throat, and when I laid him back it was + all over. Straightening out his limbs, folding his hands across his + breast, and composing his features as best I could, I lay, down beside the + body and slept till morning, when I did what little else I could toward + preparing for the grave all that was left of my long-suffering little + friend. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp363" id="linkp363"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p363.jpg (28K)" src="images/p363.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + <a name="linkch48" id="linkch48"></a>CHAPTER XLVIII. + </h2> + <p> + DETERMINATION TO ESCAPE—DIFFERENT PLANS AND THEIR MERITS—I + PREFER THE APPALACHICOLA ROUTE—PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE—A + HOT DAY—THE FENCE PASSED SUCCESSFULLY PURSUED BY THE HOUNDS—CAUGHT + —RETURNED TO THE STOCKADE. + </p> + <p> + After Watt's death, I set earnestly about seeing what could be done in the + way of escape. Frank Harvey, of the First West Virginia Cavalry, a boy of + about my own age and disposition, joined with me in the scheme. I was + still possessed with my original plan of making my way down the creeks to + the Flint River, down the Flint River to where it emptied into the + Appalachicola River, and down that stream to its debauchure into the bay + that connected with the Gulf of Mexico. I was sure of finding my way by + this route, because, if nothing else offered, I could get astride of a log + and float down the current. The way to Sherman, in the other direction, + was long, torturous and difficult, with a fearful gauntlet of + blood-hounds, patrols and the scouts of Hood's Army to be run. I had but + little difficulty in persuading Harvey into an acceptance of my views, and + we began arranging for a solution of the first great problem—how to + get outside of the Hospital guards. As I have explained before, the + Hospital was surrounded by a board fence, with guards walking their beats + on the ground outside. A small creek flowed through the southern end of + the grounds, and at its lower end was used as a sink. The boards of the + fence came down to the surface of the water, where the Creek passed out, + but we found, by careful prodding with a stick, that the hole between the + boards and the bottom of the Creek was sufficiently large to allow the + passage of our bodies, and there had been no stakes driven or other + precautions used to prevent egress by this channel. A guard was posted + there, and probably ordered to stand at the edge of the stream, but it + smelled so vilely in those scorching days that he had consulted his + feelings and probably his health, by retiring to the top of the bank, a + rod or more distant. We watched night after night, and at last were + gratified to find that none went nearer the Creak than the top of this + bank. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp365" id="linkp365"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p365.jpg (40K)" src="images/p365.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + Then we waited for the moon to come right, so that the first part of the + night should be dark. This took several days, but at last we knew that the + next night she would not rise until between 9 and 10 o'clock, which would + give us nearly two hours of the dense darkness of a moonless Summer night + in the South. We had first thought of saving up some rations for the trip, + but then reflected that these would be ruined by the filthy water into + which we must sink to go under the fence. It was not difficult to abandon + the food idea, since it was very hard to force ourselves to lay by even + the smallest portion of our scanty rations. + </p> + <p> + As the next day wore on, our minds were wrought up into exalted tension by + the rapid approach of the supreme moment, with all its chances and + consequences. The experience of the past few months was not such as to + mentally fit us for such a hazard. It prepared us for sullen, + uncomplaining endurance, for calmly contemplating the worst that could + come; but it did not strengthen that fiber of mind that leads to + venturesome activity and daring exploits. Doubtless the weakness of our + bodies reacted upon our spirits. We contemplated all the perils that + confronted us; perils that, now looming up with impending nearness, took a + clearer and more threatening shape than they had ever done before. + </p> + <p> + We considered the desperate chances of passing the guard unseen; or, if + noticed, of escaping his fire without death or severe wounds. But + supposing him fortunately evaded, then came the gauntlet of the hounds and + the patrols hunting deserters. After this, a long, weary journey, with + bare feet and almost naked bodies, through an unknown country abounding + with enemies; the dangers of assassination by the embittered populace; the + risks of dying with hunger and fatigue in the gloomy depths of a swamp; + the scanty hopes that, if we reached the seashore, we could get to our + vessels. + </p> + <p> + Not one of all these contingencies failed to expand itself to all its + alarming proportions, and unite with its fellows to form a dreadful vista, + like the valleys filled with demons and genii, dragons and malign + enchantments, which confront the heros of the "Arabian Nights," when they + set out to perform their exploits. + </p> + <p> + But behind us lay more miseries and horrors than a riotous imagination + could conceive; before us could certainly be nothing worse. We would put + life and freedom to the hazard of a touch, and win or lose it all. + </p> + <p> + The day had been intolerably hot. The sun's rays seemed to sear the earth, + like heated irons, and the air that lay on the burning sand was broken by + wavy lines, such as one sees indicate the radiation from a hot stove. + </p> + <p> + Except the wretched chain-gang plodding torturously back and forward on + the hillside, not a soul nor an animal could be seen in motion outside the + Stockade. The hounds were panting in their kennel; the Rebel officers, + half or wholly drunken with villainous sorgum whisky, were stretched at + full length in the shade at headquarters; the half-caked gunners crouched + under the shadow of the embankments of the forts, the guards hung limply + over the Stockade in front of their little perches; the thirty thousand + boys inside the Stockade, prone or supine upon the glowing sand, gasped + for breath—for one draft of sweet, cool, wholesome air that did not + bear on its wings the subtle seeds of rank corruption and death. + Everywhere was the prostration of discomfort—the inertia of + sluggishness. + </p> + <p> + Only the sick moved; only the pain-racked cried out; only the dying + struggled; only the agonies of dissolution could make life assert itself + against the exhaustion of the heat. + </p> + <p> + Harvey and I, lying in the scanty shade of the trunk of a tall pine, and + with hearts filled with solicitude as to the outcome of what the evening + would bring us, looked out over the scene as we had done daily for long + months, and remained silent for hours, until the sun, as if weary with + torturing and slaying, began going down in the blazing West. The groans of + the thousands of sick around us, the shrieks of the rotting ones in the + gangrene wards rang incessantly in our ears. + </p> + <p> + As the sun disappeared, and the heat abated, the suspended activity was + restored. The Master of the Hounds came out with his yelping pack, and + started on his rounds; the Rebel officers aroused themselves from their + siesta and went lazily about their duties; the fifer produced his cracked + fife and piped forth his unvarying "Bonnie Blue Flag," as a signal for + dress parade, and drums beaten by unskilled hands in the camps of the + different regiments, repeated the signal. In time Stockade the mass of + humanity became full of motion as an ant hill, and resembled it very much + from our point of view, with the boys threading their way among the + burrows, tents and holes. + </p> + <p> + It was becoming dark quite rapidly. The moments seemed galloping onward + toward the time when we must make the decisive step. We drew from the + dirty rag in which it was wrapped the little piece of corn bread that we + had saved for our supper, carefully divided it into two equal parts, and + each took one and ate it in silence. This done, we held a final + consultation as to our plans, and went over each detail carefully, that we + might fully understand each other under all possible circumstances, and + act in concert. One point we laboriously impressed upon each other, and + that was; that under no circumstances were we to allow ourselves to be + tempted to leave the Creek until we reached its junction with the Flint + River. I then picked up two pine leaves, broke them off to unequal + lengths, rolled them in my hands behind my back for a second, and + presenting them to Harney with their ends sticking out of my closed hand, + said: + </p> + <p> + "The one that gets the longest one goes first." + </p> + <p> + Harvey reached forth and drew the longer one. + </p> + <p> + We made a tour of reconnaissance. Everything seemed as usual, and + wonderfully calm compared with the tumult in our minds. The Hospital + guards were pacing their beats lazily; those on the Stockade were drawling + listlessly the first "call around" of the evening: + </p> + <p> + "Post numbah foah! Half-past seven o'clock! and a-l-l's we-l-ll!" + </p> + <p> + Inside the Stockade was a Babel of sounds, above all of which rose the + melody of religious and patriotic songs, sung in various parts of the + camp. From the headquarters came the shouts and laughter of the Rebel + officers having a little "frolic" in the cool of the evening. The groans + of the sick around us were gradually hushing, as the abatement of the + terrible heat let all but the worst cases sink into a brief slumber, from + which they awoke before midnight to renew their outcries. But those in the + Gangrene wards seemed to be denied even this scanty blessing. Apparently + they never slept, for their shrieks never ceased. A multitude of + whip-poor-wills in the woods around us began their usual dismal cry, which + had never seemed so unearthly and full of dreadful presages as now. + </p> + <p> + It was, now quite dark, and we stole noiselessly down to the Creek and + reconnoitered. We listened. The guard was not pacing his beat, as we could + not hear his footsteps. A large, ill-shapen lump against the trunk of one + of the trees on the bank showed that he was leaning there resting himself. + We watched him for several minutes, but he did not move, and the thought + shot into our minds that he might be asleep; but it seemed impossible: it + was too early in the evening. + </p> + <p> + Now, if ever, was the opportunity. Harney squeezed my hand, stepped + noiselessly into the Creek, laid himself gently down into the filthy + water, and while my heart was beating so that I was certain it could be + heard some distance from me, began making toward the fence. He passed + under easily, and I raised my eyes toward the guard, while on my strained + ear fell the soft plashing made by Harvey as he pulled himself cautiously + forward. It seemed as if the sentinel must hear this; he could not help + it, and every second I expected to see the black lump address itself to + motion, and the musket flash out fiendishly. But he did not; the lump + remained motionless; the musket silent. + </p> + <p> + When I thought that Harvey had gained a sufficient distance I followed. It + seemed as if the disgusting water would smother me as I laid myself down + into it, and such was my agitation that it appeared almost impossible that + I should escape making such a noise as would attract the guard's notice. + Catching hold of the roots and limbs at the side of the stream, I pulled + myself slowly along, and as noiselessly as possible. + </p> + <p> + I passed under the fence without difficulty, and was outside, and within + fifteen feet of the guard. I had lain down into the creek upon my right + side, that my face might be toward the guard, and I could watch him + closely all the time. + </p> + <p> + As I came under the fence he was still leaning motionless against the + tree, but to my heated imagination he appeared to have turned and be + watching me. I hardly breathed; the filthy water rippling past me seemed + to roar to attract the guard's attention; I reached my hand out cautiously + to grasp a root to pull myself along by, and caught instead a dry branch, + which broke with a loud crack. My heart absolutely stood still. The guard + evidently heard the noise. The black lump separated itself from the tree, + and a straight line which I knew to be his musket separated itself from + the lump. In a brief instant I lived a year of mortal apprehension. So + certain was I that he had discovered me, and was leveling his piece to + fire, that I could scarcely restrain myself from springing up and dashing + away to avoid the shot. Then I heard him take a step, and to my + unutterable surprise and relief, he walked off farther from the Creek, + evidently to speak to the man whose beat joined his. + </p> + <p> + I pulled away more swiftly, but still with the greatest caution, until + after half-an-hour's painful effort I had gotten fully one hundred and + fifty yards away from the Hospital fence, and found Harney crouched on a + cypress knee, close to the water's edge, watching for me. + </p> + <p> + We waited there a few minutes, until I could rest, and calm my perturbed + nerves down to something nearer their normal equilibrium, and then started + on. We hoped that if we were as lucky in our next step as in the first one + we would reach the Flint River by daylight, and have a good long start + before the morning roll-call revealed our absence. We could hear the + hounds still baying in the distance, but this sound was too customary to + give us any uneasiness. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp370" + id="linkp370"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p370.jpg (38K)" src="images/p370.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + But our progress was terribly slow. Every step hurt fearfully. The Creek + bed was full of roots and snags, and briers, and vines trailed across it. + These caught and tore our bare feet and legs, rendered abnormally tender + by the scurvy. It seemed as if every step was marked with blood. The vines + tripped us, and we frequently fell headlong. We struggled on determinedly + for nearly an hour, and were perhaps a mile from the Hospital. + </p> + <p> + The moon came up, and its light showed that the creek continued its course + through a dense jungle like that we had been traversing, while on the high + ground to our left were the open pine woods I have previously described. + </p> + <p> + We stopped and debated for a few minutes. We recalled our promise to keep + in the Creek, the experience of other boys who had tried to escape and + been caught by the hounds. If we staid in the Creek we were sure the + hounds would not find our trail, but it was equally certain that at this + rate we would be exhausted and starved before we got out of sight of the + prison. It seemed that we had gone far enough to be out of reach of the + packs patrolling immediately around the Stockade, and there could be but + little risk in trying a short walk on the dry ground. We concluded to take + the chances, and, ascending the bank, we walked and ran as fast as we + could for about two miles further. + </p> + <p> + All at once it struck me that with all our progress the hounds sounded as + near as when we started. I shivered at the thought, and though nearly + ready to drop with fatigue, urged myself and Harney on. + </p> + <p> + An instant later their baying rang out on the still night air right behind + us, and with fearful distinctness. There was no mistake now; they had + found our trail, and were running us down. The change from fearful + apprehension to the crushing reality stopped us stock-still in our tracks. + </p> + <p> + At the next breath the hounds came bursting through the woods in plain + sight, and in full cry. We obeyed our first impulse; rushed back into the + swamp, forced our way for a few yards through the flesh-tearing + impediments, until we gained a large cypress, upon whose great knees we + climbed—thoroughly exhausted—just as the yelping pack reached + the edge of the water, and stopped there and bayed at us. It was a + physical impossibility for us to go another step. + </p> + <p> + In a moment the low-browed villain who had charge of the hounds came + galloping up on his mule, tooting signals to his dogs as he came, on the + cow-horn slung from his shoulders. + </p> + <p> + He immediately discovered us, covered us with his revolver, and yelled + out: + </p> + <p> + "Come ashore, there, quick: you—— —— —— + ——s!" <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp372" id="linkp372"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p372.jpg (53K)" src="images/p372.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + There was no help for it. We climbed down off the knees and started + towards the land. As we neared it, the hounds became almost frantic, and + it seemed as if we would be torn to pieces the moment they could reach us. + But the master dismounted and drove them back. He was surly —even + savage—to us, but seemed in too much hurry to get back to waste any + time annoying us with the dogs. He ordered us to get around in front of + the mule, and start back to camp. We moved as rapidly as our fatigue and + our lacerated feet would allow us, and before midnight were again in the + hospital, fatigued, filthy, torn, bruised and wretched beyond description + or conception. + </p> + <p> + The next morning we were turned back into the Stockade as punishment. + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + <a name="linkch49" id="linkch49"></a>CHAPTER XLIX. + </h2> + <p> + AUGUST—GOOD LUCK IN NOT MEETING CAPTAIN WIRZ—THAT WORTHY'S + TREATMENT OF RECAPTURED PRISONERS—SECRET SOCIETIES IN PRISON—SINGULAR + MEETING AND ITS RESULT—DISCOVERY AND REMOVAL OF THE OFFICERS AMONG + THE ENLISTED MEN. + </p> + <p> + Harney and I were specially fortunate in being turned back into the + Stockade without being brought before Captain Wirz. + </p> + <p> + We subsequently learned that we owed this good luck to Wirz's absence on + sick leave—his place being supplied by Lieutenant Davis, a moderate + brained Baltimorean, and one of that horde of Marylanders in the Rebel + Army, whose principal service to the Confederacy consisted in working + themselves into "bomb-proof" places, and forcing those whom they displaced + into the field. Winder was the illustrious head of this crowd of + bomb-proof Rebels from "Maryland, My Maryland!" whose enthusiasm for the + Southern cause and consistency in serving it only in such places as were + out of range of the Yankee artillery, was the subject of many bitter jibes + by the Rebels—especially by those whose secure berths they possessed + themselves of. + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant Davis went into the war with great brashness. He was one of the + mob which attacked the Sixth Massachusetts in its passage through + Baltimore, but, like all of that class of roughs, he got his stomach full + of war as soon as the real business of fighting began, and he retired to + where the chances of attaining a ripe old age were better than in front of + the Army of the Potomac's muskets. We shall hear of Davis again. + </p> + <p> + Encountering Captain Wirz was one of the terrors of an abortive attempt to + escape. When recaptured prisoners were brought before him he would + frequently give way to paroxysms of screaming rage, so violent as to + closely verge on insanity. Brandishing the fearful and wonderful revolver—of + which I have spoken in such a manner as to threaten the luckless captives + with instant death, he would shriek out imprecations, curses; and foul + epithets in French, German and English, until he fairly frothed at the + mouth. There were plenty of stories current in camp of his having several + times given away to his rage so far as to actually shoot men down in these + interviews, and still more of his knocking boys down and jumping upon + them, until he inflicted injuries that soon resulted in death. How true + these rumors were I am unable to say of my own personal knowledge, since I + never saw him kill any one, nor have I talked with any one who did. There + were a number of cases of this kind testified to upon his trial, but they + all happened among "paroles" outside the Stockade, or among the prisoners + inside after we left, so I knew nothing of them. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a + name="linkp375" id="linkp375"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p375.jpg (32K)" src="images/p375.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + One of the Old Switzer's favorite ways of ending these seances was to + inform the boys that he would have them shot in an hour or so, and bid + them prepare for death. After keeping them in fearful suspense for hours + he would order them to be punished with the stocks, the ball-and-chain, + the chain-gang, or—if his fierce mood had burned itself entirely out + —as was quite likely with a man of his shallop' brain and + vacillating temper—to be simply returned to the stockade. + </p> + <p> + Nothing, I am sure, since the days of the Inquisition—or still + later, since the terrible punishments visited upon the insurgents of 1848 + by the Austrian aristocrats—has been so diabolical as the stocks and + chain-gangs, as used by Wirz. At one time seven men, sitting in the stocks + near the Star Fort—in plain view of the camp—became objects of + interest to everybody inside. They were never relieved from their painful + position, but were kept there until all of them died. I think it was + nearly two weeks before the last one succumbed. What they endured in that + time even imagination cannot conceive—I do not think that an Indian + tribe ever devised keener torture for its captives. <br /><br /><br /><br /> + <a name="linkp376" id="linkp376"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p376.jpg (41K)" src="images/p376.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + The chain-gang consisted of a number of men—varying from twelve to + twenty-five, all chained to one sixty-four pound ball. They were also + stationed near the Star Fort, standing out in the hot sun, without a + particle of shade over them. When one moved they all had to move. They + were scourged with the dysentery, and the necessities of some one of their + number kept them constantly in motion. I can see them distinctly yet, + tramping laboriously and painfully back and forward over that burning + hillside, every moment of the long, weary Summer days. + </p> + <p> + A comrade writes to remind me of the beneficent work of the Masonic Order. + I mention it most gladly, as it was the sole recognition on the part of + any of our foes of our claims to human kinship. The churches of all + denominations—except the solitary Catholic priest, Father Hamilton, + —ignored us as wholly as if we were dumb beasts. Lay humanitarians + were equally indifferent, and the only interest manifested by any Rebel in + the welfare of any prisoner was by the Masonic brotherhood. The Rebel + Masons interested themselves in securing details outside the Stockade in + the cookhouse, the commissary, and elsewhere, for the brethren among the + prisoners who would accept such favors. Such as did not feel inclined to + go outside on parole received frequent presents in the way of food, and + especially of vegetables, which were literally beyond price. Materials + were sent inside to build tents for the Masons, and I think such as made + themselves known before death, received burial according to the rites of + the Order. Doctor White, and perhaps other Surgeons, belonged to the + fraternity, and the wearing of a Masonic emblem by a new prisoner was + pretty sure to catch their eyes, and be the means of securing for the + wearer the tender of their good offices, such as a detail into the + Hospital as nurse, ward-master, etc. + </p> + <p> + I was not fortunate enough to be one of the mystic brethren, and so missed + all share in any of these benefits, as well as in any others, and I take + special pride in one thing: that during my whole imprisonment I was not + beholden to a Rebel for a single favor of any kind. The Rebel does not + live who can say that he ever gave me so much as a handful of meal, a + spoonful of salt, an inch of thread, or a stick of wood. From first to + last I received nothing but my rations, except occasional trifles that I + succeeded in stealing from the stupid officers charged with issuing + rations. I owe no man in the Southern Confederacy gratitude for anything—not + even for a kind word. + </p> + <p> + Speaking of secret society pins recalls a noteworthy story which has been + told me since the war, of boys whom I knew. At the breaking out of + hostilities there existed in Toledo a festive little secret society, such + as lurking boys frequently organize, with no other object than fun and the + usual adolescent love of mystery. There were a dozen or so members in it + who called themselves "The Royal Reubens," and were headed by a bookbinder + named Ned Hopkins. Some one started a branch of the Order in Napoleon, O., + and among the members was Charles E. Reynolds, of that town. The badge of + the society was a peculiarly shaped gold pin. Reynolds and Hopkins never + met, and had no acquaintance with each other. When the war broke out, + Hopkins enlisted in Battery H, First Ohio Artillery, and was sent to the + Army of the Potomac, where he was captured, in the Fall of 1863, while + scouting, in the neighborhood of Richmond. Reynolds entered the + Sixty-Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was taken in the neighborhood of + Jackson, Miss.,—two thousand miles from the place of Hopkins's + capture. At Andersonville Hopkins became one of the officers in charge of + the Hospital. One day a Rebel Sergeant, who called the roll in the + Stockade, after studying Hopkins's pin a minute, said: + </p> + <p> + "I seed a Yank in the Stockade to-day a-wearing a pin egzackly like that + ere." + </p> + <p> + This aroused Hopkins's interest, and he went inside in search of the other + "feller." Having his squad and detachment there was little difficulty in + finding him. He recognized the pin, spoke to its wearer, gave him the + "grand hailing sign" of the "Royal Reubens," and it was duly responded to. + The upshot of the matter was that he took Reynolds out with him as clerk, + and saved his life, as the latter was going down hill very rapidly. + Reynolds, in turn, secured the detail of a comrade of the Sixty-Eighth who + was failing fast, and succeeded in saving his life—all of which + happy results were directly attributable to that insignificant boyish + society, and its equally unimportant badge of membership. + </p> + <p> + Along in the last of August the Rebels learned that there were between two + and three hundred Captains and Lieutenants in the Stockade, passing + themselves off as enlisted men. The motive of these officers was two-fold: + first, a chivalrous wish to share the fortunes and fate of their boys, and + second, disinclination to gratify the Rebels by the knowledge of the rank + of their captives. The secret was so well kept that none of us suspected + it until the fact was announced by the Rebels themselves. They were taken + out immediately, and sent to Macon, where the commissioned officers' + prison was. It would not do to trust such possible leaders with us another + day. <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + <a name="linkch50" id="linkch50"></a>CHAPTER L. + </h2> + <p> + FOOD—THE MEAGERNESS, INFERIOR QUALITY, AND TERRIBLE SAMENESS —REBEL + TESTIMONY ON THE SUBJECT—FUTILITY OF SUCCESSFUL EXPLANATION. + </p> + <p> + I have in other places dwelt upon the insufficiency and the nauseousness + of the food. No words that I can use, no insistence upon this theme, can + give the reader any idea of its mortal importance to us. + </p> + <p> + Let the reader consider for a moment the quantity, quality, and variety of + food that he now holds to be necessary for the maintenance of life and + health. I trust that every one who peruses this book—that every one + in fact over whom the Stars and Stripes wave—has his cup of coffee, + his biscuits and his beefsteak for breakfast—a substantial dinner of + roast or boiled—and a lighter, but still sufficient meal in the + evening. In all, certainly not less than fifty different articles are set + before him during the day, for his choice as elements of nourishment. Let + him scan this extended bill-of-fare, which long custom has made so + common-place as to be uninteresting—perhaps even wearisome to think + about —and see what he could omit from it, if necessity compelled + him. After a reluctant farewell to fish, butter, eggs, milk, sugar, green + and preserved fruits, etc., he thinks that perhaps under extraordinary + circumstances he might be able to merely sustain life for a limited period + on a diet of bread and meat three times a day, washed down with creamless, + unsweetened coffee, and varied occasionally with additions of potatos, + onions, beans, etc. It would astonish the Innocent to have one of our + veterans inform him that this was not even the first stage of destitution; + that a soldier who had these was expected to be on the summit level of + contentment. Any of the boys who followed Grant to Appomattox Court House, + Sherman to the Sea, or "Pap" Thomas till his glorious career culminated + with the annihilation of Hood, will tell him of many weeks when a slice of + fat pork on a piece of "hard tack" had to do duty for the breakfast of + beefsteak and biscuits; when another slice of fat pork and another cracker + served for the dinner of roast beef and vegetables, and a third cracker + and slice of pork was a substitute for the supper of toast and chops. + </p> + <p> + I say to these veterans in turn that they did not arrive at the first + stages of destitution compared with the depths to which we were dragged. + The restriction for a few weeks to a diet of crackers and fat pork was + certainly a hardship, but the crackers alone, chemists tell us, contain + all the elements necessary to support life, and in our Army they were + always well made and very palatable. I believe I risk nothing in saying + that one of the ordinary square crackers of our Commissary Department + contained much more real nutriment than the whole of our average ration. + </p> + <p> + I have before compared the size, shape and appearance of the daily half + loaf of corn bread issued to us to a half-brick, and I do not yet know of + a more fitting comparison. At first we got a small piece of rusty bacon + along with this; but the size of this diminished steadily until at last it + faded away entirely, and during the last six months of our imprisonment I + do not believe that we received rations of meat above a half-dozen times. + </p> + <p> + To this smallness was added ineffable badness. The meal was ground very + coarsely, by dull, weakly propelled stones, that imperfectly crushed the + grains, and left the tough, hard coating of the kernels in large, sharp, + mica-like scales, which cut and inflamed the stomach and intestines, like + handfuls of pounded glass. The alimentary canals of all compelled to eat + it were kept in a continual state of irritation that usually terminated in + incurable dysentery. + </p> + <p> + That I have not over-stated this evil can be seen by reference to the + testimony of so competent a scientific observer as Professor Jones, and I + add to that unimpeachable testimony the following extract from the + statement made in an attempted defense of Andersonville by Doctor R. + Randolph Stevenson, who styles himself, formerly Surgeon in the Army of + the Confederate States of America, Chief Surgeon of the Confederate States + Military Prison Hospitals, Andersonville, Ga.: + </p> + <p> + V. From the sameness of the food, and from the action of the poisonous + gases in the densely crowded and filthy Stockade and Hospital, the blood + was altered in its constitution, even, before the manifestation of actual + disease. + </p> + <p> + In both the well and the sick, the red corpuscles were diminished; and in + all diseases uncomplicated with inflammation, the fibrinous element was + deficient. In cases of ulceration of the mucous membrane of the intestinal + canal, the fibrinous element of the blood appeared to be increased; while + in simple diarrhea, uncomplicated with ulceration, and dependent upon the + character of the food and the existence of scurvy, it was either + diminished or remained stationary. Heart-clots were very common, if not + universally present, in the cases of ulceration of the intestinal mucous + membrane; while in the uncomplicated cases of diarrhea and scurvy, the + blood was fluid and did not coagulate readily, and the heart-clots and + fibrinous concretions were almost universally absent. From the watery + condition of the blood there resulted various serous effusions into the + pericardium, into the ventricles of the brain, and into the abdominal + cavity. + </p> + <p> + In almost all cases which I examined after death, even in the most + emaciated, there was more or less serous effusion into the abdominal + cavity. In cases of hospital gangrene of the extremities, and in cases of + gangrene of the intestines, heart-clots and firm coagula were universally + present. The presence of these clots in the cases of hospital gangrene, + whilst they were absent in the cases in which there were no inflammatory + symptoms, appears to sustain the conclusion that hospital gangrene is a + species of inflammation (imperfect and irregular though it may be in its + progress), in which the fibrinous element and coagulability of the blood + are increased, even in those who are suffering from such a condition of + the blood and from such diseases as are naturally accompanied with a + decrease in the fibrinous constituent. + </p> + <p> + VI. The impoverished condition of the blood, which led to serous effusions + within the ventricles of the brain, and around the brain and spinal cord, + and into the pericardial and abdominal cavities, was gradually induced by + the action of several causes, but chiefly by the character of the food. + </p> + <p> + The Federal prisoners, as a general rule, had been reared upon wheat bread + and Irish potatos; and the Indian corn so extensively used at the South, + was almost unknown to them as an article of diet previous to their + capture. Owing to the impossibility of obtaining the necessary sieves in + the Confederacy for the separation of the husk from the corn-meal, the + rations of the Confederate soldiers, as well as of the Federal prisoners, + consisted of unbolted corn-flour, and meal and grist; this circumstance + rendered the corn-bread still more disagreeable and distasteful to the + Federal prisoners. While Indian meal, even when prepared with the husk, is + one of the most wholesome and nutritious forms of food, as has been + already shown by the health and rapid increase of the Southern population, + and especially of the negros, previous to the present war, and by the + strength, endurance and activity of the Confederate soldiers, who were + throughout the war confined to a great extent to unbolted corn-meal; it is + nevertheless true that those who have not been reared upon corn-meal, or + who have not accustomed themselves to its use gradually, become + excessively tired of this kind of diet when suddenly confined to it + without a due proportion of wheat bread. Large numbers of the Federal + prisoners appeared to be utterly disgusted with Indian corn, and immense + piles of corn-bread could be seen in the Stockade and Hospital inclosures. + Those who were so disgusted with this form of food that they had no + appetite to partake of it, except in quantities insufficient to supply the + waste of the tissues, were, of course, in the condition of men slowly + starving, notwithstanding that the only farinaceous form of food which the + Confederate States produced in sufficient abundance for the maintenance of + armies was not withheld from them. In such cases, an urgent feeling of + hunger was not a prominent symptom; and even when it existed at first, it + soon disappeared, and was succeeded by an actual loathing of food. In this + state the muscular strength was rapidly diminished, the tissues wasted, + and the thin, skeleton-like forms moved about with the appearance of utter + exhaustion and dejection. The mental condition connected with long + confinement, with the most miserable surroundings, and with no hope for + the future, also depressed all the nervous and vital actions, and was + especially active in destroying the appetite. The effects of mental + depression, and of defective nutrition, were manifested not only in the + slow, feeble motions of the wasted, skeleton-like forms, but also in such + lethargy, listlessness, and torpor of the mental faculties as rendered + these unfortunate men oblivious and indifferent to their afflicted + condition. In many cases, even of the greatest apparent suffering and + distress, instead of showing any anxiety to communicate the causes of + their distress, or to relate their privations, and their longings for + their homes and their friends and relatives, they lay in a listless, + lethargic, uncomplaining state, taking no notice either of their own + distressed condition, or of the gigantic mass of human misery by which + they were surrounded. Nothing appalled and depressed me so much as this + silent, uncomplaining misery. It is a fact of great interest, that + notwithstanding this defective nutrition in men subjected to crowding and + filth, contagious fevers were rare; and typhus fever, which is supposed to + be generated in just such a state of things as existed at Andersonville, + was unknown. These facts, established by my investigations, stand in + striking contrast with such a statement as the following by a recent + English writer: + </p> + <p> + "A deficiency of food, especially of the nitrogenous part, quickly leads + to the breaking up of the animal frame. Plague, pestilence and famine are + associated with each other in the public mind, and the records of every + country show how closely they are related. The medical history of Ireland + is remarkable for the illustrations of how much mischief may be occasioned + by a general deficiency of food. Always the habitat of fever, it every now + and then becomes the very hot-bed of its propagation and development. Let + there be but a small failure in the usual imperfect supply of food, and + the lurking seeds of pestilence are ready to burst into frightful + activity. The famine of the present century is but too forcible and + illustrative of this. It fostered epidemics which have not been witnessed + in this generation, and gave rise to scenes of devastation and misery + which are not surpassed by the most appalling epidemics of the Middle + Ages. The principal form of the scourge was known as the contagious famine + fever (typhus), and it spread, not merely from end to end of the country + in which it had originated, but, breaking through all boundaries, it + crossed the broad ocean, and made itself painfully manifest in localities + where it was previously unknown. Thousands fell under the virulence of its + action, for wherever it came it struck down a seventh of the people, and + of those whom it attacked, one out of nine perished. Even those who + escaped the fatal influence of it, were left the miserable victims of + scurvy and low fever." + </p> + <p> + While we readily admit that famine induces that state of the system which + is the most susceptible to the action of fever poisons, and thus induces + the state of the entire population which is most favorable for the rapid + and destructive spread of all contagious fevers, at the same time we are + forced by the facts established by the present war, as well as by a host + of others, both old and new, to admit that we are still ignorant of the + causes necessary for the origin of typhus fever. Added to the imperfect + nature of the rations issued to the Federal prisoners, the difficulties of + their situation were at times greatly increased by the sudden and + desolating Federal raids in Virginia, Georgia, and other States, which + necessitated the sudden transportation from Richmond and other points + threatened of large bodies of prisoners, without the possibility of much + previous preparation; and not only did these men suffer in transition upon + the dilapidated and overburdened line of railroad communication, but after + arriving at Andersonville, the rations were frequently insufficient to + supply the sudden addition of several thousand men. And as the Confederacy + became more and more pressed, and when powerful hostile armies were + plunging through her bosom, the Federal prisoners of Andersonville + suffered incredibly during the hasty removal to Millen, Savannah, + Charleston, and other points, supposed at the time to be secure from the + enemy. Each one of these causes must be weighed when an attempt is made to + estimate the unusual mortality among these prisoners of war. <br /><br /><br /><br /> + <a name="linkp386" id="linkp386"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p386.jpg (40K)" src="images/p386.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + VII. Scurvy, arising from sameness of food and imperfect nutrition, + caused, either directly or indirectly, nine-tenths of the deaths among the + Federal prisoners at Andersonville. + </p> + <p> + Not only were the deaths referred to unknown causes, to apoplexy, to + anasarca, and to debility, traceable to scurvy and its effects; and not + only was the mortality in small-pox, pneumonia, and typhoid fever, and in + all acute diseases, more than doubled by the scorbutic taint, but even + those all but universal and deadly bowel affections arose from the same + causes, and derived their fatal character from the same conditions which + produced the scurvy. In truth, these men at Andersonville were in the + condition of a crew at sea, confined in a foul ship upon salt meat and + unvarying food, and without fresh vegetables. Not only so, but these + unfortunate prisoners were men forcibly confined and crowded upon a ship + tossed about on a stormy ocean, without a rudder, without a compass, + without a guiding-star, and without any apparent boundary or to their + voyage; and they reflected in their steadily increasing miseries the + distressed condition and waning fortunes of devastated and bleeding + country, which was compelled, in justice to her own unfortunate sons, to + hold these men in the most distressing captivity. + </p> + <p> + I saw nothing in the scurvy which prevailed so universally at + Andersonville, at all different from this disease as described by various + standard writers. The mortality was no greater than that which has + afflicted a hundred ships upon long voyages, and it did not exceed the + mortality which has, upon me than one occasion, and in a much shorter + period of time, annihilated large armies and desolated beleaguered cities. + The general results of my investigations upon the chronic diarrhea and + dysentery of the Federal prisoners of Andersonville were similar to those + of the English surgeons during the war against Russia. + </p> + <p> + IX. Drugs exercised but little influence over the progress and fatal + termination of chronic diarrhea and dysentery in the Military Prison and + Hospital at Andersonville, chiefly because the proper form of nourishment + (milk, rice, vegetables, anti-scorbutics, and nourishing animal and + vegetable soups) was not issued, and could not be procured in sufficient + quantities for the sick prisoners. + </p> + <p> + Opium allayed pain and checked the bowels temporarily, but the frail dam + was soon swept away, and the patient appears to be but little better, if + not the worse, for this merely palliative treatment. The root of the + difficulty could not be reached by drugs; nothing short of the wanting + elements of nutrition would have tended in any manner to restore the tone + of the digestive system, and of all the wasted and degenerated organs and + tissues. My opinion to this effect was expressed most decidedly to the + medical officers in charge of these unfortunate men. The correctness of + this view was sustained by the healthy and robust condition of the paroled + prisoners, who received an extra ration, and who were able to make + considerable sums by trading, and who supplied themselves with a liberal + and varied diet. + </p> + <p> + X. The fact that hospital gangrene appeared in the Stockade first, and + originated spontaneously, without any previous contagion, and occurred + sporadically all over the Stockade and Prison Hospital, was proof positive + that this disease will arise whenever the conditions of crowding, filth, + foul air, and bad diet are present. + </p> + <p> + The exhalations from the Hospital and Stockade appeared to exert their + effects to a considerable distance outside of these localities. The origin + of gangrene among these prisoners appeared clearly to depend in great + measure upon the state of the general system, induced by diet, exposure, + neglect of personal cleanliness; and by various external noxious + influences. The rapidity of the appearance and action of the gangrene + depended upon the powers and state of the constitution, as well as upon + the intensity of the poison in the atmosphere, or upon the direct + application of poisonous matter to the wounded surface. This was further + illustrated by the important fact, that hospital gangrene, or a disease + resembling this form of gangrene, attacked the intestinal canal of + patients laboring under ulceration of the bowels, although there were no + local manifestations of gangrene upon the surface of the body. This mode + of termination in cases of dysentery was quite common in the foul + atmosphere of the Confederate States Military Prison Hospital; and in the + depressed, depraved condition of the system of these Federal prisoners, + death ensued very rapidly after the gangrenous state of the intestines was + established. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp389" id="linkp389"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p389.jpg (43K)" src="images/p389.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + XI. A scorbutic condition of the system appeared to favor the origin of + foul ulcers, which frequently took on true hospital gangrene. + </p> + <p> + Scurvy and gangrene frequently existed in the same individual. In such + cases, vegetable diet with vegetable acids would remove the scorbutic + condition without curing the hospital gangrene. . . Scurvy consists not + only in an alteration in the constitution of the blood, which leads to + passive hemorrhages from the bowels, and the effusion into the various + tissues of a deeply-colored fibrinous exudation; but, as we have + conclusively shown by postmortem examination, this state is attended with + consistence of the muscles of the heart, and the mucous membrane of the + alimentary canal, and of solid parts generally. We have, according to the + extent of the deficiency of certain articles of food, every degree of + scorbutic derangement, from the most fearful depravation of the blood and + the perversion of every function subserved by the blood to those slight + derangements which are scarcely distinguishable from a state of health. We + are as yet ignorant of the true nature of the changes of the blood and + tissues in scurvy, and wide field for investigation is open for the + determination the characteristic changes—physical, chemical, and + physiological—of the blood and tissues, and of the secretions and + excretions of scurvy. Such inquiries would be of great value in their + bearing upon the origin of hospital gangrene. Up to the present war, the + results of chemical investigations upon the pathology of the blood in + scurvy were not only contradictory, but meager, and wanting in that + careful detail of the cases from which the blood was abstracted which + would enable us to explain the cause of the apparent discrepancies in + different analyses. Thus it is not yet settled whether the fibrin is + increased or diminished in this disease; and the differences which exist + in the statements of different writers appear to be referable to the + neglect of a critical examination and record of all the symptoms of the + cases from which the blood was abstracted. The true nature of the changes + of the blood in scurvy can be established only by numerous analyses during + different stages of the disease, and followed up by carefully performed + and recorded postmortem examinations. With such data we could settle such + important questions as whether the increase of fibrin in scurvy was + invariably dependent upon some local inflammation. + </p> + <p> + XII. Gangrenous spots, followed by rapid destruction of tissue, appeared + in some cases in which there had been no previous or existing wound or + abrasion; and without such well established facts, it might be assumed + that the disease was propagated from one patient to another in every case, + either by exhalations from the gangrenous surface or by direct contact. + </p> + <p> + In such a filthy and crowded hospital as that of the Confederate, States + Military Prison of Camp Sumter, Andersonville, it was impossible to + isolate the wounded from the sources of actual contact of the gangrenous + matter. The flies swarming over the wounds and over filth of every + description; the filthy, imperfectly washed, and scanty rags; the limited + number of sponges and wash-bowls (the same wash-bowl and sponge serving + for a score or more of patients), were one and all sources of such + constant circulation of the gangrenous matter, that the disease might + rapidly be propagated from a single gangrenous wound. While the fact + already considered, that a form of moist gangrene, resembling hospital + gangrene, was quite common in this foul atmosphere in cases of dysentery, + both with and without the existence of hospital gangrene upon the surface, + demonstrates the dependence of the disease upon the state of the + constitution, and proves in a clear manner that neither the contact of the + poisonous matter of gangrene, nor the direct action of the poisoned + atmosphere upon the ulcerated surface, is necessary to the development of + the disease; on the other hand, it is equally well-established that the + disease may be communicated by the various ways just mentioned. It is + impossible to determine the length of time which rags and clothing + saturated with gangrenous matter will retain the power of reproducing the + disease when applied to healthy wounds. Professor Brugmans, as quoted by + Guthrie in his commentaries on the surgery of the war in Portugal, Spain, + France, and the Netherlands, says that in 1797, in Holland, 'charpie,' + composed of linen threads cut of different lengths, which, on inquiry, it + was found had been already used in the great hospitals in France, and had + been subsequently washed and bleached, caused every ulcer to which it was + applied to be affected by hospital gangrene. Guthrie affirms in the same + work, that the fact that this disease was readily communicated by the + application of instruments, lint, or bandages which had been in contact + with infected parts, was too firmly established by the experience of every + one in Portugal and Spain to be a matter of doubt. There are facts to show + that flies may be the means of communicating malignant pustules. Dr. + Wagner, who has related several cases of malignant pustule produced in man + and beasts, both by contact and by eating the flesh of diseased animals, + which happened in the village of Striessa in Saxony, in 1834, gives two + very remarkable cases which occurred eight days after any beast had been + affected with the disease. Both were women, one of twenty-six and the + other of fifty years, and in them the pustules were well marked, and the + general symptoms similar to the other cases. The latter patient said she + had been bitten by a fly upon the back d the neck, at which part the + carbuncle appeared; and the former, that she had also been bitten upon the + right upper arm by a gnat. Upon inquiry, Wagner found that the skin of one + of the infected beasts had been hung on a neighboring wall, and thought it + very possible that the insects might have been attracted to them by the + smell, and had thence conveyed the poison. <br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + [End of Dr. Stevenson's Statement] <br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + .......................... <br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + The old adage says that "Hunger is the best sauce for poor food," but + hunger failed to render this detestable stuff palatable, and it became so + loathsome that very many actually starved to death because unable to force + their organs of deglutition to receive the nauseous dose and pass it to + the stomach. I was always much healthier than the average of the boys, and + my appetite consequently much better, yet for the last month that I was in + Andersonville, it required all my determination to crowd the bread down my + throat, and, as I have stated before, I could only do this by breaking off + small bits at a time, and forcing each down as I would a pill. + </p> + <p> + A large part of this repulsiveness was due to the coarseness and foulness + of the meal, the wretched cooking, and the lack of salt, but there was a + still more potent reason than all these. Nature does not intend that man + shall live by bread alone, nor by any one kind of food. She indicates this + by the varying tastes and longings that she gives him. If his body needs + one kind of constituents, his tastes lead him to desire the food that is + richest in those constituents. When he has taken as much as his system + requires, the sense of satiety supervenes, and he "becomes tired" of that + particular food. If tastes are not perverted, but allowed a free but + temperate exercise, they are the surest indicators of the way to preserve + health and strength by a judicious selection of alimentation. + </p> + <p> + In this case Nature was protesting by a rebellion of the tastes against + any further use of that species of food. She was saying, as plainly as she + ever spoke, that death could only be averted by a change of diet, which + would supply our bodies with the constituents they so sadly needed, and + which could not be supplied by corn meal. + </p> + <p> + How needless was this confinement of our rations to corn meal, and + especially to such wretchedly prepared meal, is conclusively shown by the + Rebel testimony heretofore given. It would have been very little extra + trouble to the Rebels to have had our meal sifted; we would gladly have + done it ourselves if allowed the utensils and opportunity. It would have + been as little trouble to have varied our rations with green corn and + sweet potatos, of which the country was then full. + </p> + <p> + A few wagon loads of roasting ears and sweet potatos would have banished + every trace of scurvy from the camp, healed up the wasting dysentery, and + saved thousands of lives. Any day that the Rebels had chosen they could + have gotten a thousand volunteers who would have given their solemn parole + not to escape, and gone any distance into the country, to gather the + potatos and corn, and such other vegetables as were readily obtainable, + and bring, them into the camp. + </p> + <p> + Whatever else may be said in defense of the Southern management of + military prisons, the permitting seven thousand men to die of the scurvy + in the Summer time, in the midst of an agricultural region, filled with + all manner of green vegetation, must forever remain impossible of + explanation. <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + <a name="linkch51" id="linkch51"></a>CHAPTER LI. + </h2> + <p> + SOLICITUDE AS TO THE FATE OF ATLANTA AND SHERMAN'S ARMY—PAUCITY OF + NEWS —HOW WE HEARD THAT ATLANTA HAD FALLEN—ANNOUNCEMENT OF A + GENERAL EXCHANGE—WE LEAVE ANDERSONVILLE. + </p> + <p> + We again began to be exceedingly solicitous over the fate of Atlanta and + Sherman's Army: we had heard but little directly from that front for + several weeks. Few prisoners had come in since those captured in the + bloody engagements of the 20th, 22d, and 28th of July. In spite of their + confident tones, and our own sanguine hopes, the outlook admitted of very + grave doubts. The battles of the last week of July had been looked at it + in the best light possible—indecisive. Our men had held their own, + it is true, but an invading army can not afford to simply hold its own. + Anything short of an absolute success is to it disguised defeat. Then we + knew that the cavalry column sent out under Stoneman had been so badly + handled by that inefficient commander that it had failed ridiculously in + its object, being beaten in detail, and suffering the loss of its + commander and a considerable portion of its numbers. This had been + followed by a defeat of our infantry at Etowah Creek, and then came a long + interval in which we received no news save what the Rebel papers + contained, and they pretended no doubt that Sherman's failure was already + demonstrated. Next came well-authenticated news that Sherman had raised + the siege and fallen back to the Chattahoochee, and we felt something of + the bitterness of despair. For days thereafter we heard nothing, though + the hot, close Summer air seemed surcharged with the premonitions of a war + storm about to burst, even as nature heralds in the same way a + concentration of the mighty force of the elements for the grand crash of + the thunderstorm. We waited in tense expectancy for the decision of the + fates whether final victory or defeat should end the long and arduous + campaign. + </p> + <p> + At night the guards in the perches around the Stockade called out every + half hour, so as to show the officers that they were awake and attending + to their duty. The formula for this ran thus: + </p> + <p> + "Post numbah 1; half-past eight o'clock, and a-l-l 's w-e-l-l!" + </p> + <p> + Post No. 2 repeated this cry, and so it went around. + </p> + <p> + One evening when our anxiety as to Atlanta was wrought to the highest + pitch, one of the guards sang out: + </p> + <p> + "Post numbah foah—half past eight o'clock—and Atlanta's—gone—t-o + —hell." <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp395" id="linkp395"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p395.jpg (26K)" src="images/p395.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + The heart of every man within hearing leaped to his mouth. We looked + toward each other, almost speechless with glad surprise, and then gasped + out: + </p> + <p> + "Did 'you hear THAT?" + </p> + <p> + The next instant such a ringing cheer burst out as wells spontaneously + from the throats and hearts of men, in the first ecstatic moments of + victory—a cheer to which our saddened hearts and enfeebled lungs had + long been strangers. It was the genuine, honest, manly Northern cheer, as + different from the shrill Rebel yell as the honest mastiff's deep-voiced + welcome is from the howl of the prowling wolf. + </p> + <p> + The shout was taken up all over the prison. Even those who had not heard + the guard understood that it meant that "Atlanta was ours and fairly won," + and they took up the acclamation with as much enthusiasm as we had begun + it. All thoughts of sleep were put to flight: we would have a season of + rejoicing. Little knots gathered together, debated the news, and indulged + in the most sanguine hopes as to the effect upon the Rebels. In some parts + of the Stockade stump speeches were made. I believe that Boston Corbett + and his party organized a prayer and praise meeting. In our corner we + stirred up our tuneful friend "Nosey," who sang again the grand old + patriotic hymns that set our thin blood to bounding, and made us remember + that we were still Union soldiers, with higher hopes than that of starving + and dying in Andersonville. He sang the ever-glorious Star Spangled + Banner, as he used to sing it around the camp fire in happier days, when + we were in the field. He sang the rousing "Rally Round the Flag," with its + wealth of patriotic fire and martial vigor, and we, with throats hoarse + from shouting; joined in the chorus until the welkin rang again. + </p> + <p> + The Rebels became excited, lest our exaltation of spirits would lead to an + assault upon the Stockade. They got under arms, and remained so until the + enthusiasm became less demonstrative. + </p> + <p> + A few days later—on the evening of the 6th of September—the + Rebel Sergeants who called the roll entered the Stockade, and each + assembling his squads, addressed them as follows: + </p> + <p> + "PRISONERS: I am instructed by General Winder to inform you that a general + exchange has been agreed upon. Twenty thousand men will be exchanged + immediately at Savannah, where your vessels are now waiting for you. + Detachments from One to Ten will prepare to leave early to-morrow + morning." + </p> + <p> + The excitement that this news produced was simply indescribable. I have + seen men in every possible exigency that can confront men, and a large + proportion viewed that which impended over them with at least outward + composure. The boys around me had endured all that we suffered with + stoical firmness. Groans from pain-racked bodies could not be repressed, + and bitter curses and maledictions against the Rebels leaped unbidden to + the lips at the slightest occasion, but there was no murmuring or whining. + There was not a day—hardly an hour—in which one did not see + such exhibitions of manly fortitude as made him proud of belonging to a + race of which every individual was a hero. + </p> + <p> + But the emotion which pain and suffering and danger could not develop, joy + could, and boys sang, and shouted and cried, and danced as if in a + delirium. "God's country," fairer than the sweet promised land of Canaan + appeared to the rapt vision of the Hebrew poet prophet, spread out in glad + vista before the mind's eye of every one. It had come—at last it had + come that which we had so longed for, wished for, prayed for, dreamed of; + schemed, planned, toiled for, and for which went up the last earnest, + dying wish of the thousands of our comrades who would now know no exchange + save into that eternal "God's country" where + </p> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + Sickness and sorrow, pain and death<br /> Are felt and feared no more.<br /> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp397" id="linkp397"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p397.jpg (45K)" src="images/p397.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + Our "preparations," for leaving were few and simple. When the morning + came, and shortly after the order to move, Andrews and I picked our + well-worn blanket, our tattered overcoat, our rude chessmen, and no less + rude board, our little black can, and the spoon made of hoop-iron, and + bade farewell to the hole-in-the-ground that had been our home for nearly + seven long months. + </p> + <p> + My feet were still in miserable condition from the lacerations received in + the attempt to escape, but I took one of our tent poles as a staff and + hobbled away. We re-passed the gates which we had entered on that February + night, ages since, it seemed, and crawled slowly over to the depot. + </p> + <p> + I had come to regard the Rebels around us as such measureless liars that + my first impulse was to believe the reverse of anything they said to us; + and even now, while I hoped for the best, my old habit of mind was so + strongly upon me that I had some doubts of our going to be exchanged, + simply because it was a Rebel who had said so. But in the crowd of Rebels + who stood close to the road upon which we were walking was a young Second + Lieutenant, who said to a Colonel as I passed: + </p> + <p> + "Weil, those fellows can sing 'Homeward Bound,' can't they?" + </p> + <p> + This set my last misgiving at rest. Now I was certain that we were going + to be exchanged, and my spirits soared to the skies. + </p> + <p> + Entering the cars we thumped and pounded toilsomely along, after the + manner of Southern railroads, at the rate of six or eight miles an hour. + Savannah was two hundred and forty miles away, and to our impatient minds + it seemed as if we would never get there. The route lay the whole distance + through the cheerless pine barrens which cover the greater part of + Georgia. The only considerable town on the way was Macon, which had then a + population of five thousand or thereabouts. For scores of miles there + would not be a sign of a human habitation, and in the one hundred and + eighty miles between Macon and Savannah there were only three + insignificant villages. There was a station every ten miles, at which the + only building was an open shed, to shelter from sun and rain a casual + passenger, or a bit of goods. + </p> + <p> + The occasional specimens of the poor white "cracker" population that we + saw, seemed indigenous products of the starved soil. They suited their + poverty-stricken surroundings as well as the gnarled and scrubby + vegetation suited the sterile sand. Thin-chested, round-shouldered, + scraggy-bearded, dull-eyed and open-mouthed, they all looked alike—all + looked as ignorant, as stupid, and as lazy as they were poor and weak. + They were "low-downers" in every respect, and made our rough and simple. + minded East Tennesseans look like models of elegant and cultured gentlemen + in contrast. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp399" id="linkp399"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p399.jpg (58K)" src="images/p399.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + We looked on the poverty-stricken land with good-natured contempt, for we + thought we were leaving it forever, and would soon be in one which, + compared to it, was as the fatness at Egypt to the leanness of the desert + of Sinai. + </p> + <p> + The second day after leaving Andersonville our train struggled across the + swamps into Savannah, and rolled slowly down the live oak shaded streets + into the center of the City. It seemed like another Deserted Village, so + vacant and noiseless the streets, and the buildings everywhere so + overgrown with luxuriant vegetation: The limbs of the shade trees crashed + along and broke, upon the tops of our cars, as if no train had passed that + way for years. Through the interstices between the trees and clumps of + foliage could be seen the gleaming white marble of the monuments erected + to Greene and Pulaski, looking like giant tombstones in a City of the + Dead. The unbroken stillness—so different from what we expected on + entering the metropolis of Georgia, and a City that was an important port + in Revolutionary days—became absolutely oppressive. We could not + understand it, but our thoughts were more intent upon the coming transfer + to our flag than upon any speculation as to the cause of the remarkable + somnolence of Savannah. + </p> + <p> + Finally some little boys straggled out to where our car was standing, and + we opened up a conversation with them: + </p> + <p> + "Say, boys, are our vessels down in the harbor yet?" + </p> + <p> + The reply came in that piercing treble shriek in which a boy of ten or + twelve makes even his most confidential communications: + </p> + <p> + "I don't know." + </p> + <p> + "Well," (with our confidence in exchange somewhat dashed,) "they intend to + exchange us here, don't they?" + </p> + <p> + Another falsetto scream, "I don't know." + </p> + <p> + "Well," (with something of a quaver in the questioner's voice,) "what are + they going to do, with us, any way?" + </p> + <p> + "O," (the treble shriek became almost demoniac) "they are fixing up a + place over by the old jail for you." + </p> + <p> + What a sinking of hearts was there then! Andrews and I would not give up + hope so speedily as some others did, and resolved to believe, for awhile + at least, that we were going to be exchanged. + </p> + <p> + Ordered out of the cars, we were marched along the street. A crowd of + small boys, full of the curiosity of the animal, gathered around us as we + marched. Suddenly a door in a rather nice house opened; an angry-faced + woman appeared on the steps and shouted out: + </p> + <p> + "Boys! BOYS! What are you doin' there! Come up on the steps immejitely! + Come away from them n-a-s-t-y things!" + </p> + <p> + I will admit that we were not prepossessing in appearance; nor were we as + cleanly as young gentlemen should habitually be; in fact, I may as well + confess that I would not now, if I could help it, allow a tramp, as + dilapidated in raiment, as unwashed, unshorn, uncombed, and populous with + insects as we were, to come within several rods of me. Nevertheless, it + was not pleasant to hear so accurate a description of our personal + appearance sent forth on the wings of the wind by a shrill-voiced Rebel + female. + </p> + <p> + A short march brought us to the place "they were fixing for us by the old + jail." It was another pen, with high walls of thick pine plank, which told + us only too plainly how vain were our expectations of exchange. + </p> + <p> + When we were turned inside, and I realized that the gates of another + prison had closed upon me, hope forsook me. I flung our odious little + possessions-our can, chess-board, overcoat, and blanket-upon the ground, + and, sitting down beside them, gave way to the bitterest despair. I wanted + to die, O, so badly. Never in all my life had I desired anything in the + world so much as I did now to get out of it. Had I had pistol, knife, + rope, or poison, I would have ended my prison life then and there, and + departed with the unceremoniousness of a French leave. I remembered that I + could get a quietus from a guard with very little trouble, but I would not + give one of the bitterly hated Rebels the triumph of shooting me. I longed + to be another Samson, with the whole Southern Confederacy gathered in + another Temple of Dagon, that I might pull down the supporting pillars, + and die happy in slaying thousands of my enemies. + </p> + <p> + While I was thus sinking deeper and deeper in the Slough of Despond, the + firing of a musket, and the shriek of the man who was struck, attracted my + attention. Looking towards the opposite end of the pen I saw a guard + bringing his still smoking musket to a "recover arms," and, not fifteen + feet from him, a prisoner lying on the ground in the agonies of death. The + latter had a pipe in his mouth when he was shot, and his teeth still + clenched its stem. His legs and arms were drawn up convulsively, and he + was rocking backward and forward on his back. The charge had struck him + just above the hip-bone. + </p> + <p> + The Rebel officer in command of the guard was sitting on his horse inside + the pen at the time, and rode forward to see what the matter was. + Lieutenant Davis, who had come with us from Andersonville, was also + sitting on a horse inside the prison, and he called out in his usual + harsh, disagreeable voice: + </p> + <p> + "That's all right, Cunnel; the man's done just as I awdahed him to." + </p> + <p> + I found that lying around inside were a number of bits of plank—each + about five feet long, which had been sawed off by the carpenters engaged + in building the prison. The ground being a bare common, was destitute of + all shelter, and the pieces looked as if they would be quite useful in + building a tent. There may have been an order issued forbidding the + prisoners to touch them, but if so, I had not heard it, and I imagine the + first intimation to the prisoner just killed that the boards were not to + be taken was the bullet which penetrated his vitals. Twenty-five cents + would be a liberal appraisement of the value of the lumber for which the + boy lost his life. + </p> + <p> + Half an hour afterward we thought we saw all the guards march out of the + front gate. There was still another pile of these same kind of pieces of + board lying at the further side of the prison. The crowd around me noticed + it, and we all made a rush for it. In spite of my lame feet I outstripped + the rest, and was just in the act of stooping down to pick the boards up + when a loud yell from those behind startled me. Glancing to my left I saw + a guard cocking his gun and bringing it up to shoot me. With one + frightened spring, as quick as a flash, and before he could cover me, I + landed fully a rod back in the crowd, and mixed with it. The fellow tried + hard to draw a bead on me, but I was too quick for him, and he finally + lowered his gun with an oath expressive of disappointment in not being + able to kill a Yankee. + </p> + <p> + Walking back to my place the full ludicrousness of the thing dawned upon + me so forcibly that I forgot all about my excitement and scare, and + laughed aloud. Here, not an hour age I was murmuring because I could find + no way to die; I sighed for death as a bridegroom for the coming of his + bride, an yet, when a Rebel had pointed his gun at me, it had nearly + scared me out of a year's growth, and made me jump farther than I could + possibly do when my feet were well, and I was in good condition otherwise. + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + <a name="linkch52" id="linkch52"></a>CHAPTER LII. + </h2> + <p> + SAVANNAH—DEVICES TO OBTAIN MATERIALS FOR A TENT—THEIR ULTIMATE + SUCCESS —RESUMPTION OF TUNNELING—ESCAPING BY WHOLESALE AND + BEING RECAPTURED EN MASSE—THE OBSTACLES THAT LAY BETWEEN US AND OUR + LINES. + </p> + <p> + Andrews and I did not let the fate of the boy who was killed, nor my own + narrow escape from losing the top of my head, deter us from farther + efforts to secure possession of those coveted boards. My readers remember + the story of the boy who, digging vigorously at a hole, replied to the + remark of a passing traveler that there was probably no ground-hog there, + and, even if there was, "ground-hog was mighty poor eatin', any way," + with: + </p> + <p> + "Mister, there's got to be a ground-hog there; our family's out o' meat!" + </p> + <p> + That was what actuated us: we were out of material for a tent. Our + solitary blanket had rotted and worn full of holes by its long double + duty, as bed-clothes and tent at Andersonville, and there was an + imperative call for a substitute. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp406" + id="linkp406"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p406.jpg (27K)" src="images/p406.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + Andrews and I flattered ourselves that when we matched our collective or + individual wits against those of a Johnny his defeat was pretty certain, + and with this cheerful estimate of our own powers to animate us, we set to + work to steal the boards from under the guard's nose. The Johnny had + malice in his heart and buck-and-ball in his musket, but his eyes were not + sufficiently numerous to adequately discharge all the duties laid upon + him. He had too many different things to watch at the same time. I would + approach a gap in the fence not yet closed as if I intended making a dash + through it for liberty, and when the Johnny had concentrated all his + attention on letting me have the contents of his gun just as soon as he + could have a reasonable excuse for doing so, Andrews would pick u a couple + of boards and slip away with them. Then I would fall back in pretended + (and some real) alarm, and—Andrew would come up and draw his + attention by a similar feint, while I made off with a couple more pieces. + After a few hours c this strategy, we found ourselves the possessors of + some dozen planks, with which we made a lean-to, that formed a tolerable + shelter for our heads and the upper portion of our bodies. As the boards + were not over five feet long, and the slope reduce the sheltered space to + about four-and-one-half feet, it left the lower part of our naked feet and + legs to project out-of-doors. Andrews used to lament very touchingly the + sunburning his toe-nails were receiving. He knew that his complexion was + being ruined for life, and all the Balm of a Thousand Flowers in the world + would not restore his comely ankles to that condition of pristine + loveliness which would admit of their introduction into good society + again. Another defect was that, like the fun in a practical joke, it was + all on one side; there was not enough of it to go clear round. It was very + unpleasant, when a storm came up in a direction different from that we had + calculated upon, to be compelled to get out in the midst of it, and build + our house over to face the other way. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a + name="linkp405" id="linkp405"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p405.jpg (32K)" src="images/p405.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + Still we had a tent, and were that much better off than three-fourths of + our comrades who had no shelter at all. We were owners of a brown stone + front on Fifth Avenue compared to the other fellows. + </p> + <p> + Our tent erected, we began a general survey of our new abiding place. The + ground was a sandy common in the outskirts of Savannah. The sand was + covered with a light sod. The Rebels, who knew nothing of our burrowing + propensities, had neglected to make the plank forming the walls of the + Prison project any distance below the surface of the ground, and had put + up no Dead Line around the inside; so that it looked as if everything was + arranged expressly to invite us to tunnel out. We were not the boys to + neglect such an invitation. By night about three thousand had been + received from Andersonville, and placed inside. When morning came it + looked as if a colony of gigantic rats had been at work. There was a + tunnel every ten or fifteen feet, and at least twelve hundred of us had + gone out through them during the night. I never understood why all in the + pen did not follow our example, and leave the guards watching a forsaken + Prison. There was nothing to prevent it. An hour's industrious work with a + half-canteen would take any one outside, or if a boy was too lazy to dig + his own tunnel, he could have the use of one of the hundred others that + had been dug. + </p> + <p> + But escaping was only begun when the Stockade was passed. The site of + Savannah is virtually an island. On the north is the Savannah River; to + the east, southeast and south, are the two Ogeechee rivers, and a chain of + sounds and lagoons connecting with the Atlantic Ocean. To the west is a + canal connecting the Savannah and Big Ogeechee Rivers. We found ourselves + headed off by water whichever way we went. All the bridges were guarded, + and all the boats destroyed. Early in the morning the Rebels discovered + our absence, and the whole garrison of Savannah was sent out on patrol + after us. They picked up the boys in squads of from ten to thirty, lurking + around the shores of the streams waiting for night to come, to get across, + or engaged in building rafts for transportation. By evening the whole mob + of us were back in the pen again. As nobody was punished for running away, + we treated the whole affair as a lark, and those brought back first stood + around the gate and yelled derisively as the others came in. + </p> + <p> + That night big fires were built all around the Stockade, and a line of + guards placed on the ground inside of these. In spite of this precaution, + quite a number escaped. The next day a Dead Line was put up inside of the + Prison, twenty feet from the Stockade. This only increased the labor of + burrowing, by making us go farther. Instead of being able to tunnel out in + an hour, it now took three or four hours. That night several hundred of + us, rested from our previous performance, and hopeful of better luck, + brought our faithful half canteens—now scoured very bright by + constant use-into requisition again, and before the morning. dawned we had + gained the high reeds of the swamps, where we lay concealed until night. + </p> + <p> + In this way we managed to evade the recapture that came to most of those + who went out, but it was a fearful experience. Having been raised in a + country where venomous snakes abounded, I had that fear and horror of them + that inhabitants of those districts feel, and of which people living in + sections free from such a scourge know little. I fancied that the Southern + swamps were filled with all forms of loathsome and poisonous reptiles, and + it required all my courage to venture into them barefooted. Besides, the + snags and roots hurt our feet fearfully. Our hope was to find a boat + somewhere, in which we could float out to sea, and trust to being picked + up by some of the blockading fleet. But no boat could we find, with all + our painful and diligent search. We learned afterward that the Rebels made + a practice of breaking up all the boats along the shore to prevent negros + and their own deserters from escaping to the blockading fleet. We thought + of making a raft of logs, but had we had the strength to do this, we would + doubtless have thought it too risky, since we dreaded missing the vessels, + and being carried out to sea to perish of hunger. During the night we came + to the railroad bridge across the Ogeechee. We had some slender hope that, + if we could reach this we might perhaps get across the river, and find + better opportunities for escape. But these last expectations were blasted + by the discovery that it was guarded. There was a post and a fire on the + shore next us, and a single guard with a lantern was stationed on one of + the middle spans. Almost famished with hunger, and so weary and footsore + that we could scarcely move another step, we went back to a cleared place + on the high ground, and laid down to sleep, entirely reckless as to what + became of us. Late in the morning we were awakened by the Rebel patrol and + taken back to the prison. Lieutenant Davis, disgusted with the perpetual + attempts to escape, moved the Dead Line out forty feet from the Stockade; + but this restricted our room greatly, since the number of prisoners in the + pen had now risen to about six thousand, and, besides, it offered little + additional protection against tunneling. + </p> + <p> + It was not much more difficult to dig fifty feet than it had been to dig + thirty feet. Davis soon realized this, and put the Dead Line back to + twenty feet. His next device was a much more sensible one. A crowd of one + hundred and fifty negros dug a trench twenty feet wide and five feet deep + around the whole prison on the outside, and this ditch was filled with + water from the City Water Works. No one could cross this without + attracting the attention of the guards. + </p> + <p> + Still we were not discouraged, and Andrews and I joined a crowd that was + constructing a large tunnel from near our quarters on the east side of the + pen. We finished the burrow to within a few inches of the edge of the + ditch, and then ceased operations, to await some stormy night, when we + could hope to get across the ditch unnoticed. + </p> + <p> + Orders were issued to guards to fire without warning on men who were + observed to be digging or carrying out dirt after nightfall. They + occasionally did so, but the risk did not keep anyone from tunneling. Our + tunnel ran directly under a sentry box. When carrying dirt away the bearer + of the bucket had to turn his back on the guard and walk directly down the + street in front of him, two hundred or three hundred feet, to the center + of the camp, where he scattered the sand around—so as to give no + indication of where it came from. Though we always waited till the moon + went down, it seemed as if, unless the guard were a fool, both by nature + and training, he could not help taking notice of what was going on under + his eyes. I do not recall any more nervous promenades in my life, than + those when, taking my turn, I received my bucket of sand at the mouth of + the tunnel, and walked slowly away with it. The most disagreeable part was + in turning my back to the guard. Could I have faced him, I had sufficient + confidence in my quickness of perception, and talents as a dodger, to + imagine that I could make it difficult for him to hit me. But in walling + with my back to him I was wholly at his mercy. Fortune, however, favored + us, and we were allowed to go on with our work—night after night—without + a shot. + </p> + <p> + In the meanwhile another happy thought slowly gestated in Davis's alleged + intellect. How he came to give birth to two ideas with no more than a week + between them, puzzled all who knew him, and still more that he survived + this extraordinary strain upon the gray matter of the cerebrum. His new + idea was to have driven a heavily-laden mule cart around the inside of the + Dead Line at least once a day. The wheels or the mule's feet broke through + the thin sod covering the tunnels and exposed them. Our tunnel went with + the rest, and those of our crowd who wore shoes had humiliation added to + sorrow by being compelled to go in and spade the hole full of dirt. This + put an end to subterranean engineering. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a + name="linkp410" id="linkp410"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p410.jpg (41K)" src="images/p410.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + One day one of the boys watched his opportunity, got under the ration + wagon, and clinging close to the coupling pole with hands and feet, was + carried outside. He was detected, however, as he came from under the + wagon, and brought back. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp411" + id="linkp411"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p411.jpg (49K)" src="images/p411.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + <a name="linkch53" id="linkch53"></a>CHAPTER LIII. + </h2> + <p> + FRANK REVERSTOCK'S ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE—PASSING OFF AS REBEL BOY HE + REACHES GRISWOLDVILLE BY RAIL, AND THEN STRIKES ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOR + SHERMAN, BUT IS CAUGHT WITHIN TWENTY MILES OF OUR LINES. + </p> + <p> + One of the shrewdest and nearest successful attempts to escape that came + under my notice was that of my friend Sergeant Frank Reverstock, of the + Third West Virginia Cavalry, of whom I have before spoken. Frank, who was + quite small, with a smooth boyish face, had converted to his own use a + citizen's coat, belonging to a young boy, a Sutler's assistant, who had + died in Andersonville. He had made himself a pair of bag pantaloons and a + shirt from pieces of meal sacks which he had appropriated from day to day. + He had also the Sutler's assistant's shoes, and, to crown all, he wore on + his head one of those hideous looking hats of quilted calico which the + Rebels had taken to wearing in the lack of felt hats, which they could + neither make nor buy. Altogether Frank looked enough like a Rebel to be + dangerous to trust near a country store or a stable full of horses. When + we first arrived in the prison quite a crowd of the Savannahians rushed in + to inspect us. The guards had some difficulty in keeping them and us + separate. While perplexed with this annoyance, one of them saw Frank + standing in our crowd, and, touching him with his bayonet, said, with some + sharpness: + </p> + <p> + "See heah; you must stand back; you musn't crowd on them prisoners so." + <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp413" id="linkp413"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p413.jpg (33K)" src="images/p413.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + Frank stood back. He did it promptly but calmly, and then, as if his + curiosity as to Yankees was fully satisfied, he walked slowly away up the + street, deliberating as he went on a plan for getting out of the City. He + hit upon an excellent one. Going to the engineer of a freight train making + ready to start back to Macon, he told him that his father was working in + the Confederate machine shops at Griswoldville, near Macon; that he + himself was also one of the machinists employed there, and desired to go + thither but lacked the necessary means to pay his passage. If the engineer + would let him ride up on the engine he would do work enough to pay the + fare. Frank told the story ingeniously, the engineer and firemen were won + over, and gave their consent. + </p> + <p> + No more zealous assistant ever climbed upon a tender than Frank proved to + be. He loaded wood with a nervous industry, that stood him in place of + great strength. He kept the tender in perfect order, and anticipated, as + far as possible, every want of the engineer and his assistant. They were + delighted with him, and treated him with the greatest kindness, dividing + their food with him, and insisting that he should share their bed when + they "laid by" for the night. Frank would have gladly declined this latter + kindness with thanks, as he was conscious that the quantity of "graybacks" + his clothing contained did not make him a very desirable sleeping + companion for any one, but his friends were so pressing that he was + compelled to accede. + </p> + <p> + His greatest trouble was a fear of recognition by some one of the + prisoners that were continually passing by the train load, on their way + from Andersonville to other prisons. He was one of the best known of the + prisoners in Andersonville; bright, active, always cheerful, and forever + in motion during waking hours,—every one in the Prison speedily + became familiar with him, and all addressed him as "Sergeant Frankie." If + any one on the passing trains had caught a glimpse of him, that glimpse + would have been followed almost inevitably with a shout of: + </p> + <p> + "Hello, Sergeant Frankie! What are you doing there?" + </p> + <p> + Then the whole game would have been up. Frank escaped this by persistent + watchfulness, and by busying himself on the opposite side of the engine, + with his back turned to the other trains. + </p> + <p> + At last when nearing Griswoldville, Frank, pointing to a large white house + at some distance across the fields, said: + </p> + <p> + "Now, right over there is where my uncle lives, and I believe I'll just + run over and see him, and then walk into Griswoldville." + </p> + <p> + He thanked his friends fervently for their kindness, promised to call and + see them frequently, bade them good by, and jumped off the train. <br /><br /><br /><br /> + <a name="linkp415" id="linkp415"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p415.jpg (22K)" src="images/p415.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + He walked towards the white house as long as he thought he could be seen, + and then entered a large corn field and concealed himself in a thicket in + the center of it until dark, when he made his way to the neighboring + woods, and began journeying northward as fast as his legs could carry him. + When morning broke he had made good progress, but was terribly tired. It + was not prudent to travel by daylight, so he gathered himself some ears of + corn and some berries, of which he made his breakfast, and finding a + suitable thicket he crawled into it, fell asleep, and did not wake up + until late in the afternoon. + </p> + <p> + After another meal of raw corn and berries he resumed his journey, and + that night made still better progress. + </p> + <p> + He repeated this for several days and nights—lying in the woods in + the day time, traveling by night through woods, fields, and by-paths + avoiding all the fords, bridges and main roads, and living on what he + could glean from the fields, that he might not take even so much risk as + was involved in going to the negro cabins for food. + </p> + <p> + But there are always flaws in every man's armor of caution—even in + so perfect a one as Frank's. His complete success so far had the natural + effect of inducing a growing carelessness, which wrought his ruin. One + evening he started off briskly, after a refreshing rest and sleep. He knew + that he must be very near Sherman's lines, and hope cheered him up with + the belief that his freedom would soon be won. + </p> + <p> + Descending from the hill, in whose dense brushwood he had made his bed all + day, he entered a large field full of standing corn, and made his way + between the rows until he reached, on the other side, the fence that + separated it from the main road, across which was another corn-field, that + Frank intended entering. + </p> + <p> + But he neglected his usual precautions on approaching a road, and instead + of coming up cautiously and carefully reconnoitering in all directions + before he left cover, he sprang boldly over the fence and strode out for + the other side. As he reached the middle of the road, his ears were + assailed with the sharp click of a musket being cocked, and the harsh + command: + </p> + <p> + "Halt! halt, dah, I say!" + </p> + <p> + Turning with a start to his left he saw not ten feet from him, a mounted + patrol, the sound of whose approach had been masked by the deep dust of + the road, into which his horse's hoofs sank noiselessly. + </p> + <p> + Frank, of course, yielded without a word, and when sent to the officer in + command he told the old story about his being an employee of the + Griswoldville shops, off on a leave of absence to make a visit to sick + relatives. But, unfortunately, his captors belonged to that section + themselves, and speedily caught him in a maze of cross-questioning from + which he could not extricate himself. It also became apparent from his + language that he was a Yankee, and it was not far from this to the + conclusion that he was a spy—a conclusion to which the proximity of + Sherman's lines, then less than twenty miles distant-greatly assisted. + </p> + <p> + By the next morning this belief had become so firmly fixed in the minds of + the Rebels that Frank saw a halter dangling alarmingly near, and he + concluded the wisest plan was to confess who he really was. + </p> + <p> + It was not the smallest of his griefs to realize by how slight a chance he + had failed. Had he looked down the road before he climbed the fence, or + had he been ten minutes earlier or later, the patrol would not have been + there, he could have gained the next field unperceived, and two more + nights of successful progress would have taken him into Sherman's lines at + Sand Mountain. The patrol which caught him was on the look-out for + deserters and shirking conscripts, who had become unusually numerous since + the fall of Atlanta. + </p> + <p> + He was sent back to us at Savannah. As he came into the prison gate + Lieutenant Davis was standing near. He looked sternly at Frank and his + Rebel garments, and muttering, + </p> + <p> + "By God, I'll stop this!" caught the coat by the tails, tore it to the + collar, and took it and his hat away from Frank. + </p> + <p> + There was a strange sequel to this episode. A few weeks afterward a + special exchange for ten thousand was made, and Frank succeeded in being + included in this. He was given the usual furlough from the paroled camp at + Annapolis, and went to his home in a little town near Mansfield, O. + </p> + <p> + One day while on the cars going—I think to Newark, O., he saw + Lieutenant Davis on the train, in citizens' clothes. He had been sent by + the Rebel Government to Canada with dispatches relating to some of the + raids then harassing our Northern borders. Davis was the last man in the + world to successfully disguise himself. He had a large, coarse mouth, that + made him remembered by all who had ever seen him. Frank recognized him + instantly and said: + </p> + <p> + "You are Lieutenant Davis?" + </p> + <p> + Davis replied: + </p> + <p> + "You are totally mistaken, sah, I am ——." + </p> + <p> + Frank insisted that he was right. Davis fumed and blustered, but though + Frank was small, he was as game as a bantam rooster, and he gave Davis to + understand that there had been a vast change in their relative positions; + that the one, while still the same insolent swaggerer, had not regiments + of infantry or batteries of artillery to emphasize his insolence, and the + other was no longer embarrassed in the discussion by the immense odds in + favor of his jailor opponent. + </p> + <p> + After a stormy scene Frank called in the assistance of some other soldiers + in the car, arrested Davis, and took him to Camp Chase—near + Columbus, O.,—where he was fully identified by a number of paroled + prisoners. He was searched, and documents showing the nature of his + mission beyond a doubt, were found upon his person. + </p> + <p> + A court martial was immediately convened for his trial. + </p> + <p> + This found him guilty, and sentenced him to be hanged as a spy. + </p> + <p> + At the conclusion of the trial Frank stepped up to the prisoner and said: + </p> + <p> + "Mr. Davis, I believe we're even on that coat, now." + </p> + <p> + Davis was sent to Johnson's Island for execution, but influences were + immediately set at work to secure Executive clemency. What they were I + know not, but I am informed by the Rev. Robert McCune, who was then + Chaplain of the One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Ohio Infantry and the Post + of Johnson's Island and who was the spiritual adviser appointed to prepare + Davis for execution, that the sentence was hardly pronounced before Davis + was visited by an emissary, who told him to dismiss his fears, that he + should not suffer the punishment. + </p> + <p> + It is likely that leading Baltimore Unionists were enlisted in his behalf + through family connections, and as the Border State Unionists were then + potent at Washington, they readily secured a commutation of his sentence + to imprisonment during the war. + </p> + <p> + It seems that the justice of this world is very unevenly dispensed when so + much solicitude is shown for the life of such a man, and none at all for + the much better men whom he assisted to destroy. + </p> + <p> + The official notice of the commutation of the sentence was not published + until the day set for the execution, but the certain knowledge that it + would be forthcoming enabled Davis to display a great deal of bravado on + approaching what was supposed to be his end. As the reader can readily + imagine, from what I have heretofore said of him, Davis was the man to + improve to the utmost every opportunity to strut his little hour, and he + did it in this instance. He posed, attitudinized and vapored, so that the + camp and the country were filled with stories of the wonderful coolness + with which he contemplated his approaching fate. + </p> + <p> + Among other things he said to his guard, as he washed himself elaborately + the night before the day announced for the execution: + </p> + <p> + "Well, you can be sure of one thing; to-morrow night there will certainly + be one clean corpse on this Island." + </p> + <p> + Unfortunately for his braggadocio, he let it leak out in some way that he + had been well aware all the time that he would not be executed. + </p> + <p> + He was taken to Fort Delaware for confinement, and died there some time + after. + </p> + <p> + Frank Beverstock went back to his regiment, and served with it until the + close of the war. He then returned home, and, after awhile became a banker + at Bowling Green, O. He was a fine business man and became very + prosperous. But though naturally healthy and vigorous, his system carried + in it the seeds of death, sown there by the hardships of captivity. He had + been one of the victims of the Rebels' vaccination; the virus injected + into his blood had caused a large part of his right temple to slough off, + and when it healed it left a ghastly cicatrix. + </p> + <p> + Two years ago he was taken suddenly ill, and died before his friends had + any idea that his condition was serious. <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + <a name="linkch54" id="linkch54"></a>CHAPTER LIV. + </h2> + <p> + SAVANNAH PROVES TO BE A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER—ESCAPE FROM THE BRATS + OF GUARDS—COMPARISON BETWEEN WIRZ AND DAVIS—A BRIEF INTERVAL + OF GOOD RATIONS—WINDER, THE MAN WITH THE EVIL EYE —THE + DISLOYAL WORK OF A SHYSTER. + </p> + <p> + After all Savannah was a wonderful improvement on Andersonville. We got + away from the pestilential Swamp and that poisonous ground. Every mouthful + of air was not laden with disease germs, nor every cup of water polluted + with the seeds of death. The earth did not breed gangrene, nor the + atmosphere promote fever. As only the more vigorous had come away, we were + freed from the depressing spectacle of every third man dying. The keen + disappointment prostrated very many who had been of average health, and I + imagine, several hundred died, but there were hospital arrangements of + some kind, and the sick were taken away from among us. Those of us who + tunneled out had an opportunity of stretching our legs, which we had not + had for months in the overcrowded Stockade we had left. The attempts to + escape did all engaged in them good, even though they failed, since they + aroused new ideas and hopes, set the blood into more rapid circulation, + and toned up the mind and system both. I had come away from Andersonville + with considerable scurvy manifesting itself in my gums and feet. Soon + these signs almost wholly disappeared. + </p> + <p> + We also got away from those murderous little brats of Reserves, who + guarded us at Andersonville, and shot men down as they would stone apples + out of a tree. Our guards now were mostly, sailors, from the Rebel fleet + in the harbor—Irishmen, Englishmen and Scandinavians, as free + hearted and kindly as sailors always are. I do not think they ever fired a + shot at one of us. The only trouble we had was with that portion of the + guard drawn from the infantry of the garrison. They had the same + rattlesnake venom of the Home Guard crowd wherever we met it, and shot us + down at the least provocation. Fortunately they only formed a small part + of the sentinels. + </p> + <p> + Best of all, we escaped for a while from the upas-like shadow of Winder + and Wirz, in whose presence strong men sickened and died, as when near + some malign genii of an Eastern story. The peasantry of Italy believed + firmly in the evil eye. Did they ever know any such men as Winder and his + satellite, I could comprehend how much foundation they could have for such + a belief. + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant Davis had many faults, but there was no comparison between him + and the Andersonville commandant. He was a typical young Southern man; + ignorant and bumptious as to the most common matters of school-boy + knowledge, inordinately vain of himself and his family, coarse in tastes + and thoughts, violent in his prejudices, but after all with some streaks + of honor and generosity that made the widest possible difference between + him and Wirz, who never had any. As one of my chums said to me: + </p> + <p> + "Wirz is the most even-tempered man I ever knew; he's always foaming mad." + </p> + <p> + This was nearly the truth. I never saw Wirz when he was not angry; if not + violently abusive, he was cynical and sardonic. Never, in my little + experience with him did I detect a glint of kindly, generous humanity; if + he ever was moved by any sight of suffering its exhibition in his face + escaped my eye. If he ever had even a wish to mitigate the pain or + hardship of any man the expression of such wish never fell on my ear. How + a man could move daily through such misery as he encountered, and never be + moved by it except to scorn and mocking is beyond my limited + understanding. + </p> + <p> + Davis vapored a great deal, swearing big round oaths in the broadest of + Southern patois; he was perpetually threatening to: + </p> + <p> + "Open on ye wid de ahtillery," but the only death that I knew him to + directly cause or sanction was that I have described in the previous + chapter. He would not put himself out of the way to annoy and oppress + prisoners, as Wirz would, but frequently showed even a disposition to + humor them in some little thing, when it could be done without danger or + trouble to himself. + </p> + <p> + By-and-by, however, he got an idea that there was some money to be made + out of the prisoners, and he set his wits to work in this direction. One + day, standing at the gate, he gave one of his peculiar yells that he used + to attract the attention of the camp with: + </p> + <p> + "Wh-ah-ye!!" + </p> + <p> + We all came to "attention," and he announced: + </p> + <p> + "Yesterday, while I wuz in the camps (a Rebel always says camps,) some of + you prisoners picked my pockets of seventy-five dollars in greenbacks. + Now, I give you notice that I'll not send in any moah rations till the + money's returned to me." <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp422" + id="linkp422"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p422.jpg (48K)" src="images/p422.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + This was a very stupid method of extortion, since no one believed that he + had lost the money, and at all events he had no business to have the + greenbacks, as the Rebel laws imposed severe penalties upon any citizen, + and still more upon any soldier dealing with, or having in his possession + any of "the money of the enemy." We did without rations until night, when + they were sent in. There was a story that some of the boys in the prison + had contributed to make up part of the sum, and Davis took it and was + satisfied. I do not know how true the story was. At another time some of + the boys stole the bridle and halter off an old horse that was driven in + with a cart. The things were worth, at a liberal estimate, one dollar. + Davis cut off the rations of the whole six thousand of us for one day for + this. We always imagined that the proceeds went into his pocket. + </p> + <p> + A special exchange was arranged between our Navy Department and that of + the Rebels, by which all seamen and marines among us were exchanged. Lists + of these were sent to the different prisons and the men called for. About + three-fourths of them were dead, but many soldiers divining, the situation + of affairs, answered to the dead men's names, went away with the squad and + were exchanged. Much of this was through the connivance of the Rebel + officers, who favored those who had ingratiated themselves with them. In + many instances money was paid to secure this privilege, and I have been + informed on good authority that Jack Huckleby, of the Eighth Tennessee, + and Ira Beverly, of the One Hundredth Ohio, who kept the big sutler shop + on the North Side at Andersonville, paid Davis five hundred dollars each + to be allowed to go with the sailors. As for Andrews and me, we had no + friends among the Rebels, nor money to bribe with, so we stood no show. + </p> + <p> + The rations issued to us for some time after our arrival seemed riotous + luxury to what we had been getting at Andersonville. Each of us received + daily a half-dozen rude and coarse imitations of our fondly-remembered + hard tack, and with these a small piece of meat or a few spoonfuls of + molasses, and a quart or so of vinegar, and several plugs of tobacco for + each "hundred." How exquisite was the taste of the crackers and molasses! + It was the first wheat bread I had eaten since my entry into Richmond + —nine months before—and molasses had been a stranger to me for + years. After the corn bread we had so long lived upon, this was manna. It + seems that the Commissary at Savannah labored under the delusion that he + must issue to us the same rations as were served out to the Rebel soldiers + and sailors. It was some little time before the fearful mistake came to + the knowledge of Winder. I fancy that the news almost threw him into an + apoplectic fit. Nothing, save his being ordered to the front, could have + caused him such poignant sorrow as the information that so much good food + had been worse than wasted in undoing his work by building up the bodies + of his hated enemies. + </p> + <p> + Without being told, we knew that he had been heard from when the tobacco, + vinegar and molasses failed to come in, and the crackers gave way to corn + meal. Still this was a vast improvement on Andersonville, as the meal was + fine and sweet, and we each had a spoonful of salt issued to us regularly. + </p> + <p> + I am quite sure that I cannot make the reader who has not had an + experience similar to ours comprehend the wonderful importance to us of + that spoonful of salt. Whether or not the appetite for salt be, as some + scientists claim, a purely artificial want, one thing is certain, and that + is, that either the habit of countless generations or some other cause, + has so deeply ingrained it into our common nature, that it has come to be + nearly as essential as food itself, and no amount of deprivation can + accustom us to its absence. Rather, it seemed that the longer we did + without it the more overpowering became our craving. I could get along + to-day and to-morrow, perhaps the whole week, without salt in my food, + since the lack would be supplied from the excess I had already swallowed, + but at the end of that time Nature would begin to demand that I renew the + supply of saline constituent of my tissues, and she would become more + clamorous with every day that I neglected her bidding, and finally summon + Nausea to aid Longing. + </p> + <p> + The light artillery of the garrison of Savannah—four batteries, + twenty-four pieces—was stationed around three sides of the prison, + the guns unlimbered, planted at convenient distance, and trained upon us, + ready for instant use. We could see all the grinning mouths through the + cracks in the fence. There were enough of them to send us as high as the + traditional kite flown by Gilderoy. The having at his beck this array of + frowning metal lent Lieutenant Davis such an importance in his own eyes + that his demeanor swelled to the grandiose. It became very amusing to see + him puff up and vaunt over it, as he did on every possible occasion. For + instance, finding a crowd of several hundred lounging around the gate, he + would throw open the wicket, stalk in with the air of a Jove threatening a + rebellious world with the dread thunders of heaven, and shout: + </p> + <p> + "W-h-a-a y-e-e! Prisoners, I give you jist two minutes to cleah away from + this gate, aw I'll open on ye wid de ahtillery!" + </p> + <p> + One of the buglers of the artillery was a superb musician—evidently + some old "regular" whom the Confederacy had seduced into its service, and + his instrument was so sweet toned that we imagined that it was made of + silver. The calls he played were nearly the same as we used in the + cavalry, and for the first few days we became bitterly homesick every time + he sent ringing out the old familiar signals, that to us were so closely + associated with what now seemed the bright and happy days when we were in + the field with our battalion. If we were only back in the valleys of + Tennessee with what alacrity we would respond to that "assembly;" no + Orderly's patience would be worn out in getting laggards and lazy ones to + "fall in for roll-call;" how eagerly we would attend to "stable duty;" how + gladly mount our faithful horses and ride away to "water," and what + bareback races ride, going and coming. We would be even glad to hear + "guard" and "drill" sounded; and there would be music in the disconsolate + "surgeon's call:" + </p> + <blockquote> + <blockquote> + <p> + "Come-get-your-q-n-i-n-i-n-e; come, get your quinine; It'll make you + sad: It'll make you sick. Come, come." + </p> + </blockquote> + </blockquote> + <p> + O, if we were only back, what admirable soldiers we would be! One morning, + about three or four o'clock, we were awakened by the ground shaking and a + series of heavy, dull thumps sounding oft seaward. Our silver-voiced + bugler seemed to be awakened, too. He set the echoes ringing with a + vigorously played "reveille;" a minute later came an equally earnest + "assembly," and when "boots and saddles" followed, we knew that all was + not well in Denmark; the thumping and shaking now had a significance. It + meant heavy Yankee guns somewhere near. We heard the gunners hitching up; + the bugle signal "forward," the wheels roll off, and for a half hour + afterwards we caught the receding sound of the bugle commanding "right + turn," "left turn," etc., as the batteries marched away. Of course, we + became considerably wrought up over the matter, as we fancied that, + knowing we were in Savannah, our vessels were trying to pass up to the + City and take it. The thumping and shaking continued until late in the + afternoon. + </p> + <p> + We subsequently learned that some of our blockaders, finding time banging + heavy upon their hands, had essayed a little diversion by knocking Forts + Jackson and Bledsoe—two small forts defending the passage of the + Savannah—about their defenders' ears. After capturing the forts our + folks desisted and came no farther. + </p> + <p> + Quite a number of the old Raider crowd had come with us from + Andersonville. Among these was the shyster, Peter Bradley. They kept up + their old tactics of hanging around the gates, and currying favor with the + Rebels in every possible way, in hopes to get paroles outside or other + favors. The great mass of the prisoners were so bitter against the Rebels + as to feel that they would rather die than ask or accept a favor from + their hands, and they had little else than contempt for these trucklers. + The raider crowd's favorite theme of conversation with the Rebels was the + strong discontent of the boys with the manner of their treatment by our + Government. The assertion that there was any such widespread feeling was + utterly false. We all had confidence—as we continue to have to this + day—that our Government would do everything for us possible, + consistent with its honor, and the success of military operations, and + outside of the little squad of which I speak, not an admission could be + extracted from anybody that blame could be attached to any one, except the + Rebels. It was regarded as unmanly and unsoldier-like to the last degree, + as well as senseless, to revile our Government for the crimes committed by + its foes. + </p> + <p> + But the Rebels were led to believe that we were ripe for revolt against + our flag, and to side with them. Imagine, if possible, the stupidity that + would mistake our bitter hatred of those who were our deadly enemies, for + any feeling that would lead us to join hands with those enemies. One day + we were surprised to see the carpenters erect a rude stand in the center + of the camp. When it was finished, Bradley appeared upon it, in company + with some Rebel officers and guards. We gathered around in curiosity, and + Bradley began making a speech. + </p> + <p> + He said that it had now become apparent to all of us that our Government + had abandoned us; that it cared little or nothing for us, since it could + hire as many more quite readily, by offering a bounty equal to the pay + which would be due us now; that it cost only a few hundred dollars to + bring over a shipload of Irish, "Dutch," and French, who were only too + glad to agree to fight or do anything else to get to this country. [The + peculiar impudence of this consisted in Bradley himself being a foreigner, + and one who had only come out under one of the later calls, and the + influence of a big bounty.] + </p> + <p> + Continuing in this strain he repeated and dwelt upon the old lie, always + in the mouths of his crowd, that Secretary Stanton and General Halleck had + positively refused to enter upon negotiations for exchange, because those + in prison were "only a miserable lot of 'coffee-boilers' and 'blackberry + pickers,' whom the Army was better off without." + </p> + <p> + The terms "coffee-boiler," and "blackberry-pickers" were considered the + worst terms of opprobrium we had in prison. They were applied to that + class of stragglers and skulkers, who were only too ready to give + themselves up to the enemy, and who, on coming in, told some gauzy story + about "just having stopped to boil a cup of coffee," or to do something + else which they should not have done, when they were gobbled up. It is not + risking much to affirm the probability of Bradley and most of his crowd + having belonged to this dishonorable class. + </p> + <p> + The assertion that either the great Chief-of-Staff or the still greater + War-Secretary were even capable of applying such epithets to the mass of + prisoners is too preposterous to need refutation, or even denial. No + person outside the raider crowd ever gave the silly lie a moment's + toleration. + </p> + <p> + Bradley concluded his speech in some such language as this: + </p> + <p> + "And now, fellow prisoners, I propose to you this: that we unite in + informing our Government that unless we are exchanged in thirty days, we + will be forced by self-preservation to join the Confederate army." + </p> + <p> + For an instant his hearers seemed stunned at the fellow's audacity, and + then there went up such a roar of denunciation and execration that the air + trembled. The Rebels thought that the whole camp was going to rush on + Bradley and tear him to pieces, and they drew revolvers and leveled + muskets to defend him. The uproar only ceased when Bradley was hurried out + of the prisons but for hours everybody was savage and sullen, and full of + threatenings against him, when opportunity served. We never saw him + afterward. + </p> + <p> + Angry as I was, I could not help being amused at the tempestuous rage of a + tall, fine-looking and well educated Irish Sergeant of an Illinois + regiment. He poured forth denunciations of the traitor and the Rebels, + with the vivid fluency of his Hibernian nature, vowed he'd "give a year of + me life, be J—-s, to have the handling of the dirty spalpeen for ten + minutes; be G-d," and finally in his rage, tore off his own shirt and + threw it on the ground and trampled on it. + </p> + <p> + Imagine my astonishment, some time after getting out of prison, to find + the Southern papers publishing as a defense against the charges in regard + to Andersonville, the following document, which they claimed to have been + adopted by "a mass meeting of the prisoners:" <br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + "At a mass meeting held September 28th, 1864, by the Federal prisoners + confined at Savannah, Ga., it was unanimously agreed that the following + resolutions be sent to the President of the United States, in the hope + that he might thereby take such steps as in his wisdom he may think + necessary for our speedy exchange or parole: + </p> + <p> + "Resolved, That while we would declare our unbounded love for the Union, + for the home of our fathers, and for the graves of those we venerate, we + would beg most respectfully that our situation as prisoners be diligently + inquired into, and every obstacle consistent with the honor and dignity of + the Government at once removed. + </p> + <p> + "Resolved, That while allowing the Confederate authorities all due praise + for the attention paid to prisoners, numbers of our men are daily + consigned to early graves, in the prime of manhood, far from home and + kindred, and this is not caused intentionally by the Confederate + Government, but by force of circumstances; the prisoners are forced to go + without shelter, and, in a great portion of cases, without medicine. + </p> + <p> + "Resolved, That, whereas, ten thousand of our brave comrades have + descended into an untimely grave within the last six months, and as we + believe their death was caused by the difference of climate, the peculiar + kind and insufficiency of food, and lack of proper medical treatment; and, + whereas, those difficulties still remain, we would declare as our firm + belief, that unless we are speedily exchanged, we have no alternative but + to share the lamentable fate of our comrades. Must this thing still go on! + Is there no hope? + </p> + <p> + "Resolved, That, whereas, the cold and inclement season of the year is + fast approaching, we hold it to be our duty as soldiers and citizens of + the United States, to inform our Government that the majority of our + prisoners ate without proper clothing, in some cases being almost naked, + and are without blankets to protect us from the scorching sun by day or + the heavy dews by night, and we would most respectfully request the + Government to make some arrangement whereby we can be supplied with these, + to us, necessary articles. + </p> + <p> + "Resolved, That, whereas, the term of service of many of our comrades + having expired, they, having served truly and faithfully for the term of + their several enlistments, would most respectfully ask their Government, + are they to be forgotten? Are past services to be ignored? Not having seen + their wives and little ones for over three years, they would most + respectfully, but firmly, request the Government to make some arrangements + whereby they can be exchanged or paroled. + </p> + <p> + "Resolved, That, whereas, in the fortune of war, it was our lot to become + prisoners, we have suffered patiently, and are still willing to suffer, if + by so doing we can benefit the country; but we must most respectfully beg + to say, that we are not willing to suffer to further the ends of any party + or clique to the detriment of our honor, our families, and our country, + and we beg that this affair be explained to us, that we may continue to + hold the Government in that respect which is necessary to make a good + citizen and soldier. + </p> + <blockquote> + <blockquote> + <p> + "P. BRADLEY, + </p> + <p> + "Chairman of Committee in behalf of Prisoners." + </p> + </blockquote> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + In regard to the above I will simply say this, that while I cannot pretend + to know or even much that went on around me, I do not think it was + possible for a mass meeting of prisoners to have been held without my + knowing it, and its essential features. Still less was it possible for a + mass meeting to have been held which would have adopted any such a + document as the above, or anything else that a Rebel would have found the + least pleasure in republishing. The whole thing is a brazen falsehood. + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + <a name="linkch55" id="linkch55"></a>CHAPTER LV. + </h2> + <p> + WHY WE WERE HURRIED OUT OF ANDERSONVILLE—THE FALL OF ATLANTA —OUR + LONGING TO HEAR THE NEWS—ARRIVAL OF SOME FRESH FISH—HOW WE + KNEW THEY WERE WESTERN BOYS—DIFFERENCE IN THE APPEARANCE OF THE + SOLDIERS OF THE TWO ARMIES. + </p> + <p> + The reason of our being hurried out of Andersonville under the false + pretext of exchange dawned on us before we had been in Savannah long. If + the reader will consult the map of Georgia he will understand this, too. + Let him remember that several of the railroads which now appear were not + built then. The road upon which Andersonville is situated was about one + hundred and twenty miles long, reaching from Macon to Americus, + Andersonville being about midway between these two. It had no connections + anywhere except at Macon, and it was hundreds of miles across the country + from Andersonville to any other road. When Atlanta fell it brought our + folks to within sixty miles of Macon, and any day they were liable to make + a forward movement, which would capture that place, and have us where we + could be retaken with ease. + </p> + <p> + There was nothing left undone to rouse the apprehensions of the Rebels in + that direction. The humiliating surrender of General Stoneman at Macon in + July, showed them what our, folks were thinking of and awakened their + minds to the disastrous consequences of such a movement when executed by a + bolder and abler commander. Two days of one of Kilpatrick's swift, silent + marches would carry his hard-riding troopers around Hood's right flank, + and into the streets of Macon, where a half hour's work with the torch on + the bridges across the Ocmulgee and the creeks that enter it at that + point, would have cut all of the Confederate Army of the Tennessee's + communications. Another day and night of easy marching would bring his + guidons fluttering through the woods about the Stockade at Andersonville, + and give him a reinforcement of twelve or fifteen thousand able-bodied + soldiers, with whom he could have held the whole Valley of the + Chattahoochie, and become the nether millstone, against which Sherman + could have ground Hood's army to powder. + </p> + <p> + Such a thing was not only possible, but very probable, and doubtless would + have occurred had we remained in Andersonville another week. + </p> + <p> + Hence the haste to get us away, and hence the lie about exchange, for, had + it not been for this, one-quarter at least of those taken on the cars + would have succeeded in getting off and attempted to have reached + Sherman's lines. + </p> + <p> + The removal went on with such rapidity that by the end of September only + eight thousand two hundred and eighteen remained at Andersonville, and + these were mostly too sick to be moved; two thousand seven hundred died in + September, fifteen hundred and sixty in October, and four hundred and + eighty-five in November, so that at the beginning of December there were + only thirteen hundred and fifty-nine remaining. The larger part of those + taken out were sent on to Charleston, and subsequently to Florence and + Salisbury. About six or seven thousand of us, as near as I remember, were + brought to Savannah. <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p> + We were all exceedingly anxious to know how the Atlanta campaign had + ended. So far our information only comprised the facts that a sharp battle + had been fought, and the result was the complete possession of our great + objective point. The manner of accomplishing this glorious end, the + magnitude of the engagement, the regiments, brigades and corps + participating, the loss on both sides, the completeness of the victories, + etc., were all matters that we knew nothing of, and thirsted to learn. + </p> + <p> + The Rebel papers said as little as possible about the capture, and the + facts in that little were so largely diluted with fiction as to convey no + real information. But few new, prisoners were coming in, and none of these + were from Sherman. However, toward the last of September, a handful of + "fresh fish" were turned inside, whom our experienced eyes instantly told + us were Western boys. + </p> + <p> + There was never any difficulty in telling, as far as he could be seen, + whether a boy belonged to the East or the west. First, no one from the + Army of the Potomac was ever without his corps badge worn conspicuously; + it was rare to see such a thing on one of Sherman's men. Then there was a + dressy air about the Army of the Potomac that was wholly wanting in the + soldiers serving west of the Alleghanies. + </p> + <p> + The Army, of the Potomac was always near to its base of supplies, always + had its stores accessible, and the care of the clothing and equipments of + the men was an essential part of its discipline. A ragged or shabbily + dressed man was a rarity. Dress coats, paper collars, fresh woolen shirts, + neat-fitting pantaloons, good comfortable shoes, and trim caps or hats, + with all the blazing brass of company letters an inch long, regimental + number, bugle and eagle, according to the Regulations, were as common to + Eastern boys as they were rare among the Westerners. + </p> + <p> + The latter usually wore blouses, instead of dress coats, and as a rule + their clothing had not been renewed since the opening, of the campaign + —and it showed this. Those who wore good boots or shoes generally + had to submit to forcible exchanges by their captors, and the same was + true of head gear. The Rebels were badly off in regard to hats. They did + not have skill and ingenuity enough to make these out of felt or straw, + and the make-shifts they contrived of quilted calico and long-leaved pine, + were ugly enough to frighten horned cattle. + </p> + <p> + I never blamed them much for wanting to get rid of these, even if they did + have to commit a sort of highway robbery upon defenseless prisoners to do + so. To be a traitor in arms was bad certainly, but one never appreciated + the entire magnitude of the crime until he saw a Rebel wearing a calico or + a pine-leaf hat. Then one felt as if it would be a great mistake to ever + show such a man mercy. + </p> + <p> + The Army of Northern Virginia seemed to have supplied themselves with + head-gear of Yankee manufacture of previous years, and they then quit + taking the hats of their prisoners. Johnston's Army did not have such good + luck, and had to keep plundering to the end of the war. + </p> + <p> + Another thing about the Army of the Potomac was the variety of the + uniforms. There were members of Zouave regiments, wearing baggy breeches + of various hues, gaiters, crimson fezes, and profusely braided jackets. I + have before mentioned the queer garb of the "Lost Ducks." (Les Enfants + Perdu, Forty-eighth New York.) + </p> + <p> + One of the most striking uniforms was that of the "Fourteenth Brooklyn." + They wore scarlet pantaloons, a blue jacket handsomely braided, and a red + fez, with a white cloth wrapped around the head, turban-fashion. As a + large number of them were captured, they formed quite a picturesque + feature of every crowd. They were generally good fellows and gallant + soldiers. + </p> + <p> + Another uniform that attracted much, though not so favorable, attention + was that of the Third New Jersey Cavalry, or First New Jersey Hussars, as + they preferred to call themselves. The designer of the uniform must have + had an interest in a curcuma plantation, or else he was a fanatical + Orangeman. Each uniform would furnish occasion enough for a dozen New York + riots on the 12th of July. Never was such an eruption of the yellows seen + outside of the jaundiced livery of some Eastern potentate. Down each leg + of the pantaloons ran a stripe of yellow braid one and one-half inches + wide. The jacket had enormous gilt buttons, and was embellished with + yellow braid until it was difficult to tell whether it was blue cloth + trimmed with yellow, or yellow adorned with blue. From the shoulders swung + a little, false hussar jacket, lined with the same flaring yellow. The + vizor-less cap was similarly warmed up with the hue of the perfected + sunflower. Their saffron magnificence was like the gorgeous gold of the + lilies of the field, and Solomon in all his glory could not have beau + arrayed like one of them. I hope he was not. I want to retain my respect + for him. We dubbed these daffodil cavaliers "Butterflies," and the name + stuck to them like a poor relation. + </p> + <p> + Still another distinction that was always noticeable between the two + armies was in the bodily bearing of the men. The Army of the Potomac was + drilled more rigidly than the Western men, and had comparatively few long + marches. Its members had something of the stiffness and precision of + English and German soldiery, while the Western boys had the long, "reachy" + stride, and easy swing that made forty miles a day a rather commonplace + march for an infantry regiment. + </p> + <p> + This was why we knew the new prisoners to be Sherman's boys as soon as + they came inside, and we started for them to hear the news. Inviting them + over to our lean-to, we told them our anxiety for the story of the + decisive blow that gave us the Central Gate of the Confederacy, and asked + them to give it to us. <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + <a name="linkch56" id="linkch56"></a>CHAPTER LVI. + </h2> + <p> + WHAT CAUSED THE FALL OF ATLANTA—A DISSERTATION UPON AN IMPORTANT + PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEM—THE BATTLE OF JONESBORO—WHY IT WAS + FOUGHT —HOW SHERMAN DECEIVED HOOD—A DESPERATE BAYONET CHARGE, + AND THE ONLY SUCCESSFUL ONE IN THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN—A GALLANT + COLONEL AND HOW HE DIED—THE HEROISM OF SOME ENLISTED MEN—GOING + CALMLY INTO CERTAIN DEATH. + </p> + <p> + An intelligent, quick-eyed, sunburned boy, without an ounce of surplus + flesh on face or limbs, which had been reduced to gray-hound condition by + the labors and anxieties of the months of battling between Chattanooga and + Atlanta, seemed to be the accepted talker of the crowd, since all the rest + looked at him, as if expecting him to answer for them. He did so: + </p> + <p> + "You want to know about how we got Atlanta at last, do you? Well, if you + don't know, I should think you would want to. If I didn't, I'd want + somebody to tell me all about it just as soon as he could get to me, for + it was one of the neatest little bits of work that 'old Billy' and his + boys ever did, and it got away with Hood so bad that he hardly knew what + hurt him. + </p> + <p> + "Well, first, I'll tell you that we belong to the old Fourteenth Ohio + Volunteers, which, if you know anything about the Army of the Cumberland, + you'll remember has just about as good a record as any that trains around + old Pap Thomas—and he don't 'low no slouches of any kind near him, + either—you can bet $500 to a cent on that, and offer to give back + the cent if you win. Ours is Jim Steedman's old regiment—you've all + heard of old Chickamauga Jim, who slashed his division of 7,000 fresh men + into the Rebel flank on the second day at Chickamauga, in a way that made + Longstreet wish he'd staid on the Rappahannock, and never tried to get up + any little sociable with the Westerners. If I do say it myself, I believe + we've got as good a crowd of square, stand-up, + trust'em-every-minute-in-your-life boys, as ever thawed hard-tack and + sowbelly. We got all the grunters and weak sisters fanned out the first + year, and since then we've been on a business basis, all the time. We're + in a mighty good brigade, too. Most of the regiments have been with us + since we formed the first brigade Pap Thomas ever commanded, and waded + with him through the mud of Kentucky, from Wild Cat to Mill Springs, where + he gave Zollicoffer just a little the awfulest thrashing that a Rebel + General ever got. That, you know, was in January, 1862, and was the first + victory gained by the Western Army, and our people felt so rejoiced over + it that—" + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes; we've read all about that," we broke in, "and we'd like to hear + it again, some other time; but tell us now about Atlanta." + </p> + <p> + "All right. Let's see: where was I? O, yes, talking about our brigade. It + is the Third Brigade, of the Third Division, of the Fourteenth Corps, and + is made up of the Fourteenth Ohio, Thirty-eighth Ohio, Tenth Kentucky, and + Seventy-fourth Indiana. Our old Colonel—George P. Este —commands + it. We never liked him very well in camp, but I tell you he's a whole team + in a fight, and he'd do so well there that all would take to him again, + and he'd be real popular for a while." + </p> + <p> + "Now, isn't that strange," broke in Andrews, who was given to fits of + speculation of psychological phenomena: "None of us yearn to die, but the + surest way to gain the affection of the boys is to show zeal in leading + them into scrapes where the chances of getting shot are the best. Courage + in action, like charity, covers a multitude of sins. I have known it to + make the most unpopular man in the battalion, the most popular inside of + half an hour. Now, M.(addressing himself to me,) you remember Lieutenant + H., of our battalion. You know he was a very fancy young fellow; wore as + snipish' clothes as the tailor could make, had gold lace on his jacket + wherever the regulations would allow it, decorated his shoulders with the + stunningest pair of shoulder knots I ever saw, and so on. Well, he did not + stay with us long after we went to the front. He went back on a detail for + a court martial, and staid a good while. When he rejoined us, he was not + in good odor, at all, and the boys weren't at all careful in saying + unpleasant things when he could hear them, A little while after he came + back we made that reconnaissance up on the Virginia Road. We stirred up + the Johnnies with our skirmish line, and while the firing was going on in + front we sat on our horses in line, waiting for the order to move forward + and engage. You know how solemn such moments are. I looked down the line + and saw Lieutenant H. at the right of Company—, in command of it. I + had not seen him since he came back, and I sung out: + </p> + <p> + "'Hello, Lieutenant, how do you feel?' + </p> + <p> + "The reply came back, promptly, and with boyish cheerfulness: + </p> + <p> + "'Bully, by ——; I'm going to lead seventy men of Company into + action today!' + </p> + <p> + "How his boys did cheer him. When the bugle sounded—'forward, trot,' + his company sailed in as if they meant it, and swept the Johnnies off in + short meter. You never heard anybody say anything against Lieutenant after + that." + </p> + <p> + "You know how it was with Captain G., of our regiment," said one of the + Fourteenth to another. "He was promoted from Orderly Sergeant to a Second + Lieutenant, and assigned to Company D. All the members of Company D went + to headquarters in a body, and protested against his being put in their + company, and he was not. Well, he behaved so well at Chickamauga that the + boys saw that they had done him a great injustice, and all those that + still lived went again to headquarters, and asked to take all back that + they had said, and to have him put into the company." + </p> + <p> + "Well, that was doing the manly thing, sure; but go on about Atlanta." + </p> + <p> + "I was telling about our brigade," resumed the narrator. "Of course, we + think our regiment's the best by long odds in the army—every fellow + thinks that of his regiment—but next to it come the other regiments + of our brigade. There's not a cent of discount on any of them. + </p> + <p> + "Sherman had stretched out his right away to the south and west of + Atlanta. About the middle of August our corps, commanded by Jefferson C. + Davis, was lying in works at Utoy Creek, a couple of miles from Atlanta. + We could see the tall steeples and the high buildings of the City quite + plainly. Things had gone on dull and quiet like for about ten days. This + was longer by a good deal than we had been at rest since we left Resaca in + the Spring. We knew that something was brewing, and that it must come to a + head soon. + </p> + <p> + "I belong to Company C. Our little mess—now reduced to three by the + loss of two of our best soldiers and cooks, Disbrow and Sulier, killed + behind head-logs in front of Atlanta, by sharpshooters—had one + fellow that we called 'Observer,' because he had such a faculty of picking + up news in his prowling around headquarters. He brought us in so much of + this, and it was generally so reliable that we frequently made up his + absence from duty by taking his place. He was never away from a fight, + though. On the night of the 25th of August, 'Observer' came in with the + news that something was in the wind. Sherman was getting awful restless, + and we had found out that this always meant lots of trouble to our friends + on the other side. + </p> + <p> + "Sure enough, orders came to get ready to move, and the next night we all + moved to the right and rear, out of sight of the Johnnies. Our well built + works were left in charge of Garrard's Cavalry, who concealed their horses + in the rear, and came up and took our places. The whole army except the + Twentieth Corps moved quietly off, and did it so nicely that we were gone + some time before the enemy suspected it. Then the Twentieth Corps pulled + out towards the North, and fell back to the Chattahoochie, making quite a + shove of retreat. The Rebels snapped up the bait greedily. They thought + the siege was being raised, and they poured over their works to hurry the + Twentieth boys off. The Twentieth fellows let them know that there was + lots of sting in them yet, and the Johnnies were not long in discovering + that it would have been money in their pockets if they had let that + 'moon-and-star' (that's the Twentieth's badge, you know) crowd alone. + </p> + <p> + "But the Rebs thought the rest of us were gone for good and that Atlanta + was saved. Naturally they felt mighty happy over it; and resolved to have + a big celebration—a ball, a meeting of jubilee, etc. Extra trains + were run in, with girls and women from the surrounding country, and they + just had a high old time. + </p> + <p> + "In the meantime we were going through so many different kinds of tactics + that it looked as if Sherman was really crazy this time, sure. Finally we + made a grand left wheel, and then went forward a long way in line of + battle. It puzzled us a good deal, but we knew that Sherman couldn't get + us into any scrape that Pap Thomas couldn't get us out of, and so it was + all right. + </p> + <p> + "Along on the evening of the 31st our right wing seemed to have run + against a hornet's nest, and we could hear the musketry and cannon speak + out real spiteful, but nothing came down our way. We had struck the + railroad leading south from Atlanta to Macon, and began tearing it up. The + jollity at Atlanta was stopped right in the middle by the appalling news + that the Yankees hadn't retreated worth a cent, but had broken out in a + new and much worse spot than ever. Then there was no end of trouble all + around, and Hood started part of his army back after us. + </p> + <p> + "Part of Hardee's and Pat Cleburne's command went into position in front + of us. We left them alone till Stanley could come up on our left, and + swing around, so as to cut off their retreat, when we would bag every one + of them. But Stanley was as slow as he always was, and did not come up + until it was too late, and the game was gone. + </p> + <p> + "The sun was just going down on the evening of the 1st of September, when + we began to see we were in for it, sure. The Fourteenth Corps wheeled into + position near the railroad, and the sound of musketry and artillery became + very loud and clear on our front and left. We turned a little and marched + straight toward the racket, becoming more excited every minute. We saw the + Carlin's brigade of regulars, who were some distance ahead of us, pile + knapsacks, form in line, fix bayonets, and dash off with arousing cheer. + </p> + <p> + "The Rebel fire beat upon them like a Summer rain-storm, the ground shook + with the noise, and just as we reached the edge of the cotton field, we + saw the remnant of the brigade come flying back out of the awful, blasting + shower of bullets. The whole slope was covered with dead and wounded." + </p> + <p> + "Yes," interrupts one of the Fourteenth; "and they made that charge right + gamely, too, I can tell you. They were good soldiers, and well led. When + we went over the works, I remember seeing the body of a little Major of + one of the regiments lying right on the top. If he hadn't been killed he'd + been inside in a half-a-dozen steps more. There's no mistake about it; + those regulars will fight." + </p> + <p> + "When we saw this," resumed the narrator, "it set our fellows fairly wild; + they became just crying mad; I never saw them so before. The order came to + strip for the charge, and our knapsacks were piled in half a minute. A + Lieutenant of our company, who was then on the staff of Gen. Baird, our + division commander, rode slowly down the line and gave us our instructions + to load our guns, fix bayonets, and hold fire until we were on top of the + Rebel works. Then Colonel Este sang out clear and steady as a bugle + signal: + </p> + <p> + "'Brigade, forward! Guide center! MARCH!!' + </p> + <p> + "And we started. Heavens, how they did let into us, as we came up into + range. They had ten pieces of artillery, and more men behind the + breastworks than we had in line, and the fire they poured on us was simply + withering. We walked across the hundreds of dead and dying of the regular + brigade, and at every step our own men fell down among them. General + Baud's horse was shot down, and the General thrown far over his head, but + he jumped up and ran alongside of us. Major Wilson, our regimental + commander, fell mortally wounded; Lieutenant Kirk was killed, and also + Captain Stopfard, Adjutant General of the brigade. Lieutenants Cobb and + Mitchell dropped with wounds that proved fatal in a few days. Captain Ugan + lost an arm, one-third of the enlisted men fell, but we went straight + ahead, the grape and the musketry becoming worse every step, until we + gained the edge of the hill, where we were checked a minute by the brush, + which the Rebels had fixed up in the shape of abattis. Just then a + terrible fire from a new direction, our left, swept down the whole length + of our line. The Colonel of the Seventeenth New York—as gallant a + man as ever lived saw the new trouble, took his regiment in on the run, + and relieved us of this, but he was himself mortally wounded. If our boys + were half-crazy before, they were frantic now, and as we got out of the + entanglement of the brush, we raised a fearful yell and ran at the works. + We climbed the sides, fired right down into the defenders, and then began + with the bayonet and sword. For a few minutes it was simply awful. On both + sides men acted like infuriated devils. They dashed each other's brains + out with clubbed muskets; bayonets were driven into men's bodies up to the + muzzle of the gun; officers ran their swords through their opponents, and + revolvers, after being emptied into the faces of the Rebels, were thrown + with desperate force into the ranks. In our regiment was a stout German + butcher named Frank Fleck. He became so excited that he threw down his + sword, and rushed among the Rebels with his bare fists, knocking down a + swath of them. He yelled to the first Rebel he met: + </p> + <p> + "Py Gott, I've no patience mit you,' and knocked him sprawling. He caught + hold of the commander of the Rebel Brigade, and snatched him back over the + works by main strength. Wonderful to say, he escaped unhurt, but the boys + will probably not soon let him hear the last of, + </p> + <p> + "Py Gott, I've no patience mit you.' + </p> + <p> + "The Tenth Kentucky, by the queerest luck in the world, was matched + against the Rebel Ninth Kentucky. The commanders of the two regiments were + brothers-in-law, and the men relatives, friends, acquaintances and + schoolmates. They hated each other accordingly, and the fight between them + was more bitter, if possible, than anywhere else on the line. The + Thirty-Eighth Ohio and Seventy-fourth Indiana put in some work that was + just magnificent. We hadn't time to look at it then, but the dead and + wounded piled up after the fight told the story. + </p> + <p> + "We gradually forced our way over the works, but the Rebels were game to + the last, and we had to make them surrender almost one at a time. The + artillerymen tried to fire on us when we were so close we could lay our + hands on the guns. + </p> + <p> + "Finally nearly all in the works surrendered, and were disarmed and + marched back. Just then an aid came dashing up with the information that + we must turn the works, and get ready to receive Hardee, who was advancing + to retake the position. We snatched up some shovels lying near, and began + work. We had no time to remove the dead and dying Rebels on the works, and + the dirt we threw covered them up. It proved a false alarm. Hardee had as + much as he could do to save his own hide, and the affair ended about dark. + </p> + <p> + "When we came to count up what we had gained, we found that we had + actually taken more prisoners from behind breastworks than there were in + our brigade when we started the charge. We had made the only really + successful bayonet charge of the campaign. Every other time since we left + Chattanooga the party standing on the defensive had been successful. Here + we had taken strong double lines, with ten guns, seven battle flags, and + over two thousand prisoners. We had lost terribly—not less than + one-third of the brigade, and many of our best men. Our regiment went into + the battle with fifteen officers; nine of these were killed or wounded, + and seven of the nine lost either their limbs or lives. The Thirty-Eighth + Ohio, and the other regiments of the brigade lost equally heavy. We + thought Chickamauga awful, but Jonesboro discounted it." + </p> + <p> + "Do you know," said another of the Fourteenth, "I heard our Surgeon + telling about how that Colonel Grower, of the Seventeenth New York, who + came in so splendidly on our left, died? They say he was a Wall Street + broker, before the war. He was hit shortly after he led his regiment in, + and after the fight, was carried back to the hospital. While our Surgeon + was going the rounds Colonel Grower called him, and said quietly, 'When + you get through with the men, come and see me, please.' + </p> + <p> + "The Doctor would have attended to him then, but Grower wouldn't let him. + After he got through he went back to Grower, examined his wound, and told + him that he could only live a few hours. Grower received the news + tranquilly, had the Doctor write a letter to his wife, and gave him his + things to send her, and then grasping the Doctor's hand, he said: + </p> + <p> + "Doctor, I've just one more favor to ask; will you grant it?' + </p> + <p> + "The Doctor said, 'Certainly; what is it?' + </p> + <p> + "You say I can't live but a few hours?' + </p> + <p> + "Yes; that is true.' "And that I will likely be in great pain!' + </p> + <p> + "I am sorry to say so.' + </p> + <p> + "Well, then, do give me morphia enough to put me to sleep, so that I will + wake up only in another world.' + </p> + <p> + "The Doctor did so; Colonel Grower thanked him; wrung his hand, bade him + good-by, and went to sleep to wake no more." + </p> + <p> + "Do you believe in presentiments and superstitions?" said another of the + Fourteenth. There was Fisher Pray, Orderly Sergeant of Company I. He came + from Waterville, O., where his folks are now living. The day before we + started out he had a presentiment that we were going into a fight, and + that he would be killed. He couldn't shake it off. He told the Lieutenant, + and some of the boys about it, and they tried to ridicule him out of it, + but it was no good. When the sharp firing broke out in front some of the + boys said, 'Fisher, I do believe you are right,' and he nodded his head + mournfully. When we were piling knapsacks for the charge, the Lieutenant, + who was a great friend of Fisher's, said: + </p> + <p> + "Fisher, you stay here and guard the knapsacks.' + </p> + <p> + "Fisher's face blazed in an instant. + </p> + <p> + "No, sir,' said he; I never shirked a fight yet, and I won't begin now.' + </p> + <p> + "So he went into the fight, and was killed, as he knew he would be. Now, + that's what I call nerve." + </p> + <p> + "The same thing was true of Sergeant Arthur Tarbox, of Company A," said + the narrator; "he had a presentiment, too; he knew he was going to be + killed, if he went in, and he was offered an honorable chance to stay out, + but he would not take it, and went in and was killed." + </p> + <p> + "Well, we staid there the next day, buried our dead, took care of our + wounded, and gathered up the plunder we had taken from the Johnnies. The + rest of the army went off, 'hot blocks,' after Hardee and the rest of + Hood's army, which it was hoped would be caught outside of entrenchments. + But Hood had too much the start, and got into the works at Lovejoy, ahead + of our fellows. The night before we heard several very loud explosions up + to the north. We guessed what that meant, and so did the Twentieth Corps, + who were lying back at the Chattahoochee, and the next morning the General + commanding—Slocum—sent out a reconnaissance. It was met by the + Mayor of Atlanta, who said that the Rebels had blown up their stores and + retreated. The Twentieth Corps then came in and took 'possession of the + City, and the next day—the 3d—Sherman came in, and issued an + order declaring the campaign at an end, and that we would rest awhile and + refit. + </p> + <p> + "We laid around Atlanta a good while, and things quieted down so that it + seemed almost like peace, after the four months of continual fighting we + had gone through. We had been under a strain so long that now we boys went + in the other direction, and became too careless, and that's how we got + picked up. We went out about five miles one night after a lot of nice + smoked hams that a nigger told us were stored in an old cotton press, and + which we knew would be enough sight better eating for Company C, than the + commissary pork we had lived on so long. We found the cotton press, and + the hams, just as the nigger told us, and we hitched up a team to take + them into camp. As we hadn't seen any Johnny signs anywhere, we set our + guns down to help load the meat, and just as we all came stringing out to + the wagon with as much meat as we could carry, a company of Ferguson's + Cavalry popped out of the woods about one hundred yards in front of us and + were on top of us before we could say I scat. You see they'd heard of the + meat, too." <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp445" id="linkp445"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p445.jpg (10K)" src="images/p445.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + <a name="linkch57" id="linkch57"></a>CHAPTER LVII. + </h2> + <p> + A FAIR SACRIFICE—THE STORY OF ONE BOY WHO WILLINGLY GAVE HIS YOUNG + LIFE FOR HIS COUNTRY. + </p> + <p> + Charley Barbour was one of the truest-hearted and best-liked of my + school-boy chums and friends. For several terms we sat together on the + same uncompromisingly uncomfortable bench, worried over the same + boy-maddening problems in "Ray's Arithmetic-Part III.," learned the same + jargon of meaningless rules from "Greene's Grammar," pondered over + "Mitchell's Geography and Atlas," and tried in vain to understand why + Providence made the surface of one State obtrusively pink and another + ultramarine blue; trod slowly and painfully over the rugged road "Bullion" + points out for beginners in Latin, and began to believe we should hate + ourselves and everybody else, if we were gotten up after the manner shown + by "Cutter's Physiology." We were caught together in the same long series + of school-boy scrapes—and were usually ferruled together by the same + strong-armed teacher. We shared nearly everything —our fun and work; + enjoyment and annoyance—all were generally meted out to us together. + We read from the same books the story of the wonderful world we were going + to see in that bright future "when we were men;" we spent our Saturdays + and vacations in the miniature explorations of the rocky hills and caves, + and dark cedar woods around our homes, to gather ocular helps to a better + comprehension of that magical land which we were convinced began just + beyond our horizon, and had in it, visible to the eye of him who traveled + through its enchanted breadth, all that "Gulliver's Fables," the "Arabian + Nights," and a hundred books of travel and adventure told of. + </p> + <p> + We imagined that the only dull and commonplace spot on earth was that + where we lived. Everywhere else life was a grand spectacular drama, full + of thrilling effects. + </p> + <p> + Brave and handsome young men were rescuing distressed damsels, beautiful + as they were wealthy; bloody pirates and swarthy murderers were being + foiled by quaint spoken backwoodsmen, who carried unerring rifles; gallant + but blundering Irishmen, speaking the most delightful brogue, and making + the funniest mistakes, were daily thwarting cool and determined villains; + bold tars were encountering fearful sea perils; lionhearted adventurers + were cowing and quelling whole tribes of barbarians; magicians were + casting spells, misers hoarding gold, scientists making astonishing + discoveries, poor and unknown boys achieving wealth and fame at a single + bound, hidden mysteries coming to light, and so the world was going on, + making reams of history with each diurnal revolution, and furnishing + boundless material for the most delightful books. + </p> + <p> + At the age of thirteen a perusal of the lives of Benjamin Franklin and + Horace Greeley precipitated my determination to no longer hesitate in + launching my small bark upon the great ocean. I ran away from home in a + truly romantic way, and placed my foot on what I expected to be the first + round of the ladder of fame, by becoming "devil boy" in a printing office + in a distant large City. Charley's attachment to his mother and his home + was too strong to permit him to take this step, and we parted in sorrow, + mitigated on my side by roseate dreams of the future. + </p> + <p> + Six years passed. One hot August morning I met an old acquaintance at the + Creek, in Andersonville. He told me to come there the next morning, after + roll-call, and he would take me to see some person who was very anxious to + meet me. I was prompt at the rendezvous, and was soon joined by the other + party. He threaded his way slowly for over half an hour through the + closely-jumbled mass of tents and burrows, and at length stopped in front + of a blanket-tent in the northwestern corner. The occupant rose and took + my hand. For an instant I was puzzled; then the clear, blue eyes, and + well-remembered smile recalled to me my old-time comrade, Charley Barbour. + His story was soon told. He was a Sergeant in a Western Virginia cavalry + regiment—the Fourth, I think. At the time Hunter was making his + retreat from the Valley of Virginia, it was decided to mislead the enemy + by sending out a courier with false dispatches to be captured. There was a + call for a volunteer for this service. Charley was the first to offer, + with that spirit of generous self-sacrifice that was one of his + pleasantest traits when a boy. He knew what he had to expect. Capture + meant imprisonment at Andersonville; our men had now a pretty clear + understanding of what this was. Charley took the dispatches and rode into + the enemy's lines. He was taken, and the false information produced the + desired effect. On his way to Andersonville he was stripped of all his + clothing but his shirt and pantaloons, and turned into the Stockade in + this condition. When I saw him he had been in a week or more. He told his + story quietly—almost diffidently—not seeming aware that he had + done more than his simple duty. I left him with the promise and + expectation of returning the next day, but when I attempted to find him + again, I was lost in the maze of tents and burrows. I had forgotten to ask + the number of his detachment, and after spending several days in hunting + for him, I was forced to give the search up. He knew as little of my + whereabouts, and though we were all the time within seventeen hundred feet + of each other, neither we nor our common acquaintance could ever manage to + meet again. This will give the reader an idea of the throng compressed + within the narrow limits of the Stockade. After leaving Andersonville, + however, I met this man once more, and learned from him that Charley had + sickened and died within a month after his entrance to prison. + </p> + <p> + So ended his day-dream of a career in the busy world. <br /><br /><br /><br /> + <a name="linkp448" id="linkp448"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p448.jpg (22K)" src="images/p448.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + <a name="linkch58" id="linkch58"></a>CHAPTER LVIII. + </h2> + <p> + WE LEAVE SAVANNAH—MORE HOPES OF EXCHANGE—SCENES AT DEPARTURE + —"FLANKERS"—ON THE BACK TRACK TOWARD ANDERSONVILLE—ALARM + THEREAT —AT THE PARTING OF TWO WAYS—WE FINALLY BRING UP AT + CAMP LAWTON. + </p> + <p> + On the evening of the 11th of October there came an order for one thousand + prisoners to fall in and march out, for transfer to some other point. + </p> + <p> + Of course, Andrews and I "flanked" into this crowd. That was our usual way + of doing. Holding that the chances were strongly in favor of every + movement of prisoners being to our lines, we never failed to be numbered + in the first squad of prisoners that were sent out. The seductive mirage + of "exchange" was always luring us on. It must come some time, certainly, + and it would be most likely to come to those who were most earnestly + searching for it. At all events, we should leave no means untried to avail + ourselves of whatever seeming chances there might be. There could be no + other motive for this move, we argued, than exchange. The Confederacy was + not likely to be at the trouble and expense of hauling us about the + country without some good reason—something better than a wish to + make us acquainted with Southern scenery and topography. It would hardly + take us away from Savannah so soon after bringing us there for any other + purpose than delivery to our people. + </p> + <p> + The Rebels encouraged this belief with direct assertions of its truth. + They framed a plausible lie about there having arisen some difficulty + concerning the admission of our vessels past the harbor defenses of + Savannah, which made it necessary to take us elsewhere—probably to + Charleston—for delivery to our men. + </p> + <p> + Wishes are always the most powerful allies of belief. There is little + difficulty in convincing a man of that of which he wants to be convinced. + We forgot the lie told us when we were taken from Andersonville, and + believed the one which was told us now. + </p> + <p> + Andrews and I hastily snatched our worldly possessions—our overcoat, + blanket, can, spoon, chessboard and men, yelled to some of our neighbors + that they could have our hitherto much-treasured house, and running down + to the gate, forced ourselves well up to the front of the crowd that was + being assembled to go out. + </p> + <p> + The usual scenes accompanying the departure of first squads were being + acted tumultuously. Every one in the camp wanted to be one of the + supposed-to-be-favored few, and if not selected at first, tried to "flank + in"—that is, slip into the place of some one else who had had better + luck. This one naturally resisted displacement, 'vi et armis,' and the + fights would become so general as to cause a resemblance to the famed Fair + of Donnybrook. The cry would go up: + </p> + <p> + "Look out for flankers!" + </p> + <p> + The lines of the selected would dress up compactly, and outsiders trying + to force themselves in would get mercilessly pounded. + </p> + <p> + We finally got out of the pen, and into the cars, which soon rolled away + to the westward. We were packed in too densely to be able to lie down. We + could hardly sit down. Andrews and I took up our position in one corner, + piled our little treasures under us, and trying to lean against each other + in such a way as to afford mutual support and rest, dozed fitfully through + a long, weary night. + </p> + <p> + When morning came we found ourselves running northwest through a poor, + pine-barren country that strongly resembled that we had traversed in + coming to Savannah. The more we looked at it the more familiar it became, + and soon there was no doubt we were going back to Andersonville. + </p> + <p> + By noon we had reached Millen—eighty miles from Savannah, and + fifty-three from Augusta. It was the junction of the road leading to Macon + and that running to Augusta. We halted a little while at the "Y," and to + us the minutes were full of anxiety. If we turned off to the left we were + going back to Andersonville. If we took the right hand road we were on the + way to Charleston or Richmond, with the chances in favor of exchange. + </p> + <p> + At length we started, and, to our joy, our engine took the right hand + track. We stopped again, after a run of five miles, in the midst of one of + the open, scattering forests of long leaved pine that I have before + described. We were ordered out of the cars, and marching a few rods, came + in sight of another of those hateful Stockades, which seemed to be as + natural products of the Sterile sand of that dreary land as its desolate + woods and its breed of boy murderers and gray-headed assassins. + </p> + <p> + Again our hearts sank, and death seemed more welcome than incarceration in + those gloomy wooden walls. We marched despondently up to the gates of the + Prison, and halted while a party of Rebel clerks made a list of our names, + rank, companies, and regiments. As they were Rebels it was slow work. + Reading and writing never came by nature, as Dogberry would say, to any + man fighting for Secession. As a rule, he took to them as reluctantly as + if, he thought them cunning inventions of the Northern Abolitionist to + perplex and demoralize him. What a half-dozen boys taken out of our own + ranks would have done with ease in an hour or so, these Rebels worried + over all of the afternoon, and then their register of us was so imperfect, + badly written and misspelled, that the Yankee clerks afterwards detailed + for the purpose, never could succeed in reducing it to intelligibility. + </p> + <p> + We learned that the place at which we had arrived was Camp Lawton, but we + almost always spoke of it as "Millen," the same as Camp Sumter is + universally known as Andersonville. + </p> + <p> + Shortly after dark we were turned inside the Stockade. Being the first + that had entered, there was quite a quantity of wood—the offal from + the timber used in constructing the Stockade—lying on the ground. + The night was chilly one we soon had a number of fires blazing. Green + pitch pine, when burned, gives off a peculiar, pungent odor, which is + never forgotten by one who has once smelled it. I first became acquainted + with it on entering Andersonville, and to this day it is the most powerful + remembrance I can have of the opening of that dreadful Iliad of woes. On + my journey to Washington of late years the locomotives are invariably fed + with pitch pine as we near the Capital, and as the well-remembered smell + reaches me, I grow sick at heart with the flood of saddening recollections + indissolubly associated with it. + </p> + <p> + As our fires blazed up the clinging, penetrating fumes diffused themselves + everywhere. The night was as cool as the one when we arrived at + Andersonville, the earth, meagerly sodded with sparse, hard, wiry grass, + was the same; the same piney breezes blew in from the surrounding trees, + the same dismal owls hooted at us; the same mournful whip-poor-will + lamented, God knows what, in the gathering twilight. What we both felt in + the gloomy recesses of downcast hearts Andrews expressed as he turned to + me with: + </p> + <p> + "My God, Mc, this looks like Andersonville all over again." + </p> + <p> + A cupful of corn meal was issued to each of us. I hunted up some water. + Andrews made a stiff dough, and spread it about half an inch thick on the + back of our chessboard. He propped this up before the fire, and when the + surface was neatly browned over, slipped it off the board and turned it + over to brown the other side similarly. This done, we divided it carefully + between us, swallowed it in silence, spread our old overcoat on the + ground, tucked chess-board, can, and spoon under far enough to be out of + the reach of thieves, adjusted the thin blanket so as to get the most + possible warmth out of it, crawled in close together, and went to sleep. + This, thank Heaven, we could do; we could still sleep, and Nature had some + opportunity to repair the waste of the day. We slept, and forgot where we + were. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp454" id="linkp454"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p454.jpg (51K)" src="images/p454.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + <a name="linkch59" id="linkch59"></a>CHAPTER LIX. + </h2> + <p> + OUR NEW QUARTERS AT CAMP LAWTON—BUILDING A HUT—AN EXCEPTIONAL + COMMANDANT—HE IS a GOOD MAN, BUT WILL TAKE BRIBES—RATIONS. + </p> + <p> + In the morning we took a survey of our new quarters, and found that we + were in a Stockade resembling very much in construction and dimensions + that at Andersonville. The principal difference was that the upright logs + were in their rough state, whereas they were hewed at Andersonville, and + the brook running through the camp was not bordered by a swamp, but had + clean, firm banks. + </p> + <p> + Our next move was to make the best of the situation. We were divided into + hundreds, each commanded by a Sergeant. Ten hundreds constituted a + division, the head of which was also a Sergeant. I was elected by my + comrades to the Sergeantcy of the Second Hundred of the First Division. As + soon as we were assigned to our ground, we began constructing shelter. For + the first and only time in my prison experience, we found a full supply of + material for this purpose, and the use we made of it showed how infinitely + better we would have fared if in each prison the Rebels had done even so + slight a thing as to bring in a few logs from the surrounding woods and + distribute them to us. A hundred or so of these would probably have saved + thousands of lives at Andersonville and Florence. + </p> + <p> + A large tree lay on the ground assigned to our hundred. Andrews and I took + possession of one side of the ten feet nearest the butt. Other boys + occupied the rest in a similar manner. One of our boys had succeeded in + smuggling an ax in with him, and we kept it in constant use day and night, + each group borrowing it for an hour or so at a time. It was as dull as a + hoe, and we were very weak, so that it was slow work "niggering off"—(as + the boys termed it) a cut of the log. It seemed as if beavers could have + gnawed it off easier and more quickly. We only cut an inch or so at a + time, and then passed the ax to the next users. Making little wedges with + a dull knife, we drove them into the log with clubs, and split off long, + thin strips, like the weatherboards of a house, and by the time we had + split off our share of the log in this slow and laborious way, we had a + fine lot of these strips. We were lucky enough to find four forked sticks, + of which we made the corners of our dwelling, and roofed it carefully with + our strips, held in place by sods torn up from the edge of the creek bank. + The sides and ends were enclosed; we gathered enough pine tops to cover + the ground to a depth of several inches; we banked up the outside, and + ditched around it, and then had the most comfortable abode we had during + our prison career. It was truly a house builded with our own hands, for we + had no tools whatever save the occasional use of the aforementioned dull + axe and equally dull knife. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp457" + id="linkp457"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p457.jpg (60K)" src="images/p457.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + The rude little hut represented as much actual hard, manual labor as would + be required to build a comfortable little cottage in the North, but we + gladly performed it, as we would have done any other work to better our + condition. + </p> + <p> + For a while wood was quite plentiful, and we had the luxury daily of warm + fires, which the increasing coolness of the weather made important + accessories to our comfort. + </p> + <p> + Other prisoners kept coming in. Those we left behind at Savannah followed + us, and the prison there was broken up. Quite a number also came in from—Andersonville, + so that in a little while we had between six and seven thousand in the + Stockade. The last comers found all the material for tents and all the + fuel used up, and consequently did not fare so well as the earlier + arrivals. + </p> + <p> + The commandant of the prison—one Captain Bowes—was the best of + his class it was my fortune to meet. Compared with the senseless brutality + of Wirz, the reckless deviltry of Davis, or the stupid malignance of + Barrett, at Florence, his administration was mildness and wisdom itself. + </p> + <p> + He enforced discipline better than any of those named, but has what they + all lacked—executive ability—and he secured results that they + could not possibly attain, and without anything, like the friction that + attended their efforts. I do not remember that any one was shot during our + six weeks' stay at Millen—a circumstance simply remarkable, since I + do not recall a single week passed anywhere else without at least one + murder by the guards. + </p> + <p> + One instance will illustrate the difference of his administration from + that of other prison commandants. He came upon the grounds of our division + one morning, accompanied by a pleasant-faced, intelligent-appearing lad of + about fifteen or sixteen. He said to us: + </p> + <p> + "Gentlemen: (The only instance during our imprisonment when we received so + polite a designation.) This is my son, who will hereafter call your roll. + He will treat you as gentlemen, and I know you will do the same to him." + </p> + <p> + This understanding was observed to the letter on both sides. Young Bowes + invariably spoke civilly to us, and we obeyed his orders with a prompt + cheerfulness that left him nothing to complain of. + </p> + <p> + The only charge I have to make against Bowes is made more in detail in + another chapter, and that is, that he took money from well prisoners for + giving them the first chance to go through on the Sick Exchange. How + culpable this was I must leave each reader to decide for himself. I + thought it very wrong at the time, but possibly my views might have been + colored highly by my not having any money wherewith to procure my own + inclusion in the happy lot of the exchanged. + </p> + <p> + Of one thing I am certain: that his acceptance of money to bias his + official action was not singular on his part. I am convinced that every + commandant we had over us—except Wirz—was habitually in the + receipt of bribes from prisoners. I never heard that any one succeeded in + bribing Wirz, and this is the sole good thing I can say of that fellow. + Against this it may be said, however, that he plundered the boys so + effectually on entering the prison as to leave them little of the + wherewithal to bribe anybody. + </p> + <p> + Davis was probably the most unscrupulous bribe-taker of the lot. He + actually received money for permitting prisoners to escape to our lines, + and got down to as low a figure as one hundred dollars for this sort of + service. I never heard that any of the other commandants went this far. + </p> + <p> + The rations issued to us were somewhat better than those of Andersonville, + as the meal was finer and better, though it was absurdedly insufficient in + quantity, and we received no salt. On several occasions fresh beef was + dealt out to us, and each time the excitement created among those who had + not tasted fresh meat for weeks and months was wonderful. On the first + occasion the meat was simply the heads of the cattle killed for the use of + the guards. Several wagon loads of these were brought in and distributed. + We broke them up so that every man got a piece of the bone, which was + boiled and reboiled, as long as a single bubble of grease would rise to + the surface of the water; every vestige of meat was gnawed and scraped + from the surface and then the bone was charred until it crumbled, when it + was eaten. No one who has not experienced it can imagine the inordinate + hunger for animal food of those who had eaten little else than corn bread + for so long. Our exhausted bodies were perishing for lack of proper + sustenance. Nature indicated fresh beef as the best medium to repair the + great damage already done, and our longing for it became beyond + description. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp459" id="linkp459"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p459.jpg (20K)" src="images/p459.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + <a name="linkch60" id="linkch60"></a>CHAPTER LX + </h2> + <p> + THE RAIDERS REAPPEAR ON THE SCENE—THE ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE THOSE + WHO WERE CONCERNED IN THE EXECUTION—A COUPLE OF LIVELY FIGHTS, IN + WHICH THE RAIDERS ARE DEFEATED—HOLDING AN ELECTION. + </p> + <p> + Our old antagonists—the Raiders—were present in strong force + in Millen. Like ourselves, they had imagined the departure from + Andersonville was for exchange, and their relations to the Rebels were + such that they were all given a chance to go with the first squads. A + number had been allowed to go with the sailors on the Special Naval + Exchange from Savannah, in the place of sailors and marines who had died. + On the way to Charleston a fight had taken place between them and the real + sailors, during which one of their number—a curly-headed Irishman + named Dailey, who was in such high favor with the Rebels that he was given + the place of driving the ration wagon that came in the North Side at + Andersonville —was killed, and thrown under the wheels of the moving + train, which passed over him. + </p> + <p> + After things began to settle into shape at Millen, they seemed to believe + that they were in such ascendancy as to numbers and organization that they + could put into execution their schemes of vengeance against those of us + who had been active participants in the execution of their confederates at + Andersonville. + </p> + <p> + After some little preliminaries they settled upon Corporal "Wat" Payne, of + my company, as their first victim. The reader will remember Payne as one + of the two Corporals who pulled the trigger to the scaffold at the time of + the execution. + </p> + <p> + Payne was a very good man physically, and was yet in fair condition. The + Raiders came up one day with their best man—Pete Donnelly—and + provoked a fight, intending, in the course of it, to kill Payne. We, who + knew Payee, felt reasonably confident of his ability to handle even so + redoubtable a pugilist as Donnelly, and we gathered together a little + squad of our friends to see fair play. + </p> + <p> + The fight began after the usual amount of bad talk on both sides, and we + were pleased to see our man slowly get the better of the New York + plug-ugly. After several sharp rounds they closed, and still Payne was + ahead, but in an evil moment he spied a pine knot at his feet, which he + thought he could reach, and end the fight by cracking Donnelly's head with + it. Donnelly took instant advantage of the movement to get it, threw Payne + heavily, and fell upon him. His crowd rushed in to finish our man by + clubbing him over the head. We sailed in to prevent this, and after a + rattling exchange of blows all around, succeeded in getting Payne away. + </p> + <p> + The issue of the fight seemed rather against us, however, and the Raiders + were much emboldened. Payne kept close to his crowd after that, and as we + had shown such an entire willingness to stand by him, the Raiders —with + their accustomed prudence when real fighting was involved—did not + attempt to molest him farther, though they talked very savagely. + </p> + <p> + A few days after this Sergeant Goody and Corporal Ned Carrigan, both of + our battalion, came in. I must ask the reader to again recall the fact + that Sergeant Goody was one of the six hangmen who put the meal-sacks over + the heads, and the ropes around the necks of the condemned. Corporal + Carrigan was the gigantic prize fighter, who was universally acknowledged + to be the best man physically among the whole thirty-four thousand in + Andersonville. The Raiders knew that Goody had come in before we of his + own battalion did. They resolved to kill him then and there, and in broad + daylight. He had secured in some way a shelter tent, and was inside of it + fixing it up. The Raider crowd, headed by Pete Donnelly, and Dick Allen, + went up to his tent and one of them called to him: + </p> + <p> + "Sergeant, come out; I want to see you." + </p> + <p> + Goody, supposing it was one of us, came crawling out on his hands and + knees. As he did so their heavy clubs crashed down upon his head. He was + neither killed nor stunned, as they had reason to expect. He succeeded in + rising to his feet, and breaking through the crowd of assassins. He dashed + down the side of the hill, hotly pursued by them. Coming to the Creek, he + leaped it in his excitement, but his pursuers could not, and were checked. + One of our battalion boys, who saw and comprehended the whole affair, ran + over to us, shouting: + </p> + <p> + "Turn out! turn out, for God's sake! the Raiders are killing Goody!" + </p> + <p> + We snatched up our clubs and started after the Raiders, but before we + could reach them, Ned Carrigan, who also comprehended what the trouble + was, had run to the side of Goody, armed with a terrible looking club. The + sight of Ned, and the demonstration that he was thoroughly aroused, was + enough for the Raider crew, and they abandoned the field hastily. We did + not feel ourselves strong enough to follow them on to their own dung hill, + and try conclusions with them, but we determined to report the matter to + the Rebel Commandant, from whom we had reason to believe we could expect + assistance. We were right. He sent in a squad of guards, arrested Dick + Allen, Pete Donnelly, and several other ringleaders, took them out and put + them in the stocks in such a manner that they were compelled to lie upon + their stomachs. A shallow tin vessel containing water was placed under + their faces to furnish them drink. + </p> + <p> + They staid there a day and night, and when released, joined the Rebel + Army, entering the artillery company that manned the guns in the fort + covering the prison. I used to imagine with what zeal they would send us + over; a round of shell or grape if they could get anything like an excuse. + </p> + <p> + This gave us good riddance—of our dangerous enemies, and we had + little further trouble with any of them. + </p> + <p> + The depression in the temperature made me very sensible of the + deficiencies in my wardrobe. Unshod feet, a shirt like a fishing net, and + pantaloons as well ventilated as a paling fence might do very well for the + broiling sun at Andersonville and Savannah, but now, with the thermometer + nightly dipping a little nearer the frost line, it became unpleasantly + evident that as garments their office was purely perfunctory; one might + say ornamental simply, if he wanted to be very sarcastic. They were worn + solely to afford convenient quarters for multitudes of lice, and in + deference to the prejudice which has existed since the Fall of Man against + our mingling with our fellow creatures in the attire provided us by + Nature. Had I read Darwin then I should have expected that my long + exposure to the weather would start a fine suit of fur, in the effort of + Nature to adapt me to my environment. But no more indications of this + appeared than if I had been a hairless dog of Mexico, suddenly + transplanted to more northern latitudes. Providence did not seem to be in + the tempering-the-wind-to-the-shorn-lamb business, as far as I was + concerned. I still retained an almost unconquerable prejudice against + stripping the dead to secure clothes, and so unless exchange or death came + speedily, I was in a bad fix. <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a name="linkp463" + id="linkp463"></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%"> + <img alt="p463.jpg (26K)" src="images/p463.jpg" width="100%" /><br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + One morning about day break, Andrews, who had started to go to another + part of the camp, came slipping back in a state of gleeful excitement. At + first I thought he either had found a tunnel or had heard some good news + about exchange. It was neither. He opened his jacket and handed me an + infantry man's blouse, which he had found in the main street, where it had + dropped out of some fellow's bundle. We did not make any extra exertion to + find the owner. Andrews was in sore need of clothes himself, but my + necessities were so much greater that the generous fellow thought of my + wants first. We examined the garment with as much interest as ever a belle + bestowed on a new dress from Worth's. It was in fair preservation, but the + owner had cut the buttons off to trade to the guard, doubtless for a few + sticks of wood, or a spoonful of salt. We supplied the place of these with + little wooden pins, and I donned the garment as a shirt and coat and vest, + too, for that matter. The best suit I ever put on never gave me a + hundredth part the satisfaction that this did. Shortly after, I managed to + subdue my aversion so far as to take a good shoe which a one-legged dead + man had no farther use for, and a little later a comrade gave me for the + other foot a boot bottom from which he had cut the top to make a bucket. + <br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + ........................... <br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + The day of the Presidential election of 1864 approached. The Rebels were + naturally very much interested in the result, as they believed that the + election of McClellan meant compromise and cessation of hostilities, while + the re-election of Lincoln meant prosecution of the War to the bitter end. + The toadying Raiders, who were perpetually hanging around the gate to get + a chance to insinuate themselves into the favor of the Rebel officers, + persuaded them that we were all so bitterly hostile to our Government for + not exchanging us that if we were allowed to vote we would cast an + overwhelming majority in favor of McClellan. + </p> + <p> + The Rebels thought that this might perhaps be used to advantage as + political capital for their friends in the North. They gave orders that we + might, if we chose, hold an election on the same day of the Presidential + election. They sent in some ballot boxes, and we elected Judges of the + Election. + </p> + <p> + About noon of that day Captain Bowes, and a crowd of tightbooted, + broad-hatted Rebel officers, strutted in with the peculiar + "Ef-yer-don't-b'lieve—I'm-a-butcher-jest-smell-o'-mebutes" swagger + characteristic of the class. They had come in to see us all voting for + McClellan. Instead, they found the polls surrounded with ticket pedlers + shouting: + </p> + <p> + "Walk right up here now, and get your Unconditional-Union-Abraham-Lincoln + -tickets!" + </p> + <p> + "Here's your straight-haired prosecution-of-the-war ticket." + </p> + <p> + "Vote the Lincoln ticket; vote to whip the Rebels, and make peace with + them when they've laid down their arms." + </p> + <p> + "Don't vote a McClellan ticket and gratify Rebels, everywhere," etc. + </p> + <p> + The Rebel officers did not find the scene what their fancy painted it, and + turning around they strutted out. + </p> + <p> + When the votes came to be counted out there were over seven thousand for + Lincoln, and not half that many hundred for McClellan. The latter got very + few votes outside the Raider crowd. The same day a similar election was + held in Florence, with like result. Of course this did not indicate that + there was any such a preponderance of Republicans among us. It meant + simply that the Democratic boys, little as they might have liked Lincoln, + would have voted for him a hundred times rather than do anything to please + the Rebels. + </p> + <p> + I never heard that the Rebels sent the result North. <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Andersonville, Volume 3, by John McElroy + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANDERSONVILLE, VOLUME 3 *** + +***** This file should be named 4259-h.htm or 4259-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/5/4259/ + +Produced by David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Andersonville, Volume 3 + +Author: John McElroy + +Release Date: August 22, 2006 [EBook #4259] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANDERSONVILLE, VOLUME 3 *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + ANDERSONVILLE + A STORY OF REBEL MILITARY PRISONS + + FIFTEEN MONTHS A GUEST OF THE SO-CALLED + SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY + + A PRIVATE SOLDIERS EXPERIENCE + IN + RICHMOND, ANDERSONVILLE, SAVANNAH, MILLEN + BLACKSHEAR AND FLORENCE + + + BY JOHN McELROY + Late of Co. L. 16th Ill Cav. + 1879 + + + +VOLUME 3. + + +CHAPTER XLIII. + +DIFFICULTY OF EXERCISING--EMBARRASSMENTS OF A MORNING WALK--THE RIALTO +OF THE PRISON--CURSING THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY--THE STORY OF THE BATTLE +OF SPOTTSYLVANIA COURTHOUSE. + +Certainly, in no other great community, that ever existed upon the face +of the globe was there so little daily ebb and flow as in this. Dull as +an ordinary Town or City may be; however monotonous, eventless, even +stupid the lives of its citizens, there is yet, nevertheless, a flow +every day of its life-blood--its population towards its heart, and an ebb +of the same, every evening towards its extremities. These recurring +tides mingle all classes together and promote the general healthfulness, +as the constant motion hither and yon of the ocean's waters purify and +sweeten them. + +The lack of these helped vastly to make the living mass inside the +Stockade a human Dead Sea--or rather a Dying Sea--a putrefying, stinking +lake, resolving itself into phosphorescent corruption, like those rotting +southern seas, whose seething filth burns in hideous reds, and ghastly +greens and yellows. + +Being little call for motion of any kind, and no room to exercise +whatever wish there might be in that direction, very many succumbed +unresistingly to the apathy which was so strongly favored by despondency +and the weakness induced by continual hunger, and lying supinely on the +hot sand, day in and day out, speedily brought themselves into such a +condition as invited the attacks of disease. + +It required both determination and effort to take a little walking +exercise. The ground was so densely crowded with holes and other devices +for shelter that it took one at least ten minutes to pick his way through +the narrow and tortuous labyrinth which served as paths for communication +between different parts of the Camp. Still further, there was nothing to +see anywhere or to form sufficient inducement for any one to make so +laborious a journey. One simply encountered at every new step the same +unwelcome sights that he had just left; there was a monotony in the +misery as in everything else, and consequently the temptation to sit or +lie still in one's own quarters became very great. + +I used to make it a point to go to some of the remoter parts of the +Stockade once every day, simply for exercise. One can gain some idea of +the crowd, and the difficulty of making one's way through it, when I say +that no point in the prison could be more than fifteen hundred feet from +where I staid, and, had the way been clear, I could have walked thither +and back in at most a half an hour, yet it usually took me from two to +three hours to make one of these journeys. + +This daily trip, a few visits to the Creek to wash all over, a few games +of chess, attendance upon roll call, drawing rations, cooking and eating +the same, "lousing" my fragments of clothes, and doing some little duties +for my sick and helpless comrades, constituted the daily routine for +myself, as for most of the active youths in the prison. + +The Creek was the great meeting point for all inside the Stockade. +All able to walk were certain to be there at least once during the day, +and we made it a rendezvous, a place to exchange gossip, discuss the +latest news, canvass the prospects of exchange, and, most of all, +to curse the Rebels. Indeed no conversation ever progressed very far +without both speaker and listener taking frequent rests to say bitter +things as to the Rebels generally, and Wirz, Winder and Davis in +particular. + +A conversation between two boys--strangers to each other who came to the +Creek to wash themselves or their clothes, or for some other purpose, +would progress thus: + +First Boy--"I belong to the Second Corps,--Hancock's, [the Army of the +Potomac boys always mentioned what Corps they belonged to, where the +Western boys stated their Regiment.] They got me at Spottsylvania, when +they were butting their heads against our breast-works, trying to get +even with us for gobbling up Johnson in the morning,"--He stops suddenly +and changes tone to say: "I hope to God, that when our folks get +Richmond, they will put old Ben Butler in command of it, with orders to +limb, skin and jayhawk it worse than he did New Orleans." + +Second Boy, (fervently :) "I wish to God he would, and that he'd catch +old Jeff., and that grayheaded devil, Winder, and the old Dutch Captain, +strip 'em just as we were, put 'em in this pen, with just the rations +they are givin' us, and set a guard of plantation niggers over 'em, with +orders to blow their whole infernal heads off, if they dared so much as +to look at the dead line." + +First Boy--(returning to the story of his capture.) "Old Hancock caught +the Johnnies that morning the neatest you ever saw anything in your life. +After the two armies had murdered each other for four or five days in the +Wilderness, by fighting so close together that much of the time you could +almost shake hands with the Graybacks, both hauled off a little, and lay +and glowered at each other. Each side had lost about twenty thousand men +in learning that if it attacked the other it would get mashed fine. +So each built a line of works and lay behind them, and tried to nag the +other into coming out and attacking. At Spottsylvania our lines and +those of the Johnnies weren't twelve hundred yards apart. The ground was +clear and clean between them, and any force that attempted to cross it to +attack would be cut to pieces, as sure as anything. We laid there three +or four days watching each other--just like boys at school, who shake +fists and dare each other. At one place the Rebel line ran out towards +us like the top of a great letter 'A.' The night of the 11th of May it +rained very hard, and then came a fog so thick that you couldn't see the +length of a company. Hancock thought he'd take advantage of this. +We were all turned out very quietly about four o'clock in the morning. +Not a bit of noise was allowed. We even had to take off our canteens and +tin cups, that they might not rattle against our bayonets. The ground +was so wet that our footsteps couldn't be heard. It was one of those +deathly, still movements, when you think your heart is making as much +noise as a bass drum. + +"The Johnnies didn't seem to have the faintest suspicion of what was +coming, though they ought, because we would have expected such an attack +from them if we hadn't made it ourselves. Their pickets were out just a +little ways from their works, and we were almost on to them before they +discovered us. They fired and ran back. At this we raised a yell and +dashed forward at a charge. As we poured over the works, the Rebels came +double-quicking up to defend them. We flanked Johnson's Division +quicker'n you could say 'Jack Robinson,' and had four thousand of 'em in +our grip just as nice as you please. We sent them to the rear under +guard, and started for the next line of Rebel works about a half a mile +away. But we had now waked up the whole of Lee's army, and they all came +straight for us, like packs of mad wolves. Ewell struck us in the +center; Longstreet let drive at our left flank, and Hill tackled our +right. We fell back to the works we had taken, Warren and Wright came up +to help us, and we had it hot and heavy for the rest of the day and part +of the night. The Johnnies seemed so mad over what we'd done that they +were half crazy. They charged us five times, coming up every time just +as if they were going to lift us right out of the works with the bayonet. +About midnight, after they'd lost over ten thousand men, they seemed to +understand that we had pre-empted that piece of real estate, and didn't +propose to allow anybody to jump our claim, so they fell back sullen like +to their main works. When they came on the last charge, our Brigadier +walked behind each of our regiments and said: + +"Boys, we'll send 'em back this time for keeps. Give it to 'em by the +acre, and when they begin to waver, we'll all jump over the works and go +for them with the bayonet.' + +"We did it just that way. We poured such a fire on them that the bullets +knocked up the ground in front just like you have seen the deep dust in a +road in the middle of Summer fly up when the first great big drops of a +rain storm strike it. But they came on, yelling and swearing, officers +in front waving swords, and shouting--all that business, you know. When +they got to about one hundred yards from us, they did not seem to be +coming so fast, and there was a good deal of confusion among them. The +brigade bugle sounded: + +"Stop firing." + +"We all ceased instantly. The rebels looked up in astonishment. Our +General sang out: + +"Fix bayonets!' but we knew what was coming, and were already executing +the order. You can imagine the crash that ran down the line, as every +fellow snatched his bayonet out and slapped it on the muzzle of his gun. +Then the General's voice rang out like a bugle: + +"Ready!--FORWARD! CHARGE!' + +"We cheered till everything seemed to split, and jumped over the works, +almost every man at the same minute. The Johnnies seemed to have been +puzzled at the stoppage of our fire. When we all came sailing over the +works, with guns brought right, down where they meant business, they were +so astonished for a minute that they stood stock still, not knowing +whether to come for us, or run. We did not allow them long to debate, +but went right towards them on the double quick, with the bayonets +looking awful savage and hungry. It was too much for Mr. Johnny Reb's +nerves. They all seemed to about face' at once, and they lit out of +there as if they had been sent for in a hurry. We chased after 'em as +fast as we could, and picked up just lots of 'em. Finally it began to be +real funny. A Johnny's wind would begin to give out he'd fall behind his +comrades; he'd hear us yell and think that we were right behind him, +ready to sink a bayonet through him'; he'd turn around, throw up his +hands, and sing out: + +"I surrender, mister! I surrender!' and find that we were a hundred feet +off, and would have to have a bayonet as long as one of McClellan's +general orders to touch him. + +"Well, my company was the left of our regiment, and our regiment was the +left of the brigade, and we swung out ahead of all the rest of the boys. +In our excitement of chasing the Johnnies, we didn't see that we had +passed an angle of their works. About thirty of us had become separated +from the company and were chasing a squad of about seventy-five or one +hundred. We had got up so close to them that we hollered: + +"'Halt there, now, or we'll blow your heads off.' + +"They turned round with, 'halt yourselves; you ---- Yankee ---- ----' + +"We looked around at this, and saw that we were not one hundred feet away +from the angle of the works, which were filled with Rebels waiting for +our fellows to get to where they could have a good flank fire upon them. +There was nothing to do but to throw down our guns and surrender, and we +had hardly gone inside of the works, until the Johnnies opened on our +brigade and drove it back. This ended the battle at Spottsylvania Court +House." + +Second Boy (irrelevantly.) "Some day the underpinning will fly out from +under the South, and let it sink right into the middle kittle o' hell." + +First Boy (savagely.) "I only wish the whole Southern Confederacy was +hanging over hell by a single string, and I had a knife." + + + + +CHAPTER XLIV. + +REBEL MUSIC--SINGULAR LACK OF THE CREATIVE POWER AMONG THE SOUTHERNERS +--CONTRAST WITH SIMILAR PEOPLE ELSEWHERE--THEIR FAVORITE MUSIC, AND WHERE +IT WAS BORROWED FROM--A FIFER WITH ONE TUNE. + +I have before mentioned as among the things that grew upon one with +increasing acquaintance with the Rebels on their native heath, was +astonishment at their lack of mechanical skill and at their inability to +grapple with numbers and the simpler processes of arithmetic. Another +characteristic of the same nature was their wonderful lack of musical +ability, or of any kind of tuneful creativeness. + +Elsewhere, all over the world, people living under similar conditions to +the Southerners are exceedingly musical, and we owe the great majority of +the sweetest compositions which delight the ear and subdue the senses to +unlettered song-makers of the Swiss mountains, the Tyrolese valleys, the +Bavarian Highlands, and the minstrels of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. + +The music of English-speaking people is very largely made up of these +contributions from the folk-songs of dwellers in the wilder and more +mountainous parts of the British Isles. One rarely goes far out of the +way in attributing to this source any air that he may hear that +captivates him with its seductive opulence of harmony. Exquisite +melodies, limpid and unstrained as the carol of a bird in Spring-time, +and as plaintive as the cooing of a turtle-dove seems as natural products +of the Scottish Highlands as the gorse which blazons on their hillsides +in August. Debarred from expressing their aspirations as people of +broader culture do--in painting, in sculpture, in poetry and prose, these +mountaineers make song the flexible and ready instrument for the +communication of every emotion that sweeps across their souls. + +Love, hatred, grief, revenge, anger, and especially war seems to tune +their minds to harmony, and awake the voice of song in them hearts. The +battles which the Scotch and Irish fought to replace the luckless Stuarts +upon the British throne--the bloody rebellions of 1715 and 1745, left a +rich legacy of sweet song, the outpouring of loving, passionate loyalty +to a wretched cause; songs which are today esteemed and sung wherever the +English language is spoken, by people who have long since forgotten what +burning feelings gave birth to their favorite melodies. + +For a century the bones of both the Pretenders have moldered in alien +soil; the names of James Edward, and Charles Edward, which were once +trumpet blasts to rouse armed men, mean as little to the multitude of +today as those of the Saxon Ethelbert, and Danish Hardicanute, yet the +world goes on singing--and will probably as long as the English language +is spoken--"Wha'll be King but Charlie?" "When Jamie Come Hame," "Over +the Water to Charlie," "Charlie is my Darling," "The Bonny Blue Bonnets +are Over the Border," "Saddle Your Steeds and Awa," and a myriad others +whose infinite tenderness and melody no modern composer can equal. + +Yet these same Scotch and Irish, the same Jacobite English, transplanted +on account of their chronic rebelliousness to the mountains of Virginia, +the Carolinas, and Georgia, seem to have lost their tunefulness, as some +fine singing birds do when carried from their native shores. + +The descendants of those who drew swords for James and Charles at Preston +Pans and Culloden dwell to-day in the dales and valleys of the +Alleganies, as their fathers did in the dales and valleys of the +Grampians, but their voices are mute. + +As a rule the Southerners are fond of music. They are fond of singing +and listening to old-fashioned ballads, most of which have never been +printed, but handed down from one generation to the other, like the +'Volklieder' of Germany. They sing these with the wild, fervid +impressiveness characteristic of the ballad singing of unlettered people. +Very many play tolerably on the violin and banjo, and occasionally one is +found whose instrumentation may be called good. But above this hight +they never soar. The only musician produced by the South of whom the +rest of the country has ever heard, is Blind Tom, the negro idiot. No +composer, no song writer of any kind has appeared within the borders of +Dixie. + +It was a disappointment to me that even the stress of the war, the +passion and fierceness with which the Rebels felt and fought, could not +stimulate any adherent of the Stars and Bars into the production of a +single lyric worthy in the remotest degree of the magnitude of the +struggle, and the depth of the popular feeling. Where two million +Scotch, fighting to restore the fallen fortunes of the worse than +worthless Stuarts, filled the world with immortal music, eleven million +of Southerners, fighting for what they claimed to be individual freedom +and national life, did not produce any original verse, or a bar of music +that the world could recognize as such. This is the fact; and an +undeniable one. Its explanation I must leave to abler analysts +than I am. + +Searching for peculiar causes we find but two that make the South differ +from the ancestral home of these people. These two were Climate and +Slavery. Climatic effects will not account for the phenomenon, because +we see that the peasantry of the mountains of Spain and the South of +France as ignorant as these people, and dwellers in a still more +enervating atmosphere-are very fertile in musical composition, and their +songs are to the Romanic languages what the Scotch and Irish ballads are +to the English. + +Then it must be ascribed to the incubus of Slavery upon the intellect, +which has repressed this as it has all other healthy growths in the +South. Slavery seems to benumb all the faculties except the passions. +The fact that the mountaineers had but few or no slaves, does not seem to +be of importance in the case. They lived under the deadly shadow of the +upas tree, and suffered the consequences of its stunting their +development in all directions, as the ague-smitten inhabitant of the +Roman Campana finds every sense and every muscle clogged by the filtering +in of the insidious miasma. They did not compose songs and music, +because they did not have the intellectual energy for that work. + +The negros displayed all the musical creativeness of that section. +Their wonderful prolificness in wild, rude songs, with strangely +melodious airs that burned themselves into the memory, was one of the +salient characteristics of that down-trodden race. Like the Russian +serfs, and the bondmen of all ages and lands, the songs they made and +sang all had an undertone of touching plaintiveness, born of ages of dumb +suffering. The themes were exceedingly simple, and the range of subjects +limited. The joys, and sorrows, hopes and despairs of love's +gratification or disappointment, of struggles for freedom, contests with +malign persons and influences, of rage, hatred, jealousy, revenge, such +as form the motifs for the majority of the poetry of free and strong +races, were wholly absent from their lyrics. Religion, hunger and toil +were their main inspiration. They sang of the pleasures of idling in the +genial sunshine; the delights of abundance of food; the eternal happiness +that awaited them in the heavenly future, where the slave-driver ceased +from troubling and the weary were at rest; where Time rolled around in +endless cycles of days spent in basking, harp in hand, and silken clad, +in golden streets, under the soft effulgence of cloudless skies, glowing +with warmth and kindness emanating from the Creator himself. Had their +masters condescended to borrow the music of the slaves, they would have +found none whose sentiments were suitable for the ode of a people +undergoing the pangs of what was hoped to be the birth of a new nation. + +The three songs most popular at the South, and generally regarded as +distinctively Southern, were "The Bonnie Blue Flag," "Maryland, My +Maryland," and "Stonewall Jackson Crossing into Maryland." The first of +these was the greatest favorite by long odds. Women sang, men whistled, +and the so-called musicians played it wherever we went. While in the +field before capture, it was the commonest of experiences to have Rebel +women sing it at us tauntingly from the house that we passed or near +which we stopped. If ever near enough a Rebel camp, we were sure to hear +its wailing crescendo rising upon the air from the lips or instruments of +some one more quartered there. At Richmond it rang upon us constantly +from some source or another, and the same was true wherever else we went +in the so-called Confederacy. + +All familiar with Scotch songs will readily recognize the name and air as +an old friend, and one of the fierce Jacobite melodies that for a long +time disturbed the tranquility of the Brunswick family on the English +throne. The new words supplied by the Rebels are the merest doggerel, +and fit the music as poorly as the unchanged name of the song fitted to +its new use. The flag of the Rebellion was not a bonnie blue one; but +had quite as much red and white as azure. It did not have a single star, +but thirteen. + +Near in popularity was "Maryland, My Maryland." The versification of +this was of a much higher Order, being fairly respectable. The air is +old, and a familiar one to all college students, and belongs to one of +the most common of German household songs: + + O, Tannenbaum! O, Tannenbaum, wie tru sind deine Blatter! + Da gruenst nicht nur zur Sommerseit, + Nein, auch in Winter, when es Schneit, etc. + +which Longfellow has finely translated, + +O, hemlock tree! O, hemlock tree! how faithful are thy branches! +Green not alone in Summer time, +But in the Winter's float and rime. +O, hemlock tree O, hemlock tree! how faithful are thy branches. Etc. + +The Rebel version ran: + + MARYLAND. + +The despot's heel is on thy shore, + Maryland! +His touch is at thy temple door, + Maryland! +Avenge the patriotic gore +That flecked the streets of Baltimore, +And be the battle queen of yore, +Maryland! My Maryland! + +Hark to the wand'ring son's appeal, + Maryland! +My mother State, to thee I kneel, + Maryland! +For life and death, for woe and weal, +Thy peerless chivalry reveal, +And gird thy beauteous limbs with steel, +Maryland! My Maryland! + +Thou wilt not cower in the duet, + Maryland! +Thy beaming sword shall never rust + Maryland! +Remember Carroll's sacred trust, +Remember Howard's warlike thrust-- +And all thy slumberers with the just, +Maryland! My Maryland! + +Come! 'tis the red dawn of the day, + Maryland! +Come! with thy panoplied array, + Maryland! +With Ringgold's spirit for the fray, +With Watson's blood at Monterey, +With fearless Lowe and dashing May, +Maryland! My Maryland! + +Comet for thy shield is bright and strong, + Maryland! +Come! for thy dalliance does thee wrong, + Maryland! +Come! to thins own heroic throng, +That stalks with Liberty along, +And give a new Key to thy song, +Maryland! My Maryland! + +Dear Mother! burst the tyrant's chain, + Maryland! +Virginia should not call in vain, + Maryland! +She meets her sisters on the plain-- +'Sic semper' 'tis the proud refrain, +That baffles millions back amain, + Maryland! +Arise, in majesty again, +Maryland! My Maryland! + +I see the blush upon thy cheek, + Maryland! +But thou wast ever bravely meek, + Maryland! +But lo! there surges forth a shriek +From hill to hill, from creek to creek-- +Potomac calls to Chesapeake, +Maryland! My Maryland! + +Thou wilt not yield the vandal toll. + Maryland! +Thou wilt not crook to his control, + Maryland! +Better the fire upon thee roll, +Better the blade, the shot, the bowl, +Than crucifixion of the soul, +Maryland! My Maryland! + +I hear the distant Thunder hem, + Maryland! +The Old Line's bugle, fife, and drum. + Maryland! +She is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb-- +Hnzza! she spurns the Northern scum! +She breathes--she burns! she'll come! she'll come! +Maryland! My Maryland! + + +"Stonewall Jackson Crossing into Maryland," was another travesty, of +about the same literary merit, or rather demerit, as "The Bonnie Blue +Flag." Its air was that of the well-known and popular negro minstrel +song, "Billy Patterson." For all that, it sounded very martial and +stirring when played by a brass band. + +We heard these songs with tiresome iteration, daily and nightly, during +our stay in the Southern Confederacy. Some one of the guards seemed to +be perpetually beguiling the weariness of his watch by singing in all +keys, in every sort of a voice, and with the wildest latitude as to air +and time. They became so terribly irritating to us, that to this day the +remembrance of those soul-lacerating lyrics abides with me as one of the +chief of the minor torments of our situation. They were, in fact, nearly +as bad as the lice. + +We revenged ourselves as best we could by constructing fearfully wicked, +obscene and insulting parodies on these, and by singing them with +irritating effusiveness in the hearing of the guards who were inflicting +these nuisances upon us. + +Of the same nature was the garrison music. One fife, played by an +asthmatic old fellow whose breathings were nearly as audible as his +notes, and one rheumatic drummer, constituted the entire band for the +post. The fifer actually knew but one tune "The Bonnie Blue Flag" +--and did not know that well. But it was all that he had, and he played it +with wearisome monotony for every camp call--five or six times a day, +and seven days in the week. He called us up in the morning with it for a +reveille; he sounded the "roll call" and "drill call," breakfast, dinner +and supper with it, and finally sent us to bed, with the same dreary wail +that had rung in our ears all day. I never hated any piece of music as I +came to hate that threnody of treason. It would have been such a relief +if the old asthmatic who played it could have been induced to learn +another tune to play on Sundays, and give us one day of rest. He did +not, but desecrated the Lord's Day by playing as vilely as on the rest of +the week. The Rebels were fully conscious of their musical deficiencies, +and made repeated but unsuccessful attempts to induce the musicians among +the prisoners to come outside and form a band. + + + + + +CHAPTER XLV. + +AUGUST--NEEDLES STUCK IN PUMPKIN SEEDS--SOME PHENOMENA OF STARVATION +--RIOTING IN REMEMBERED LUXURIES. + +"Illinoy," said tall, gaunt Jack North, of the One Hundred and Fourteenth +Illinois, to me, one day, as we sat contemplating our naked, and sadly +attenuated underpinning; "what do our legs and feet most look most like?" + +"Give it up, Jack," said I. + +"Why--darning needles stuck in pumpkin seeds, of course." I never heard +a better comparison for our wasted limbs. + +The effects of the great bodily emaciation were sometimes very startling. +Boys of a fleshy habit would change so in a few weeks as to lose all +resemblance to their former selves, and comrades who came into prison +later would utterly fail to recognize them. Most fat men, as most large +men, died in a little while after entering, though there were exceptions. +One of these was a boy of my own company, named George Hillicks. George +had shot up within a few years to over six feet in hight, and then, as +such boys occasionally do, had, after enlisting with us, taken on such a +development of flesh that we nicknamed him the "Giant," and he became a +pretty good load for even the strongest horse. George held his flesh +through Belle Isle, and the earlier weeks in Andersonville, but June, +July, and August "fetched him," as the boys said. He seemed to melt away +like an icicle on a Spring day, and he grew so thin that his hight seemed +preternatural. We called him "Flagstaff," and cracked all sorts of jokes +about putting an insulator on his head, and setting him up for a +telegraph pole, braiding his legs and using him for a whip lash, letting +his hair grow a little longer, and trading him off to the Rebels for a +sponge and staff for the artillery, etc. We all expected him to die, +and looked continually for the development of the fatal scurvy symptoms, +which were to seal his doom. But he worried through, and came out at +last in good shape, a happy result due as much as to anything else to his +having in Chester Hayward, of Prairie City, Ill.,--one of the most +devoted chums I ever knew. Chester nursed and looked out for George with +wife-like fidelity, and had his reward in bringing him safe through our +lines. There were thousands of instances of this generous devotion to +each other by chums in Andersonville, and I know of nothing that reflects +any more credit upon our boy soldiers. + +There was little chance for any one to accumulate flesh on the rations we +were receiving. I say it in all soberness that I do not believe that a +healthy hen could have grown fat upon them. I am sure that any +good-sized "shanghai" eats more every day than the meager half loaf that we +had to maintain life upon. Scanty as this was, and hungry as all were, +very many could not eat it. Their stomachs revolted against the trash; +it became so nauseous to them that they could not force it down, even +when famishing, and they died of starvation with the chunks of the +so-called bread under their head. I found myself rapidly approaching this +condition. I had been blessed with a good digestion and a talent for +sleeping under the most discouraging circumstances. These, I have no +doubt, were of the greatest assistance to me in my struggle for +existence. But now the rations became fearfully obnoxious to me, and it +was only with the greatest effort--pulling the bread into little pieces +and swallowing each, of these as one would a pill--that I succeeded in +worrying the stuff down. I had not as yet fallen away very much, but as +I had never, up, to that time, weighed so much as one hundred and +twenty-five pounds, there was no great amount of adipose to lose. It was +evident that unless some change occurred my time was near at hand. + +There was not only hunger for more food, but longing with an intensity +beyond expression for alteration of some kind in the rations. +The changeless monotony of the miserable saltless bread, or worse mush, +for days, weeks and months, became unbearable. If those wretched mule +teams had only once a month hauled in something different--if they had +come in loaded with sweet potatos, green corn or wheat flour, there would +be thousands of men still living who now slumber beneath those melancholy +pines. It would have given something to look forward to, and remember +when past. But to know each day that the gates would open to admit the +same distasteful apologies for food took away the appetite and raised +one's gorge, even while famishing for something to eat. + +We could for a while forget the stench, the lice, the heat, the maggots, +the dead and dying around us, the insulting malignance of our jailors; +but it was, very hard work to banish thoughts and longings for food from +our minds. Hundreds became actually insane from brooding over it. Crazy +men could be found in all parts of the camp. Numbers of them wandered +around entirely naked. Their babblings and maunderings about something +to eat were painful to hear. I have before mentioned the case of the +Plymouth Pilgrim near me, whose insanity took the form of imagining that +he was sitting at the table with his family, and who would go through the +show of helping them to imaginary viands and delicacies. The cravings +for green food of those afflicted with the scurvy were, agonizing. Large +numbers of watermelons were brought to the prison, and sold to those who +had the money to pay for them at from one to five dollars, greenbacks, +apiece. A boy who had means to buy a piece of these would be followed +about while eating it by a crowd of perhaps twenty-five or thirty +livid-gummed scorbutics, each imploring him for the rind when he was +through with it. + +We thought of food all day, and were visited with torturing dreams of it +at night. One of the pleasant recollections of my pre-military life was +a banquet at the "Planter's House," St. Louis, at which I was a boyish +guest. It was, doubtless, an ordinary affair, as banquets go, but to me +then, with all the keen appreciation of youth and first experience, it +was a feast worthy of Lucullus. But now this delightful reminiscence +became a torment. Hundreds of times I dreamed I was again at the +"Planter's." I saw the wide corridors, with their mosaic pavement; +I entered the grand dining-room, keeping timidly near the friend to whose +kindness I owed this wonderful favor; I saw again the mirror-lined walls, +the evergreen decked ceilings, the festoons and mottos, the tables +gleaming with cutglass and silver, the buffets with wines and fruits, +the brigade of sleek, black, white-aproned waiters, headed by one who had +presence enough for a major General. Again I reveled in all the dainties +and dishes on the bill-of-fare; calling for everything that I dared to, +just to see what each was like, and to be able to say afterwards that I +had partaken of it; all these bewildering delights of the first +realization of what a boy has read and wondered much over, and longed +for, would dance their rout and reel through my somnolent brain. Then I +would awake to find myself a half-naked, half-starved, vermin-eaten +wretch, crouching in a hole in the ground, waiting for my keepers to +fling me a chunk of corn bread. + +Naturally the boys--and especially the country boys and new prisoners +--talked much of victuals--what they had had, and what they would have +again, when they got out. Take this as a sample of the conversation +which might be heard in any group of boys, sitting together on the sand, +killin lice and talking of exchange: + +Tom--"Well, Bill, when we get back to God's country, you and Jim and John +must all come to my house and take dinner with me. I want to give you a +square meal. I want to show you just what good livin' is. You know my +mother is just the best cook in all that section. When she lays herself +out to get up a meal all the other women in the neighborhood just stand +back and admire!" + +Bill--"O, that's all right; but I'll bet she can't hold a candle to my +mother, when it comes to good cooking." + +Jim--"No, nor to mine." + +John--(with patronizing contempt.) "O, shucks! None of you fellers were +ever at our house, even when we had one of our common weekday dinners." + +Tom--(unheedful of the counter claims.) I hev teen studyin' up the dinner +I'd like, and the bill-of-fare I'd set out for you fellers when you come +over to see me. First, of course, we'll lay the foundation like with a +nice, juicy loin roast, and some mashed potatos. + +Bill--(interrupting.) "Now, do you like mashed potatos with beef? The +way may mother does is to pare the potatos, and lay them in the pan along +with the beef. Then, you know, they come out just as nice and crisp, and +brown; they have soaked up all the beef gravy, and they crinkle between +your teeth--" + +Jim--"Now, I tell you, mashed Neshannocks with butter on 'em is plenty +good enough for me." + +John--"If you'd et some of the new kind of peachblows that we raised in +the old pasture lot the year before I enlisted, you'd never say another +word about your Neshannocks." + +Tom--(taking breath and starting in fresh.) "Then we'll hev some fried +Spring chickens, of our dominick breed. Them dominicks of ours have the +nicest, tenderest meat, better'n quail, a darned sight, and the way my +mother can fry Spring chickens----" + +Bill--(aside to Jim.) "Every durned woman in the country thinks she can +'spry ching frickens;' but my mother---" + +John--"You fellers all know that there's nobody knows half as much about +chicken doin's as these 'tinerant Methodis' preachers. They give 'em +chicken wherever they go, and folks do say that out in the new +settlements they can't get no preachin', no gospel, nor nothin', until +the chickens become so plenty that a preacher is reasonably sure of +havin' one for his dinner wherever he may go. Now, there's old Peter +Cartwright, who has traveled over Illinoy and Indianny since the Year +One, and preached more good sermons than any other man who ever set on +saddle-bags, and has et more chickens than there are birds in a big +pigeon roost. Well, he took dinner at our house when he came up to +dedicate the big, white church at Simpkin's Corners, and when he passed +up his plate the third time for more chicken, he sez, sez he:--I've et +at a great many hundred tables in the fifty years I have labored in the +vineyard of the Redeemer, but I must say, Mrs. Kiggins, that your way of +frying chickens is a leetle the nicest that I ever knew. I only wish +that the sisters generally would get your reseet.' Yes, that's what he +said,--'a leetle the nicest.'" + +Tom--"An' then, we'll hev biscuits an' butter. I'll just bet five +hundred dollars to a cent, and give back the cent if I win, that we have +the best butter at our house that there is in Central Illinoy. You can't +never hev good butter onless you have a spring house; there's no use of +talkin'--all the patent churns that lazy men ever invented--all the fancy +milk pans an' coolers, can't make up for a spring house. Locations for a +spring house are scarcer than hen's teeth in Illinoy, but we hev one, and +there ain't a better one in Orange County, New York. Then you'll see +dome of the biscuits my mother makes." + +Bill--"Well, now, my mother's a boss biscuit-maker, too." + +Jim--"You kin just gamble that mine is." + +John--"O, that's the way you fellers ought to think an' talk, but my +mother----" + +Tom--(coming in again with fresh vigor) "They're jest as light an' fluffy +as a dandelion puff, and they melt in your month like a ripe Bartlett +pear. You just pull 'em open--Now you know that I think there's nothin' +that shows a person's raisin' so well as to see him eat biscuits an' +butter. If he's been raised mostly on corn bread, an' common doins,' +an' don't know much about good things to eat, he'll most likely cut his +biscuit open with a case knife, an' make it fall as flat as one o' +yesterday's pancakes. But if he is used to biscuits, has had 'em often +at his house, he'll--just pull 'em open, slow an' easy like, then he'll +lay a little slice of butter inside, and drop a few drops of clear honey +on this, an' stick the two halves back, together again, an--" + +"Oh, for God Almighty's sake, stop talking that infernal nonsense," roar +out a half dozen of the surrounding crowd, whose mouths have been +watering over this unctuous recital of the good things of the table. +"You blamed fools, do you want to drive yourselves and everybody else +crazy with such stuff as that. Dry up and try to think of something +else." + + + + +CHAPTER XLVI. + +SURLY BRITON--THE STOLID COURAGE THAT MAKES THE ENGLISH FLAG A BANNER OF +TRIUMPH--OUR COMPANY BUGLER, HIS CHARACTERISTICS AND HIS DEATH--URGENT +DEMAND FOR MECHANICS--NONE WANT TO GO--TREATMENT OF A REBEL SHOEMAKER +--ENLARGEMENT OF THE STOCKADE--IT IS BROKEN BY A STORM +--THE WONDERFUL SPRING. + +Early in August, F. Marriott, our Company Bugler, died. Previous to +coming to America he had been for many years an English soldier, and I +accepted him as a type of that stolid, doggedly brave class, which forms +the bulk of the English armies, and has for centuries carried the British +flag with dauntless courage into every land under the sun. Rough, surly +and unsocial, he did his duty with the unemotional steadiness of a +machine. He knew nothing but to obey orders, and obeyed them under all +circumstances promptly, but with stony impassiveness. With the command +to move forward into action, he moved forward without a word, and with +face as blank as a side of sole leather. He went as far as ordered, +halted at the word, and retired at command as phlegmatically as he +advanced. If he cared a straw whether he advanced or retreated, if it +mattered to the extent of a pinch of salt whether we whipped the Rebels +or they defeated us, he kept that feeling so deeply hidden in the +recesses of his sturdy bosom that no one ever suspected it. In the +excitement of action the rest of the boys shouted, and swore, and +expressed their tense feelings in various ways, but Marriott might as +well have been a graven image, for all the expression that he suffered to +escape. Doubtless, if the Captain had ordered him to shoot one of the +company through the heart, he would have executed the command according +to the manual of arms, brought his carbine to a "recover," and at the +word marched back to his quarters without an inquiry as to the cause of +the proceedings. He made no friends, and though his surliness repelled +us, he made few enemies. Indeed, he was rather a favorite, since he was +a genuine character; his gruffness had no taint of selfish greed in it; +he minded his own business strictly, and wanted others to do the same. +When he first came into the company, it is true, he gained the enmity of +nearly everybody in it, but an incident occurred which turned the tide in +his favor. Some annoying little depredations had been practiced on the +boys, and it needed but a word of suspicion to inflame all their minds +against the surly Englishman as the unknown perpetrator. The feeling +intensified, until about half of the company were in a mood to kill the +Bugler outright. As we were returning from stable duty one evening, +some little occurrence fanned the smoldering anger into a fierce blaze; +a couple of the smaller boys began an attack upon him; others hastened to +their assistance, and soon half the company were engaged in the assault. + +He succeeded in disengaging himself from his assailants, and, squaring +himself off, said, defiantly: + +"Dom yer cowardly heyes; jest come hat me one hat a time, hand hI'll +wollop the 'ole gang uv ye's." + +One of our Sergeants styled himself proudly "a Chicago rough," and was as +vain of his pugilistic abilities as a small boy is of a father who plays +in the band. We all hated him cordially--even more than we did Marriott. + +He thought this was a good time to show off, and forcing his way through +the crowd, he said, vauntingly: + +"Just fall back and form a ring, boys, and see me polish off the---fool." + +The ring was formed, with the Bugler and the Sergeant in the center. +Though the latter was the younger and stronger the first round showed him +that it would have profited him much more to have let Marriott's +challenge pass unheeded. As a rule, it is as well to ignore all +invitations of this kind from Englishmen, and especially from those who, +like Marriott, have served a term in the army, for they are likely to be +so handy with their fists as to make the consequences of an acceptance +more lively than desirable. + +So the Sergeant found. "Marriott," as one of the spectators expressed +it, "went around him like a cooper around a barrel." He planted his +blows just where he wished, to the intense delight of the boys, who +yelled enthusiastically whenever he got in "a hot one," and their delight +at seeing the Sergeant drubbed so thoroughly and artistically, worked an +entire revolution in his favor. + +Thenceforward we viewed his eccentricities with lenient eyes, and became +rather proud of his bull-dog stolidity and surliness. The whole +battalion soon came to share this feeling, and everybody enjoyed hearing +his deep-toned growl, which mischievous boys would incite by some petty +annoyances deliberately designed for that purpose. I will mention +incidentally, that after his encounter with the Sergeant no one ever +again volunteered to "polish" him off. + +Andersonville did not improve either his temper or his communicativeness. +He seemed to want to get as far away from the rest of us as possible, +and took up his quarters in a remote corner of the Stockade, among utter +strangers. Those of us who wandered up in his neighborhood occasionally, +to see how he was getting along, were received with such scant courtesy, +that we did not hasten to repeat the visit. At length, after none of us +had seen him for weeks, we thought that comradeship demanded another +visit. We found him in the last stages of scurvy and diarrhea. Chunks +of uneaten corn bread lay by his head. They were at least a week old. +The rations since then had evidently been stolen from the helpless man by +those around him. The place where he lay was indescribably filthy, and +his body was swarming with vermin. Some good Samaritan had filled his +little black oyster can with water, and placed it within his reach. +For a week, at least, he had not been able to rise from the ground; +he could barely reach for the water near him. He gave us such a glare of +recognition as I remembered to have seen light up the fast-darkening eyes +of a savage old mastiff, that I and my boyish companions once found dying +in the woods of disease and hurts. Had he been able he would have driven +us away, or at least assailed us with biting English epithets. Thus he +had doubtless driven away all those who had attempted to help him. +We did what little we could, and staid with him until the next afternoon, +when he died. We prepared his body, in the customary way: folded the +hands across his breast, tied the toes together, and carried it outside, +not forgetting each of us, to bring back a load of wood. + +The scarcity of mechanics of all kinds in the Confederacy, and the urgent +needs of the people for many things which the war and the blockade +prevented their obtaining, led to continual inducements being offered to +the artizans among us to go outside and work at their trade. Shoemakers +seemed most in demand; next to these blacksmiths, machinists, molders and +metal workers generally. Not a week passed during my imprisonment that I +did not see a Rebel emissary of some kind about the prison seeking to +engage skilled workmen for some purpose or another. While in Richmond +the managers of the Tredegar Iron Works were brazen and persistent in +their efforts to seduce what are termed "malleable iron workers," to +enter their employ. A boy who was master of any one of the commoner +trades had but to make his wishes known, and he would be allowed to go +out on parole to work. I was a printer, and I think that at least a +dozen times I was approached by Rebel publishers with offers of a parole, +and work at good prices. One from Columbia, S. C., offered me two +dollars and a half a "thousand" for composition. As the highest price +for such work that I had received before enlisting was thirty cents a +thousand, this seemed a chance to accumulate untold wealth. Since a man +working in day time can set from thirty-five to fifty "thousand" a week, +this would make weekly wages run from eighty-seven dollars and fifty +cents to one hundred and twenty-five dollars--but it was in Confederate +money, then worth from ten to twenty cents on the dollar. + +Still better offers were made to iron workers of all kinds, +to shoemakers, tanners, weavers, tailors, hatters, engineers, machinists, +millers, railroad men, and similar tradesmen. Any of these could have +made a handsome thing by accepting the offers made them almost weekly. +As nearly all in the prison had useful trades, it would have been of +immense benefit to the Confederacy if they could have been induced to +work at them. There is no measuring the benefit it would have been to +the Southern cause if all the hundreds of tanners and shoemakers in the +Stockade could have, been persuaded to go outside and labor in providing +leather and shoes for the almost shoeless people and soldiery. The +machinists alone could have done more good to the Southern Confederacy +than one of our brigades was doing harm, by consenting to go to the +railroad shops at Griswoldville and ply their handicraft. The lack of +material resources in the South was one of the strongest allies our arms +had. This lack of resources was primarily caused by a lack of skilled +labor to develop those resources, and nowhere could there be found a +finer collection of skilled laborers than in the thirty-three thousand +prisoners incarcerated in Andersonville. + +All solicitations to accept a parole and go outside to work at one's +trade were treated with the scorn they deserved. If any mechanic yielded +to them, the fact did not come under my notice. The usual reply to +invitations of this kind was: + +"No, Sir! By God, I'll stay in here till I rot, and the maggots carry me +out through the cracks in the Stockade, before I'll so much as raise my +little finger to help the infernal Confederacy, or Rebels, in any shape +or form." + +In August a Macon shoemaker came in to get some of his trade to go back +with him to work in the Confederate shoe factory. He prosecuted his +search for these until he reached the center of the camp on the North +Side, when some of the shoemakers who had gathered around him, apparently +considering his propositions, seized him and threw him into a well. +He was kept there a whole day, and only released when Wirz cut off the +rations of the prison for that day, and announced that no more would be +issued until the man was returned safe and sound to the gate. + +The terrible crowding was somewhat ameliorated by the opening in July of +an addition--six hundred feet long--to the North Side of the Stockade. +This increased the room inside to twenty acres, giving about an acre to +every one thousand seven hundred men,--a preposterously contracted area +still. The new ground was not a hotbed of virulent poison like the olds +however, and those who moved on to it had that much in their favor. + +The palisades between the new and the old portions of the pen were left +standing when the new portion was opened. We were still suffering a +great deal of inconvenience from lack of wood. That night the standing +timbers were attacked by thousands of prisoners armed with every species +of a tool to cut wood, from a case-knife to an ax. They worked the +live-long night with such energy that by morning not only every inch of +the logs above ground had disappeared, but that below had been dug up, +and there was not enough left of the eight hundred foot wall of +twenty-five-foot logs to make a box of matches. + +One afternoon--early in August--one of the violent rain storms common to +that section sprung up, and in a little while the water was falling in +torrents. The little creek running through the camp swelled up +immensely, and swept out large gaps in the Stockade, both in the west and +east sides. The Rebels noticed the breaches as soon as the prisoners. +Two guns were fired from the Star Tort, and all the guards rushed out, +and formed so as to prevent any egress, if one was attempted. Taken by +surprise, we were not in a condition to profit by the opportunity until +it was too late. + +The storm did one good thing: it swept away a great deal of filth, and +left the camp much more wholesome. The foul stench rising from the camp +made an excellent electrical conductor, and the lightning struck several +times within one hundred feet of the prison. + +Toward the end of August there happened what the religously inclined +termed a Providential Dispensation. The water in the Creek was +indescribably bad. No amount of familiarity with it, no increase of +intimacy with our offensive surroundings, could lessen the disgust at the +polluted water. As I have said previously, before the stream entered the +Stockade, it was rendered too filthy for any use by the contaminations +from the camps of the guards, situated about a half-mile above. +Immediately on entering the Stockade the contamination became terrible. +The oozy seep at the bottom of the hillsides drained directly into it all +the mass of filth from a population of thirty-three thousand. Imagine +the condition of an open sewer, passing through the heart of a city of +that many people, and receiving all the offensive product of so dense a +gathering into a shallow, sluggish stream, a yard wide and five inches +deep, and heated by the burning rays of the sun in the thirty-second +degree of latitude. Imagine, if one can, without becoming sick at the +stomach, all of these people having to wash in and drink of this foul +flow. + +There is not a scintilla of exaggeration in this statement. That it is +within the exact truth is demonstrable by the testimony of any man--Rebel +or Union--who ever saw the inside of the Stockade at Andersonville. I am +quite content to have its truth--as well as that of any other statement +made in this book--be determined by the evidence of any one, no matter +how bitter his hatred of the Union, who had any personal knowledge of the +condition of affairs at Andersonville. No one can successfully deny that +there were at least thirty-three thousand prisoners in the Stockade, and +that the one shallow, narrow creek, which passed through the prison, was +at once their main sewer and their source of supply of water for bathing, +drinking and washing. With these main facts admitted, the reader's +common sense of natural consequences will furnish the rest of the +details. + +It is true that some of the more fortunate of us had wells; thanks to our +own energy in overcoming extraordinary obstacles; no thanks to our +gaolers for making the slightest effort to provide these necessities of +life. We dug the wells with case and pocket knives, and half canteens to +a depth of from twenty to thirty feet, pulling up the dirt in pantaloons +legs, and running continual risk of being smothered to death by the +caving in of the unwalled sides. Not only did the Rebels refuse to give +us boards with which to wall the wells, and buckets for drawing the +water, but they did all in their power to prevent us from digging the +wells, and made continual forays to capture the digging tools, because +the wells were frequently used as the starting places for tunnels. +Professor Jones lays special stress on this tunnel feature in his +testimony, which I have introduced in a previous chapter. + +The great majority of the prisoners who went to the Creek for water, went +as near as possible to the Dead Line on the West Side, where the Creek +entered the Stockade, that they might get water with as little filth in +it as possible. In the crowds struggling there for their turn to take a +dip, some one nearly every day got so close to the Dead Line as to arouse +a suspicion in the guard's mind that he was touching it. The suspicion +was the unfortunate one's death warrant, and also its execution. As the +sluggish brain of the guard conceived it he leveled his gun; the distance +to his victim was not over one hundred feet; he never failed his aim; the +first warning the wretched prisoner got that he was suspected of +transgressing a prison-rule was the charge of "ball-and-buck" that tore +through his body. It was lucky if he was, the only one of the group +killed. More wicked and unjustifiable murders never were committed than +these almost daily assassinations at the Creek. + +One morning the camp was astonished beyond measure to discover that +during the night a large, bold spring had burst out on the North Side, +about midway between the Swamp and the summit of the hill. It poured out +its grateful flood of pure, sweet water in an apparently exhaustless +quantity. To the many who looked in wonder upon it, it seemed as truly a +heaven-wrought miracle as when Moses's enchanted rod smote the parched +rock in Sinai's desert waste, and the living waters gushed forth. + +The police took charge of the spring, and every one was compelled to take +his regular turn in filling his vessel. This was kept up during our +whole stay in Andersonville, and every morning, shortly after daybreak, +a thousand men could be seen standing in line, waiting their turns to +fill their cans and cups with the precious liquid. + +I am told by comrades who have revisited the Stockade of recent years, +that the spring is yet running as when we left, and is held in most pious +veneration by the negros of that vicinity, who still preserve the +tradition of its miraculous origin, and ascribe to its water wonderful +grace giving and healing properties, similar to those which pious +Catholics believe exist in the holy water of the fountain at Lourdes. + +I must confess that I do not think they are so very far from right. +If I could believe that any water was sacred and thaumaturgic, it would +be of that fountain which appeared so opportunely for the benefit of the +perishing thousands of Andersonville. And when I hear of people bringing +water for baptismal purposes from the Jordan, I say in my heart, "How +much more would I value for myself and friends the administration of the +chrismal sacrament with the diviner flow from that low sand-hill in +Western Georgia." + + + + +CHAPTER XLVII. + +"SICK CALL," AND THE SCENES THAT ACCOMPANIED IT--MUSTERING THE LAME, HALT +AND DISEASED AT THE SOUTH GATE--AN UNUSUALLY BAD CASE--GOING OUT TO THE +HOSPITAL--ACCOMMODATION AND TREATMENT OF THE PATIENTS THERE--THE HORRIBLE +SUFFERING IN THE GANGRENE WARD--BUNGLING AMPUTATIONS BY BLUNDERING +PRACTITIONERS--AFFECTION BETWEEN A SAILOR AND HIS WARD +--DEATH OF MY COMRADE. + +Every morning after roll-call, thousands of sick gathered at the South +Gate, where the doctors made some pretense of affording medical relief. +The scene there reminded me of the illustrations in my Sunday-School +lessons of that time when "great multitudes came unto Him," by the shores +of the Sea of Galilee, "having with them those that were lame, blind, +dumb, maimed, and many others." Had the crowds worn the flouting robes +of the East, the picture would have lacked nothing but the presence of +the Son of Man to make it complete. Here were the burning sands and +parching sun; hither came scores of groups of three or four comrades, +laboriously staggering under the weight of a blanket in which they had +carried a disabled and dying friend from some distant part of the +Stockade. Beside them hobbled the scorbutics with swollen and distorted +limbs, each more loathsome and nearer death than the lepers whom Christ's +divine touch made whole. Dozens, unable to walk, and having no comrades +to carry them, crawled painfully along, with frequent stops, on their +hands and knees. Every form of intense physical suffering that it is +possible for disease to induce in the human frame was visible at these +daily parades of the sick of the prison. As over three thousand (three +thousand and seventy-six) died in August, there were probably twelve +thousand dangerously sick at any given time daring the month; and a large +part of these collected at the South Gate every morning. + +Measurably-calloused as we had become by the daily sights of horror +around us, we encountered spectacles in these gatherings which no amount +of visible misery could accustom us to. I remember one especially that +burned itself deeply into my memory. It was of a young man not over +twenty-five, who a few weeks ago--his clothes looked comparatively new +--had evidently been the picture of manly beauty and youthful vigor. +He had had a well-knit, lithe form; dark curling hair fell over a +forehead which had once been fair, and his eyes still showed that they +had gleamed with a bold, adventurous spirit. The red clover leaf on his +cap showed that he belonged to the First Division of the Second Corps, +the three chevrons on his arm that he was a Sergeant, and the stripe at +his cuff that he was a veteran. Some kind-hearted boys had found him in +a miserable condition on the North Side, and carried him over in a +blanket to where the doctors could see him. He had but little clothing +on, save his blouse and cap. Ulcers of some kind had formed in his +abdomen, and these were now masses of squirming worms. It was so much +worse than the usual forms of suffering, that quite a little crowd of +compassionate spectators gathered around and expressed their pity. +The sufferer turned to one who lay beside him with: + +"Comrade: If we were only under the old Stars and Stripes, we wouldn't +care a G-d d--n for a few worms, would we?" + +This was not profane. It was an utterance from the depths of a brave +man's heart, couched in the strongest language at his command. It seemed +terrible that so gallant a soul should depart from earth in this +miserable fashion. Some of us, much moved by the sight, went to the +doctors and put the case as strongly as possible, begging them to do +something to alleviate his suffering. They declined to see the case, +but got rid of us by giving us a bottle of turpentine, with directions to +pour it upon the ulcers to kill the maggots. We did so. It must have +been cruel torture, and as absurd remedially as cruel, but our hero set +his teeth and endured, without a groan. He was then carried out to the +hospital to die. + +I said the doctors made a pretense of affording medical relief. It was +hardly that, since about all the prescription for those inside the +Stockade consisted in giving a handful of sumach berries to each of those +complaining of scurvy. The berries might have done some good, had there +been enough of them, and had their action been assisted by proper food. +As it was, they were probably nearly, if not wholly, useless. Nothing +was given to arrest the ravages of dysentery. + +A limited number of the worst cases were admitted to the Hospital each +day. As this only had capacity for about one-quarter of the sick in the +Stockade, new patients could only be admitted as others died. It seemed, +anyway, like signing a man's death warrant to send him to the Hospital, +as three out of every four who went out there died. The following from +the official report of the Hospital shows this: + +Total number admitted .........................................12,900 +Died ................................................. 8,663 +Exchanged ............................................ 828 +Took the oath of allegiance .......................... 25 +Sent elsewhere ....................................... 2,889 + +Total ................................................12,400 + +Average deaths, 76 per cent. + + +Early in August I made a successful effort to get out to the Hospital. I +had several reasons for this: First, one of my chums, W. W. Watts, of +my own company, had been sent out a little whale before very sick with +scurvy and pneumonia, and I wanted to see if I could do anything for him, +if he still lived: I have mentioned before that for awhile after our +entrance into Andersonville five of us slept on one overcoat and covered +ourselves with one blanket. Two of these had already died, leaving as +possessors of-the blanket and overcoat, W. W. Watts, B. B. Andrews, and +myself. + +Next, I wanted to go out to see if there was any prospect of escape. +I had long since given up hopes of escaping from the Stockade. All our +attempts at tunneling had resulted in dead failures, and now, to make us +wholly despair of success in that direction, another Stockade was built +clear around the prison, at a distance of one hundred and twenty feet +from the first palisades. It was manifest that though we might succeed +in tunneling past one Stockade, we could not go beyond the second one. + +I had the scurvy rather badly, and being naturally slight in frame, +I presented a very sick appearance to the physicians, and was passed out +to the Hospital. + +While this was a wretched affair, it was still a vast improvement on the +Stockade. About five acres of ground, a little southeast of the +Stockade, and bordering on a creek, were enclosed by a board fence, +around which the guard walked, trees shaded the ground tolerably well. +There were tents and flies to shelter part of the sick, and in these were +beds made of pine leaves. There were regular streets and alleys running +through the grounds, and as the management was in the hands of our own +men, the place was kept reasonably clean and orderly for Andersonville. + +There was also some improvement in the food. Rice in some degree +replaced the nauseous and innutritious corn bread, and if served in +sufficient quantities, would doubtless have promoted the recovery of many +men dying from dysenteric diseases. We also received small quantities of +"okra," a plant peculiar to the South, whose pods contained a +mucilaginous matter that made a soup very grateful to those suffering +from scurvy. + +But all these ameliorations of condition were too slight to even arrest +the progress of the disease of the thousands of dying men brought out +from the Stockade. These still wore the same lice-infested garments as +in prison; no baths or even ordinary applications of soap and water +cleaned their dirt-grimed skins, to give their pores an opportunity to +assist in restoring them to health; even their long, lank and matted +hair, swarming with vermin, was not trimmed. The most ordinary and +obvious measures for their comfort and care were neglected. If a man +recovered he did it almost in spite of fate. The medicines given were +scanty and crude. The principal remedial agent--as far as my observation +extended--was a rank, fetid species of unrectified spirits, which, I was +told, was made from sorgum seed. It had a light-green tinge, and was +about as inviting to the taste as spirits of turpentine. It was given to +the sick in small quantities mixed with water. I had had some experience +with Kentucky "apple-jack," which, it was popularly believed among the +boys, would dissolve a piece of the fattest pork thrown into it, but that +seemed balmy and oily alongside of this. After tasting some, I ceased to +wonder at the atrocities of Wirz and his associates. Nothing would seem +too bad to a man who made that his habitual tipple. + +[For a more particular description of the Hospital I must refer my reader +to the testimony of Professor Jones, in a previous chapter.] + +Certainly this continent has never seen--and I fervently trust it will +never again see--such a gigantic concentration of misery as that Hospital +displayed daily. The official statistics tell the story of this with +terrible brevity: There were three thousand seven hundred and nine in the +Hospital in August; one thousand four hundred and eighty-nine--nearly +every other man died. The rate afterwards became much higher than this. + +The most conspicuous suffering was in the gangrene wards. Horrible sores +spreading almost visibly from hour to hour, devoured men's limbs and +bodies. I remember one ward in which the alterations appeared to be +altogether in the back, where they ate out the tissue between the skin +and the ribs. The attendants seemed trying to arrest the progress of the +sloughing by drenching the sores with a solution of blue vitriol. This +was exquisitely painful, and in the morning, when the drenching was going +on, the whole hospital rang with the most agonizing screams. + +But the gangrene mostly attacked the legs and arms, and the led more than +the arms. Sometimes it killed men inside of a week; sometimes they +lingered on indefinitely. I remember one man in the Stockade who cut his +hand with the sharp corner of a card of corn bread he was lifting from +the ration wagon; gangrene set in immediately, and he died four days +after. + +One form that was quit prevalent was a cancer of the lower one corner of +the mouth, and it finally ate the whole side of the face out. Of course +the sufferer had the greatest trouble in eating and drinking. For the +latter it was customary to whittle out a little wooden tube, and fasten +it in a tin cup, through which he could suck up the water. As this mouth +cancer seemed contagious, none of us would allow any one afflicted with +it to use any of our cooking utensils. The Rebel doctors at the hospital +resorted to wholesale amputations to check the progress of the gangrene. + +They had a two hours session of limb-lopping every morning, each of which +resulted in quite a pile of severed members. I presume more bungling +operations are rarely seen outside of Russian or Turkish hospitals. +Their unskilfulness was apparent even to non-scientific observers like +myself. The standard of medical education in the South--as indeed of +every other form of education--was quite low. The Chief Surgeon of the +prison, Dr. Isaiah White, and perhaps two or three others, seemed to be +gentlemen of fair abilities and attainments. The remainder were of that +class of illiterate and unlearning quacks who physic and blister the poor +whites and negros in the country districts of the South; who believe they +can stop bleeding of the nose by repeating a verse from the Bible; who +think that if in gathering their favorite remedy of boneset they cut the +stem upwards it will purge their patients, and if downward it will vomit +them, and who hold that there is nothing so good for "fits" as a black +cat, killed in the dark of the moon, cut open, and bound while yet warm, +upon the naked chest of the victim of the convulsions. + +They had a case of instruments captured from some of our field hospitals, +which were dull and fearfully out of order. With poor instruments and +unskilled hands the operations became mangling. + +In the Hospital I saw an admirable illustration of the affection which a +sailor will lavish on a ship's boy, whom he takes a fancy to, and makes +his "chicken," as the phrase is. The United States sloop "Water Witch" +had recently been captured in Ossabaw Sound, and her crew brought into +prison. One of her boys--a bright, handsome little fellow of about +fifteen--had lost one of his arms in the fight. He was brought into the +Hospital, and the old fellow whose "chicken" he was, was allowed to +accompany and nurse him. This "old barnacle-back" was as surly a growler +as ever went aloft, but to his "chicken" he was as tender and thoughtful +as a woman. They found a shady nook in one corner, and any moment one +looked in that direction he could see the old tar hard at work at +something for the comfort and pleasure of his pet. Now he was dressing +the wound as deftly and gently as a mother caring for a new-born babe; +now he was trying to concoct some relish out of the slender materials he +could beg or steal from the Quartermaster; now trying to arrange the +shade of the bed of pine leaves in a more comfortable manner; now +repairing or washing his clothes, and so on. + +All the sailors were particularly favored by being allowed to bring their +bags in untouched by the guards. This "chicken" had a wonderful supply +of clothes, the handiwork of his protector who, like most good sailors, +was very skillful with the needle. He had suits of fine white duck, +embroidered with blue in a way that would ravish the heart of a fine +lady, and blue suits similarly embroidered with white. No belle ever +kept her clothes in better order than these were. When the duck came up +from the old sailor's patient washing it was as spotless as new-fallen +snow. + +I found my chum in a very bad condition. His appetite was entirely gone, +but he had an inordinate craving for tobacco--for strong, black plug +--which he smoked in a pipe. He had already traded off all his brass +buttons to the guards for this. I had accumulated a few buttons to bribe +the guard to take me out for wood, and I gave these also for tobacco for +him. When I awoke one morning the man who laid next to me on the right +was dead, having died sometime during the night. I searched his pockets +and took what was in them. These were a silk pocket handkerchief, a +gutta percha finger-ring, a comb, a pencil, and a leather pocket-book, +making in all quite a nice little "find." I hied over to the guard, and +succeeded in trading the personal estate which I had inherited from the +intestate deceased, for a handful of peaches, a handful of hardly ripe +figs, and a long plug of tobacco. I hastened back to Watts, expecting +that the figs and peaches would do him a world of good. At first I did +not show him the tobacco, as I was strongly opposed to his using it, +thinking that it was making him much worse. But he looked at the +tempting peaches and figs with lack-luster eyes; he was too far gone to +care for them. He pushed them back to me, saying faintly: + +"No, you take 'em, Mc; I don't want 'em; I can't eat 'em!" + +I then produced the tobacco, and his face lighted up. Concluding that +this was all the comfort that he could have, and that I might as well +gratify him, I cut up some of the weed, filled his pipe and lighted it. +He smoked calmly and almost happily all the afternoon, hardly speaking a +word to me. As it grew dark he asked me to bring him a drink. I did so, +and as I raised him up he said: + +"Mc, this thing's ended. Tell my father that I stood it as long as I +could, and----" + +The death rattle sounded in his throat, and when I laid him back it was +all over. Straightening out his limbs, folding his hands across his +breast, and composing his features as best I could, I lay, down beside +the body and slept till morning, when I did what little else I could +toward preparing for the grave all that was left of my long-suffering +little friend. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVIII. + +DETERMINATION TO ESCAPE--DIFFERENT PLANS AND THEIR MERITS--I PREFER THE +APPALACHICOLA ROUTE--PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE--A HOT DAY--THE FENCE +PASSED SUCCESSFULLY PURSUED BY THE HOUNDS--CAUGHT +--RETURNED TO THE STOCKADE. + +After Watt's death, I set earnestly about seeing what could be done in +the way of escape. Frank Harvey, of the First West Virginia Cavalry, +a boy of about my own age and disposition, joined with me in the scheme. +I was still possessed with my original plan of making my way down the +creeks to the Flint River, down the Flint River to where it emptied into +the Appalachicola River, and down that stream to its debauchure into the +bay that connected with the Gulf of Mexico. I was sure of finding my way +by this route, because, if nothing else offered, I could get astride of a +log and float down the current. The way to Sherman, in the other +direction, was long, torturous and difficult, with a fearful gauntlet of +blood-hounds, patrols and the scouts of Hood's Army to be run. I had but +little difficulty in persuading Harvey into an acceptance of my views, +and we began arranging for a solution of the first great problem--how to +get outside of the Hospital guards. As I have explained before, the +Hospital was surrounded by a board fence, with guards walking their beats +on the ground outside. A small creek flowed through the southern end of +the grounds, and at its lower end was used as a sink. The boards of the +fence came down to the surface of the water, where the Creek passed out, +but we found, by careful prodding with a stick, that the hole between the +boards and the bottom of the Creek was sufficiently large to allow the +passage of our bodies, and there had been no stakes driven or other +precautions used to prevent egress by this channel. A guard was posted +there, and probably ordered to stand at the edge of the stream, but it +smelled so vilely in those scorching days that he had consulted his +feelings and probably his health, by retiring to the top of the bank, +a rod or more distant. We watched night after night, and at last were +gratified to find that none went nearer the Creak than the top of this +bank. + +Then we waited for the moon to come right, so that the first part of the +night should be dark. This took several days, but at last we knew that +the next night she would not rise until between 9 and 10 o'clock, which +would give us nearly two hours of the dense darkness of a moonless Summer +night in the South. We had first thought of saving up some rations for +the trip, but then reflected that these would be ruined by the filthy +water into which we must sink to go under the fence. It was not +difficult to abandon the food idea, since it was very hard to force +ourselves to lay by even the smallest portion of our scanty rations. + +As the next day wore on, our minds were wrought up into exalted tension +by the rapid approach of the supreme moment, with all its chances and +consequences. The experience of the past few months was not such as to +mentally fit us for such a hazard. It prepared us for sullen, +uncomplaining endurance, for calmly contemplating the worst that could +come; but it did not strengthen that fiber of mind that leads to +venturesome activity and daring exploits. Doubtless the weakness of our +bodies reacted upon our spirits. We contemplated all the perils that +confronted us; perils that, now looming up with impending nearness, took +a clearer and more threatening shape than they had ever done before. + +We considered the desperate chances of passing the guard unseen; or, if +noticed, of escaping his fire without death or severe wounds. But +supposing him fortunately evaded, then came the gauntlet of the hounds +and the patrols hunting deserters. After this, a long, weary journey, +with bare feet and almost naked bodies, through an unknown country +abounding with enemies; the dangers of assassination by the embittered +populace; the risks of dying with hunger and fatigue in the gloomy depths +of a swamp; the scanty hopes that, if we reached the seashore, we could +get to our vessels. + +Not one of all these contingencies failed to expand itself to all its +alarming proportions, and unite with its fellows to form a dreadful +vista, like the valleys filled with demons and genii, dragons and malign +enchantments, which confront the heros of the "Arabian Nights," when they +set out to perform their exploits. + +But behind us lay more miseries and horrors than a riotous imagination +could conceive; before us could certainly be nothing worse. We would put +life and freedom to the hazard of a touch, and win or lose it all. + +The day had been intolerably hot. The sun's rays seemed to sear the +earth, like heated irons, and the air that lay on the burning sand was +broken by wavy lines, such as one sees indicate the radiation from a hot +stove. + +Except the wretched chain-gang plodding torturously back and forward on +the hillside, not a soul nor an animal could be seen in motion outside +the Stockade. The hounds were panting in their kennel; the Rebel +officers, half or wholly drunken with villainous sorgum whisky, were +stretched at full length in the shade at headquarters; the half-caked +gunners crouched under the shadow of the embankments of the forts, the +guards hung limply over the Stockade in front of their little perches; +the thirty thousand boys inside the Stockade, prone or supine upon the +glowing sand, gasped for breath--for one draft of sweet, cool, wholesome +air that did not bear on its wings the subtle seeds of rank corruption +and death. Everywhere was the prostration of discomfort--the inertia of +sluggishness. + +Only the sick moved; only the pain-racked cried out; only the dying +struggled; only the agonies of dissolution could make life assert itself +against the exhaustion of the heat. + +Harvey and I, lying in the scanty shade of the trunk of a tall pine, and +with hearts filled with solicitude as to the outcome of what the evening +would bring us, looked out over the scene as we had done daily for long +months, and remained silent for hours, until the sun, as if weary with +torturing and slaying, began going down in the blazing West. The groans +of the thousands of sick around us, the shrieks of the rotting ones in +the gangrene wards rang incessantly in our ears. + +As the sun disappeared, and the heat abated, the suspended activity was +restored. The Master of the Hounds came out with his yelping pack, and +started on his rounds; the Rebel officers aroused themselves from their +siesta and went lazily about their duties; the fifer produced his cracked +fife and piped forth his unvarying "Bonnie Blue Flag," as a signal for +dress parade, and drums beaten by unskilled hands in the camps of the +different regiments, repeated the signal. In time Stockade the mass of +humanity became full of motion as an ant hill, and resembled it very much +from our point of view, with the boys threading their way among the +burrows, tents and holes. + +It was becoming dark quite rapidly. The moments seemed galloping onward +toward the time when we must make the decisive step. We drew from the +dirty rag in which it was wrapped the little piece of corn bread that we +had saved for our supper, carefully divided it into two equal parts, +and each took one and ate it in silence. This done, we held a final +consultation as to our plans, and went over each detail carefully, that +we might fully understand each other under all possible circumstances, +and act in concert. One point we laboriously impressed upon each other, +and that was; that under no circumstances were we to allow ourselves to +be tempted to leave the Creek until we reached its junction with the +Flint River. I then picked up two pine leaves, broke them off to unequal +lengths, rolled them in my hands behind my back for a second, and +presenting them to Harney with their ends sticking out of my closed hand, +said: + +"The one that gets the longest one goes first." + +Harvey reached forth and drew the longer one. + +We made a tour of reconnaissance. Everything seemed as usual, and +wonderfully calm compared with the tumult in our minds. The Hospital +guards were pacing their beats lazily; those on the Stockade were +drawling listlessly the first "call around" of the evening: + +"Post numbah foah! Half-past seven o'clock! and a-l-l's we-l-ll!" + +Inside the Stockade was a Babel of sounds, above all of which rose the +melody of religious and patriotic songs, sung in various parts of the +camp. From the headquarters came the shouts and laughter of the Rebel +officers having a little "frolic" in the cool of the evening. The groans +of the sick around us were gradually hushing, as the abatement of the +terrible heat let all but the worst cases sink into a brief slumber, +from which they awoke before midnight to renew their outcries. But those +in the Gangrene wards seemed to be denied even this scanty blessing. +Apparently they never slept, for their shrieks never ceased. A multitude +of whip-poor-wills in the woods around us began their usual dismal cry, +which had never seemed so unearthly and full of dreadful presages as now. + +It was, now quite dark, and we stole noiselessly down to the Creek and +reconnoitered. We listened. The guard was not pacing his beat, as we +could not hear his footsteps. A large, ill-shapen lump against the trunk +of one of the trees on the bank showed that he was leaning there resting +himself. We watched him for several minutes, but he did not move, and +the thought shot into our minds that he might be asleep; but it seemed +impossible: it was too early in the evening. + +Now, if ever, was the opportunity. Harney squeezed my hand, stepped +noiselessly into the Creek, laid himself gently down into the filthy +water, and while my heart was beating so that I was certain it could be +heard some distance from me, began making toward the fence. He passed +under easily, and I raised my eyes toward the guard, while on my strained +ear fell the soft plashing made by Harvey as he pulled himself cautiously +forward. It seemed as if the sentinel must hear this; he could not help +it, and every second I expected to see the black lump address itself to +motion, and the musket flash out fiendishly. But he did not; the lump +remained motionless; the musket silent. + +When I thought that Harvey had gained a sufficient distance I followed. +It seemed as if the disgusting water would smother me as I laid myself +down into it, and such was my agitation that it appeared almost +impossible that I should escape making such a noise as would attract the +guard's notice. Catching hold of the roots and limbs at the side of the +stream, I pulled myself slowly along, and as noiselessly as possible. + +I passed under the fence without difficulty, and was outside, and within +fifteen feet of the guard. I had lain down into the creek upon my right +side, that my face might be toward the guard, and I could watch him +closely all the time. + +As I came under the fence he was still leaning motionless against the +tree, but to my heated imagination he appeared to have turned and be +watching me. I hardly breathed; the filthy water rippling past me seemed +to roar to attract the guard's attention; I reached my hand out +cautiously to grasp a root to pull myself along by, and caught instead a +dry branch, which broke with a loud crack. My heart absolutely stood +still. The guard evidently heard the noise. The black lump separated +itself from the tree, and a straight line which I knew to be his musket +separated itself from the lump. In a brief instant I lived a year of +mortal apprehension. So certain was I that he had discovered me, and was +leveling his piece to fire, that I could scarcely restrain myself from +springing up and dashing away to avoid the shot. Then I heard him take a +step, and to my unutterable surprise and relief, he walked off farther +from the Creek, evidently to speak to the man whose beat joined his. + +I pulled away more swiftly, but still with the greatest caution, until +after half-an-hour's painful effort I had gotten fully one hundred and +fifty yards away from the Hospital fence, and found Harney crouched on a +cypress knee, close to the water's edge, watching for me. + +We waited there a few minutes, until I could rest, and calm my perturbed +nerves down to something nearer their normal equilibrium, and then +started on. We hoped that if we were as lucky in our next step as in the +first one we would reach the Flint River by daylight, and have a good +long start before the morning roll-call revealed our absence. We could +hear the hounds still baying in the distance, but this sound was too +customary to give us any uneasiness. + +But our progress was terribly slow. Every step hurt fearfully. The +Creek bed was full of roots and snags, and briers, and vines trailed +across it. These caught and tore our bare feet and legs, rendered +abnormally tender by the scurvy. It seemed as if every step was marked +with blood. The vines tripped us, and we frequently fell headlong. We +struggled on determinedly for nearly an hour, and were perhaps a mile +from the Hospital. + +The moon came up, and its light showed that the creek continued its +course through a dense jungle like that we had been traversing, while on +the high ground to our left were the open pine woods I have previously +described. + +We stopped and debated for a few minutes. We recalled our promise to +keep in the Creek, the experience of other boys who had tried to escape +and been caught by the hounds. If we staid in the Creek we were sure the +hounds would not find our trail, but it was equally certain that at this +rate we would be exhausted and starved before we got out of sight of the +prison. It seemed that we had gone far enough to be out of reach of the +packs patrolling immediately around the Stockade, and there could be but +little risk in trying a short walk on the dry ground. We concluded to +take the chances, and, ascending the bank, we walked and ran as fast as +we could for about two miles further. + +All at once it struck me that with all our progress the hounds sounded as +near as when we started. I shivered at the thought, and though nearly +ready to drop with fatigue, urged myself and Harney on. + +An instant later their baying rang out on the still night air right +behind us, and with fearful distinctness. There was no mistake now; they +had found our trail, and were running us down. The change from fearful +apprehension to the crushing reality stopped us stock-still in our +tracks. + +At the next breath the hounds came bursting through the woods in plain +sight, and in full cry. We obeyed our first impulse; rushed back into +the swamp, forced our way for a few yards through the flesh-tearing +impediments, until we gained a large cypress, upon whose great knees we +climbed--thoroughly exhausted--just as the yelping pack reached the edge +of the water, and stopped there and bayed at us. It was a physical +impossibility for us to go another step. + +In a moment the low-browed villain who had charge of the hounds came +galloping up on his mule, tooting signals to his dogs as he came, on the +cow-horn slung from his shoulders. + +He immediately discovered us, covered us with his revolver, and yelled +out: + +"Come ashore, there, quick: you---- ---- ---- ----s!" + +There was no help for it. We climbed down off the knees and started +towards the land. As we neared it, the hounds became almost frantic, +and it seemed as if we would be torn to pieces the moment they could +reach us. But the master dismounted and drove them back. He was surly +--even savage--to us, but seemed in too much hurry to get back to waste any +time annoying us with the dogs. He ordered us to get around in front of +the mule, and start back to camp. We moved as rapidly as our fatigue and +our lacerated feet would allow us, and before midnight were again in the +hospital, fatigued, filthy, torn, bruised and wretched beyond description +or conception. + +The next morning we were turned back into the Stockade as punishment. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIX. + +AUGUST--GOOD LUCK IN NOT MEETING CAPTAIN WIRZ--THAT WORTHY'S TREATMENT OF +RECAPTURED PRISONERS--SECRET SOCIETIES IN PRISON--SINGULAR MEETING AND +ITS RESULT--DISCOVERY AND REMOVAL OF THE OFFICERS AMONG THE ENLISTED MEN. + +Harney and I were specially fortunate in being turned back into the +Stockade without being brought before Captain Wirz. + +We subsequently learned that we owed this good luck to Wirz's absence on +sick leave--his place being supplied by Lieutenant Davis, a moderate +brained Baltimorean, and one of that horde of Marylanders in the Rebel +Army, whose principal service to the Confederacy consisted in working +themselves into "bomb-proof" places, and forcing those whom they +displaced into the field. Winder was the illustrious head of this crowd +of bomb-proof Rebels from "Maryland, My Maryland!" whose enthusiasm for +the Southern cause and consistency in serving it only in such places as +were out of range of the Yankee artillery, was the subject of many bitter +jibes by the Rebels--especially by those whose secure berths they +possessed themselves of. + +Lieutenant Davis went into the war with great brashness. He was one of +the mob which attacked the Sixth Massachusetts in its passage through +Baltimore, but, like all of that class of roughs, he got his stomach full +of war as soon as the real business of fighting began, and he retired to +where the chances of attaining a ripe old age were better than in front +of the Army of the Potomac's muskets. We shall hear of Davis again. + +Encountering Captain Wirz was one of the terrors of an abortive attempt +to escape. When recaptured prisoners were brought before him he would +frequently give way to paroxysms of screaming rage, so violent as to +closely verge on insanity. Brandishing the fearful and wonderful +revolver--of which I have spoken in such a manner as to threaten the +luckless captives with instant death, he would shriek out imprecations, +curses; and foul epithets in French, German and English, until he fairly +frothed at the mouth. There were plenty of stories current in camp of his +having several times given away to his rage so far as to actually shoot +men down in these interviews, and still more of his knocking boys down +and jumping upon them, until he inflicted injuries that soon resulted in +death. How true these rumors were I am unable to say of my own personal +knowledge, since I never saw him kill any one, nor have I talked with any +one who did. There were a number of cases of this kind testified to upon +his trial, but they all happened among "paroles" outside the Stockade, +or among the prisoners inside after we left, so I knew nothing of them. + +One of the Old Switzer's favorite ways of ending these seances was to +inform the boys that he would have them shot in an hour or so, and bid +them prepare for death. After keeping them in fearful suspense for hours +he would order them to be punished with the stocks, the ball-and-chain, +the chain-gang, or--if his fierce mood had burned itself entirely out +--as was quite likely with a man of his shallop' brain and vacillating +temper--to be simply returned to the stockade. + +Nothing, I am sure, since the days of the Inquisition--or still later, +since the terrible punishments visited upon the insurgents of 1848 by the +Austrian aristocrats--has been so diabolical as the stocks and +chain-gangs, as used by Wirz. At one time seven men, sitting in the +stocks near the Star Fort--in plain view of the camp--became objects of +interest to everybody inside. They were never relieved from their +painful position, but were kept there until all of them died. I think +it was nearly two weeks before the last one succumbed. What they +endured in that time even imagination cannot conceive--I do not think +that an Indian tribe ever devised keener torture for its captives. + +The chain-gang consisted of a number of men--varying from twelve to +twenty-five, all chained to one sixty-four pound ball. They were also +stationed near the Star Fort, standing out in the hot sun, without a +particle of shade over them. When one moved they all had to move. +They were scourged with the dysentery, and the necessities of some one +of their number kept them constantly in motion. I can see them +distinctly yet, tramping laboriously and painfully back and forward over +that burning hillside, every moment of the long, weary Summer days. + +A comrade writes to remind me of the beneficent work of the Masonic +Order. I mention it most gladly, as it was the sole recognition on the +part of any of our foes of our claims to human kinship. The churches of +all denominations--except the solitary Catholic priest, Father Hamilton, +--ignored us as wholly as if we were dumb beasts. Lay humanitarians were +equally indifferent, and the only interest manifested by any Rebel in the +welfare of any prisoner was by the Masonic brotherhood. The Rebel Masons +interested themselves in securing details outside the Stockade in the +cookhouse, the commissary, and elsewhere, for the brethren among the +prisoners who would accept such favors. Such as did not feel inclined to +go outside on parole received frequent presents in the way of food, and +especially of vegetables, which were literally beyond price. Materials +were sent inside to build tents for the Masons, and I think such as made +themselves known before death, received burial according to the rites of +the Order. Doctor White, and perhaps other Surgeons, belonged to the +fraternity, and the wearing of a Masonic emblem by a new prisoner was +pretty sure to catch their eyes, and be the means of securing for the +wearer the tender of their good offices, such as a detail into the +Hospital as nurse, ward-master, etc. + +I was not fortunate enough to be one of the mystic brethren, and so +missed all share in any of these benefits, as well as in any others, +and I take special pride in one thing: that during my whole imprisonment +I was not beholden to a Rebel for a single favor of any kind. The Rebel +does not live who can say that he ever gave me so much as a handful of +meal, a spoonful of salt, an inch of thread, or a stick of wood. +From first to last I received nothing but my rations, except occasional +trifles that I succeeded in stealing from the stupid officers charged +with issuing rations. I owe no man in the Southern Confederacy gratitude +for anything--not even for a kind word. + +Speaking of secret society pins recalls a noteworthy story which has been +told me since the war, of boys whom I knew. At the breaking out of +hostilities there existed in Toledo a festive little secret society, +such as lurking boys frequently organize, with no other object than fun +and the usual adolescent love of mystery. There were a dozen or so +members in it who called themselves "The Royal Reubens," and were headed +by a bookbinder named Ned Hopkins. Some one started a branch of the +Order in Napoleon, O., and among the members was Charles E. Reynolds, +of that town. The badge of the society was a peculiarly shaped gold pin. +Reynolds and Hopkins never met, and had no acquaintance with each other. +When the war broke out, Hopkins enlisted in Battery H, First Ohio +Artillery, and was sent to the Army of the Potomac, where he was +captured, in the Fall of 1863, while scouting, in the neighborhood of +Richmond. Reynolds entered the Sixty-Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, +and was taken in the neighborhood of Jackson, Miss.,--two thousand miles +from the place of Hopkins's capture. At Andersonville Hopkins became one +of the officers in charge of the Hospital. One day a Rebel Sergeant, who +called the roll in the Stockade, after studying Hopkins's pin a minute, +said: + +"I seed a Yank in the Stockade to-day a-wearing a pin egzackly like that +ere." + +This aroused Hopkins's interest, and he went inside in search of the +other "feller." Having his squad and detachment there was little +difficulty in finding him. He recognized the pin, spoke to its wearer, +gave him the "grand hailing sign" of the "Royal Reubens," and it was duly +responded to. The upshot of the matter was that he took Reynolds out +with him as clerk, and saved his life, as the latter was going down hill +very rapidly. Reynolds, in turn, secured the detail of a comrade of the +Sixty-Eighth who was failing fast, and succeeded in saving his life--all +of which happy results were directly attributable to that insignificant +boyish society, and its equally unimportant badge of membership. + +Along in the last of August the Rebels learned that there were between +two and three hundred Captains and Lieutenants in the Stockade, passing +themselves off as enlisted men. The motive of these officers was +two-fold: first, a chivalrous wish to share the fortunes and fate of their +boys, and second, disinclination to gratify the Rebels by the knowledge +of the rank of their captives. The secret was so well kept that none of +us suspected it until the fact was announced by the Rebels themselves. +They were taken out immediately, and sent to Macon, where the +commissioned officers' prison was. It would not do to trust such +possible leaders with us another day. + + + + +CHAPTER L. + +FOOD--THE MEAGERNESS, INFERIOR QUALITY, AND TERRIBLE SAMENESS +--REBEL TESTIMONY ON THE SUBJECT--FUTILITY OF SUCCESSFUL EXPLANATION. + +I have in other places dwelt upon the insufficiency and the nauseousness +of the food. No words that I can use, no insistence upon this theme, can +give the reader any idea of its mortal importance to us. + +Let the reader consider for a moment the quantity, quality, and variety +of food that he now holds to be necessary for the maintenance of life and +health. I trust that every one who peruses this book--that every one in +fact over whom the Stars and Stripes wave--has his cup of coffee, his +biscuits and his beefsteak for breakfast--a substantial dinner of roast +or boiled--and a lighter, but still sufficient meal in the evening. +In all, certainly not less than fifty different articles are set before +him during the day, for his choice as elements of nourishment. Let him +scan this extended bill-of-fare, which long custom has made so +common-place as to be uninteresting--perhaps even wearisome to think about +--and see what he could omit from it, if necessity compelled him. After a +reluctant farewell to fish, butter, eggs, milk, sugar, green and +preserved fruits, etc., he thinks that perhaps under extraordinary +circumstances he might be able to merely sustain life for a limited +period on a diet of bread and meat three times a day, washed down with +creamless, unsweetened coffee, and varied occasionally with additions of +potatos, onions, beans, etc. It would astonish the Innocent to have one +of our veterans inform him that this was not even the first stage of +destitution; that a soldier who had these was expected to be on the +summit level of contentment. Any of the boys who followed Grant to +Appomattox Court House, Sherman to the Sea, or "Pap" Thomas till his +glorious career culminated with the annihilation of Hood, will tell him +of many weeks when a slice of fat pork on a piece of "hard tack" had to +do duty for the breakfast of beefsteak and biscuits; when another slice +of fat pork and another cracker served for the dinner of roast beef and +vegetables, and a third cracker and slice of pork was a substitute for +the supper of toast and chops. + +I say to these veterans in turn that they did not arrive at the first +stages of destitution compared with the depths to which we were dragged. +The restriction for a few weeks to a diet of crackers and fat pork was +certainly a hardship, but the crackers alone, chemists tell us, contain +all the elements necessary to support life, and in our Army they were +always well made and very palatable. I believe I risk nothing in saying +that one of the ordinary square crackers of our Commissary Department +contained much more real nutriment than the whole of our average ration. + +I have before compared the size, shape and appearance of the daily half +loaf of corn bread issued to us to a half-brick, and I do not yet know of +a more fitting comparison. At first we got a small piece of rusty bacon +along with this; but the size of this diminished steadily until at last +it faded away entirely, and during the last six months of our +imprisonment I do not believe that we received rations of meat above a +half-dozen times. + +To this smallness was added ineffable badness. The meal was ground very +coarsely, by dull, weakly propelled stones, that imperfectly crushed the +grains, and left the tough, hard coating of the kernels in large, sharp, +mica-like scales, which cut and inflamed the stomach and intestines, +like handfuls of pounded glass. The alimentary canals of all compelled +to eat it were kept in a continual state of irritation that usually +terminated in incurable dysentery. + +That I have not over-stated this evil can be seen by reference to the +testimony of so competent a scientific observer as Professor Jones, and I +add to that unimpeachable testimony the following extract from the +statement made in an attempted defense of Andersonville by Doctor R. +Randolph Stevenson, who styles himself, formerly Surgeon in the Army of +the Confederate States of America, Chief Surgeon of the Confederate +States Military Prison Hospitals, Andersonville, Ga.: + +V. From the sameness of the food, and from the action of the poisonous +gases in the densely crowded and filthy Stockade and Hospital, the blood +was altered in its constitution, even, before the manifestation of actual +disease. + +In both the well and the sick, the red corpuscles were diminished; and in +all diseases uncomplicated with inflammation, the fibrinous element was +deficient. In cases of ulceration of the mucous membrane of the +intestinal canal, the fibrinous element of the blood appeared to be +increased; while in simple diarrhea, uncomplicated with ulceration, and +dependent upon the character of the food and the existence of scurvy, +it was either diminished or remained stationary. Heart-clots were very +common, if not universally present, in the cases of ulceration of the +intestinal mucous membrane; while in the uncomplicated cases of diarrhea +and scurvy, the blood was fluid and did not coagulate readily, and the +heart-clots and fibrinous concretions were almost universally absent. +From the watery condition of the blood there resulted various serous +effusions into the pericardium, into the ventricles of the brain, and +into the abdominal cavity. + +In almost all cases which I examined after death, even in the most +emaciated, there was more or less serous effusion into the abdominal +cavity. In cases of hospital gangrene of the extremities, and in cases +of gangrene of the intestines, heart-clots and firm coagula were +universally present. The presence of these clots in the cases of +hospital gangrene, whilst they were absent in the cases in which there +were no inflammatory symptoms, appears to sustain the conclusion that +hospital gangrene is a species of inflammation (imperfect and irregular +though it may be in its progress), in which the fibrinous element and +coagulability of the blood are increased, even in those who are suffering +from such a condition of the blood and from such diseases as are +naturally accompanied with a decrease in the fibrinous constituent. + + +VI. The impoverished condition of the blood, which led to serous +effusions within the ventricles of the brain, and around the brain and +spinal cord, and into the pericardial and abdominal cavities, was +gradually induced by the action of several causes, but chiefly by the +character of the food. + +The Federal prisoners, as a general rule, had been reared upon wheat +bread and Irish potatos; and the Indian corn so extensively used at the +South, was almost unknown to them as an article of diet previous to their +capture. Owing to the impossibility of obtaining the necessary sieves in +the Confederacy for the separation of the husk from the corn-meal, the +rations of the Confederate soldiers, as well as of the Federal prisoners, +consisted of unbolted corn-flour, and meal and grist; this circumstance +rendered the corn-bread still more disagreeable and distasteful to the +Federal prisoners. While Indian meal, even when prepared with the husk, +is one of the most wholesome and nutritious forms of food, as has been +already shown by the health and rapid increase of the Southern +population, and especially of the negros, previous to the present war, +and by the strength, endurance and activity of the Confederate soldiers, +who were throughout the war confined to a great extent to unbolted +corn-meal; it is nevertheless true that those who have not been reared +upon corn-meal, or who have not accustomed themselves to its use +gradually, become excessively tired of this kind of diet when suddenly +confined to it without a due proportion of wheat bread. Large numbers +of the Federal prisoners appeared to be utterly disgusted with Indian +corn, and immense piles of corn-bread could be seen in the Stockade and +Hospital inclosures. Those who were so disgusted with this form of food +that they had no appetite to partake of it, except in quantities +insufficient to supply the waste of the tissues, were, of course, in the +condition of men slowly starving, notwithstanding that the only +farinaceous form of food which the Confederate States produced in +sufficient abundance for the maintenance of armies was not withheld from +them. In such cases, an urgent feeling of hunger was not a prominent +symptom; and even when it existed at first, it soon disappeared, and was +succeeded by an actual loathing of food. In this state the muscular +strength was rapidly diminished, the tissues wasted, and the thin, +skeleton-like forms moved about with the appearance of utter exhaustion +and dejection. The mental condition connected with long confinement, +with the most miserable surroundings, and with no hope for the future, +also depressed all the nervous and vital actions, and was especially +active in destroying the appetite. The effects of mental depression, +and of defective nutrition, were manifested not only in the slow, feeble +motions of the wasted, skeleton-like forms, but also in such lethargy, +listlessness, and torpor of the mental faculties as rendered these +unfortunate men oblivious and indifferent to their afflicted condition. +In many cases, even of the greatest apparent suffering and distress, +instead of showing any anxiety to communicate the causes of their +distress, or to relate their privations, and their longings for their +homes and their friends and relatives, they lay in a listless, +lethargic, uncomplaining state, taking no notice either of their own +distressed condition, or of the gigantic mass of human misery by which +they were surrounded. Nothing appalled and depressed me so much as this +silent, uncomplaining misery. It is a fact of great interest, that +notwithstanding this defective nutrition in men subjected to crowding +and filth, contagious fevers were rare; and typhus fever, which is +supposed to be generated in just such a state of things as existed at +Andersonville, was unknown. These facts, established by my +investigations, stand in striking contrast with such a statement as the +following by a recent English writer: + +"A deficiency of food, especially of the nitrogenous part, quickly leads +to the breaking up of the animal frame. Plague, pestilence and famine +are associated with each other in the public mind, and the records of +every country show how closely they are related. The medical history of +Ireland is remarkable for the illustrations of how much mischief may be +occasioned by a general deficiency of food. Always the habitat of fever, +it every now and then becomes the very hot-bed of its propagation and +development. Let there be but a small failure in the usual imperfect +supply of food, and the lurking seeds of pestilence are ready to burst +into frightful activity. The famine of the present century is but too +forcible and illustrative of this. It fostered epidemics which have not +been witnessed in this generation, and gave rise to scenes of devastation +and misery which are not surpassed by the most appalling epidemics of the +Middle Ages. The principal form of the scourge was known as the +contagious famine fever (typhus), and it spread, not merely from end to +end of the country in which it had originated, but, breaking through all +boundaries, it crossed the broad ocean, and made itself painfully +manifest in localities where it was previously unknown. Thousands fell +under the virulence of its action, for wherever it came it struck down a +seventh of the people, and of those whom it attacked, one out of nine +perished. Even those who escaped the fatal influence of it, were left +the miserable victims of scurvy and low fever." + +While we readily admit that famine induces that state of the system which +is the most susceptible to the action of fever poisons, and thus induces +the state of the entire population which is most favorable for the rapid +and destructive spread of all contagious fevers, at the same time we are +forced by the facts established by the present war, as well as by a host +of others, both old and new, to admit that we are still ignorant of the +causes necessary for the origin of typhus fever. Added to the imperfect +nature of the rations issued to the Federal prisoners, the difficulties +of their situation were at times greatly increased by the sudden and +desolating Federal raids in Virginia, Georgia, and other States, which +necessitated the sudden transportation from Richmond and other points +threatened of large bodies of prisoners, without the possibility of much +previous preparation; and not only did these men suffer in transition +upon the dilapidated and overburdened line of railroad communication, +but after arriving at Andersonville, the rations were frequently +insufficient to supply the sudden addition of several thousand men. +And as the Confederacy became more and more pressed, and when powerful +hostile armies were plunging through her bosom, the Federal prisoners of +Andersonville suffered incredibly during the hasty removal to Millen, +Savannah, Charleston, and other points, supposed at the time to be secure +from the enemy. Each one of these causes must be weighed when an attempt +is made to estimate the unusual mortality among these prisoners of war. + +VII. Scurvy, arising from sameness of food and imperfect nutrition, +caused, either directly or indirectly, nine-tenths of the deaths among +the Federal prisoners at Andersonville. + +Not only were the deaths referred to unknown causes, to apoplexy, to +anasarca, and to debility, traceable to scurvy and its effects; and not +only was the mortality in small-pox, pneumonia, and typhoid fever, and in +all acute diseases, more than doubled by the scorbutic taint, but even +those all but universal and deadly bowel affections arose from the same +causes, and derived their fatal character from the same conditions which +produced the scurvy. In truth, these men at Andersonville were in the +condition of a crew at sea, confined in a foul ship upon salt meat and +unvarying food, and without fresh vegetables. Not only so, but these +unfortunate prisoners were men forcibly confined and crowded upon a ship +tossed about on a stormy ocean, without a rudder, without a compass, +without a guiding-star, and without any apparent boundary or to their +voyage; and they reflected in their steadily increasing miseries the +distressed condition and waning fortunes of devastated and bleeding +country, which was compelled, in justice to her own unfortunate sons, to +hold these men in the most distressing captivity. + +I saw nothing in the scurvy which prevailed so universally at +Andersonville, at all different from this disease as described by various +standard writers. The mortality was no greater than that which has +afflicted a hundred ships upon long voyages, and it did not exceed the +mortality which has, upon me than one occasion, and in a much shorter +period of time, annihilated large armies and desolated beleaguered +cities. The general results of my investigations upon the chronic +diarrhea and dysentery of the Federal prisoners of Andersonville were +similar to those of the English surgeons during the war against Russia. + +IX. Drugs exercised but little influence over the progress and fatal +termination of chronic diarrhea and dysentery in the Military Prison and +Hospital at Andersonville, chiefly because the proper form of nourishment +(milk, rice, vegetables, anti-scorbutics, and nourishing animal and +vegetable soups) was not issued, and could not be procured in sufficient +quantities for the sick prisoners. + +Opium allayed pain and checked the bowels temporarily, but the frail dam +was soon swept away, and the patient appears to be but little better, +if not the worse, for this merely palliative treatment. The root of the +difficulty could not be reached by drugs; nothing short of the wanting +elements of nutrition would have tended in any manner to restore the tone +of the digestive system, and of all the wasted and degenerated organs and +tissues. My opinion to this effect was expressed most decidedly to the +medical officers in charge of these unfortunate men. The correctness of +this view was sustained by the healthy and robust condition of the +paroled prisoners, who received an extra ration, and who were able to +make considerable sums by trading, and who supplied themselves with a +liberal and varied diet. + +X. The fact that hospital gangrene appeared in the Stockade first, and +originated spontaneously, without any previous contagion, and occurred +sporadically all over the Stockade and Prison Hospital, was proof +positive that this disease will arise whenever the conditions of +crowding, filth, foul air, and bad diet are present. + +The exhalations from the Hospital and Stockade appeared to exert their +effects to a considerable distance outside of these localities. +The origin of gangrene among these prisoners appeared clearly to depend +in great measure upon the state of the general system, induced by diet, +exposure, neglect of personal cleanliness; and by various external +noxious influences. The rapidity of the appearance and action of the +gangrene depended upon the powers and state of the constitution, as well +as upon the intensity of the poison in the atmosphere, or upon the direct +application of poisonous matter to the wounded surface. This was further +illustrated by the important fact, that hospital gangrene, or a disease +resembling this form of gangrene, attacked the intestinal canal of +patients laboring under ulceration of the bowels, although there were no +local manifestations of gangrene upon the surface of the body. This mode +of termination in cases of dysentery was quite common in the foul +atmosphere of the Confederate States Military Prison Hospital; and in the +depressed, depraved condition of the system of these Federal prisoners, +death ensued very rapidly after the gangrenous state of the intestines +was established. + +XI. A scorbutic condition of the system appeared to favor the origin of +foul ulcers, which frequently took on true hospital gangrene. + +Scurvy and gangrene frequently existed in the same individual. In such +cases, vegetable diet with vegetable acids would remove the scorbutic +condition without curing the hospital gangrene. . . Scurvy consists +not only in an alteration in the constitution of the blood, which leads +to passive hemorrhages from the bowels, and the effusion into the various +tissues of a deeply-colored fibrinous exudation; but, as we have +conclusively shown by postmortem examination, this state is attended with +consistence of the muscles of the heart, and the mucous membrane of the +alimentary canal, and of solid parts generally. We have, according to +the extent of the deficiency of certain articles of food, every degree of +scorbutic derangement, from the most fearful depravation of the blood +and the perversion of every function subserved by the blood to those +slight derangements which are scarcely distinguishable from a state of +health. We are as yet ignorant of the true nature of the changes of the +blood and tissues in scurvy, and wide field for investigation is open for +the determination the characteristic changes--physical, chemical, and +physiological--of the blood and tissues, and of the secretions and +excretions of scurvy. Such inquiries would be of great value in their +bearing upon the origin of hospital gangrene. Up to the present war, +the results of chemical investigations upon the pathology of the blood in +scurvy were not only contradictory, but meager, and wanting in that +careful detail of the cases from which the blood was abstracted which +would enable us to explain the cause of the apparent discrepancies in +different analyses. Thus it is not yet settled whether the fibrin is +increased or diminished in this disease; and the differences which exist +in the statements of different writers appear to be referable to the +neglect of a critical examination and record of all the symptoms of the +cases from which the blood was abstracted. The true nature of the +changes of the blood in scurvy can be established only by numerous +analyses during different stages of the disease, and followed up by +carefully performed and recorded postmortem examinations. With such data +we could settle such important questions as whether the increase of +fibrin in scurvy was invariably dependent upon some local inflammation. + +XII. Gangrenous spots, followed by rapid destruction of tissue, appeared +in some cases in which there had been no previous or existing wound or +abrasion; and without such well established facts, it might be assumed +that the disease was propagated from one patient to another in every +case, either by exhalations from the gangrenous surface or by direct +contact. + +In such a filthy and crowded hospital as that of the Confederate, States +Military Prison of Camp Sumter, Andersonville, it was impossible to +isolate the wounded from the sources of actual contact of the gangrenous +matter. The flies swarming over the wounds and over filth of every +description; the filthy, imperfectly washed, and scanty rags; the limited +number of sponges and wash-bowls (the same wash-bowl and sponge serving +for a score or more of patients), were one and all sources of such +constant circulation of the gangrenous matter, that the disease might +rapidly be propagated from a single gangrenous wound. While the fact +already considered, that a form of moist gangrene, resembling hospital +gangrene, was quite common in this foul atmosphere in cases of dysentery, +both with and without the existence of hospital gangrene upon the +surface, demonstrates the dependence of the disease upon the state of the +constitution, and proves in a clear manner that neither the contact of +the poisonous matter of gangrene, nor the direct action of the poisoned +atmosphere upon the ulcerated surface, is necessary to the development of +the disease; on the other hand, it is equally well-established that the +disease may be communicated by the various ways just mentioned. It is +impossible to determine the length of time which rags and clothing +saturated with gangrenous matter will retain the power of reproducing the +disease when applied to healthy wounds. Professor Brugmans, as quoted by +Guthrie in his commentaries on the surgery of the war in Portugal, Spain, +France, and the Netherlands, says that in 1797, in Holland, 'charpie,' +composed of linen threads cut of different lengths, which, on inquiry, it +was found had been already used in the great hospitals in France, and had +been subsequently washed and bleached, caused every ulcer to which it was +applied to be affected by hospital gangrene. Guthrie affirms in the same +work, that the fact that this disease was readily communicated by the +application of instruments, lint, or bandages which had been in contact +with infected parts, was too firmly established by the experience of +every one in Portugal and Spain to be a matter of doubt. There are facts +to show that flies may be the means of communicating malignant pustules. +Dr. Wagner, who has related several cases of malignant pustule produced +in man and beasts, both by contact and by eating the flesh of diseased +animals, which happened in the village of Striessa in Saxony, in 1834, +gives two very remarkable cases which occurred eight days after any beast +had been affected with the disease. Both were women, one of twenty-six +and the other of fifty years, and in them the pustules were well marked, +and the general symptoms similar to the other cases. The latter patient +said she had been bitten by a fly upon the back d the neck, at which part +the carbuncle appeared; and the former, that she had also been bitten +upon the right upper arm by a gnat. Upon inquiry, Wagner found that the +skin of one of the infected beasts had been hung on a neighboring wall, +and thought it very possible that the insects might have been attracted +to them by the smell, and had thence conveyed the poison. + +[End of Dr. Stevenson's Statement] + + .......................... + +The old adage says that "Hunger is the best sauce for poor food," but +hunger failed to render this detestable stuff palatable, and it became so +loathsome that very many actually starved to death because unable to +force their organs of deglutition to receive the nauseous dose and pass +it to the stomach. I was always much healthier than the average of the +boys, and my appetite consequently much better, yet for the last month +that I was in Andersonville, it required all my determination to crowd +the bread down my throat, and, as I have stated before, I could only do +this by breaking off small bits at a time, and forcing each down as I +would a pill. + +A large part of this repulsiveness was due to the coarseness and foulness +of the meal, the wretched cooking, and the lack of salt, but there was a +still more potent reason than all these. Nature does not intend that man +shall live by bread alone, nor by any one kind of food. She indicates +this by the varying tastes and longings that she gives him. If his body +needs one kind of constituents, his tastes lead him to desire the food +that is richest in those constituents. When he has taken as much as his +system requires, the sense of satiety supervenes, and he "becomes tired" +of that particular food. If tastes are not perverted, but allowed a free +but temperate exercise, they are the surest indicators of the way to +preserve health and strength by a judicious selection of alimentation. + +In this case Nature was protesting by a rebellion of the tastes against +any further use of that species of food. She was saying, as plainly as +she ever spoke, that death could only be averted by a change of diet, +which would supply our bodies with the constituents they so sadly needed, +and which could not be supplied by corn meal. + +How needless was this confinement of our rations to corn meal, and +especially to such wretchedly prepared meal, is conclusively shown by the +Rebel testimony heretofore given. It would have been very little extra +trouble to the Rebels to have had our meal sifted; we would gladly have +done it ourselves if allowed the utensils and opportunity. It would have +been as little trouble to have varied our rations with green corn and +sweet potatos, of which the country was then full. + +A few wagon loads of roasting ears and sweet potatos would have banished +every trace of scurvy from the camp, healed up the wasting dysentery, +and saved thousands of lives. Any day that the Rebels had chosen they +could have gotten a thousand volunteers who would have given their solemn +parole not to escape, and gone any distance into the country, to gather +the potatos and corn, and such other vegetables as were readily +obtainable, and bring, them into the camp. + +Whatever else may be said in defense of the Southern management of +military prisons, the permitting seven thousand men to die of the scurvy +in the Summer time, in the midst of an agricultural region, filled with +all manner of green vegetation, must forever remain impossible of +explanation. + + + + +CHAPTER LI. + +SOLICITUDE AS TO THE FATE OF ATLANTA AND SHERMAN'S ARMY--PAUCITY OF NEWS +--HOW WE HEARD THAT ATLANTA HAD FALLEN--ANNOUNCEMENT OF A GENERAL +EXCHANGE--WE LEAVE ANDERSONVILLE. + +We again began to be exceedingly solicitous over the fate of Atlanta and +Sherman's Army: we had heard but little directly from that front for +several weeks. Few prisoners had come in since those captured in the +bloody engagements of the 20th, 22d, and 28th of July. In spite of their +confident tones, and our own sanguine hopes, the outlook admitted of very +grave doubts. The battles of the last week of July had been looked at it +in the best light possible--indecisive. Our men had held their own, +it is true, but an invading army can not afford to simply hold its own. +Anything short of an absolute success is to it disguised defeat. Then we +knew that the cavalry column sent out under Stoneman had been so badly +handled by that inefficient commander that it had failed ridiculously in +its object, being beaten in detail, and suffering the loss of its +commander and a considerable portion of its numbers. This had been +followed by a defeat of our infantry at Etowah Creek, and then came a +long interval in which we received no news save what the Rebel papers +contained, and they pretended no doubt that Sherman's failure was already +demonstrated. Next came well-authenticated news that Sherman had raised +the siege and fallen back to the Chattahoochee, and we felt something of +the bitterness of despair. For days thereafter we heard nothing, though +the hot, close Summer air seemed surcharged with the premonitions of a +war storm about to burst, even as nature heralds in the same way a +concentration of the mighty force of the elements for the grand crash of +the thunderstorm. We waited in tense expectancy for the decision of the +fates whether final victory or defeat should end the long and arduous +campaign. + +At night the guards in the perches around the Stockade called out every +half hour, so as to show the officers that they were awake and attending +to their duty. The formula for this ran thus: + +"Post numbah 1; half-past eight o'clock, and a-l-l 's w-e-l-l!" + +Post No. 2 repeated this cry, and so it went around. + +One evening when our anxiety as to Atlanta was wrought to the highest +pitch, one of the guards sang out: + +"Post numbah foah--half past eight o'clock--and Atlanta's--gone--t-o +--hell." + +The heart of every man within hearing leaped to his mouth. We looked +toward each other, almost speechless with glad surprise, and then gasped +out: + +"Did 'you hear THAT?" + +The next instant such a ringing cheer burst out as wells spontaneously +from the throats and hearts of men, in the first ecstatic moments of +victory--a cheer to which our saddened hearts and enfeebled lungs had +long been strangers. It was the genuine, honest, manly Northern cheer, +as different from the shrill Rebel yell as the honest mastiff's +deep-voiced welcome is from the howl of the prowling wolf. + +The shout was taken up all over the prison. Even those who had not heard +the guard understood that it meant that "Atlanta was ours and fairly +won," and they took up the acclamation with as much enthusiasm as we had +begun it. All thoughts of sleep were put to flight: we would have a +season of rejoicing. Little knots gathered together, debated the news, +and indulged in the most sanguine hopes as to the effect upon the Rebels. +In some parts of the Stockade stump speeches were made. I believe that +Boston Corbett and his party organized a prayer and praise meeting. +In our corner we stirred up our tuneful friend "Nosey," who sang again +the grand old patriotic hymns that set our thin blood to bounding, +and made us remember that we were still Union soldiers, with higher hopes +than that of starving and dying in Andersonville. He sang the +ever-glorious Star Spangled Banner, as he used to sing it around the +camp fire in happier days, when we were in the field. He sang the +rousing "Rally Round the Flag," with its wealth of patriotic fire and +martial vigor, and we, with throats hoarse from shouting; joined in the +chorus until the welkin rang again. + +The Rebels became excited, lest our exaltation of spirits would lead to +an assault upon the Stockade. They got under arms, and remained so until +the enthusiasm became less demonstrative. + +A few days later--on the evening of the 6th of September--the Rebel +Sergeants who called the roll entered the Stockade, and each assembling +his squads, addressed them as follows: + +"PRISONERS: I am instructed by General Winder to inform you that a +general exchange has been agreed upon. Twenty thousand men will be +exchanged immediately at Savannah, where your vessels are now waiting for +you. Detachments from One to Ten will prepare to leave early to-morrow +morning." + +The excitement that this news produced was simply indescribable. I have +seen men in every possible exigency that can confront men, and a large +proportion viewed that which impended over them with at least outward +composure. The boys around me had endured all that we suffered with +stoical firmness. Groans from pain-racked bodies could not be repressed, +and bitter curses and maledictions against the Rebels leaped unbidden to +the lips at the slightest occasion, but there was no murmuring or +whining. There was not a day--hardly an hour--in which one did not see +such exhibitions of manly fortitude as made him proud of belonging to a +race of which every individual was a hero. + +But the emotion which pain and suffering and danger could not develop, +joy could, and boys sang, and shouted and cried, and danced as if in a +delirium. "God's country," fairer than the sweet promised land of Canaan +appeared to the rapt vision of the Hebrew poet prophet, spread out in +glad vista before the mind's eye of every one. It had come--at last it +had come that which we had so longed for, wished for, prayed for, dreamed +of; schemed, planned, toiled for, and for which went up the last earnest, +dying wish of the thousands of our comrades who would now know no +exchange save into that eternal "God's country" where + + Sickness and sorrow, pain and death + Are felt and feared no more. + +Our "preparations," for leaving were few and simple. When the morning +came, and shortly after the order to move, Andrews and I picked our +well-worn blanket, our tattered overcoat, our rude chessmen, and no less +rude board, our little black can, and the spoon made of hoop-iron, and +bade farewell to the hole-in-the-ground that had been our home for +nearly seven long months. + +My feet were still in miserable condition from the lacerations received +in the attempt to escape, but I took one of our tent poles as a staff and +hobbled away. We re-passed the gates which we had entered on that +February night, ages since, it seemed, and crawled slowly over to the +depot. + +I had come to regard the Rebels around us as such measureless liars that +my first impulse was to believe the reverse of anything they said to us; +and even now, while I hoped for the best, my old habit of mind was so +strongly upon me that I had some doubts of our going to be exchanged, +simply because it was a Rebel who had said so. But in the crowd of +Rebels who stood close to the road upon which we were walking was a young +Second Lieutenant, who said to a Colonel as I passed: + +"Weil, those fellows can sing 'Homeward Bound,' can't they?" + +This set my last misgiving at rest. Now I was certain that we were going +to be exchanged, and my spirits soared to the skies. + +Entering the cars we thumped and pounded toilsomely along, after the +manner of Southern railroads, at the rate of six or eight miles an hour. +Savannah was two hundred and forty miles away, and to our impatient minds +it seemed as if we would never get there. The route lay the whole +distance through the cheerless pine barrens which cover the greater part +of Georgia. The only considerable town on the way was Macon, which had +then a population of five thousand or thereabouts. For scores of miles +there would not be a sign of a human habitation, and in the one hundred +and eighty miles between Macon and Savannah there were only three +insignificant villages. There was a station every ten miles, at which +the only building was an open shed, to shelter from sun and rain a casual +passenger, or a bit of goods. + +The occasional specimens of the poor white "cracker" population that we +saw, seemed indigenous products of the starved soil. They suited their +poverty-stricken surroundings as well as the gnarled and scrubby +vegetation suited the sterile sand. Thin-chested, round-shouldered, +scraggy-bearded, dull-eyed and open-mouthed, they all looked alike--all +looked as ignorant, as stupid, and as lazy as they were poor and weak. +They were "low-downers" in every respect, and made our rough and simple. +minded East Tennesseans look like models of elegant and cultured +gentlemen in contrast. + +We looked on the poverty-stricken land with good-natured contempt, for we +thought we were leaving it forever, and would soon be in one which, +compared to it, was as the fatness at Egypt to the leanness of the desert +of Sinai. + +The second day after leaving Andersonville our train struggled across the +swamps into Savannah, and rolled slowly down the live oak shaded streets +into the center of the City. It seemed like another Deserted Village, +so vacant and noiseless the streets, and the buildings everywhere so +overgrown with luxuriant vegetation: The limbs of the shade trees crashed +along and broke, upon the tops of our cars, as if no train had passed +that way for years. Through the interstices between the trees and clumps +of foliage could be seen the gleaming white marble of the monuments +erected to Greene and Pulaski, looking like giant tombstones in a City of +the Dead. The unbroken stillness--so different from what we expected on +entering the metropolis of Georgia, and a City that was an important port +in Revolutionary days--became absolutely oppressive. We could not +understand it, but our thoughts were more intent upon the coming transfer +to our flag than upon any speculation as to the cause of the remarkable +somnolence of Savannah. + +Finally some little boys straggled out to where our car was standing, and +we opened up a conversation with them: + +"Say, boys, are our vessels down in the harbor yet?" + +The reply came in that piercing treble shriek in which a boy of ten or +twelve makes even his most confidential communications: + +"I don't know." + +"Well," (with our confidence in exchange somewhat dashed,) "they intend +to exchange us here, don't they?" + +Another falsetto scream, "I don't know." + +"Well," (with something of a quaver in the questioner's voice,) "what are +they going to do, with us, any way?" + +"O," (the treble shriek became almost demoniac) "they are fixing up a +place over by the old jail for you." + +What a sinking of hearts was there then! Andrews and I would not give up +hope so speedily as some others did, and resolved to believe, for awhile +at least, that we were going to be exchanged. + +Ordered out of the cars, we were marched along the street. A crowd of +small boys, full of the curiosity of the animal, gathered around us as we +marched. Suddenly a door in a rather nice house opened; an angry-faced +woman appeared on the steps and shouted out: + +"Boys! BOYS! What are you doin' there! Come up on the steps immejitely! +Come away from them n-a-s-t-y things!" + +I will admit that we were not prepossessing in appearance; nor were we as +cleanly as young gentlemen should habitually be; in fact, I may as well +confess that I would not now, if I could help it, allow a tramp, as +dilapidated in raiment, as unwashed, unshorn, uncombed, and populous with +insects as we were, to come within several rods of me. Nevertheless, +it was not pleasant to hear so accurate a description of our personal +appearance sent forth on the wings of the wind by a shrill-voiced Rebel +female. + +A short march brought us to the place "they were fixing for us by the old +jail." It was another pen, with high walls of thick pine plank, which +told us only too plainly how vain were our expectations of exchange. + +When we were turned inside, and I realized that the gates of another +prison had closed upon me, hope forsook me. I flung our odious little +possessions-our can, chess-board, overcoat, and blanket-upon the ground, +and, sitting down beside them, gave way to the bitterest despair. +I wanted to die, O, so badly. Never in all my life had I desired +anything in the world so much as I did now to get out of it. Had I had +pistol, knife, rope, or poison, I would have ended my prison life then +and there, and departed with the unceremoniousness of a French leave. +I remembered that I could get a quietus from a guard with very little +trouble, but I would not give one of the bitterly hated Rebels the +triumph of shooting me. I longed to be another Samson, with the whole +Southern Confederacy gathered in another Temple of Dagon, that I might +pull down the supporting pillars, and die happy in slaying thousands of +my enemies. + +While I was thus sinking deeper and deeper in the Slough of Despond, the +firing of a musket, and the shriek of the man who was struck, attracted +my attention. Looking towards the opposite end of the pen I saw a guard +bringing his still smoking musket to a "recover arms," and, not fifteen +feet from him, a prisoner lying on the ground in the agonies of death. +The latter had a pipe in his mouth when he was shot, and his teeth still +clenched its stem. His legs and arms were drawn up convulsively, and he +was rocking backward and forward on his back. The charge had struck him +just above the hip-bone. + +The Rebel officer in command of the guard was sitting on his horse inside +the pen at the time, and rode forward to see what the matter was. +Lieutenant Davis, who had come with us from Andersonville, was also +sitting on a horse inside the prison, and he called out in his usual +harsh, disagreeable voice: + +"That's all right, Cunnel; the man's done just as I awdahed him to." + +I found that lying around inside were a number of bits of plank--each +about five feet long, which had been sawed off by the carpenters engaged +in building the prison. The ground being a bare common, was destitute of +all shelter, and the pieces looked as if they would be quite useful in +building a tent. There may have been an order issued forbidding the +prisoners to touch them, but if so, I had not heard it, and I imagine the +first intimation to the prisoner just killed that the boards were not to +be taken was the bullet which penetrated his vitals. Twenty-five cents +would be a liberal appraisement of the value of the lumber for which the +boy lost his life. + +Half an hour afterward we thought we saw all the guards march out of the +front gate. There was still another pile of these same kind of pieces of +board lying at the further side of the prison. The crowd around me +noticed it, and we all made a rush for it. In spite of my lame feet I +outstripped the rest, and was just in the act of stooping down to pick +the boards up when a loud yell from those behind startled me. Glancing +to my left I saw a guard cocking his gun and bringing it up to shoot me. +With one frightened spring, as quick as a flash, and before he could +cover me, I landed fully a rod back in the crowd, and mixed with it. +The fellow tried hard to draw a bead on me, but I was too quick for him, +and he finally lowered his gun with an oath expressive of disappointment +in not being able to kill a Yankee. + +Walking back to my place the full ludicrousness of the thing dawned upon +me so forcibly that I forgot all about my excitement and scare, and +laughed aloud. Here, not an hour age I was murmuring because I could +find no way to die; I sighed for death as a bridegroom for the coming of +his bride, an yet, when a Rebel had pointed his gun at me, it had nearly +scared me out of a year's growth, and made me jump farther than I could +possibly do when my feet were well, and I was in good condition +otherwise. + + + + +CHAPTER LII. + +SAVANNAH--DEVICES TO OBTAIN MATERIALS FOR A TENT--THEIR ULTIMATE SUCCESS +--RESUMPTION OF TUNNELING--ESCAPING BY WHOLESALE AND BEING RECAPTURED EN +MASSE--THE OBSTACLES THAT LAY BETWEEN US AND OUR LINES. + +Andrews and I did not let the fate of the boy who was killed, nor my own +narrow escape from losing the top of my head, deter us from farther +efforts to secure possession of those coveted boards. My readers +remember the story of the boy who, digging vigorously at a hole, replied +to the remark of a passing traveler that there was probably no ground-hog +there, and, even if there was, "ground-hog was mighty poor eatin', any +way," with: + +"Mister, there's got to be a ground-hog there; our family's out o' meat!" + +That was what actuated us: we were out of material for a tent. Our +solitary blanket had rotted and worn full of holes by its long double +duty, as bed-clothes and tent at Andersonville, and there was an +imperative call for a substitute. + +Andrews and I flattered ourselves that when we matched our collective or +individual wits against those of a Johnny his defeat was pretty certain, +and with this cheerful estimate of our own powers to animate us, we set +to work to steal the boards from under the guard's nose. The Johnny had +malice in his heart and buck-and-ball in his musket, but his eyes were +not sufficiently numerous to adequately discharge all the duties laid +upon him. He had too many different things to watch at the same time. +I would approach a gap in the fence not yet closed as if I intended +making a dash through it for liberty, and when the Johnny had +concentrated all his attention on letting me have the contents of his gun +just as soon as he could have a reasonable excuse for doing so, Andrews +would pick u a couple of boards and slip away with them. Then I would +fall back in pretended (and some real) alarm, and--Andrew would come up +and draw his attention by a similar feint, while I made off with a couple +more pieces. After a few hours c this strategy, we found ourselves the +possessors of some dozen planks, with which we made a lean-to, that +formed a tolerable shelter for our heads and the upper portion of our +bodies. As the boards were not over five feet long, and the slope reduce +the sheltered space to about four-and-one-half feet, it left the lower +part of our naked feet and legs to project out-of-doors. Andrews used to +lament very touchingly the sunburning his toe-nails were receiving. +He knew that his complexion was being ruined for life, and all the Balm +of a Thousand Flowers in the world would not restore his comely ankles to +that condition of pristine loveliness which would admit of their +introduction into good society again. Another defect was that, like the +fun in a practical joke, it was all on one side; there was not enough of +it to go clear round. It was very unpleasant, when a storm came up in a +direction different from that we had calculated upon, to be compelled to +get out in the midst of it, and build our house over to face the other +way. + +Still we had a tent, and were that much better off than three-fourths of +our comrades who had no shelter at all. We were owners of a brown stone +front on Fifth Avenue compared to the other fellows. + +Our tent erected, we began a general survey of our new abiding place. +The ground was a sandy common in the outskirts of Savannah. The sand was +covered with a light sod. The Rebels, who knew nothing of our burrowing +propensities, had neglected to make the plank forming the walls of the +Prison project any distance below the surface of the ground, and had put +up no Dead Line around the inside; so that it looked as if everything was +arranged expressly to invite us to tunnel out. We were not the boys to +neglect such an invitation. By night about three thousand had been +received from Andersonville, and placed inside. When morning came it +looked as if a colony of gigantic rats had been at work. There was a +tunnel every ten or fifteen feet, and at least twelve hundred of us had +gone out through them during the night. I never understood why all in +the pen did not follow our example, and leave the guards watching a +forsaken Prison. There was nothing to prevent it. An hour's industrious +work with a half-canteen would take any one outside, or if a boy was too +lazy to dig his own tunnel, he could have the use of one of the hundred +others that had been dug. + +But escaping was only begun when the Stockade was passed. The site of +Savannah is virtually an island. On the north is the Savannah River; to +the east, southeast and south, are the two Ogeechee rivers, and a chain +of sounds and lagoons connecting with the Atlantic Ocean. To the west is +a canal connecting the Savannah and Big Ogeechee Rivers. We found +ourselves headed off by water whichever way we went. All the bridges +were guarded, and all the boats destroyed. Early in the morning the +Rebels discovered our absence, and the whole garrison of Savannah was +sent out on patrol after us. They picked up the boys in squads of from +ten to thirty, lurking around the shores of the streams waiting for night +to come, to get across, or engaged in building rafts for transportation. +By evening the whole mob of us were back in the pen again. As nobody was +punished for running away, we treated the whole affair as a lark, and +those brought back first stood around the gate and yelled derisively as +the others came in. + +That night big fires were built all around the Stockade, and a line of +guards placed on the ground inside of these. In spite of this +precaution, quite a number escaped. The next day a Dead Line was put up +inside of the Prison, twenty feet from the Stockade. This only increased +the labor of burrowing, by making us go farther. Instead of being able +to tunnel out in an hour, it now took three or four hours. That night +several hundred of us, rested from our previous performance, and hopeful +of better luck, brought our faithful half canteens--now scoured very +bright by constant use-into requisition again, and before the morning. +dawned we had gained the high reeds of the swamps, where we lay concealed +until night. + +In this way we managed to evade the recapture that came to most of those +who went out, but it was a fearful experience. Having been raised in a +country where venomous snakes abounded, I had that fear and horror of +them that inhabitants of those districts feel, and of which people living +in sections free from such a scourge know little. I fancied that the +Southern swamps were filled with all forms of loathsome and poisonous +reptiles, and it required all my courage to venture into them barefooted. +Besides, the snags and roots hurt our feet fearfully. Our hope was to +find a boat somewhere, in which we could float out to sea, and trust to +being picked up by some of the blockading fleet. But no boat could we +find, with all our painful and diligent search. We learned afterward +that the Rebels made a practice of breaking up all the boats along the +shore to prevent negros and their own deserters from escaping to the +blockading fleet. We thought of making a raft of logs, but had we had +the strength to do this, we would doubtless have thought it too risky, +since we dreaded missing the vessels, and being carried out to sea to +perish of hunger. During the night we came to the railroad bridge +across the Ogeechee. We had some slender hope that, if we could reach +this we might perhaps get across the river, and find better opportunities +for escape. But these last expectations were blasted by the discovery +that it was guarded. There was a post and a fire on the shore next us, +and a single guard with a lantern was stationed on one of the middle +spans. Almost famished with hunger, and so weary and footsore that we +could scarcely move another step, we went back to a cleared place on the +high ground, and laid down to sleep, entirely reckless as to what became +of us. Late in the morning we were awakened by the Rebel patrol and +taken back to the prison. Lieutenant Davis, disgusted with the perpetual +attempts to escape, moved the Dead Line out forty feet from the Stockade; +but this restricted our room greatly, since the number of prisoners in +the pen had now risen to about six thousand, and, besides, it offered +little additional protection against tunneling. + +It was not much more difficult to dig fifty feet than it had been to dig +thirty feet. Davis soon realized this, and put the Dead Line back to +twenty feet. His next device was a much more sensible one. A crowd of +one hundred and fifty negros dug a trench twenty feet wide and five feet +deep around the whole prison on the outside, and this ditch was filled +with water from the City Water Works. No one could cross this without +attracting the attention of the guards. + +Still we were not discouraged, and Andrews and I joined a crowd that was +constructing a large tunnel from near our quarters on the east side of +the pen. We finished the burrow to within a few inches of the edge of +the ditch, and then ceased operations, to await some stormy night, when +we could hope to get across the ditch unnoticed. + +Orders were issued to guards to fire without warning on men who were +observed to be digging or carrying out dirt after nightfall. They +occasionally did so, but the risk did not keep anyone from tunneling. +Our tunnel ran directly under a sentry box. When carrying dirt away the +bearer of the bucket had to turn his back on the guard and walk directly +down the street in front of him, two hundred or three hundred feet, to +the center of the camp, where he scattered the sand around--so as to give +no indication of where it came from. Though we always waited till the +moon went down, it seemed as if, unless the guard were a fool, both by +nature and training, he could not help taking notice of what was going on +under his eyes. I do not recall any more nervous promenades in my life, +than those when, taking my turn, I received my bucket of sand at the +mouth of the tunnel, and walked slowly away with it. The most +disagreeable part was in turning my back to the guard. Could I have +faced him, I had sufficient confidence in my quickness of perception, +and talents as a dodger, to imagine that I could make it difficult for +him to hit me. But in walling with my back to him I was wholly at his +mercy. Fortune, however, favored us, and we were allowed to go on with +our work--night after night--without a shot. + +In the meanwhile another happy thought slowly gestated in Davis's alleged +intellect. How he came to give birth to two ideas with no more than a +week between them, puzzled all who knew him, and still more that he +survived this extraordinary strain upon the gray matter of the cerebrum. +His new idea was to have driven a heavily-laden mule cart around the +inside of the Dead Line at least once a day. The wheels or the mule's +feet broke through the thin sod covering the tunnels and exposed them. +Our tunnel went with the rest, and those of our crowd who wore shoes had +humiliation added to sorrow by being compelled to go in and spade the +hole full of dirt. This put an end to subterranean engineering. + +One day one of the boys watched his opportunity, got under the ration +wagon, and clinging close to the coupling pole with hands and feet, was +carried outside. He was detected, however, as he came from under the +wagon, and brought back. + + + + +CHAPTER LIII. + +FRANK REVERSTOCK'S ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE--PASSING OFF AS REBEL BOY HE REACHES +GRISWOLDVILLE BY RAIL, AND THEN STRIKES ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOR SHERMAN, +BUT IS CAUGHT WITHIN TWENTY MILES OF OUR LINES. + +One of the shrewdest and nearest successful attempts to escape that came +under my notice was that of my friend Sergeant Frank Reverstock, of the +Third West Virginia Cavalry, of whom I have before spoken. Frank, who +was quite small, with a smooth boyish face, had converted to his own use +a citizen's coat, belonging to a young boy, a Sutler's assistant, who had +died in Andersonville. He had made himself a pair of bag pantaloons and +a shirt from pieces of meal sacks which he had appropriated from day to +day. He had also the Sutler's assistant's shoes, and, to crown all, he +wore on his head one of those hideous looking hats of quilted calico +which the Rebels had taken to wearing in the lack of felt hats, which +they could neither make nor buy. Altogether Frank looked enough like a +Rebel to be dangerous to trust near a country store or a stable full of +horses. When we first arrived in the prison quite a crowd of the +Savannahians rushed in to inspect us. The guards had some difficulty in +keeping them and us separate. While perplexed with this annoyance, one +of them saw Frank standing in our crowd, and, touching him with his +bayonet, said, with some sharpness: + +"See heah; you must stand back; you musn't crowd on them prisoners so." + +Frank stood back. He did it promptly but calmly, and then, as if his +curiosity as to Yankees was fully satisfied, he walked slowly away up the +street, deliberating as he went on a plan for getting out of the City. +He hit upon an excellent one. Going to the engineer of a freight train +making ready to start back to Macon, he told him that his father was +working in the Confederate machine shops at Griswoldville, near Macon; +that he himself was also one of the machinists employed there, and +desired to go thither but lacked the necessary means to pay his passage. +If the engineer would let him ride up on the engine he would do work +enough to pay the fare. Frank told the story ingeniously, the engineer +and firemen were won over, and gave their consent. + +No more zealous assistant ever climbed upon a tender than Frank proved to +be. He loaded wood with a nervous industry, that stood him in place of +great strength. He kept the tender in perfect order, and anticipated, +as far as possible, every want of the engineer and his assistant. They +were delighted with him, and treated him with the greatest kindness, +dividing their food with him, and insisting that he should share their +bed when they "laid by" for the night. Frank would have gladly declined +this latter kindness with thanks, as he was conscious that the quantity +of "graybacks" his clothing contained did not make him a very desirable +sleeping companion for any one, but his friends were so pressing that he +was compelled to accede. + +His greatest trouble was a fear of recognition by some one of the +prisoners that were continually passing by the train load, on their way +from Andersonville to other prisons. He was one of the best known of the +prisoners in Andersonville; bright, active, always cheerful, and forever +in motion during waking hours,--every one in the Prison speedily became +familiar with him, and all addressed him as "Sergeant Frankie." If any +one on the passing trains had caught a glimpse of him, that glimpse would +have been followed almost inevitably with a shout of: + +"Hello, Sergeant Frankie! What are you doing there?" + +Then the whole game would have been up. Frank escaped this by persistent +watchfulness, and by busying himself on the opposite side of the engine, +with his back turned to the other trains. + +At last when nearing Griswoldville, Frank, pointing to a large white +house at some distance across the fields, said: + +"Now, right over there is where my uncle lives, and I believe I'll just +run over and see him, and then walk into Griswoldville." + +He thanked his friends fervently for their kindness, promised to call and +see them frequently, bade them good by, and jumped off the train. + +He walked towards the white house as long as he thought he could be seen, +and then entered a large corn field and concealed himself in a thicket in +the center of it until dark, when he made his way to the neighboring +woods, and began journeying northward as fast as his legs could carry +him. When morning broke he had made good progress, but was terribly +tired. It was not prudent to travel by daylight, so he gathered himself +some ears of corn and some berries, of which he made his breakfast, and +finding a suitable thicket he crawled into it, fell asleep, and did not +wake up until late in the afternoon. + +After another meal of raw corn and berries he resumed his journey, and +that night made still better progress. + +He repeated this for several days and nights--lying in the woods in the +day time, traveling by night through woods, fields, and by-paths avoiding +all the fords, bridges and main roads, and living on what he could glean +from the fields, that he might not take even so much risk as was involved +in going to the negro cabins for food. + +But there are always flaws in every man's armor of caution--even in so +perfect a one as Frank's. His complete success so far had the natural +effect of inducing a growing carelessness, which wrought his ruin. +One evening he started off briskly, after a refreshing rest and sleep. +He knew that he must be very near Sherman's lines, and hope cheered him +up with the belief that his freedom would soon be won. + +Descending from the hill, in whose dense brushwood he had made his bed +all day, he entered a large field full of standing corn, and made his way +between the rows until he reached, on the other side, the fence that +separated it from the main road, across which was another corn-field, +that Frank intended entering. + +But he neglected his usual precautions on approaching a road, and instead +of coming up cautiously and carefully reconnoitering in all directions +before he left cover, he sprang boldly over the fence and strode out for +the other side. As he reached the middle of the road, his ears were +assailed with the sharp click of a musket being cocked, and the harsh +command: + +"Halt! halt, dah, I say!" + +Turning with a start to his left he saw not ten feet from him, a mounted +patrol, the sound of whose approach had been masked by the deep dust of +the road, into which his horse's hoofs sank noiselessly. + +Frank, of course, yielded without a word, and when sent to the officer in +command he told the old story about his being an employee of the +Griswoldville shops, off on a leave of absence to make a visit to sick +relatives. But, unfortunately, his captors belonged to that section +themselves, and speedily caught him in a maze of cross-questioning from +which he could not extricate himself. It also became apparent from his +language that he was a Yankee, and it was not far from this to the +conclusion that he was a spy--a conclusion to which the proximity of +Sherman's lines, then less than twenty miles distant-greatly assisted. + +By the next morning this belief had become so firmly fixed in the minds +of the Rebels that Frank saw a halter dangling alarmingly near, and he +concluded the wisest plan was to confess who he really was. + +It was not the smallest of his griefs to realize by how slight a chance +he had failed. Had he looked down the road before he climbed the fence, +or had he been ten minutes earlier or later, the patrol would not have +been there, he could have gained the next field unperceived, and two more +nights of successful progress would have taken him into Sherman's lines +at Sand Mountain. The patrol which caught him was on the look-out for +deserters and shirking conscripts, who had become unusually numerous +since the fall of Atlanta. + +He was sent back to us at Savannah. As he came into the prison gate +Lieutenant Davis was standing near. He looked sternly at Frank and his +Rebel garments, and muttering, + +"By God, I'll stop this!" caught the coat by the tails, tore it to the +collar, and took it and his hat away from Frank. + +There was a strange sequel to this episode. A few weeks afterward a +special exchange for ten thousand was made, and Frank succeeded in being +included in this. He was given the usual furlough from the paroled camp +at Annapolis, and went to his home in a little town near Mansfield, O. + +One day while on the cars going--I think to Newark, O., he saw Lieutenant +Davis on the train, in citizens' clothes. He had been sent by the Rebel +Government to Canada with dispatches relating to some of the raids then +harassing our Northern borders. Davis was the last man in the world to +successfully disguise himself. He had a large, coarse mouth, that made +him remembered by all who had ever seen him. Frank recognized him +instantly and said: + +"You are Lieutenant Davis?" + +Davis replied: + +"You are totally mistaken, sah, I am -----." + +Frank insisted that he was right. Davis fumed and blustered, but though +Frank was small, he was as game as a bantam rooster, and he gave Davis to +understand that there had been a vast change in their relative positions; +that the one, while still the same insolent swaggerer, had not regiments +of infantry or batteries of artillery to emphasize his insolence, and the +other was no longer embarrassed in the discussion by the immense odds in +favor of his jailor opponent. + +After a stormy scene Frank called in the assistance of some other +soldiers in the car, arrested Davis, and took him to Camp Chase--near +Columbus, O.,--where he was fully identified by a number of paroled +prisoners. He was searched, and documents showing the nature of his +mission beyond a doubt, were found upon his person. + +A court martial was immediately convened for his trial. + +This found him guilty, and sentenced him to be hanged as a spy. + +At the conclusion of the trial Frank stepped up to the prisoner and said: + +"Mr. Davis, I believe we're even on that coat, now." + +Davis was sent to Johnson's Island for execution, but influences were +immediately set at work to secure Executive clemency. What they were +I know not, but I am informed by the Rev. Robert McCune, who was then +Chaplain of the One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Ohio Infantry and the Post +of Johnson's Island and who was the spiritual adviser appointed to +prepare Davis for execution, that the sentence was hardly pronounced +before Davis was visited by an emissary, who told him to dismiss his +fears, that he should not suffer the punishment. + +It is likely that leading Baltimore Unionists were enlisted in his behalf +through family connections, and as the Border State Unionists were then +potent at Washington, they readily secured a commutation of his sentence +to imprisonment during the war. + +It seems that the justice of this world is very unevenly dispensed when +so much solicitude is shown for the life of such a man, and none at all +for the much better men whom he assisted to destroy. + +The official notice of the commutation of the sentence was not published +until the day set for the execution, but the certain knowledge that it +would be forthcoming enabled Davis to display a great deal of bravado on +approaching what was supposed to be his end. As the reader can readily +imagine, from what I have heretofore said of him, Davis was the man to +improve to the utmost every opportunity to strut his little hour, and he +did it in this instance. He posed, attitudinized and vapored, so that +the camp and the country were filled with stories of the wonderful +coolness with which he contemplated his approaching fate. + +Among other things he said to his guard, as he washed himself elaborately +the night before the day announced for the execution: + +"Well, you can be sure of one thing; to-morrow night there will certainly +be one clean corpse on this Island." + +Unfortunately for his braggadocio, he let it leak out in some way that he +had been well aware all the time that he would not be executed. + +He was taken to Fort Delaware for confinement, and died there some time +after. + +Frank Beverstock went back to his regiment, and served with it until the +close of the war. He then returned home, and, after awhile became a +banker at Bowling Green, O. He was a fine business man and became very +prosperous. But though naturally healthy and vigorous, his system +carried in it the seeds of death, sown there by the hardships of +captivity. He had been one of the victims of the Rebels' vaccination; +the virus injected into his blood had caused a large part of his right +temple to slough off, and when it healed it left a ghastly cicatrix. + +Two years ago he was taken suddenly ill, and died before his friends had +any idea that his condition was serious. + + + + +CHAPTER LIV. + +SAVANNAH PROVES TO BE A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER--ESCAPE FROM THE BRATS OF +GUARDS--COMPARISON BETWEEN WIRZ AND DAVIS--A BRIEF INTERVAL OF GOOD +RATIONS--WINDER, THE MAN WITH THE EVIL EYE +--THE DISLOYAL WORK OF A SHYSTER. + +After all Savannah was a wonderful improvement on Andersonville. +We got away from the pestilential Swamp and that poisonous ground. +Every mouthful of air was not laden with disease germs, nor every cup of +water polluted with the seeds of death. The earth did not breed +gangrene, nor the atmosphere promote fever. As only the more vigorous +had come away, we were freed from the depressing spectacle of every third +man dying. The keen disappointment prostrated very many who had been of +average health, and I imagine, several hundred died, but there were +hospital arrangements of some kind, and the sick were taken away from +among us. Those of us who tunneled out had an opportunity of stretching +our legs, which we had not had for months in the overcrowded Stockade we +had left. The attempts to escape did all engaged in them good, even +though they failed, since they aroused new ideas and hopes, set the blood +into more rapid circulation, and toned up the mind and system both. +I had come away from Andersonville with considerable scurvy manifesting +itself in my gums and feet. Soon these signs almost wholly disappeared. + +We also got away from those murderous little brats of Reserves, +who guarded us at Andersonville, and shot men down as they would stone +apples out of a tree. Our guards now were mostly, sailors, from the +Rebel fleet in the harbor--Irishmen, Englishmen and Scandinavians, as +free hearted and kindly as sailors always are. I do not think they ever +fired a shot at one of us. The only trouble we had was with that portion +of the guard drawn from the infantry of the garrison. They had the same +rattlesnake venom of the Home Guard crowd wherever we met it, and shot us +down at the least provocation. Fortunately they only formed a small part +of the sentinels. + +Best of all, we escaped for a while from the upas-like shadow of Winder +and Wirz, in whose presence strong men sickened and died, as when near +some malign genii of an Eastern story. The peasantry of Italy believed +firmly in the evil eye. Did they ever know any such men as Winder and +his satellite, I could comprehend how much foundation they could have for +such a belief. + +Lieutenant Davis had many faults, but there was no comparison between him +and the Andersonville commandant. He was a typical young Southern man; +ignorant and bumptious as to the most common matters of school-boy +knowledge, inordinately vain of himself and his family, coarse in tastes +and thoughts, violent in his prejudices, but after all with some streaks +of honor and generosity that made the widest possible difference between +him and Wirz, who never had any. As one of my chums said to me: + +"Wirz is the most even-tempered man I ever knew; he's always foaming +mad." + +This was nearly the truth. I never saw Wirz when he was not angry; +if not violently abusive, he was cynical and sardonic. Never, in my +little experience with him did I detect a glint of kindly, generous +humanity; if he ever was moved by any sight of suffering its exhibition +in his face escaped my eye. If he ever had even a wish to mitigate the +pain or hardship of any man the expression of such wish never fell on my +ear. How a man could move daily through such misery as he encountered, +and never be moved by it except to scorn and mocking is beyond my limited +understanding. + +Davis vapored a great deal, swearing big round oaths in the broadest of +Southern patois; he was perpetually threatening to: + +"Open on ye wid de ahtillery," but the only death that I knew him to +directly cause or sanction was that I have described in the previous +chapter. He would not put himself out of the way to annoy and oppress +prisoners, as Wirz would, but frequently showed even a disposition to +humor them in some little thing, when it could be done without danger or +trouble to himself. + +By-and-by, however, he got an idea that there was some money to be made +out of the prisoners, and he set his wits to work in this direction. +One day, standing at the gate, he gave one of his peculiar yells that he +used to attract the attention of the camp with: + +"Wh-ah-ye!!" + +We all came to "attention," and he announced: + +"Yesterday, while I wuz in the camps (a Rebel always says camps,) some of +you prisoners picked my pockets of seventy-five dollars in greenbacks. +Now, I give you notice that I'll not send in any moah rations till the +money's returned to me." + +This was a very stupid method of extortion, since no one believed that he +had lost the money, and at all events he had no business to have the +greenbacks, as the Rebel laws imposed severe penalties upon any citizen, +and still more upon any soldier dealing with, or having in his possession +any of "the money of the enemy." We did without rations until night, +when they were sent in. There was a story that some of the boys in the +prison had contributed to make up part of the sum, and Davis took it and +was satisfied. I do not know how true the story was. At another time +some of the boys stole the bridle and halter off an old horse that was +driven in with a cart. The things were worth, at a liberal estimate, +one dollar. Davis cut off the rations of the whole six thousand of us +for one day for this. We always imagined that the proceeds went into his +pocket. + +A special exchange was arranged between our Navy Department and that of +the Rebels, by which all seamen and marines among us were exchanged. +Lists of these were sent to the different prisons and the men called for. +About three-fourths of them were dead, but many soldiers divining, the +situation of affairs, answered to the dead men's names, went away with +the squad and were exchanged. Much of this was through the connivance of +the Rebel officers, who favored those who had ingratiated themselves with +them. In many instances money was paid to secure this privilege, and I +have been informed on good authority that Jack Huckleby, of the Eighth +Tennessee, and Ira Beverly, of the One Hundredth Ohio, who kept the big +sutler shop on the North Side at Andersonville, paid Davis five hundred +dollars each to be allowed to go with the sailors. As for Andrews and +me, we had no friends among the Rebels, nor money to bribe with, so we +stood no show. + +The rations issued to us for some time after our arrival seemed riotous +luxury to what we had been getting at Andersonville. Each of us received +daily a half-dozen rude and coarse imitations of our fondly-remembered +hard tack, and with these a small piece of meat or a few spoonfuls of +molasses, and a quart or so of vinegar, and several plugs of tobacco for +each "hundred." How exquisite was the taste of the crackers and +molasses! + +It was the first wheat bread I had eaten since my entry into Richmond +--nine months before--and molasses had been a stranger to me for years. +After the corn bread we had so long lived upon, this was manna. It seems +that the Commissary at Savannah labored under the delusion that he must +issue to us the same rations as were served out to the Rebel soldiers and +sailors. It was some little time before the fearful mistake came to the +knowledge of Winder. I fancy that the news almost threw him into an +apoplectic fit. Nothing, save his being ordered to the front, could have +caused him such poignant sorrow as the information that so much good food +had been worse than wasted in undoing his work by building up the bodies +of his hated enemies. + +Without being told, we knew that he had been heard from when the tobacco, +vinegar and molasses failed to come in, and the crackers gave way to corn +meal. Still this was a vast improvement on Andersonville, as the meal +was fine and sweet, and we each had a spoonful of salt issued to us +regularly. + +I am quite sure that I cannot make the reader who has not had an +experience similar to ours comprehend the wonderful importance to us of +that spoonful of salt. Whether or not the appetite for salt be, as some +scientists claim, a purely artificial want, one thing is certain, and +that is, that either the habit of countless generations or some other +cause, has so deeply ingrained it into our common nature, that it has +come to be nearly as essential as food itself, and no amount of +deprivation can accustom us to its absence. Rather, it seemed that the +longer we did without it the more overpowering became our craving. +I could get along to-day and to-morrow, perhaps the whole week, without +salt in my food, since the lack would be supplied from the excess I had +already swallowed, but at the end of that time Nature would begin to +demand that I renew the supply of saline constituent of my tissues, and +she would become more clamorous with every day that I neglected her +bidding, and finally summon Nausea to aid Longing. + +The light artillery of the garrison of Savannah--four batteries, +twenty-four pieces--was stationed around three sides of the prison, the +guns unlimbered, planted at convenient distance, and trained upon us, +ready for instant use. We could see all the grinning mouths through the +cracks in the fence. There were enough of them to send us as high as +the traditional kite flown by Gilderoy. The having at his beck this +array of frowning metal lent Lieutenant Davis such an importance in his +own eyes that his demeanor swelled to the grandiose. It became very +amusing to see him puff up and vaunt over it, as he did on every +possible occasion. For instance, finding a crowd of several hundred +lounging around the gate, he would throw open the wicket, stalk in with +the air of a Jove threatening a rebellious world with the dread thunders +of heaven, and shout: + +"W-h-a-a y-e-e! Prisoners, I give you jist two minutes to cleah away +from this gate, aw I'll open on ye wid de ahtillery!" + +One of the buglers of the artillery was a superb musician--evidently some +old "regular" whom the Confederacy had seduced into its service, and his +instrument was so sweet toned that we imagined that it was made of +silver. The calls he played were nearly the same as we used in the +cavalry, and for the first few days we became bitterly homesick every +time he sent ringing out the old familiar signals, that to us were so +closely associated with what now seemed the bright and happy days when we +were in the field with our battalion. If we were only back in the +valleys of Tennessee with what alacrity we would respond to that +"assembly;" no Orderly's patience would be worn out in getting laggards +and lazy ones to "fall in for roll-call;" how eagerly we would attend to +"stable duty;" how gladly mount our faithful horses and ride away to +"water," and what bareback races ride, going and coming. We would be +even glad to hear "guard" and "drill" sounded; and there would be music +in the disconsolate "surgeon's call:" + + "Come-get-your-q-n-i-n-i-n-e; come, get your quinine; It'll make you + sad: It'll make you sick. Come, come." + +O, if we were only back, what admirable soldiers we would be! +One morning, about three or four o'clock, we were awakened by the ground +shaking and a series of heavy, dull thumps sounding oft seaward. +Our silver-voiced bugler seemed to be awakened, too. He set the echoes +ringing with a vigorously played "reveille;" a minute later came an +equally earnest "assembly," and when "boots and saddles" followed, we +knew that all was not well in Denmark; the thumping and shaking now had +a significance. It meant heavy Yankee guns somewhere near. We heard the +gunners hitching up; the bugle signal "forward," the wheels roll off, +and for a half hour afterwards we caught the receding sound of the bugle +commanding "right turn," "left turn," etc., as the batteries marched +away. Of course, we became considerably wrought up over the matter, +as we fancied that, knowing we were in Savannah, our vessels were trying +to pass up to the City and take it. The thumping and shaking continued +until late in the afternoon. + +We subsequently learned that some of our blockaders, finding time banging +heavy upon their hands, had essayed a little diversion by knocking Forts +Jackson and Bledsoe--two small forts defending the passage of the +Savannah--about their defenders' ears. After capturing the forts our +folks desisted and came no farther. + +Quite a number of the old Raider crowd had come with us from +Andersonville. Among these was the shyster, Peter Bradley. They kept up +their old tactics of hanging around the gates, and currying favor with +the Rebels in every possible way, in hopes to get paroles outside or +other favors. The great mass of the prisoners were so bitter against the +Rebels as to feel that they would rather die than ask or accept a favor +from their hands, and they had little else than contempt for these +trucklers. The raider crowd's favorite theme of conversation with the +Rebels was the strong discontent of the boys with the manner of their +treatment by our Government. The assertion that there was any such +widespread feeling was utterly false. We all had confidence--as we +continue to have to this day--that our Government would do everything for +us possible, consistent with its honor, and the success of military +operations, and outside of the little squad of which I speak, not an +admission could be extracted from anybody that blame could be attached to +any one, except the Rebels. It was regarded as unmanly and +unsoldier-like to the last degree, as well as senseless, to revile our +Government for the crimes committed by its foes. + +But the Rebels were led to believe that we were ripe for revolt against +our flag, and to side with them. Imagine, if possible, the stupidity +that would mistake our bitter hatred of those who were our deadly +enemies, for any feeling that would lead us to join hands with those +enemies. One day we were surprised to see the carpenters erect a rude +stand in the center of the camp. When it was finished, Bradley appeared +upon it, in company with some Rebel officers and guards. We gathered +around in curiosity, and Bradley began making a speech. + +He said that it had now become apparent to all of us that our Government +had abandoned us; that it cared little or nothing for us, since it could +hire as many more quite readily, by offering a bounty equal to the pay +which would be due us now; that it cost only a few hundred dollars to +bring over a shipload of Irish, "Dutch," and French, who were only too +glad to agree to fight or do anything else to get to this country. [The +peculiar impudence of this consisted in Bradley himself being a +foreigner, and one who had only come out under one of the later calls, +and the influence of a big bounty.] + +Continuing in this strain he repeated and dwelt upon the old lie, always +in the mouths of his crowd, that Secretary Stanton and General Halleck +had positively refused to enter upon negotiations for exchange, because +those in prison were "only a miserable lot of 'coffee-boilers' and +'blackberry pickers,' whom the Army was better off without." + +The terms "coffee-boiler," and "blackberry-pickers" were considered the +worst terms of opprobrium we had in prison. They were applied to that +class of stragglers and skulkers, who were only too ready to give +themselves up to the enemy, and who, on coming in, told some gauzy story +about "just having stopped to boil a cup of coffee," or to do something +else which they should not have done, when they were gobbled up. It is +not risking much to affirm the probability of Bradley and most of his +crowd having belonged to this dishonorable class. + +The assertion that either the great Chief-of-Staff or the still greater +War-Secretary were even capable of applying such epithets to the mass of +prisoners is too preposterous to need refutation, or even denial. +No person outside the raider crowd ever gave the silly lie a moment's +toleration. + +Bradley concluded his speech in some such language as this: + +"And now, fellow prisoners, I propose to you this: that we unite in +informing our Government that unless we are exchanged in thirty days, we +will be forced by self-preservation to join the Confederate army." + +For an instant his hearers seemed stunned at the fellow's audacity, and +then there went up such a roar of denunciation and execration that the +air trembled. The Rebels thought that the whole camp was going to rush +on Bradley and tear him to pieces, and they drew revolvers and leveled +muskets to defend him. The uproar only ceased when Bradley was hurried +out of the prisons but for hours everybody was savage and sullen, and +full of threatenings against him, when opportunity served. We never saw +him afterward. + +Angry as I was, I could not help being amused at the tempestuous rage of +a tall, fine-looking and well educated Irish Sergeant of an Illinois +regiment. He poured forth denunciations of the traitor and the Rebels, +with the vivid fluency of his Hibernian nature, vowed he'd "give a year +of me life, be J---s, to have the handling of the dirty spalpeen for ten +minutes; be G-d," and finally in his rage, tore off his own shirt and +threw it on the ground and trampled on it. + +Imagine my astonishment, some time after getting out of prison, to find +the Southern papers publishing as a defense against the charges in regard +to Andersonville, the following document, which they claimed to have been +adopted by "a mass meeting of the prisoners:" + +"At a mass meeting held September 28th, 1864, by the Federal prisoners +confined at Savannah, Ga., it was unanimously agreed that the following +resolutions be sent to the President of the United States, in the hope +that he might thereby take such steps as in his wisdom he may think +necessary for our speedy exchange or parole: + +"Resolved, That while we would declare our unbounded love for the Union, +for the home of our fathers, and for the graves of those we venerate, we +would beg most respectfully that our situation as prisoners be diligently +inquired into, and every obstacle consistent with the honor and dignity +of the Government at once removed. + +"Resolved, That while allowing the Confederate authorities all due praise +for the attention paid to prisoners, numbers of our men are daily +consigned to early graves, in the prime of manhood, far from home and +kindred, and this is not caused intentionally by the Confederate +Government, but by force of circumstances; the prisoners are forced to go +without shelter, and, in a great portion of cases, without medicine. + +"Resolved, That, whereas, ten thousand of our brave comrades have +descended into an untimely grave within the last six months, and as we +believe their death was caused by the difference of climate, the peculiar +kind and insufficiency of food, and lack of proper medical treatment; +and, whereas, those difficulties still remain, we would declare as our +firm belief, that unless we are speedily exchanged, we have no +alternative but to share the lamentable fate of our comrades. Must this +thing still go on! Is there no hope? + +"Resolved, That, whereas, the cold and inclement season of the year is +fast approaching, we hold it to be our duty as soldiers and citizens of +the United States, to inform our Government that the majority of our +prisoners ate without proper clothing, in some cases being almost naked, +and are without blankets to protect us from the scorching sun by day or +the heavy dews by night, and we would most respectfully request the +Government to make some arrangement whereby we can be supplied with +these, to us, necessary articles. + +"Resolved, That, whereas, the term of service of many of our comrades +having expired, they, having served truly and faithfully for the term of +their several enlistments, would most respectfully ask their Government, +are they to be forgotten? Are past services to be ignored? Not having +seen their wives and little ones for over three years, they would most +respectfully, but firmly, request the Government to make some +arrangements whereby they can be exchanged or paroled. + +"Resolved, That, whereas, in the fortune of war, it was our lot to become +prisoners, we have suffered patiently, and are still willing to suffer, +if by so doing we can benefit the country; but we must most respectfully +beg to say, that we are not willing to suffer to further the ends of any +party or clique to the detriment of our honor, our families, and our +country, and we beg that this affair be explained to us, that we may +continue to hold the Government in that respect which is necessary to +make a good citizen and soldier. + + "P. BRADLEY, + "Chairman of Committee in behalf of Prisoners." + + +In regard to the above I will simply say this, that while I cannot +pretend to know or even much that went on around me, I do not think it +was possible for a mass meeting of prisoners to have been held without +my knowing it, and its essential features. Still less was it possible +for a mass meeting to have been held which would have adopted any such +a document as the above, or anything else that a Rebel would have found +the least pleasure in republishing. The whole thing is a brazen +falsehood. + + + + +CHAPTER LV. + +WHY WE WERE HURRIED OUT OF ANDERSONVILLE--THE OF THE FALL OF ATLANTA +--OUR LONGING TO HEAR THE NEWS--ARRIVAL OF SOME FRESH FISH--HOW WE KNEW +THEY WERE WESTERN BOYS--DIFFERENCE IN THE APPEARANCE OF THE SOLDIERS OF +THE TWO ARMIES. + +The reason of our being hurried out of Andersonville under the false +pretext of exchange dawned on us before we had been in Savannah long. +If the reader will consult the map of Georgia he will understand this, +too. Let him remember that several of the railroads which now appear +were not built then. The road upon which Andersonville is situated was +about one hundred and twenty miles long, reaching from Macon to Americus, +Andersonville being about midway between these two. It had no +connections anywhere except at Macon, and it was hundreds of miles across +the country from Andersonville to any other road. When Atlanta fell it +brought our folks to within sixty miles of Macon, and any day they were +liable to make a forward movement, which would capture that place, and +have us where we could be retaken with ease. + +There was nothing left undone to rouse the apprehensions of the Rebels in +that direction. The humiliating surrender of General Stoneman at Macon +in July, showed them what our, folks were thinking of and awakened their +minds to the disastrous consequences of such a movement when executed by +a bolder and abler commander. Two days of one of Kilpatrick's swift, +silent marches would carry his hard-riding troopers around Hood's right +flank, and into the streets of Macon, where a half hour's work with the +torch on the bridges across the Ocmulgee and the creeks that enter it at +that point, would have cut all of the Confederate Army of the Tennessee's +communications. Another day and night of easy marching would bring his +guidons fluttering through the woods about the Stockade at Andersonville, +and give him a reinforcement of twelve or fifteen thousand able-bodied +soldiers, with whom he could have held the whole Valley of the +Chattahoochie, and become the nether millstone, against which Sherman +could have ground Hood's army to powder. + +Such a thing was not only possible, but very probable, and doubtless +would have occurred had we remained in Andersonville another week. + +Hence the haste to get us away, and hence the lie about exchange, for, +had it not been for this, one-quarter at least of those taken on the cars +would have succeeded in getting off and attempted to have reached +Sherman's lines. + +The removal went on with such rapidity that by the end of September only +eight thousand two hundred and eighteen remained at Andersonville, and +these were mostly too sick to be moved; two thousand seven hundred died +in September, fifteen hundred and sixty in October, and four hundred and +eighty-five in November, so that at the beginning of December there were +only thirteen hundred and fifty-nine remaining. The larger part of those +taken out were sent on to Charleston, and subsequently to Florence and +Salisbury. About six or seven thousand of us, as near as I remember, +were brought to Savannah. + + ....................... + + +We were all exceedingly anxious to know how the Atlanta campaign had +ended. So far our information only comprised the facts that a sharp +battle had been fought, and the result was the complete possession of our +great objective point. The manner of accomplishing this glorious end, +the magnitude of the engagement, the regiments, brigades and corps +participating, the loss on both sides, the completeness of the victories, +etc., were all matters that we knew nothing of, and thirsted to learn. + +The Rebel papers said as little as possible about the capture, and the +facts in that little were so largely diluted with fiction as to convey no +real information. But few new, prisoners were coming in, and none of +these were from Sherman. However, toward the last of September, a +handful of "fresh fish" were turned inside, whom our experienced eyes +instantly told us were Western boys. + +There was never any difficulty in telling, as far as he could be seen, +whether a boy belonged to the East or the west. First, no one from the +Army of the Potomac was ever without his corps badge worn conspicuously; +it was rare to see such a thing on one of Sherman's men. Then there was +a dressy air about the Army of the Potomac that was wholly wanting in the +soldiers serving west of the Alleghanies. + +The Army, of the Potomac was always near to its base of supplies, always +had its stores accessible, and the care of the clothing and equipments of +the men was an essential part of its discipline. A ragged or shabbily +dressed man was a rarity. Dress coats, paper collars, fresh woolen +shirts, neat-fitting pantaloons, good comfortable shoes, and trim caps or +hats, with all the blazing brass of company letters an inch long, +regimental number, bugle and eagle, according to the Regulations, were as +common to Eastern boys as they were rare among the Westerners. + +The latter usually wore blouses, instead of dress coats, and as a rule +their clothing had not been renewed since the opening, of the campaign +--and it showed this. Those who wore good boots or shoes generally had to +submit to forcible exchanges by their captors, and the same was true of +head gear. The Rebels were badly off in regard to hats. They did not +have skill and ingenuity enough to make these out of felt or straw, and +the make-shifts they contrived of quilted calico and long-leaved pine, +were ugly enough to frighten horned cattle. + +I never blamed them much for wanting to get rid of these, even if they +did have to commit a sort of highway robbery upon defenseless prisoners +to do so. To be a traitor in arms was bad certainly, but one never +appreciated the entire magnitude of the crime until he saw a Rebel +wearing a calico or a pine-leaf hat. Then one felt as if it would be a +great mistake to ever show such a man mercy. + +The Army of Northern Virginia seemed to have supplied themselves with +head-gear of Yankee manufacture of previous years, and they then quit +taking the hats of their prisoners. Johnston's Army did not have such +good luck, and had to keep plundering to the end of the war. + +Another thing about the Army of the Potomac was the variety of the +uniforms. There were members of Zouave regiments, wearing baggy breeches +of various hues, gaiters, crimson fezes, and profusely braided jackets. +I have before mentioned the queer garb of the "Lost Ducks." (Les Enfants +Perdu, Forty-eighth New York.) + +One of the most striking uniforms was that of the "Fourteenth Brooklyn." +They wore scarlet pantaloons, a blue jacket handsomely braided, and a red +fez, with a white cloth wrapped around the head, turban-fashion. +As a large number of them were captured, they formed quite a picturesque +feature of every crowd. They were generally good fellows and gallant +soldiers. + +Another uniform that attracted much, though not so favorable, attention +was that of the Third New Jersey Cavalry, or First New Jersey Hussars, +as they preferred to call themselves. The designer of the uniform must +have had an interest in a curcuma plantation, or else he was a fanatical +Orangeman. Each uniform would furnish occasion enough for a dozen New +York riots on the 12th of July. Never was such an eruption of the +yellows seen outside of the jaundiced livery of some Eastern potentate. +Down each leg of the pantaloons ran a stripe of yellow braid one and +one-half inches wide. The jacket had enormous gilt buttons, and was +embellished with yellow braid until it was difficult to tell whether it +was blue cloth trimmed with yellow, or yellow adorned with blue. From +the shoulders swung a little, false hussar jacket, lined with the same +flaring yellow. The vizor-less cap was similarly warmed up with the hue +of the perfected sunflower. Their saffron magnificence was like the +gorgeous gold of the lilies of the field, and Solomon in all his glory +could not have beau arrayed like one of them. I hope he was not. I want +to retain my respect for him. We dubbed these daffodil cavaliers +"Butterflies," and the name stuck to them like a poor relation. + +Still another distinction that was always noticeable between the two +armies was in the bodily bearing of the men. The Army of the Potomac was +drilled more rigidly than the Western men, and had comparatively few long +marches. Its members had something of the stiffness and precision of +English and German soldiery, while the Western boys had the long, +"reachy" stride, and easy swing that made forty miles a day a rather +commonplace march for an infantry regiment. + +This was why we knew the new prisoners to be Sherman's boys as soon as +they came inside, and we started for them to hear the news. Inviting +them over to our lean-to, we told them our anxiety for the story of the +decisive blow that gave us the Central Gate of the Confederacy, and asked +them to give it to us. + + + + +CHAPTER LVI. + +WHAT CAUSED THE FALL OF ATLANTA--A DISSERTATION UPON AN IMPORTANT +PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEM--THE BATTLE OF JONESBORO--WHY IT WAS FOUGHT +--HOW SHERMAN DECEIVED HOOD--A DESPERATE BAYONET CHARGE, AND THE ONLY +SUCCESSFUL ONE IN THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN--A GALLANT COLONEL AND HOW HE +DIED--THE HEROISM OF SOME ENLISTED MEN--GOING CALMLY INTO CERTAIN DEATH. + +An intelligent, quick-eyed, sunburned boy, without an ounce of surplus +flesh on face or limbs, which had been reduced to gray-hound condition by +the labors and anxieties of the months of battling between Chattanooga +and Atlanta, seemed to be the accepted talker of the crowd, since all the +rest looked at him, as if expecting him to answer for them. He did so: + +"You want to know about how we got Atlanta at last, do you? Well, if you +don't know, I should think you would want to. If I didn't, I'd want +somebody to tell me all about it just as soon as he could get to me, for +it was one of the neatest little bits of work that 'old Billy' and his +boys ever did, and it got away with Hood so bad that he hardly knew what +hurt him. + +"Well, first, I'll tell you that we belong to the old Fourteenth Ohio +Volunteers, which, if you know anything about the Army of the Cumberland, +you'll remember has just about as good a record as any that trains around +old Pap Thomas--and he don't 'low no slouches of any kind near him, +either--you can bet $500 to a cent on that, and offer to give back the +cent if you win. Ours is Jim Steedman's old regiment--you've all heard +of old Chickamauga Jim, who slashed his division of 7,000 fresh men into +the Rebel flank on the second day at Chickamauga, in a way that made +Longstreet wish he'd staid on the Rappahannock, and never tried to get up +any little sociable with the Westerners. If I do say it myself, I +believe we've got as good a crowd of square, stand-up, trust'em-every- +minute-in-your-life boys, as ever thawed hard-tack and sowbelly. We got +all the grunters and weak sisters fanned out the first year, and since +then we've been on a business basis, all the time. We're in a mighty +good brigade, too. Most of the regiments have been with us since we +formed the first brigade Pap Thomas ever commanded, and waded with him +through the mud of Kentucky, from Wild Cat to Mill Springs, where he gave +Zollicoffer just a little the awfulest thrashing that a Rebel General +ever got. That, you know, was in January, 1862, and was the first +victory gained by the Western Army, and our people felt so rejoiced over +it that--" + +"Yes, yes; we've read all about that," we broke in, "and we'd like to +hear it again, some other time; but tell us now about Atlanta." + +"All right. Let's see: where was I? O, yes, talking about our brigade. +It is the Third Brigade, of the Third Division, of the Fourteenth Corps, +and is made up of the Fourteenth Ohio, Thirty-eighth Ohio, Tenth +Kentucky, and Seventy-fourth Indiana. Our old Colonel--George P. Este +--commands it. We never liked him very well in camp, but I tell you +he's a whole team in a fight, and he'd do so well there that all would +take to him again, and he'd be real popular for a while." + +"Now, isn't that strange," broke in Andrews, who was given to fits of +speculation of psychological phenomena: "None of us yearn to die, but the +surest way to gain the affection of the boys is to show zeal in leading +them into scrapes where the chances of getting shot are the best. +Courage in action, like charity, covers a multitude of sins. I have +known it to make the most unpopular man in the battalion, the most +popular inside of half an hour. Now, M.(addressing himself to me,) you +remember Lieutenant H., of our battalion. You know he was a very fancy +young fellow; wore as snipish' clothes as the tailor could make, had gold +lace on his jacket wherever the regulations would allow it, decorated his +shoulders with the stunningest pair of shoulder knots I ever saw, and so +on. Well, he did not stay with us long after we went to the front. He +went back on a detail for a court martial, and staid a good while. When +he rejoined us, he was not in good odor, at all, and the boys weren't at +all careful in saying unpleasant things when he could hear them, A little +while after he came back we made that reconnaissance up on the Virginia +Road. We stirred up the Johnnies with our skirmish line, and while the +firing was going on in front we sat on our horses in line, waiting for +the order to move forward and engage. You know how solemn such moments +are. I looked down the line and saw Lieutenant H. at the right of +Company --, in command of it. I had not seen him since he came back, and +I sung out: + +"'Hello, Lieutenant, how do you feel?' + +"The reply came back, promptly, and with boyish cheerfulness: + +"'Bully, by ----; I'm going to lead seventy men of Company into action +today!' + +"How his boys did cheer him. When the bugle sounded--'forward, trot,' +his company sailed in as if they meant it, and swept the Johnnies off in +short meter. You never heard anybody say anything against Lieutenant +after that." + +"You know how it was with Captain G., of our regiment," said one of the +Fourteenth to another. "He was promoted from Orderly Sergeant to a +Second Lieutenant, and assigned to Company D. All the members of Company +D went to headquarters in a body, and protested against his being put in +their company, and he was not. Well, he behaved so well at Chickamauga +that the boys saw that they had done him a great injustice, and all those +that still lived went again to headquarters, and asked to take all back +that they had said, and to have him put into the company." + +"Well, that was doing the manly thing, sure; but go on about Atlanta." + +"I was telling about our brigade," resumed the narrator. "Of course, we +think our regiment's the best by long odds in the army--every fellow +thinks that of his regiment--but next to it come the other regiments of +our brigade. There's not a cent of discount on any of them. + +"Sherman had stretched out his right away to the south and west of +Atlanta. About the middle of August our corps, commanded by Jefferson C. +Davis, was lying in works at Utoy Creek, a couple of miles from Atlanta. +We could see the tall steeples and the high buildings of the City quite +plainly. Things had gone on dull and quiet like for about ten days. +This was longer by a good deal than we had been at rest since we left +Resaca in the Spring. We knew that something was brewing, and that it +must come to a head soon. + +"I belong to Company C. Our little mess--now reduced to three by the +loss of two of our best soldiers and cooks, Disbrow and Sulier, killed +behind head-logs in front of Atlanta, by sharpshooters--had one fellow +that we called 'Observer,' because he had such a faculty of picking up +news in his prowling around headquarters. He brought us in so much of +this, and it was generally so reliable that we frequently made up his +absence from duty by taking his place. He was never away from a fight, +though. On the night of the 25th of August, 'Observer' came in with the +news that something was in the wind. Sherman was getting awful restless, +and we had found out that this always meant lots of trouble to our +friends on the other side. + +"Sure enough, orders came to get ready to move, and the next night we all +moved to the right and rear, out of sight of the Johnnies. Our well +built works were left in charge of Garrard's Cavalry, who concealed their +horses in the rear, and came up and took our places. The whole army +except the Twentieth Corps moved quietly off, and did it so nicely that +we were gone some time before the enemy suspected it. Then the Twentieth +Corps pulled out towards the North, and fell back to the Chattahoochie, +making quite a shove of retreat. The Rebels snapped up the bait +greedily. They thought the siege was being raised, and they poured over +their works to hurry the Twentieth boys off. The Twentieth fellows let +them know that there was lots of sting in them yet, and the Johnnies were +not long in discovering that it would have been money in their pockets if +they had let that 'moon-and-star' (that's the Twentieth's badge, you +know) crowd alone. + +"But the Rebs thought the rest of us were gone for good and that Atlanta +was saved. Naturally they felt mighty happy over it; and resolved to +have a big celebration--a ball, a meeting of jubilee, etc. Extra trains +were run in, with girls and women from the surrounding country, and they +just had a high old time. + +"In the meantime we were going through so many different kinds of tactics +that it looked as if Sherman was really crazy this time, sure. Finally +we made a grand left wheel, and then went forward a long way in line of +battle. It puzzled us a good deal, but we knew that Sherman couldn't get +us into any scrape that Pap Thomas couldn't get us out of, and so it was +all right. + +"Along on the evening of the 31st our right wing seemed to have run +against a hornet's nest, and we could hear the musketry and cannon speak +out real spiteful, but nothing came down our way. We had struck the +railroad leading south from Atlanta to Macon, and began tearing it up. +The jollity at Atlanta was stopped right in the middle by the appalling +news that the Yankees hadn't retreated worth a cent, but had broken out +in a new and much worse spot than ever. Then there was no end of trouble +all around, and Hood started part of his army back after us. + +"Part of Hardee's and Pat Cleburne's command went into position in front +of us. We left them alone till Stanley could come up on our left, and +swing around, so as to cut off their retreat, when we would bag every one +of them. But Stanley was as slow as he always was, and did not come up +until it was too late, and the game was gone. + +"The sun was just going down on the evening of the 1st of September, when +we began to see we were in for it, sure. The Fourteenth Corps wheeled +into position near the railroad, and the sound of musketry and artillery +became very loud and clear on our front and left. We turned a little and +marched straight toward the racket, becoming more excited every minute. +We saw the Carlin's brigade of regulars, who were some distance ahead of +us, pile knapsacks, form in line, fix bayonets, and dash off with +arousing cheer. + +"The Rebel fire beat upon them like a Summer rain-storm, the ground shook +with the noise, and just as we reached the edge of the cotton field, we +saw the remnant of the brigade come flying back out of the awful, +blasting shower of bullets. The whole slope was covered with dead and +wounded." + +"Yes," interrupts one of the Fourteenth; "and they made that charge +right gamely, too, I can tell you. They were good soldiers, and well +led. When we went over the works, I remember seeing the body of a little +Major of one of the regiments lying right on the top. If he hadn't been +killed he'd been inside in a half-a-dozen steps more. There's no mistake +about it; those regulars will fight." + +"When we saw this," resumed the narrator, "it set our fellows fairly +wild; they became just crying mad; I never saw them so before. The order +came to strip for the charge, and our knapsacks were piled in half a +minute. A Lieutenant of our company, who was then on the staff of Gen. +Baird, our division commander, rode slowly down the line and gave us our +instructions to load our guns, fix bayonets, and hold fire until we were +on top of the Rebel works. Then Colonel Este sang out clear and steady +as a bugle signal: + +"'Brigade, forward! Guide center! MARCH!!' + +"And we started. Heavens, how they did let into us, as we came up into +range. They had ten pieces of artillery, and more men behind the +breastworks than we had in line, and the fire they poured on us was +simply withering. We walked across the hundreds of dead and dying of the +regular brigade, and at every step our own men fell down among them. +General Baud's horse was shot down, and the General thrown far over his +head, but he jumped up and ran alongside of us. Major Wilson, our +regimental commander, fell mortally wounded; Lieutenant Kirk was killed, +and also Captain Stopfard, Adjutant General of the brigade. Lieutenants +Cobb and Mitchell dropped with wounds that proved fatal in a few days. +Captain Ugan lost an arm, one-third of the enlisted men fell, but we went +straight ahead, the grape and the musketry becoming worse every step, +until we gained the edge of the hill, where we were checked a minute by +the brush, which the Rebels had fixed up in the shape of abattis. Just +then a terrible fire from a new direction, our left, swept down the whole +length of our line. The Colonel of the Seventeenth New York--as gallant +a man as ever lived saw the new trouble, took his regiment in on the run, +and relieved us of this, but he was himself mortally wounded. If our +boys were half-crazy before, they were frantic now, and as we got out of +the entanglement of the brush, we raised a fearful yell and ran at the +works. We climbed the sides, fired right down into the defenders, and +then began with the bayonet and sword. For a few minutes it was simply +awful. On both sides men acted like infuriated devils. They dashed each +other's brains out with clubbed muskets; bayonets were driven into men's +bodies up to the muzzle of the gun; officers ran their swords through +their opponents, and revolvers, after being emptied into the faces of the +Rebels, were thrown with desperate force into the ranks. In our regiment +was a stout German butcher named Frank Fleck. He became so excited that +he threw down his sword, and rushed among the Rebels with his bare fists, +knocking down a swath of them. He yelled to the first Rebel he met: + +"Py Gott, I've no patience mit you,' and knocked him sprawling. +He caught hold of the commander of the Rebel Brigade, and snatched him +back over the works by main strength. Wonderful to say, he escaped +unhurt, but the boys will probably not soon let him hear the last of, + +"Py Gott, I've no patience mit you.' + +"The Tenth Kentucky, by the queerest luck in the world, was matched +against the Rebel Ninth Kentucky. The commanders of the two regiments +were brothers-in-law, and the men relatives, friends, acquaintances and +schoolmates. They hated each other accordingly, and the fight between +them was more bitter, if possible, than anywhere else on the line. +The Thirty-Eighth Ohio and Seventy-fourth Indiana put in some work that +was just magnificent. We hadn't time to look at it then, but the dead +and wounded piled up after the fight told the story. + +"We gradually forced our way over the works, but the Rebels were game to +the last, and we had to make them surrender almost one at a time. +The artillerymen tried to fire on us when we were so close we could lay +our hands on the guns. + +"Finally nearly all in the works surrendered, and were disarmed and +marched back. Just then an aid came dashing up with the information that +we must turn the works, and get ready to receive Hardee, who was +advancing to retake the position. We snatched up some shovels lying +near, and began work. We had no time to remove the dead and dying Rebels +on the works, and the dirt we threw covered them up. It proved a false +alarm. Hardee had as much as he could do to save his own hide, and the +affair ended about dark. + +"When we came to count up what we had gained, we found that we had +actually taken more prisoners from behind breastworks than there were in +our brigade when we started the charge. We had made the only really +successful bayonet charge of the campaign. Every other time since we +left Chattanooga the party standing on the defensive had been successful. +Here we had taken strong double lines, with ten guns, seven battle flags, +and over two thousand prisoners. We had lost terribly--not less than +one-third of the brigade, and many of our best men. Our regiment went +into the battle with fifteen officers; nine of these were killed or +wounded, and seven of the nine lost either their limbs or lives. +The Thirty-Eighth Ohio, and the other regiments of the brigade lost +equally heavy. We thought Chickamauga awful, but Jonesboro discounted +it." + +"Do you know," said another of the Fourteenth, "I heard our Surgeon +telling about how that Colonel Grower, of the Seventeenth New York, +who came in so splendidly on our left, died? They say he was a Wall +Street broker, before the war. He was hit shortly after he led his +regiment in, and after the fight, was carried back to the hospital. +While our Surgeon was going the rounds Colonel Grower called him, and +said quietly, 'When you get through with the men, come and see me, +please.' + +"The Doctor would have attended to him then, but Grower wouldn't let him. +After he got through he went back to Grower, examined his wound, and told +him that he could only live a few hours. Grower received the news +tranquilly, had the Doctor write a letter to his wife, and gave him his +things to send her, and then grasping the Doctor's hand, he said: + +"Doctor, I've just one more favor to ask; will you grant it?' + +"The Doctor said, 'Certainly; what is it?' + +"You say I can't live but a few hours?' + +"Yes; that is true.' + +"And that I will likely be in great pain!' + +"I am sorry to say so.' + +"Well, then, do give me morphia enough to put me to sleep, so that I will +wake up only in another world.' + +"The Doctor did so; Colonel Grower thanked him; wrung his hand, bade him +good-by, and went to sleep to wake no more." + +"Do you believe in presentiments and superstitions?" said another of the +Fourteenth. There was Fisher Pray, Orderly Sergeant of Company I. He +came from Waterville, O., where his folks are now living. The day before +we started out he had a presentiment that we were going into a fight, and +that he would be killed. He couldn't shake it off. He told the +Lieutenant, and some of the boys about it, and they tried to ridicule him +out of it, but it was no good. When the sharp firing broke out in front +some of the boys said, 'Fisher, I do believe you are right,' and he +nodded his head mournfully. When we were piling knapsacks for the +charge, the Lieutenant, who was a great friend of Fisher's, said: + +"Fisher, you stay here and guard the knapsacks.' + +"Fisher's face blazed in an instant. + +"No, sir,' said he; I never shirked a fight yet, and I won't begin now.' + +"So he went into the fight, and was killed, as he knew he would be. Now, +that's what I call nerve." + +"The same thing was true of Sergeant Arthur Tarbox, of Company A," said +the narrator; "he had a presentiment, too; he knew he was going to be +killed, if he went in, and he was offered an honorable chance to stay +out, but he would not take it, and went in and was killed." + +"Well, we staid there the next day, buried our dead, took care of our +wounded, and gathered up the plunder we had taken from the Johnnies. +The rest of the army went off, 'hot blocks,' after Hardee and the rest of +Hood's army, which it was hoped would be caught outside of entrenchments. +But Hood had too much the start, and got into the works at Lovejoy, ahead +of our fellows. The night before we heard several very loud explosions +up to the north. We guessed what that meant, and so did the Twentieth +Corps, who were lying back at the Chattahoochee, and the next morning the +General commanding--Slocum--sent out a reconnaissance. It was met by the +Mayor of Atlanta, who said that the Rebels had blown up their stores and +retreated. The Twentieth Corps then came in and took 'possession of the +City, and the next day--the 3d--Sherman came in, and issued an order +declaring the campaign at an end, and that we would rest awhile and +refit. + +"We laid around Atlanta a good while, and things quieted down so that it +seemed almost like peace, after the four months of continual fighting we +had gone through. We had been under a strain so long that now we boys +went in the other direction, and became too careless, and that's how we +got picked up. We went out about five miles one night after a lot of +nice smoked hams that a nigger told us were stored in an old cotton +press, and which we knew would be enough sight better eating for Company +C, than the commissary pork we had lived on so long. We found the cotton +press, and the hams, just as the nigger told us, and we hitched up a team +to take them into camp. As we hadn't seen any Johnny signs anywhere, +we set our guns down to help load the meat, and just as we all came +stringing out to the wagon with as much meat as we could carry, a company +of Ferguson's Cavalry popped out of the woods about one hundred yards in +front of us and were on top of us before we could say I scat. You see +they'd heard of the meat, too." + + + + +CHAPTER LVII. + +A FAIR SACRIFICE--THE STORY OF ONE BOY WHO WILLINGLY GAVE HIS YOUNG LIFE +FOR HIS COUNTRY. + +Charley Barbour was one of the truest-hearted and best-liked of my +school-boy chums and friends. For several terms we sat together on the +same uncompromisingly uncomfortable bench, worried over the same +boy-maddening problems in "Ray's Arithmetic-Part III.," learned the same +jargon of meaningless rules from "Greene's Grammar," pondered over +"Mitchell's Geography and Atlas," and tried in vain to understand why +Providence made the surface of one State obtrusively pink and another +ultramarine blue; trod slowly and painfully over the rugged road +"Bullion" points out for beginners in Latin, and began to believe we +should hate ourselves and everybody else, if we were gotten up after the +manner shown by "Cutter's Physiology." We were caught together in the +same long series of school-boy scrapes--and were usually ferruled +together by the same strong-armed teacher. We shared nearly everything +--our fun and work; enjoyment and annoyance--all were generally meted out +to us together. We read from the same books the story of the wonderful +world we were going to see in that bright future "when we were men;" we +spent our Saturdays and vacations in the miniature explorations of the +rocky hills and caves, and dark cedar woods around our homes, to gather +ocular helps to a better comprehension of that magical land which we were +convinced began just beyond our horizon, and had in it, visible to the +eye of him who traveled through its enchanted breadth, all that +"Gulliver's Fables," the "Arabian Nights," and a hundred books of travel +and adventure told of. + +We imagined that the only dull and commonplace spot on earth was that +where we lived. Everywhere else life was a grand spectacular drama, full +of thrilling effects. + +Brave and handsome young men were rescuing distressed damsels, beautiful +as they were wealthy; bloody pirates and swarthy murderers were being +foiled by quaint spoken backwoodsmen, who carried unerring rifles; +gallant but blundering Irishmen, speaking the most delightful brogue, +and making the funniest mistakes, were daily thwarting cool and +determined villains; bold tars were encountering fearful sea perils; +lionhearted adventurers were cowing and quelling whole tribes of +barbarians; magicians were casting spells, misers hoarding gold, +scientists making astonishing discoveries, poor and unknown boys +achieving wealth and fame at a single bound, hidden mysteries coming to +light, and so the world was going on, making reams of history with each +diurnal revolution, and furnishing boundless material for the most +delightful books. + +At the age of thirteen a perusal of the lives of Benjamin Franklin and +Horace Greeley precipitated my determination to no longer hesitate in +launching my small bark upon the great ocean. I ran away from home in a +truly romantic way, and placed my foot on what I expected to be the first +round of the ladder of fame, by becoming "devil boy" in a printing office +in a distant large City. Charley's attachment to his mother and his home +was too strong to permit him to take this step, and we parted in sorrow, +mitigated on my side by roseate dreams of the future. + +Six years passed. One hot August morning I met an old acquaintance at +the Creek, in Andersonville. He told me to come there the next morning, +after roll-call, and he would take me to see some person who was very +anxious to meet me. I was prompt at the rendezvous, and was soon joined +by the other party. He threaded his way slowly for over half an hour +through the closely-jumbled mass of tents and burrows, and at length +stopped in front of a blanket-tent in the northwestern corner. The +occupant rose and took my hand. For an instant I was puzzled; then the +clear, blue eyes, and well-remembered smile recalled to me my old-time +comrade, Charley Barbour. His story was soon told. He was a Sergeant in +a Western Virginia cavalry regiment--the Fourth, I think. At the time +Hunter was making his retreat from the Valley of Virginia, it was decided +to mislead the enemy by sending out a courier with false dispatches to be +captured. There was a call for a volunteer for this service. Charley +was the first to offer, with that spirit of generous self-sacrifice that +was one of his pleasantest traits when a boy. He knew what he had to +expect. Capture meant imprisonment at Andersonville; our men had now a +pretty clear understanding of what this was. Charley took the dispatches +and rode into the enemy's lines. He was taken, and the false information +produced the desired effect. On his way to Andersonville he was stripped +of all his clothing but his shirt and pantaloons, and turned into the +Stockade in this condition. When I saw him he had been in a week or +more. He told his story quietly--almost diffidently--not seeming aware +that he had done more than his simple duty. I left him with the promise +and expectation of returning the next day, but when I attempted to find +him again, I was lost in the maze of tents and burrows. I had forgotten +to ask the number of his detachment, and after spending several days in +hunting for him, I was forced to give the search up. He knew as little +of my whereabouts, and though we were all the time within seventeen +hundred feet of each other, neither we nor our common acquaintance could +ever manage to meet again. This will give the reader an idea of the +throng compressed within the narrow limits of the Stockade. After +leaving Andersonville, however, I met this man once more, and learned +from him that Charley had sickened and died within a month after his +entrance to prison. + +So ended his day-dream of a career in the busy world. + + + + +CHAPTER LVIII. + +WE LEAVE SAVANNAH--MORE HOPES OF EXCHANGE--SCENES AT DEPARTURE +--"FLANKERS"--ON THE BACK TRACK TOWARD ANDERSONVILLE--ALARM THEREAT +--AT THE PARTING OF TWO WAYS--WE FINALLY BRING UP AT CAMP LAWTON. + +On the evening of the 11th of October there came an order for one +thousand prisoners to fall in and march out, for transfer to some other +point. + +Of course, Andrews and I "flanked" into this crowd. That was our usual +way of doing. Holding that the chances were strongly in favor of every +movement of prisoners being to our lines, we never failed to be numbered +in the first squad of prisoners that were sent out. The seductive mirage +of "exchange" was always luring us on. It must come some time, +certainly, and it would be most likely to come to those who were most +earnestly searching for it. At all events, we should leave no means +untried to avail ourselves of whatever seeming chances there might be. +There could be no other motive for this move, we argued, than exchange. +The Confederacy was not likely to be at the trouble and expense of +hauling us about the country without some good reason--something better +than a wish to make us acquainted with Southern scenery and topography. +It would hardly take us away from Savannah so soon after bringing us +there for any other purpose than delivery to our people. + +The Rebels encouraged this belief with direct assertions of its truth. +They framed a plausible lie about there having arisen some difficulty +concerning the admission of our vessels past the harbor defenses of +Savannah, which made it necessary to take us elsewhere--probably to +Charleston--for delivery to our men. + +Wishes are always the most powerful allies of belief. There is little +difficulty in convincing a man of that of which he wants to be convinced. +We forgot the lie told us when we were taken from Andersonville, and +believed the one which was told us now. + +Andrews and I hastily snatched our worldly possessions--our overcoat, +blanket, can, spoon, chessboard and men, yelled to some of our neighbors +that they could have our hitherto much-treasured house, and running down +to the gate, forced ourselves well up to the front of the crowd that was +being assembled to go out. + +The usual scenes accompanying the departure of first squads were being +acted tumultuously. Every one in the camp wanted to be one of the +supposed-to-be-favored few, and if not selected at first, tried to "flank +in"--that is, slip into the place of some one else who had had better +luck. This one naturally resisted displacement, 'vi et armis,' and the +fights would become so general as to cause a resemblance to the famed +Fair of Donnybrook. The cry would go up: + +"Look out for flankers!" + +The lines of the selected would dress up compactly, and outsiders trying +to force themselves in would get mercilessly pounded. + +We finally got out of the pen, and into the cars, which soon rolled away +to the westward. We were packed in too densely to be able to lie down. +We could hardly sit down. Andrews and I took up our position in one +corner, piled our little treasures under us, and trying to lean against +each other in such a way as to afford mutual support and rest, dozed +fitfully through a long, weary night. + +When morning came we found ourselves running northwest through a poor, +pine-barren country that strongly resembled that we had traversed in +coming to Savannah. The more we looked at it the more familiar it +became, and soon there was no doubt we were going back to Andersonville. + +By noon we had reached Millen--eighty miles from Savannah, and +fifty-three from Augusta. It was the junction of the road leading to +Macon and that running to Augusta. We halted a little while at the "Y," +and to us the minutes were full of anxiety. If we turned off to the +left we were going back to Andersonville. If we took the right hand +road we were on the way to Charleston or Richmond, with the chances in +favor of exchange. + +At length we started, and, to our joy, our engine took the right hand +track. We stopped again, after a run of five miles, in the midst of one +of the open, scattering forests of long leaved pine that I have before +described. We were ordered out of the cars, and marching a few rods, +came in sight of another of those hateful Stockades, which seemed to be +as natural products of the Sterile sand of that dreary land as its +desolate woods and its breed of boy murderers and gray-headed assassins. + +Again our hearts sank, and death seemed more welcome than incarceration +in those gloomy wooden walls. We marched despondently up to the gates of +the Prison, and halted while a party of Rebel clerks made a list of our +names, rank, companies, and regiments. As they were Rebels it was slow +work. Reading and writing never came by nature, as Dogberry would say, +to any man fighting for Secession. As a rule, he took to them as +reluctantly as if, he thought them cunning inventions of the Northern +Abolitionist to perplex and demoralize him. What a half-dozen boys taken +out of our own ranks would have done with ease in an hour or so, these +Rebels worried over all of the afternoon, and then their register of us +was so imperfect, badly written and misspelled, that the Yankee clerks +afterwards detailed for the purpose, never could succeed in reducing it +to intelligibility. + +We learned that the place at which we had arrived was Camp Lawton, but we +almost always spoke of it as "Millen," the same as Camp Sumter is +universally known as Andersonville. + +Shortly after dark we were turned inside the Stockade. Being the first +that had entered, there was quite a quantity of wood--the offal from the +timber used in constructing the Stockade--lying on the ground. The night +was chilly one we soon had a number of fires blazing. Green pitch pine, +when burned, gives off a peculiar, pungent odor, which is never forgotten +by one who has once smelled it. I first became acquainted with it on +entering Andersonville, and to this day it is the most powerful +remembrance I can have of the opening of that dreadful Iliad of woes. +On my journey to Washington of late years the locomotives are invariably +fed with pitch pine as we near the Capital, and as the well-remembered +smell reaches me, I grow sick at heart with the flood of saddening +recollections indissolubly associated with it. + +As our fires blazed up the clinging, penetrating fumes diffused +themselves everywhere. The night was as cool as the one when we arrived +at Andersonville, the earth, meagerly sodded with sparse, hard, wiry +grass, was the same; the same piney breezes blew in from the surrounding +trees, the same dismal owls hooted at us; the same mournful +whip-poor-will lamented, God knows what, in the gathering twilight. +What we both felt in the gloomy recesses of downcast hearts Andrews +expressed as he turned to me with: + +"My God, Mc, this looks like Andersonville all over again." + +A cupful of corn meal was issued to each of us. I hunted up some water. +Andrews made a stiff dough, and spread it about half an inch thick on the +back of our chessboard. He propped this up before the fire, and when the +surface was neatly browned over, slipped it off the board and turned it +over to brown the other side similarly. This done, we divided it +carefully between us, swallowed it in silence, spread our old overcoat on +the ground, tucked chess-board, can, and spoon under far enough to be out +of the reach of thieves, adjusted the thin blanket so as to get the most +possible warmth out of it, crawled in close together, and went to sleep. +This, thank Heaven, we could do; we could still sleep, and Nature had +some opportunity to repair the waste of the day. We slept, and forgot +where we were. + + + + +CHAPTER LIX. + +OUR NEW QUARTERS AT CAMP LAWTON--BUILDING A HUT--AN EXCEPTIONAL +COMMANDANT--HE IS a GOOD MAN, BUT WILL TAKE BRIBES--RATIONS. + +In the morning we took a survey of our new quarters, and found that we +were in a Stockade resembling very much in construction and dimensions +that at Andersonville. The principal difference was that the upright +logs were in their rough state, whereas they were hewed at Andersonville, +and the brook running through the camp was not bordered by a swamp, but +had clean, firm banks. + +Our next move was to make the best of the situation. We were divided +into hundreds, each commanded by a Sergeant. Ten hundreds constituted a +division, the head of which was also a Sergeant. I was elected by my +comrades to the Sergeantcy of the Second Hundred of the First Division. +As soon as we were assigned to our ground, we began constructing shelter. +For the first and only time in my prison experience, we found a full +supply of material for this purpose, and the use we made of it showed how +infinitely better we would have fared if in each prison the Rebels had +done even so slight a thing as to bring in a few logs from the +surrounding woods and distribute them to us. A hundred or so of these +would probably have saved thousands of lives at Andersonville and +Florence. + +A large tree lay on the ground assigned to our hundred. Andrews and I +took possession of one side of the ten feet nearest the butt. Other boys +occupied the rest in a similar manner. One of our boys had succeeded in +smuggling an ax in with him, and we kept it in constant use day and +night, each group borrowing it for an hour or so at a time. It was as +dull as a hoe, and we were very weak, so that it was slow work "niggering +off"--(as the boys termed it) a cut of the log. It seemed as if beavers +could have gnawed it off easier and more quickly. We only cut an inch or +so at a time, and then passed the ax to the next users. Making little +wedges with a dull knife, we drove them into the log with clubs, and +split off long, thin strips, like the weatherboards of a house, and by +the time we had split off our share of the log in this slow and laborious +way, we had a fine lot of these strips. We were lucky enough to find +four forked sticks, of which we made the corners of our dwelling, and +roofed it carefully with our strips, held in place by sods torn up from +the edge of the creek bank. The sides and ends were enclosed; we +gathered enough pine tops to cover the ground to a depth of several +inches; we banked up the outside, and ditched around it, and then had the +most comfortable abode we had during our prison career. It was truly a +house builded with our own hands, for we had no tools whatever save the +occasional use of the aforementioned dull axe and equally dull knife. + +The rude little hut represented as much actual hard, manual labor as +would be required to build a comfortable little cottage in the North, +but we gladly performed it, as we would have done any other work to +better our condition. + +For a while wood was quite plentiful, and we had the luxury daily of warm +fires, which the increasing coolness of the weather made important +accessories to our comfort. + +Other prisoners kept coming in. Those we left behind at Savannah +followed us, and the prison there was broken up. Quite a number also +came in from--Andersonville, so that in a little while we had between six +and seven thousand in the Stockade. The last comers found all the +material for tents and all the fuel used up, and consequently did not +fare so well as the earlier arrivals. + +The commandant of the prison--one Captain Bowes--was the best of his +class it was my fortune to meet. Compared with the senseless brutality +of Wirz, the reckless deviltry of Davis, or the stupid malignance of +Barrett, at Florence, his administration was mildness and wisdom itself. + +He enforced discipline better than any of those named, but has what they +all lacked--executive ability--and he secured results that they could not +possibly attain, and without anything, like the friction that attended +their efforts. I do not remember that any one was shot during our six +weeks' stay at Millen--a circumstance simply remarkable, since I do not +recall a single week passed anywhere else without at least one murder by +the guards. + +One instance will illustrate the difference of his administration from +that of other prison commandants. He came upon the grounds of our +division one morning, accompanied by a pleasant-faced, +intelligent-appearing lad of about fifteen or sixteen. He said to us: + +"Gentlemen: (The only instance during our imprisonment when we received +so polite a designation.) This is my son, who will hereafter call your +roll. He will treat you as gentlemen, and I know you will do the same to +him." + +This understanding was observed to the letter on both sides. Young Bowes +invariably spoke civilly to us, and we obeyed his orders with a prompt +cheerfulness that left him nothing to complain of. + +The only charge I have to make against Bowes is made more in detail in +another chapter, and that is, that he took money from well prisoners for +giving them the first chance to go through on the Sick Exchange. +How culpable this was I must leave each reader to decide for himself. +I thought it very wrong at the time, but possibly my views might have +been colored highly by my not having any money wherewith to procure my +own inclusion in the happy lot of the exchanged. + +Of one thing I am certain: that his acceptance of money to bias his +official action was not singular on his part. I am convinced that every +commandant we had over us--except Wirz--was habitually in the receipt of +bribes from prisoners. I never heard that any one succeeded in bribing +Wirz, and this is the sole good thing I can say of that fellow. Against +this it may be said, however, that he plundered the boys so effectually +on entering the prison as to leave them little of the wherewithal to +bribe anybody. + +Davis was probably the most unscrupulous bribe-taker of the lot. +He actually received money for permitting prisoners to escape to our +lines, and got down to as low a figure as one hundred dollars for this +sort of service. I never heard that any of the other commandants went +this far. + +The rations issued to us were somewhat better than those of +Andersonville, as the meal was finer and better, though it was absurdedly +insufficient in quantity, and we received no salt. On several occasions +fresh beef was dealt out to us, and each time the excitement created +among those who had not tasted fresh meat for weeks and months was +wonderful. On the first occasion the meat was simply the heads of the +cattle killed for the use of the guards. Several wagon loads of these +were brought in and distributed. We broke them up so that every man got +a piece of the bone, which was boiled and reboiled, as long as a single +bubble of grease would rise to the surface of the water; every vestige of +meat was gnawed and scraped from the surface and then the bone was +charred until it crumbled, when it was eaten. No one who has not +experienced it can imagine the inordinate hunger for animal food of those +who had eaten little else than corn bread for so long. Our exhausted +bodies were perishing for lack of proper sustenance. Nature indicated +fresh beef as the best medium to repair the great damage already done, +and our longing for it became beyond description. + + + + +CHAPTER LX. + +THE RAIDERS REAPPEAR ON THE SCENE--THE ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE THOSE WHO +WERE CONCERNED IN THE EXECUTION--A COUPLE OF LIVELY FIGHTS, IN WHICH THE +RAIDERS ARE DEFEATED--HOLDING AN ELECTION. + +Our old antagonists--the Raiders--were present in strong force in Millen. +Like ourselves, they had imagined the departure from Andersonville was +for exchange, and their relations to the Rebels were such that they were +all given a chance to go with the first squads. A number had been +allowed to go with the sailors on the Special Naval Exchange from +Savannah, in the place of sailors and marines who had died. On the way +to Charleston a fight had taken place between them and the real sailors, +during which one of their number--a curly-headed Irishman named Dailey, +who was in such high favor with the Rebels that he was given the place of +driving the ration wagon that came in the North Side at Andersonville +--was killed, and thrown under the wheels of the moving train, which passed +over him. + +After things began to settle into shape at Millen, they seemed to believe +that they were in such ascendancy as to numbers and organization that +they could put into execution their schemes of vengeance against those of +us who had been active participants in the execution of their +confederates at Andersonville. + +After some little preliminaries they settled upon Corporal "Wat" Payne, +of my company, as their first victim. The reader will remember Payne as +one of the two Corporals who pulled the trigger to the scaffold at the +time of the execution. + +Payne was a very good man physically, and was yet in fair condition. +The Raiders came up one day with their best man--Pete Donnelly--and +provoked a fight, intending, in the course of it, to kill Payne. We, +who knew Payee, felt reasonably confident of his ability to handle even +so redoubtable a pugilist as Donnelly, and we gathered together a little +squad of our friends to see fair play. + +The fight began after the usual amount of bad talk on both sides, and we +were pleased to see our man slowly get the better of the New York +plug-ugly. After several sharp rounds they closed, and still Payne was +ahead, but in an evil moment he spied a pine knot at his feet, which he +thought he could reach, and end the fight by cracking Donnelly's head +with it. Donnelly took instant advantage of the movement to get it, +threw Payne heavily, and fell upon him. His crowd rushed in to finish +our man by clubbing him over the head. We sailed in to prevent this, +and after a rattling exchange of blows all around, succeeded in getting +Payne away. + +The issue of the fight seemed rather against us, however, and the Raiders +were much emboldened. Payne kept close to his crowd after that, and as +we had shown such an entire willingness to stand by him, the Raiders +--with their accustomed prudence when real fighting was involved--did not +attempt to molest him farther, though they talked very savagely. + +A few days after this Sergeant Goody and Corporal Ned Carrigan, both of +our battalion, came in. I must ask the reader to again recall the fact +that Sergeant Goody was one of the six hangmen who put the meal-sacks +over the heads, and the ropes around the necks of the condemned. +Corporal Carrigan was the gigantic prize fighter, who was universally +acknowledged to be the best man physically among the whole thirty-four +thousand in Andersonville. The Raiders knew that Goody had come in +before we of his own battalion did. They resolved to kill him then and +there, and in broad daylight. He had secured in some way a shelter tent, +and was inside of it fixing it up. The Raider crowd, headed by Pete +Donnelly, and Dick Allen, went up to his tent and one of them called to +him: + +"Sergeant, come out; I want to see you." + +Goody, supposing it was one of us, came crawling out on his hands and +knees. As he did so their heavy clubs crashed down upon his head. +He was neither killed nor stunned, as they had reason to expect. +He succeeded in rising to his feet, and breaking through the crowd of +assassins. He dashed down the side of the hill, hotly pursued by them. +Coming to the Creek, he leaped it in his excitement, but his pursuers +could not, and were checked. One of our battalion boys, who saw and +comprehended the whole affair, ran over to us, shouting: + +"Turn out! turn out, for God's sake! the Raiders are killing Goody!" + +We snatched up our clubs and started after the Raiders, but before we +could reach them, Ned Carrigan, who also comprehended what the trouble +was, had run to the side of Goody, armed with a terrible looking club. +The sight of Ned, and the demonstration that he was thoroughly aroused, +was enough for the Raider crew, and they abandoned the field hastily. +We did not feel ourselves strong enough to follow them on to their own +dung hill, and try conclusions with them, but we determined to report the +matter to the Rebel Commandant, from whom we had reason to believe we +could expect assistance. We were right. He sent in a squad of guards, +arrested Dick Allen, Pete Donnelly, and several other ringleaders, took +them out and put them in the stocks in such a manner that they were +compelled to lie upon their stomachs. A shallow tin vessel containing +water was placed under their faces to furnish them drink. + +They staid there a day and night, and when released, joined the Rebel +Army, entering the artillery company that manned the guns in the fort +covering the prison. I used to imagine with what zeal they would send us +over; a round of shell or grape if they could get anything like an +excuse. + +This gave us good riddance--of our dangerous enemies, and we had little +further trouble with any of them. + +The depression in the temperature made me very sensible of the +deficiencies in my wardrobe. Unshod feet, a shirt like a fishing net, +and pantaloons as well ventilated as a paling fence might do very well +for the broiling sun at Andersonville and Savannah, but now, with the +thermometer nightly dipping a little nearer the frost line, it became +unpleasantly evident that as garments their office was purely +perfunctory; one might say ornamental simply, if he wanted to be very +sarcastic. They were worn solely to afford convenient quarters for +multitudes of lice, and in deference to the prejudice which has existed +since the Fall of Man against our mingling with our fellow creatures in +the attire provided us by Nature. Had I read Darwin then I should have +expected that my long exposure to the weather would start a fine suit of +fur, in the effort of Nature to adapt me to my environment. But no +more indications of this appeared than if I had been a hairless dog of +Mexico, suddenly transplanted to more northern latitudes. Providence did +not seem to be in the tempering-the-wind-to-the-shorn-lamb business, as +far as I was concerned. I still retained an almost unconquerable +prejudice against stripping the dead to secure clothes, and so unless +exchange or death came speedily, I was in a bad fix. + +One morning about day break, Andrews, who had started to go to another +part of the camp, came slipping back in a state of gleeful excitement. +At first I thought he either had found a tunnel or had heard some good +news about exchange. It was neither. He opened his jacket and handed me +an infantry man's blouse, which he had found in the main street, where it +had dropped out of some fellow's bundle. We did not make any extra +exertion to find the owner. Andrews was in sore need of clothes himself, +but my necessities were so much greater that the generous fellow thought +of my wants first. We examined the garment with as much interest as ever +a belle bestowed on a new dress from Worth's. It was in fair +preservation, but the owner had cut the buttons off to trade to the +guard, doubtless for a few sticks of wood, or a spoonful of salt. +We supplied the place of these with little wooden pins, and I donned the +garment as a shirt and coat and vest, too, for that matter. The best +suit I ever put on never gave me a hundredth part the satisfaction that +this did. Shortly after, I managed to subdue my aversion so far as to +take a good shoe which a one-legged dead man had no farther use for, and +a little later a comrade gave me for the other foot a boot bottom from +which he had cut the top to make a bucket. + + ........................... + +The day of the Presidential election of 1864 approached. The Rebels were +naturally very much interested in the result, as they believed that the +election of McClellan meant compromise and cessation of hostilities, +while the re-election of Lincoln meant prosecution of the War to the +bitter end. The toadying Raiders, who were perpetually hanging around +the gate to get a chance to insinuate themselves into the favor of the +Rebel officers, persuaded them that we were all so bitterly hostile to +our Government for not exchanging us that if we were allowed to vote we +would cast an overwhelming majority in favor of McClellan. + +The Rebels thought that this might perhaps be used to advantage as +political capital for their friends in the North. They gave orders that +we might, if we chose, hold an election on the same day of the +Presidential election. They sent in some ballot boxes, and we elected +Judges of the Election. + +About noon of that day Captain Bowes, and a crowd of tightbooted, +broad-hatted Rebel officers, strutted in with the peculiar "Ef-yer-don't- +b'lieve--I'm-a-butcher-jest-smell-o'-mebutes" swagger characteristic of +the class. They had come in to see us all voting for McClellan. +Instead, they found the polls surrounded with ticket pedlers shouting: + +"Walk right up here now, and get your Unconditional-Union-Abraham-Lincoln +-tickets!" + +"Here's your straight-haired prosecution-of-the-war ticket." + +"Vote the Lincoln ticket; vote to whip the Rebels, and make peace with +them when they've laid down their arms." + +"Don't vote a McClellan ticket and gratify Rebels, everywhere," etc. + +The Rebel officers did not find the scene what their fancy painted it, +and turning around they strutted out. + +When the votes came to be counted out there were over seven thousand for +Lincoln, and not half that many hundred for McClellan. The latter got +very few votes outside the Raider crowd. The same day a similar election +was held in Florence, with like result. Of course this did not indicate +that there was any such a preponderance of Republicans among us. +It meant simply that the Democratic boys, little as they might have liked +Lincoln, would have voted for him a hundred times rather than do anything +to please the Rebels. + +I never heard that the Rebels sent the result North. + + + + +CHAPTER LXI. + +THE REBELS FORMALLY PROPOSE TO US TO DESERT TO THEM--CONTUMELIOUS +TREATMENT OF THE PROPOSITION--THEIR RAGE--AN EXCITING TIME--AN OUTBREAK +THREATENED--DIFFICULTIES ATTENDING DESERTION TO THE REBELS. + +One day in November, some little time after the occurrences narrated in +the last chapter, orders came in to make out rolls of all those who were +born outside of the United States, and whose terms of service had +expired. + +We held a little council among ourselves as to the meaning of this, and +concluded that some partial exchange had been agreed on, and the Rebels +were going to send back the class of boys whom they thought would be of +least value to the Government. Acting on this conclusion the great +majority of us enrolled ourselves as foreigners, and as having served out +our terms. I made out the roll of my hundred, and managed to give every +man a foreign nativity. Those whose names would bear it were assigned to +England, Ireland, Scotland France and Germany, and the balance were +distributed through Canada and the West Indies. After finishing the roll +and sending it out, I did not wonder that the Rebels believed the battles +for the Union were fought by foreign mercenaries. The other rolls were +made out in the same way, and I do not suppose that they showed five +hundred native Americans in the Stockade. + +The next day after sending out the rolls, there came an order that all +those whose names appeared thereon should fall in. We did so, promptly, +and as nearly every man in camp was included, we fell in as for other +purposes, by hundreds and thousands. We were then marched outside, and +massed around a stump on which stood a Rebel officer, evidently waiting +to make us a speech. We awaited his remarks with the greatest +impatience, but He did not begin until the last division had marched out +and came to a parade rest close to the stump. + +It was the same old story: + +"Prisoners, you can no longer have any doubt that your Government has +cruelly abandoned you; it makes no efforts to release you, and refuses +all our offers of exchange. We are anxious to get our men back, and have +made every effort to do so, but it refuses to meet us on any reasonable +grounds. Your Secretary of War has said that the Government can get +along very well without you, and General Halleck has said that you were +nothing but a set of blackberry pickers and coffee boilers anyhow. + +"You've already endured much more than it could expect of you; you served +it faithfully during the term you enlisted for, and now, when it is +through with you, it throws you aside to starve and die. You also can +have no doubt that the Southern Confederacy is certain to succeed in +securing its independence. It will do this in a few months. It now +offers you an opportunity to join its service, and if you serve it +faithfully to the end, you will receive the same rewards as the rest of +its soldiers. You will be taken out of here, be well clothed and fed, +given a good bounty, and, at the conclusion of the War receive a land +warrant for a nice farm. If you"-- + +But we had heard enough. The Sergeant of our division--a man with a +stentorian voice sprang out and shouted: + +"Attention, first Division!" + +We Sergeants of hundreds repeated the command down the line. Shouted he: + +"First Division, about--" + +Said we: + +"First Hundred, about--" + +"Second Hundred, about--" + +"Third Hundred, about--" + +"Fourth Hundred, about--" etc., etc. + +Said he:-- + +"FACE!!" + +Ten Sergeants repeated "Face!" one after the other, and each man in the +hundreds turned on his heel. Then our leader commanded-- + +"First Division, forward! MARCH!" and we strode back into the Stockade, +followed immediately by all the other divisions, leaving the orator still +standing on the stump. + +The Rebels were furious at this curt way of replying. We had scarcely +reached our quarters when they came in with several companies, with +loaded guns and fixed bayonets. They drove us out of our tents and huts, +into one corner, under the pretense of hunting axes and spades, but in +reality to steal our blankets, and whatever else they could find that +they wanted, and to break down and injure our huts, many of which, +costing us days of patient labor, they destroyed in pure wantonness. + +We were burning with the bitterest indignation. A tall, slender man +named Lloyd, a member of the Sixty-First Ohio--a rough, uneducated +fellow, but brim full of patriotism and manly common sense, jumped up on +a stump and poured out his soul in rude but fiery eloquence: "Comrades," +he said, "do not let the blowing of these Rebel whelps discourage you; +pay no attention to the lies they have told you to-day; you know well +that our Government is too honorable and just to desert any one who +serves it; it has not deserted us; their hell-born Confederacy is not +going to succeed. I tell you that as sure as there is a God who reigns +and judges in Israel, before the Spring breezes stir the tops of these +blasted old pines their Confederacy and all the lousy graybacks who +support it will be so deep in hell that nothing but a search warrant from +the throne of God Almighty can ever find it again. And the glorious old +Stars and Stripes--" + +Here we began cheering tremendously. A Rebel Captain came running up, +said to the guard, who was leaning on his gun, gazing curiously at Lloyd: + +"What in ---- are you standing gaping there for? Why don't you shoot the +---- ---- Yankee son---- -- - -----?" and snatching the gun away from +him, cocked and leveled it at Lloyd, but the boys near jerked the speaker +down from the stump and saved his life. + +We became fearfully, wrought up. Some of the more excitable shouted out +to charge on the line of guards, snatch they guns away from them, and +force our way through the gate The shouts were taken up by others, and, +as if in obedience to the suggestion, we instinctively formed in +line-of-battle facing the guards. A glance down the line showed me an +array of desperate, tensely drawn faces, such as one sees who looks a +men when they are summoning up all their resolution for some deed of +great peril. The Rebel officers hastily retreated behind the line of +guards, whose faces blanched, but they leveled the muskets and prepared +to receive us. + +Captain Bowes, who was overlooking the prison from an elevation outside, +had, however, divined the trouble at the outset, an was preparing to meet +it. The gunners, who had shotted the pieces and trained them upon us +when we came out to listen t the speech, had again covered us with them, +and were ready to sweep the prison with grape and canister at the instant +of command. The long roll was summoning the infantry regiments back into +line, and some of the cooler-headed among us pointed these facts out and +succeeded in getting the line to dissolve again into groups of muttering, +sullen-faced men. When this was done, the guards marched out, by a +cautious indirect maneuver, so as not to turn their backs to us. + +It was believed that we had some among us who would like to avail +themselves of the offer of the Rebels, and that they would try to inform +the Rebels of their desires by going to the gate during the night and +speaking to the Officer-of-the-Guard. A squad armed themselves with +clubs and laid in wait for these. They succeeded in catching several +--snatching some of then back even after they had told the guard their +wishes in a tone so loud that all near could hear distinctly. The +Officer-of-the-Guard rushed in two or three times in a vain attempt to +save the would be deserter from the cruel hands that clutched him and +bore him away to where he had a lesson in loyalty impressed upon the +fleshiest part of his person by a long, flexible strip of pine wielded by +very willing hands. + +After this was kept up for several nights different ideas began I to +prevail. It was felt that if a man wanted to join the Rebels, the best +way was to let him go and get rid of him. He was of no benefit to the +Government, and would be of none to the Rebels. After this no +restriction was put upon any one who desired to go outside and take the +oath. But very few did so, however, and these were wholly confined to +the Raider crowd. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Andersonville, Volume 3, by John McElroy + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANDERSONVILLE, VOLUME 3 *** + +***** This file should be named 4259.txt or 4259.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/5/4259/ + +Produced by David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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Hart +and may be reprinted only when these Etexts are free of all fees.] +[Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be used in any sales +of Project Gutenberg Etexts or other materials be they hardware or +software or any other related product without express permission.] + +*END THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.10/04/01*END* + + + + + +This etext was produced by David Widger <widger@cecomet.net> + + + + + +Note: The Complete Andersonville may be found under this PG listing: +Feb 2002 Andersonville, by John McElroy[#2 by John McElroy][andvl10.xxx]3072 + + + + + + ANDERSONVILLE + A STORY OF REBEL MILITARY PRISONS + + FIFTEEN MONTHS A GUEST OF THE SO-CALLED + SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY + + A PRIVATE SOLDIERS EXPERIENCE + IN + RICHMOND, ANDERSONVILLE, SAVANNAH, MILLEN + BLACKSHEAR AND FLORENCE + + + BY JOHN McELROY + Late of Co. L. 16th Ill Cav. + 1879 + + + +VOLUME 3. + + +CHAPTER XLIII. + +DIFFICULTY OF EXERCISING--EMBARRASSMENTS OF A MORNING WALK--THE RIALTO +OF THE PRISON--CURSING THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY--THE STORY OF THE BATTLE +OF SPOTTSYLVANIA COURTHOUSE. + +Certainly, in no other great community, that ever existed upon the face +of the globe was there so little daily ebb and flow as in this. Dull as +an ordinary Town or City may be; however monotonous, eventless, even +stupid the lives of its citizens, there is yet, nevertheless, a flow +every day of its life-blood--its population towards its heart, and an ebb +of the same, every evening towards its extremities. These recurring +tides mingle all classes together and promote the general healthfulness, +as the constant motion hither and yon of the ocean's waters purify and +sweeten them. + +The lack of these helped vastly to make the living mass inside the +Stockade a human Dead Sea--or rather a Dying Sea--a putrefying, stinking +lake, resolving itself into phosphorescent corruption, like those rotting +southern seas, whose seething filth burns in hideous reds, and ghastly +greens and yellows. + +Being little call for motion of any kind, and no room to exercise +whatever wish there might be in that direction, very many succumbed +unresistingly to the apathy which was so strongly favored by despondency +and the weakness induced by continual hunger, and lying supinely on the +hot sand, day in and day out, speedily brought themselves into such a +condition as invited the attacks of disease. + +It required both determination and effort to take a little walking +exercise. The ground was so densely crowded with holes and other devices +for shelter that it took one at least ten minutes to pick his way through +the narrow and tortuous labyrinth which served as paths for communication +between different parts of the Camp. Still further, there was nothing to +see anywhere or to form sufficient inducement for any one to make so +laborious a journey. One simply encountered at every new step the same +unwelcome sights that he had just left; there was a monotony in the +misery as in everything else, and consequently the temptation to sit or +lie still in one's own quarters became very great. + +I used to make it a point to go to some of the remoter parts of the +Stockade once every day, simply for exercise. One can gain some idea of +the crowd, and the difficulty of making one's way through it, when I say +that no point in the prison could be more than fifteen hundred feet from +where I staid, and, had the way been clear, I could have walked thither +and back in at most a half an hour, yet it usually took me from two to +three hours to make one of these journeys. + +This daily trip, a few visits to the Creek to wash all over, a few games +of chess, attendance upon roll call, drawing rations, cooking and eating +the same, "lousing" my fragments of clothes, and doing some little duties +for my sick and helpless comrades, constituted the daily routine for +myself, as for most of the active youths in the prison. + +The Creek was the great meeting point for all inside the Stockade. +All able to walk were certain to be there at least once during the day, +and we made it a rendezvous, a place to exchange gossip, discuss the +latest news, canvass the prospects of exchange, and, most of all, +to curse the Rebels. Indeed no conversation ever progressed very far +without both speaker and listener taking frequent rests to say bitter +things as to the Rebels generally, and Wirz, Winder and Davis in +particular. + +A conversation between two boys--strangers to each other who came to the +Creek to wash themselves or their clothes, or for some other purpose, +would progress thus: + +First Boy--"I belong to the Second Corps,--Hancock's, [the Army of the +Potomac boys always mentioned what Corps they belonged to, where the +Western boys stated their Regiment.] They got me at Spottsylvania, when +they were butting their heads against our breast-works, trying to get +even with us for gobbling up Johnson in the morning,"--He stops suddenly +and changes tone to say: "I hope to God, that when our folks get +Richmond, they will put old Ben Butler in command of it, with orders to +limb, skin and jayhawk it worse than he did New Orleans." + +Second Boy, (fervently :) "I wish to God he would, and that he'd catch +old Jeff., and that grayheaded devil, Winder, and the old Dutch Captain, +strip 'em just as we were, put 'em in this pen, with just the rations +they are givin' us, and set a guard of plantation niggers over 'em, with +orders to blow their whole infernal heads off, if they dared so much as +to look at the dead line." + +First Boy--(returning to the story of his capture.) "Old Hancock caught +the Johnnies that morning the neatest you ever saw anything in your life. +After the two armies had murdered each other for four or five days in the +Wilderness, by fighting so close together that much of the time you could +almost shake hands with the Graybacks, both hauled off a little, and lay +and glowered at each other. Each side had lost about twenty thousand men +in learning that if it attacked the other it would get mashed fine. +So each built a line of works and lay behind them, and tried to nag the +other into coming out and attacking. At Spottsylvania our lines and +those of the Johnnies weren't twelve hundred yards apart. The ground was +clear and clean between them, and any force that attempted to cross it to +attack would be cut to pieces, as sure as anything. We laid there three +or four days watching each other--just like boys at school, who shake +fists and dare each other. At one place the Rebel line ran out towards +us like the top of a great letter 'A.' The night of the 11th of May it +rained very hard, and then came a fog so thick that you couldn't see the +length of a company. Hancock thought he'd take advantage of this. +We were all turned out very quietly about four o'clock in the morning. +Not a bit of noise was allowed. We even had to take off our canteens and +tin cups, that they might not rattle against our bayonets. The ground +was so wet that our footsteps couldn't be heard. It was one of those +deathly, still movements, when you think your heart is making as much +noise as a bass drum. + +"The Johnnies didn't seem to have the faintest suspicion of what was +coming, though they ought, because we would have expected such an attack +from them if we hadn't made it ourselves. Their pickets were out just a +little ways from their works, and we were almost on to them before they +discovered us. They fired and ran back. At this we raised a yell and +dashed forward at a charge. As we poured over the works, the Rebels came +double-quicking up to defend them. We flanked Johnson's Division +quicker'n you could say 'Jack Robinson,' and had four thousand of 'em in +our grip just as nice as you please. We sent them to the rear under +guard, and started for the next line of Rebel works about a half a mile +away. But we had now waked up the whole of Lee's army, and they all came +straight for us, like packs of mad wolves. Ewell struck us in the +center; Longstreet let drive at our left flank, and Hill tackled our +right. We fell back to the works we had taken, Warren and Wright came up +to help us, and we had it hot and heavy for the rest of the day and part +of the night. The Johnnies seemed so mad over what we'd done that they +were half crazy. They charged us five times, coming up every time just +as if they were going to lift us right out of the works with the bayonet. +About midnight, after they'd lost over ten thousand men, they seemed to +understand that we had pre-empted that piece of real estate, and didn't +propose to allow anybody to jump our claim, so they fell back sullen like +to their main works. When they came on the last charge, our Brigadier +walked behind each of our regiments and said: + +"Boys, we'll send 'em back this time for keeps. Give it to 'em by the +acre, and when they begin to waver, we'll all jump over the works and go +for them with the bayonet.' + +"We did it just that way. We poured such a fire on them that the bullets +knocked up the ground in front just like you have seen the deep dust in a +road in the middle of Summer fly up when the first great big drops of a +rain storm strike it. But they came on, yelling and swearing, officers +in front waving swords, and shouting--all that business, you know. When +they got to about one hundred yards from us, they did not seem to be +coming so fast, and there was a good deal of confusion among them. The +brigade bugle sounded + +"Stop firing." + +"We all ceased instantly. The rebels looked up in astonishment. Our +General sang out: + +"Fix bayonets!' but we knew what was coming, and were already executing +the order. You can imagine the crash that ran down the line, as every +fellow snatched his bayonet out and slapped it on the muzzle of his gun. +Then the General's voice rang out like a bugle: + +"Ready!--FORWARD! CHARGE!' + +"We cheered till everything seemed to split, and jumped over the works, +almost every man at the same minute. The Johnnies seemed to have been +puzzled at the stoppage of our fire. When we all came sailing over the +works, with guns brought right, down where they meant business, they were +so astonished for a minute that they stood stock still, not knowing +whether to come for us, or run. We did not allow them long to debate, +but went right towards them on the double quick, with the bayonets +looking awful savage and hungry. It was too much for Mr. Johnny Reb's +nerves. They all seemed to about face' at once, and they lit out of +there as if they had been sent for in a hurry. We chased after 'em as +fast as we could, and picked up just lots of 'em. Finally it began to be +real funny. A Johnny's wind would begin to give out he'd fall behind his +comrades; he'd hear us yell and think that we were right behind him, +ready to sink a bayonet through him'; he'd turn around, throw up his +hands, and sing out: + +"I surrender, mister! I surrender!' and find that we were a hundred feet +off, and would have to have a bayonet as long as one of McClellan's +general orders to touch him. + +"Well, my company was the left of our regiment, and our regiment was the +left of the brigade, and we swung out ahead of all the rest of the boys. +In our excitement of chasing the Johnnies, we didn't see that we had +passed an angle of their works. About thirty of us had become separated +from the company and were chasing a squad of about seventy-five or one +hundred. We had got up so close to them that we hollered: + +"'Halt there, now, or we'll blow your heads off.' + +"They turned round with, 'halt yourselves; you ---- Yankee ---- ----' + +"We looked around at this, and saw that we were not one hundred feet away +from the angle of the works, which were filled with Rebels waiting for +our fellows to get to where they could have a good flank fire upon them. +There was nothing to do but to throw down our guns and surrender, and we +had hardly gone inside of the works, until the Johnnies opened on our +brigade and drove it back. This ended the battle at Spottsylvania Court +House." + +Second Boy (irrelevantly.) "Some day the underpinning will fly out from +under the South, and let it sink right into the middle kittle o' hell." + +First Boy (savagely.) "I only wish the whole Southern Confederacy was +hanging over hell by a single string, and I had a knife." + + + + +CHAPTER XLIV. + +REBEL MUSIC--SINGULAR LACK OF THE CREATIVE POWER AMONG THE SOUTHERNERS-- +CONTRAST WITH SIMILAR PEOPLE ELSEWHERE--THEIR FAVORITE MUSIC, AND WHERE +IT WAS BORROWED FROM--A FIFER WITH ONE TUNE. + +I have before mentioned as among the things that grew upon one with +increasing acquaintance with the Rebels on their native heath, was +astonishment at their lack of mechanical skill and at their inability to +grapple with numbers and the simpler processes of arithmetic. Another +characteristic of the same nature was their wonderful lack of musical +ability, or of any kind of tuneful creativeness. + +Elsewhere, all over the world, people living under similar conditions to +the Southerners are exceedingly musical, and we owe the great majority of +the sweetest compositions which delight the ear and subdue the senses to +unlettered song-makers of the Swiss mountains, the Tyrolese valleys, the +Bavarian Highlands, and the minstrels of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. + +The music of English-speaking people is very largely made up of these +contributions from the folk-songs of dwellers in the wilder and more +mountainous parts of the British Isles. One rarely goes far out of the +way in attributing to this source any air that he may hear that +captivates him with its seductive opulence of harmony. Exquisite +melodies, limpid and unstrained as the carol of a bird in Spring-time, +and as plaintive as the cooing of a turtle-dove seems as natural products +of the Scottish Highlands as the gorse which blazons on their hillsides +in August. Debarred from expressing their aspirations as people of +broader culture do--in painting, in sculpture, in poetry and prose, these +mountaineers make song the flexible and ready instrument for the +communication of every emotion that sweeps across their souls. + +Love, hatred, grief, revenge, anger, and especially war seems to tune +their minds to harmony, and awake the voice of song in them hearts. The +battles which the Scotch and Irish fought to replace the luckless Stuarts +upon the British throne--the bloody rebellions of 1715 and 1745, left a +rich legacy of sweet song, the outpouring of loving, passionate loyalty +to a wretched cause; songs which are today esteemed and sung wherever the +English language is spoken, by people who have long since forgotten what +burning feelings gave birth to their favorite melodies. + +For a century the bones of both the Pretenders have moldered in alien +soil; the names of James Edward, and Charles Edward, which were once +trumpet blasts to rouse armed men, mean as little to the multitude of +today as those of the Saxon Ethelbert, and Danish Hardicanute, yet the +world goes on singing--and will probably as long as the English language +is spoken--"Wha'll be King but Charlie?" "When Jamie Come Hame," "Over +the Water to Charlie," "Charlie is my Darling," "The Bonny Blue Bonnets +are Over the Border," "Saddle Your Steeds and Awa," and a myriad others +whose infinite tenderness and melody no modern composer can equal. + +Yet these same Scotch and Irish, the same Jacobite English, transplanted +on account of their chronic rebelliousness to the mountains of Virginia, +the Carolinas, and Georgia, seem to have lost their tunefulness, as some +fine singing birds do when carried from their native shores. + +The descendants of those who drew swords for James and Charles at Preston +Pans and Culloden dwell to-day in the dales and valleys of the +Alleganies, as their fathers did in the dales and valleys of the +Grampians, but their voices are mute. + +As a rule the Southerners are fond of music. They are fond of singing +and listening to old-fashioned ballads, most of which have never been +printed, but handed down from one generation to the other, like the +'Volklieder' of Germany. They sing these with the wild, fervid +impressiveness characteristic of the ballad singing of unlettered people. +Very many play tolerably on the violin and banjo, and occasionally one is +found whose instrumentation may be called good. But above this hight +they never soar. The only musician produced by the South of whom the +rest of the country has ever heard, is Blind Tom, the negro idiot. No +composer, no song writer of any kind has appeared within the borders of +Dixie. + +It was a disappointment to me that even the stress of the war, the +passion and fierceness with which the Rebels felt and fought, could not +stimulate any adherent of the Stars and Bars into the production of a +single lyric worthy in the remotest degree of the magnitude of the +struggle, and the depth of the popular feeling. Where two million +Scotch, fighting to restore the fallen fortunes of the worse than +worthless Stuarts, filled the world with immortal music, eleven million +of Southerners, fighting for what they claimed to be individual freedom +and national life, did not produce any original verse, or a bar of music +that the world could recognize as such. This is the fact; and an +undeniable one. Its explanation I must leave to abler analysts +than I am. + +Searching for peculiar causes we find but two that make the South differ +from the ancestral home of these people. These two were Climate and +Slavery. Climatic effects will not account for the phenomenon, because +we see that the peasantry of the mountains of Spain and the South of +France as ignorant as these people, and dwellers in a still more +enervating atmosphere-are very fertile in musical composition, and their +songs are to the Romanic languages what the Scotch and Irish ballads are +to the English. + +Then it must be ascribed to the incubus of Slavery upon the intellect, +which has repressed this as it has all other healthy growths in the +South. Slavery seems to benumb all the faculties except the passions. +The fact that the mountaineers had but few or no slaves, does not seem to +be of importance in the case. They lived under the deadly shadow of the +upas tree, and suffered the consequences of its stunting their +development in all directions, as the ague-smitten inhabitant of the +Roman Campana finds every sense and every muscle clogged by the filtering +in of the insidious miasma. They did not compose songs and music, +because they did not have the intellectual energy for that work. + +The negros displayed all the musical creativeness of that section. +Their wonderful prolificness in wild, rude songs, with strangely +melodious airs that burned themselves into the memory, was one of the +salient characteristics of that down-trodden race. Like the Russian +serfs, and the bondmen of all ages and lands, the songs they made and +sang all had an undertone of touching plaintiveness, born of ages of dumb +suffering. The themes were exceedingly simple, and the range of subjects +limited. The joys, and sorrows, hopes and despairs of love's +gratification or disappointment, of struggles for freedom, contests with +malign persons and influences, of rage, hatred, jealousy, revenge, such +as form the motifs for the majority of the poetry of free and strong +races, were wholly absent from their lyrics. Religion, hunger and toil +were their main inspiration. They sang of the pleasures of idling in the +genial sunshine; the delights of abundance of food; the eternal happiness +that awaited them in the heavenly future, where the slave-driver ceased +from troubling and the weary were at rest; where Time rolled around in +endless cycles of days spent in basking, harp in hand, and silken clad, +in golden streets, under the soft effulgence of cloudless skies, glowing +with warmth and kindness emanating from the Creator himself. Had their +masters condescended to borrow the music of the slaves, they would have +found none whose sentiments were suitable for the ode of a people +undergoing the pangs of what was hoped to be the birth of a new nation. + +The three songs most popular at the South, and generally regarded as +distinctively Southern, were "The Bonnie Blue Flag," "Maryland, My +Maryland," and "Stonewall Jackson Crossing into Maryland." The first of +these was the greatest favorite by long odds. Women sang, men whistled, +and the so-called musicians played it wherever we went. While in the +field before capture, it was the commonest of experiences to have Rebel +women sing it at us tauntingly from the house that we passed or near +which we stopped. If ever near enough a Rebel camp, we were sure to hear +its wailing crescendo rising upon the air from the lips or instruments of +some one more quartered there. At Richmond it rang upon us constantly +from some source or another, and the same was true wherever else we went +in the so-called Confederacy. + +All familiar with Scotch songs will readily recognize the name and air as +an old friend, and one of the fierce Jacobite melodies that for a long +time disturbed the tranquility of the Brunswick family on the English +throne. The new words supplied by the Rebels are the merest doggerel, +and fit the music as poorly as the unchanged name of the song fitted to +its new use. The flag of the Rebellion was not a bonnie blue one; but +had quite as much red and white as azure. It did not have a single star, +but thirteen. + +Near in popularity was "Maryland, My Maryland." The versification of +this was of a much higher Order, being fairly respectable. The air is +old, and a familiar one to all college students, and belongs to one of +the most common of German household songs: + + O, Tannenbaum! O, Tannenbaum, wie tru sind deine Blatter! + Da gruenst nicht nur zur Sommerseit, + Nein, auch in Winter, when es Schneit, etc. + +which Longfellow has finely translated, + +O, hemlock tree! O, hemlock tree! how faithful are thy branches! +Green not alone in Summer time, +But in the Winter's float and rime. +O, hemlock tree O, hemlock tree! how faithful are thy branches. etc. + +The Rebel version ran: + + MARYLAND. + +The despot's heel is on thy shore, + Maryland! +His touch is at thy temple door, + Maryland! +Avenge the patriotic gore +That flecked the streets of Baltimore, +And be the battle queen of yore, +Maryland! My Maryland! + +Hark to the wand'ring son's appeal, + Maryland! +My mother State, to thee I kneel, + Maryland! +For life and death, for woe and weal, +Thy peerless chivalry reveal, +And gird thy beauteous limbs with steel, +Maryland! My Maryland! + +Thou wilt not cower in the duet, + Maryland! +Thy beaming sword shall never rust + Maryland! +Remember Carroll's sacred trust, +Remember Howard's warlike thrust-- +And all thy slumberers with the just, +Maryland! My Maryland! + +Come! 'tis the red dawn of the day, + Maryland! +Come! with thy panoplied array, + Maryland! +With Ringgold's spirit for the fray, +With Watson's blood at Monterey, +With fearless Lowe and dashing May, +Maryland! My Maryland! + +Comet for thy shield is bright and strong, + Maryland! +Come! for thy dalliance does thee wrong, + Maryland! +Come! to thins own heroic throng, +That stalks with Liberty along, +And give a new Key to thy song, +Maryland! My Maryland! + +Dear Mother! burst the tyrant's chain, + Maryland! +Virginia should not call in vain, + Maryland! +She meets her sisters on the plain-- +'Sic semper' 'tis the proud refrain, +That baffles millions back amain, + Maryland! +Arise, in majesty again, +Maryland! My Maryland! + +I see the blush upon thy cheek, + Maryland! +But thou wast ever bravely meek, + Maryland! +But lo! there surges forth a shriek +From hill to hill, from creek to creek-- +Potomac calls to Chesapeake, +Maryland! My Maryland! + +Thou wilt not yield the vandal toll. + Maryland! +Thou wilt not crook to his control, + Maryland! +Better the fire upon thee roll, +Better the blade, the shot, the bowl, +Than crucifixion of the soul, +Maryland! My Maryland! + +I hear the distant Thunder hem, + Maryland! +The Old Line's bugle, fife, and drum. + Maryland! +She is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb-- +Hnzza! she spurns the Northern scum! +She breathes--she burns! she'll come! she'll come! +Maryland! My Maryland! + + +"Stonewall Jackson Crossing into Maryland," was another travesty, of +about the same literary merit, or rather demerit, as "The Bonnie Blue +Flag." Its air was that of the well-known and popular negro minstrel +song," Billy Patterson." For all that, it sounded very martial and +stirring when played by a brass band. + +We heard these songs with tiresome iteration, daily and nightly, during +our stay in the Southern Confederacy. Some one of the guards seemed to +be perpetually beguiling the weariness of his watch by singing in all +keys, in every sort of a voice, and with the wildest latitude as to air +and time. They became so terribly irritating to us, that to this day the +remembrance of those soul-lacerating lyrics abides with me as one of the +chief of the minor torments of our situation. They were, in fact, nearly +as bad as the lice. + +We revenged ourselves as best we could by constructing fearfully wicked, +obscene and insulting parodies on these, and by singing them with +irritating effusiveness in the hearing of the guards who were inflicting +these nuisances upon us. + +Of the same nature was the garrison music. One fife, played by an +asthmatic old fellow whose breathings were nearly as audible as his +notes, and one rheumatic drummer, constituted the entire band for the +post. The fifer actually knew but one tune "The Bonnie Blue Flag"-- +and did not know that well. But it was all that he had, and he played it +with wearisome monotony for every camp call--five or six times a day, +and seven days in the week. He called us up in the morning with it for a +reveille; he sounded the "roll call" and "drill call," breakfast, dinner +and supper with it, and finally sent us to bed, with the same dreary wail +that had rung in our ears all day. I never hated any piece of music as I +came to hate that threnody of treason. It would have been such a relief +if the, old asthmatic who played it could have been induced to learn +another tune to play on Sundays, and give us one day of rest. He did +not, but desecrated the Lord's Day by playing as vilely as on the rest of +the week. The Rebels were fully conscious of their musical deficiencies, +and made repeated but unsuccessful attempts to induce the musicians among +the prisoners to come outside and form a band. + + + + + +CHAPTER XLV. + +AUGUST--NEEDLES STUCK IN PUMPKIN SEEDS--SOME PHENOMENA OF STARVATION-- +RIOTING IN REMEMBERED LUXURIES. + +"Illinoy," said tall, gaunt Jack North, of the One Hundred and Fourteenth +Illinois, to me, one day, as we sat contemplating our naked, and sadly +attenuated underpinning; "what do our legs and feet most look most like?" + +"Give it up, Jack," said I. + +"Why--darning needles stuck in pumpkin seeds, of course." I never heard +a better comparison for our wasted limbs. + +The effects of the great bodily emaciation were sometimes very startling. +Boys of a fleshy habit would change so in a few weeks as to lose all +resemblance to their former selves, and comrades who came into prison +later would utterly fail to recognize them. Most fat men, as most large +men, died in a little while after entering, though there were exceptions. +One of these was a boy of my own company, named George Hillicks. George +had shot up within a few years to over six feet in hight, and then, as +such boys occasionally do, had, after enlisting with us, taken on such a +development of flesh that we nicknamed him the "Giant," and he became a +pretty good load for even the strongest horse. George held his flesh +through Belle Isle, and the earlier weeks in Andersonville, but June, +July, and August "fetched him," as the boys said. He seemed to melt away +like an icicle on a Spring day, and he grew so thin that his hight seemed +preternatural. We called him "Flagstaff," and cracked all sorts of jokes +about putting an insulator on his head, and setting him up for a +telegraph pole, braiding his legs and using him for a whip lash, letting +his hair grow a little longer, and trading him off to the Rebels for a +sponge and staff for the artillery, etc. We all expected him to die, +and looked continually for the development of the fatal scurvy symptoms, +which were to seal his doom. But he worried through, and came out at +last in good shape, a happy result due as much as to anything else to his +having in Chester Hayward, of Prairie City, Ill.,--one of the most +devoted chums I ever knew. Chester nursed and looked out for George with +wife-like fidelity, and had his reward in bringing him safe through our +lines. There were thousands of instances of this generous devotion to +each other by chums in Andersonville, and I know of nothing that reflects +any more credit upon our boy soldiers. + +There was little chance for any one to accumulate flesh on the rations we +were receiving. I say it in all soberness that I do not believe that a +healthy hen could have grown fat upon them. I am sure that any good- +sized "shanghai" eats more every day than the meager half loaf that we +had to maintain life upon. Scanty as this was, and hungry as all were, +very many could not eat it. Their stomachs revolted against the trash; +it became so nauseous to them that they could not force it down, even +when famishing, and they died of starvation with the chunks of the so- +called bread under their head. I found myself rapidly approaching this +condition. I had been blessed with a good digestion and a talent for +sleeping under the most discouraging circumstances. These, I have no +doubt, were of the greatest assistance to me in my struggle for +existence. But now the rations became fearfully obnoxious to me, and it +was only with the greatest effort--pulling the bread into little pieces +and swallowing each, of these as one would a pill--that I succeeded in +worrying the stuff down. I had not as yet fallen away very much, but as +I had never, up, to that time, weighed so much as one hundred and twenty- +five pounds, there was no great amount of adipose to lose. It was +evident that unless some change occurred my time was near at hand. + +There was not only hunger for more food, but longing with an intensity +beyond expression for alteration of some kind in the rations. +The changeless monotony of the miserable saltless bread, or worse mush, +for days, weeks and months, became unbearable. If those wretched mule +teams had only once a month hauled in something different--if they had +come in loaded with sweet potatos, green corn or wheat flour, there would +be thousands of men still living who now slumber beneath those melancholy +pines. It would have given something to look forward to, and remember +when past. But to know each day that the gates would open to admit the +same distasteful apologies for food took away the appetite and raised +one's gorge, even while famishing for something to eat. + +We could for a while forget the stench, the lice, the heat, the maggots, +the dead and dying around us, the insulting malignance of our jailors; +but it was, very hard work to banish thoughts and longings for food from +our minds. Hundreds became actually insane from brooding over it. Crazy +men could be found in all parts of the camp. Numbers of them wandered +around entirely naked. Their babblings and maunderings about something +to eat were painful to hear. I have before mentioned the case of the +Plymouth Pilgrim near me, whose insanity took the form of imagining that +he was sitting at the table with his family, and who would go through the +show of helping them to imaginary viands and delicacies. The cravings +for green food of those afflicted with the scurvy were, agonizing. Large +numbers of watermelons were brought to the prison, and sold to those who +had the money to pay for them at from one to five dollars, greenbacks, +apiece. A boy who had means to buy a piece of these would be followed +about while eating it by a crowd of perhaps twenty-five or thirty livid- +gummed scorbutics, each imploring him for the rind when he was through +with it. + +We thought of food all day, and were visited with torturing dreams of it +at night. One of the pleasant recollections of my pre-military life was +a banquet at the "Planter's House," St. Louis, at which I was a boyish +guest. It was, doubtless, an ordinary affair, as banquets go, but to me +then, with all the keen appreciation of youth and first experience, it +was a feast worthy of Lucullus. But now this delightful reminiscence +became a torment. Hundreds of times I dreamed I was again at the +"Planter's." I saw the wide corridors, with their mosaic pavement; +I entered the grand dining-room, keeping timidly near the friend to whose +kindness I owed this wonderful favor; I saw again the mirror-lined walls, +the evergreen decked ceilings, the festoons and mottos, the tables +gleaming with cutglass and silver, the buffets with wines and fruits, +the brigade of sleek, black, white-aproned waiters, headed by one who had +presence enough for a major General. Again I reveled in all the dainties +and dishes on the bill-of-fare; calling for everything that I dared to, +just to see what each was like, and to be able to say afterwards that I +had partaken of it; all these bewildering delights of the first +realization of what a boy has read and wondered much over, and longed +for, would dance their rout and reel through my somnolent brain. Then I +would awake to find myself a half-naked, half-starved, vermin-eaten +wretch, crouching in a hole in the ground, waiting for my keepers to +fling me a chunk of corn bread. + +Naturally the boys--and especially the country boys and new prisoners-- +talked much of victuals--what they had had, and what they would have +again, when they got out. Take this as a sample of the conversation +which might be heard in any group of boys, sitting together on the sand, +killin lice and talking of exchange: + +Tom--"Well, Bill, when we get back to God's country, you and Jim and John +must all come to my house and take dinner with me. I want to give you a +square meal. I want to show you just what good livin' is. You know my +mother is just the best cook in all that section. When she lays herself +out to get up a meal all the other women in the neighborhood just stand +back and admire!" + +Bill--"O, that's all right; but I'll bet she can't hold a candle to my +mother, when it comes to good cooking." + +Jim--"No, nor to mine." + +John--(with patronizing contempt.) "O, shucks! None of you fellers were +ever at our house, even when we had one of our common weekday dinners." + +Tom--(unheedful of the counter claims.) I hev teen studyin' up the dinner +I'd like, and the bill-of-fare I'd set out for you fellers when you come +over to see me. First, of course, we'll lay the foundation like with a +nice, juicy loin roast, and some mashed potatos. + +Bill--(interrupting.) "Now, do you like mashed potatos with beef? The +way may mother does is to pare the potatos, and lay them in the pan along +with the beef. Then, you know, they come out just as nice and crisp, and +brown; they have soaked up all the beef gravy, and they crinkle between +your teeth--" + +Jim--"Now, I tell you, mashed Neshannocks with butter on 'em is plenty +good enough for me." + +John--"If you'd et some of the new kind of peachblows that we raised in +the old pasture lot the year before I enlisted, you'd never say another +word about your Neshannocks." + +Tom--(taking breath and starting in fresh.) "Then we'll hev some fried +Spring chickens, of our dominick breed. Them dominicks of ours have the +nicest, tenderest meat, better'n quail, a darned sight, and the way my +mother can fry Spring chickens----" + +Bill--(aside to Jim.) "Every durned woman in the country thinks she can +'spry ching frickens;' but my mother---" + +John--"You fellers all know that there's nobody knows half as much about +chicken doin's as these 'tinerant Methodis' preachers. They give 'em +chicken wherever they go, and folks do say that out in the new +settlements they can't get no preachin', no gospel, nor nothin', until +the chickens become so plenty that a preacher is reasonably sure of +havin' one for his dinner wherever he may go. Now, there's old Peter +Cartwright, who has traveled over Illinoy and Indianny since the Year +One, and preached more good sermons than any other man who ever set on +saddle-bags, and has et more chickens than there are birds in a big +pigeon roost. Well, he took dinner at our house when he came up to +dedicate the big, white church at Simpkin's Corners, and when he passed +up his plate the third time for more chicken, he sez, sez he:--I've et +at a great many hundred tables in the fifty years I have labored in the +vineyard of the Redeemer, but I must say, Mrs. Kiggins, that your way of +frying chickens is a leetle the nicest that I ever knew. I only wish +that the sisters generally would get your reseet.' Yes, that's what he +said,--'a leetle the nicest.'" + +Tom--"An' then, we'll hev biscuits an' butter. I'll just bet five +hundred dollars to a cent, and give back the cent if I win, that we have +the best butter at our house that there is in Central Illinoy. You can't +never hev good butter onless you have a spring house; there's no use of +talkin'--all the patent churns that lazy men ever invented--all the fancy +milk pans an' coolers, can't make up for a spring house. Locations for a +spring house are scarcer than hen's teeth in Illinoy, but we hev one, and +there ain't a better one in Orange County, New York. Then you'll see +dome of the biscuits my mother makes." + +Bill--"Well, now, my mother's a boss biscuit-maker, too." + +Jim--"You kin just gamble that mine is." + +John--"O, that's the way you fellers ought to think an' talk, but my +mother----" + +Tom--(coming in again with fresh vigor) "They're jest as light an' fluffy +as a dandelion puff, and they melt in your month like a ripe Bartlett +pear. You just pull 'em open--Now you know that I think there's nothin' +that shows a person's raisin' so well as to see him eat biscuits an' +butter. If he's been raised mostly on corn bread, an' common doins,' +an' don't know much about good things to eat, he'll most likely cut his +biscuit open with a case knife, an' make it fall as flat as one o' +yesterday's pancakes. But if he is used to biscuits, has had 'em often +at his house, he'll--just pull 'em open, slow an' easy like, then he'll +lay a little slice of butter inside, and drop a few drops of clear honey +on this, an' stick the two halves back, together again, an--" + +"Oh, for God Almighty's sake, stop talking that infernal nonsense," roar +out a half dozen of the surrounding crowd, whose mouths have been +watering over this unctuous recital of the good things of the table. +"You blamed fools, do you want to drive yourselves and everybody else +crazy with such stuff as that. Dry up and try to think of something +else." + + + + +CHAPTER XLVI. + +SURLY BRITON--THE STOLID COURAGE THAT MAKES THE ENGLISH FLAG A BANNER OF +TRIUMPH--OUR COMPANY BUGLER, HIS CHARACTERISTICS AND HIS DEATH--URGENT +DEMAND FOR MECHANICS--NONE WANT TO GO--TREATMENT OF A REBEL SHOEMAKER-- +ENLARGEMENT OF THE STOCKADE--IT IS BROKEN BY A STORM-- +THE WONDERFUL SPRING. + +Early in August, F. Marriott, our Company Bugler, died. Previous to +coming to America he had been for many years an English soldier, and I +accepted him as a type of that stolid, doggedly brave class, which forms +the bulk of the English armies, and has for centuries carried the British +flag with dauntless courage into every land under the sun. Rough, surly +and unsocial, he did his duty with the unemotional steadiness of a +machine. He knew nothing but to obey orders, and obeyed them under all +circumstances promptly, but with stony impassiveness. With the command +to move forward into action, he moved forward without a word, and with +face as blank as a side of sole leather. He went as far as ordered, +halted at the word, and retired at command as phlegmatically as he +advanced. If he cared a straw whether he advanced or retreated, if it +mattered to the extent of a pinch of salt whether we whipped the Rebels +or they defeated us, he kept that feeling so deeply hidden in the +recesses of his sturdy bosom that no one ever suspected it. In the +excitement of action the rest of the boys shouted, and swore, and +expressed their tense feelings in various ways, but Marriott might as +well have been a graven image, for all the expression that he suffered to +escape. Doubtless, if the Captain had ordered him to shoot one of the +company through the heart, he would have executed the command according +to the manual of arms, brought his carbine to a "recover," and at the +word marched back to his quarters without an inquiry as to the cause of +the proceedings. He made no friends, and though his surliness repelled +us, he made few enemies. Indeed, he was rather a favorite, since he was +a genuine character; his gruffness had no taint of selfish greed in it; +he minded his own business strictly, and wanted others to do the same. +When he first came into the company, it is true, he gained the enmity of +nearly everybody in it, but an incident occurred which turned the tide in +his favor. Some annoying little depredations had been practiced on the +boys, and it needed but a word of suspicion to inflame all their minds +against the surly Englishman as the unknown perpetrator. The feeling +intensified, until about half of the company were in a mood to kill the +Bugler outright. As we were returning from stable duty one evening, +some little occurrence fanned the smoldering anger into a fierce blaze; +a couple of the smaller boys began an attack upon him; others hastened to +their assistance, and soon half the company were engaged in the assault. + +He succeeded in disengaging himself from his assailants, and, squaring +himself off, said, defiantly: + +"Dom yer cowardly heyes; jest come hat me one hat a time, hand hI'll +wollop the 'ole gang uv ye's." + +One of our Sergeants styled himself proudly "a Chicago rough," and was as +vain of his pugilistic abilities as a small boy is of a father who plays +in the band. We all hated him cordially--even more than we did Marriott. + +He thought this was a good time to show off, and forcing his way through +the crowd, he said, vauntingly: + +"Just fall back and form a ring, boys, and see me polish off the---fool." + +The ring was formed, with the Bugler and the Sergeant in the center. +Though the latter was the younger and stronger the first round showed him +that it would have profited him much more to have let Marriott's +challenge pass unheeded. As a rule, it is as well to ignore all +invitations of this kind from Englishmen, and especially from those who, +like Marriott, have served a term in the army, for they are likely to be +so handy with their fists as to make the consequences of an acceptance +more lively than desirable. + +So the Sergeant found. "Marriott," as one of the spectators expressed +it, "went around him like a cooper around a barrel." He planted his +blows just where he wished, to the intense delight of the boys, who +yelled enthusiastically whenever he got in "a hot one," and their delight +at seeing the Sergeant drubbed so thoroughly and artistically, worked an +entire revolution in his favor. + +Thenceforward we viewed his eccentricities with lenient eyes, and became +rather proud of his bull-dog stolidity and surliness. The whole +battalion soon came to share this feeling, and everybody enjoyed hearing +his deep-toned growl, which mischievous boys would incite by some petty +annoyances deliberately designed for that purpose. I will mention +incidentally, that after his encounter with the Sergeant no one ever +again volunteered to "polish" him off. + +Andersonville did not improve either his temper or his communicativeness. +He seemed to want to get as far away from the rest of us as possible, +and took up his quarters in a remote corner of the Stockade, among utter +strangers. Those of us who wandered up in his neighborhood occasionally, +to see how he was getting along, were received with such scant courtesy, +that we did not hasten to repeat the visit. At length, after none of us +had seen him for weeks, we thought that comradeship demanded another +visit. We found him in the last stages of scurvy and diarrhea. Chunks +of uneaten corn bread lay by his head. They were at least a week old. +The rations since then had evidently been stolen from the helpless man by +those around him. The place where he lay was indescribably filthy, and +his body was swarming with vermin. Some good Samaritan had filled his +little black oyster can with water, and placed it within his reach. +For a week, at least, he had not been able to rise from the ground; +he could barely reach for the water near him. He gave us such a glare of +recognition as I remembered to have seen light up the fast-darkening eyes +of a savage old mastiff, that I and my boyish companions once found dying +in the woods of disease and hurts. Had he been able he would have driven +us away, or at least assailed us with biting English epithets. Thus he +had doubtless driven away all those who had attempted to help him. +We did what little we could, and staid with him until the next afternoon, +when he died. We prepared his body, in the customary way: folded the +hands across his breast, tied the toes together, and carried it outside, +not forgetting each of us, to bring back a load of wood. + +The scarcity of mechanics of all kinds in the Confederacy, and the urgent +needs of the people for many things which the war and the blockade +prevented their obtaining, led to continual inducements being offered to +the artizans among us to go outside and work at their trade. Shoemakers +seemed most in demand; next to these blacksmiths, machinists, molders and +metal workers generally. Not a week passed during my imprisonment that I +did not see a Rebel emissary of some kind about the prison seeking to +engage skilled workmen for some purpose or another. While in Richmond +the managers of the Tredegar Iron Works were brazen and persistent in +their efforts to seduce what are termed "malleable iron workers," to +enter their employ. A boy who was master of any one of the commoner +trades had but to make his wishes known, and he would be allowed to go +out on parole to work. I was a printer, and I think that at least a +dozen times I was approached by Rebel publishers with offers of a parole, +and work at good prices. One from Columbia, S. C., offered me two +dollars and a half a "thousand" for composition. As the highest price +for such work that I had received before enlisting was thirty cents a +thousand, this seemed a chance to accumulate untold wealth. Since a man +working in day time can set from thirty-five to fifty "thousand" a week, +this would make weekly wages run from eighty-seven dollars and fifty +cents to one hundred and twenty-five dollars--but it was in Confederate +money, then worth from ten to twenty cents on the dollar. + +Still better offers were made to iron workers of all kinds, +to shoemakers, tanners, weavers, tailors, hatters, engineers, machinists, +millers, railroad men, and similar tradesmen. Any of these could have +made a handsome thing by accepting the offers made them almost weekly. +As nearly all in the prison had useful trades, it would have been of +immense benefit to the Confederacy if they could have been induced to +work at them. There is no measuring the benefit it would have been to +the Southern cause if all the hundreds of tanners and shoemakers in the +Stockade could have, been persuaded to go outside and labor in providing +leather and shoes for the almost shoeless people and soldiery. The +machinists alone could have done more good to the Southern Confederacy +than one of our brigades was doing harm, by consenting to go to the +railroad shops at Griswoldville and ply their handicraft. The lack of +material resources in the South was one of the strongest allies our arms +had. This lack of resources was primarily caused by a lack of skilled +labor to develop those resources, and nowhere could there be found a +finer collection of skilled laborers than in the thirty-three thousand +prisoners incarcerated in Andersonville. + +All solicitations to accept a parole and go outside to work at one's +trade were treated with the scorn they deserved. If any mechanic yielded +to them, the fact did not come under my notice. The usual reply to +invitations of this kind was: + +"No, Sir! By God, I'll stay in here till I rot, and the maggots carry me +out through the cracks in the Stockade, before I'll so much as raise my +little finger to help the infernal Confederacy, or Rebels, in any shape +or form." + +In August a Macon shoemaker came in to get some of his trade to go back +with him to work in the Confederate shoe factory. He prosecuted his +search for these until he reached the center of the camp on the North +Side, when some of the shoemakers who had gathered around him, apparently +considering his propositions, seized him and threw him into a well. +He was kept there a whole day, and only released when Wirz cut off the +rations of the prison for that day, and announced that no more would be +issued until the man was returned safe and sound to the gate. + +The terrible crowding was somewhat ameliorated by the opening in July of +an addition--six hundred feet long--to the North Side of the Stockade. +This increased the room inside to twenty acres, giving about an acre to +every one thousand seven hundred men,--a preposterously contracted area +still. The new ground was not a hotbed of virulent poison like the olds +however, and those who moved on to it had that much in their favor. + +The palisades between the new and the old portions of the pen were left +standing when the new portion was opened. We were still suffering a +great deal of inconvenience from lack of wood. That night the standing +timbers were attacked by thousands of prisoners armed with every species +of a tool to cut wood, from a case-knife to an ax. They worked the live- +long night with such energy that by morning not only every inch of the +logs above ground had disappeared, but that below had been dug up, and +there was not enough left of the eight hundred foot wall of twenty-five- +foot logs to make a box of matches. + +One afternoon--early in August--one of the violent rain storms common to +that section sprung up, and in a little while the water was falling in +torrents. The little creek running through the camp swelled up +immensely, and swept out large gaps in the Stockade, both in the west and +east sides. The Rebels noticed the breaches as soon as the prisoners. +Two guns were fired from the Star Tort, and all the guards rushed out, +and formed so as to prevent any egress, if one was attempted. Taken by +surprise, we were not in a condition to profit by the opportunity until +it was too late. + +The storm did one good thing: it swept away a great deal of filth, and +left the camp much more wholesome. The foul stench rising from the camp +made an excellent electrical conductor, and the lightning struck several +times within one hundred feet of the prison. + +Toward the end of August there happened what the religously inclined +termed a Providential Dispensation. The water in the Creek was +indescribably bad. No amount of familiarity with it, no increase of +intimacy with our offensive surroundings, could lessen the disgust at the +polluted water. As I have said previously, before the stream entered the +Stockade, it was rendered too filthy for any use by the contaminations +from the camps of the guards, situated about a half-mile above. +Immediately on entering the Stockade the contamination became terrible. +The oozy seep at the bottom of the hillsides drained directly into it all +the mass of filth from a population of thirty-three thousand. Imagine +the condition of an open sewer, passing through the heart of a city of +that many people, and receiving all the offensive product of so dense a +gathering into a shallow, sluggish stream, a yard wide and five inches +deep, and heated by the burning rays of the sun in the thirty-second +degree of latitude. Imagine, if one can, without becoming sick at the +stomach, all of these people having to wash in and drink of this foul +flow. + +There is not a scintilla of exaggeration in this statement. That it is +within the exact truth is demonstrable by the testimony of any man--Rebel +or Union--who ever saw the inside of the Stockade at Andersonville. I am +quite content to have its truth--as well as that of any other statement +made in this book--be determined by the evidence of any one, no matter +how bitter his hatred of the Union, who had any personal knowledge of the +condition of affairs at Andersonville. No one can successfully deny that +there were at least thirty-three thousand prisoners in the Stockade, and +that the one shallow, narrow creek, which passed through the prison, was +at once their main sewer and their source of supply of water for bathing, +drinking and washing. With these main facts admitted, the reader's +common sense of natural consequences will furnish the rest of the +details. + +It is true that some of the more fortunate of us had wells; thanks to our +own energy in overcoming extraordinary obstacles; no thanks to our +gaolers for making the slightest effort to provide these necessities of +life. We dug the wells with case and pocket knives, and half canteens to +a depth of from twenty to thirty feet, pulling up the dirt in pantaloons +legs, and running continual risk of being smothered to death by the +caving in of the unwalled sides. Not only did the Rebels refuse to give +us boards with which to wall the wells, and buckets for drawing the +water, but they did all in their power to prevent us from digging the +wells, and made continual forays to capture the digging tools, because +the wells were frequently used as the starting places for tunnels. +Professor Jones lays special stress on this tunnel feature in his +testimony, which I have introduced in a previous chapter. + +The great majority of the prisoners who went to the Creek for water, went +as near as possible to the Dead Line on the West Side, where the Creek +entered the Stockade, that they might get water with as little filth in +it as possible. In the crowds struggling there for their turn to take a +dip, some one nearly every day got so close to the Dead Line as to arouse +a suspicion in the guard's mind that he was touching it. The suspicion +was the unfortunate one's death warrant, and also its execution. As the +sluggish brain of the guard conceived it he leveled his gun; the distance +to his victim was not over one hundred feet; he never failed his aim; the +first warning the wretched prisoner got that he was suspected of +transgressing a prison-rule was the charge of "ball-and-buck" that tore +through his body. It was lucky if he was, the only one of the group +killed. More wicked and unjustifiable murders never were committed than +these almost daily assassinations at the Creek. + +One morning the camp was astonished beyond measure to discover that +during the night a large, bold spring had burst out on the North Side, +about midway between the Swamp and the summit of the hill. It poured out +its grateful flood of pure, sweet water in an apparently exhaustless +quantity. To the many who looked in wonder upon it, it seemed as truly a +heaven-wrought miracle as when Moses's enchanted rod smote the parched +rock in Sinai's desert waste, and the living waters gushed forth. + +The police took charge of the spring, and every one was compelled to take +his regular turn in filling his vessel. This was kept up during our +whole stay in Andersonville, and every morning, shortly after daybreak, +a thousand men could be seen standing in line, waiting their turns to +fill their cans and cups with the precious liquid. + +I am told by comrades who have revisited the Stockade of recent years, +that the spring is yet running as when we left, and is held in most pious +veneration by the negros of that vicinity, who still preserve the +tradition of its miraculous origin, and ascribe to its water wonderful +grace giving and healing properties, similar to those which pious +Catholics believe exist in the holy water of the fountain at Lourdes. + +I must confess that I do not think they are so very far from right. +If I could believe that any water was sacred and thaumaturgic, it would +be of that fountain which appeared so opportunely for the benefit of the +perishing thousands of Andersonville. And when I hear of people bringing +water for baptismal purposes from the Jordan, I say in my heart, "How +much more would I value for myself and friends the administration of the +chrismal sacrament with the diviner flow from that low sand-hill in +Western Georgia." + + + + +CHAPTER XLVII. + +"SICK CALL," AND THE SCENES THAT ACCOMPANIED IT--MUSTERING THE LAME, HALT +AND DISEASED AT THE SOUTH GATE--AN UNUSUALLY BAD CASE--GOING OUT TO THE +HOSPITAL--ACCOMMODATION AND TREATMENT OF THE PATIENTS THERE--THE HORRIBLE +SUFFERING IN THE GANGRENE WARD--BUNGLING AMPUTATIONS BY BLUNDERING +PRACTITIONERS--AFFECTION BETWEEN A SAILOR AND HIS WARD-- +DEATH OF MY COMRADE. + +Every morning after roll-call, thousands of sick gathered at the South +Gate, where the doctors made some pretense of affording medical relief. +The scene there reminded me of the illustrations in my Sunday-School +lessons of that time when "great multitudes came unto Him," by the shores +of the Sea of Galilee, "having with them those that were lame, blind, +dumb, maimed, and many others." Had the crowds worn the flouting robes +of the East, the picture would have lacked nothing but the presence of +the Son of Man to make it complete. Here were the burning sands and +parching sun; hither came scores of groups of three or four comrades, +laboriously staggering under the weight of a blanket in which they had +carried a disabled and dying friend from some distant part of the +Stockade. Beside them hobbled the scorbutics with swollen and distorted +limbs, each more loathsome and nearer death than the lepers whom Christ's +divine touch made whole. Dozens, unable to walk, and having no comrades +to carry them, crawled painfully along, with frequent stops, on their +hands and knees. Every, form of intense physical suffering that it is +possible for disease to induce in the human frame was visible at these +daily parades of the sick of the prison. As over three thousand (three +thousand and seventy-six) died in August, there were probably twelve +thousand dangerously sick at any given time daring the month; and a large +part of these collected at the South Gate every morning. + +Measurably-calloused as we had become by the daily sights of horror +around us, we encountered spectacles in these gatherings which no amount +of visible misery could accustom us to. I remember one especially that +burned itself deeply into my memory. It was of a young man not over +twenty-five, who a few weeks ago--his clothes looked comparatively new-- +had evidently been the picture of manly beauty and youthful vigor. +He had had a well-knit, lithe form; dark curling hair fell over a +forehead which had once been fair, and his eyes still showed that they +had gleamed with a bold, adventurous spirit. The red clover leaf on his +cap showed that he belonged to the First Division of the Second Corps, +the three chevrons on his arm that he was a Sergeant, and the stripe at +his cuff that he was a veteran. Some kind-hearted boys had found him in +a miserable condition on the North Side, and carried him over in a +blanket to where the doctors could see him. He had but little clothing +on, save his blouse and cap. Ulcers of some kind had formed in his +abdomen, and these were now masses of squirming worms. It was so much +worse than the usual forms of suffering, that quite a little crowd of +compassionate spectators gathered around and expressed their pity. +The sufferer turned to one who lay beside him with: + +"Comrade: If we were only under the old Stars and Stripes, we wouldn't +care a G-d d--n for a few worms, would we?" + +This was not profane. It was an utterance from the depths of a brave +man's heart, couched in the strongest language at his command. It seemed +terrible that so gallant a soul should depart from earth in this +miserable fashion. Some of us, much moved by the sight, went to the +doctors and put the case as strongly as possible, begging them to do +something to alleviate his suffering. They declined to see the case, +but got rid of us by giving us a bottle of turpentine, with directions to +pour it upon the ulcers to kill the maggots. We did so. It must have +been cruel torture, and as absurd remedially as cruel, but our hero set +his teeth and endured, without a groan. He was then carried out to the +hospital to die. + +I said the doctors made a pretense of affording medical relief. It was +hardly that, since about all the prescription for those inside the +Stockade consisted in giving a handful of sumach berries to each of those +complaining of scurvy. The berries might have done some good, had there +been enough of them, and had their action been assisted by proper food. +As it was, they were probably nearly, if not wholly, useless. Nothing +was given to arrest the ravages of dysentery. + +A limited number of the worst cases were admitted to the Hospital each +day. As this only had capacity for about one-quarter of the sick in the +Stockade, new patients could only be admitted as others died. It seemed, +anyway, like signing a man's death warrant to send him to the Hospital, +as three out of every four who went out there died. The following from +the official report of the Hospital shows this: + +Total number admitted .........................................12,900 +Died ................................................. 8,663 +Exchanged ............................................ 828 +Took the oath of allegiance .......................... 25 +Sent elsewhere ....................................... 2,889 + +Total ................................................12,400 + +Average deaths, 76 per cent. + + +Early in August I made a successful effort to get out to the Hospital. I +had several reasons for this: First, one of my chums, W. W. Watts, of +my own company, had been sent out a little whale before very sick with +scurvy and pneumonia, and I wanted to see if I could do anything for him, +if he still lived: I have mentioned before that for awhile after our +entrance into Andersonville five of us slept on one overcoat and covered +ourselves with one blanket. Two of these had already died, leaving as +possessors of-the blanket and overcoat, W. W. Watts, B. B. Andrews, and +myself. + +Next, I wanted to go out to see if there was any prospect of escape. +I had long since given up hopes of escaping from the Stockade. All our +attempts at tunneling had resulted in dead failures, and now, to make us +wholly despair of success in that direction, another Stockade was built +clear around the prison, at a distance of one hundred and twenty feet +from the first palisades. It was manifest that though we might succeed +in tunneling past one Stockade, we could not go beyond the second one. + +I had the scurvy rather badly, and being naturally slight in frame, +I presented a very sick appearance to the physicians, and was passed out +to the Hospital. + +While this was a wretched affair, it was still a vast improvement on the +Stockade. About five acres of ground, a little southeast of the +Stockade, and bordering on a creek, were enclosed by a board fence, +around which the guard walked, trees shaded the ground tolerably well. +There were tents and flies to shelter part of the sick, and in these were +beds made of pine leaves. There were regular streets and alleys running +through the grounds, and as the management was in the hands of our own +men, the place was kept reasonably clean and orderly for Andersonville. + +There was also some improvement in the food. Rice in some degree +replaced the nauseous and innutritious corn bread, and if served in +sufficient quantities, would doubtless have promoted the recovery of many +men dying from dysenteric diseases. We also received small quantities of +"okra," a plant peculiar to the South, whose pods contained a +mucilaginous matter that made a soup very grateful to those suffering +from scurvy. + +But all these ameliorations of condition were too slight to even arrest +the progress of the disease of the thousands of dying men brought out +from the Stockade. These still wore the same lice-infested garments as +in prison; no baths or even ordinary applications of soap and water +cleaned their dirt-grimed skins, to give their pores an opportunity to +assist in restoring them to health; even their long, lank and matted +hair, swarming with vermin, was not trimmed. The most ordinary and +obvious measures for their comfort and care were neglected. If a man +recovered he did it almost in spite of fate. The medicines given were +scanty and crude. The principal remedial agent--as far as my observation +extended--was a rank, fetid species of unrectified spirits, which, I was +told, was made from sorgum seed. It had a light-green tinge, and was +about as inviting to the taste as spirits of turpentine. It was given to +the sick in small quantities mixed with water. I had had some experience +with Kentucky "apple-jack," which, it was popularly believed among the +boys, would dissolve a piece of the fattest pork thrown into it, but that +seemed balmy and oily alongside of this. After tasting some, I ceased to +wonder at the atrocities of Wirz and his associates. Nothing would seem +too bad to a man who made that his habitual tipple. + +[For a more particular description of the Hospital I must refer my reader +to the testimony of Professor Jones, in a previous chapter.] + +Certainly this continent has never seen--and I fervently trust it will +never again see--such a gigantic concentration of misery as that Hospital +displayed daily. The official statistics tell the story of this with +terrible brevity: There were three thousand seven hundred and nine in the +Hospital in August; one thousand four hundred and eighty-nine--nearly +every other man died. The rate afterwards became much higher than this. + +The most conspicuous suffering was in the gangrene wards. Horrible sores +spreading almost visibly from hour to hour, devoured men's limbs and +bodies. I remember one ward in which the alterations appeared to be +altogether in the back, where they ate out the tissue between the skin +and the ribs. The attendants seemed trying to arrest the progress of the +sloughing by drenching the sores with a solution of blue vitriol. This +was exquisitely painful, and in the morning, when the drenching was going +on, the whole hospital rang with the most agonizing screams. + +But the gangrene mostly attacked the legs and arms, and the led more than +the arms. Sometimes it killed men inside of a week; sometimes they +lingered on indefinitely. I remember one man in the Stockade who cut his +hand with the sharp corner of a card of corn bread he was lifting from +the ration wagon; gangrene set in immediately, and he died four days +after. + +One form that was quit prevalent was a cancer of the lower one corner of +the mouth, and it finally ate the whole side of the face out. Of course +the sufferer had the greatest trouble in eating and drinking. For the +latter it was customary to whittle out a little wooden tube, and fasten +it in a tin cup, through which he could suck up the water. As this mouth +cancer seemed contagious, none of us would allow any one afflicted with +it to use any of our cooking utensils. The Rebel doctors at the hospital +resorted to wholesale amputations to check the progress of the gangrene. + +They had a two hours session of limb-lopping every morning, each of which +resulted in quite a pile of severed members. I presume more bungling +operations are rarely seen outside of Russian or Turkish hospitals. +Their unskilfulness was apparent even to non-scientific observers like +myself. The standard of medical education in the South--as indeed of +every other form of education--was quite low. The Chief Surgeon of the +prison, Dr. Isaiah White, and perhaps two or three others, seemed to be +gentlemen of fair abilities and attainments. The remainder were of that +class of illiterate and unlearning quacks who physic and blister the poor +whites and negros in the country districts of the South; who believe they +can stop bleeding of the nose by repeating a verse from the Bible; who +think that if in gathering their favorite remedy of boneset they cut the +stem upwards it will purge their patients, and if downward it will vomit +them, and who hold that there is nothing so good for "fits" as a black +cat, killed in the dark of the moon, cut open, and bound while yet warm, +upon the naked chest of the victim of the convulsions. + +They had a case of instruments captured from some of our field hospitals, +which were dull and fearfully out of order. With poor instruments and +unskilled hands the operations became mangling. + +In the Hospital I saw an admirable illustration of the affection which a +sailor will lavish on a ship's boy, whom he takes a fancy to, and makes +his "chicken," as the phrase is. The United States sloop "Water Witch" +had recently been captured in Ossabaw Sound, and her crew brought into +prison. One of her boys--a bright, handsome little fellow of about +fifteen--had lost one of his arms in the fight. He was brought into the +Hospital, and the old fellow whose "chicken" he was, was allowed to +accompany and nurse him. This "old barnacle-back" was as surly a growler +as ever went aloft, but to his "chicken" he was as tender and thoughtful +as a woman. They found a shady nook in one corner, and any moment one +looked in that direction he could see the old tar hard at work at +something for the comfort and pleasure of his pet. Now he was dressing +the wound as deftly and gently as a mother caring for a new-born babe; +now he was trying to concoct some relish out of the slender materials he +could beg or steal from the Quartermaster; now trying to arrange the +shade of the bed of pine leaves in a more comfortable manner; now +repairing or washing his clothes, and so on. + +All the sailors were particularly favored by being allowed to bring their +bags in untouched by the guards. This "chicken" had a wonderful supply +of clothes, the handiwork of his protector who, like most good sailors, +was very skillful with the needle. He had suits of fine white duck, +embroidered with blue in a way that would ravish the heart of a fine +lady, and blue suits similarly embroidered with white. No belle ever +kept her clothes in better order than these were. When the duck came up +from the old sailor's patient washing it was as spotless as new-fallen +snow. + +I found my chum in a very bad condition. His appetite was entirely gone, +but he had an inordinate craving for tobacco--for strong, black plug-- +which he smoked in a pipe. He had already traded off all his brass +buttons to the guards for this. I had accumulated a few buttons to bribe +the guard to take me out for wood, and I gave these also for tobacco for +him. When I awoke one morning the man who laid next to me on the right +was dead, having died sometime during the night. I searched his pockets +and took what was in them. These were a silk pocket handkerchief, a +gutta percha finger-ring, a comb, a pencil, and a leather pocket-book, +making in all quite a nice little "find." I hied over to the guard, and +succeeded in trading the personal estate which I had inherited from the +intestate deceased, for a handful of peaches, a handful of hardly ripe +figs, and a long plug of tobacco. I hastened back to Watts, expecting +that the figs and peaches would do him a world of good. At first I did +not show him the tobacco, as I was strongly opposed to his using it, +thinking that it was making him much worse. But he looked at the +tempting peaches and figs with lack-luster eyes; he was too far gone to +care for them. He pushed them back to me, saying faintly: + +"No, you take 'em, Mc; I don't want 'em; I can't eat 'em!" + +I then produced the tobacco, and his face lighted up. Concluding that +this was all the comfort that he could have, and that I might as well +gratify him, I cut up some of the weed, filled his pipe and lighted it. +He smoked calmly and almost happily all the afternoon, hardly speaking a +word to me. As it grew dark he asked me to bring him a drink. I did so, +and as I raised him up he said: + +"Mc, this thing's ended. Tell my father that I stood it as long as I +could, and----" + +The death rattle sounded in his throat, and when I laid him back it was +all over. Straightening out his limbs, folding his hands across his +breast, and composing his features as best I could, I lay, down beside +the body and slept till morning, when I did what little else I could +toward preparing for the grave all that was left of my long-suffering +little friend. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVIII. + +DETERMINATION TO ESCAPE--DIFFERENT PLANS AND THEIR MERITS--I PREFER THE +APPALACHICOLA ROUTE--PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE--A HOT DAY--THE FENCE +PASSED SUCCESSFULLY PURSUED BY THE HOUNDS--CAUGHT-- +RETURNED TO THE STOCKADE. + +After Watt's death, I set earnestly about seeing what could be done in +the way of escape. Frank Harvey, of the First West Virginia Cavalry, +a boy of about my own age and disposition, joined with me in the scheme. +I was still possessed with my original plan of making my way down the +creeks to the Flint River, down the Flint River to where it emptied into +the Appalachicola River, and down that stream to its debauchure into the +bay that connected with the Gulf of Mexico. I was sure of finding my way +by this route, because, if nothing else offered, I could get astride of a +log and float down the current. The way to Sherman, in the other +direction, was long, torturous and difficult, with a fearful gauntlet of +blood-hounds, patrols and the scouts of Hood's Army to be run. I had but +little difficulty in persuading Harvey into an acceptance of my views, +and we began arranging for a solution of the first great problem--how to +get outside of the Hospital guards. As I have explained before, the +Hospital was surrounded by a board fence, with guards walking their beats +on the ground outside. A small creek flowed through the southern end of +the grounds, and at its lower end was used as a sink. The boards of the +fence came down to the surface of the water, where the Creek passed out, +but we found, by careful prodding with a stick, that the hole between the +boards and the bottom of the Creek was sufficiently large to allow the +passage of our bodies, and there had been no stakes driven or other +precautions used to prevent egress by this channel. A guard was posted +there, and probably ordered to stand at the edge of the stream, but it +smelled so vilely in those scorching days that he had consulted his +feelings and probably his health, by retiring to the top of the bank, +a rod or more distant. We watched night after night, and at last were +gratified to find that none went nearer the Creak than the top of this +bank. + +Then we waited for the moon to come right, so that the first part of the +night should be dark. This took several days, but at last we knew that +the next night she would not rise until between 9 and 10 o'clock, which +would give us nearly two hours of the dense darkness of a moonless Summer +night in the South. We had first thought of saving up some rations for +the trip, but then reflected that these would be ruined by the filthy +water into which we must sink to go under the fence. It was not +difficult to abandon the food idea, since it was very hard to force +ourselves to lay by even the smallest portion of our scanty rations. + +As the next day wore on, our minds were wrought up into exalted tension +by the rapid approach of the supreme moment, with all its chances and +consequences. The experience of the past few months was not such as to +mentally fit us for such a hazard. It prepared us for sullen, +uncomplaining endurance, for calmly contemplating the worst that could +come; but it did not strengthen that fiber of mind that leads to +venturesome activity and daring exploits. Doubtless the weakness of our +bodies reacted upon our spirits. We contemplated all the perils that +confronted us; perils that, now looming up with impending nearness, took +a clearer and more threatening shape than they had ever done before. + +We considered the desperate chances of passing the guard unseen; or, if +noticed, of escaping his fire without death or severe wounds. But +supposing him fortunately evaded, then came the gauntlet of the hounds +and the patrols hunting deserters. After this, a long, weary journey, +with bare feet and almost naked bodies, through an unknown country +abounding with enemies; the dangers of assassination by the embittered +populace; the risks of dying with hunger and fatigue in the gloomy depths +of a swamp; the scanty hopes that, if we reached the seashore, we could +get to our vessels. + +Not one of all these contingencies failed to expand itself to all its +alarming proportions, and unite with its fellows to form a dreadful +vista, like the valleys filled with demons and genii, dragons and malign +enchantments, which confront the heros of the "Arabian Nights," when they +set out to perform their exploits. + +But behind us lay more miseries and horrors than a riotous imagination +could conceive; before us could certainly be nothing worse. We would put +life and freedom to the hazard of a touch, and win or lose it all. + +The day had been intolerably hot. The sun's rays seemed to sear the +earth, like heated irons, and the air that lay on the burning sand was +broken by wavy lines, such as one sees indicate the radiation from a hot +stove. + +Except the wretched chain-gang plodding torturously back and forward on +the hillside, not a soul nor an animal could be seen in motion outside +the Stockade. The hounds were panting in their kennel; the Rebel +officers, half or wholly drunken with villainous sorgum whisky, were +stretched at full length in the shade at headquarters; the half-caked +gunners crouched under the shadow of the embankments of the forts, the +guards hung limply over the Stockade in front of their little perches; +the thirty thousand boys inside the Stockade, prone or supine upon the +glowing sand, gasped for breath--for one draft of sweet, cool, wholesome +air that did not bear on its wings the subtle seeds of rank corruption +and death. Everywhere was the prostration of discomfort--the inertia of +sluggishness. + +Only the sick moved; only the pain-racked cried out; only the dying +struggled; only the agonies of dissolution could make life assert itself +against the exhaustion of the heat. + +Harvey and I, lying in the scanty shade of the trunk of a tall pine, and +with hearts filled with solicitude as to the outcome of what the evening +would bring us, looked out over the scene as we had done daily for long +months, and remained silent for hours, until the sun, as if weary with +torturing and slaying, began going down in the blazing West. The groans +of the thousands of sick around us, the shrieks of the rotting ones in +the gangrene wards rang incessantly in our ears. + +As the sun disappeared, and the heat abated, the suspended activity was +restored. The Master of the Hounds came out with his yelping pack, and +started on his rounds; the Rebel officers aroused themselves from their +siesta and went lazily about their duties; the fifer produced his cracked +fife and piped forth his unvarying "Bonnie Blue Flag," as a signal for +dress parade, and drums beaten by unskilled hands in the camps of the +different regiments, repeated the signal. In time Stockade the mass of +humanity became full of motion as an ant hill, and resembled it very much +from our point of view, with the boys threading their way among the +burrows, tents and holes. + +It was becoming dark quite rapidly. The moments seemed galloping onward +toward the time when we must make the decisive step. We drew from the +dirty rag in which it was wrapped the little piece of corn bread that we +had saved for our supper, carefully divided it into two equal parts, +and each took one and ate it in silence. This done, we held a final +consultation as to our plans, and went over each detail carefully, that +we might fully understand each other under all possible circumstances, +and act in concert. One point we laboriously impressed upon each other, +and that was; that under no circumstances were we to allow ourselves to +be tempted to leave the Creek until we reached its junction with the +Flint River. I then picked up two pine leaves, broke them off to unequal +lengths, rolled them in my hands behind my back for a second, and +presenting them to Harney with their ends sticking out of my closed hand, +said: + +"The one that gets the longest one goes first." + +Harvey reached forth and drew the longer one. + +We made a tour of reconnaissance. Everything seemed as usual, and +wonderfully calm compared with the tumult in our minds. The Hospital +guards were pacing their beats lazily; those on the Stockade were +drawling listlessly the first "call around" of the evening: + +"Post numbah foah! Half-past seven o'clock! and a-l-l's we-l-ll!" + +Inside the Stockade was a Babel of sounds, above all of which rose the +melody of religious and patriotic songs, sung in various parts of the +camp. From the headquarters came the shouts and laughter of the Rebel +officers having a little "frolic" in the cool of the evening. The groans +of the sick around us were gradually hushing, as the abatement of the +terrible heat let all but the worst cases sink into a brief slumber, +from which they awoke before midnight to renew their outcries. But those +in the Gangrene wards seemed to be denied even this scanty blessing. +Apparently they never slept, for their shrieks never ceased. A multitude +of whip-poor-wills in the woods around us began their usual dismal cry, +which had never seemed so unearthly and full of dreadful presages as now. + +It was, now quite dark, and we stole noiselessly down to the Creek and +reconnoitered. We listened. The guard was not pacing his beat, as we +could not hear his footsteps. A large, ill-shapen lump against the trunk +of one of the trees on the bank showed that he was leaning there resting +himself. We watched him for several minutes, but he did not move, and +the thought shot into our minds that he might be asleep; but it seemed +impossible: it was too early in the evening. + +Now, if ever, was the opportunity. Harney squeezed my hand, stepped +noiselessly into the Creek, laid himself gently down into the filthy +water, and while my heart was beating so that I was certain it could be +heard some distance from me, began making toward the fence. He passed +under easily, and I raised my eyes toward the guard, while on my strained +ear fell the soft plashing made by Harvey as he pulled himself cautiously +forward. It seemed as if the sentinel must hear this; he could not help +it, and every second I expected to see the black lump address itself to +motion, and the musket flash out fiendishly. But he did not; the lump +remained motionless; the musket silent. + +When I thought that Harvey had gained a sufficient distance I followed. +It seemed as if the disgusting water would smother me as I laid myself +down into it, and such was my agitation that it appeared almost +impossible that I should escape making such a noise as would attract the +guard's notice. Catching hold of the roots and limbs at the side of the +stream, I pulled myself slowly along, and as noiselessly as possible. + +I passed under the fence without difficulty, and was outside, and within +fifteen feet of the guard. I had lain down into the creek upon my right +side, that my face might be toward the guard, and I could watch him +closely all the time. + +As I came under the fence he was still leaning motionless against the +tree, but to my heated imagination he appeared to have turned and be +watching me. I hardly breathed; the filthy water rippling past me seemed +to roar to attract the guard's attention; I reached my hand out +cautiously to grasp a root to pull myself along by, and caught instead a +dry branch, which broke with a loud crack. My heart absolutely stood +still. The guard evidently heard the noise. The black lump separated +itself from the tree, and a straight line which I knew to be his musket +separated itself from the lump. In a brief instant I lived a year of +mortal apprehension. So certain was I that he had discovered me, and was +leveling his piece to fire, that I could scarcely restrain myself from +springing up and dashing away to avoid the shot. Then I heard him take a +step, and to my unutterable surprise and relief, he walked off farther +from the Creek, evidently to speak to the man whose beat joined his. + +I pulled away more swiftly, but still with the greatest caution, until +after half-an-hour's painful effort I had gotten fully one hundred and +fifty yards away from the Hospital fence, and found Harney crouched on a +cypress knee, close to the water's edge, watching for me. + +We waited there a few minutes, until I could rest, and calm my perturbed +nerves down to something nearer their normal equilibrium, and then +started on. We hoped that if we were as lucky in our next step as in the +first one we would reach the Flint River by daylight, and have a good +long start before the morning roll-call revealed our absence. We could +hear the hounds still baying in the distance, but this sound was too +customary to give us any uneasiness. + +But our progress was terribly slow. Every step hurt fearfully. The +Creek bed was full of roots and snags, and briers, and vines trailed +across it. These caught and tore our bare feet and legs, rendered +abnormally tender by the scurvy. It seemed as if every step was marked +with blood. The vines tripped us, and we frequently fell headlong. We +struggled on determinedly for nearly an hour, and were perhaps a mile +from the Hospital. + +The moon came up, and its light showed that the creek continued its +course through a dense jungle like that we had been traversing, while on +the high ground to our left were the open pine woods I have previously +described. + +We stopped and debated for a few minutes. We recalled our promise to +keep in the Creek, the experience of other boys who had tried to escape +and been caught by the hounds. If we staid in the Creek we were sure the +hounds would not find our trail, but it was equally certain that at this +rate we would be exhausted and starved before we got out of sight of the +prison. It seemed that we had gone far enough to be out of reach of the +packs patrolling immediately around the Stockade, and there could be but +little risk in trying a short walk on the dry ground. We concluded to +take the chances, and, ascending the bank, we walked and ran as fast as +we could for about two miles further. + +All at once it struck me that with all our progress the hounds sounded as +near as when we started. I shivered at the thought, and though nearly +ready to drop with fatigue, urged myself and Harney on. + +An instant later their baying rang out on the still night air right +behind us, and with fearful distinctness. There was no mistake now; they +had found our trail, and were running us down. The change from fearful +apprehension to the crushing reality stopped us stock-still in our +tracks. + +At the next breath the hounds came bursting through the woods in plain +sight, and in full cry. We obeyed our first impulse; rushed back into +the swamp, forced our way for a few yards through the flesh-tearing +impediments, until we gained a large cypress, upon whose great knees we +climbed--thoroughly exhausted--just as the yelping pack reached the edge +of the water, and stopped there and bayed at us. It was a physical +impossibility for us to go another step. + +In a moment the low-browed villain who had charge of the hounds came +galloping up on his mule, tooting signals to his dogs as he came, on the +cow-horn slung from his shoulders. + +He immediately discovered us, covered us with his revolver, and yelled +out: + +"Come ashore, there, quick: you---- ---- ---- ----s!" + +There was no help for it. We climbed down off the knees and started +towards the land. As we neared it, the hounds became almost frantic, +and it seemed as if we would be torn to pieces the moment they could +reach us. But the master dismounted and drove them back. He was surly- +even savage--to us, but seemed in too much hurry to get back to waste any +time annoying us with the dogs. He ordered us to get around in front of +the mule, and start back to camp. We moved as rapidly as our fatigue and +our lacerated feet would allow us, and before midnight were again in the +hospital, fatigued, filthy, torn, bruised and wretched beyond description +or conception. + +The next morning we were turned back into the Stockade as punishment. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIX. + +AUGUST--GOOD LUCK IN NOT MEETING CAPTAIN WIRZ--THAT WORTHY'S TREATMENT OF +RECAPTURED PRISONERS--SECRET SOCIETIES IN PRISON--SINGULAR MEETING AND +ITS RESULT--DISCOVERY AND REMOVAL OF THE OFFICERS AMONG THE ENLISTED MEN. + +Harney and I were specially fortunate in being turned back into the +Stockade without being brought before Captain Wirz. + +We subsequently learned that we owed this good luck to Wirz's absence on +sick leave--his place being supplied by Lieutenant Davis, a moderate +brained Baltimorean, and one of that horde of Marylanders in the Rebel +Army, whose principal service to the Confederacy consisted in working +themselves into "bomb-proof" places, and forcing those whom they +displaced into the field. Winder was the illustrious head of this crowd +of bomb-proof Rebels from "Maryland, My Maryland!" whose enthusiasm for +the Southern cause and consistency in serving it only in such places as +were out of range of the Yankee artillery, was the subject of many bitter +jibes by the Rebels--especially by those whose secure berths they +possessed themselves of. + +Lieutenant Davis went into the war with great brashness. He was one of +the mob which attacked the Sixth Massachusetts in its passage through +Baltimore, but, like all of that class of roughs, he got his stomach full +of war as soon as the real business of fighting began, and he retired to +where the chances of attaining a ripe old age were better than in front +of the Army of the Potomac's muskets. We shall hear of Davis again. + +Encountering Captain Wirz was one of the terrors of an abortive attempt +to escape. When recaptured prisoners were brought before him he would +frequently give way to paroxysms of screaming rage, so violent as to +closely verge on insanity. Brandishing the fearful and wonderful +revolver--of which I have spoken in such a manner as to threaten the +luckless captives with instant death, he would shriek out imprecations, +curses; and foul epithets in French, German and English, until he fairly +frothed at the mouth. There were plenty of stories current in camp of his +having several times given away to his rage so far as to actually shoot +men down in these interviews, and still more of his knocking boys down +and jumping upon them, until he inflicted injuries that soon resulted in +death. How true these rumors were I am unable to say of my own personal +knowledge, since I never saw him kill any one, nor have I talked with any +one who did. There were a number of cases of this kind testified to upon +his trial, but they all happened among "paroles" outside the Stockade, +or among the prisoners inside after we left, so I knew nothing of them. + +One of the Old Switzer's favorite ways of ending these seances was to +inform the boys that he would have them shot in an hour or so, and bid +them prepare for death. After keeping them in fearful suspense for hours +he would order them to be punished with the stocks, the ball-and-chain, +the chain-gang, or--if his fierce mood had burned itself entirely out-- +as was quite likely with a man of his shallop' brain and vacillating +temper--to be simply returned to the stockade. + +Nothing, I am sure, since the days of the Inquisition--or still later, +since the terrible punishments visited upon the insurgents of 1848 by the +Austrian aristocrats--has been so diabolical as the stocks and chain- +gangs, as used by Wirz. At one time seven men, sitting in the stocks +near the Star Fort--in plain view of the camp--became objects of interest +to everybody inside. They were never relieved from their painful +position, but were kept there until all of them died. I think it was +nearly two weeks before the last one succumbed. What they endured in +that time even imagination cannot conceive--I do not think that an Indian +tribe ever devised keener torture for its captives. + +The chain-gang consisted of a number of men--varying from twelve to +twenty-five, all chained to one sixty-four pound ball. They were also +stationed near the Star Fort, standing out in the hot sun, without a +particle of shade over them. When one moved they all had to move. +They were scourged with the dysentery, and the necessities of some one +of their number kept them constantly in motion. I can see them +distinctly yet, tramping laboriously and painfully back and forward over +that burning hillside, every moment of the long, weary Summer days. + +A comrade writes to remind me of the beneficent work of the Masonic +Order. I mention it most gladly, as it was the sole recognition on the +part of any of our foes of our claims to human kinship. The churches of +all denominations--except the solitary Catholic priest, Father Hamilton, +--ignored us as wholly as if we were dumb beasts. Lay humanitarians were +equally indifferent, and the only interest manifested by any Rebel in the +welfare of any prisoner was by the Masonic brotherhood. The Rebel Masons +interested themselves in securing details outside the Stockade in the +cookhouse, the commissary, and elsewhere, for the brethren among the +prisoners who would accept such favors. Such as did not feel inclined to +go outside on parole received frequent presents in the way of food, and +especially of vegetables, which were literally beyond price. Materials +were sent inside to build tents for the Masons, and I think such as made +themselves known before death, received burial according to the rites of +the Order. Doctor White, and perhaps other Surgeons, belonged to the +fraternity, and the wearing of a Masonic emblem by a new prisoner was +pretty sure to catch their eyes, and be the means of securing for the +wearer the tender of their good offices, such as a detail into the +Hospital as nurse, ward-master, etc. + +I was not fortunate enough to be one of the mystic brethren, and so +missed all share in any of these benefits, as well as in any others, +and I take special pride in one thing: that during my whole imprisonment +I was not beholden to a Rebel for a single favor of any kind. The Rebel +does not live who can say that he ever gave me so much as a handful of +meal, a spoonful of salt, an inch of thread, or a stick of wood. +From first to last I received nothing but my rations, except occasional +trifles that I succeeded in stealing from the stupid officers charged +with issuing rations. I owe no man in the Southern Confederacy gratitude +for anything--not even for a kind word. + +Speaking of secret society pins recalls a noteworthy story which has been +told me since the war, of boys whom I knew. At the breaking out of +hostilities there existed in Toledo a festive little secret society, +such as lurking boys frequently organize, with no other object than fun +and the usual adolescent love of mystery. There were a dozen or so +members in it who called themselves "The Royal Reubens," and were headed +by a bookbinder named Ned Hopkins. Some one started a branch of the +Order in Napoleon, O., and among the members was Charles E. Reynolds, +of that town. The badge of the society was a peculiarly shaped gold pin. +Reynolds and Hopkins never met, and had no acquaintance with each other. +When the war broke out, Hopkins enlisted in Battery H, First Ohio +Artillery, and was sent to the Army of the Potomac, where he was +captured, in the Fall of 1863, while scouting, in the neighborhood of +Richmond. Reynolds entered the Sixty-Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, +and was taken in the neighborhood of Jackson, Miss.,--two thousand miles +from the place of Hopkins's capture. At Andersonville Hopkins became one +of the officers in charge of the Hospital. One day a Rebel Sergeant, who +called the roll in the Stockade, after studying Hopkins's pin a minute, +said: + +"I seed a Yank in the Stockade to-day a-wearing a pin egzackly like that +ere." + +This aroused Hopkins's interest, and he went inside in search of the +other "feller." Having his squad and detachment there was little +difficulty in finding him. He recognized the pin, spoke to its wearer, +gave him the "grand hailing sign" of the "Royal Reubens," and it was duly +responded to. The upshot of the matter was that he took Reynolds out +with him as clerk, and saved his life, as the latter was going down hill +very rapidly. Reynolds, in turn, secured the detail of a comrade of the +Sixty-Eighth who was failing fast, and succeeded in saving his life--all +of which happy results were directly attributable to that insignificant +boyish society, and its equally unimportant badge of membership. + +Along in the last of August the Rebels learned that there were between +two and three hundred Captains and Lieutenants in the Stockade, passing +themselves off as enlisted men. The motive of these officers was two- +fold: first, a chivalrous wish to share the fortunes and fate of their +boys, and second, disinclination to gratify the Rebels by the knowledge +of the rank of their captives. The secret was so well kept that none of +us suspected it until the fact was announced by the Rebels themselves. +They were taken out immediately, and sent to Macon, where the +commissioned officers' prison was. It would not do to trust such +possible leaders with us another day. + + + + +CHAPTER L. + +FOOD--THE MEAGERNESS, INFERIOR QUALITY, AND TERRIBLE SAMENESS-- +REBEL TESTIMONY ON THE SUBJECT--FUTILITY OF SUCCESSFUL EXPLANATION. + +I have in other places dwelt upon the insufficiency and the nauseousness +of the food. No words that I can use, no insistence upon this theme, can +give the reader any idea of its mortal importance to us. + +Let the reader consider for a moment the quantity, quality, and variety +of food that he now holds to be necessary for the maintenance of life and +health. I trust that every one who peruses this book--that every one in +fact over whom the Stars and Stripes wave--has his cup of coffee, his +biscuits and his beefsteak for breakfast--a substantial dinner of roast +or boiled--and a lighter, but still sufficient meal in the evening. +In all, certainly not less than fifty different articles are set before +him during the day, for his choice as elements of nourishment. Let him +scan this extended bill-of-fare, which long custom has made so common- +place as to be uninteresting--perhaps even wearisome to think about-- +and see what he could omit from it, if necessity compelled him. After a +reluctant farewell to fish, butter, eggs, milk, sugar, green and +preserved fruits, etc., he thinks that perhaps under extraordinary +circumstances he might be able to merely sustain life for a limited +period on a diet of bread and meat three times a day, washed down with +creamless, unsweetened coffee, and varied occasionally with additions of +potatos, onions, beans, etc. It would astonish the Innocent to have one +of our veterans inform him that this was not even the first stage of +destitution; that a soldier who had these was expected to be on the +summit level of contentment. Any of the boys who followed Grant to +Appomattox Court House, Sherman to the Sea, or "Pap" Thomas till his +glorious career culminated with the annihilation of Hood, will tell him +of many weeks when a slice of fat pork on a piece of "hard tack" had to +do duty for the breakfast of beefsteak and biscuits; when another slice +of fat pork and another cracker served for the dinner of roast beef and +vegetables, and a third cracker and slice of pork was a substitute for +the supper of toast and chops. + +I say to these veterans in turn that they did not arrive at the first +stages of destitution compared with the depths to which we were dragged. +The restriction for a few weeks to a diet of crackers and fat pork was +certainly a hardship, but the crackers alone, chemists tell us, contain +all the elements necessary to support life, and in our Army they were +always well made and very palatable. I believe I risk nothing in saying +that one of the ordinary square crackers of our Commissary Department +contained much more real nutriment than the whole of our average ration. + +I have before compared the size, shape and appearance of the daily half +loaf of corn bread issued to us to a half-brick, and I do not yet know of +a more fitting comparison. At first we got a small piece of rusty bacon +along with this; but the size of this diminished steadily until at last +it faded away entirely, and during the last six months of our +imprisonment I do not believe that we received rations of meat above a +half-dozen times. + +To this smallness was added ineffable badness. The meal was ground very +coarsely, by dull, weakly propelled stones, that imperfectly crushed the +grains, and left the tough, hard coating of the kernels in large, sharp, +mica-like scales, which cut and inflamed the stomach and intestines, +like handfuls of pounded glass. The alimentary canals of all compelled +to eat it were kept in a continual state of irritation that usually +terminated in incurable dysentery. + +That I have not over-stated this evil can be seen by reference to the +testimony of so competent a scientific observer as Professor Jones, and I +add to that unimpeachable testimony the following extract from the +statement made in an attempted defense of Andersonville by Doctor R. +Randolph Stevenson, who styles himself, formerly Surgeon in the Army of +the Confederate States of America, Chief Surgeon of the Confederate +States Military Prison Hospitals, Andersonville, Ga.: + +V. From the sameness of the food, and from the action of the poisonous +gases in the densely crowded and filthy Stockade and Hospital, the blood +was altered in its constitution, even, before the manifestation of actual +disease. + +In both the well and the sick, the red corpuscles were diminished; and in +all diseases uncomplicated with inflammation, the fibrinous element was +deficient. In cases of ulceration of the mucous membrane of the +intestinal canal, the fibrinous element of the blood appeared to be +increased; while in simple diarrhea, uncomplicated with ulceration, and +dependent upon the character of the food and the existence of scurvy, +it was either diminished or remained stationary. Heart-clots were very +common, if not universally present, in the cases of ulceration of the +intestinal mucous membrane; while in the uncomplicated cases of diarrhea +and scurvy, the blood was fluid and did not coagulate readily, and the +heart-clots and fibrinous concretions were almost universally absent. +From the watery condition of the blood there resulted various serous +effusions into the pericardium, into the ventricles of the brain, and +into the abdominal cavity. + +In almost all cases which I examined after death, even in the most +emaciated, there was more or less serous effusion into the abdominal +cavity. In cases of hospital gangrene of the extremities, and in cases +of gangrene of the intestines, heart-clots and firm coagula were +universally present. The presence of these clots in the cases of +hospital gangrene, whilst they were absent in the cases in which there +were no inflammatory symptoms, appears to sustain the conclusion that +hospital gangrene is a species of inflammation (imperfect and irregular +though it may be in its progress), in which the fibrinous element and +coagulability of the blood are increased, even in those who are suffering +from such a condition of the blood and from such diseases as are +naturally accompanied with a decrease in the fibrinous constituent. + + +VI. The impoverished condition of the blood, which led to serous +effusions within the ventricles of the brain, and around the brain and +spinal cord, and into the pericardial and abdominal cavities, was +gradually induced by the action of several causes, but chiefly by the +character of the food. + +The Federal prisoners, as a general rule, had been reared upon wheat +bread and Irish potatos; and the Indian corn so extensively used at the +South, was almost unknown to them as an article of diet previous to their +capture. Owing to the impossibility of obtaining the necessary sieves in +the Confederacy for the separation of the husk from the corn-meal, the +rations of the Confederate soldiers, as well as of the Federal prisoners, +consisted of unbolted corn-flour, and meal and grist; this circumstance +rendered the corn-bread still more disagreeable and distasteful to the +Federal prisoners. While Indian meal, even when prepared with the husk, +is one of the most wholesome and nutritious forms of food, as has been +already shown by the health and rapid increase of the Southern +population, and especially of the negros, previous to the present war, +and by the strength, endurance and activity of the Confederate soldiers, +who were throughout the war confined to a great extent to unbolted corn- +meal; it is nevertheless true that those who have not been reared upon +corn-meal, or who have not accustomed themselves to its use gradually, +become excessively tired of this kind of diet when suddenly confined to +it without a due proportion of wheat bread. Large numbers of the Federal +prisoners appeared to be utterly disgusted with Indian corn, and immense +piles of corn-bread could be seen in the Stockade and Hospital +inclosures. Those who were so disgusted with this form of food that they +had no appetite to partake of it, except in quantities insufficient to +supply the waste of the tissues, were, of course, in the condition of men +slowly starving, notwithstanding that the only farinaceous form of food +which the Confederate States produced in sufficient abundance for the +maintenance of armies was not withheld from them. In such cases, an +urgent feeling of hunger was not a prominent symptom; and even when it +existed at first, it soon disappeared, and was succeeded by an actual +loathing of food. In this state the muscular strength was rapidly +diminished, the tissues wasted, and the thin, skeleton-like forms moved +about with the appearance of utter exhaustion and dejection. The mental +condition connected with long confinement, with the most miserable +surroundings, and with no hope for the future, also depressed all the +nervous and vital actions, and was especially active in destroying the +appetite. The effects of mental depression, and of defective nutrition, +were manifested not only in the slow, feeble motions of the wasted, +skeleton-like forms, but also in such lethargy, listlessness, and torpor +of the mental faculties as rendered these unfortunate men oblivious and +indifferent to their afflicted condition. In many cases, even of the +greatest apparent suffering and distress, instead of showing any anxiety +to communicate the causes of their distress, or to relate their +privations, and their longings for their homes and their friends and +relatives, they lay in a listless, lethargic, uncomplaining state, taking +no notice either of their own distressed condition, or of the gigantic +mass of human misery by which they were surrounded. Nothing appalled and +depressed me so much as this silent, uncomplaining misery. It is a fact +of great interest, that notwithstanding this defective nutrition in men +subjected to crowding and filth, contagious fevers were rare; and typhus +fever, which is supposed to be generated in just such a state of things +as existed at Andersonville, was unknown. These facts, established by my +investigations, stand in striking contrast with such a statement as the +following by a recent English writer: + +"A deficiency of food, especially of the nitrogenous part, quickly leads +to the breaking up of the animal frame. Plague, pestilence and famine +are associated with each other in the public mind, and the records of +every country show how closely they are related. The medical history of +Ireland is remarkable for the illustrations of how much mischief may be +occasioned by a general deficiency of food. Always the habitat of fever, +it every now and then becomes the very hot-bed of its propagation and +development. Let there be but a small failure in the usual imperfect +supply of food, and the lurking seeds of pestilence are ready to burst +into frightful activity. The famine of the present century is but too +forcible and illustrative of this. It fostered epidemics which have not +been witnessed in this generation, and gave rise to scenes of devastation +and misery which are not surpassed by the most appalling epidemics of the +Middle Ages. The principal form of the scourge was known as the +contagious famine fever (typhus), and it spread, not merely from end to +end of the country in which it had originated, but, breaking through all +boundaries, it crossed the broad ocean, and made itself painfully +manifest in localities where it was previously unknown. Thousands fell +under the virulence of its action, for wherever it came it struck down a +seventh of the people, and of those whom it attacked, one out of nine +perished. Even those who escaped the fatal influence of it, were left +the miserable victims of scurvy and low fever." + +While we readily admit that famine induces that state of the system which +is the most susceptible to the action of fever poisons, and thus induces +the state of the entire population which is most favorable for the rapid +and destructive spread of all contagious fevers, at the same time we are +forced by the facts established by the present war, as well as by a host +of others, both old and new, to admit that we are still ignorant of the +causes necessary for the origin of typhus fever. Added to the imperfect +nature of the rations issued to the Federal prisoners, the difficulties +of their situation were at times greatly increased by the sudden and +desolating Federal raids in Virginia, Georgia, and other States, which +necessitated the sudden transportation from Richmond and other points +threatened of large bodies of prisoners, without the possibility of much +previous preparation; and not only did these men suffer in transition +upon the dilapidated and overburdened line of railroad communication, +but after arriving at Andersonville, the rations were frequently +insufficient to supply the sudden addition of several thousand men. +And as the Confederacy became more and more pressed, and when powerful +hostile armies were plunging through her bosom, the Federal prisoners of +Andersonville suffered incredibly during the hasty removal to Millen, +Savannah, Charleston, and other points, supposed at the time to be secure +from the enemy. Each one of these causes must be weighed when an attempt +is made to estimate the unusual mortality among these prisoners of war. + +VII. Scurvy, arising from sameness of food and imperfect nutrition, +caused, either directly or indirectly, nine-tenths of the deaths among +the Federal prisoners at Andersonville. + +Not only were the deaths referred to unknown causes, to apoplexy, to +anasarca, and to debility, traceable to scurvy and its effects; and not +only was the mortality in small-pox, pneumonia, and typhoid fever, and in +all acute diseases, more than doubled by the scorbutic taint, but even +those all but universal and deadly bowel affections arose from the same +causes, and derived their fatal character from the same conditions which +produced the scurvy. In truth, these men at Andersonville were in the +condition of a crew at sea, confined in a foul ship upon salt meat and +unvarying food, and without fresh vegetables. Not only so, but these +unfortunate prisoners were men forcibly confined and crowded upon a ship +tossed about on a stormy ocean, without a rudder, without a compass, +without a guiding-star, and without any apparent boundary or to their +voyage; and they reflected in their steadily increasing miseries the +distressed condition and waning fortunes of devastated and bleeding +country, which was compelled, in justice to her own unfortunate sons, to +hold these men in the most distressing captivity. + +I saw nothing in the scurvy which prevailed so universally at +Andersonville, at all different from this disease as described by various +standard writers. The mortality was no greater than that which has +afflicted a hundred ships upon long voyages, and it did not exceed the +mortality which has, upon me than one occasion, and in a much shorter +period of time, annihilated large armies and desolated beleaguered +cities. The general results of my investigations upon the chronic +diarrhea and dysentery of the Federal prisoners of Andersonville were +similar to those of the English surgeons during the war against Russia. + +IX. Drugs exercised but little influence over the progress and fatal +termination of chronic diarrhea and dysentery in the Military Prison and +Hospital at Andersonville, chiefly because the proper form of nourishment +(milk, rice, vegetables, anti-scorbutics, and nourishing animal and +vegetable soups) was not issued, and could not be procured in sufficient +quantities for the sick prisoners. + +Opium allayed pain and checked the bowels temporarily, but the frail dam +was soon swept away, and the patient appears to be but little better, +if not the worse, for this merely palliative treatment. The root of the +difficulty could not be reached by drugs; nothing short of the wanting +elements of nutrition would have tended in any manner to restore the tone +of the digestive system, and of all the wasted and degenerated organs and +tissues. My opinion to this effect was expressed most decidedly to the +medical officers in charge of these unfortunate men. The correctness of +this view was sustained by the healthy and robust condition of the +paroled prisoners, who received an extra ration, and who were able to +make considerable sums by trading, and who supplied themselves with a +liberal and varied diet. + +X. The fact that hospital gangrene appeared in the Stockade first, and +originated spontaneously, without any previous contagion, and occurred +sporadically all over the Stockade and Prison Hospital, was proof +positive that this disease will arise whenever the conditions of +crowding, filth, foul air, and bad diet are present. + +The exhalations from the Hospital and Stockade appeared to exert their +effects to a considerable distance outside of these localities. +The origin of gangrene among these prisoners appeared clearly to depend +in great measure upon the state of the general system, induced by diet, +exposure, neglect of personal cleanliness; and by various external +noxious influences. The rapidity of the appearance and action of the +gangrene depended upon the powers and state of the constitution, as well +as upon the intensity of the poison in the atmosphere, or upon the direct +application of poisonous matter to the wounded surface. This was further +illustrated by the important fact, that hospital gangrene, or a disease +resembling this form of gangrene, attacked the intestinal canal of +patients laboring under ulceration of the bowels, although there were no +local manifestations of gangrene upon the surface of the body. This mode +of termination in cases of dysentery was quite common in the foul +atmosphere of the Confederate States Military Prison Hospital; and in the +depressed, depraved condition of the system of these Federal prisoners, +death ensued very rapidly after the gangrenous state of the intestines +was established. + +XI. A scorbutic condition of the system appeared to favor the origin of +foul ulcers, which frequently took on true hospital gangrene. + +Scurvy and gangrene frequently existed in the same individual. In such +cases, vegetable diet with vegetable acids would remove the scorbutic +condition without curing the hospital gangrene. . . Scurvy consists +not only in an alteration in the constitution of the blood, which leads +to passive hemorrhages from the bowels, and the effusion into the various +tissues of a deeply-colored fibrinous exudation; but, as we have +conclusively shown by postmortem examination, this state is attended with +consistence of the muscles of the heart, and the mucous membrane of the +alimentary canal, and of solid parts generally. We have, according to +the extent of the deficiency of certain articles of food, every degree of +scorbutic derangement, from the most fearful depravation of the blood +and the perversion of every function subserved by the blood to those +slight derangements which are scarcely distinguishable from a state of +health. We are as yet ignorant of the true nature of the changes of the +blood and tissues in scurvy, and wide field for investigation is open for +the determination the characteristic changes--physical, chemical, and +physiological--of the blood and tissues, and of the secretions and +excretions of scurvy. Such inquiries would be of great value in their +bearing upon the origin of hospital gangrene. Up to the present war, +the results of chemical investigations upon the pathology of the blood in +scurvy were not only contradictory, but meager, and wanting in that +careful detail of the cases from which the blood was abstracted which +would enable us to explain the cause of the apparent discrepancies in +different analyses. Thus it is not yet settled whether the fibrin is +increased or diminished in this disease; and the differences which exist +in the statements of different writers appear to be referable to the +neglect of a critical examination and record of all the symptoms of the +cases from which the blood was abstracted. The true nature of the +changes of the blood in scurvy can be established only by numerous +analyses during different stages of the disease, and followed up by +carefully performed and recorded postmortem examinations. With such data +we could settle such important questions as whether the increase of +fibrin in scurvy was invariably dependent upon some local inflammation. + +XII. Gangrenous spots, followed by rapid destruction of tissue, appeared +in some cases in which there had been no previous or existing wound or +abrasion; and without such well established facts, it might be assumed +that the disease was propagated from one patient to another in every +case, either by exhalations from the gangrenous surface or by direct +contact. + +In such a filthy and crowded hospital as that of the Confederate, States +Military Prison of Camp Sumter, Andersonville, it was impossible to +isolate the wounded from the sources of actual contact of the gangrenous +matter. The flies swarming over the wounds and over filth of every +description; the filthy, imperfectly washed, and scanty rags; the limited +number of sponges and wash-bowls (the same wash-bowl and sponge serving +for a score or more of patients), were one and all sources of such +constant circulation of the gangrenous matter, that the disease might +rapidly be propagated from a single gangrenous wound. While the fact +already considered, that a form of moist gangrene, resembling hospital +gangrene, was quite common in this foul atmosphere in cases of dysentery, +both with and without the existence of hospital gangrene upon the +surface, demonstrates the dependence of the disease upon the state of the +constitution, and proves in a clear manner that neither the contact of +the poisonous matter of gangrene, nor the direct action of the poisoned +atmosphere upon the ulcerated surface, is necessary to the development of +the disease; on the other hand, it is equally well-established that the +disease may be communicated by the various ways just mentioned. It is +impossible to determine the length of time which rags and clothing +saturated with gangrenous matter will retain the power of reproducing the +disease when applied to healthy wounds. Professor Brugmans, as quoted by +Guthrie in his commentaries on the surgery of the war in Portugal, Spain, +France, and the Netherlands, says that in 1797, in Holland, 'charpie,' +composed of linen threads cut of different lengths, which, on inquiry, it +was found had been already used in the great hospitals in France, and had +been subsequently washed and bleached, caused every ulcer to which it was +applied to be affected by hospital gangrene. Guthrie affirms in the same +work, that the fact that this disease was readily communicated by the +application of instruments, lint, or bandages which had been in contact +with infected parts, was too firmly established by the experience of +every one in Portugal and Spain to be a matter of doubt. There are facts +to show that flies may be the means of communicating malignant pustules. +Dr. Wagner, who has related several cases of malignant pustule produced +in man and beasts, both by contact and by eating the flesh of diseased +animals, which happened in the village of Striessa in Saxony, in 1834, +gives two very remarkable cases which occurred eight days after any beast +had been affected with the disease. Both were women, one of twenty-six +and the other of fifty years, and in them the pustules were well marked, +and the general symptoms similar to the other cases. The latter patient +said she had been bitten by a fly upon the back d the neck, at which part +the carbuncle appeared; and the former, that she had also been bitten +upon the right upper arm by a gnat. Upon inquiry, Wagner found that the +skin of one of the infected beasts had been hung on a neighboring wall, +and thought it very possible that the insects might have been attracted +to them by the smell, and had thence conveyed the poison. + +[End of Dr. Stevenson's Statement] + + .......................... + +The old adage says that "Hunger is the best sauce for poor food," but +hunger failed to render this detestable stuff palatable, and it became so +loathsome that very many actually starved to death because unable to +force their organs of deglutition to receive the nauseous dose and pass +it to the stomach. I was always much healthier than the average of the +boys, and my appetite consequently much better, yet for the last month +that I was in Andersonville, it required all my determination to crowd +the bread down my throat, and, as I have stated before, I could only do +this by breaking off small bits at a time, and forcing each down as I +would a pill. + +A large part of this repulsiveness was due to the coarseness and foulness +of the meal, the wretched cooking, and the lack of salt, but there was a +still more potent reason than all these. Nature does not intend that man +shall live by bread alone, nor by any one kind of food. She indicates +this by the varying tastes and longings that she gives him. If his body +needs one kind of constituents, his tastes lead him to desire the food +that is richest in those constituents. When he has taken as much as his +system requires, the sense of satiety supervenes, and he "becomes tired" +of that particular food. If tastes are not perverted, but allowed a free +but temperate exercise, they are the surest indicators of the way to +preserve health and strength by a judicious selection of alimentation. + +In this case Nature was protesting by a rebellion of the tastes against +any further use of that species of food. She was saying, as plainly as +she ever spoke, that death could only be averted by a change of diet, +which would supply our bodies with the constituents they so sadly needed, +and which could not be supplied by corn meal. + +How needless was this confinement of our rations to corn meal, and +especially to such wretchedly prepared meal, is conclusively shown by the +Rebel testimony heretofore given. It would have been very little extra +trouble to the Rebels to have had our meal sifted; we would gladly have +done it ourselves if allowed the utensils and opportunity. It would have +been as little trouble to have varied our rations with green corn and +sweet potatos, of which the country was then full. + +A few wagon loads of roasting ears and sweet potatos would have banished +every trace of scurvy from the camp, healed up the wasting dysentery, +and saved thousands of lives. Any day that the Rebels had chosen they +could have gotten a thousand volunteers who would have given their solemn +parole not to escape, and gone any distance into the country, to gather +the potatos and corn, and such other vegetables as were readily +obtainable, and bring, them into the camp. + +Whatever else may be said in defense of the Southern management of +military prisons, the permitting seven thousand men to die of the scurvy +in the Summer time, in the midst of an agricultural region, filled with +all manner of green vegetation, must forever remain impossible of +explanation. + + + + +CHAPTER LI. + +SOLICITUDE AS TO THE FATE OF ATLANTA AND SHERMAN'S ARMY--PAUCITY OF NEWS +--HOW WE HEARD THAT ATLANTA HAD FALLEN--ANNOUNCEMENT OF A GENERAL +EXCHANGE--WE LEAVE ANDERSONVILLE. + +We again began to be exceedingly solicitous over the fate of Atlanta and +Sherman's Army: we had heard but little directly from that front for +several weeks. Few prisoners had come in since those captured in the +bloody engagements of the 20th, 22d, and 28th of July. In spite of their +confident tones, and our own sanguine hopes, the outlook admitted of very +grave doubts. The battles of the last week of July had been looked at it +in the best light possible--indecisive. Our men had held their own, +it is true, but an invading army can not afford to simply hold its own. +Anything short of an absolute success is to it disguised defeat. Then we +knew that the cavalry column sent out under Stoneman had been so badly +handled by that inefficient commander that it had failed ridiculously in +its object, being beaten in detail, and suffering the loss of its +commander and a considerable portion of its numbers. This had been +followed by a defeat of our infantry at Etowah Creek, and then came a +long interval in which we received no news save what the Rebel papers +contained, and they pretended no doubt that Sherman's failure was already +demonstrated. Next came well-authenticated news that Sherman had raised +the siege and fallen back to the Chattahoochee, and we felt something of +the bitterness of despair. For days thereafter we heard nothing, though +the hot, close Summer air seemed surcharged with the premonitions of a +war storm about to burst, even as nature heralds in the same way a +concentration of the mighty force of the elements for the grand crash of +the thunderstorm. We waited in tense expectancy for the decision of the +fates whether final victory or defeat should end the long and arduous +campaign. + +At night the guards in the perches around the Stockade called out every +half hour, so as to show the officers that they were awake and attending +to their duty. The formula for this ran thus: + +"Post numbah 1; half-past eight o'clock, and a-l-l 's w-e-l-l!" + +Post No. 2 repeated this cry, and so it went around. + +One evening when our anxiety as to Atlanta was wrought to the highest +pitch, one of the guards sang out: + +"Post numbah foah--half past eight o'clock--and Atlanta's--gone--t-o-- +hell" + +The heart of every man within hearing leaped to his mouth. We looked +toward each other, almost speechless with glad surprise, and then gasped +out: + +"Did 'you hear THAT?" + +The next instant such a ringing cheer burst out as wells spontaneously +from the throats and hearts of men, in the first ecstatic moments of +victory--a cheer to which our saddened hearts and enfeebled lungs had +long been strangers. It was the genuine, honest, manly Northern cheer, +as different from the shrill Rebel yell as the honest mastiff's deep- +voiced welcome is from the howl of the prowling wolf. + +The shout was taken up all over the prison. Even those who had not heard +the guard understood that it meant that "Atlanta was ours and fairly +won," and they took up the acclamation with as much enthusiasm as we had +begun it. All thoughts of sleep were put to flight: we would have a +season of rejoicing. Little knots gathered together, debated the news, +and indulged in the most sanguine hopes as to the effect upon the Rebels. +In some parts of the Stockade stump speeches were made. I believe that +Boston Corbett and his party organized a prayer and praise meeting. +In our corner we stirred up our tuneful friend "Nosey," who sang again +the grand old patriotic hymns that set our thin blood to bounding, +and made us remember that we were still Union soldiers, with higher hopes +than that of starving and dying in Andersonville. He sang the ever- +glorious Star Spangled Banner, as he used to sing it around the camp fire +in happier days, when we were in the field. He sang the rousing "Rally +Round the Flag," with its wealth of patriotic fire and martial vigor, +and we, with throats hoarse from shouting; joined in the chorus until the +welkin rang again. + +The Rebels became excited, lest our exaltation of spirits would lead to +an assault upon the Stockade. They got under arms, and remained so until +the enthusiasm became less demonstrative. + +A few days later--on the evening of the 6th of September--the Rebel +Sergeants who called the roll entered the Stockade, and each assembling +his squads, addressed them as follows: + +"PRISONERS: I am instructed by General Winder to inform you that a +general exchange has been agreed upon. Twenty thousand men will be +exchanged immediately at Savannah, where your vessels are now waiting for +you. Detachments from One to Ten will prepare to leave early to-morrow +morning." + +The excitement that this news produced was simply indescribable. I have +seen men in every possible exigency that can confront men, and a large +proportion viewed that which impended over them with at least outward +composure. The boys around me had endured all that we suffered with +stoical firmness. Groans from pain-racked bodies could not be repressed, +and bitter curses and maledictions against the Rebels leaped unbidden to +the lips at the slightest occasion, but there was no murmuring or +whining. There was not a day--hardly an hour--in which one did not see +such exhibitions of manly fortitude as made him proud of belonging to a +race of which every individual was a hero. + +But the emotion which pain and suffering and danger could not develop, +joy could, and boys sang, and shouted and cried, and danced as if in a +delirium. "God's country," fairer than the sweet promised land of Canaan +appeared to the rapt vision of the Hebrew poet prophet, spread out in +glad vista before the mind's eye of every one. It had come--at last it +had come that which we had so longed for, wished for, prayed for, dreamed +of; schemed, planned, toiled for, and for which went up the last earnest, +dying wish of the thousands of our comrades who would now know no +exchange save into that eternal "God's country" where + + Sickness and sorrow, pain and death + Are felt and feared no more. + +Our "preparations," for leaving were few and simple. When the morning +came, and shortly after the order to move, Andrews and I picked our well- +worn blanket, our tattered overcoat, our rude chessmen, and no less rude +board, our little black can, and the spoon made of hoop-iron, and bade +farewell to the hole-in-the-ground that had been our home for nearly +seven long months. + +My feet were still in miserable condition from the lacerations received +in the attempt to escape, but I took one of our tent poles as a staff and +hobbled away. We re-passed the gates which we had entered on that +February night, ages since, it seemed, and crawled slowly over to the +depot. + +I had come to regard the Rebels around us as such measureless liars that +my first impulse was to believe the reverse of anything they said to us; +and even now, while I hoped for the best, my old habit of mind was so +strongly upon me that I had some doubts of our going to be exchanged, +simply because it was a Rebel who had said so. But in the crowd of +Rebels who stood close to the road upon which we were walking was a young +Second Lieutenant, who said to a Colonel as I passed: + +"Weil, those fellows can sing 'Homeward Bound,' can't they?" + +This set my last misgiving at rest. Now I was certain that we were going +to be exchanged, and my spirits soared to the skies. + +Entering the cars we thumped and pounded toilsomely along, after the +manner of Southern railroads, at the rate of six or eight miles an hour. +Savannah was two hundred and forty miles away, and to our impatient minds +it seemed as if we would never get there. The route lay the whole +distance through the cheerless pine barrens which cover the greater part +of Georgia. The only considerable town on the way was Macon, which had +then a population of five thousand or thereabouts. For scores of miles +there would not be a sign of a human habitation, and in the one hundred +and eighty miles between Macon and Savannah there were only three +insignificant villages. There was a station every ten miles, at which +the only building was an open shed, to shelter from sun and rain a casual +passenger, or a bit of goods. + +The occasional specimens of the poor white "cracker" population that we +saw, seemed indigenous products of the starved soil. They suited their +poverty-stricken surroundings as well as the gnarled and scrubby +vegetation suited the sterile sand. Thin-chested, round-shouldered, +scraggy-bearded, dull-eyed and open-mouthed, they all looked alike--all +looked as ignorant, as stupid, and as lazy as they were poor and weak. +They were "low-downers" in every respect, and made our rough and simple. +minded East Tennesseans look like models of elegant and cultured +gentlemen in contrast. + +We looked on the poverty-stricken land with good-natured contempt, for we +thought we were leaving it forever, and would soon be in one which, +compared to it, was as the fatness at Egypt to the leanness of the desert +of Sinai. + +The second day after leaving Andersonville our train struggled across the +swamps into Savannah, and rolled slowly down the live oak shaded streets +into the center of the City. It seemed like another Deserted Village, +so vacant and noiseless the streets, and the buildings everywhere so +overgrown with luxuriant vegetation: The limbs of the shade trees crashed +along and broke, upon the tops of our cars, as if no train had passed +that way for years. Through the interstices between the trees and clumps +of foliage could be seen the gleaming white marble of the monuments +erected to Greene and Pulaski, looking like giant tombstones in a City of +the Dead. The unbroken stillness--so different from what we expected on +entering the metropolis of Georgia, and a City that was an important port +in Revolutionary days--became absolutely oppressive. We could not +understand it, but our thoughts were more intent upon the coming transfer +to our flag than upon any speculation as to the cause of the remarkable +somnolence of Savannah. + +Finally some little boys straggled out to where our car was standing, and +we opened up a conversation with them: + +"Say, boys, are our vessels down in the harbor yet?" + +The reply came in that piercing treble shriek in which a boy of ten or +twelve makes even his most confidential communications: + +"I don't know." + +"Well," (with our confidence in exchange somewhat dashed,) "they intend +to exchange us here, don't they?" + +Another falsetto scream, "I don't know." + +"Well," (with something of a quaver in the questioner's voice,) "what are +they going to do, with us, any way?" + +"O," (the treble shriek became almost demoniac) "they are fixing up a +place over by the old jail for you." + +What a sinking of hearts was there then! Andrews and I would not give up +hope so speedily as some others did, and resolved to believe, for awhile +at least, that we were going to be exchanged. + +Ordered out of the cars, we were marched along the street. A crowd of +small boys, full of the curiosity of the animal, gathered around us as we +marched. Suddenly a door in a rather nice house opened; an angry-faced +woman appeared on the steps and shouted out: + +"Boys! BOYS! What are you doin' there! Come up on the steps immejitely! +Come away from them n-a-s-t-y things!" + +I will admit that we were not prepossessing in appearance; nor were we as +cleanly as young gentlemen should habitually be; in fact, I may as well +confess that I would not now, if I could help it, allow a tramp, as +dilapidated in raiment, as unwashed, unshorn, uncombed, and populous with +insects as we were, to come within several rods of me. Nevertheless, +it was not pleasant to hear so accurate a description of our personal +appearance sent forth on the wings of the wind by a shrill-voiced Rebel +female. + +A short march brought us to the place "they were fixing for us by the old +jail." It was another pen, with high walls of thick pine plank, which +told us only too plainly how vain were our expectations of exchange. + +When we were turned inside, and I realized that the gates of another +prison had closed upon me, hope forsook me. I flung our odious little +possessions-our can, chess-board, overcoat, and blanket-upon the ground, +and, sitting down beside them, gave way to the bitterest despair. +I wanted to die, O, so badly. Never in all my life had I desired +anything in the world so much as I did now to get out of it. Had I had +pistol, knife, rope, or poison, I would have ended my prison life then +and there, and departed with the unceremoniousness of a French leave. +I remembered that I could get a quietus from a guard with very little +trouble, but I would not give one of the bitterly hated Rebels the +triumph of shooting me. I longed to be another Samson, with the whole +Southern Confederacy gathered in another Temple of Dagon, that I might +pull down the supporting pillars, and die happy in slaying thousands of +my enemies. + +While I was thus sinking deeper and deeper in the Slough of Despond, the +firing of a musket, and the shriek of the man who was struck, attracted +my attention. Looking towards the opposite end of the, pen I saw a guard +bringing his still smoking musket to a "recover arms," and, not fifteen +feet from him, a prisoner lying on the ground in the agonies of death. +The latter had a pipe in his mouth when he was shot, and his teeth still +clenched its stem. His legs and arms were drawn up convulsively, and he +was rocking backward and forward on his back. The charge had struck him +just above the hip-bone. + +The Rebel officer in command of the guard was sitting on his horse inside +the pen at the time, and rode forward to see what the matter was. +Lieutenant Davis, who had come with us from Andersonville, was also +sitting on a horse inside the prison, and he called out in his usual +harsh, disagreeable voice: + +"That's all right, Cunnel; the man's done just as I awdahed him to." + +I found that lying around inside were a number of bits of plank--each +about five feet long, which had been sawed off by the carpenters engaged +in building the prison. The ground being a bare common, was destitute of +all shelter, and the pieces looked as if they would be quite useful in +building a tent. There may have been an order issued forbidding the +prisoners to touch them, but if so, I had not heard it, and I imagine the +first intimation to the prisoner just killed that the boards were not to +be taken was the bullet which penetrated his vitals. Twenty-five cents +would be a liberal appraisement of the value of the lumber for which the +boy lost his life. + +Half an hour afterward we thought we saw all the guards march out of the +front gate. There was still another pile of these same kind of pieces of +board lying at the further side of the prison. The crowd around me +noticed it, and we all made a rush for it. In spite of my lame feet I +outstripped the rest, and was just in the act of stooping down to pick +the boards up when a loud yell from those behind startled me. Glancing +to my left I saw a guard cocking his gun and bringing it up to shoot me. +With one frightened spring, as quick as a flash, and before he could +cover me, I landed fully a rod back in the crowd, and mixed with it. +The fellow tried hard to draw a bead on me, but I was too quick for him, +and he finally lowered his gun with an oath expressive of disappointment +in not being able to kill a Yankee. + +Walking back to my place the full ludicrousness of the thing dawned upon +me so forcibly that I forgot all about my excitement and scare, and +laughed aloud. Here, not an hour age I was murmuring because I could +find no way to die; I sighed for death as a bridegroom for the coming of +his bride, an yet, when a Rebel had pointed his gun at me, it had nearly +scared me out of a year's growth, and made me jump farther than I could +possibly do when my feet were well, and I was in good condition +otherwise. + + + + +CHAPTER LII. + +SAVANNAH--DEVICES TO OBTAIN MATERIALS FOR A TENT--THEIR ULTIMATE SUCCESS +--RESUMPTION OF TUNNELING--ESCAPING BY WHOLESALE AND BEING RECAPTURED EN +MASSE--THE OBSTACLES THAT LAY BETWEEN US AND OUR LINES. + +Andrews and I did not let the fate of the boy who was killed, nor my own +narrow escape from losing the top of my head, deter us from farther +efforts to secure possession of those coveted boards. My readers +remember the story of the boy who, digging vigorously at a hole, replied +to the remark of a passing traveler that there was probably no ground-hog +there, and, even if there was, "ground-hog was mighty poor eatin', any +way," with: + +"Mister, there's got to be a ground-hog there; our family's out o' meat!" + +That was what actuated us: we were out of material for a tent. Our +solitary blanket had rotted and worn full of holes by its long double +duty, as bed-clothes and tent at Andersonville, and there was an +imperative call for a substitute. + +Andrews and I flattered ourselves that when we matched our collective or +individual wits against those of a Johnny his defeat was pretty certain, +and with this cheerful estimate of our own powers to animate us, we set +to work to steal the boards from under the guard's nose. The Johnny had +malice in his heart and buck-and-ball in his musket, but his eyes were +not sufficiently numerous to adequately discharge all the duties laid +upon him. He had too many different things to watch at the same time. +I would approach a gap in the fence not yet closed as if I intended +making a dash through it for liberty, and when the Johnny had +concentrated all his attention on letting me have the contents of his gun +just as soon as he could have a reasonable excuse for doing so, Andrews +would pick u a couple of boards and slip away with them. Then I would +fall back in pretended (and some real) alarm, and--Andrew would come up +and draw his attention by a similar feint, while I made off with a couple +more pieces. After a few hours c this strategy, we found ourselves the +possessors of some dozen planks, with which we made a lean-to, that +formed a tolerable shelter for our heads and the upper portion of our +bodies. As the boards were not over five feet long, and the slope reduce +the sheltered space to about four-and-one-half feet, it left the lower +part of our naked feet and legs to project out-of-doors. Andrews used to +lament very touchingly the sunburning his toe-nails were receiving. +He knew that his complexion was being ruined for life, and all the Balm +of a Thousand Flowers in the world would not restore his comely ankles to +that condition of pristine loveliness which would admit of their +introduction into good society again. Another defect was that, like the +fun in a practical joke, it was all on one side; there was not enough of +it to go clear round. It was very unpleasant, when a storm came up in a +direction different from that we had calculated upon, to be compelled to +get out in the midst of it, and build our house over to face the other +way. + +Still we had a tent, and were that much better off than three-fourths of +our comrades who had no shelter at all. We were owners of a brown stone +front on Fifth Avenue compared to the other fellows. + +Our tent erected, we began a general survey of our new abiding place. +The ground was a sandy common in the outskirts of Savannah. The sand was +covered with a light sod. The Rebels, who knew nothing of our burrowing +propensities, had neglected to make the plank forming the walls of the +Prison project any distance below the surface of the ground, and had put +up no Dead Line around the inside; so that it looked as if everything was +arranged expressly to invite us to tunnel out. We were not the boys to +neglect such an invitation. By night about three thousand had been +received from Andersonville, and placed inside. When morning came it +looked as if a colony of gigantic rats had been at work. There was a +tunnel every ten or fifteen feet, and at least twelve hundred of us had +gone out through them during the night. I never understood why all in +the pen did not follow our example, and leave the guards watching a +forsaken Prison. There was nothing to prevent it. An hour's industrious +work with a half-canteen would take any one outside, or if a boy was too +lazy to dig his own tunnel, he could have the use of one of the hundred +others that had been dug. + +But escaping was only begun when the Stockade was passed. The site of +Savannah is virtually an island. On the north is the Savannah River; to +the east, southeast and south, are the two Ogeechee rivers, and a chain +of sounds and lagoons connecting with the Atlantic Ocean. To the west is +a canal connecting the Savannah and Big Ogeechee Rivers. We found +ourselves headed off by water whichever way we went. All the bridges +were guarded, and all the boats destroyed. Early in the morning the +Rebels discovered our absence, and the whole garrison of Savannah was +sent out on patrol after us. They picked up the boys in squads of from +ten to thirty, lurking around the shores of the streams waiting for night +to come, to get across, or engaged in building rafts for transportation. +By evening the whole mob of us were back in the pen again. As nobody was +punished for running away, we treated the whole affair as a lark, and +those brought back first stood around the gate and yelled derisively as +the others came in. + +That night big fires were built all around the Stockade, and a line of +guards placed on the ground inside of these. In spite of this +precaution, quite a number escaped. The next day a Dead Line was put up +inside of the Prison, twenty feet from the Stockade. This only increased +the labor of burrowing, by making us go farther. Instead of being able +to tunnel out in an hour, it now took three or four hours. That night +several hundred of us, rested from our previous performance, and hopeful +of better luck, brought our faithful half canteens--now scoured very +bright by constant use-into requisition again, and before the morning. +dawned we had gained the high reeds of the swamps, where we lay concealed +until night. + +In this way we managed to evade the recapture that came to most of those +who went out, but it was a fearful experience. Having been raised in a +country where venomous snakes abounded, I had that fear and horror of +them that inhabitants of those districts feel, and of which people living +in sections free from such a scourge know little. I fancied that the +Southern swamps were filled with all forms of loathsome and poisonous +reptiles, and it required all my courage to venture into them barefooted. +Besides, the snags and roots hurt our feet fearfully. Our hope was to +find a boat somewhere, in which we could float out to sea, and trust to +being picked up by some of the blockading fleet. But no boat could we +find, with all our painful and diligent search. We learned afterward +that the Rebels made a practice of breaking up all the boats along the +shore to prevent negros and their own deserters from escaping to the +blockading fleet. We thought of making a raft of logs, but had we had +the strength to do this, we would doubtless have thought it too risky, +since we dreaded missing the vessels, and being carried out to sea to +perish of hunger. During the night we came to the railroad bridge +across the Ogeechee. We had some slender hope that, if we could reach +this we might perhaps get across the river, and find better opportunities +for escape. But these last expectations were blasted by the discovery +that it was guarded. There was a post and a fire on the shore next us, +and a single guard with a lantern was stationed on one of the middle +spans. Almost famished with hunger, and so weary and footsore that we +could scarcely move another step, we went back to a cleared place on the +high ground, and laid down to sleep, entirely reckless as to what became +of us. Late in the morning we were awakened by the Rebel patrol and +taken back to the prison. Lieutenant Davis, disgusted with the perpetual +attempts to escape, moved the Dead Line out forty feet from the Stockade; +but this restricted our room greatly, since the number of prisoners in +the pen had now risen to about six thousand, and, besides, it offered +little additional protection against tunneling. + +It was not much more difficult to dig fifty feet than it had been to dig +thirty feet. Davis soon realized this, and put the Dead Line back to +twenty feet. His next device was a much more sensible one. A crowd of +one hundred and fifty negros dug a trench twenty feet wide and five feet +deep around the whole prison on the outside, and this ditch was filled +with water from the City Water Works. No one could cross this without +attracting the attention of the guards. + +Still we were not discouraged, and Andrews and I joined a crowd that was +constructing a large tunnel from near our quarters on the east side of +the pen. We finished the burrow to within a few inches of the edge of +the ditch, and then ceased operations, to await some stormy night, when +we could hope to get across the ditch unnoticed. + +Orders were issued to guards to fire without warning on men who were +observed to be digging or carrying out dirt after nightfall. They +occasionally did so, but the risk did not keep anyone from tunneling. +Our tunnel ran directly under a sentry box. When carrying dirt away the +bearer of the bucket had to turn his back on the guard and walk directly +down the street in front of him, two hundred or three hundred feet, to +the center of the camp, where he scattered the sand around--so as to give +no indication of where it came from. Though we always waited till the +moon went down, it seemed as if, unless the guard were a fool, both by +nature and training, he could not help taking notice of what was going on +under his eyes. I do not recall any more nervous promenades in my life, +than those when, taking my turn, I received my bucket of sand at the +mouth of the tunnel, and walked slowly away with it. The most +disagreeable part was in turning my back to the guard. Could I have +faced him, I had sufficient confidence in my quickness of perception, +and talents as a dodger, to imagine that I could make it difficult for +him to hit me. But in walling with my back to him I was wholly at his +mercy. Fortune, however, favored us, and we were allowed to go on with +our work--night after night--without a shot. + +In the meanwhile another happy thought slowly gestated in Davis's alleged +intellect. How he came to give birth to two ideas with no more than a +week between them, puzzled all who knew him, and still more that he +survived this extraordinary strain upon the gray matter of the cerebrum. +His new idea was to have driven a heavily-laden mule cart around the +inside of the Dead Line at least once a day. The wheels or the mule's +feet broke through the thin sod covering the tunnels and exposed them. +Our tunnel went with the rest, and those of our crowd who wore shoes had +humiliation added to sorrow by being compelled to go in and spade the +hole full of dirt. This put an end to subterranean engineering. + +One day one of the boys watched his opportunity, got under the ration +wagon, and clinging close to the coupling pole with hands and feet, was +carried outside. He was detected, however, as he came from under the +wagon, and brought back. + + + + +CHAPTER LIII. + +FRANK REVERSTOCK'S ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE--PASSING OFF AS REBEL BOY HE REACHES +GRISWOLDVILLE BY RAIL, AND THEN STRIKES ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOR SHERMAN, +BUT IS CAUGHT WITHIN TWENTY MILES OF OUR LINES. + +One of the shrewdest and nearest successful attempts to escape that came +under my notice was that of my friend Sergeant Frank Reverstock, of the +Third West Virginia Cavalry, of whom I have before spoken. Frank, who +was quite small, with a smooth boyish face, had converted to his own use +a citizen's coat, belonging to a young boy, a Sutler's assistant, who had +died in Andersonville. He had made himself a pair of bag pantaloons and +a shirt from pieces of meal sacks which he had appropriated from day to +day. He had also the Sutler's assistant's shoes, and, to crown all, he +wore on his head one of those hideous looking hats of quilted calico +which the Rebels had taken to wearing in the lack of felt hats, which +they could neither make nor buy. Altogether Frank looked enough like a +Rebel to be dangerous to trust near a country store or a stable full of +horses. When we first arrived in the prison quite a crowd of the +Savannahians rushed in to inspect us. The guards had some difficulty in +keeping them and us separate. While perplexed with this annoyance, one +of them saw Frank standing in our crowd, and, touching him with his +bayonet, said, with some sharpness: + +"See heah; you must stand back; you musn't crowd on them prisoners so.", + +Frank stood back. He did it promptly but calmly, and then, as if his +curiosity as to Yankees was fully satisfied, he walked slowly away up the +street, deliberating as he went on a plan for getting out of the City. +He hit upon an excellent one. Going to the engineer of a freight train +making ready to start back to Macon, he told him that his father was +working in the Confederate machine shops at Griswoldville, near Macon; +that he himself was also one of the machinists employed there, and +desired to go thither but lacked the necessary means to pay his passage. +If the engineer would let him ride up on the engine he would do work +enough to pay the fare. Frank told the story ingeniously, the engineer +and firemen were won over, and gave their consent. + +No more zealous assistant ever climbed upon a tender than Frank proved to +be. He loaded wood with a nervous industry, that stood him in place of +great strength. He kept the tender in perfect order, and anticipated, +as far as possible, every want of the engineer and his assistant. They +were delighted with him, and treated him with the greatest kindness, +dividing their food with him, and insisting that he should share their +bed when they "laid by" for the night. Frank would have gladly declined +this latter kindness with thanks, as he was conscious that the quantity +of "graybacks" his clothing contained did not make him a very desirable +sleeping companion for any one, but his friends were so pressing that he +was compelled to accede. + +His greatest trouble was a fear of recognition by some one of the +prisoners that were continually passing by the train load, on their way +from Andersonville to other prisons. He was one of the best known of the +prisoners in Andersonville; bright, active, always cheerful, and forever +in motion during waking hours,--every one in the Prison speedily became +familiar with him, and all addressed him as "Sergeant Frankie." If any +one on the passing trains had caught a glimpse of him, that glimpse would +have been followed almost inevitably with a shout of: + +"Hello, Sergeant Frankie! What are you doing there?" + +Then the whole game would have been up. Frank escaped this by persistent +watchfulness, and by busying himself on the opposite side of the engine, +with his back turned to the other trains. + +At last when nearing Griswoldville, Frank, pointing to a large white +house at some distance across the fields, said: + +"Now, right over there is where my uncle lives, and I believe I'll just +run over and see him, and then walk into Griswoldville." + +He thanked his friends fervently for their kindness, promised to call and +see them frequently, bade them good by, and jumped off the train. + +He walked towards the white house as long as he thought he could be seen, +and then entered a large corn field and concealed himself in a thicket in +the center of it until dark, when he made his way to the neighboring +woods, and began journeying northward as fast as his legs could carry +him. When morning broke he had made good progress, but was terribly +tired. It was not prudent to travel by daylight, so he gathered himself +some ears of corn and some berries, of which he made his breakfast, and +finding a suitable thicket he crawled into it, fell asleep, and did not +wake up until late in the afternoon. + +After another meal of raw corn and berries he resumed his journey, and +that night made still better progress. + +He repeated this for several days and nights--lying in the woods in the +day time, traveling by night through woods, fields, and by-paths avoiding +all the fords, bridges and main roads, and living on what he could glean +from the fields, that he might not take even so much risk as was involved +in going to the negro cabins for food. + +But there are always flaws in every man's armor of caution--even in so +perfect a one as Frank's. His complete success so far had the natural +effect of inducing a growing carelessness, which wrought his ruin. +One evening he started off briskly, after a refreshing rest and sleep. +He knew that he must be very near Sherman's lines, and hope cheered him +up with the belief that his freedom would soon be won. + +Descending from the hill, in whose dense brushwood he had made his bed +all day, he entered a large field full of standing corn, and made his way +between the rows until he reached, on the other side, the fence that +separated it from the main road, across which was another corn-field, +that Frank intended entering. + +But he neglected his usual precautions on approaching a road, and instead +of coming up cautiously and carefully reconnoitering in all directions +before he left cover, he sprang boldly over the fence and strode out for +the other side. As he reached the middle of the road, his ears were +assailed with the sharp click of a musket being cocked, and the harsh +command: + +"Halt! halt, dah, I say!" + +Turning with a start to his left he saw not ten feet from him, a mounted +patrol, the sound of whose approach had been masked by the deep dust of +the road, into which his horse's hoofs sank noiselessly. + +Frank, of course, yielded without a word, and when sent to the officer in +command he told the old story about his being an employee of the +Griswoldville shops, off on a leave of absence to make a visit to sick +relatives. But, unfortunately, his captors belonged to that section +themselves, and speedily caught him in a maze of cross-questioning from +which he could not extricate himself. It also became apparent from his +language that he was a Yankee, and it was not far from this to the +conclusion that he was a spy--a conclusion to which the proximity of +Sherman's lines, then less than twenty miles distant-greatly assisted. + +By the next morning this belief had become so firmly fixed in the minds +of the Rebels that Frank saw a halter dangling alarmingly near, and he +concluded the wisest plan was to confess who he really was. + +It was not the smallest of his griefs to realize by how slight a chance +he had failed. Had he looked down the road before he climbed the fence, +or had he been ten minutes earlier or later, the patrol would not have +been there, he could have gained the next field unperceived, and two more +nights of successful progress would have taken him into Sherman's lines +at Sand Mountain. The patrol which caught him was on the look-out for +deserters and shirking conscripts, who had become unusually numerous +since the fall of Atlanta. + +He was sent back to us at Savannah. As he came into the prison gate +Lieutenant Davis was standing near. He looked sternly at Frank and his +Rebel garments, and muttering, + +"By God, I'll stop this!" caught the coat by the tails, tore it to the +collar, and took it and his hat away from Frank. + +There was a strange sequel to this episode. A few weeks afterward a +special exchange for ten thousand was made, and Frank succeeded in being +included in this. He was given the usual furlough from the paroled camp +at Annapolis, and went to his home in a little town near Mansfield, O. + +One day while on the cars going--I think to Newark, O., he saw Lieutenant +Davis on the train, in citizens' clothes. He had been sent by the Rebel +Government to Canada with dispatches relating to some of the raids then +harassing our Northern borders. Davis was the last man in the world to +successfully disguise himself. He had a large, coarse mouth, that made +him remembered by all who had ever seen him. Frank recognized him +instantly and said: + +"You are Lieutenant Davis?" + +Davis replied: + +"You are totally mistaken, sah, I am -----" + +Frank insisted that he was right. Davis fumed and blustered, but though +Frank was small, he was as game as a bantam rooster, and he gave Davis to +understand that there had been a vast change in their relative positions; +that the one, while still the same insolent swaggerer, had not regiments +of infantry or batteries of artillery to emphasize his insolence, and the +other was no longer embarrassed in the discussion by the immense odds in +favor of his jailor opponent. + +After a stormy scene Frank called in the assistance of some other +soldiers in the car, arrested Davis, and took him to Camp Chase--near +Columbus, O.,--where he was fully identified by a number of paroled +prisoners. He was searched, and documents showing the nature of his +mission beyond a doubt, were found upon his person. + +A court martial was immediately convened for his trial. + +This found him guilty, and sentenced him to be hanged as a spy. + +At the conclusion of the trial Frank stepped up to the prisoner and said: + +"Mr. Davis, I believe we're even on that coat, now." + +Davis was sent to Johnson's Island for execution, but influences were +immediately set at work to secure Executive clemency. What they were +I know not, but I am informed by the Rev. Robert McCune, who was then +Chaplain of the One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Ohio Infantry and the Post +of Johnson's Island and who was the spiritual adviser appointed to +prepare Davis for execution, that the sentence was hardly pronounced +before Davis was visited by an emissary, who told him to dismiss his +fears, that he should not suffer the punishment. + +It is likely that leading Baltimore Unionists were enlisted in his behalf +through family connections, and as the Border State Unionists were then +potent at Washington, they readily secured a commutation of his sentence +to imprisonment during the war. + +It seems that the justice of this world is very unevenly dispensed when +so much solicitude is shown for the life of such a man, and none at all +for the much better men whom he assisted to destroy. + +The official notice of the commutation of the sentence was not published +until the day set for the execution, but the certain knowledge that it +would be forthcoming enabled Davis to display a great deal of bravado on +approaching what was supposed to be his end. As the reader can readily +imagine, from what I have heretofore said of him, Davis was the man to +improve to the utmost every opportunity to strut his little hour, and he +did it in this instance. He posed, attitudinized and vapored, so that +the camp and the country were filled with stories of the wonderful +coolness with which he contemplated his approaching fate. + +Among other things he said to his guard, as he washed himself elaborately +the night before the day announced for the execution: + +"Well, you can be sure of one thing; to-morrow night there will certainly +be one clean corpse on this Island." + +Unfortunately for his braggadocio, he let it leak out in some way that he +had been well aware all the time that he would not be executed. + +He was taken to Fort Delaware for confinement, and died there some time +after. + +Frank Beverstock went back to his regiment, and served with it until the +close of the war. He then returned home, and, after awhile became a +banker at Bowling Green, O. He was a fine business man and became very +prosperous. But though naturally healthy and vigorous, his system +carried in it the seeds of death, sown there by the hardships of +captivity. He had been one of the victims of the Rebels' vaccination; +the virus injected into his blood had caused a large part of his right +temple to slough off, and when it healed it left a ghastly cicatrix. + +Two years ago he was taken suddenly ill, and died before his friends had +any idea that his condition was serious. + + + + +CHAPTER LIV. + +SAVANNAH PROVES TO BE A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER--ESCAPE FROM THE BRATS OF +GUARDS--COMPARISON BETWEEN WIRZ AND DAVIS--A BRIEF INTERVAL OF GOOD +RATIONS--WINDER, THE MAN WITH THE EVIL EYE-- +THE DISLOYAL WORK OF A SHYSTER. + +After all Savannah was a wonderful improvement on Andersonville. +We got away from the pestilential Swamp and that poisonous ground. +Every mouthful of air was not laden with disease germs, nor every cup of +water polluted with the seeds of death. The earth did not breed +gangrene, nor the atmosphere promote fever. As only the more vigorous +had come away, we were freed from the depressing spectacle of every third +man dying. The keen disappointment prostrated very many who had been of +average health, and I imagine, several hundred died, but there were +hospital arrangements of some kind, and the sick were taken away from +among us. Those of us who tunneled out had an opportunity of stretching +our legs, which we had not had for months in the overcrowded Stockade we +had left. The attempts to escape did all engaged in them good, even +though they failed, since they aroused new ideas and hopes, set the blood +into more rapid circulation, and toned up the mind and system both. +I had come away from Andersonville with considerable scurvy manifesting +itself in my gums and feet. Soon these signs almost wholly disappeared. + +We also got away from those murderous little brats of Reserves, +who guarded us at Andersonville, and shot men down as they would stone +apples out of a tree. Our guards now were mostly, sailors, from the +Rebel fleet in the harbor--Irishmen, Englishmen and Scandinavians, as +free hearted and kindly as sailors always are. I do not think they ever +fired a shot at one of us. The only trouble we had was with that portion +of the guard drawn from the infantry of the garrison. They had the same +rattlesnake venom of the Home Guard crowd wherever we met it, and shot us +down at the least provocation. Fortunately they only formed a small part +of the sentinels. + +Best of all, we escaped for a while from the upas-like shadow of Winder +and Wirz, in whose presence strong men sickened and died, as when near +some malign genii of an Eastern story. The peasantry of Italy believed +firmly in the evil eye. Did they ever know any such men as Winder and +his satellite, I could comprehend how much foundation they could have for +such a belief. + +Lieutenant Davis had many faults, but there was no comparison between him +and the Andersonville commandant. He was a typical young Southern man; +ignorant and bumptious as to the most common matters of school-boy +knowledge, inordinately vain of himself and his family, coarse in tastes +and thoughts, violent in his prejudices, but after all with some streaks +of honor and generosity that made the widest possible difference between +him and Wirz, who never had any. As one of my chums said to me: + +"Wirz is the most even-tempered man I ever knew; he's always foaming +mad." + +This was nearly the truth. I never saw Wirz when he was not angry; +if not violently abusive, he was cynical and sardonic. Never, in my +little experience with him did I detect a glint of kindly, generous +humanity; if he ever was moved by any sight of suffering its exhibition +in his face escaped my eye. If he ever had even a wish to mitigate the +pain or hardship of any man the expression of such wish never fell on my +ear. How a man could move daily through such misery as he encountered, +and never be moved by it except to scorn and mocking is beyond my limited +understanding. + +Davis vapored a great deal, swearing big round oaths in the broadest of +Southern patois; he was perpetually threatening to: + +"Open on ye wid de ahtillery," but the only death that I knew him to +directly cause or sanction was that I have described in the previous +chapter. He would not put himself out of the way to annoy and oppress +prisoners, as Wirz would, but frequently showed even a disposition to +humor them in some little thing, when it could be done without danger or +trouble to himself. + +By-and-by, however, he got an idea that there was some money to be made +out of the prisoners, and he set his wits to work in this direction. +One day, standing at the gate, he gave one of his peculiar yells that he +used to attract the attention of the camp with: + +"Wh-ah-ye!!" + +We all came to "attention," and he announced: + +"Yesterday, while I wuz in the camps (a Rebel always says camps,) some of +you prisoners picked my pockets of seventy-five dollars in greenbacks. +Now, I give you notice that I'll not send in any moah rations till the +money's returned to me." + +This was a very stupid method of extortion, since no one believed that he +had lost the money, and at all events he had no business to have the +greenbacks, as the Rebel laws imposed severe penalties upon any citizen, +and still more upon any soldier dealing with, or having in his possession +any of "the money of the enemy." We did without rations until night, +when they were sent in. There was a story that some of the boys in the +prison had contributed to make up part of the sum, and Davis took it and +was satisfied. I do not know how true the story was. At another time +some of the boys stole the bridle and halter off an old horse that was +driven in with a cart. The things were worth, at a liberal estimate, +one dollar. Davis cut off the rations of the whole six thousand of us +for one day for this. We always imagined that the proceeds went into his +pocket. + +A special exchange was arranged between our Navy Department and that of +the Rebels, by which all seamen and marines among us were exchanged. +Lists of these were sent to the different prisons and the men called for. +About three-fourths of them were dead, but many soldiers divining, the +situation of affairs, answered to the dead men's names, went away with +the squad and were exchanged. Much of this was through the connivance of +the Rebel officers, who favored those who had ingratiated themselves with +them. In many instances money was paid to secure this privilege, and I +have been informed on good authority that Jack Huckleby, of the Eighth +Tennessee, and Ira Beverly, of the One Hundredth Ohio, who kept the big +sutler shop on the North Side at Andersonville, paid Davis five hundred +dollars each to be allowed to go with the sailors. As for Andrews and +me, we had no friends among the Rebels, nor money to bribe with, so we +stood no show. + +The rations issued to us for some time after our arrival seemed riotous +luxury to what we had been getting at Andersonville. Each of us received +daily a half-dozen rude and coarse imitations of our fondly-remembered +hard tack, and with these a small piece of meat or a few spoonfuls of +molasses, and a quart or so of vinegar, and several plugs of tobacco for +each "hundred." How exquisite was the taste of the crackers and +molasses! +It was the first wheat bread I had eaten since my entry into Richmond-- +nine months before--and molasses had been a stranger to me for years. +After the corn bread we had so long lived upon, this was manna. It seems +that the Commissary at Savannah labored under the delusion that he must +issue to us the same rations as were served out to the Rebel soldiers and +sailors. It was some little time before the fearful mistake came to the +knowledge of Winder. I fancy that the news almost threw him into an +apoplectic fit. Nothing, save his being ordered to the front, could have +caused him such poignant sorrow as the information that so much good food +had been worse than wasted in undoing his work by building up the bodies +of his hated enemies. + +Without being told, we knew that he had been heard from when the tobacco, +vinegar and molasses failed to come in, and the crackers gave way to corn +meal. Still this was a vast improvement on Andersonville, as the meal +was fine and sweet, and we each had a spoonful of salt issued to us +regularly. + +I am quite sure that I cannot make the reader who has not had an +experience similar to ours comprehend the wonderful importance to us of +that spoonful of salt. Whether or not the appetite for salt be, as some +scientists claim, a purely artificial want, one thing is certain, and +that is, that either the habit of countless generations or some other +cause, has so deeply ingrained it into our common nature, that it has +come to be nearly as essential as food itself, and no amount of +deprivation can accustom us to its absence. Rather, it seemed that the +longer we did without it the more overpowering became our craving. +I could get along to-day and to-morrow, perhaps the whole week, without +salt in my food, since the lack would be supplied from the excess I had +already swallowed, but at the end of that time Nature would begin to +demand that I renew the supply of saline constituent of my tissues, and +she would become more clamorous with every day that I neglected her +bidding, and finally summon Nausea to aid Longing. + +The light artillery of the garrison of Savannah--four batteries, twenty- +four pieces--was stationed around three sides of the prison, the guns +unlimbered, planted at convenient distance, and trained upon us, ready +for instant use. We could see all the grinning mouths through the cracks +in the fence. There were enough of them to send us as high as the +traditional kite flown by Gilderoy. The having at his beck this array of +frowning metal lent Lieutenant Davis such an importance in his own eyes +that his demeanor swelled to the grandiose. It became very amusing to +see him puff up and vaunt over it, as he did on every possible occasion. +For instance, finding a crowd of several hundred lounging around the +gate, he would throw open the wicket, stalk in with the air of a Jove +threatening a rebellious world with the dread thunders of heaven, and +shout: + +"W-h-a-a y-e-e! Prisoners, I give you jist two minutes to cleah away +from this gate, aw I'll open on ye wid de ahtillery!" + +One of the buglers of the artillery was a superb musician--evidently some +old "regular" whom the Confederacy had seduced into its service, and his +instrument was so sweet toned that we imagined that it was made of +silver. The calls he played were nearly the same as we used in the +cavalry, and for the first few days we became bitterly homesick every +time he sent ringing out the old familiar signals, that to us were so +closely associated with what now seemed the bright and happy days when we +were in the field with our battalion. If we were only back in the +valleys of Tennessee with what alacrity we would respond to that +"assembly;" no Orderly's patience would be worn out in getting laggards +and lazy ones to "fall in for roll-call;" how eagerly we would attend to +"stable duty;" how gladly mount our faithful horses and ride away to +"water," and what bareback races ride, going and coming. We would be +even glad to hear "guard" and "drill" sounded; and there would be music +in the disconsolate "surgeon's call:" + + "Come-get-your-q-n-i-n-i-n-e; come, get your quinine; It'll make you + sad: It'll make you sick. Come, come." + +O, if we were only back, what admirable soldiers we would be! +One morning, about three or four o'clock, we were awakened by the ground +shaking and a series of heavy, dull thumps sounding oft seaward. +Our silver-voiced bugler seemed to be awakened, too. He set the echoes +ringing with a vigorously played "reveille;" a minute later came an +equally earnest "assembly," and when "boots and saddles" followed, we +knew that all was not well in Denmark; the thumping and shaking now had +a significance. It meant heavy Yankee guns somewhere near. We heard the +gunners hitching up; the bugle signal "forward," the wheels roll off, +and for a half hour afterwards we caught the receding sound of the bugle +commanding "right turn," "left turn," etc., as the batteries marched +away. Of course, we became considerably wrought up over the matter, +as we fancied that, knowing we were in Savannah, our vessels were trying +to pass up to the City and take it. The thumping and shaking continued +until late in the afternoon. + +We subsequently learned that some of our blockaders, finding time banging +heavy upon their hands, had essayed a little diversion by knocking Forts +Jackson and Bledsoe--two small forts defending the passage of the +Savannah--about their defenders' ears. After capturing the forts our +folks desisted and came no farther. + +Quite a number of the old Raider crowd had come with us from +Andersonville. Among these was the shyster, Peter Bradley. They kept up +their old tactics of hanging around the gates, and currying favor with +the Rebels in every possible way, in hopes to get paroles outside or +other favors. The great mass of the prisoners were so bitter against the +Rebels as to feel that they would rather die than ask or accept a favor +from their hands, and they had little else than contempt for these +trucklers. The raider crowd's favorite theme of conversation with the +Rebels was the strong discontent of the boys with the manner of their +treatment by our Government. The assertion that there was any such +widespread feeling was utterly false. We all had confidence--as we +continue to have to this day--that our Government would do everything for +us possible, consistent with its honor, and the success of military +operations, and outside of the little squad of which I speak, not an +admission could be extracted from anybody that blame could be attached to +any one, except the Rebels. It was regarded as unmanly and unsoldier- +like to the last degree, as well as senseless, to revile our Government +for the crimes committed by its foes. + +But the Rebels were led to believe that we were ripe for revolt against +our flag, and to side with them. Imagine, if possible, the stupidity +that would mistake our bitter hatred of those who were our deadly +enemies, for any feeling that would lead us to join hands with those +enemies. One day we were surprised to see the carpenters erect a rude +stand in the center of the camp. When it was finished, Bradley appeared +upon it, in company with some Rebel officers and guards. We gathered +around in curiosity, and Bradley began making a speech. + +He said that it had now become apparent to all of us that our Government +had abandoned us; that it cared little or nothing for us, since it could +hire as many more quite readily, by offering a bounty equal to the pay +which would be due us now; that it cost only a few hundred dollars to +bring over a shipload of Irish, "Dutch," and French, who were only too +glad to agree to fight or do anything else to get to this country. [The +peculiar impudence of this consisted in Bradley himself being a +foreigner, and one who had only come out under one of the later calls, +and the influence of a big bounty.] + +Continuing in this strain he repeated and dwelt upon the old lie, always +in the mouths of his crowd, that Secretary Stanton and General Halleck +had positively refused to enter upon negotiations for exchange, because +those in prison were "only a miserable lot of 'coffee-boilers' and +'blackberry pickers,' whom the Army was better off without." + +The terms "coffee-boiler," and "blackberry-pickers" were considered the +worst terms of opprobrium we had in prison. They were applied to that +class of stragglers and skulkers, who were only too ready to give +themselves up to the enemy, and who, on coming in, told some gauzy story +about "just having stopped to boil a cup of coffee," or to do something +else which they should not have done, when they were gobbled up. It is +not risking much to affirm the probability of Bradley and most of his +crowd having belonged to this dishonorable class. + +The assertion that either the great Chief-of-Staff or the still greater +War-Secretary were even capable of applying such epithets to the mass of +prisoners is too preposterous to need refutation, or even denial. +No person outside the raider crowd ever gave the silly lie a moment's +toleration. + +Bradley concluded his speech in some such language as this: + +"And now, fellow prisoners, I propose to you this: that we unite in +informing our Government that unless we are exchanged in thirty days, we +will be forced by self-preservation to join the Confederate army." + +For an instant his hearers seemed stunned at the fellow's audacity, and +then there went up such a roar of denunciation and execration that the +air trembled. The Rebels thought that the whole camp was going to rush +on Bradley and tear him to pieces, and they drew revolvers and leveled +muskets to defend him. The uproar only ceased when Bradley was hurried +out of the prisons but for hours everybody was savage and sullen, and +full of threatenings against him, when opportunity served. We never saw +him afterward. + +Angry as I was, I could not help being amused at the tempestuous rage of +a tall, fine-looking and well educated Irish Sergeant of an Illinois +regiment. He poured forth denunciations of the traitor and the Rebels, +with the vivid fluency of his Hibernian nature, vowed he'd "give a year +of me life, be J---s, to have the handling of the dirty spalpeen for ten +minutes; be G-d," and finally in his rage, tore off his own shirt and +threw it on the ground and trampled on it. + +Imagine my astonishment, some time after getting out of prison, to find +the Southern papers publishing as a defense against the charges in regard +to Andersonville, the following document, which they claimed to have been +adopted by "a mass meeting of the prisoners:" + +"At a mass meeting held September 28th, 1864, by the Federal prisoners +confined at Savannah, Ga., it was unanimously agreed that the following +resolutions be sent to the President of the United States, in the hope +that he might thereby take such steps as in his wisdom he may think +necessary for our speedy exchange or parole: + +"Resolved, That while we would declare our unbounded love for the Union, +for the home of our fathers, and for the graves of those we venerate, we +would beg most respectfully that our situation as prisoners be diligently +inquired into, and every obstacle consistent with the honor and dignity +of the Government at once removed. + +"Resolved, That while allowing the Confederate authorities all due praise +for the attention paid to prisoners, numbers of our men are daily +consigned to early graves, in the prime of manhood, far from home and +kindred, and this is not caused intentionally by the Confederate +Government, but by force of circumstances; the prisoners are forced to go +without shelter, and, in a great portion of cases, without medicine. + +"Resolved, That, whereas, ten thousand of our brave comrades have +descended into an untimely grave within the last six months, and as we +believe their death was caused by the difference of climate, the peculiar +kind and insufficiency of food, and lack of proper medical treatment; +and, whereas, those difficulties still remain, we would declare as our +firm belief, that unless we are speedily exchanged, we have no +alternative but to share the lamentable fate of our comrades. Must this +thing still go on! Is there no hope? + +"Resolved, That, whereas, the cold and inclement season of the year is +fast approaching, we hold it to be our duty as soldiers and citizens of +the United States, to inform our Government that the majority of our +prisoners ate without proper clothing, in some cases being almost naked, +and are without blankets to protect us from the scorching sun by day or +the heavy dews by night, and we would most respectfully request the +Government to make some arrangement whereby we can be supplied with +these, to us, necessary articles. + +"Resolved, That, whereas, the term of service of many of our comrades +having expired, they, having served truly and faithfully for the term of +their several enlistments, would most respectfully ask their Government, +are they to be forgotten? Are past services to be ignored? Not having +seen their wives and little ones for over three years, they would most +respectfully, but firmly, request the Government to make some +arrangements whereby they can be exchanged or paroled. + +"Resolved, That, whereas, in the fortune of war, it was our lot to become +prisoners, we have suffered patiently, and are still willing to suffer, +if by so doing we can benefit the country; but we must most respectfully +beg to say, that we are not willing to suffer to further the ends of any +party or clique to the detriment of our honor, our families, and our +country, and we beg that this affair be explained to us, that we may +continue to hold the Government in that respect which is necessary to +make a good citizen and soldier. + + "P. BRADLEY, + "Chairman of Committee in behalf of Prisoners." + + +In regard to the above I will simply say this, that while I cannot +pretend to know or even much that went on around me, I do not think it +was possible for a mass meeting of prisoners to have been held without +my knowing it, and its essential features. Still less was it possible +for a mass meeting to have been held which would have adopted any such +a document as the above, or anything else that a Rebel would have found +the least pleasure in republishing. The whole thing is a brazen +falsehood. + + + + +CHAPTER LV. + +WHY WE WERE HURRIED OUT OF ANDERSONVILLE--THE OF THE FALL OF ATLANTA-- +OUR LONGING TO HEAR THE NEWS--ARRIVAL OF SOME FRESH FISH--HOW WE KNEW +THEY WERE WESTERN BOYS--DIFFERENCE IN THE APPEARANCE OF THE SOLDIERS OF +THE TWO ARMIES. + +The reason of our being hurried out of Andersonville under the false +pretext of exchange dawned on us before we had been in Savannah long. +If the reader will consult the map of Georgia he will understand this, +too. Let him remember that several of the railroads which now appear +were not built then. The road upon which Andersonville is situated was +about one hundred and twenty miles long, reaching from Macon to Americus, +Andersonville being about midway between these two. It had no +connections anywhere except at Macon, and it was hundreds of miles across +the country from Andersonville to any other road. When Atlanta fell it +brought our folks to within sixty miles of Macon, and any day they were +liable to make a forward movement, which would capture that place, and +have us where we could be retaken with ease. + +There was nothing left undone to rouse the apprehensions of the Rebels in +that direction. The humiliating surrender of General Stoneman at Macon +in July, showed them what our, folks were thinking of, and awakened their +minds to the disastrous consequences of such a movement when executed by +a bolder and abler commander. Two days of one of Kilpatrick's swift, +silent marches would carry his hard-riding troopers around Hood's right +flank, and into the streets of Macon, where a half hour's work with the +torch on the bridges across the Ocmulgee and the creeks that enter it at +that point, would have cut all of the Confederate Army of the Tennessee's +communications. Another day and night of easy marching would bring his +guidons fluttering through the woods about the Stockade at Andersonville, +and give him a reinforcement of twelve or fifteen thousand able-bodied +soldiers, with whom he could have held the whole Valley of the +Chattahoochie, and become the nether millstone, against which Sherman +could have ground Hood's army to powder. + +Such a thing was not only possible, but very probable, and doubtless +would have occurred had we remained in Andersonville another week. + +Hence the haste to get us away, and hence the lie about exchange, for, +had it not been for this, one-quarter at least of those taken on the cars +would have succeeded in getting off and attempted to have reached +Sherman's lines. + +The removal went on with such rapidity that by the end of September only +eight thousand two hundred and eighteen remained at Andersonville, and +these were mostly too sick to be moved; two thousand seven hundred died +in September, fifteen hundred and sixty in October, and four hundred and +eighty-five in November, so that at the beginning of December there were +only thirteen hundred and fifty-nine remaining. The larger part of those +taken out were sent on to Charleston, and subsequently to Florence and +Salisbury. About six or seven thousand of us, as near as I remember, +were brought to Savannah. + ....................... + +We were all exceedingly anxious to know how the Atlanta campaign had +ended. So far our information only comprised the facts that a sharp +battle had been fought, and the result was the complete possession of our +great objective point. The manner of accomplishing this glorious end, +the magnitude of the engagement, the regiments, brigades and corps +participating, the loss on both sides, the completeness of the victories, +etc., were all matters that we knew nothing of, and thirsted to learn. + +The Rebel papers said as little as possible about the capture, and the +facts in that little were so largely diluted with fiction as to convey no +real information. But few new, prisoners were coming in, and none of +these were from Sherman. However, toward the last of September, a +handful of "fresh fish" were turned inside, whom our experienced eyes +instantly told us were Western boys. + +There was never any difficulty in telling, as far as he could be seen, +whether a boy belonged to the East or the west. First, no one from the +Army of the Potomac was ever without his corps badge worn conspicuously; +it was rare to see such a thing on one of Sherman's men. Then there was +a dressy air about the Army of the Potomac that was wholly wanting in the +soldiers serving west of the Alleghanies. + +The Army, of the Potomac was always near to its base of supplies, always +had its stores accessible, and the care of the clothing and equipments of +the men was an essential part of its discipline. A ragged or shabbily +dressed man was a rarity. Dress coats, paper collars, fresh woolen +shirts, neat-fitting pantaloons, good comfortable shoes, and trim caps or +hats, with all the blazing brass of company letters an inch long, +regimental number, bugle and eagle, according to the Regulations, were as +common to Eastern boys as they were rare among the Westerners. + +The latter usually wore blouses, instead of dress coats, and as a rule +their clothing had not been renewed since the opening, of the campaign- +and it showed this. Those who wore good boots or shoes generally had to +submit to forcible exchanges by their, captors, and the same was true of +head gear. The Rebels were badly off in regard to hats. They did not +have skill and ingenuity enough to make these out of felt or straw, and +the make-shifts they contrived of quilted calico and long-leaved pine, +were ugly enough to frighten horned cattle. + +I never blamed them much for wanting to get rid of these, even if they +did have to commit a sort of highway robbery upon defenseless prisoners +to do so. To be a traitor in arms was bad certainly, but one never +appreciated the entire magnitude of the crime until he saw a Rebel +wearing a calico or a pine-leaf hat. Then one felt as if it would be a +great mistake to ever show such a man mercy. + +The Army of Northern Virginia seemed to have supplied themselves with +head-gear of Yankee manufacture of previous years, and they then quit +taking the hats of their prisoners. Johnston's Army did not have such +good luck, and had to keep plundering to the end of the war. + +Another thing about the Army of the Potomac was the variety of the +uniforms. There were members of Zouave regiments, wearing baggy breeches +of various hues, gaiters, crimson fezes, and profusely braided jackets. +I have before mentioned the queer garb of the "Lost Ducks." (Les Enfants +Perdu, Forty-eighth New York.) + +One of the most striking uniforms was that of the "Fourteenth Brooklyn." +They wore scarlet pantaloons, a blue jacket handsomely braided, and a red +fez, with a white cloth wrapped around the head, turban-fashion. +As a large number of them were captured, they formed quite a picturesque +feature of every crowd. They were generally good fellows and gallant +soldiers. + +Another uniform that attracted much, though not so favorable, attention +was that of the Third New Jersey Cavalry, or First New Jersey Hussars, +as they preferred to call themselves. The designer of the uniform must +have had an interest in a curcuma plantation, or else he was a fanatical +Orangeman. Each uniform would furnish occasion enough for a dozen New +York riots on the 12th of July. Never was such an eruption of the +yellows seen outside of the jaundiced livery of some Eastern potentate. +Down each leg of the pantaloons ran a stripe of yellow braid one and one- +half inches wide. The jacket had enormous gilt buttons, and was +embellished with yellow braid until it was difficult to tell whether it +was blue cloth trimmed with yellow, or yellow adorned with blue. From +the shoulders swung a little, false hussar jacket, lined with the same +flaring yellow. The vizor-less cap was similarly warmed up with the hue +of the perfected sunflower. Their saffron magnificence was like the +gorgeous gold of the lilies of the field, and Solomon in all his glory +could not have beau arrayed like one of them. I hope he was not. I want +to retain my respect for him. We dubbed these daffodil cavaliers +"Butterflies," and the name stuck to them like a poor relation. + +Still another distinction that was always noticeable between the two +armies was in the bodily bearing of the men. The Army of the Potomac was +drilled more rigidly than the Western men, and had comparatively few long +marches. Its members had something of the stiffness and precision of +English and German soldiery, while the Western boys had the long, +"reachy" stride, and easy swing that made forty miles a day a rather +commonplace march for an infantry regiment. + +This was why we knew the new prisoners to be Sherman's boys as soon as +they came inside, and we started for them to hear the news. Inviting +them over to our lean-to, we told them our anxiety for the story of the +decisive blow that gave us the Central Gate of the Confederacy, and asked +them to give it to us. + + + + +CHAPTER LVI. + +WHAT CAUSED THE FALL OF ATLANTA--A DISSERTATION UPON AN IMPORTANT +PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEM--THE BATTLE OF JONESBORO--WHY IT WAS FOUGHT-- +HOW SHERMAN DECEIVED HOOD--A DESPERATE BAYONET CHARGE, AND THE ONLY +SUCCESSFUL ONE IN THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN--A GALLANT COLONEL AND HOW HE +DIED--THE HEROISM OF SOME ENLISTED MEN--GOING CALMLY INTO CERTAIN DEATH. + +An intelligent, quick-eyed, sunburned boy, without an ounce of surplus +flesh on face or limbs, which had been reduced to gray-hound condition by +the labors and anxieties of the months of battling between Chattanooga +and Atlanta, seemed to be the accepted talker of the crowd, since all the +rest looked at him, as if expecting him to answer for them. He did so: + +"You want to know about how we got Atlanta at last, do you? Well, if you +don't know, I should think you would want to. If I didn't, I'd want +somebody to tell me all about it just as soon as he could get to me, for +it was one of the neatest little bits of work that 'old Billy' and his +boys ever did, and it got away with Hood so bad that he hardly knew what +hurt him. + +"Well, first, I'll tell you that we belong to the old Fourteenth Ohio +Volunteers, which, if you know anything about the Army of the Cumberland, +you'll remember has just about as good a record as any that trains around +old Pap Thomas--and he don't 'low no slouches of any kind near him, +either--you can bet $500 to a cent on that, and offer to give back the +cent if you win. Ours is Jim Steedman's old regiment--you've all heard +of old Chickamauga Jim, who slashed his division of 7,000 fresh men into +the Rebel flank on the second day at Chickamauga, in a way that made +Longstreet wish he'd staid on the Rappahannock, and never tried to get up +any little sociable with the Westerners. If I do say it myself, I +believe we've got as good a crowd of square, stand-up, trust'em-every- +minute-in-your-life boys, as ever thawed hard-tack and sowbelly. We got +all the grunters and weak sisters fanned out the first year, and since +then we've been on a business basis, all the time. We're in a mighty +good brigade, too. Most of the regiments have been with us since we +formed the first brigade Pap Thomas ever commanded, and waded with him +through the mud of Kentucky, from Wild Cat to Mill Springs, where he gave +Zollicoffer just a little the awfulest thrashing that a Rebel General +ever got. That, you know, was in January, 1862, and was the first +victory gained by the Western Army, and our people felt so rejoiced over +it that--" + +"Yes, yes; we've read all about that," we broke in, "and we'd like to +hear it again, some other time; but tell us now about Atlanta." + +"All right. Let's see: where was I? O, yes, talking about our brigade. +It is the Third Brigade, of the Third Division, of the Fourteenth Corps, +and is made up of the Fourteenth Ohio, Thirty-eighth Ohio, Tenth +Kentucky, and Seventy-fourth Indiana. Our old Colonel--George P. Este-- +commands it. We never liked him very well in camp, but I tell you he's a +whole team in a fight, and he'd do so well there that all would take to +him again, and he'd be real popular for a while." + +"Now, isn't that strange," broke in Andrews, who was given to fits of +speculation of psychological phenomena: "None of us yearn to die, but the +surest way to gain the affection of the boys is to show zeal in leading +them into scrapes where the chances of getting shot are the best. +Courage in action, like charity, covers a multitude of sins. I have +known it to make the most unpopular man in the battalion, the most +popular inside of half an hour. Now, M.(addressing himself to me,) you +remember Lieutenant H., of our battalion. You know he was a very fancy +young fellow; wore as snipish' clothes as the tailor could make, had gold +lace on his jacket wherever the regulations would allow it, decorated his +shoulders with the stunningest pair of shoulder knots I ever saw, and so +on. Well, he did not stay with us long after we went to the front. He +went back on a detail for a court martial, and staid a good while. When +he rejoined us, he was not in good odor, at all, and the boys weren't at +all careful in saying unpleasant things when he could hear them, A little +while after he came back we made that reconnaissance up on the Virginia +Road. We stirred up the Johnnies with our skirmish line, and while the +firing was going on in front we sat on our horses in line, waiting for +the order to move forward and engage. You know how solemn such moments +are. I looked down the line and saw Lieutenant H. +at the right of Company--, in command of it. I had not seen him since he +came back, and I sung out: + +"'Hello, Lieutenant, how do you feel?' + +"The reply came back, promptly, and with boyish cheerfulness: + +"'Bully, by ----; I'm going to lead seventy men of Company into action +today!' + +"How his boys did cheer him. When the bugle sounded--'forward, trot,' +his +company sailed in as if they meant it, and swept the Johnnies off in +short meter. You never heard anybody say anything against Lieutenant +after that." + +"You know how it was with Captain G., of our regiment," said one of the +Fourteenth to another. "He was promoted from Orderly Sergeant to a +Second Lieutenant, and assigned to Company D. All the members of Company +D went to headquarters in a body, and protested against his being put in +their company, and he was not. Well, he behaved so well at Chickamauga +that the boys saw that they had done him a great injustice, and all those +that still lived went again to headquarters, and asked to take all back +that they had said, and to have him put into the company." + +"Well, that was doing the manly thing, sure; but go on about Atlanta." + +"I was telling about our brigade," resumed the narrator. "Of course, we +think our regiment's the best by long odds in the army--every fellow +thinks that of his regiment--but next to it come the other regiments of +our brigade. There's not a cent of discount on any of them. + +"Sherman had stretched out his right away to the south and west of +Atlanta. About the middle of August our corps, commanded by Jefferson C. +Davis, was lying in works at Utoy Creek, a couple of miles from Atlanta. +We could see the tall steeples and the high buildings of the City quite +plainly. Things had gone on dull and quiet like for about ten days. +This was longer by a good deal than we had been at rest since we left +Resaca in the Spring. We knew that something was brewing, and that it +must come to a head soon. + +"I belong to Company C. Our little mess--now reduced to three by the +loss of two of our best soldiers and cooks, Disbrow and Sulier, killed +behind head-logs in front of Atlanta, by sharpshooters--had one fellow +that we called 'Observer,' because he had such a faculty of picking up +news in his prowling around headquarters. He brought us in so much of +this, and it was generally so reliable that we frequently made up his +absence from duty by taking his place. He was never away from a fight, +though. On the night of the 25th of August, 'Observer' came in with the +news that something was in the wind. Sherman was getting awful restless, +and we had found out that this always meant lots of trouble to our +friends on the other side. + +"Sure enough, orders came to get ready to move, and the next night we all +moved to the right and rear, out of sight of the Johnnies. Our well +built works were left in charge of Garrard's Cavalry, who concealed their +horses in the rear, and came up and took our places. The whole army +except the Twentieth Corps moved quietly off, and did it so nicely that +we were gone some time before the enemy suspected it. Then the Twentieth +Corps pulled out towards the North, and fell back to the Chattahoochie, +making quite a shove of retreat. The Rebels snapped up the bait +greedily. They thought the siege was being raised, and they poured over +their works to hurry the Twentieth boys off. The Twentieth fellows let +them know that there was lots of sting in them yet, and the Johnnies were +not long in discovering that it would have been money in their pockets if +they had let that 'moon-and-star' (that's the Twentieth's badge, you +know) crowd alone. + +"But the Rebs thought the rest of us were gone for good and that Atlanta +was saved. Naturally they felt mighty happy over it; and resolved to +have a big celebration--a ball, a meeting of jubilee, etc. Extra trains +were run in, with girls and women from the surrounding country, and they +just had a high old time. + +"In the meantime we were going through so many different kinds of tactics +that it looked as if Sherman was really crazy this time, sure. Finally +we made a grand left wheel, and then went forward a long way in line of +battle. It puzzled us a good deal, but we knew that Sherman couldn't get +us into any scrape that Pap Thomas couldn't get us out of, and so it was +all right. + +"Along on the evening of the 31st our right wing seemed to have run +against a hornet's nest, and we could hear the musketry and cannon speak +out real spiteful, but nothing came down our way. We had struck the +railroad leading south from Atlanta to Macon, and began tearing it up. +The jollity at Atlanta was stopped right in the middle by the appalling +news that the Yankees hadn't retreated worth a cent, but had broken out +in a new and much worse spot than ever. Then there was no end of trouble +all around, and Hood started part of his army back after us. + +"Part of Hardee's and Pat Cleburne's command went into position in front +of us. We left them alone till Stanley could come up on our left, and +swing around, so as to cut off their retreat, when we would bag every one +of them. But Stanley was as slow as he always was, and did not come up +until it was too late, and the game was gone. + +"The sun was just going down on the evening of the 1st of September, when +we began to see we were in for it, sure. The Fourteenth Corps wheeled +into position near the railroad, and the sound of musketry and artillery +became very loud and clear on our front and left. We turned a little and +marched straight toward the racket, becoming more excited every minute. +We saw the Carlin's brigade of regulars, who were some distance ahead of +us, pile knapsacks, form in line, fix bayonets, and dash off with +arousing cheer. + +"The Rebel fire beat upon them like a Summer rain-storm, the ground shook +with the noise, and just as we reached the edge of the cotton field, we +saw the remnant of the brigade come flying back out of the awful, +blasting shower of bullets. The whole slope was covered with dead and +wounded." + +"Yes," interrupts one of the Fourteenth; "and they made that charge +right gamely, too, I can tell you. They were good soldiers, and well +led. When we went over the works, I remember seeing the body of a little +Major of one of the regiments lying right on the top. If he hadn't been +killed he'd been inside in a half-a-dozen steps more. There's no mistake +about it; those regulars will fight." + +"When we saw this," resumed the narrator, "it set our fellows fairly +wild; they became just crying mad; I never saw them so before. The order +came to strip for the charge, and our knapsacks were piled in half a +minute. A Lieutenant of our company, who was then on the staff of Gen. +Baird, our division commander, rode slowly down the line and gave us our +instructions to load our guns, fix bayonets, and hold fire until we were +on top of the Rebel works. Then Colonel Este sang out clear and steady +as a bugle signal: + +"'Brigade, forward! Guide center! MARCH!!' + +"and we started. Heavens, how they did let into us, as we came up into +range. They had ten pieces of artillery, and more men behind the +breastworks than we had in line, and the fire they poured on us was +simply withering. We walked across the hundreds of dead and dying of the +regular brigade, and at every step our own men fell down among them. +General Baud's horse was shot down, and the General thrown far over his +head, but he jumped up and ran alongside of us. Major Wilson, our +regimental commander, fell mortally wounded; Lieutenant Kirk was killed, +and also Captain Stopfard, Adjutant General of the brigade. Lieutenants +Cobb and Mitchell dropped with wounds that proved fatal in a few days. +Captain Ugan lost an arm, one-third of the enlisted men fell, but we went +straight ahead, the grape and the musketry becoming worse every step, +until we gained the edge of the hill, where we were checked a minute by +the brush, which the Rebels had fixed up in the shape of abattis. Just +then a terrible fire from a new direction, our left, swept down the whole +length of our line. The Colonel of the Seventeenth New York--as gallant +a man as ever lived saw the new trouble, took his regiment in on the run, +and relieved us of this, but he was himself mortally wounded. If our +boys were half-crazy before, they were frantic now, and as we got out of +the entanglement of the brush, we raised a fearful yell and ran at the +works. We climbed the sides, fired right down into the defenders, and +then began with the bayonet and sword. For a few minutes it was simply +awful. On both sides men acted like infuriated devils. They dashed each +other's brains out with clubbed muskets; bayonets were driven into men's +bodies up to the muzzle of the gun; officers ran their swords through +their opponents, and revolvers, after being emptied into the faces of the +Rebels, were thrown with desperate force into the ranks. In our regiment +was a stout German butcher named Frank Fleck. He became so excited that +he threw down his sword, and rushed among the Rebels with his bare fists, +knocking down a swath of them. He yelled to the first Rebel he met + +"Py Gott, I've no patience mit you,' and knocked him sprawling. +He caught hold of the commander of the Rebel Brigade, and snatched him +back over the works by main strength. Wonderful to say, he escaped +unhurt, but the boys will probably not soon let him hear the last of + +"Py Gott, I've no patience mit you.' + +"The Tenth Kentucky, by the queerest luck in the world, was matched +against the Rebel Ninth Kentucky. The commanders of the two regiments +were brothers-in-law, and the men relatives, friends, acquaintances and +schoolmates. They hated each other accordingly, and the fight between +them was more bitter, if possible, than anywhere else on the line. +The Thirty-Eighth Ohio and Seventy-fourth Indiana put in some work that +was just magnificent. We hadn't time to look at it then, but the dead +and wounded piled up after the fight told the story. + +"We gradually forced our way over the works, but the Rebels were game to +the last, and we had to make them surrender almost one at a time. +The artillerymen tried to fire on us when we were so close we could lay +our hands on the guns. + +"Finally nearly all in the works surrendered, and were disarmed and +marched back. Just then an aid came dashing up with the information that +we must turn the works, and get ready to receive Hardee, who was +advancing to retake the position. We snatched up some shovels lying +near, and began work. We had no time to remove the dead and dying Rebels +on the works, and the dirt we threw covered them up. It proved a false +alarm. Hardee had as much as he could do to save his own hide, and the +affair ended about dark. + +"When we came to count up what we had gained, we found that we had +actually taken more prisoners from behind breastworks than there were in +our brigade when we started the charge. We had made the only really +successful bayonet charge of the campaign. Every other time since we +left Chattanooga the party standing on the defensive had been successful. +Here we had taken strong double lines, with ten guns, seven battle flags, +and over two thousand prisoners. We had lost terribly--not less than +one-third of the brigade, and many of our best men. Our regiment went +into the battle with fifteen officers; nine of these were killed or +wounded, and seven of the nine lost either their limbs or lives. +The Thirty-Eighth Ohio, and the other regiments of the brigade lost +equally heavy. We thought Chickamauga awful, but Jonesboro discounted +it." + +"Do you know," said another of the Fourteenth, "I heard our Surgeon +telling about how that Colonel Grower, of the Seventeenth New York, +who came in so splendidly on our left, died? They say he was a Wall +Street broker, before the war. He was hit shortly after he led his +regiment in, and after the fight, was carried back to the hospital. +While our Surgeon was going the rounds Colonel Grower called him, and +said quietly, 'When you get through with the men, come and see me, +please.' + +"The Doctor would have attended to him then, but Grower wouldn't let him. +After he got through he went back to Grower, examined his wound, and told +him that he could only live a few hours. Grower received the news +tranquilly, had the Doctor write a letter to his wife, and gave him his +things to send her, and then grasping the Doctor's hand, he said: + +"Doctor, I've just one more favor to ask; will you grant it?' + +"The Doctor said, 'Certainly; what is it?' + +"You say I can't live but a few hours?' + +"Yes; that is true.' +"And that I will likely be in great pain!' + +"I am sorry to say so.' + +"Well, then, do give me morphia enough to put me to sleep, so that I will +wake up only in another world.' + +"The Doctor did so; Colonel Grower thanked him; wrung his hand, bade him +good-by, and went to sleep to wake no more." + +"Do you believe in presentiments and superstitions?" said another of the +Fourteenth. There was Fisher Pray, Orderly Sergeant of Company I. He +came from Waterville, O., where his folks are now living. The day before +we started out he had a presentiment that we were going into a fight, and +that he would be killed. He couldn't shake it off. He told the +Lieutenant, and some of the boys about it, and they tried to ridicule him +out of it, but it was no good. When the sharp firing broke out in front +some of the boys said, 'Fisher, I do believe you are right,' and he +nodded his head mournfully. When we were piling knapsacks for the +charge, the Lieutenant, who was a great friend of Fisher's, said: + +"Fisher, you stay here and guard the knapsacks.' + +"Fisher's face blazed in an instant. + +"No, sir,' said he; I never shirked a fight yet, and I won't begin now.' + +"So he went into the fight, and was killed, as he knew he would be. Now, +that's what I call nerve." + +"The same thing was true of Sergeant Arthur Tarbox, of Company A," said +the narrator; "he had a presentiment, too; he knew he was going to be +killed, if he went in, and he was offered an honorable chance to stay +out, but he would not take it, and went in and was killed." + +"Well, we staid there the next day, buried our dead, took care of our +wounded, and gathered up the plunder we had taken from the Johnnies. +The rest of the army went off, 'hot blocks,' after Hardee and the rest of +Hood's army, which it was hoped would be caught outside of entrenchments. +But Hood had too much the start, and got into the works at Lovejoy, ahead +of our fellows. The night before we heard several very loud explosions +up to the north. We guessed what that meant, and so did the Twentieth +Corps, who were lying back at the Chattahoochee, and the next morning the +General commanding--Slocum--sent out a reconnaissance. It was met by the +Mayor of Atlanta, who said that the Rebels had blown up their stores and +retreated. The Twentieth Corps then came in and took 'possession of the +City, and the next day--the 3d--Sherman came in, and issued an order +declaring the campaign at an end, and that we would rest awhile and +refit. + +"We laid around Atlanta a good while, and things quieted down so that it +seemed almost like peace, after the four months of continual fighting we +had gone through. We had been under a strain so long that now we boys +went in the other direction, and became too careless, and that's how we +got picked up. We went out about five miles one night after a lot of +nice smoked hams that a nigger told us were stored in an old cotton +press, and which we knew would be enough sight better eating for Company +C, than the commissary pork we had lived on so long. We found the cotton +press, and the hams, just as the nigger told us, and we hitched up a team +to take them into camp. As we hadn't seen any Johnny signs anywhere, +we set our guns down to help load the meat, and just as we all came +stringing out to the wagon with as much meat as we could carry, a company +of Ferguson's Cavalry popped out of the woods about one hundred yards in +front of us and were on top of us before we could say I scat. You see +they'd heard of the meat, too." + + + + +CHAPTER LVII. + +A FAIR SACRIFICE--THE STORY OF ONE BOY WHO WILLINGLY GAVE HIS YOUNG LIFE +FOR HIS COUNTRY. + +Charley Barbour was one of the truest-hearted and best-liked of my +school-boy chums and friends. For several terms we sat together on the +same uncompromisingly uncomfortable bench, worried over the same boy- +maddening problems in "Ray's Arithmetic-Part III.," learned the same +jargon of meaningless rules from "Greene's Grammar," pondered over +"Mitchell's Geography and Atlas," and tried in vain to understand why +Providence made the surface of one State obtrusively pink and another +ultramarine blue; trod slowly and painfully over the rugged road +"Bullion" points out for beginners in Latin, and began to believe we +should hate ourselves and everybody else, if we were gotten up after the +manner shown by "Cutter's Physiology." We were caught together in the +same long series of school-boy scrapes--and were usually ferruled +together by the same strong-armed teacher. We shared nearly everything +--our fun and work; enjoyment and annoyance--all were generally meted out +to us together. We read from the same books the story of the wonderful +world we were going to see in that bright future "when we were men;" we +spent our Saturdays and vacations in the miniature explorations of the +rocky hills and caves, and dark cedar woods around our homes, to gather +ocular helps to a better comprehension of that magical land which we were +convinced began just beyond our horizon, and had in it, visible to the +eye of him who traveled through its enchanted breadth, all that +"Gulliver's Fables," the "Arabian Nights," and a hundred books of travel +and adventure told of. + +We imagined that the only dull and commonplace spot on earth was that +where we lived. Everywhere else life was a grand spectacular drama, full +of thrilling effects. + +Brave and handsome young men were rescuing distressed damsels, beautiful +as they were wealthy; bloody pirates and swarthy murderers were being +foiled by quaint spoken backwoodsmen, who carried unerring rifles; +gallant but blundering Irishmen, speaking the most delightful brogue, +and making the funniest mistakes, were daily thwarting cool and +determined villains; bold tars were encountering fearful sea perils; +lionhearted adventurers were cowing and quelling whole tribes of +barbarians; magicians were casting spells, misers hoarding gold, +scientists making astonishing discoveries, poor and unknown boys +achieving wealth and fame at a single bound, hidden mysteries coming to +light, and so the world was going on, making reams of history with each +diurnal revolution, and furnishing boundless material for the most +delightful books. + +At the age of thirteen a perusal of the lives of Benjamin Franklin and +Horace Greeley precipitated my determination to no longer hesitate in +launching my small bark upon the great ocean. I ran away from home in a +truly romantic way, and placed my foot on what I expected to be the first +round of the ladder of fame, by becoming "devil boy" in a printing office +in a distant large City. Charley's attachment to his mother and his home +was too strong to permit him to take this step, and we parted in sorrow, +mitigated on my side by roseate dreams of the future. + +Six years passed. One hot August morning I met an old acquaintance at +the Creek, in Andersonville. He told me to come there the next morning, +after roll-call, and he would take me to see some person who was very +anxious to meet me. I was prompt at the rendezvous, and was soon joined +by the other party. He threaded his way slowly for over half an hour +through the closely-jumbled mass of tents and burrows, and at length +stopped in front of a blanket-tent in the northwestern corner. The +occupant rose and took my hand. For an instant I was puzzled; then the +clear, blue eyes, and well-remembered smile recalled to me my old-time +comrade, Charley Barbour. His story was soon told. He was a Sergeant in +a Western Virginia cavalry regiment--the Fourth, I think. At the time +Hunter was making his retreat from the Valley of Virginia, it was decided +to mislead the enemy by sending out a courier with false dispatches to be +captured. There was a call for a volunteer for this service. Charley +was the first to offer, with that spirit of generous self-sacrifice that +was one of his pleasantest traits when a boy. He knew what he had to +expect. Capture meant imprisonment at Andersonville; our men had now a +pretty clear understanding of what this was. Charley took the dispatches +and rode into the enemy's lines. He was taken, and the false information +produced the desired effect. On his way to Andersonville he was stripped +of all his clothing but his shirt and pantaloons, and turned into the +Stockade in this condition. When I saw him he had been in a week or +more. He told his story quietly--almost diffidently--not seeming aware +that he had done more than his simple duty. I left him with the promise +and expectation of returning the next day, but when I attempted to find +him again, I was lost in the maze of tents and burrows. I had forgotten +to ask the number of his detachment, and after spending several days in +hunting for him, I was forced to give the search up. He knew as little +of my whereabouts, and though we were all the time within seventeen +hundred feet of each other, neither we nor our common acquaintance could +ever manage to meet again. This will give the reader an idea of the +throng compressed within the narrow limits of the Stockade. After +leaving Andersonville, however, I met this man once more, and learned +from him that Charley had sickened and died within a month after his +entrance to prison. + +So ended his day-dream of a career in the busy world. + + + + +CHAPTER LVIII. + +WE LEAVE SAVANNAH--MORE HOPES OF EXCHANGE--SCENES AT DEPARTURE-- +"FLANKERS"--ON THE BACK TRACK TOWARD ANDERSONVILLE--ALARM THEREAT-- +AT THE PARTING OF TWO WAYS--WE FINALLY BRING UP AT CAMP LAWTON. + +On the evening of the 11th of October there came an order for one +thousand prisoners to fall in and march out, for transfer to some other +point. + +Of course, Andrews and I "flanked" into this crowd. That was our usual +way of doing. Holding that the chances were strongly in favor of every +movement of prisoners being to our lines, we never failed to be numbered +in the first squad of prisoners that were sent out. The seductive mirage +of "exchange" was always luring us on. It must come some time, +certainly, and it would be most likely to come to those who were most +earnestly searching for it. At all events, we should leave no means +untried to avail ourselves of whatever seeming chances there might be. +There could be no other motive for this move, we argued, than exchange. +The Confederacy was not likely to be at the trouble and expense of +hauling us about the country without some good reason--something better +than a wish to make us acquainted with Southern scenery and topography. +It would hardly take us away from Savannah so soon after bringing us +there for any other purpose than delivery to our people. + +The Rebels encouraged this belief with direct assertions of its truth. +They framed a plausible lie about there having arisen some difficulty +concerning the admission of our vessels past the harbor defenses of +Savannah, which made it necessary to take us elsewhere--probably to +Charleston--for delivery to our men. + +Wishes are always the most powerful allies of belief. There is little +difficulty in convincing a man of that of which he wants to be convinced. +We forgot the lie told us when we were taken from Andersonville, and +believed the one which was told us now. + +Andrews and I hastily snatched our worldly possessions--our overcoat, +blanket, can, spoon, chessboard and men, yelled to some of our neighbors +that they could have our hitherto much-treasured house, and running down +to the gate, forced ourselves well up to the front of the crowd that was +being assembled to go out. + +The usual scenes accompanying the departure of first squads were being +acted tumultuously. Every one in the camp wanted to be one of the +supposed-to-be-favored few, and if not selected at first, tried to "flank +in"--that is, slip into the place of some one else who had had better +luck. This one naturally resisted displacement, 'vi et armis,' and the +fights would become so general as to cause a resemblance to the famed +Fair of Donnybrook. The cry would go up: + +"Look out for flankers!" + +The lines of the selected would dress up compactly, and outsiders trying +to force themselves in would get mercilessly pounded. + +We finally got out of the pen, and into the cars, which soon rolled away +to the westward. We were packed in too densely to be able to lie down. +We could hardly sit down. Andrews and I took up our position in one +corner, piled our little treasures under us, and trying to lean against +each other in such a way as to afford mutual support and rest, dozed +fitfully through a long, weary night. + +When morning came we found ourselves running northwest through a poor, +pine-barren country that strongly resembled that we had traversed in +coming to Savannah. The more we looked at it the more familiar it +became, and soon there was no doubt we were going back to Andersonville. + +By noon we had reached Millen--eighty miles from Savannah, and fifty- +three from Augusta. It was the junction of the road leading to Macon and +that running to Augusta. We halted a little while at the "Y," and to us +the minutes were full of anxiety. If we turned off to the left we were +going back to Andersonville. If we took the right hand road we were on +the way to Charleston or Richmond, with the chances in favor of exchange. + +At length we started, and, to our joy, our engine took the right hand +track. We stopped again, after a run of five miles, in the midst of one +of the open, scattering forests of long leaved pine that I have before +described. We were ordered out of the cars, and marching a few rods, +came in sight of another of those hateful Stockades, which seemed to be +as natural products of the Sterile sand of that dreary land as its +desolate woods and its breed of boy murderers and gray-headed assassins. + +Again our hearts sank, and death seemed more welcome than incarceration +in those gloomy wooden walls. We marched despondently up to the gates of +the Prison, and halted while a party of Rebel clerks made a list of our +names, rank, companies, and regiments. As they were Rebels it was slow +work. Reading and writing never came by nature, as Dogberry would say, +to any man fighting for Secession. As a rule, he took to them as +reluctantly as if, he thought them cunning inventions of the Northern +Abolitionist to perplex and demoralize him. What a half-dozen boys taken +out of our own ranks would have done with ease in an hour or so, these +Rebels worried over all of the afternoon, and then their register of us +was so imperfect, badly written and misspelled, that the Yankee clerks +afterwards detailed for the purpose, never could succeed in reducing it +to intelligibility. + +We learned that the place at which we had arrived was Camp Lawton, but we +almost always spoke of it as "Millen," the same as Camp Sumter is +universally known as Andersonville. + +Shortly after dark we were turned inside the Stockade. Being the first +that had entered, there was quite a quantity of wood--the offal from the +timber used in constructing the Stockade--lying on the ground. The night +was chilly one we soon had a number of fires blazing. Green pitch pine, +when burned, gives off a peculiar, pungent odor, which is never forgotten +by one who has once smelled it. I first became acquainted with it on +entering Andersonville, and to this day it is the most powerful +remembrance I can have of the opening of that dreadful Iliad of woes. +On my journey to Washington of late years the locomotives are invariably +fed with pitch pine as we near the Capital, and as the well-remembered +smell reaches me, I grow sick at heart with the flood of saddening +recollections indissolubly associated with it. + +As our fires blazed up the clinging, penetrating fumes diffused +themselves everywhere. The night was as cool as the one when we arrived +at Andersonville, the earth, meagerly sodded with sparse, hard, wiry +grass, was the same; the same piney breezes blew in from the surrounding +trees, the same dismal owls hooted at us; the same mournful whip-poor- +will lamented, God knows what, in the gathering twilight. What we both +felt in the gloomy recesses of downcast hearts Andrews expressed as he +turned to me with: + +"My God, Mc, this looks like Andersonville all over again." + +A cupful of corn meal was issued to each of us. I hunted up some water. +Andrews made a stiff dough, and spread it about half an inch thick on the +back of our chessboard. He propped this up before the fire, and when the +surface was neatly browned over, slipped it off the board and turned it +over to brown the other side similarly. This done, we divided it +carefully between us, swallowed it in silence, spread our old overcoat on +the ground, tucked chess-board, can, and spoon under far enough to be out +of the reach of thieves, adjusted the thin blanket so as to get the most +possible warmth out of it, crawled in close together, and went to sleep. +This, thank Heaven, we could do; we could still sleep, and Nature had +some opportunity to repair the waste of the day. We slept, and forgot +where we were. + + + + +CHAPTER LIX. + +OUR NEW QUARTERS AT CAMP LAWTON--BUILDING A HUT--AN EXCEPTIONAL +COMMANDANT--HE IS a GOOD MAN, BUT WILL TAKE BRIBES--RATIONS. + +In the morning we took a survey of our new quarters, and found that we +were in a Stockade resembling very much in construction and dimensions +that at Andersonville. The principal difference was that the upright +logs were in their rough state, whereas they were hewed at Andersonville, +and the brook running through the camp was not bordered by a swamp, but +had clean, firm banks. + +Our next move was to make the best of the situation. We were divided +into hundreds, each commanded by a Sergeant. Ten hundreds constituted a +division, the head of which was also a Sergeant. I was elected by my +comrades to the Sergeantcy of the Second Hundred of the First Division. +As soon as we were assigned to our ground, we began constructing shelter. +For the first and only time in my prison experience, we found a full +supply of material for this purpose, and the use we made of it showed how +infinitely better we would have fared if in each prison the Rebels had +done even so slight a thing as to bring in a few logs from the +surrounding woods and distribute them to us. A hundred or so of these +would probably have saved thousands of lives at Andersonville and +Florence. + +A large tree lay on the ground assigned to our hundred. Andrews and I +took possession of one side of the ten feet nearest the butt. Other boys +occupied the rest in a similar manner. One of our boys had succeeded in +smuggling an ax in with him, and we kept it in constant use day and +night, each group borrowing it for an hour or so at a time. It was as +dull as a hoe, and we were very weak, so that it was slow work "niggering +off"--(as the boys termed it) a cut of the log. It seemed as if beavers +could have gnawed it off easier and more quickly. We only cut an inch or +so at a time, and then passed the ax to the next users. Making little +wedges with a dull knife, we drove them into the log with clubs, and +split off long, thin strips, like the weatherboards of a house, and by +the time we had split off our share of the log in this slow and laborious +way, we had a fine lot of these strips. We were lucky enough to find +four forked sticks, of which we made the corners of our dwelling, and +roofed it carefully with our strips, held in place by sods torn up from +the edge of the creek bank. The sides and ends were enclosed; we +gathered enough pine tops to cover the ground to a depth of several +inches; we banked up the outside, and ditched around it, and then had the +most comfortable abode we had during our prison career. It was truly a +house builded with our own hands, for we had no tools whatever save the +occasional use of the aforementioned dull axe and equally dull knife. + +The rude little hut represented as much actual hard, manual labor as +would be required to build a comfortable little cottage in the North, +but we gladly performed it, as we would have done any other work to +better our condition. + +For a while wood was quite plentiful, and we had the luxury daily of warm +fires, which the increasing coolness of the weather made important +accessories to our comfort. + +Other prisoners kept coming in. Those we left behind at Savannah +followed us, and the prison there was broken up. Quite a number also +came in from--Andersonville, so that in a little while we had between six +and seven thousand in the Stockade. The last comers found all the +material for tents and all the fuel used up, and consequently did not +fare so well as the earlier arrivals. + +The commandant of the prison--one Captain Bowes--was the best of his +class it was my fortune to meet. Compared with the senseless brutality +of Wirz, the reckless deviltry of Davis, or the stupid malignance of +Barrett, at Florence, his administration was mildness and wisdom itself. + +He enforced discipline better than any of those named, but has what they +all lacked--executive ability--and he secured results that they could not +possibly attain, and without anything, like the friction that attended +their efforts. I do not remember that any one was shot during our six +weeks' stay at Millen--a circumstance simply remarkable, since I do not +recall a single week passed anywhere else without at least one murder by +the guards. + +One instance will illustrate the difference of his administration from +that of other prison commandants. He came upon the grounds of our +division one morning, accompanied by a pleasant-faced, intelligent- +appearing lad of about fifteen or sixteen. He said to us: + +"Gentlemen: (The only instance during our imprisonment when we received +so polite a designation.) This is my son, who will hereafter call your +roll. He will treat you as gentlemen, and I know you will do the same to +him." + +This understanding was observed to the letter on both sides. Young Bowes +invariably spoke civilly to us, and we obeyed his orders with a prompt +cheerfulness that left him nothing to complain of. + +The only charge I have to make against Bowes is made more in detail in +another chapter, and that is, that he took money from well prisoners for +giving them the first chance to go through on the Sick Exchange. +How culpable this was I must leave each reader to decide for himself. +I thought it very wrong at the time, but possibly my views might have +been colored highly by my not having any money wherewith to procure my +own inclusion in the happy lot of the exchanged. + +Of one thing I am certain: that his acceptance of money to bias his +official action was not singular on his part. I am convinced that every +commandant we had over us--except Wirz--was habitually in the receipt of +bribes from prisoners. I never heard that any one succeeded in bribing +Wirz, and this is the sole good thing I can say of that fellow. Against +this it may be said, however, that he plundered the boys so effectually +on entering the prison as to leave them little of the wherewithal to +bribe anybody. + +Davis was probably the most unscrupulous bribe-taker of the lot. +He actually received money for permitting prisoners to escape to our +lines, and got down to as low a figure as one hundred dollars for this +sort of service. I never heard that any of the other commandants went +this far. + +The rations issued to us were somewhat better than those of +Andersonville, as the meal was finer and better, though it was absurdedly +insufficient in quantity, and we received no salt. On several occasions +fresh beef was dealt out to us, and each time the excitement created +among those who had not tasted fresh meat for weeks and months was +wonderful. On the first occasion the meat was simply the heads of the +cattle killed for the use of the guards. Several wagon loads of these +were brought in and distributed. We broke them up so that every man got +a piece of the bone, which was boiled and reboiled, as long as a single +bubble of grease would rise to the surface of the water; every vestige of +meat was gnawed and scraped from the surface and then the bone was +charred until it crumbled, when it was eaten. No one who has not +experienced it can imagine the inordinate hunger for animal food of those +who had eaten little else than corn bread for so long. Our exhausted +bodies were perishing for lack of proper sustenance. Nature indicated +fresh beef as the best medium to repair the great damage already done, +and our longing for it became beyond description. + + + + +CHAPTER LX. + +THE RAIDERS REAPPEAR ON THE SCENE--THE ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE THOSE WHO +WERE CONCERNED IN THE EXECUTION--A COUPLE OF LIVELY FIGHTS, IN WHICH THE +RAIDERS ARE DEFEATED--HOLDING AN ELECTION. + +Our old antagonists--the Raiders--were present in strong force in Millen. +Like ourselves, they had imagined the departure from Andersonville was +for exchange, and their relations to the Rebels were such that they were +all given a chance to go with the first squads. A number had been +allowed to go with the sailors on the Special Naval Exchange from +Savannah, in the place of sailors and marines who had died. On the way +to Charleston a fight had taken place between them and the real sailors, +during which one of their number--a curly-headed Irishman named Dailey, +who was in such high favor with the Rebels that he was given the place of +driving the ration wagon that came in the North Side at Andersonville-- +was killed, and thrown under the wheels of the moving train, which passed +over him. + +After things began to settle into shape at Millen, they seemed to believe +that they were in such ascendancy as to numbers and organization that +they could put into execution their schemes of vengeance against those of +us who had been active participants in the execution of their +confederates at Andersonville. + +After some little preliminaries they settled upon Corporal "Wat" Payne, +of my company, as their first victim. The reader will remember Payne as +one of the two Corporals who pulled the trigger to the scaffold at the +time of the execution. + +Payne was a very good man physically, and was yet in fair condition. +The Raiders came up one day with their best man--Pete Donnelly--and +provoked a fight, intending, in the course of it, to kill Payne. We, +who knew Payee, felt reasonably confident of his ability to handle even +so redoubtable a pugilist as Donnelly, and we gathered together a little +squad of our friends to see fair play. + +The fight began after the usual amount of bad talk on both sides, and we +were pleased to see our man slowly get the better of the New York plug- +ugly. After several sharp rounds they closed, and still Payne was ahead, +but in an evil moment he spied a pine knot at his feet, which he thought +he could reach, and end the fight by cracking Donnelly's head with it. +Donnelly took instant advantage of the movement to get it, threw Payne +heavily, and fell upon him. His crowd rushed in to finish our man by +clubbing him over the head. We sailed in to prevent this, and after a +rattling exchange of blows all around, succeeded in getting Payne away. + +The issue of the fight seemed rather against us, however, and the Raiders +were much emboldened. Payne kept close to his crowd after that, and as +we had shown such an entire willingness to stand by him, the Raiders-- +with their accustomed prudence when real fighting was involved--did not +attempt to molest him farther, though they talked very savagely. + +A few days after this Sergeant Goody and Corporal Ned Carrigan, both of +our battalion, came in. I must ask the reader to again recall the fact +that Sergeant Goody was one of the six hangmen who put the meal-sacks +over the heads, and the ropes around the necks of the condemned. +Corporal Carrigan was the gigantic prize fighter, who was universally +acknowledged to be the best man physically among the whole thirty-four +thousand in Andersonville. The Raiders knew that Goody had come in +before we of his own battalion did. They resolved to kill him then and +there, and in broad daylight. He had secured in some way a shelter tent, +and was inside of it fixing it up. The Raider crowd, headed by Pete +Donnelly, and Dick Allen, went up to his tent and one of them called to +him: + +"Sergeant, come out; I want to see you." + +Goody, supposing it was one of us, came crawling out on his hands and +knees. As he did so their heavy clubs crashed down upon his head. +He was neither killed nor stunned, as they had reason to expect. +He succeeded in rising to his feet, and breaking through the crowd of +assassins. He dashed down the side of the hill, hotly pursued by them. +Coming to the Creek, he leaped it in his excitement, but his pursuers +could not, and were checked. One of our battalion boys, who saw and +comprehended the whole affair, ran over to us, shouting: + +"Turn out! turn out, for God's sake! the Raiders are killing Goody!" + +We snatched up our clubs and started after the Raiders, but before we +could reach them, Ned Carrigan, who also comprehended what the trouble +was, had run to the side of Goody, armed with a terrible looking club. +The sight of Ned, and the demonstration that he was thoroughly aroused, +was enough for the Raider crew, and they abandoned the field hastily. +We did not feel ourselves strong enough to follow them on to their own +dung hill, and try conclusions with them, but we determined to report the +matter to the Rebel Commandant, from whom we had reason to believe we +could expect assistance. We were right. He sent in a squad of guards, +arrested Dick Allen, Pete Donnelly, and several other ringleaders, took +them out and put them in the stocks in such a manner that they were +compelled to lie upon their stomachs. A shallow tin vessel containing +water was placed under their faces to furnish them drink. + +They staid there a day and night, and when released, joined the Rebel +Army, entering the artillery company that manned the guns in the fort +covering the prison. I used to imagine with what zeal they would send us +over; a round of shell or grape if they could get anything like an +excuse. + +This gave us good riddance--of our dangerous enemies, and we had little +further trouble with any of them. + +The depression in the temperature made me very sensible of the +deficiencies in my wardrobe. Unshod feet, a shirt like a fishing net, +and pantaloons as well ventilated as a paling fence might do very well +for the broiling sun at Andersonville and Savannah, but now, with the +thermometer nightly dipping a little nearer the frost line, it became +unpleasantly evident that as garments their office was purely +perfunctory; one might say ornamental simply, if he wanted to be very +sarcastic. They were worn solely to afford convenient quarters for +multitudes of lice, and in deference to the prejudice which has existed +since the Fall of Man against our mingling with our fellow creatures in +the attire provided us by Nature. Had I read Darwin then I should have +expected that my long exposure to the weather would start a fine suit of +fur, in the effort of Nature to adapt, me to my, environment. But no +more indications of this appeared than if I had been a hairless dog of +Mexico, suddenly transplanted to more northern latitudes. Providence did +not seem to be in the tempering-the-wind-to-the-shorn-lamb business, as +far as I was concerned. I still retained an almost unconquerable +prejudice against stripping the dead to secure clothes, and so unless +exchange or death came speedily, I was in a bad fix. + +One morning about day break, Andrews, who had started to go to another +part of the camp, came slipping back in a state of gleeful excitement. +At first I thought he either had found a tunnel or had heard some good +news about exchange. It was neither. He opened his jacket and handed me +an infantry man's blouse, which he had found in the main street, where it +had dropped out of some fellow's bundle. We did not make any extra +exertion to find the owner. Andrews was in sore need of clothes himself, +but my necessities were so much greater that the generous fellow thought +of my wants first. We examined the garment with as much interest as ever +a belle bestowed on a new dress from Worth's. It was in fair +preservation, but the owner had cut the buttons off to trade to the +guard, doubtless for a few sticks of wood, or a spoonful of salt. +We supplied the place of these with little wooden pins, and I donned the +garment as a shirt and coat and vest, too, for that matter. The best +suit I ever put on never gave me a hundredth part the satisfaction that +this did. Shortly after, I managed to subdue my aversion so far as to +take a good shoe which a one-legged dead man had no farther use for, and +a little later a comrade gave me for the other foot a boot bottom from +which he had cut the top to make a bucket. + + ........................... + +The day of the Presidential election of 1864 approached. The Rebels were +naturally very much interested in the result, as they believed that the +election of McClellan meant compromise and cessation of hostilities, +while the re-election of Lincoln meant prosecution of the War to the +bitter end. The toadying Raiders, who were perpetually hanging around +the gate to get a chance to insinuate themselves into the favor of the +Rebel officers, persuaded them that we were all so bitterly hostile to +our Government for not exchanging us that if we were allowed to vote we +would cast an overwhelming majority in favor of McClellan. + +The Rebels thought that this might perhaps be used to advantage as +political capital for their friends in the North. They gave orders that +we might, if we chose, hold an election on the same day of the +Presidential election. They sent in some ballot boxes, and we elected +Judges of the Election. + +About noon of that day Captain Bowes, and a crowd of tightbooted, broad- +hatted Rebel officers, strutted in with the peculiar "Ef-yer-don't- +b'lieve--I'm-a-butcher-jest-smell-o'-mebutes" swagger characteristic of +the class. They had come in to see us all voting for McClellan. +Instead, they found the polls surrounded with ticket pedlers shouting: + +"Walk right up here now, and get your Unconditional-Union-Abraham-Lincoln +-tickets!" + +"Here's your straight-haired prosecution-of-the-war ticket." + +"Vote the Lincoln ticket; vote to whip the Rebels, and make peace with +them when they've laid down their arms." + +"Don't vote a McClellan ticket and gratify Rebels, everywhere," etc. + +The Rebel officers did not find the scene what their fancy painted it, +and turning around they strutted out. + +When the votes came to be counted out there were over seven thousand for +Lincoln, and not half that many hundred for McClellan. The latter got +very few votes outside the Raider crowd. The same day a similar election +was held in Florence, with like result. Of course this did not indicate +that there was any such a preponderance of Republicans among us. +It meant simply that the Democratic boys, little as they might have liked +Lincoln, would have voted for him a hundred times rather than do anything +to please the Rebels. + +I never heard that the Rebels sent the result North. + + + + +CHAPTER LXI. + +THE REBELS FORMALLY PROPOSE TO US TO DESERT TO THEM--CONTUMELIOUS +TREATMENT OF THE PROPOSITION--THEIR RAGE--AN EXCITING TIME--AN OUTBREAK +THREATENED--DIFFICULTIES ATTENDING DESERTION TO THE REBELS. + +One day in November, some little time after the occurrences narrated in +the last chapter, orders came in to make out rolls of all those who were +born outside of the United States, and whose terms of service had +expired. + +We held a little council among ourselves as to the meaning of this, and +concluded that some partial exchange had been agreed on, and the Rebels +were going to send back the class of boys whom they thought would be of +least value to the Government. Acting on this conclusion the great +majority of us enrolled ourselves as foreigners, and as having served out +our terms. I made out the roll of my hundred, and managed to give every +man a foreign nativity. Those whose names would bear it were assigned to +England, Ireland, Scotland France and Germany, and the balance were +distributed through Canada and the West Indies. After finishing the roll +and sending it out, I did not wonder that the Rebels believed the battles +for the Union were fought by foreign mercenaries. The other rolls were +made out in the same way, and I do not suppose that they showed five +hundred native Americans in the Stockade. + +The next day after sending out the rolls, there came an order that all +those whose names appeared thereon should fall in. We did so, promptly, +and as nearly every man in camp was included, we fell in as for other +purposes, by hundreds and thousands. We were then marched outside, and +massed around a stump on which stood a Rebel officer, evidently waiting +to make us a speech. We awaited his remarks with the greatest +impatience, but He did not begin until the last division had marched out +and came to a parade rest close to the stump. + +It was the same old story: + +"Prisoners, you can no longer have any doubt that your Government has +cruelly abandoned you; it makes no efforts to release you, and refuses +all our offers of exchange. We are anxious to get our men back, and have +made every effort to do so, but it refuses to meet us on any reasonable +grounds. Your Secretary of War has said that the Government can get +along very well without you, and General Halleck has said that you were +nothing but a set of blackberry pickers and coffee boilers anyhow. + +"You've already endured much more than it could expect of you; you served +it faithfully during the term you enlisted for, and now, when it is +through with you, it throws you aside to starve and die. You also can +have no doubt that the Southern Confederacy is certain to succeed in +securing its independence. It will do this in a few months. It now +offers you an opportunity to join its service, and if you serve it +faithfully to the end, you will receive the same rewards as the rest of +its soldiers. You will be taken out of here, be well clothed and fed, +given a good bounty, and, at the conclusion of the War receive a land +warrant for a nice farm. If you"-- + +But we had heard enough. The Sergeant of our division--a man with a +stentorian voice sprang out and shouted: + +"Attention, first Division!" + +We Sergeants of hundreds repeated the command down the line. Shouted he: + +"First Division, about--" + +Said we: + +"First Hundred, about--" + +"Second Hundred, about--" + +"Third Hundred, about--" + +"Fourth Hundred, about--" etc., etc. + +Said he:-- + +"FACE!!" + +Ten Sergeants repeated "Face!" one after the other, and each man in the +hundreds turned on his heel. Then our leader commanded-- + +"First Division, forward! MARCH!" and we strode back into the Stockade, +followed immediately by all the other divisions, leaving the orator still +standing on the stump. + +The Rebels were furious at this curt way of replying. We had scarcely +reached our quarters when they came in with several companies, with +loaded guns and fixed bayonets. They drove us out of our tents and huts, +into one corner, under the pretense of hunting axes and spades, but in +reality to steal our blankets, and whatever else they could find that +they wanted, and to break down and injure our huts, many of which, +costing us days of patient labor, they destroyed in pure wantonness. + +We were burning with the bitterest indignation. A tall, slender man +named Lloyd, a member of the Sixty-First Ohio--a rough, uneducated +fellow, but brim full of patriotism and manly common sense, jumped up on +a stump and poured out his soul in rude but fiery eloquence: "Comrades," +he said, "do not let the blowing of these Rebel whelps discourage you; +pay no attention to the lies they have told you to-day; you know well +that our Government is too honorable and just to desert any one who +serves it; it has not deserted us; their hell-born Confederacy is not +going to succeed. I tell you that as sure as there is a God who reigns +and judges in Israel, before the Spring breezes stir the tops of these +blasted old pines their Confederacy and all the lousy graybacks who +support it will be so deep in hell that nothing but a search warrant from +the throne of God Almighty can ever find it again. And the glorious old +Stars and Stripes--" + +Here we began cheering tremendously. A Rebel Captain came running up, +said to the guard, who was leaning on his gun, gazing curiously at Lloyd: + +"What in ---- are you standing gaping there for? Why don't you shoot the +---- ---- Yankee son---- -- - -----?" and snatching the gun away from +him, cocked and leveled it at Lloyd, but the boys near jerked the speaker +down from the stump and saved his life. + +We became fearfully, wrought up. Some of the more excitable shouted out +to charge on the line of guards, snatch they guns away from them, and +force our way through the gate The shouts were taken up by others, and, +as if in obedience to the suggestion, we instinctively formed in line-of- +battle facing the guards. A glance down the line showed me an array of +desperate, tensely drawn faces, such as one sees who looks a men when +they are summoning up all their resolution for some deed of great peril. +The Rebel officers hastily retreated behind the line of guards, whose +faces blanched, but they leveled the muskets and prepared to receive us. + +Captain Bowes, who was overlooking the prison from an elevation outside, +had, however, divined the trouble at the outset, an was preparing to meet +it. The gunners, who had shotted the pieces and trained them upon us +when we came out to listen t the speech, had again covered us with them, +and were ready to sweep the prison with grape and canister at the instant +of command. The long roll was summoning the infantry regiments back into +line, and some of the cooler-headed among us pointed these facts out and +succeeded in getting the line to dissolve again into groups of muttering, +sullen-faced men. When this was done, the guards marched out, by a +cautious indirect maneuver, so as not to turn their backs to us. + +It was believed that we had some among us who would like to avail +themselves of the offer of the Rebels, and that they would try to inform +the Rebels of their desires by going to the gate during the night and +speaking to the Officer-of-the-Guard. A squad armed themselves with +clubs and laid in wait for these. They succeeded in catching several-- +snatching some of then back even after they had told the guard their +wishes in a tone so loud that all near could hear distinctly. The +Officer-of-the-Guard rushed in two or three times in a vain attempt to +save the would be deserter from the cruel hands that clutched him and +bore him away to where he had a lesson in loyalty impressed upon the +fleshiest part of his person by a long, flexible strip of pine wielded by +very willing hands. + +After this was kept up for several nights different ideas began I to +prevail. It was felt that if a man wanted to join the Rebels, the best +way was to let him go and get rid of him. He was of no benefit to the +Government, and would be of none to the Rebels. After this no +restriction was put upon any one who desired to go outside and take the +oath. But very few did so, however, and these were wholly confined to +the Raider crowd. + + + + +End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of Andersonville, v3 +by John McElroy + diff --git a/old/an03v10.zip b/old/an03v10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0106668 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/an03v10.zip diff --git a/old/an03v10h.html b/old/an03v10h.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d806f7d --- /dev/null +++ b/old/an03v10h.html @@ -0,0 +1,6326 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<title>NEW TITLE</title> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> +<style type="text/css"> +<!-- +body {background:#faebd7; margin:10%; text-align:justify} +h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {color:brown} +blockquote {font:smaller} +P {font-size:"14pt"} +p.poem {text-align:center} +p.external {font:bold} +--> +</style> +</head> +<body> + +<h2>ANDERSONVILLE, By John McElroy, v3</h2> +<pre> +The Project Gutenberg Etext of Andersonville, by John McElroy, v3 +#5 in our series by John McElroy + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**EBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These EBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers***** + + +Title: Andersonville, [A Story of Rebel Military Prisons], Volume 3 + +Author: John McElroy + +Release Date: July, 2003 [EBook #4259] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on December 25, 2001] +[This file was last updated on August 30, 2002] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + + + + + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANDERSONVILLE, BY McELROY, V3 *** + + + +This eBook was produced by David Widger [widger@cecomet.net] +</pre> +<br> +<hr> +<br><br><br><br><br><br> + + + +<center> +<h1> ANDERSONVILLE</h1> +<h2> A STORY OF REBEL MILITARY PRISONS</h2> +<br> +<h3> FIFTEEN MONTHS A GUEST OF THE SO-CALLED</h3> +<h3> SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY</h3> +<br> +<h3> A PRIVATE SOLDIERS EXPERIENCE</h3> +<h3> IN</h3> +<h3> RICHMOND, ANDERSONVILLE, SAVANNAH, MILLEN</h3> +<h3> BLACKSHEAR AND FLORENCE</h3> +<br> +<h3> BY JOHN McELROY</h3> +<h3> Late of Co. L. 16th Ill Cav.</h3> +<h3> 1879</h3> + +<br><br> <h3> Volume 3.</h3> + +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<center><a name="cover"></a><img alt="cover.jpg (204K)" src="cover.jpg" height="700" width="600"> +</center> + +<br><br><br><br> +<h2>TO THE HONORABLE</h2> +<br> +<center> +<h3> NOAH H. SWAYNE.</h3> +<br> +<h3> JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES,</h3> +<h3> A JURIST OF DISTINGUISHED TALENTS AND EXALTED CHARACTER;</h3> +<h3> ONE OF THE LAST OF THAT</h3> +<h3> ADMIRABLE ARRAY OF PURE PATRIOTS AND SAGACIOUS COUNSELORS,</h3> +<h3> WHO, IN</h3> +<h3> THE YEARS OF THE NATION'S TRIAL,</h3> +<h3> FAITHFULLY SURROUNDED THE GREAT PRESIDENT,</h3> +<h3> AND, WITH HIM, BORE THE BURDEN</h3> +<h3> OF</h3> +<h3> THOSE MOMENTOUS DAYS;</h3> +<h3> AND WHOSE WISDOM AND FAIRNESS HAVE DONE SO MUCH SINCE</h3> +<h3> TO</h3> +<h3> CONSERVE WHAT WAS THEN WON,</h3> +<h3> THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED WITH RESPECT AND APPRECIATION,</h3> +<br> +<h3> BY THE AUTHOR.</h3> +</center> + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p000"></a><img alt="p000.jpg (129K)" src="p000.jpg" height="400" width="650"> +</center> +<a href="p000.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Full Size" src="none"></a> +<br><br><br><br> + +<h2>CONTENTS:</h2> +<br><br> + +<h3><a href="#ch41">CHAPTER XLI.</a> +</h3><p>CLOTHING: ITS RAPID DETERIORATION, AND DEVICES TO REPLENISH IT--DESPERATE +EFFORTS TO COVER NAKEDNESS--"LITTLE RED CAP" AND HIS LETTER. + +<h3><a href="#ch42">CHAPTER XLII.</a> +</h3><p>SOME FEATURES OF THE MORTALITY--PERCENTAGE OF DEATHS TO THOSE LIVING-- +AN AVERAGE MEAN ONLY STANDS THE MISERY THREE MONTHS--DESCRIPTION OF THE +PRISON AND THE CONDITION OF THE MEN THEREIN, BY A LEADING SCIENTIFIC MAN +OF THE SOUTH. + +<h3><a href="#ch43">CHAPTER XLIII.</a> +</h3><p>DIFFICULTY OF EXERCISING--EMBARRASSMENTS OF A MORNING WALK--THE RIALTO +OF THE PRISON--CURSING THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY--THE STORY OF THE BATTLE +OF SPOTTSYLVANIA COURTHOUSE. + +<h3><a href="#ch44">CHAPTER XLIV.</a> +</h3><p>REBEL MUSIC--SINGULAR LACK OF THE CREATIVE POWER AMONG THE SOUTHERNERS-- +CONTRAST WITH SIMILAR PEOPLE ELSEWHERE--THEIR FAVORITE MUSIC, AND WHERE +IT WAS BORROWED FROM--A FIFER WITH ONE TUNE. + +<h3><a href="#ch45">CHAPTER XLV.</a> +</h3><p>AUGUST--NEEDLES STUCK IN PUMPKIN SEEDS--SOME PHENOMENA OF STARVATION-- +RIOTING IN REMEMBERED LUXURIES. + +<h3><a href="#ch46">CHAPTER XLVI.</a> +</h3><p>SURLY BRITON--THE STOLID COURAGE THAT MAKES THE ENGLISH FLAG A BANNER OF +TRIUMPH--OUR COMPANY BUGLER, HIS CHARACTERISTICS AND HIS DEATH--URGENT +DEMAND FOR MECHANICS--NONE WANT TO GO--TREATMENT OF A REBEL SHOEMAKER-- +ENLARGEMENT OF THE STOCKADE--IT IS BROKEN BY A STORM-- +THE WONDERFUL SPRING. + +<h3><a href="#ch47">CHAPTER XLVII.</a> +</h3><p>"SICK CALL," AND THE SCENES THAT ACCOMPANIED IT--MUSTERING THE LAME, HALT +AND DISEASED AT THE SOUTH GATE--AN UNUSUALLY BAD CASE--GOING OUT TO THE +HOSPITAL--ACCOMMODATION AND TREATMENT OF THE PATIENTS THERE--THE HORRIBLE +SUFFERING IN THE GANGRENE WARD--BUNGLING AMPUTATIONS BY BLUNDERING +PRACTITIONERS--AFFECTION BETWEEN A SAILOR AND HIS WARD-- +DEATH OF MY COMRADE. + +<h3><a href="#ch48">CHAPTER XLVIII.</a> +</h3><p>DETERMINATION TO ESCAPE--DIFFERENT PLANS AND THEIR MERITS--I PREFER THE +APPALACHICOLA ROUTE--PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE--A HOT DAY--THE FENCE +PASSED SUCCESSFULLY PURSUED BY THE HOUNDS--CAUGHT-- +RETURNED TO THE STOCKADE. + +<h3><a href="#ch49">CHAPTER XLIX.</a> +</h3><p>AUGUST--GOOD LUCK IN NOT MEETING CAPTAIN WIRZ--THAT WORTHY'S TREATMENT OF +RECAPTURED PRISONERS--SECRET SOCIETIES IN PRISON--SINGULAR MEETING AND +ITS RESULT--DISCOVERY AND REMOVAL OF THE OFFICERS AMONG THE ENLISTED MEN. + +<h3><a href="#ch50">CHAPTER L</a> +</h3><p>FOOD--THE MEAGERNESS, INFERIOR QUALITY, AND TERRIBLE SAMENESS-- +REBEL TESTIMONY ON THE SUBJECT--FUTILITY OF SUCCESSFUL EXPLANATION. + +<h3><a href="#ch51">CHAPTER LI.</a> +</h3><p>SOLICITUDE AS TO THE FATE OF ATLANTA AND SHERMAN'S ARMY--PAUCITY OF NEWS +--HOW WE HEARD THAT ATLANTA HAD FALLEN--ANNOUNCEMENT OF A GENERAL +EXCHANGE--WE LEAVE ANDERSONVILLE. + +<h3><a href="#ch52">CHAPTER LII.</a> +</h3><p>SAVANNAH--DEVICES TO OBTAIN MATERIALS FOR A TENT--THEIR ULTIMATE SUCCESS +--RESUMPTION OF TUNNELING--ESCAPING BY WHOLESALE AND BEING RECAPTURED EN +MASSE--THE OBSTACLES THAT LAY BETWEEN US AND OUR LINES. + +<h3><a href="#ch53">CHAPTER LIII.</a> +</h3><p>FRANK REVERSTOCK'S ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE--PASSING OFF AS REBEL BOY HE REACHES +GRISWOLDVILLE BY RAIL, AND THEN STRIKES ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOR SHERMAN, +BUT IS CAUGHT WITHIN TWENTY MILES OF OUR LINES. + +<h3><a href="#ch54">CHAPTER LIV.</a> +</h3><p>SAVANNAH PROVES TO BE A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER--ESCAPE FROM THE BRATS OF +GUARDS--COMPARISON BETWEEN WIRZ AND DAVIS--A BRIEF INTERVAL OF GOOD +RATIONS--WINDER, THE MAN WITH THE EVIL EYE-- +THE DISLOYAL WORK OF A SHYSTER. + +<h3><a href="#ch55">CHAPTER LV.</a> +</h3><p>WHY WE WERE HURRIED OUT OF ANDERSONVILLE--THE OF THE FALL OF ATLANTA-- +OUR LONGING TO HEAR THE NEWS--ARRIVAL OF SOME FRESH FISH--HOW WE KNEW +THEY WERE WESTERN BOYS--DIFFERENCE IN THE APPEARANCE OF THE SOLDIERS OF +THE TWO ARMIES. + +<h3><a href="#ch56">CHAPTER LVI.</a> +</h3><p>WHAT CAUSED THE FALL OF ATLANTA--A DISSERTATION UPON AN IMPORTANT +PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEM--THE BATTLE OF JONESBORO--WHY IT WAS FOUGHT-- +HOW SHERMAN DECEIVED HOOD--A DESPERATE BAYONET CHARGE, AND THE ONLY +SUCCESSFUL ONE IN THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN--A GALLANT COLONEL AND HOW HE +DIED--THE HEROISM OF SOME ENLISTED MEN--GOING CALMLY INTO CERTAIN DEATH. + +<h3><a href="#ch57">CHAPTER LVII.</a> +</h3><p>A FAIR SACRIFICE--THE STORY OF ONE BOY WHO WILLINGLY GAVE HIS YOUNG LIFE +FOR HIS COUNTRY. + +<h3><a href="#ch58">CHAPTER LVIII.</a> +</h3><p>WE LEAVE SAVANNAH--MORE HOPES OF EXCHANGE--SCENES AT DEPARTURE-- +"FLANKERS"--ON THE BACK TRACK TOWARD ANDERSONVILLE--ALARM THEREAT-- +AT THE PARTING OF TWO WAYS--WE FINALLY BRING UP AT CAMP LAWTON. + +<h3><a href="#ch59">CHAPTER LIX.</a> +</h3><p>OUR NEW QUARTERS AT CAMP LAWTON--BUILDING A HUT--AN EXCEPTIONAL +COMMANDANT--HE IS a GOOD MAN, BUT WILL TAKE BRIBES--RATIONS. + +<h3><a href="#ch60">CHAPTER LX.</a> +</h3><p>THE RAIDERS REAPPEAR ON THE SCENE--THE ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE THOSE WHO +WERE CONCERNED IN THE EXECUTION--A COUPLE OF LIVELY FIGHTS, IN WHICH THE +RAIDERS ARE DEFEATED--HOLDING AN ELECTION. + +<br><br><br><br> +<br><br> + +<h3><a href="#ILLUSTRATIONS">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</a></h3> + +<br><a href="#p287">74. The Author's Appearance on Entering Prison</a> +<br><a href="#p288">75. His Appearance in July, 1864</a> +<br><a href="#p291">76. Little Red Cap</a> +<br><a href="#p293">77. "Fresh Fish"</a> +<br><a href="#p295">78. Interior of the Stockade, Viewed from the Southwest</a> +<br><a href="#p301">79. Burying the Dead</a> +<br><a href="#p311">80. The Graveyard at Andersonville, as the Rebels Left It</a> +<br><a href="#p325">81. Denouncing the Southern Confederacy</a> +<br><a href="#p328">82. The Charge</a> +<br><a href="#p338">83. "Flagstaff"</a> +<br><a href="#p339">84. Nursing a Sick Comrade</a> +<br><a href="#p344">65. A Dream</a> +<br><a href="#p346">86. The English Bugler</a> +<br><a href="#p351">87. The Break in the Stockade</a> +<br><a href="#p353">88. At the Spring</a> +<br><a href="#p356">89. Morning Assemblage of Sick at the South Gate</a> +<br><a href="#p361">91. Old Sailor and Chicken</a> +<br><a href="#p363">92. Death of Watts</a> +<br><a href="#p365">93. Planning Escape</a> +<br><a href="#p370">94. Our Progress was Terribly Slow--Every Step Hurt Fearfully</a> +<br><a href="#p372">95. "Come Ashore, There, Quick"</a> +<br><a href="#p375">96. He Shrieked Imprecations and Curses</a> +<br><a href="#p376">97. The Chain Gang</a> +<br><a href="#p386">98. Interior of the Stockade--The Creek at the East Side</a> +<br><a href="#p389">99. A Section from the East Side of the Prison Showing the Dead Line</a> +<br><a href="#p395">100. "Half-past Eight O'clock, and Atlanta's Gone to H--l!"</a> +<br><a href="#p397">101. Off for "God's Country"</a> +<br><a href="#p399">102. Georgian Development of the "Proud Caucasian"</a> +<br><a href="#p405">103. It was Very Unpleasant When a Storm Came Up</a> +<br><a href="#p406">104. When We Matched Our Intellects Against a Rebel's</a> +<br><a href="#p410">107. His New Idea was to have a Heavily Laden Cart Driven Around Inside the Dead Line</a> +<br><a href="#p411">108. They Stood Around the Gate and Yelled Derisively</a> +<br><a href="#p413">110. "See Heah; You Must Stand Back!"</a> +<br><a href="#p415">111. He Bade Them Goodbye</a> +<br><a href="#p422">112. "Wha-ah-ye!"</a> +<br><a href="#p445">114. One of Ferguson's Cavalry</a> +<br><a href="#p448">115. Then the Clear Blue Eyes and Well-remembered Smile</a> +<br><a href="#p454">117. Millen</a> +<br><a href="#p457">118. A House Builded With Our Own Own Hands</a> +<br><a href="#p459">119. Our First Meat</a> +<br><a href="#p463">120. A Lucky Find</a> + + +<br><br><br><br> + +<br><br><br><br> + +<h2><a name="ch41"></a>CHAPTER XLI. +</h2> +<p>CLOTHING: ITS RAPID DETERIORATION, AND DEVICES TO REPLENISH IT--DESPERATE +EFFORTS TO COVER NAKEDNESS--"LITTLE RED CAP" AND HIS LETTER. + +<p>Clothing had now become an object of real solicitude to us older +prisoners. The veterans of our crowd--the surviving remnant of those +captured at Gettysburg--had been prisoners over a year. The next in +seniority--the Chickamauga boys--had been in ten months. The Mine Run +fellows were eight months old, and my battalion had had seven months' +incarceration. None of us were models of well-dressed gentlemen when +captured. Our garments told the whole story of the hard campaigning we +had undergone. Now, with months of the wear and tear of prison life, +sleeping on the sand, working in tunnels, digging wells, etc., we were +tattered and torn to an extent that a second-class tramp would have +considered disgraceful. + +<p>This is no reflection upon the quality of the clothes furnished by the +Government. We simply reached the limit of the wear of textile fabrics. +I am particular to say this, because I want to contribute my little mite +towards doing justice to a badly abused part of our Army organization-- +the Quartermaster's Department. It is fashionable to speak of "shoddy," +and utter some stereotyped sneers about "brown paper shoes," and +"musketo-netting overcoats," when any discussion of the Quartermaster +service is the subject of conversation, but I have no hesitation in +asking the indorsement of my comrades to the statement that we have never +found anywhere else as durable garments as those furnished us by the +Government during our service in the Army. The clothes were not as fine +in texture, nor so stylish in cut as those we wore before or since, but +when it came to wear they could be relied on to the last thread. It was +always marvelous to me that they lasted so well, with the rough usage a +soldier in the field must necessarily give them. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p287"></a><img alt="p287.jpg (14K)" src="p287.jpg" height="425" width="191"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>But to return to my subject. I can best illustrate the way our clothes +dropped off us, piece by piece, like the petals from the last rose of +Summer, by taking my own case as an example: When I entered prison I was +clad in the ordinary garb of an enlisted man of the cavalry--stout, +comfortable boots, woolen pocks, drawers, pantaloons, with a +"reenforcement," or "ready-made patches," as the infantry called them; +vest, warm, snug-fitting jacket, under and over shirts, heavy overcoat, +and a forage-cap. First my boots fell into cureless ruin, but this was +no special hardship, as the weather had become quite warm, and it was +more pleasant than otherwise to go barefooted. Then part of the +underclothing retired from service. The jacket and vest followed, their +end being hastened by having their best portions taken to patch up the +pantaloons, which kept giving out at the most embarrassing places. Then +the cape of the overcoat was called upon to assist in repairing these +continually-recurring breaches in the nether garments. The same +insatiate demand finally consumed the whole coat, in a vain attempt to +prevent an exposure of person greater than consistent with the usages of +society. The pantaloons--or what, by courtesy, I called such, were a +monument of careful and ingenious, but hopeless, patching, that should +have called forth the admiration of a Florentine artist in mosaic. +I have been shown--in later years--many table tops, ornamented in +marquetry, inlaid with thousands of little bits of wood, cunningly +arranged, and patiently joined together. I always look at them with +interest, for I know the work spent upon them: I remember my +Andersonville pantaloons. + +<p>The clothing upon the upper part of my body had been reduced to the +remains of a knit undershirt. It had fallen into so many holes that it +looked like the coarse "riddles" through which ashes and gravel are +sifted. Wherever these holes were the sun had burned my back, breast and +shoulders deeply black. The parts covered by the threads and fragments +forming the boundaries of the holes, were still white. When I pulled my +alleged shirt off, to wash or to free it from some of its teeming +population, my skin showed a fine lace pattern in black and white, that +was very interesting to my comrades, and the subject of countless jokes +by them. + +<p>They used to descant loudly on the chaste elegance of the design, the +richness of the tracing, etc., and beg me to furnish them with a copy of +it when I got home, for their sisters to work window curtains or tidies +by. They were sure that so striking a novelty in patterns would be very +acceptable. I would reply to their witticisms in the language of +Portia's Prince of Morocco: + +<center><p> Mislike me not for my complexion-- +<p> The shadowed livery of the burning sun.</center> + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p288"></a><img alt="p288.jpg (11K)" src="p288.jpg" height="381" width="241"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>One of the stories told me in my childhood by an old negro nurse, was of +a poverty stricken little girl "who slept on the floor and was covered +with the door," and she once asked-- + +<p>"Mamma how do poor folks get along who haven't any door?" + +<p>In the same spirit I used to wonder how poor fellows got along who hadn't +any shirt. + +<p>One common way of keeping up one's clothing was by stealing mealsacks. +The meal furnished as rations was brought in in white cotton sacks. +Sergeants of detachments were required to return these when the rations +were issued the next day. I have before alluded to the general +incapacity of the Rebels to deal accurately with even simple numbers. +It was never very difficult for a shrewd Sergeant to make nine sacks +count as ten. After awhile the Rebels began to see through this sleight +of hand manipulation, and to check it. Then the Sergeants resorted to +the device of tearing the sacks in two, and turning each half in as a +whole one. The cotton cloth gained in this way was used for patching, +or, if a boy could succeed in beating the Rebels out of enough of it, +he would fabricate himself a shirt or a pair of pantaloons. We obtained +all our thread in the same way. A half of a sack, carefully raveled out, +would furnish a couple of handfuls of thread. Had it not been for this +resource all our sewing and mending would have come to a standstill. + +<p>Most of our needles were manufactured by ourselves from bones. A piece +of bone, split as near as possible to the required size, was carefully +rubbed down upon a brick, and then had an eye laboriously worked through +it with a bit of wire or something else available for the purpose. +The needles were about the size of ordinary darning needles, and answered +the purpose very well. + +<p>These devices gave one some conception of the way savages provide for the +wants of their lives. Time was with them, as with us, of little +importance. It was no loss of time to them, nor to us, to spend a large +portion of the waking hours of a week in fabricating a needle out of a +bone, where a civilized man could purchase a much better one with the +product of three minutes' labor. I do not think any red Indian of the +plains exceeded us in the patience with which we worked away at these +minutia of life's needs. + +<p>Of course the most common source of clothing was the dead, and no body +was carried out with any clothing on it that could be of service to the +survivors. The Plymouth Pilgrims, who were so well clothed on coming in, +and were now dying off very rapidly, furnished many good suits to cover +the nakedness of older, prisoners. Most of the prisoners from the Army +of the Potomac were well dressed, and as very many died within a month or +six weeks after their entrance, they left their clothes in pretty good +condition for those who constituted themselves their heirs, +administrators and assigns. + +<p>For my own part, I had the greatest aversion to wearing dead men's +clothes, and could only bring myself to it after I had been a year in +prison, and it became a question between doing that and freezing to +death. + +<p>Every new batch of prisoners was besieged with anxious inquiries on the +subject which lay closest to all our hearts: + +<p>"What are they doing about exchange!" + +<p>Nothing in human experience--save the anxious expectancy of a sail by +castaways on a desert island--could equal the intense eagerness with +which this question was asked, and the answer awaited. To thousands now +hanging on the verge of eternity it meant life or death. Between the +first day of July and the first of November over twelve thousand men +died, who would doubtless have lived had they been able to reach our +lines--"get to God's country," as we expressed it. + +<p>The new comers brought little reliable news of contemplated exchange. +There was none to bring in the first place, and in the next, soldiers in +active service in the field had other things to busy themselves with than +reading up the details of the negotiations between the Commissioners of +Exchange. They had all heard rumors, however, and by the time they +reached Andersonville, they had crystallized these into actual statements +of fact. A half hour after they entered the Stockade, a report like this +would spread like wildfire: + +<p>"An Army of the Potomac man has just come in, who was captured in front +of Petersburg. He says that he read in the New York Herald, the day +before he was taken, that an exchange had been agreed upon, and that our +ships had already started for Savannah to take us home." + +<p>Then our hopes would soar up like balloons. We fed ourselves on such +stuff from day to day, and doubtless many lives were greatly prolonged by +the continual encouragement. There was hardly a day when I did not say +to myself that I would much rather die than endure imprisonment another +month, and had I believed that another month would see me still there, +I am pretty certain that I should have ended the matter by crossing the +Dead Line. I was firmly resolved not to die the disgusting, agonizing +death that so many around me were dying. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p291"></a><img alt="p291.jpg (18K)" src="p291.jpg" height="441" width="295"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>One of our best purveyors of information was a bright, blue-eyed, fair- +haired little drummer boy, as handsome as a girl, well-bred as a lady, +and evidently the darling of some refined loving mother. He belonged, +I think, to some loyal Virginia regiment, was captured in one of the +actions in the Shenandoa Valley, and had been with us in Richmond. +We called him "Red Cap," from his wearing a jaunty, gold-laced, crimson +cap. Ordinarily, the smaller a drummer boy is the harder he is, but no +amount of attrition with rough men could coarse the ingrained refinement +of Red Cap's manners. He was between thirteen and fourteen, and it +seemed utterly shameful that men, calling themselves soldier should make +war on such a tender boy and drag him off to prison. + +<p>But no six-footer had a more soldierly heart than little Red Cap, and +none were more loyal to the cause. It was a pleasure to hear him tell +the story of the fights and movements his regiment had been engaged in. +He was a good observer and told his tale with boyish fervor. Shortly +after Wirz assumed command he took Red Cap into his office as an Orderly. +His bright face and winning manner; fascinated the women visitors at +headquarters, and numbers of them tried to adopt him, but with poor +success. Like the rest of us, he could see few charms in an existence +under the Rebel flag, and turned a deaf ear to their blandishments. +He kept his ears open to the conversation of the Rebel officers around +him, and frequently secured permission to visit the interior of the +Stockade, when he would communicate to us all that he has heard. +He received a flattering reception every time he cams in, and no orator +ever secured a more attentive audience than would gather around him to +listen to what he had to say. He was, beyond a doubt, the best known and +most popular person in the prison, and I know all the survivors of his +old admirer; share my great interest in him, and my curiosity as to +whether he yet lives, and whether his subsequent career has justified the +sanguine hopes we all had as to his future. I hope that if he sees this, +or any one who knows anything about him, he will communicate with me. +There are thousands who will be glad to hear from him. + +<p>A most remarkable coincidence occurred in regard to this comrade. +Several days after the above had been written, and "set up," but before +it had yet appeared in the paper, I received the following letter: +<blockquote><blockquote> +<p> ECKHART MINES, +<p> Alleghany County, Md., March 24. +</blockquote></blockquote> +<p>To the Editor of the BLADE: + +<p>Last evening I saw a copy of your paper, in which was a chapter or two of +a prison life of a soldier during the late war. I was forcibly struck +with the correctness of what he wrote, and the names of several of my old +comrades which he quoted: Hill, Limber Jim, etc., etc. I was a drummer +boy of Company I, Tenth West Virginia Infantry, and was fifteen years of +age a day or two after arriving in Andersonville, which was in the last +of February, 1884. Nineteen of my comrades were there with me, and, poor +fellows, they are there yet. I have no doubt that I would have remained +there, too, had I not been more fortunate. + +<p>I do not know who your soldier correspondent is, but assume to say that +from the following description he will remember having seen me in +Andersonville: I was the little boy that for three or four months +officiated as orderly for Captain Wirz. I wore a red cap, and every day +could be seen riding Wirz's gray mare, either at headquarters, or about +the Stockade. I was acting in this capacity when the six raiders-- +"Mosby," (proper name Collins) Delaney, Curtis, and--I forget the other +names--were executed. I believe that I was the first that conveyed the +intelligence to them that Confederate General Winder had approved their +sentence. As soon as Wirz received the dispatch to that effect, I ran +down to the stocks and told them. + +<p>I visited Hill, of Wauseon, Fulton County, O., since the war, and found +him hale and hearty. I have not heard from him for a number of years +until reading your correspondent's letter last evening. It is the only +letter of the series that I have seen, but after reading that one, I feel +called upon to certify that I have no doubts of the truthfulness of your +correspondent's story. The world will never know or believe the horrors +of Andersonville and other prisons in the South. No living, human being, +in my judgment, will ever be able to properly paint the horrors of those +infernal dens. + +<p>I formed the acquaintance of several Ohio soldiers whilst in prison. +Among these were O. D. Streeter, of Cleveland, who went to Andersonville +about the same time that I did, and escaped, and was the only man that I +ever knew that escaped and reached our lines. After an absence of +several months he was retaken in one of Sherman's battles before Atlanta, +and brought back. I also knew John L. Richards, of Fostoria, Seneca +County, O. or Eaglesville, Wood County. Also, a man by the name of +Beverly, who was a partner of Charley Aucklebv, of Tennessee. I would +like to hear from all of these parties. They all know me. + +<p>Mr. Editor, I will close by wishing all my comrades who shared in the +sufferings and dangers of Confederate prisons, a long and useful life. +<blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote> +<p> Yours truly, +<p> RANSOM T. POWELL +</blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote> + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p293"></a><img alt="p293.jpg (34K)" src="p293.jpg" height="443" width="523"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br><br><br> + +<h2><a name="ch42"></a>CHAPTER XLII +</h2> +<h3>SOME FEATURES OF THE MORTALITY--PERCENTAGE OF DEATHS TO THOSE LIVING-- +AN AVERAGE MEAN ONLY STANDS THE MISERY THREE MONTHS--DESCRIPTION OF THE +PRISON AND THE CONDITION OF THE MEN THEREIN, BY A LEADING SCIENTIFIC MAN +OF THE SOUTH.</h3> + +<p>Speaking of the manner in which the Plymouth Pilgrims were now dying, +I am reminded of my theory that the ordinary man's endurance of this +prison life did not average over three months. The Plymouth boys arrived +in May; the bulk of those who died passed away in July and August. +The great increase of prisoners from all sources was in May, June and +July. The greatest mortality among these was in August, September and +October. + +<p>Many came in who had been in good health during their service in the +field, but who seemed utterly overwhelmed by the appalling misery they +saw on every hand, and giving way to despondency, died in a few days or +weeks. I do not mean to include them in the above class, as their +sickness was more mental than physical. my idea is that, taking one +hundred ordinarily healthful young soldiers from a regiment in active +service, and putting them into Andersonville, by the end of the third +month at least thirty-three of those weakest and most vulnerable to +disease would have succumbed to the exposure, the pollution of ground and +air, and the insufficiency of the ration of coarse corn meal. After this +the mortality would be somewhat less, say at the end of six months fifty +of them would be dead. The remainder would hang on still more +tenaciously, and at the end of a year there would be fifteen or twenty +still alive. There were sixty-three of my company taken; thirteen lived +through. I believe this was about the usual proportion for those who +were in as long as we. In all there were forty-five thousand six hundred +and thirteen prisoners brought into Andersonville. Of these twelve +thousand nine hundred and twelve died there, to say nothing of thousands +that died in other prisons in Georgia and the Carolinas, immediately +after their removal from Andersonville. One of every three and a-half +men upon whom the gates of the Stockade closed never repassed them alive. +Twenty-nine per cent. of the boys who so much as set foot in +Andersonville died there. Let it be kept in mind all the time, that the +average stay of a prisoner there was not four months. The great majority +came in after the 1st of May, and left before the middle of September. +May 1, 1864, there were ten thousand four hundred and twenty-seven in the +Stockade. August 8 there were thirty-three thousand one hundred and +fourteen; September 30 all these were dead or gone, except eight thousand +two hundred and eighteen, of whom four thousand five hundred and ninety +died inside of the next thirty days. The records of the world can shove +no parallel to this astounding mortality. + +<p>Since the above matter was first published in the BLADE, a friend has +sent me a transcript of the evidence at the Wirz trial, of Professor +Joseph Jones, a Surgeon of high rank in the Rebel Army, and who stood at +the head of the medical profession in Georgia. He visited Andersonville +at the instance of the Surgeon-General of the Confederate States' Army, +to make a study, for the benefit of science, of the phenomena of disease +occurring there. His capacity and opportunities for observation, and for +clearly estimating the value of the facts coming under his notice were, +of course, vastly superior to mine, and as he states the case stronger +than I dare to, for fear of being accused of exaggeration and downright +untruth, I reproduce the major part of his testimony--embodying also his +official report to medical headquarters at Richmond--that my readers may +know how the prison appeared to the eyes of one who, though a bitter +Rebel, was still a humane man and a conscientious observer, striving to +learn the truth: + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p295"></a><img alt="p295.jpg (126K)" src="p295.jpg" height="420" width="663"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + + <h2>MEDICAL TESTIMONY.</h2> + +<p>[Transcript from the printed testimony at the Wirz Trial, pages 618 to +639, inclusive.] +<blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote> +<p> OCTOBER 7, 1885. +</blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote> +<p>Dr. Joseph Jones, for the prosecution: + +<p>By the Judge Advocate: + +<p>Question. Where do you reside + +<p>Answer. In Augusta, Georgia. + +<p>Q. Are you a graduate of any medical college? + +<p>A. Of the University of Pennsylvania. + +<p>Q. How long have you been engaged in the practice of medicine? + +<p>A. Eight years. + +<p>Q. Has your experience been as a practitioner, or rather as an +investigator of medicine as a science? + +<p>A. Both. + +<p>Q. What position do you hold now? + +<p>A. That of Medical Chemist in the Medical College of Georgia, at +Augusta. + +<p>Q. How long have you held your position in that college? + +<p>A. Since 1858. + +<p>Q. How were you employed during the Rebellion? + +<p>A. I served six months in the early part of it as a private in the +ranks, and the rest of the time in the medical department. + +<p>Q. Under the direction of whom? + +<p>A. Under the direction of Dr. Moore, Surgeon General. + +<p>Q. Did you, while acting under his direction, visit Andersonville, +professionally? + +<p>A. Yes, Sir. + +<p>Q. For the purpose of making investigations there? + +<p>A. For the purpose of prosecuting investigations ordered by the Surgeon +General. + +<p>Q. You went there in obedience to a letter of instructions? + +<p>A. In obedience to orders which I received. + +<p>Q. Did you reduce the results of your investigations to the shape of a +report? + +<p>A. I was engaged at that work when General Johnston surrendered his +army. + +<p>(A document being handed to witness.) + +<p>Q. Have you examined this extract from your report and compared it with +the original? + +<p>A. Yes, Sir; I have. + +<p>Q. Is it accurate? + +<p>A. So far as my examination extended, it is accurate.' + +<p>The document just examined by witness was offered in evidence, and is as +follows: + +<p>Observations upon the diseases of the Federal prisoners, confined to Camp +Sumter, Andersonville, in Sumter County, Georgia, instituted with a view +to illustrate chiefly the origin and causes of hospital gangrene, the +relations of continued and malarial fevers, and the pathology of camp +diarrhea and dysentery, by Joseph Jones; Surgeon P. A. C. S., Professor +of Medical Chemistry in the Medical College of Georgia, at Augusta, +Georgia. + +<p> +Hearing of the unusual mortality among the Federal prisoners confined at +Andersonville; Georgia, in the month of August, 1864, during a visit to +Richmond, Va., I expressed to the Surgeon General, S. P. Moore, +Confederate States of America, a desire to visit Camp Sumter, with the +design of instituting a series of inquiries upon the nature and causes of +the prevailing diseases. Smallpox had appeared among the prisoners, and +I believed that this would prove an admirable field for the establishment +of its characteristic lesions. The condition of Peyer's glands in this +disease was considered as worthy of minute investigation. It was +believed that a large body of men from the Northern portion of the United +States, suddenly transported to a warm Southern climate, and confined +upon a small portion of land, would furnish an excellent field for the +investigation of the relations of typhus, typhoid, and malarial fevers. + +<p>The Surgeon General of the Confederate States of America furnished me +with the following letter of introduction to the Surgeon in charge of the +Confederate States Military Prison at Andersonville, Ga.: +<br><br><br> +<blockquote><blockquote> +<p> CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, +<p> SURGEON GENERAL'S OFFICE, RICHMOND, VA., +<p> August 6, 1864. +</blockquote></blockquote> +<p>SIR:--The field of pathological investigations afforded by the large +collection of Federal prisoners in Georgia, is of great extant and +importance, and it is believed that results of value to the profession +may be obtained by careful investigation of the effects of disease upon +the large body of men subjected to a decided change of climate and those +circumstances peculiar to prison life. The Surgeon in charge of the +hospital for Federal prisoners, together with his assistants, will afford +every facility to Surgeon Joseph Jones, in the prosecution of the labors +ordered by the Surgeon General. Efficient assistance must be rendered +Surgeon Jones by the medical officers, not only in his examinations into +the causes and symptoms of the various diseases, but especially in the +arduous labors of post mortem examinations. + +<p>The medical officers will assist in the performance of such post-mortems +as Surgeon Jones may indicate, in order that this great field for +pathological investigation may be explored for the benefit of the Medical +Department of the Confederate Army. +<blockquote><blockquote> +<p> S. P. MOORE, Surgeon General. +</blockquote></blockquote> +<p>Surgeon ISAIAH H. WHITE, +<p> In charge of Hospital for Federal prisoners, Andersonville, Ga. +<br><br> +<p> +In compliance with this letter of the Surgeon General, Isaiah H. White, +Chief Surgeon of the post, and R. R. Stevenson, Surgeon in charge of the +Prison Hospital, afforded the necessary facilities for the prosecution of +my investigations among the sick outside of the Stockade. After the +completion of my labors in the military prison hospital, the following +communication was addressed to Brigadier General John H. Winder, in +consequence of the refusal on the part of the commandant of the interior +of the Confederate States Military Prison to admit me within the Stockade +upon the order of the Surgeon General: +<br><br><br> +<blockquote><blockquote> +<p> CAMP SUMTER, ANDERSONVILLE GA., +<p> September 16, 1864. +</blockquote></blockquote> +<p>GENERAL:--I respectfully request the commandant of the post of +Andersonville to grant me permission and to furnish the necessary pass +to visit the sick and medical officers within the Stockade of the +Confederate States Prison. I desire to institute certain inquiries +ordered by the Surgeon General. Surgeon Isaiah H. White, Chief Surgeon +of the post, and Surgeon R. R. Stevenson, in charge of the Prison +Hospital, have afforded me every facility for the prosecution of my +labors among the sick outside of the Stockade. +<blockquote><blockquote> +<p> Very respectfully, your obedient servant, +<p> JOSEPH JONES, Surgeon P. A. C. S. +</blockquote></blockquote> +<p>Brigadier General JOHN H. WINDER, +<p>Commandant, Post Andersonville. +<br><br><br> +<p> +In the absence of General Winder from the post, Captain Winder furnished +the following order: +<br> +<blockquote><blockquote> +<p> CAMP SUMTER, ANDERSONVILLE; +<p> September 17, 1864. +</blockquote></blockquote> + +<br><br> +<p>CAPTAIN:--You will permit Surgeon Joseph Jones, who has orders from the +Surgeon General, to visit the sick within the Stockade that are under +medical treatment. Surgeon Jones is ordered to make certain +investigations which may prove useful to his profession. By direction of +General Winder. + Very respectfully, + W. S. WINDER, A. A. G. + +<p>Captain H. WIRZ, Commanding Prison. +<br><br><br> +<blockquote><blockquote> + + <h3>Description of the Confederate States Military Prison Hospital at + Andersonville. Number of prisoners, physical condition, food, + clothing, habits, moral condition, diseases.</h3> +</blockquote></blockquote> +<p>The Confederate Military Prison at Andersonville, Ga., consists of a +strong Stockade, twenty feet in height, enclosing twenty-seven acres. +The Stockade is formed of strong pine logs, firmly planted in the ground. +The main Stockade is surrounded by two other similar rows of pine logs, +the middle Stockade being sixteen feet high, and the outer twelve feet. +These are intended for offense and defense. If the inner Stockade should +at any time be forced by the prisoners, the second forms another line of +defense; while in case of an attempt to deliver the prisoners by a force +operating upon the exterior, the outer line forms an admirable protection +to the Confederate troops, and a most formidable obstacle to cavalry or +infantry. The four angles of the outer line are strengthened by +earthworks upon commanding eminences, from which the cannon, in case of +an outbreak among the prisoners, may sweep the entire enclosure; and it +was designed to connect these works by a line of rifle pits, running zig- +zag, around the outer Stockade; those rifle pits have never been +completed. The ground enclosed by the innermost Stockade lies in the +form of a parallelogram, the larger diameter running almost due north and +south. This space includes the northern and southern opposing sides of +two hills, between which a stream of water runs from west to east. +The surface soil of these hills is composed chiefly of sand with varying +admixtures of clay and oxide of iron. The clay is sufficiently tenacious +to give a considerable degree of consistency to the soil. The internal +structure of the hills, as revealed by the deep wells, is similar to that +already described. The alternate layers of clay and sand, as well as the +oxide of iron, which forms in its various combinations a cement to the +sand, allow of extensive tunneling. The prisoners not only constructed +numerous dirt huts with balls of clay and sand, taken from the wells +which they have excavated all over those hills, but they have also, in +some cases, tunneled extensively from these wells. The lower portions of +these hills, bordering on the stream, are wet and boggy from the constant +oozing of water. The Stockade was built originally to accommodate only +ten thousand prisoners, and included at first seventeen acres. Near the +close of the month of June the area was enlarged by the addition of ten +acres. The ground added was situated on the northern slope of the +largest hill. + +<p>The average number of square feet of ground to each prisoner in August +1864: 35.7 + +<p>Within the circumscribed area of the Stockade the Federal prisoners were +compelled to perform all the offices of life--cooking, washing, the calls +of nature, exercise, and sleeping. During the month of March the prison +was less crowded than at any subsequent time, and then the average space +of ground to each prisoner was only 98.7 feet, or less than seven square +yards. The Federal prisoners were gathered from all parts of the +Confederate States east of the Mississippi, and crowded into the confined +space, until in the month of June the average number of square feet of +ground to each prisoner was only 33.2 or less than four square yards. +These figures represent the condition of the Stockade in a better light +even than it really was; for a considerable breadth of land along the +stream, flowing from west to east between the hills, was low and boggy, +and was covered with the excrement of the men, and thus rendered wholly +uninhabitable, and in fact useless for every purpose except that of +defecation. The pines and other small trees and shrubs, which originally +were scattered sparsely over these hills, were in a short time cut down +and consumed by the prisoners for firewood, and no shade tree was left in +the entire enclosure of the stockade. With their characteristic industry +and ingenuity, the Federals constructed for themselves small huts and +caves, and attempted to shield themselves from the rain and sun and night +damps and dew. But few tents were distributed to the prisoners, +and those were in most cases torn and rotten. In the location and +arrangement of these tents and huts no order appears to have been +followed; in fact, regular streets appear to be out of the question in so +crowded an area; especially too, as large bodies of prisoners were from +time to time added suddenly without any previous preparations. +The irregular arrangement of the huts and imperfect shelters was very +unfavorable for the maintenance of a proper system of police. + +<p>The police and internal economy of the prison was left almost entirely in +the hands of the prisoners themselves; the duties of the Confederate +soldiers acting as guards being limited to the occupation of the boxes +or lookouts ranged around the stockade at regular intervals, and to the +manning of the batteries at the angles of the prison. Even judicial +matters pertaining to themselves, as the detection and punishment of such +crimes as theft and murder appear to have been in a great measure +abandoned to the prisoners. A striking instance of this occurred in the +month of July, when the Federal prisoners within the Stockade tried, +condemned, and hanged six (6) of their own number, who had been convicted +of stealing and of robbing and murdering their fellow-prisoners. They +were all hung upon the same day, and thousands of the prisoners gathered +around to witness the execution. The Confederate authorities are said +not to have interfered with these proceedings. In this collection of men +from all parts of the world, every phase of human character was +represented; the stronger preyed upon the weaker, and even the sick who +were unable to defend themselves were robbed of their scanty supplies of +food and clothing. Dark stories were afloat, of men, both sick and well, +who were murdered at night, strangled to death by their comrades for +scant supplies of clothing or money. I heard a sick and wounded Federal +prisoner accuse his nurse, a fellow-prisoner of the United States Army, +of having stealthily, during his sleep inoculated his wounded arm with +gangrene, that he might destroy his life and fall heir to his clothing. +<br> +<center><p> ....................................</center> + +<p>The large number of men confined within the Stockade soon, under a +defective system of police, and with imperfect arrangements, covered the +surface of the low grounds with excrements. The sinks over the lower +portions of the stream were imperfect in their plan and structure, and +the excrements were in large measure deposited so near the borders of the +stream as not to be washed away, or else accumulated upon the low boggy +ground. The volume of water was not sufficient to wash away the feces, +and they accumulated in such quantities in the lower portion of the +stream as to form a mass of liquid excrement heavy rains caused the water +of the stream to rise, and as the arrangements for the passage of the +increased amounts of water out of the Stockade were insufficient, the +liquid feces overflowed the low grounds and covered them several inches, +after the subsidence of the waters. The action of the sun upon this +putrefying mass of excrements and fragments of bread and meat and bones +excited most rapid fermentation and developed a horrible stench. +Improvements were projected for the removal of the filth and for the +prevention of its accumulation, but they were only partially and +imperfectly carried out. As the forces of the prisoners were reduced by +confinement, want of exercise, improper diet, and by scurvy, diarrhea, +and dysentery, they were unable to evacuate their bowels within the +stream or along its banks, and the excrements were deposited at the very +doors of their tents. The vast majority appeared to lose all repulsion +to filth, and both sick and well disregarded all the laws of hygiene and +personal cleanliness. The accommodations for the sick were imperfect and +insufficient. From the organization of the prison, February 24, 1864, to +May 22, the sick were treated within the Stockade. In the crowded +condition of the Stockade, and with the tents and huts clustered thickly +around the hospital, it was impossible to secure proper ventilation or to +maintain the necessary police. The Federal prisoners also made frequent +forays upon the hospital stores and carried off the food and clothing of +the sick. The hospital was, on the 22d of May, removed to its present +site without the Stockade, and five acres of ground covered with oaks and +pines appropriated to the use of the sick. + +<p>The supply of medical officers has been insufficient from the foundation +of the prison. + +<p>The nurses and attendants upon the sick have been most generally Federal +prisoners, who in too many cases appear to have been devoid of moral +principle, and who not only neglected their duties, but were also engaged +in extensive robbing of the sick. + +<p>From the want of proper police and hygienic regulations alone it is not +wonderful that from February 24 to September 21, 1864, nine thousand four +hundred and seventy-nine deaths, nearly one-third the entire number of +prisoners, should have been recorded. I found the Stockade and hospital +in the following condition during my pathological investigations, +instituted in the month of September, 1864: +<br><br><br> + + <h3>STOCKADE, CONFEDERATE STATES MILITARY PRISON.</h3> + +<p>At the time of my visit to Andersonville a large number of Federal +prisoners had been removed to Millen, Savannah; Charleston, and other +parts of, the Confederacy, in anticipation of an advance of General +Sherman's forces from Atlanta, with the design of liberating their +captive brethren; however, about fifteen thousand prisoners remained +confined within the limits of the Stockade and Confederate States +Military Prison Hospital. + +<p>In the Stockade, with the exception of the damp lowlands bordering the +small stream, the surface was covered with huts, and small ragged tents +and parts of blankets and fragments of oil-cloth, coats, and blankets +stretched upon stacks. The tents and huts were not arranged according to +any order, and there was in most parts of the enclosure scarcely room for +two men to walk abreast between the tents and huts. + +<p>If one might judge from the large pieces of corn-bread scattered about in +every direction on the ground the prisoners were either very lavishly +supplied with this article of diet, or else this kind of food was not +relished by them. + +<p>Each day the dead from the Stockade were carried out by their fellow- +prisoners and deposited upon the ground under a bush arbor, just outside +of the Southwestern Gate. From thence they were carried in carts to the +burying ground, one-quarter of a mile northwest, of the Prison. The dead +were buried without coffins, side by side, in trenches four feet deep. + +<p>The low grounds bordering the stream were covered with human excrements +and filth of all kinds, which in many places appeared to be alive with +working maggots. An indescribable sickening stench arose from these +fermenting masses of human filth. + +<p>There were near five thousand seriously ill Federals in the Stockade and +Confederate States Military Prison Hospital, and the deaths exceeded one +hundred per day, and large numbers of the prisoners who were walking +about, and who had not been entered upon the sick reports, were suffering +from severe and incurable diarrhea, dysentery, and scurvy. The sick were +attended almost entirely by their fellow-prisoners, appointed as nurses, +and as they received but little attention, they were compelled to exert +themselves at all times to attend to the calls of nature, and hence they +retained the power of moving about to within a comparatively short period +of the close of life. Owing to the slow progress of the diseases most +prevalent, diarrhea, and chronic dysentery, the corpses were as a general +rule emaciated. + +<p>I visited two thousand sick within the Stockade, lying under some long +sheds which had been built at the northern portion for themselves. At +this time only one medical officer was in attendance, whereas at least +twenty medical officers should have been employed. + +<p>Died in the Stockade from its organization, February 24, 186l to +<p>September 2l ....................................................3,254 +<p>Died in Hospital during same time ...............................6,225 +<br> +<p>Total deaths in Hospital and Stockade ...........................9,479 + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p307"></a><img alt="p307.jpg (40K)" src="p307.jpg" height="401" width="513"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>Scurvy, diarrhea, dysentery, and hospital gangrene were the prevailing +diseases. I was surprised to find but few cases of malarial fever, and +no well-marked cases either of typhus or typhoid fever. The absence of +the different forms of malarial fever may be accounted for in the +supposition that the artificial atmosphere of the Stockade, crowded +densely with human beings and loaded with animal exhalations, +was unfavorable to the existence and action of the malarial poison. +The absence of typhoid and typhus fevers amongst all the causes which are +supposed to generate these diseases, appeared to be due to the fact that +the great majority of these prisoners had been in captivity in Virginia, +at Belle Island, and in other parts of the Confederacy for months, and +even as long as two years, and during this time they had been subjected +to the same bad influences, and those who had not had these fevers before +either had them during their confinement in Confederate prisons or else +their systems, from long exposure, were proof against their action. + +<p>The effects of scurvy were manifested on every hand, and in all its +various stages, from the muddy, pale complexion, pale gums, feeble, +languid muscular motions, lowness of spirits, and fetid breath, to the +dusky, dirty, leaden complexion, swollen features, spongy, purple, livid, +fungoid, bleeding gums, loose teeth, oedematous limbs, covered with livid +vibices, and petechiae spasmodically flexed, painful and hardened +extremities, spontaneous hemorrhages from mucous canals, and large, ill- +conditioned, spreading ulcers covered with a dark purplish fungus growth. +I observed that in some of the cases of scurvy the parotid glands were +greatly swollen, and in some instances to such an extent as to preclude +entirely the power to articulate. In several cases of dropsy of the +abdomen and lower extremities supervening upon scurvy, the patients +affirmed that previously to the appearance of the dropsy they had +suffered with profuse and obstinate diarrhea, and that when this was +checked by a change of diet, from Indian corn-bread baked with the husk, +to boiled rice, the dropsy appeared. The severe pains and livid patches +were frequently associated with swellings in various parts, and +especially in the lower extremities, accompanied with stiffness and +contractions of the knee joints and ankles, and often with a brawny feel +of the parts, as if lymph had been effused between the integuments and +apeneuroses, preventing the motion of the skin over the swollen parts. +Many of the prisoners believed that the scurvy was contagious, and I saw +men guarding their wells and springs, fearing lest some man suffering +with the scurvy might use the water and thus poison them. + +<p>I observed also numerous cases of hospital gangrene, and of spreading +scorbutic ulcers, which had supervened upon slight injuries. The +scorbutic ulcers presented a dark, purple fungoid, elevated surface, with +livid swollen edges, and exuded a thin; fetid, sanious fluid, instead of +pus. Many ulcers which originated from the scorbutic condition of the +system appeared to become truly gangrenous, assuming all the +characteristics of hospital gangrene. From the crowded condition, filthy +habits, bad diet, and dejected, depressed condition of the prisoners, +their systems had become so disordered that the smallest abrasion of the +skin, from the rubbing of a shoe, or from the effects of the sun, or from +the prick of a splinter, or from scratching, or a musketo bite, in some +cases, took on rapid and frightful ulceration and gangrene. The long use +of salt meat, ofttimes imperfectly cured, as well as the most total +deprivation of vegetables and fruit, appeared to be the chief causes of +the scurvy. I carefully examined the bakery and the bread furnished the +prisoners, and found that they were supplied almost entirely with corn- +bread from which the husk had not been separated. This husk acted as an +irritant to the alimentary canal, without adding any nutriment to the +bread. As far as my examination extended no fault could be found with +the mode in which the bread was baked; the difficulty lay in the failure +to separate the husk from the corn-meal. I strongly urged the +preparation of large quantities of soup made from the cow and calves' +heads with the brains and tongues, to which a liberal supply of sweet +potatos and vegetables might have been advantageously added. The +material existed in abundance for the preparation of such soup in large +quantities with but little additional expense. Such aliment would have +been not only highly nutritious, but it would also have acted as an +efficient remedial agent for the removal of the scorbutic condition. +The sick within the Stockade lay under several long sheds which were +originally built for barracks. These sheds covered two floors which were +open on all sides. The sick lay upon the bare boards, or upon such +ragged blankets as they possessed, without, as far as I observed, any +bedding or even straw. +<br> +<center><p> ............................</center> + +<p>The haggard, distressed countenances of these miserable, complaining, +dejected, living skeletons, crying for medical aid and food, and cursing +their Government for its refusal to exchange prisoners, and the ghastly +corpses, with their glazed eye balls staring up into vacant space, with +the flies swarming down their open and grinning mouths, and over their +ragged clothes, infested with numerous lice, as they lay amongst the sick +and dying, formed a picture of helpless, hopeless misery which it would +be impossible to portray bywords or by the brush. A feeling of +disappointment and even resentment on account of the United States +Government upon the subject of the exchange of prisoners, appeared to be +widespread, and the apparent hopeless nature of the negotiations for some +general exchange of prisoners appeared to be a cause of universal regret +and deep and injurious despondency. I heard some of the prisoners go so +far as to exonerate the Confederate Government from any charge of +intentionally subjecting them to a protracted confinement, with its +necessary and unavoidable sufferings, in a country cut off from all +intercourse with foreign nations, and sorely pressed on all sides, whilst +on the other hand they charged their prolonged captivity upon their own +Government, which was attempting to make the negro equal to the white +man. Some hundred or more of the prisoners had been released from +confinement in the Stockade on parole, and filled various offices as +clerks, druggists, and carpenters, etc., in the various departments. +These men were well clothed, and presented a stout and healthy +appearance, and as a general rule they presented a much more robust and +healthy appearance than the Confederate troops guarding the prisoners. + +<p>The entire grounds are surrounded by a frail board fence, and are +strictly guarded by Confederate soldiers, and no prisoner except the +paroled attendants is allowed to leave the grounds except by a special +permit from the Commandant of the Interior of the Prison. + +<p>The patients and attendants, near two thousand in number, are crowded +into this confined space and are but poorly supplied with old and ragged +tents. Large numbers of them were without any bunks in the tents, and +lay upon the ground, oft-times without even a blanket. No beds or straw +appeared to have been furnished. The tents extend to within a few yards +of the small stream, the eastern portion of which, as we have before +said, is used as a privy and is loaded with excrements; and I observed a +large pile of corn-bread, bones, and filth of all kinds, thirty feet in +diameter and several feet in hight, swarming with myriads of flies, in a +vacant space near the pots used for cooking. Millions of flies swarmed +over everything, and covered the faces of the sleeping patients, and +crawled down their open mouths, and deposited their maggots in the +gangrenous wounds of the living, and in the mouths of the dead. Musketos +in great numbers also infested the tents, and many of the patients were +so stung by these pestiferous insects, that they resembled those +suffering from a slight attack of the measles. + +<p>The police and hygiene of the hospital were defective in the extreme; +the attendants, who appeared in almost every instance to have been +selected from the prisoners, seemed to have in many cases but little +interest in the welfare of their fellow-captives. The accusation was +made that the nurses in many cases robbed the sick of their clothing, +money, and rations, and carried on a clandestine trade with the paroled +prisoners and Confederate guards without the hospital enclosure, in the +clothing, effects of the sick, dying, and dead Federals. They certainly +appeared to neglect the comfort and cleanliness of the sick intrusted to +their care in a most shameful manner, even after making due allowances +for the difficulties of the situation. Many of the sick were literally +encrusted with dirt and filth and covered with vermin. When a gangrenous +wound needed washing, the limb was thrust out a little from the blanket, +or board, or rags upon which the patient was lying, and water poured over +it, and all the putrescent matter allowed to soak into the ground floor +of the tent. The supply of rags for dressing wounds was said to be very +scant, and I saw the most filthy rags which had been applied several +times, and imperfectly washed, used in dressing wounds. Where hospital +gangrene was prevailing, it was impossible for any wound to escape +contagion under these circumstances. The results of the treatment of +wounds in the hospital were of the most unsatisfactory character, from +this neglect of cleanliness, in the dressings and wounds themselves, as +well as from various other causes which will be more fully considered. +I saw several gangrenous wounds filled with maggots. I have frequently +seen neglected wounds amongst the Confederate soldiers similarly +affected; and as far as my experience extends, these worms destroy only +the dead tissues and do not injure specially the well parts. I have even +heard surgeons affirm that a gangrenous wound which had been thoroughly +cleansed by maggots, healed more rapidly than if it had been left to +itself. This want of cleanliness on the part of the nurses appeared to +be the result of carelessness and inattention, rather than of malignant +design, and the whole trouble can be traced to the want of the proper +police and sanitary regulations, and to the absence of intelligent +organization and division of labor. The abuses were in a large measure +due to the almost total absence of system, government, and rigid, but +wholesome sanitary regulations. In extenuation of these abuses it was +alleged by the medical officers that the Confederate troops were barely +sufficient to guard the prisoners, and that it was impossible to obtain +any number of experienced nurses from the Confederate forces. In fact +the guard appeared to be too small, even for the regulation of the +internal hygiene and police of the hospital. + +<p>The manner of disposing of the dead was also calculated to depress the +already desponding spirits of these men, many of whom have been confined +for months, and even for nearly two years in Richmond and other places, +and whose strength had been wasted by bad air, bad food, and neglect of +personal cleanliness. The dead-house is merely a frame covered with old +tent cloth and a few bushes, situated in the southwestern corner of the +hospital grounds. When a patient dies, he is simply laid in the narrow +street in front of his tent, until he is removed by Federal negros +detailed to carry off the dead; if a patient dies during the night, he +lies there until the morning, and during the day even the dead were +frequently allowed to remain for hours in these walks. In the dead-house +the corpses lie upon the bare ground, and were in most cases covered with +filth and vermin. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p312"></a><img alt="p312.jpg (58K)" src="p312.jpg" height="603" width="597"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br><br> + +<center><p> ............................</center> + +<p>The cooking arrangements are of the most defective character. Five large +iron pots similar to those used for boiling sugar cane, appeared to be +the only cooking utensils furnished by the hospital for the cooking of +nearly two thousand men; and the patients were dependent in great measure +upon their own miserable utensils. They were allowed to cook in the tent +doors and in the lanes, and this was another source of filth, and another +favorable condition for the generation and multiplication of flies and +other vermin. + +<p>The air of the tents was foul and disagreeable in the extreme, and in +fact the entire grounds emitted a most nauseous and disgusting smell. +I entered nearly all the tents and carefully examined the cases of +interest, and especially the cases of gangrene, upon numerous occasions, +during the prosecution of my pathological inquiries at Andersonville, and +therefore enjoyed every opportunity to judge correctly of the hygiene and +police of the hospital. + +<p>There appeared to be almost absolute indifference and neglect on the part +of the patients of personal cleanliness; their persons and clothing +inmost instances, and especially of those suffering with gangrene and +scorbutic ulcers, were filthy in the extreme and covered with vermin. +It was too often the case that patients were received from the Stockade +in a most deplorable condition. I have seen men brought in from the +Stockade in a dying condition, begrimed from head to foot with their own +excrements, and so black from smoke and filth that they, resembled negros +rather than white men. That this description of the Stockade and +hospital has not been overdrawn, will appear from the reports of the +surgeons in charge, appended to this report. + +<center><p> .........................</center> + +<p>We will examine first the consolidated report of the sick and wounded +Federal prisoners. During six months, from the 1st of March to the 31st +of August, forty-two thousand six hundred and eighty-six cases of +diseases and wounds were reported. No classified record of the sick in +the Stockade was kept after the establishment of the hospital without the +Prison. This fact, in conjunction with those already presented relating +to the insufficiency of medical officers and the extreme illness and even +death of many prisoners in the tents in the Stockade, without any medical +attention or record beyond the bare number of the dead, demonstrate that +these figures, large as they, appear to be, are far below the truth. + +<p>As the number of prisoners varied greatly at different periods, the +relations between those reported sick and well, as far as those +statistics extend, can best be determined by a comparison of the +statistics of each month. + +<p>During this period of six months no less than five hundred and sixty-five +deaths are recorded under the head of 'morbi vanie.' In other words, +those men died without having received sufficient medical attention for +the determination of even the name of the disease causing death. + +<p>During the month of August fifty-three cases and fifty-three deaths are +recorded as due to marasmus. Surely this large number of deaths must +have been due to some other morbid state than slow wasting. If they were +due to improper and insufficient food, they should have been classed +accordingly, and if to diarrhea or dysentery or scurvy, the +classification should in like manner have been explicit. + +<p>We observe a progressive increase of the rate of mortality, from 3.11 per +cent. in March to 9.09 per cent. of mean strength, sick and well, in +August. The ratio of mortality continued to increase during September, +for notwithstanding the removal of one-half of the entire number of +prisoners during the early portion of the month, one thousand seven +hundred and sixty-seven (1,767) deaths are registered from September 1 to +21, and the largest number of deaths upon any one day occurred during +this month, on the 16th, viz. one hundred and nineteen. + +<p>The entire number of Federal prisoners confined at Andersonville was +about forty thousand six hundred and eleven; and during the period of +near seven months, from February 24 to September 21, nine thousand four +hundred and seventy-nine (9,479) deaths were recorded; that is, during +this period near one-fourth, or more, exactly one in 4.2, or 13.3 per +cent., terminated fatally. This increase of mortality was due in great +measure to the accumulation of the sources of disease, as the increase of +excrements and filth of all kinds, and the concentration of noxious +effluvia, and also to the progressive effects of salt diet, crowding, and +the hot climate. + +<br><br> + <center><h3>CONCLUSIONS.</h3></center> + +<p>1st. The great mortality among the Federal prisoners confined in the +military prison at Andersonville was not referable to climatic causes, or +to the nature of the soil and waters. + +<p>2d. The chief causes of death were scurvy and its results and bowel +affections-chronic and acute diarrhea and dysentery. The bowel +affections appear to have been due to the diet, the habits of the +patients, the depressed, dejected state of the nervous system and moral +and intellectual powers, and to the effluvia arising from the decomposing +animal and vegetable filth. The effects of salt meat, and an unvarying +diet of cornmeal, with but few vegetables, and imperfect supplies of +vinegar and syrup, were manifested in the great prevalence of scurvy. +This disease, without doubt, was also influenced to an important extent +in its origin and course by the foul animal emanations. + +<p>3d. From the sameness of the food and form, the action of the poisonous +gases in the densely crowded and filthy Stockade and hospital, the blood +was altered in its constitution, even before the manifestation of actual +disease. In both the well and the sick the red corpuscles were +diminished; and in all diseases uncomplicated with inflammation, +the fibrous element was deficient. In cases of ulceration of the mucous +membrane of the intestinal canal, the fibrous element of the blood was +increased; while in simple diarrhea, uncomplicated with ulceration, +it was either diminished or else remained stationary. Heart clots were +very common, if not universally present, in cases of ulceration of the +intestinal mucous membrane, while in the uncomplicated cases of diarrhea +and scurvy, the blood was fluid and did not coagulate readily, and the +heart clots and fibrous concretions were almost universally absent. +From the watery condition of the blood, there resulted various serous +effusions into the pericardium, ventricles of the brain, and into the +abdomen. In almost all the cases which I examined after death, even the +most emaciated, there was more or less serous effusion into the abdominal +cavity. In cases of hospital gangrene of the extremities, and in cases +of gangrene of the intestines, heart clots and fibrous coagula were +universally present. The presence of those clots in the cases of +hospital gangrene, while they were absent in the cases in which there was +no inflammatory symptoms, sustains the conclusion that hospital gangrene +is a species of inflammation, imperfect and irregular though it may be in +its progress, in which the fibrous element and coagulation of the blood +are increased, even in those who are suffering from such a condition of +the blood, and from such diseases as are naturally accompanied with a +decrease in the fibrous constituent. + +<p>4th. The fact that hospital Gangrene appeared in the Stockade first, and +originated spontaneously without any previous contagion, and occurred +sporadically all over the Stockade and prison hospital, was proof +positive that this disease will arise whenever the conditions of +crowding, filth, foul air, and bad diet are present. The exhalations +from the hospital and Stockade appeared to exert their effects to a +considerable distance outside of these localities. The origin of +hospital gangrene among these prisoners appeared clearly to depend in +great measure upon the state of the general system induced by diet, and +various external noxious influences. The rapidity of the appearance and +action of the gangrene depended upon the powers and state of the +constitution, as well as upon the intensity of the poison in the +atmosphere, or upon the direct application of poisonous matter to the +wounded surface. This was further illustrated by the important fact that +hospital gangrene, or a disease resembling it in all essential respects, +attacked the intestinal canal of patients laboring under ulceration of +the bowels, although there were no local manifestations of gangrene upon +the surface of the body. This mode of termination in cases of dysentery +was quite common in the foul atmosphere of the Confederate States +Military Hospital, in the depressed, depraved condition of the system of +these Federal prisoners. + +<p>5th. A scorbutic condition of the system appeared to favor the origin of +foul ulcers, which frequently took on true hospital gangrene. Scurvy and +hospital gangrene frequently existed in the same individual. In such +cases, vegetable diet, with vegetable acids, would remove the scorbutic +condition without curing the hospital gangrene. From the results of the +existing war for the establishment of the independence of the Confederate +States, as well as from the published observations of Dr. Trotter, Sir +Gilbert Blane, and others of the English navy and army, it is evident +that the scorbutic condition of the system, especially in crowded ships +and camps, is most favorable to the origin and spread of foul ulcers and +hospital gangrene. As in the present case of Andersonville, so also in +past times when medical hygiene was almost entirely neglected, those two +diseases were almost universally associated in crowded ships. In many +cases it was very difficult to decide at first whether the ulcer was a +simple result of scurvy or of the action of the prison or hospital +gangrene, for there was great similarity in the appearance of the ulcers +in the two diseases. So commonly have those two diseases been combined +in their origin and action, that the description of scorbutic ulcers, by +many authors, evidently includes also many of the prominent +characteristics of hospital gangrene. This will be rendered evident by +an examination of the observations of Dr. Lind and Sir Gilbert Blane upon +scorbutic ulcers. + +<p>6th. Gangrenous spots followed by rapid destruction of tissue appeared +in some cases where there had been no known wound. Without such well- +established facts, it might be assumed that the disease was propagated +from one patient to another. In such a filthy and crowded hospital as +that of the Confederate States Military Prison at Andersonville, it was +impossible to isolate the wounded from the sources of actual contact of +the gangrenous matter. The flies swarming over the wounds and over filth +of every kind, the filthy, imperfectly washed and scanty supplies of +rags, and the limited supply of washing utensils, the same wash-bowl +serving for scores of patients, were sources of such constant circulation +of the gangrenous matter that the disease might rapidly spread from a +single gangrenous wound. The fact already stated, that a form of moist +gangrene, resembling hospital gangrene, was quite common in this foul +atmosphere, in cases of dysentery, both with and without the existence of +the disease upon the entire surface, not only demonstrates the dependence +of the disease upon the state of the constitution, but proves in the +clearest manner that neither the contact of the poisonous matter of +gangrene, nor the direct action of the poisonous atmosphere upon the +ulcerated surfaces is necessary to the development of the disease. + +<p>7th. In this foul atmosphere amputation did not arrest hospital +gangrene; the disease almost invariably returned. Almost every +amputation was followed finally by death, either from the effects of +gangrene or from the prevailing diarrhea and dysentery. Nitric acid and +escharotics generally in this crowded atmosphere, loaded with noxious +effluvia, exerted only temporary effects; after their application to the +diseased surfaces, the gangrene would frequently return with redoubled +energy; and even after the gangrene had been completely removed by local +and constitutional treatment, it would frequently return and destroy the +patient. As far as my observation extended, very few of the cases of +amputation for gangrene recovered. The progress of these cases was +frequently very deceptive. I have observed after death the most +extensive disorganization of the structures of the stump, when during +life there was but little swelling of the part, and the patient was +apparently doing well. I endeavored to impress upon the medical officers +the view that in this disease treatment was almost useless, without an +abundant supply of pure, fresh air, nutritious food, and tonics and +stimulants. Such changes, however, as would allow of the isolation of +the cases of hospital gangrene appeared to be out of the power of the +medical officers. + +<p>8th. The gangrenous mass was without true pus, and consisted chiefly of +broken-down, disorganized structures. The reaction of the gangrenous +matter in certain stages was alkaline. + +<p>9th. The best, and in truth the only means of protecting large armies +and navies, as well as prisoners, from the ravages of hospital gangrene, +is to furnish liberal supplies of well-cured meat, together with fresh +beef and vegetables, and to enforce a rigid system of hygiene. + +<p>10th. Finally, this gigantic mass of human misery calls loudly for +relief, not only for the sake of suffering humanity, but also on account +of our own brave soldiers now captives in the hands of the Federal +Government. Strict justice to the gallant men of the Confederate Armies, +who have been or who may be, so unfortunate as to be compelled to +surrender in battle, demands that the Confederate Government should adopt +that course which will best secure their health and comfort in captivity; +or at least leave their enemies without a shadow of an excuse for any +violation of the rules of civilized warfare in the treatment of +prisoners. + +<center><p> [End of the Witness's Testimony.]</center> + +<p> +The variation--from month to month--of the proportion of deaths to the +whole number living is singular and interesting. It supports the theory +I have advanced above, as the following facts, taken from the official +report, will show: +<blockquote><blockquote> +<p> In April one in every sixteen died. +<p> In May one in every twenty-six died. +<p> In June one in every twenty-two died. +<p> In July one in every eighteen died. +<p> In August one in every eleven died. +<p> In September one in every three died. +<p> In October one in every two died. +<p> In November one in every three died. +</blockquote></blockquote> +<p>Does the reader fully understand that in September one-third of those in +the pen died, that in October one-half of the remainder perished, and in +November one-third of those who still survived, died? Let him pause for +a moment and read this over carefully again; because its startling +magnitude will hardly dawn upon him at first reading. It is true that +the fearfully disproportionate mortality of those months was largely due +to the fact that it was mostly the sick that remained behind, but even +this diminishes but little the frightfulness of the showing. Did any one +ever hear of an epidemic so fatal that one-third of those attacked by it +in one month died; one-half of the remnant the next month, and one-third +of the feeble remainder the next month? If he did, his reading has been +much more extensive than mine. + +<p>The greatest number of deaths in one day is reported to have occurred on +the 23d of August, when one hundred and twenty-seven died, or one man +every eleven minutes. + +<p>The greatest number of prisoners in the Stockade is stated to have been +August 8, when there were thirty-three thousand one hundred and fourteen. + +<p>I have always imagined both these statements to be short of the truth, +because my remembrance is that one day in August I counted over two +hundred dead lying in a row. As for the greatest number of prisoners, +I remember quite distinctly standing by the ration wagon during the whole +time of the delivery of rations, to see how many prisoners there really +were inside. That day the One Hundred and Thirty-Third Detachment was +called, and its Sergeant came up and drew rations for a full detachment. +All the other detachments were habitually kept full by replacing those +who died with new comers. As each detachment consisted of two hundred +and seventy men, one hundred and thirty-three detachments would make +thirty-five thousand nine hundred and ten, exclusive of those in the +hospital, and those detailed outside as cooks, clerks, hospital +attendants and various other employments--say from one to two thousand +more. + +<br><br><br><br> +<h2><a name="ch43"></a>CHAPTER XLIII. +</h2> +<p>DIFFICULTY OF EXERCISING--EMBARRASSMENTS OF A MORNING WALK--THE RIALTO +OF THE PRISON--CURSING THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY--THE STORY OF THE BATTLE +OF SPOTTSYLVANIA COURTHOUSE. + +<p>Certainly, in no other great community, that ever existed upon the face +of the globe was there so little daily ebb and flow as in this. Dull as +an ordinary Town or City may be; however monotonous, eventless, even +stupid the lives of its citizens, there is yet, nevertheless, a flow +every day of its life-blood--its population towards its heart, and an ebb +of the same, every evening towards its extremities. These recurring +tides mingle all classes together and promote the general healthfulness, +as the constant motion hither and yon of the ocean's waters purify and +sweeten them. + +<p>The lack of these helped vastly to make the living mass inside the +Stockade a human Dead Sea--or rather a Dying Sea--a putrefying, stinking +lake, resolving itself into phosphorescent corruption, like those rotting +southern seas, whose seething filth burns in hideous reds, and ghastly +greens and yellows. + +<p>Being little call for motion of any kind, and no room to exercise +whatever wish there might be in that direction, very many succumbed +unresistingly to the apathy which was so strongly favored by despondency +and the weakness induced by continual hunger, and lying supinely on the +hot sand, day in and day out, speedily brought themselves into such a +condition as invited the attacks of disease. + +<p>It required both determination and effort to take a little walking +exercise. The ground was so densely crowded with holes and other devices +for shelter that it took one at least ten minutes to pick his way through +the narrow and tortuous labyrinth which served as paths for communication +between different parts of the Camp. Still further, there was nothing to +see anywhere or to form sufficient inducement for any one to make so +laborious a journey. One simply encountered at every new step the same +unwelcome sights that he had just left; there was a monotony in the +misery as in everything else, and consequently the temptation to sit or +lie still in one's own quarters became very great. + +<p>I used to make it a point to go to some of the remoter parts of the +Stockade once every day, simply for exercise. One can gain some idea of +the crowd, and the difficulty of making one's way through it, when I say +that no point in the prison could be more than fifteen hundred feet from +where I staid, and, had the way been clear, I could have walked thither +and back in at most a half an hour, yet it usually took me from two to +three hours to make one of these journeys. + +<p>This daily trip, a few visits to the Creek to wash all over, a few games +of chess, attendance upon roll call, drawing rations, cooking and eating +the same, "lousing" my fragments of clothes, and doing some little duties +for my sick and helpless comrades, constituted the daily routine for +myself, as for most of the active youths in the prison. + +<p>The Creek was the great meeting point for all inside the Stockade. +All able to walk were certain to be there at least once during the day, +and we made it a rendezvous, a place to exchange gossip, discuss the +latest news, canvass the prospects of exchange, and, most of all, +to curse the Rebels. Indeed no conversation ever progressed very far +without both speaker and listener taking frequent rests to say bitter +things as to the Rebels generally, and Wirz, Winder and Davis in +particular. + +<p>A conversation between two boys--strangers to each other who came to the +Creek to wash themselves or their clothes, or for some other purpose, +would progress thus: + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p325"></a><img alt="p325.jpg (29K)" src="p325.jpg" height="485" width="387"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>First Boy--"I belong to the Second Corps,--Hancock's, [the Army of the +Potomac boys always mentioned what Corps they belonged to, where the +Western boys stated their Regiment.] They got me at Spottsylvania, when +they were butting their heads against our breast-works, trying to get +even with us for gobbling up Johnson in the morning,"--He stops suddenly +and changes tone to say: "I hope to God, that when our folks get +Richmond, they will put old Ben Butler in command of it, with orders to +limb, skin and jayhawk it worse than he did New Orleans." + +<p>Second Boy, (fervently :) "I wish to God he would, and that he'd catch +old Jeff., and that grayheaded devil, Winder, and the old Dutch Captain, +strip 'em just as we were, put 'em in this pen, with just the rations +they are givin' us, and set a guard of plantation niggers over 'em, with +orders to blow their whole infernal heads off, if they dared so much as +to look at the dead line." + +<p>First Boy--(returning to the story of his capture.) "Old Hancock caught +the Johnnies that morning the neatest you ever saw anything in your life. +After the two armies had murdered each other for four or five days in the +Wilderness, by fighting so close together that much of the time you could +almost shake hands with the Graybacks, both hauled off a little, and lay +and glowered at each other. Each side had lost about twenty thousand men +in learning that if it attacked the other it would get mashed fine. +So each built a line of works and lay behind them, and tried to nag the +other into coming out and attacking. At Spottsylvania our lines and +those of the Johnnies weren't twelve hundred yards apart. The ground was +clear and clean between them, and any force that attempted to cross it to +attack would be cut to pieces, as sure as anything. We laid there three +or four days watching each other--just like boys at school, who shake +fists and dare each other. At one place the Rebel line ran out towards +us like the top of a great letter 'A.' The night of the 11th of May it +rained very hard, and then came a fog so thick that you couldn't see the +length of a company. Hancock thought he'd take advantage of this. +We were all turned out very quietly about four o'clock in the morning. +Not a bit of noise was allowed. We even had to take off our canteens and +tin cups, that they might not rattle against our bayonets. The ground +was so wet that our footsteps couldn't be heard. It was one of those +deathly, still movements, when you think your heart is making as much +noise as a bass drum. + +<p>"The Johnnies didn't seem to have the faintest suspicion of what was +coming, though they ought, because we would have expected such an attack +from them if we hadn't made it ourselves. Their pickets were out just a +little ways from their works, and we were almost on to them before they +discovered us. They fired and ran back. At this we raised a yell and +dashed forward at a charge. As we poured over the works, the Rebels came +double-quicking up to defend them. We flanked Johnson's Division +quicker'n you could say 'Jack Robinson,' and had four thousand of 'em in +our grip just as nice as you please. We sent them to the rear under +guard, and started for the next line of Rebel works about a half a mile +away. But we had now waked up the whole of Lee's army, and they all came +straight for us, like packs of mad wolves. Ewell struck us in the +center; Longstreet let drive at our left flank, and Hill tackled our +right. We fell back to the works we had taken, Warren and Wright came up +to help us, and we had it hot and heavy for the rest of the day and part +of the night. The Johnnies seemed so mad over what we'd done that they +were half crazy. They charged us five times, coming up every time just +as if they were going to lift us right out of the works with the bayonet. +About midnight, after they'd lost over ten thousand men, they seemed to +understand that we had pre-empted that piece of real estate, and didn't +propose to allow anybody to jump our claim, so they fell back sullen like +to their main works. When they came on the last charge, our Brigadier +walked behind each of our regiments and said: + +<p>"Boys, we'll send 'em back this time for keeps. Give it to 'em by the +acre, and when they begin to waver, we'll all jump over the works and go +for them with the bayonet.' + +<p>"We did it just that way. We poured such a fire on them that the bullets +knocked up the ground in front just like you have seen the deep dust in a +road in the middle of Summer fly up when the first great big drops of a +rain storm strike it. But they came on, yelling and swearing, officers +in front waving swords, and shouting--all that business, you know. When +they got to about one hundred yards from us, they did not seem to be +coming so fast, and there was a good deal of confusion among them. The +brigade bugle sounded + +<p>"Stop firing." + +<p>"We all ceased instantly. The rebels looked up in astonishment. Our +General sang out: + +<p>"Fix bayonets!' but we knew what was coming, and were already executing +the order. You can imagine the crash that ran down the line, as every +fellow snatched his bayonet out and slapped it on the muzzle of his gun. +Then the General's voice rang out like a bugle: + +<p>"Ready!--FORWARD! CHARGE!' + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p328"></a><img alt="p328.jpg (48K)" src="p328.jpg" height="529" width="587"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>"We cheered till everything seemed to split, and jumped over the works, +almost every man at the same minute. The Johnnies seemed to have been +puzzled at the stoppage of our fire. When we all came sailing over the +works, with guns brought right, down where they meant business, they were +so astonished for a minute that they stood stock still, not knowing +whether to come for us, or run. We did not allow them long to debate, +but went right towards them on the double quick, with the bayonets +looking awful savage and hungry. It was too much for Mr. Johnny Reb's +nerves. They all seemed to about face' at once, and they lit out of +there as if they had been sent for in a hurry. We chased after 'em as +fast as we could, and picked up just lots of 'em. Finally it began to be +real funny. A Johnny's wind would begin to give out he'd fall behind his +comrades; he'd hear us yell and think that we were right behind him, +ready to sink a bayonet through him'; he'd turn around, throw up his +hands, and sing out: + +<p>"I surrender, mister! I surrender!' and find that we were a hundred feet +off, and would have to have a bayonet as long as one of McClellan's +general orders to touch him. + +<p>"Well, my company was the left of our regiment, and our regiment was the +left of the brigade, and we swung out ahead of all the rest of the boys. +In our excitement of chasing the Johnnies, we didn't see that we had +passed an angle of their works. About thirty of us had become separated +from the company and were chasing a squad of about seventy-five or one +hundred. We had got up so close to them that we hollered: + +<p>"'Halt there, now, or we'll blow your heads off.' + +<p>"They turned round with, 'halt yourselves; you ---- Yankee ---- ----' + +<p>"We looked around at this, and saw that we were not one hundred feet away +from the angle of the works, which were filled with Rebels waiting for +our fellows to get to where they could have a good flank fire upon them. +There was nothing to do but to throw down our guns and surrender, and we +had hardly gone inside of the works, until the Johnnies opened on our +brigade and drove it back. This ended the battle at Spottsylvania Court +House." + +<p>Second Boy (irrelevantly.) "Some day the underpinning will fly out from +under the South, and let it sink right into the middle kittle o' hell." + +<p>First Boy (savagely.) "I only wish the whole Southern Confederacy was +hanging over hell by a single string, and I had a knife." + +<br><br><br><br> +<h2><a name="ch44"></a>CHAPTER XLIV. +</h2> +<p>REBEL MUSIC--SINGULAR LACK OF THE CREATIVE POWER AMONG THE SOUTHERNERS-- +CONTRAST WITH SIMILAR PEOPLE ELSEWHERE--THEIR FAVORITE MUSIC, AND WHERE +IT WAS BORROWED FROM--A FIFER WITH ONE TUNE. + +<p>I have before mentioned as among the things that grew upon one with +increasing acquaintance with the Rebels on their native heath, was +astonishment at their lack of mechanical skill and at their inability to +grapple with numbers and the simpler processes of arithmetic. Another +characteristic of the same nature was their wonderful lack of musical +ability, or of any kind of tuneful creativeness. + +<p>Elsewhere, all over the world, people living under similar conditions to +the Southerners are exceedingly musical, and we owe the great majority of +the sweetest compositions which delight the ear and subdue the senses to +unlettered song-makers of the Swiss mountains, the Tyrolese valleys, the +Bavarian Highlands, and the minstrels of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. + +<p>The music of English-speaking people is very largely made up of these +contributions from the folk-songs of dwellers in the wilder and more +mountainous parts of the British Isles. One rarely goes far out of the +way in attributing to this source any air that he may hear that +captivates him with its seductive opulence of harmony. Exquisite +melodies, limpid and unstrained as the carol of a bird in Spring-time, +and as plaintive as the cooing of a turtle-dove seems as natural products +of the Scottish Highlands as the gorse which blazons on their hillsides +in August. Debarred from expressing their aspirations as people of +broader culture do--in painting, in sculpture, in poetry and prose, these +mountaineers make song the flexible and ready instrument for the +communication of every emotion that sweeps across their souls. + +<p>Love, hatred, grief, revenge, anger, and especially war seems to tune +their minds to harmony, and awake the voice of song in them hearts. The +battles which the Scotch and Irish fought to replace the luckless Stuarts +upon the British throne--the bloody rebellions of 1715 and 1745, left a +rich legacy of sweet song, the outpouring of loving, passionate loyalty +to a wretched cause; songs which are today esteemed and sung wherever the +English language is spoken, by people who have long since forgotten what +burning feelings gave birth to their favorite melodies. + +<p>For a century the bones of both the Pretenders have moldered in alien +soil; the names of James Edward, and Charles Edward, which were once +trumpet blasts to rouse armed men, mean as little to the multitude of +today as those of the Saxon Ethelbert, and Danish Hardicanute, yet the +world goes on singing--and will probably as long as the English language +is spoken--"Wha'll be King but Charlie?" "When Jamie Come Hame," "Over +the Water to Charlie," "Charlie is my Darling," "The Bonny Blue Bonnets +are Over the Border," "Saddle Your Steeds and Awa," and a myriad others +whose infinite tenderness and melody no modern composer can equal. + +<p>Yet these same Scotch and Irish, the same Jacobite English, transplanted +on account of their chronic rebelliousness to the mountains of Virginia, +the Carolinas, and Georgia, seem to have lost their tunefulness, as some +fine singing birds do when carried from their native shores. + +<p>The descendants of those who drew swords for James and Charles at Preston +Pans and Culloden dwell to-day in the dales and valleys of the +Alleganies, as their fathers did in the dales and valleys of the +Grampians, but their voices are mute. + +<p>As a rule the Southerners are fond of music. They are fond of singing +and listening to old-fashioned ballads, most of which have never been +printed, but handed down from one generation to the other, like the +'Volklieder' of Germany. They sing these with the wild, fervid +impressiveness characteristic of the ballad singing of unlettered people. +Very many play tolerably on the violin and banjo, and occasionally one is +found whose instrumentation may be called good. But above this hight +they never soar. The only musician produced by the South of whom the +rest of the country has ever heard, is Blind Tom, the negro idiot. No +composer, no song writer of any kind has appeared within the borders of +Dixie. + +<p>It was a disappointment to me that even the stress of the war, the +passion and fierceness with which the Rebels felt and fought, could not +stimulate any adherent of the Stars and Bars into the production of a +single lyric worthy in the remotest degree of the magnitude of the +struggle, and the depth of the popular feeling. Where two million +Scotch, fighting to restore the fallen fortunes of the worse than +worthless Stuarts, filled the world with immortal music, eleven million +of Southerners, fighting for what they claimed to be individual freedom +and national life, did not produce any original verse, or a bar of music +that the world could recognize as such. This is the fact; and an +undeniable one. Its explanation I must leave to abler analysts +than I am. + +<p>Searching for peculiar causes we find but two that make the South differ +from the ancestral home of these people. These two were Climate and +Slavery. Climatic effects will not account for the phenomenon, because +we see that the peasantry of the mountains of Spain and the South of +France as ignorant as these people, and dwellers in a still more +enervating atmosphere-are very fertile in musical composition, and their +songs are to the Romanic languages what the Scotch and Irish ballads are +to the English. + +<p>Then it must be ascribed to the incubus of Slavery upon the intellect, +which has repressed this as it has all other healthy growths in the +South. Slavery seems to benumb all the faculties except the passions. +The fact that the mountaineers had but few or no slaves, does not seem to +be of importance in the case. They lived under the deadly shadow of the +upas tree, and suffered the consequences of its stunting their +development in all directions, as the ague-smitten inhabitant of the +Roman Campana finds every sense and every muscle clogged by the filtering +in of the insidious miasma. They did not compose songs and music, +because they did not have the intellectual energy for that work. + +<p>The negros displayed all the musical creativeness of that section. +Their wonderful prolificness in wild, rude songs, with strangely +melodious airs that burned themselves into the memory, was one of the +salient characteristics of that down-trodden race. Like the Russian +serfs, and the bondmen of all ages and lands, the songs they made and +sang all had an undertone of touching plaintiveness, born of ages of dumb +suffering. The themes were exceedingly simple, and the range of subjects +limited. The joys, and sorrows, hopes and despairs of love's +gratification or disappointment, of struggles for freedom, contests with +malign persons and influences, of rage, hatred, jealousy, revenge, such +as form the motifs for the majority of the poetry of free and strong +races, were wholly absent from their lyrics. Religion, hunger and toil +were their main inspiration. They sang of the pleasures of idling in the +genial sunshine; the delights of abundance of food; the eternal happiness +that awaited them in the heavenly future, where the slave-driver ceased +from troubling and the weary were at rest; where Time rolled around in +endless cycles of days spent in basking, harp in hand, and silken clad, +in golden streets, under the soft effulgence of cloudless skies, glowing +with warmth and kindness emanating from the Creator himself. Had their +masters condescended to borrow the music of the slaves, they would have +found none whose sentiments were suitable for the ode of a people +undergoing the pangs of what was hoped to be the birth of a new nation. + +<p>The three songs most popular at the South, and generally regarded as +distinctively Southern, were "The Bonnie Blue Flag," "Maryland, My +Maryland," and "Stonewall Jackson Crossing into Maryland." The first of +these was the greatest favorite by long odds. Women sang, men whistled, +and the so-called musicians played it wherever we went. While in the +field before capture, it was the commonest of experiences to have Rebel +women sing it at us tauntingly from the house that we passed or near +which we stopped. If ever near enough a Rebel camp, we were sure to hear +its wailing crescendo rising upon the air from the lips or instruments of +some one more quartered there. At Richmond it rang upon us constantly +from some source or another, and the same was true wherever else we went +in the so-called Confederacy. I give the air and words below: + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p334"></a><img alt="p334.jpg (38K)" src="p334.jpg" height="683" width="635"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>All familiar with Scotch songs will readily recognize the name and air as +an old friend, and one of the fierce Jacobite melodies that for a long +time disturbed the tranquility of the Brunswick family on the English +throne. The new words supplied by the Rebels are the merest doggerel, +and fit the music as poorly as the unchanged name of the song fitted to +its new use. The flag of the Rebellion was not a bonnie blue one; but +had quite as much red and white as azure. It did not have a single star, +but thirteen. + +<p>Near in popularity was "Maryland, My Maryland." The versification of +this was of a much higher Order, being fairly respectable. The air is +old, and a familiar one to all college students, and belongs to one of +the most common of German household songs: +<blockquote><blockquote> +<p> O, Tannenbaum! O, Tannenbaum, wie tru sind deine Blatter! +<p> Da gruenst nicht nur zur Sommerseit, +<p> Nein, auch in Winter, when es Schneit, etc. +</blockquote></blockquote> +<p>which Longfellow has finely translated, +<blockquote><blockquote> +<p>O, hemlock tree! O, hemlock tree! how faithful are thy branches! +<p>Green not alone in Summer time, +<p>But in the Winter's float and rime. +<p>O, hemlock tree O, hemlock tree! how faithful are thy branches. etc. +</blockquote></blockquote> +<p>The Rebel version ran: + + <center><h3>MARYLAND.</h3></center> + +<p>The despot's heel is on thy shore, +<p> Maryland! +<p>His touch is at thy temple door, +<p> Maryland! +<p>Avenge the patriotic gore +<p>That flecked the streets of Baltimore, +<p>And be the battle queen of yore, +<p>Maryland! My Maryland! +<br> +<p>Hark to the wand'ring son's appeal, +<p> Maryland! +<p>My mother State, to thee I kneel, +<p> Maryland! +<p>For life and death, for woe and weal, +<p>Thy peerless chivalry reveal, +<p>And gird thy beauteous limbs with steel, +<p>Maryland! My Maryland! +<br> +<p>Thou wilt not cower in the duet, +<p> Maryland! +<p>Thy beaming sword shall never rust +<p> Maryland! +<p>Remember Carroll's sacred trust, +<p>Remember Howard's warlike thrust-- +<p>And all thy slumberers with the just, +<p>Maryland! My Maryland! +<br> +<p>Come! 'tis the red dawn of the day, +<p> Maryland! +<p>Come! with thy panoplied array, +<p> Maryland! +<p>With Ringgold's spirit for the fray, +<p>With Watson's blood at Monterey, +<p>With fearless Lowe and dashing May, +<p>Maryland! My Maryland! +<br> +<p>Comet for thy shield is bright and strong, +<p> Maryland! +<p>Come! for thy dalliance does thee wrong, +<p> Maryland! +<p>Come! to thins own heroic throng, +<p>That stalks with Liberty along, +<p>And give a new Key to thy song, +<p>Maryland! My Maryland! +<br> +<p>Dear Mother! burst the tyrant's chain, +<p> Maryland! +<p>Virginia should not call in vain, +<p> Maryland! +<p>She meets her sisters on the plain-- +<p>'Sic semper' 'tis the proud refrain, +<p>That baffles millions back amain, +<p> Maryland! +<p>Arise, in majesty again, +<p>Maryland! My Maryland! +<br> +<p>I see the blush upon thy cheek, +<p> Maryland! +<p>But thou wast ever bravely meek, +<p> Maryland! +<p>But lo! there surges forth a shriek +<p>From hill to hill, from creek to creek-- +<p>Potomac calls to Chesapeake, +<p>Maryland! My Maryland! +<br> +<p>Thou wilt not yield the vandal toll. +<p> Maryland! +<p>Thou wilt not crook to his control, +<p> Maryland! +<p>Better the fire upon thee roll, +<p>Better the blade, the shot, the bowl, +<p>Than crucifixion of the soul, +<p>Maryland! My Maryland! +<br> +<p>I hear the distant Thunder hem, +<p> Maryland! +<p>The Old Line's bugle, fife, and drum. +<p> Maryland! +<p>She is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb-- +<p>Hnzza! she spurns the Northern scum! +<p>She breathes--she burns! she'll come! she'll come! +<p>Maryland! My Maryland! +<br><br> +<p>"Stonewall Jackson Crossing into Maryland," was another travesty, of +about the same literary merit, or rather demerit, as "The Bonnie Blue +Flag." Its air was that of the well-known and popular negro minstrel +song," Billy Patterson." For all that, it sounded very martial and +stirring when played by a brass band. + +<p>We heard these songs with tiresome iteration, daily and nightly, during +our stay in the Southern Confederacy. Some one of the guards seemed to +be perpetually beguiling the weariness of his watch by singing in all +keys, in every sort of a voice, and with the wildest latitude as to air +and time. They became so terribly irritating to us, that to this day the +remembrance of those soul-lacerating lyrics abides with me as one of the +chief of the minor torments of our situation. They were, in fact, nearly +as bad as the lice. + +<p>We revenged ourselves as best we could by constructing fearfully wicked, +obscene and insulting parodies on these, and by singing them with +irritating effusiveness in the hearing of the guards who were inflicting +these nuisances upon us. + +<p>Of the same nature was the garrison music. One fife, played by an +asthmatic old fellow whose breathings were nearly as audible as his +notes, and one rheumatic drummer, constituted the entire band for the +post. The fifer actually knew but one tune "The Bonnie Blue Flag"-- +and did not know that well. But it was all that he had, and he played it +with wearisome monotony for every camp call--five or six times a day, +and seven days in the week. He called us up in the morning with it for a +reveille; he sounded the "roll call" and "drill call," breakfast, dinner +and supper with it, and finally sent us to bed, with the same dreary wail +that had rung in our ears all day. I never hated any piece of music as I +came to hate that threnody of treason. It would have been such a relief +if the, old asthmatic who played it could have been induced to learn +another tune to play on Sundays, and give us one day of rest. He did +not, but desecrated the Lord's Day by playing as vilely as on the rest of +the week. The Rebels were fully conscious of their musical deficiencies, +and made repeated but unsuccessful attempts to induce the musicians among +the prisoners to come outside and form a band. + +<br><br><br><br> + +<h2><a name="ch45"></a>CHAPTER XLV +</h2> +<p>AUGUST--NEEDLES STUCK IN PUMPKIN SEEDS--SOME PHENOMENA OF STARVATION-- +RIOTING IN REMEMBERED LUXURIES. + +<p>"Illinoy," said tall, gaunt Jack North, of the One Hundred and Fourteenth +Illinois, to me, one day, as we sat contemplating our naked, and sadly +attenuated underpinning; "what do our legs and feet most look most like?" + +<p>"Give it up, Jack," said I. + +<p>"Why--darning needles stuck in pumpkin seeds, of course." I never heard +a better comparison for our wasted limbs. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p338"></a><img alt="p338.jpg (9K)" src="p338.jpg" height="433" width="191"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>The effects of the great bodily emaciation were sometimes very startling. +Boys of a fleshy habit would change so in a few weeks as to lose all +resemblance to their former selves, and comrades who came into prison +later would utterly fail to recognize them. Most fat men, as most large +men, died in a little while after entering, though there were exceptions. +One of these was a boy of my own company, named George Hillicks. George +had shot up within a few years to over six feet in hight, and then, as +such boys occasionally do, had, after enlisting with us, taken on such a +development of flesh that we nicknamed him the "Giant," and he became a +pretty good load for even the strongest horse. George held his flesh +through Belle Isle, and the earlier weeks in Andersonville, but June, +July, and August "fetched him," as the boys said. He seemed to melt away +like an icicle on a Spring day, and he grew so thin that his hight seemed +preternatural. We called him "Flagstaff," and cracked all sorts of jokes +about putting an insulator on his head, and setting him up for a +telegraph pole, braiding his legs and using him for a whip lash, letting +his hair grow a little longer, and trading him off to the Rebels for a +sponge and staff for the artillery, etc. We all expected him to die, +and looked continually for the development of the fatal scurvy symptoms, +which were to seal his doom. But he worried through, and came out at +last in good shape, a happy result due as much as to anything else to his +having in Chester Hayward, of Prairie City, Ill.,--one of the most +devoted chums I ever knew. Chester nursed and looked out for George with +wife-like fidelity, and had his reward in bringing him safe through our +lines. There were thousands of instances of this generous devotion to +each other by chums in Andersonville, and I know of nothing that reflects +any more credit upon our boy soldiers. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p339"></a><img alt="p339.jpg (28K)" src="p339.jpg" height="419" width="545"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>There was little chance for any one to accumulate flesh on the rations we +were receiving. I say it in all soberness that I do not believe that a +healthy hen could have grown fat upon them. I am sure that any good- +sized "shanghai" eats more every day than the meager half loaf that we +had to maintain life upon. Scanty as this was, and hungry as all were, +very many could not eat it. Their stomachs revolted against the trash; +it became so nauseous to them that they could not force it down, even +when famishing, and they died of starvation with the chunks of the so- +called bread under their head. I found myself rapidly approaching this +condition. I had been blessed with a good digestion and a talent for +sleeping under the most discouraging circumstances. These, I have no +doubt, were of the greatest assistance to me in my struggle for +existence. But now the rations became fearfully obnoxious to me, and it +was only with the greatest effort--pulling the bread into little pieces +and swallowing each, of these as one would a pill--that I succeeded in +worrying the stuff down. I had not as yet fallen away very much, but as +I had never, up, to that time, weighed so much as one hundred and twenty- +five pounds, there was no great amount of adipose to lose. It was +evident that unless some change occurred my time was near at hand. + +<p>There was not only hunger for more food, but longing with an intensity +beyond expression for alteration of some kind in the rations. +The changeless monotony of the miserable saltless bread, or worse mush, +for days, weeks and months, became unbearable. If those wretched mule +teams had only once a month hauled in something different--if they had +come in loaded with sweet potatos, green corn or wheat flour, there would +be thousands of men still living who now slumber beneath those melancholy +pines. It would have given something to look forward to, and remember +when past. But to know each day that the gates would open to admit the +same distasteful apologies for food took away the appetite and raised +one's gorge, even while famishing for something to eat. + +<p>We could for a while forget the stench, the lice, the heat, the maggots, +the dead and dying around us, the insulting malignance of our jailors; +but it was, very hard work to banish thoughts and longings for food from +our minds. Hundreds became actually insane from brooding over it. Crazy +men could be found in all parts of the camp. Numbers of them wandered +around entirely naked. Their babblings and maunderings about something +to eat were painful to hear. I have before mentioned the case of the +Plymouth Pilgrim near me, whose insanity took the form of imagining that +he was sitting at the table with his family, and who would go through the +show of helping them to imaginary viands and delicacies. The cravings +for green food of those afflicted with the scurvy were, agonizing. Large +numbers of watermelons were brought to the prison, and sold to those who +had the money to pay for them at from one to five dollars, greenbacks, +apiece. A boy who had means to buy a piece of these would be followed +about while eating it by a crowd of perhaps twenty-five or thirty livid- +gummed scorbutics, each imploring him for the rind when he was through +with it. + +<p>We thought of food all day, and were visited with torturing dreams of it +at night. One of the pleasant recollections of my pre-military life was +a banquet at the "Planter's House," St. Louis, at which I was a boyish +guest. It was, doubtless, an ordinary affair, as banquets go, but to me +then, with all the keen appreciation of youth and first experience, it +was a feast worthy of Lucullus. But now this delightful reminiscence +became a torment. Hundreds of times I dreamed I was again at the +"Planter's." I saw the wide corridors, with their mosaic pavement; +I entered the grand dining-room, keeping timidly near the friend to whose +kindness I owed this wonderful favor; I saw again the mirror-lined walls, +the evergreen decked ceilings, the festoons and mottos, the tables +gleaming with cutglass and silver, the buffets with wines and fruits, +the brigade of sleek, black, white-aproned waiters, headed by one who had +presence enough for a major General. Again I reveled in all the dainties +and dishes on the bill-of-fare; calling for everything that I dared to, +just to see what each was like, and to be able to say afterwards that I +had partaken of it; all these bewildering delights of the first +realization of what a boy has read and wondered much over, and longed +for, would dance their rout and reel through my somnolent brain. Then I +would awake to find myself a half-naked, half-starved, vermin-eaten +wretch, crouching in a hole in the ground, waiting for my keepers to +fling me a chunk of corn bread. + +<p>Naturally the boys--and especially the country boys and new prisoners-- +talked much of victuals--what they had had, and what they would have +again, when they got out. Take this as a sample of the conversation +which might be heard in any group of boys, sitting together on the sand, +killin lice and talking of exchange: + +<p>Tom--"Well, Bill, when we get back to God's country, you and Jim and John +must all come to my house and take dinner with me. I want to give you a +square meal. I want to show you just what good livin' is. You know my +mother is just the best cook in all that section. When she lays herself +out to get up a meal all the other women in the neighborhood just stand +back and admire!" + +<p>Bill--"O, that's all right; but I'll bet she can't hold a candle to my +mother, when it comes to good cooking." + +<p>Jim--"No, nor to mine." + +<p>John--(with patronizing contempt.) "O, shucks! None of you fellers were +ever at our house, even when we had one of our common weekday dinners." + +<p>Tom--(unheedful of the counter claims.) I hev teen studyin' up the dinner +I'd like, and the bill-of-fare I'd set out for you fellers when you come +over to see me. First, of course, we'll lay the foundation like with a +nice, juicy loin roast, and some mashed potatos. + +<p>Bill--(interrupting.) "Now, do you like mashed potatos with beef? The +way may mother does is to pare the potatos, and lay them in the pan along +with the beef. Then, you know, they come out just as nice and crisp, and +brown; they have soaked up all the beef gravy, and they crinkle between +your teeth--" + +<p>Jim--"Now, I tell you, mashed Neshannocks with butter on 'em is plenty +good enough for me." + +<p>John--"If you'd et some of the new kind of peachblows that we raised in +the old pasture lot the year before I enlisted, you'd never say another +word about your Neshannocks." + +<p>Tom--(taking breath and starting in fresh.) "Then we'll hev some fried +Spring chickens, of our dominick breed. Them dominicks of ours have the +nicest, tenderest meat, better'n quail, a darned sight, and the way my +mother can fry Spring chickens----" + +<p>Bill--(aside to Jim.) "Every durned woman in the country thinks she can +'spry ching frickens;' but my mother---" + +<p>John--"You fellers all know that there's nobody knows half as much about +chicken doin's as these 'tinerant Methodis' preachers. They give 'em +chicken wherever they go, and folks do say that out in the new +settlements they can't get no preachin', no gospel, nor nothin', until +the chickens become so plenty that a preacher is reasonably sure of +havin' one for his dinner wherever he may go. Now, there's old Peter +Cartwright, who has traveled over Illinoy and Indianny since the Year +One, and preached more good sermons than any other man who ever set on +saddle-bags, and has et more chickens than there are birds in a big +pigeon roost. Well, he took dinner at our house when he came up to +dedicate the big, white church at Simpkin's Corners, and when he passed +up his plate the third time for more chicken, he sez, sez he:--I've et +at a great many hundred tables in the fifty years I have labored in the +vineyard of the Redeemer, but I must say, Mrs. Kiggins, that your way of +frying chickens is a leetle the nicest that I ever knew. I only wish +that the sisters generally would get your reseet.' Yes, that's what he +said,--'a leetle the nicest.'" + +<p>Tom--"An' then, we'll hev biscuits an' butter. I'll just bet five +hundred dollars to a cent, and give back the cent if I win, that we have +the best butter at our house that there is in Central Illinoy. You can't +never hev good butter onless you have a spring house; there's no use of +talkin'--all the patent churns that lazy men ever invented--all the fancy +milk pans an' coolers, can't make up for a spring house. Locations for a +spring house are scarcer than hen's teeth in Illinoy, but we hev one, and +there ain't a better one in Orange County, New York. Then you'll see +dome of the biscuits my mother makes." + +<p>Bill--"Well, now, my mother's a boss biscuit-maker, too." + +<p>Jim--"You kin just gamble that mine is." + +<p>John--"O, that's the way you fellers ought to think an' talk, but my +mother----" + +<p>Tom--(coming in again with fresh vigor) "They're jest as light an' fluffy +as a dandelion puff, and they melt in your month like a ripe Bartlett +pear. You just pull 'em open--Now you know that I think there's nothin' +that shows a person's raisin' so well as to see him eat biscuits an' +butter. If he's been raised mostly on corn bread, an' common doins,' +an' don't know much about good things to eat, he'll most likely cut his +biscuit open with a case knife, an' make it fall as flat as one o' +yesterday's pancakes. But if he is used to biscuits, has had 'em often +at his house, he'll--just pull 'em open, slow an' easy like, then he'll +lay a little slice of butter inside, and drop a few drops of clear honey +on this, an' stick the two halves back, together again, an--" + +<p>"Oh, for God Almighty's sake, stop talking that infernal nonsense," roar +out a half dozen of the surrounding crowd, whose mouths have been +watering over this unctuous recital of the good things of the table. +"You blamed fools, do you want to drive yourselves and everybody else +crazy with such stuff as that. Dry up and try to think of something +else." + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p344"></a><img alt="p344.jpg (16K)" src="p344.jpg" height="319" width="337"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br><br><br> + +<h2><a name="ch46"></a>CHAPTER XLVI. +</h2> +<p>SURLY BRITON--THE STOLID COURAGE THAT MAKES THE ENGLISH FLAG A BANNER OF +TRIUMPH--OUR COMPANY BUGLER, HIS CHARACTERISTICS AND HIS DEATH--URGENT +DEMAND FOR MECHANICS--NONE WANT TO GO--TREATMENT OF A REBEL SHOEMAKER-- +ENLARGEMENT OF THE STOCKADE--IT IS BROKEN BY A STORM-- +THE WONDERFUL SPRING. + +<p>Early in August, F. Marriott, our Company Bugler, died. Previous to +coming to America he had been for many years an English soldier, and I +accepted him as a type of that stolid, doggedly brave class, which forms +the bulk of the English armies, and has for centuries carried the British +flag with dauntless courage into every land under the sun. Rough, surly +and unsocial, he did his duty with the unemotional steadiness of a +machine. He knew nothing but to obey orders, and obeyed them under all +circumstances promptly, but with stony impassiveness. With the command +to move forward into action, he moved forward without a word, and with +face as blank as a side of sole leather. He went as far as ordered, +halted at the word, and retired at command as phlegmatically as he +advanced. If he cared a straw whether he advanced or retreated, if it +mattered to the extent of a pinch of salt whether we whipped the Rebels +or they defeated us, he kept that feeling so deeply hidden in the +recesses of his sturdy bosom that no one ever suspected it. In the +excitement of action the rest of the boys shouted, and swore, and +expressed their tense feelings in various ways, but Marriott might as +well have been a graven image, for all the expression that he suffered to +escape. Doubtless, if the Captain had ordered him to shoot one of the +company through the heart, he would have executed the command according +to the manual of arms, brought his carbine to a "recover," and at the +word marched back to his quarters without an inquiry as to the cause of +the proceedings. He made no friends, and though his surliness repelled +us, he made few enemies. Indeed, he was rather a favorite, since he was +a genuine character; his gruffness had no taint of selfish greed in it; +he minded his own business strictly, and wanted others to do the same. +When he first came into the company, it is true, he gained the enmity of +nearly everybody in it, but an incident occurred which turned the tide in +his favor. Some annoying little depredations had been practiced on the +boys, and it needed but a word of suspicion to inflame all their minds +against the surly Englishman as the unknown perpetrator. The feeling +intensified, until about half of the company were in a mood to kill the +Bugler outright. As we were returning from stable duty one evening, +some little occurrence fanned the smoldering anger into a fierce blaze; +a couple of the smaller boys began an attack upon him; others hastened to +their assistance, and soon half the company were engaged in the assault. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p346"></a><img alt="p346.jpg (19K)" src="p346.jpg" height="473" width="299"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>He succeeded in disengaging himself from his assailants, and, squaring +himself off, said, defiantly: + +<p>"Dom yer cowardly heyes; jest come hat me one hat a time, hand hI'll +wollop the 'ole gang uv ye's." + +<p>One of our Sergeants styled himself proudly "a Chicago rough," and was as +vain of his pugilistic abilities as a small boy is of a father who plays +in the band. We all hated him cordially--even more than we did Marriott. + +<p>He thought this was a good time to show off, and forcing his way through +the crowd, he said, vauntingly: + +<p>"Just fall back and form a ring, boys, and see me polish off the---fool." + +<p>The ring was formed, with the Bugler and the Sergeant in the center. +Though the latter was the younger and stronger the first round showed him +that it would have profited him much more to have let Marriott's +challenge pass unheeded. As a rule, it is as well to ignore all +invitations of this kind from Englishmen, and especially from those who, +like Marriott, have served a term in the army, for they are likely to be +so handy with their fists as to make the consequences of an acceptance +more lively than desirable. + +<p>So the Sergeant found. "Marriott," as one of the spectators expressed +it, "went around him like a cooper around a barrel." He planted his +blows just where he wished, to the intense delight of the boys, who +yelled enthusiastically whenever he got in "a hot one," and their delight +at seeing the Sergeant drubbed so thoroughly and artistically, worked an +entire revolution in his favor. + +<p>Thenceforward we viewed his eccentricities with lenient eyes, and became +rather proud of his bull-dog stolidity and surliness. The whole +battalion soon came to share this feeling, and everybody enjoyed hearing +his deep-toned growl, which mischievous boys would incite by some petty +annoyances deliberately designed for that purpose. I will mention +incidentally, that after his encounter with the Sergeant no one ever +again volunteered to "polish" him off. + +<p>Andersonville did not improve either his temper or his communicativeness. +He seemed to want to get as far away from the rest of us as possible, +and took up his quarters in a remote corner of the Stockade, among utter +strangers. Those of us who wandered up in his neighborhood occasionally, +to see how he was getting along, were received with such scant courtesy, +that we did not hasten to repeat the visit. At length, after none of us +had seen him for weeks, we thought that comradeship demanded another +visit. We found him in the last stages of scurvy and diarrhea. Chunks +of uneaten corn bread lay by his head. They were at least a week old. +The rations since then had evidently been stolen from the helpless man by +those around him. The place where he lay was indescribably filthy, and +his body was swarming with vermin. Some good Samaritan had filled his +little black oyster can with water, and placed it within his reach. +For a week, at least, he had not been able to rise from the ground; +he could barely reach for the water near him. He gave us such a glare of +recognition as I remembered to have seen light up the fast-darkening eyes +of a savage old mastiff, that I and my boyish companions once found dying +in the woods of disease and hurts. Had he been able he would have driven +us away, or at least assailed us with biting English epithets. Thus he +had doubtless driven away all those who had attempted to help him. +We did what little we could, and staid with him until the next afternoon, +when he died. We prepared his body, in the customary way: folded the +hands across his breast, tied the toes together, and carried it outside, +not forgetting each of us, to bring back a load of wood. + +<p>The scarcity of mechanics of all kinds in the Confederacy, and the urgent +needs of the people for many things which the war and the blockade +prevented their obtaining, led to continual inducements being offered to +the artizans among us to go outside and work at their trade. Shoemakers +seemed most in demand; next to these blacksmiths, machinists, molders and +metal workers generally. Not a week passed during my imprisonment that I +did not see a Rebel emissary of some kind about the prison seeking to +engage skilled workmen for some purpose or another. While in Richmond +the managers of the Tredegar Iron Works were brazen and persistent in +their efforts to seduce what are termed "malleable iron workers," to +enter their employ. A boy who was master of any one of the commoner +trades had but to make his wishes known, and he would be allowed to go +out on parole to work. I was a printer, and I think that at least a +dozen times I was approached by Rebel publishers with offers of a parole, +and work at good prices. One from Columbia, S. C., offered me two +dollars and a half a "thousand" for composition. As the highest price +for such work that I had received before enlisting was thirty cents a +thousand, this seemed a chance to accumulate untold wealth. Since a man +working in day time can set from thirty-five to fifty "thousand" a week, +this would make weekly wages run from eighty-seven dollars and fifty +cents to one hundred and twenty-five dollars--but it was in Confederate +money, then worth from ten to twenty cents on the dollar. + +<p>Still better offers were made to iron workers of all kinds, +to shoemakers, tanners, weavers, tailors, hatters, engineers, machinists, +millers, railroad men, and similar tradesmen. Any of these could have +made a handsome thing by accepting the offers made them almost weekly. +As nearly all in the prison had useful trades, it would have been of +immense benefit to the Confederacy if they could have been induced to +work at them. There is no measuring the benefit it would have been to +the Southern cause if all the hundreds of tanners and shoemakers in the +Stockade could have, been persuaded to go outside and labor in providing +leather and shoes for the almost shoeless people and soldiery. The +machinists alone could have done more good to the Southern Confederacy +than one of our brigades was doing harm, by consenting to go to the +railroad shops at Griswoldville and ply their handicraft. The lack of +material resources in the South was one of the strongest allies our arms +had. This lack of resources was primarily caused by a lack of skilled +labor to develop those resources, and nowhere could there be found a +finer collection of skilled laborers than in the thirty-three thousand +prisoners incarcerated in Andersonville. + +<p>All solicitations to accept a parole and go outside to work at one's +trade were treated with the scorn they deserved. If any mechanic yielded +to them, the fact did not come under my notice. The usual reply to +invitations of this kind was: + +<p>"No, Sir! By God, I'll stay in here till I rot, and the maggots carry me +out through the cracks in the Stockade, before I'll so much as raise my +little finger to help the infernal Confederacy, or Rebels, in any shape +or form." + +<p>In August a Macon shoemaker came in to get some of his trade to go back +with him to work in the Confederate shoe factory. He prosecuted his +search for these until he reached the center of the camp on the North +Side, when some of the shoemakers who had gathered around him, apparently +considering his propositions, seized him and threw him into a well. +He was kept there a whole day, and only released when Wirz cut off the +rations of the prison for that day, and announced that no more would be +issued until the man was returned safe and sound to the gate. + +<p>The terrible crowding was somewhat ameliorated by the opening in July of +an addition--six hundred feet long--to the North Side of the Stockade. +This increased the room inside to twenty acres, giving about an acre to +every one thousand seven hundred men,--a preposterously contracted area +still. The new ground was not a hotbed of virulent poison like the olds +however, and those who moved on to it had that much in their favor. + +<p>The palisades between the new and the old portions of the pen were left +standing when the new portion was opened. We were still suffering a +great deal of inconvenience from lack of wood. That night the standing +timbers were attacked by thousands of prisoners armed with every species +of a tool to cut wood, from a case-knife to an ax. They worked the live- +long night with such energy that by morning not only every inch of the +logs above ground had disappeared, but that below had been dug up, and +there was not enough left of the eight hundred foot wall of twenty-five- +foot logs to make a box of matches. + +<p>One afternoon--early in August--one of the violent rain storms common to +that section sprung up, and in a little while the water was falling in +torrents. The little creek running through the camp swelled up +immensely, and swept out large gaps in the Stockade, both in the west and +east sides. The Rebels noticed the breaches as soon as the prisoners. +Two guns were fired from the Star Tort, and all the guards rushed out, +and formed so as to prevent any egress, if one was attempted. Taken by +surprise, we were not in a condition to profit by the opportunity until +it was too late. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p351"></a><img alt="p351.jpg (50K)" src="p351.jpg" height="455" width="583"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>The storm did one good thing: it swept away a great deal of filth, and +left the camp much more wholesome. The foul stench rising from the camp +made an excellent electrical conductor, and the lightning struck several +times within one hundred feet of the prison. + +<p>Toward the end of August there happened what the religously inclined +termed a Providential Dispensation. The water in the Creek was +indescribably bad. No amount of familiarity with it, no increase of +intimacy with our offensive surroundings, could lessen the disgust at the +polluted water. As I have said previously, before the stream entered the +Stockade, it was rendered too filthy for any use by the contaminations +from the camps of the guards, situated about a half-mile above. +Immediately on entering the Stockade the contamination became terrible. +The oozy seep at the bottom of the hillsides drained directly into it all +the mass of filth from a population of thirty-three thousand. Imagine +the condition of an open sewer, passing through the heart of a city of +that many people, and receiving all the offensive product of so dense a +gathering into a shallow, sluggish stream, a yard wide and five inches +deep, and heated by the burning rays of the sun in the thirty-second +degree of latitude. Imagine, if one can, without becoming sick at the +stomach, all of these people having to wash in and drink of this foul +flow. + +<p>There is not a scintilla of exaggeration in this statement. That it is +within the exact truth is demonstrable by the testimony of any man--Rebel +or Union--who ever saw the inside of the Stockade at Andersonville. I am +quite content to have its truth--as well as that of any other statement +made in this book--be determined by the evidence of any one, no matter +how bitter his hatred of the Union, who had any personal knowledge of the +condition of affairs at Andersonville. No one can successfully deny that +there were at least thirty-three thousand prisoners in the Stockade, and +that the one shallow, narrow creek, which passed through the prison, was +at once their main sewer and their source of supply of water for bathing, +drinking and washing. With these main facts admitted, the reader's +common sense of natural consequences will furnish the rest of the +details. + +<p>It is true that some of the more fortunate of us had wells; thanks to our +own energy in overcoming extraordinary obstacles; no thanks to our +gaolers for making the slightest effort to provide these necessities of +life. We dug the wells with case and pocket knives, and half canteens to +a depth of from twenty to thirty feet, pulling up the dirt in pantaloons +legs, and running continual risk of being smothered to death by the +caving in of the unwalled sides. Not only did the Rebels refuse to give +us boards with which to wall the wells, and buckets for drawing the +water, but they did all in their power to prevent us from digging the +wells, and made continual forays to capture the digging tools, because +the wells were frequently used as the starting places for tunnels. +Professor Jones lays special stress on this tunnel feature in his +testimony, which I have introduced in a previous chapter. + +<p>The great majority of the prisoners who went to the Creek for water, went +as near as possible to the Dead Line on the West Side, where the Creek +entered the Stockade, that they might get water with as little filth in +it as possible. In the crowds struggling there for their turn to take a +dip, some one nearly every day got so close to the Dead Line as to arouse +a suspicion in the guard's mind that he was touching it. The suspicion +was the unfortunate one's death warrant, and also its execution. As the +sluggish brain of the guard conceived it he leveled his gun; the distance +to his victim was not over one hundred feet; he never failed his aim; the +first warning the wretched prisoner got that he was suspected of +transgressing a prison-rule was the charge of "ball-and-buck" that tore +through his body. It was lucky if he was, the only one of the group +killed. More wicked and unjustifiable murders never were committed than +these almost daily assassinations at the Creek. + +<p>One morning the camp was astonished beyond measure to discover that +during the night a large, bold spring had burst out on the North Side, +about midway between the Swamp and the summit of the hill. It poured out +its grateful flood of pure, sweet water in an apparently exhaustless +quantity. To the many who looked in wonder upon it, it seemed as truly a +heaven-wrought miracle as when Moses's enchanted rod smote the parched +rock in Sinai's desert waste, and the living waters gushed forth. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p353"></a><img alt="p353.jpg (25K)" src="p353.jpg" height="409" width="403"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>The police took charge of the spring, and every one was compelled to take +his regular turn in filling his vessel. This was kept up during our +whole stay in Andersonville, and every morning, shortly after daybreak, +a thousand men could be seen standing in line, waiting their turns to +fill their cans and cups with the precious liquid. + +<p>I am told by comrades who have revisited the Stockade of recent years, +that the spring is yet running as when we left, and is held in most pious +veneration by the negros of that vicinity, who still preserve the +tradition of its miraculous origin, and ascribe to its water wonderful +grace giving and healing properties, similar to those which pious +Catholics believe exist in the holy water of the fountain at Lourdes. + +<p>I must confess that I do not think they are so very far from right. +If I could believe that any water was sacred and thaumaturgic, it would +be of that fountain which appeared so opportunely for the benefit of the +perishing thousands of Andersonville. And when I hear of people bringing +water for baptismal purposes from the Jordan, I say in my heart, "How +much more would I value for myself and friends the administration of the +chrismal sacrament with the diviner flow from that low sand-hill in +Western Georgia." + +<br><br><br><br> +<h2><a name="ch47"></a>CHAPTER XLVII. +</h2> +<p>"SICK CALL," AND THE SCENES THAT ACCOMPANIED IT--MUSTERING THE LAME, HALT +AND DISEASED AT THE SOUTH GATE--AN UNUSUALLY BAD CASE--GOING OUT TO THE +HOSPITAL--ACCOMMODATION AND TREATMENT OF THE PATIENTS THERE--THE HORRIBLE +SUFFERING IN THE GANGRENE WARD--BUNGLING AMPUTATIONS BY BLUNDERING +PRACTITIONERS--AFFECTION BETWEEN A SAILOR AND HIS WARD-- +DEATH OF MY COMRADE. + +<p>Every morning after roll-call, thousands of sick gathered at the South +Gate, where the doctors made some pretense of affording medical relief. +The scene there reminded me of the illustrations in my Sunday-School +lessons of that time when "great multitudes came unto Him," by the shores +of the Sea of Galilee, "having with them those that were lame, blind, +dumb, maimed, and many others." Had the crowds worn the flouting robes +of the East, the picture would have lacked nothing but the presence of +the Son of Man to make it complete. Here were the burning sands and +parching sun; hither came scores of groups of three or four comrades, +laboriously staggering under the weight of a blanket in which they had +carried a disabled and dying friend from some distant part of the +Stockade. Beside them hobbled the scorbutics with swollen and distorted +limbs, each more loathsome and nearer death than the lepers whom Christ's +divine touch made whole. Dozens, unable to walk, and having no comrades +to carry them, crawled painfully along, with frequent stops, on their +hands and knees. Every, form of intense physical suffering that it is +possible for disease to induce in the human frame was visible at these +daily parades of the sick of the prison. As over three thousand (three +thousand and seventy-six) died in August, there were probably twelve +thousand dangerously sick at any given time daring the month; and a large +part of these collected at the South Gate every morning. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p356"></a><img alt="p356.jpg (54K)" src="p356.jpg" height="230" width="650"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>Measurably-calloused as we had become by the daily sights of horror +around us, we encountered spectacles in these gatherings which no amount +of visible misery could accustom us to. I remember one especially that +burned itself deeply into my memory. It was of a young man not over +twenty-five, who a few weeks ago--his clothes looked comparatively new-- +had evidently been the picture of manly beauty and youthful vigor. +He had had a well-knit, lithe form; dark curling hair fell over a +forehead which had once been fair, and his eyes still showed that they +had gleamed with a bold, adventurous spirit. The red clover leaf on his +cap showed that he belonged to the First Division of the Second Corps, +the three chevrons on his arm that he was a Sergeant, and the stripe at +his cuff that he was a veteran. Some kind-hearted boys had found him in +a miserable condition on the North Side, and carried him over in a +blanket to where the doctors could see him. He had but little clothing +on, save his blouse and cap. Ulcers of some kind had formed in his +abdomen, and these were now masses of squirming worms. It was so much +worse than the usual forms of suffering, that quite a little crowd of +compassionate spectators gathered around and expressed their pity. +The sufferer turned to one who lay beside him with: + +<p>"Comrade: If we were only under the old Stars and Stripes, we wouldn't +care a G-d d--n for a few worms, would we?" + +<p>This was not profane. It was an utterance from the depths of a brave +man's heart, couched in the strongest language at his command. It seemed +terrible that so gallant a soul should depart from earth in this +miserable fashion. Some of us, much moved by the sight, went to the +doctors and put the case as strongly as possible, begging them to do +something to alleviate his suffering. They declined to see the case, +but got rid of us by giving us a bottle of turpentine, with directions to +pour it upon the ulcers to kill the maggots. We did so. It must have +been cruel torture, and as absurd remedially as cruel, but our hero set +his teeth and endured, without a groan. He was then carried out to the +hospital to die. + +<p>I said the doctors made a pretense of affording medical relief. It was +hardly that, since about all the prescription for those inside the +Stockade consisted in giving a handful of sumach berries to each of those +complaining of scurvy. The berries might have done some good, had there +been enough of them, and had their action been assisted by proper food. +As it was, they were probably nearly, if not wholly, useless. Nothing +was given to arrest the ravages of dysentery. + +<p>A limited number of the worst cases were admitted to the Hospital each +day. As this only had capacity for about one-quarter of the sick in the +Stockade, new patients could only be admitted as others died. It seemed, +anyway, like signing a man's death warrant to send him to the Hospital, +as three out of every four who went out there died. The following from +the official report of the Hospital shows this: +<br><br> +<p>Total number admitted .........................................12,900 +<p>Died ................................................. 8,663 +<p>Exchanged ............................................ 828 +<p>Took the oath of allegiance .......................... 25 +<p>Sent elsewhere ....................................... 2,889 +<br> +<p>Total ................................................12,400 +<br> +<p>Average deaths, 76 per cent. +<br><br> +<p> +Early in August I made a successful effort to get out to the Hospital. I +had several reasons for this: First, one of my chums, W. W. Watts, of +my own company, had been sent out a little whale before very sick with +scurvy and pneumonia, and I wanted to see if I could do anything for him, +if he still lived: I have mentioned before that for awhile after our +entrance into Andersonville five of us slept on one overcoat and covered +ourselves with one blanket. Two of these had already died, leaving as +possessors of-the blanket and overcoat, W. W. Watts, B. B. Andrews, and +myself. + +<p>Next, I wanted to go out to see if there was any prospect of escape. +I had long since given up hopes of escaping from the Stockade. All our +attempts at tunneling had resulted in dead failures, and now, to make us +wholly despair of success in that direction, another Stockade was built +clear around the prison, at a distance of one hundred and twenty feet +from the first palisades. It was manifest that though we might succeed +in tunneling past one Stockade, we could not go beyond the second one. + +<p>I had the scurvy rather badly, and being naturally slight in frame, +I presented a very sick appearance to the physicians, and was passed out +to the Hospital. + +<p>While this was a wretched affair, it was still a vast improvement on the +Stockade. About five acres of ground, a little southeast of the +Stockade, and bordering on a creek, were enclosed by a board fence, +around which the guard walked, trees shaded the ground tolerably well. +There were tents and flies to shelter part of the sick, and in these were +beds made of pine leaves. There were regular streets and alleys running +through the grounds, and as the management was in the hands of our own +men, the place was kept reasonably clean and orderly for Andersonville. + +<p>There was also some improvement in the food. Rice in some degree +replaced the nauseous and innutritious corn bread, and if served in +sufficient quantities, would doubtless have promoted the recovery of many +men dying from dysenteric diseases. We also received small quantities of +"okra," a plant peculiar to the South, whose pods contained a +mucilaginous matter that made a soup very grateful to those suffering +from scurvy. + +<p>But all these ameliorations of condition were too slight to even arrest +the progress of the disease of the thousands of dying men brought out +from the Stockade. These still wore the same lice-infested garments as +in prison; no baths or even ordinary applications of soap and water +cleaned their dirt-grimed skins, to give their pores an opportunity to +assist in restoring them to health; even their long, lank and matted +hair, swarming with vermin, was not trimmed. The most ordinary and +obvious measures for their comfort and care were neglected. If a man +recovered he did it almost in spite of fate. The medicines given were +scanty and crude. The principal remedial agent--as far as my observation +extended--was a rank, fetid species of unrectified spirits, which, I was +told, was made from sorgum seed. It had a light-green tinge, and was +about as inviting to the taste as spirits of turpentine. It was given to +the sick in small quantities mixed with water. I had had some experience +with Kentucky "apple-jack," which, it was popularly believed among the +boys, would dissolve a piece of the fattest pork thrown into it, but that +seemed balmy and oily alongside of this. After tasting some, I ceased to +wonder at the atrocities of Wirz and his associates. Nothing would seem +too bad to a man who made that his habitual tipple. + +<p>[For a more particular description of the Hospital I must refer my reader +to the testimony of Professor Jones, in a previous chapter.] + +<p>Certainly this continent has never seen--and I fervently trust it will +never again see--such a gigantic concentration of misery as that Hospital +displayed daily. The official statistics tell the story of this with +terrible brevity: There were three thousand seven hundred and nine in the +Hospital in August; one thousand four hundred and eighty-nine--nearly +every other man died. The rate afterwards became much higher than this. + +<p>The most conspicuous suffering was in the gangrene wards. Horrible sores +spreading almost visibly from hour to hour, devoured men's limbs and +bodies. I remember one ward in which the alterations appeared to be +altogether in the back, where they ate out the tissue between the skin +and the ribs. The attendants seemed trying to arrest the progress of the +sloughing by drenching the sores with a solution of blue vitriol. This +was exquisitely painful, and in the morning, when the drenching was going +on, the whole hospital rang with the most agonizing screams. + +<p>But the gangrene mostly attacked the legs and arms, and the led more than +the arms. Sometimes it killed men inside of a week; sometimes they +lingered on indefinitely. I remember one man in the Stockade who cut his +hand with the sharp corner of a card of corn bread he was lifting from +the ration wagon; gangrene set in immediately, and he died four days +after. + +<p>One form that was quit prevalent was a cancer of the lower one corner of +the mouth, and it finally ate the whole side of the face out. Of course +the sufferer had the greatest trouble in eating and drinking. For the +latter it was customary to whittle out a little wooden tube, and fasten +it in a tin cup, through which he could suck up the water. As this mouth +cancer seemed contagious, none of us would allow any one afflicted with +it to use any of our cooking utensils. The Rebel doctors at the hospital +resorted to wholesale amputations to check the progress of the gangrene. + +<p>They had a two hours session of limb-lopping every morning, each of which +resulted in quite a pile of severed members. I presume more bungling +operations are rarely seen outside of Russian or Turkish hospitals. +Their unskilfulness was apparent even to non-scientific observers like +myself. The standard of medical education in the South--as indeed of +every other form of education--was quite low. The Chief Surgeon of the +prison, Dr. Isaiah White, and perhaps two or three others, seemed to be +gentlemen of fair abilities and attainments. The remainder were of that +class of illiterate and unlearning quacks who physic and blister the poor +whites and negros in the country districts of the South; who believe they +can stop bleeding of the nose by repeating a verse from the Bible; who +think that if in gathering their favorite remedy of boneset they cut the +stem upwards it will purge their patients, and if downward it will vomit +them, and who hold that there is nothing so good for "fits" as a black +cat, killed in the dark of the moon, cut open, and bound while yet warm, +upon the naked chest of the victim of the convulsions. + +<p>They had a case of instruments captured from some of our field hospitals, +which were dull and fearfully out of order. With poor instruments and +unskilled hands the operations became mangling. + +<p>In the Hospital I saw an admirable illustration of the affection which a +sailor will lavish on a ship's boy, whom he takes a fancy to, and makes +his "chicken," as the phrase is. The United States sloop "Water Witch" +had recently been captured in Ossabaw Sound, and her crew brought into +prison. One of her boys--a bright, handsome little fellow of about +fifteen--had lost one of his arms in the fight. He was brought into the +Hospital, and the old fellow whose "chicken" he was, was allowed to +accompany and nurse him. This "old barnacle-back" was as surly a growler +as ever went aloft, but to his "chicken" he was as tender and thoughtful +as a woman. They found a shady nook in one corner, and any moment one +looked in that direction he could see the old tar hard at work at +something for the comfort and pleasure of his pet. Now he was dressing +the wound as deftly and gently as a mother caring for a new-born babe; +now he was trying to concoct some relish out of the slender materials he +could beg or steal from the Quartermaster; now trying to arrange the +shade of the bed of pine leaves in a more comfortable manner; now +repairing or washing his clothes, and so on. + +<p>All the sailors were particularly favored by being allowed to bring their +bags in untouched by the guards. This "chicken" had a wonderful supply +of clothes, the handiwork of his protector who, like most good sailors, +was very skillful with the needle. He had suits of fine white duck, +embroidered with blue in a way that would ravish the heart of a fine +lady, and blue suits similarly embroidered with white. No belle ever +kept her clothes in better order than these were. When the duck came up +from the old sailor's patient washing it was as spotless as new-fallen +snow. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p361"></a><img alt="p361.jpg (24K)" src="p361.jpg" height="481" width="351"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>I found my chum in a very bad condition. His appetite was entirely gone, +but he had an inordinate craving for tobacco--for strong, black plug-- +which he smoked in a pipe. He had already traded off all his brass +buttons to the guards for this. I had accumulated a few buttons to bribe +the guard to take me out for wood, and I gave these also for tobacco for +him. When I awoke one morning the man who laid next to me on the right +was dead, having died sometime during the night. I searched his pockets +and took what was in them. These were a silk pocket handkerchief, a +gutta percha finger-ring, a comb, a pencil, and a leather pocket-book, +making in all quite a nice little "find." I hied over to the guard, and +succeeded in trading the personal estate which I had inherited from the +intestate deceased, for a handful of peaches, a handful of hardly ripe +figs, and a long plug of tobacco. I hastened back to Watts, expecting +that the figs and peaches would do him a world of good. At first I did +not show him the tobacco, as I was strongly opposed to his using it, +thinking that it was making him much worse. But he looked at the +tempting peaches and figs with lack-luster eyes; he was too far gone to +care for them. He pushed them back to me, saying faintly: + +<p>"No, you take 'em, Mc; I don't want 'em; I can't eat 'em!" + +<p>I then produced the tobacco, and his face lighted up. Concluding that +this was all the comfort that he could have, and that I might as well +gratify him, I cut up some of the weed, filled his pipe and lighted it. +He smoked calmly and almost happily all the afternoon, hardly speaking a +word to me. As it grew dark he asked me to bring him a drink. I did so, +and as I raised him up he said: + +<p>"Mc, this thing's ended. Tell my father that I stood it as long as I +could, and----" + +<p>The death rattle sounded in his throat, and when I laid him back it was +all over. Straightening out his limbs, folding his hands across his +breast, and composing his features as best I could, I lay, down beside +the body and slept till morning, when I did what little else I could +toward preparing for the grave all that was left of my long-suffering +little friend. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p363"></a><img alt="p363.jpg (28K)" src="p363.jpg" height="391" width="471"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br><br><br> + +<h2><a name="ch48"></a>CHAPTER XLVIII. +</h2> +<p>DETERMINATION TO ESCAPE--DIFFERENT PLANS AND THEIR MERITS--I PREFER THE +APPALACHICOLA ROUTE--PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE--A HOT DAY--THE FENCE +PASSED SUCCESSFULLY PURSUED BY THE HOUNDS--CAUGHT-- +RETURNED TO THE STOCKADE. + +<p>After Watt's death, I set earnestly about seeing what could be done in +the way of escape. Frank Harvey, of the First West Virginia Cavalry, +a boy of about my own age and disposition, joined with me in the scheme. +I was still possessed with my original plan of making my way down the +creeks to the Flint River, down the Flint River to where it emptied into +the Appalachicola River, and down that stream to its debauchure into the +bay that connected with the Gulf of Mexico. I was sure of finding my way +by this route, because, if nothing else offered, I could get astride of a +log and float down the current. The way to Sherman, in the other +direction, was long, torturous and difficult, with a fearful gauntlet of +blood-hounds, patrols and the scouts of Hood's Army to be run. I had but +little difficulty in persuading Harvey into an acceptance of my views, +and we began arranging for a solution of the first great problem--how to +get outside of the Hospital guards. As I have explained before, the +Hospital was surrounded by a board fence, with guards walking their beats +on the ground outside. A small creek flowed through the southern end of +the grounds, and at its lower end was used as a sink. The boards of the +fence came down to the surface of the water, where the Creek passed out, +but we found, by careful prodding with a stick, that the hole between the +boards and the bottom of the Creek was sufficiently large to allow the +passage of our bodies, and there had been no stakes driven or other +precautions used to prevent egress by this channel. A guard was posted +there, and probably ordered to stand at the edge of the stream, but it +smelled so vilely in those scorching days that he had consulted his +feelings and probably his health, by retiring to the top of the bank, +a rod or more distant. We watched night after night, and at last were +gratified to find that none went nearer the Creak than the top of this +bank. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p365"></a><img alt="p365.jpg (40K)" src="p365.jpg" height="445" width="519"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>Then we waited for the moon to come right, so that the first part of the +night should be dark. This took several days, but at last we knew that +the next night she would not rise until between 9 and 10 o'clock, which +would give us nearly two hours of the dense darkness of a moonless Summer +night in the South. We had first thought of saving up some rations for +the trip, but then reflected that these would be ruined by the filthy +water into which we must sink to go under the fence. It was not +difficult to abandon the food idea, since it was very hard to force +ourselves to lay by even the smallest portion of our scanty rations. + +<p>As the next day wore on, our minds were wrought up into exalted tension +by the rapid approach of the supreme moment, with all its chances and +consequences. The experience of the past few months was not such as to +mentally fit us for such a hazard. It prepared us for sullen, +uncomplaining endurance, for calmly contemplating the worst that could +come; but it did not strengthen that fiber of mind that leads to +venturesome activity and daring exploits. Doubtless the weakness of our +bodies reacted upon our spirits. We contemplated all the perils that +confronted us; perils that, now looming up with impending nearness, took +a clearer and more threatening shape than they had ever done before. + +<p>We considered the desperate chances of passing the guard unseen; or, if +noticed, of escaping his fire without death or severe wounds. But +supposing him fortunately evaded, then came the gauntlet of the hounds +and the patrols hunting deserters. After this, a long, weary journey, +with bare feet and almost naked bodies, through an unknown country +abounding with enemies; the dangers of assassination by the embittered +populace; the risks of dying with hunger and fatigue in the gloomy depths +of a swamp; the scanty hopes that, if we reached the seashore, we could +get to our vessels. + +<p>Not one of all these contingencies failed to expand itself to all its +alarming proportions, and unite with its fellows to form a dreadful +vista, like the valleys filled with demons and genii, dragons and malign +enchantments, which confront the heros of the "Arabian Nights," when they +set out to perform their exploits. + +<p>But behind us lay more miseries and horrors than a riotous imagination +could conceive; before us could certainly be nothing worse. We would put +life and freedom to the hazard of a touch, and win or lose it all. + +<p>The day had been intolerably hot. The sun's rays seemed to sear the +earth, like heated irons, and the air that lay on the burning sand was +broken by wavy lines, such as one sees indicate the radiation from a hot +stove. + +<p>Except the wretched chain-gang plodding torturously back and forward on +the hillside, not a soul nor an animal could be seen in motion outside +the Stockade. The hounds were panting in their kennel; the Rebel +officers, half or wholly drunken with villainous sorgum whisky, were +stretched at full length in the shade at headquarters; the half-caked +gunners crouched under the shadow of the embankments of the forts, the +guards hung limply over the Stockade in front of their little perches; +the thirty thousand boys inside the Stockade, prone or supine upon the +glowing sand, gasped for breath--for one draft of sweet, cool, wholesome +air that did not bear on its wings the subtle seeds of rank corruption +and death. Everywhere was the prostration of discomfort--the inertia of +sluggishness. + +<p>Only the sick moved; only the pain-racked cried out; only the dying +struggled; only the agonies of dissolution could make life assert itself +against the exhaustion of the heat. + +<p>Harvey and I, lying in the scanty shade of the trunk of a tall pine, and +with hearts filled with solicitude as to the outcome of what the evening +would bring us, looked out over the scene as we had done daily for long +months, and remained silent for hours, until the sun, as if weary with +torturing and slaying, began going down in the blazing West. The groans +of the thousands of sick around us, the shrieks of the rotting ones in +the gangrene wards rang incessantly in our ears. + +<p>As the sun disappeared, and the heat abated, the suspended activity was +restored. The Master of the Hounds came out with his yelping pack, and +started on his rounds; the Rebel officers aroused themselves from their +siesta and went lazily about their duties; the fifer produced his cracked +fife and piped forth his unvarying "Bonnie Blue Flag," as a signal for +dress parade, and drums beaten by unskilled hands in the camps of the +different regiments, repeated the signal. In time Stockade the mass of +humanity became full of motion as an ant hill, and resembled it very much +from our point of view, with the boys threading their way among the +burrows, tents and holes. + +<p>It was becoming dark quite rapidly. The moments seemed galloping onward +toward the time when we must make the decisive step. We drew from the +dirty rag in which it was wrapped the little piece of corn bread that we +had saved for our supper, carefully divided it into two equal parts, +and each took one and ate it in silence. This done, we held a final +consultation as to our plans, and went over each detail carefully, that +we might fully understand each other under all possible circumstances, +and act in concert. One point we laboriously impressed upon each other, +and that was; that under no circumstances were we to allow ourselves to +be tempted to leave the Creek until we reached its junction with the +Flint River. I then picked up two pine leaves, broke them off to unequal +lengths, rolled them in my hands behind my back for a second, and +presenting them to Harney with their ends sticking out of my closed hand, +said: + +<p>"The one that gets the longest one goes first." + +<p>Harvey reached forth and drew the longer one. + +<p>We made a tour of reconnaissance. Everything seemed as usual, and +wonderfully calm compared with the tumult in our minds. The Hospital +guards were pacing their beats lazily; those on the Stockade were +drawling listlessly the first "call around" of the evening: + +<p>"Post numbah foah! Half-past seven o'clock! and a-l-l's we-l-ll!" + +<p>Inside the Stockade was a Babel of sounds, above all of which rose the +melody of religious and patriotic songs, sung in various parts of the +camp. From the headquarters came the shouts and laughter of the Rebel +officers having a little "frolic" in the cool of the evening. The groans +of the sick around us were gradually hushing, as the abatement of the +terrible heat let all but the worst cases sink into a brief slumber, +from which they awoke before midnight to renew their outcries. But those +in the Gangrene wards seemed to be denied even this scanty blessing. +Apparently they never slept, for their shrieks never ceased. A multitude +of whip-poor-wills in the woods around us began their usual dismal cry, +which had never seemed so unearthly and full of dreadful presages as now. + +<p>It was, now quite dark, and we stole noiselessly down to the Creek and +reconnoitered. We listened. The guard was not pacing his beat, as we +could not hear his footsteps. A large, ill-shapen lump against the trunk +of one of the trees on the bank showed that he was leaning there resting +himself. We watched him for several minutes, but he did not move, and +the thought shot into our minds that he might be asleep; but it seemed +impossible: it was too early in the evening. + +<p>Now, if ever, was the opportunity. Harney squeezed my hand, stepped +noiselessly into the Creek, laid himself gently down into the filthy +water, and while my heart was beating so that I was certain it could be +heard some distance from me, began making toward the fence. He passed +under easily, and I raised my eyes toward the guard, while on my strained +ear fell the soft plashing made by Harvey as he pulled himself cautiously +forward. It seemed as if the sentinel must hear this; he could not help +it, and every second I expected to see the black lump address itself to +motion, and the musket flash out fiendishly. But he did not; the lump +remained motionless; the musket silent. + +<p>When I thought that Harvey had gained a sufficient distance I followed. +It seemed as if the disgusting water would smother me as I laid myself +down into it, and such was my agitation that it appeared almost +impossible that I should escape making such a noise as would attract the +guard's notice. Catching hold of the roots and limbs at the side of the +stream, I pulled myself slowly along, and as noiselessly as possible. + +<p>I passed under the fence without difficulty, and was outside, and within +fifteen feet of the guard. I had lain down into the creek upon my right +side, that my face might be toward the guard, and I could watch him +closely all the time. + +<p>As I came under the fence he was still leaning motionless against the +tree, but to my heated imagination he appeared to have turned and be +watching me. I hardly breathed; the filthy water rippling past me seemed +to roar to attract the guard's attention; I reached my hand out +cautiously to grasp a root to pull myself along by, and caught instead a +dry branch, which broke with a loud crack. My heart absolutely stood +still. The guard evidently heard the noise. The black lump separated +itself from the tree, and a straight line which I knew to be his musket +separated itself from the lump. In a brief instant I lived a year of +mortal apprehension. So certain was I that he had discovered me, and was +leveling his piece to fire, that I could scarcely restrain myself from +springing up and dashing away to avoid the shot. Then I heard him take a +step, and to my unutterable surprise and relief, he walked off farther +from the Creek, evidently to speak to the man whose beat joined his. + +<p>I pulled away more swiftly, but still with the greatest caution, until +after half-an-hour's painful effort I had gotten fully one hundred and +fifty yards away from the Hospital fence, and found Harney crouched on a +cypress knee, close to the water's edge, watching for me. + +<p>We waited there a few minutes, until I could rest, and calm my perturbed +nerves down to something nearer their normal equilibrium, and then +started on. We hoped that if we were as lucky in our next step as in the +first one we would reach the Flint River by daylight, and have a good +long start before the morning roll-call revealed our absence. We could +hear the hounds still baying in the distance, but this sound was too +customary to give us any uneasiness. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p370"></a><img alt="p370.jpg (38K)" src="p370.jpg" height="467" width="477"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>But our progress was terribly slow. Every step hurt fearfully. The +Creek bed was full of roots and snags, and briers, and vines trailed +across it. These caught and tore our bare feet and legs, rendered +abnormally tender by the scurvy. It seemed as if every step was marked +with blood. The vines tripped us, and we frequently fell headlong. We +struggled on determinedly for nearly an hour, and were perhaps a mile +from the Hospital. + +<p>The moon came up, and its light showed that the creek continued its +course through a dense jungle like that we had been traversing, while on +the high ground to our left were the open pine woods I have previously +described. + +<p>We stopped and debated for a few minutes. We recalled our promise to +keep in the Creek, the experience of other boys who had tried to escape +and been caught by the hounds. If we staid in the Creek we were sure the +hounds would not find our trail, but it was equally certain that at this +rate we would be exhausted and starved before we got out of sight of the +prison. It seemed that we had gone far enough to be out of reach of the +packs patrolling immediately around the Stockade, and there could be but +little risk in trying a short walk on the dry ground. We concluded to +take the chances, and, ascending the bank, we walked and ran as fast as +we could for about two miles further. + +<p>All at once it struck me that with all our progress the hounds sounded as +near as when we started. I shivered at the thought, and though nearly +ready to drop with fatigue, urged myself and Harney on. + +<p>An instant later their baying rang out on the still night air right +behind us, and with fearful distinctness. There was no mistake now; they +had found our trail, and were running us down. The change from fearful +apprehension to the crushing reality stopped us stock-still in our +tracks. + +<p>At the next breath the hounds came bursting through the woods in plain +sight, and in full cry. We obeyed our first impulse; rushed back into +the swamp, forced our way for a few yards through the flesh-tearing +impediments, until we gained a large cypress, upon whose great knees we +climbed--thoroughly exhausted--just as the yelping pack reached the edge +of the water, and stopped there and bayed at us. It was a physical +impossibility for us to go another step. + +<p>In a moment the low-browed villain who had charge of the hounds came +galloping up on his mule, tooting signals to his dogs as he came, on the +cow-horn slung from his shoulders. + +<p>He immediately discovered us, covered us with his revolver, and yelled +out: + +<p>"Come ashore, there, quick: you---- ---- ---- ----s!" + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p372"></a><img alt="p372.jpg (53K)" src="p372.jpg" height="495" width="595"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>There was no help for it. We climbed down off the knees and started +towards the land. As we neared it, the hounds became almost frantic, +and it seemed as if we would be torn to pieces the moment they could +reach us. But the master dismounted and drove them back. He was surly- +even savage--to us, but seemed in too much hurry to get back to waste any +time annoying us with the dogs. He ordered us to get around in front of +the mule, and start back to camp. We moved as rapidly as our fatigue and +our lacerated feet would allow us, and before midnight were again in the +hospital, fatigued, filthy, torn, bruised and wretched beyond description +or conception. + +<p>The next morning we were turned back into the Stockade as punishment. + +<br><br><br><br> +<h2><a name="ch49"></a>CHAPTER XLIX. +</h2> +<p>AUGUST--GOOD LUCK IN NOT MEETING CAPTAIN WIRZ--THAT WORTHY'S TREATMENT OF +RECAPTURED PRISONERS--SECRET SOCIETIES IN PRISON--SINGULAR MEETING AND +ITS RESULT--DISCOVERY AND REMOVAL OF THE OFFICERS AMONG THE ENLISTED MEN. + +<p>Harney and I were specially fortunate in being turned back into the +Stockade without being brought before Captain Wirz. + +<p>We subsequently learned that we owed this good luck to Wirz's absence on +sick leave--his place being supplied by Lieutenant Davis, a moderate +brained Baltimorean, and one of that horde of Marylanders in the Rebel +Army, whose principal service to the Confederacy consisted in working +themselves into "bomb-proof" places, and forcing those whom they +displaced into the field. Winder was the illustrious head of this crowd +of bomb-proof Rebels from "Maryland, My Maryland!" whose enthusiasm for +the Southern cause and consistency in serving it only in such places as +were out of range of the Yankee artillery, was the subject of many bitter +jibes by the Rebels--especially by those whose secure berths they +possessed themselves of. + +<p>Lieutenant Davis went into the war with great brashness. He was one of +the mob which attacked the Sixth Massachusetts in its passage through +Baltimore, but, like all of that class of roughs, he got his stomach full +of war as soon as the real business of fighting began, and he retired to +where the chances of attaining a ripe old age were better than in front +of the Army of the Potomac's muskets. We shall hear of Davis again. + +<p>Encountering Captain Wirz was one of the terrors of an abortive attempt +to escape. When recaptured prisoners were brought before him he would +frequently give way to paroxysms of screaming rage, so violent as to +closely verge on insanity. Brandishing the fearful and wonderful +revolver--of which I have spoken in such a manner as to threaten the +luckless captives with instant death, he would shriek out imprecations, +curses; and foul epithets in French, German and English, until he fairly +frothed at the mouth. There were plenty of stories current in camp of his +having several times given away to his rage so far as to actually shoot +men down in these interviews, and still more of his knocking boys down +and jumping upon them, until he inflicted injuries that soon resulted in +death. How true these rumors were I am unable to say of my own personal +knowledge, since I never saw him kill any one, nor have I talked with any +one who did. There were a number of cases of this kind testified to upon +his trial, but they all happened among "paroles" outside the Stockade, +or among the prisoners inside after we left, so I knew nothing of them. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p375"></a><img alt="p375.jpg (32K)" src="p375.jpg" height="427" width="439"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>One of the Old Switzer's favorite ways of ending these seances was to +inform the boys that he would have them shot in an hour or so, and bid +them prepare for death. After keeping them in fearful suspense for hours +he would order them to be punished with the stocks, the ball-and-chain, +the chain-gang, or--if his fierce mood had burned itself entirely out-- +as was quite likely with a man of his shallop' brain and vacillating +temper--to be simply returned to the stockade. + +<p>Nothing, I am sure, since the days of the Inquisition--or still later, +since the terrible punishments visited upon the insurgents of 1848 by the +Austrian aristocrats--has been so diabolical as the stocks and chain- +gangs, as used by Wirz. At one time seven men, sitting in the stocks +near the Star Fort--in plain view of the camp--became objects of interest +to everybody inside. They were never relieved from their painful +position, but were kept there until all of them died. I think it was +nearly two weeks before the last one succumbed. What they endured in +that time even imagination cannot conceive--I do not think that an Indian +tribe ever devised keener torture for its captives. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p376"></a><img alt="p376.jpg (41K)" src="p376.jpg" height="449" width="589"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>The chain-gang consisted of a number of men--varying from twelve to +twenty-five, all chained to one sixty-four pound ball. They were also +stationed near the Star Fort, standing out in the hot sun, without a +particle of shade over them. When one moved they all had to move. +They were scourged with the dysentery, and the necessities of some one +of their number kept them constantly in motion. I can see them +distinctly yet, tramping laboriously and painfully back and forward over +that burning hillside, every moment of the long, weary Summer days. + +<p>A comrade writes to remind me of the beneficent work of the Masonic +Order. I mention it most gladly, as it was the sole recognition on the +part of any of our foes of our claims to human kinship. The churches of +all denominations--except the solitary Catholic priest, Father Hamilton, +--ignored us as wholly as if we were dumb beasts. Lay humanitarians were +equally indifferent, and the only interest manifested by any Rebel in the +welfare of any prisoner was by the Masonic brotherhood. The Rebel Masons +interested themselves in securing details outside the Stockade in the +cookhouse, the commissary, and elsewhere, for the brethren among the +prisoners who would accept such favors. Such as did not feel inclined to +go outside on parole received frequent presents in the way of food, and +especially of vegetables, which were literally beyond price. Materials +were sent inside to build tents for the Masons, and I think such as made +themselves known before death, received burial according to the rites of +the Order. Doctor White, and perhaps other Surgeons, belonged to the +fraternity, and the wearing of a Masonic emblem by a new prisoner was +pretty sure to catch their eyes, and be the means of securing for the +wearer the tender of their good offices, such as a detail into the +Hospital as nurse, ward-master, etc. + +<p>I was not fortunate enough to be one of the mystic brethren, and so +missed all share in any of these benefits, as well as in any others, +and I take special pride in one thing: that during my whole imprisonment +I was not beholden to a Rebel for a single favor of any kind. The Rebel +does not live who can say that he ever gave me so much as a handful of +meal, a spoonful of salt, an inch of thread, or a stick of wood. +From first to last I received nothing but my rations, except occasional +trifles that I succeeded in stealing from the stupid officers charged +with issuing rations. I owe no man in the Southern Confederacy gratitude +for anything--not even for a kind word. + +<p>Speaking of secret society pins recalls a noteworthy story which has been +told me since the war, of boys whom I knew. At the breaking out of +hostilities there existed in Toledo a festive little secret society, +such as lurking boys frequently organize, with no other object than fun +and the usual adolescent love of mystery. There were a dozen or so +members in it who called themselves "The Royal Reubens," and were headed +by a bookbinder named Ned Hopkins. Some one started a branch of the +Order in Napoleon, O., and among the members was Charles E. Reynolds, +of that town. The badge of the society was a peculiarly shaped gold pin. +Reynolds and Hopkins never met, and had no acquaintance with each other. +When the war broke out, Hopkins enlisted in Battery H, First Ohio +Artillery, and was sent to the Army of the Potomac, where he was +captured, in the Fall of 1863, while scouting, in the neighborhood of +Richmond. Reynolds entered the Sixty-Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, +and was taken in the neighborhood of Jackson, Miss.,--two thousand miles +from the place of Hopkins's capture. At Andersonville Hopkins became one +of the officers in charge of the Hospital. One day a Rebel Sergeant, who +called the roll in the Stockade, after studying Hopkins's pin a minute, +said: + +<p>"I seed a Yank in the Stockade to-day a-wearing a pin egzackly like that +ere." + +<p>This aroused Hopkins's interest, and he went inside in search of the +other "feller." Having his squad and detachment there was little +difficulty in finding him. He recognized the pin, spoke to its wearer, +gave him the "grand hailing sign" of the "Royal Reubens," and it was duly +responded to. The upshot of the matter was that he took Reynolds out +with him as clerk, and saved his life, as the latter was going down hill +very rapidly. Reynolds, in turn, secured the detail of a comrade of the +Sixty-Eighth who was failing fast, and succeeded in saving his life--all +of which happy results were directly attributable to that insignificant +boyish society, and its equally unimportant badge of membership. + +<p>Along in the last of August the Rebels learned that there were between +two and three hundred Captains and Lieutenants in the Stockade, passing +themselves off as enlisted men. The motive of these officers was two- +fold: first, a chivalrous wish to share the fortunes and fate of their +boys, and second, disinclination to gratify the Rebels by the knowledge +of the rank of their captives. The secret was so well kept that none of +us suspected it until the fact was announced by the Rebels themselves. +They were taken out immediately, and sent to Macon, where the +commissioned officers' prison was. It would not do to trust such +possible leaders with us another day. + +<br><br><br><br> +<h2><a name="ch50"></a>CHAPTER L. +</h2> +<p>FOOD--THE MEAGERNESS, INFERIOR QUALITY, AND TERRIBLE SAMENESS-- +REBEL TESTIMONY ON THE SUBJECT--FUTILITY OF SUCCESSFUL EXPLANATION. + +<p>I have in other places dwelt upon the insufficiency and the nauseousness +of the food. No words that I can use, no insistence upon this theme, can +give the reader any idea of its mortal importance to us. + +<p>Let the reader consider for a moment the quantity, quality, and variety +of food that he now holds to be necessary for the maintenance of life and +health. I trust that every one who peruses this book--that every one in +fact over whom the Stars and Stripes wave--has his cup of coffee, his +biscuits and his beefsteak for breakfast--a substantial dinner of roast +or boiled--and a lighter, but still sufficient meal in the evening. +In all, certainly not less than fifty different articles are set before +him during the day, for his choice as elements of nourishment. Let him +scan this extended bill-of-fare, which long custom has made so common- +place as to be uninteresting--perhaps even wearisome to think about-- +and see what he could omit from it, if necessity compelled him. After a +reluctant farewell to fish, butter, eggs, milk, sugar, green and +preserved fruits, etc., he thinks that perhaps under extraordinary +circumstances he might be able to merely sustain life for a limited +period on a diet of bread and meat three times a day, washed down with +creamless, unsweetened coffee, and varied occasionally with additions of +potatos, onions, beans, etc. It would astonish the Innocent to have one +of our veterans inform him that this was not even the first stage of +destitution; that a soldier who had these was expected to be on the +summit level of contentment. Any of the boys who followed Grant to +Appomattox Court House, Sherman to the Sea, or "Pap" Thomas till his +glorious career culminated with the annihilation of Hood, will tell him +of many weeks when a slice of fat pork on a piece of "hard tack" had to +do duty for the breakfast of beefsteak and biscuits; when another slice +of fat pork and another cracker served for the dinner of roast beef and +vegetables, and a third cracker and slice of pork was a substitute for +the supper of toast and chops. + +<p>I say to these veterans in turn that they did not arrive at the first +stages of destitution compared with the depths to which we were dragged. +The restriction for a few weeks to a diet of crackers and fat pork was +certainly a hardship, but the crackers alone, chemists tell us, contain +all the elements necessary to support life, and in our Army they were +always well made and very palatable. I believe I risk nothing in saying +that one of the ordinary square crackers of our Commissary Department +contained much more real nutriment than the whole of our average ration. + +<p>I have before compared the size, shape and appearance of the daily half +loaf of corn bread issued to us to a half-brick, and I do not yet know of +a more fitting comparison. At first we got a small piece of rusty bacon +along with this; but the size of this diminished steadily until at last +it faded away entirely, and during the last six months of our +imprisonment I do not believe that we received rations of meat above a +half-dozen times. + +<p>To this smallness was added ineffable badness. The meal was ground very +coarsely, by dull, weakly propelled stones, that imperfectly crushed the +grains, and left the tough, hard coating of the kernels in large, sharp, +mica-like scales, which cut and inflamed the stomach and intestines, +like handfuls of pounded glass. The alimentary canals of all compelled +to eat it were kept in a continual state of irritation that usually +terminated in incurable dysentery. + +<p>That I have not over-stated this evil can be seen by reference to the +testimony of so competent a scientific observer as Professor Jones, and I +add to that unimpeachable testimony the following extract from the +statement made in an attempted defense of Andersonville by Doctor R. +Randolph Stevenson, who styles himself, formerly Surgeon in the Army of +the Confederate States of America, Chief Surgeon of the Confederate +States Military Prison Hospitals, Andersonville, Ga.: + +<p>V. From the sameness of the food, and from the action of the poisonous +gases in the densely crowded and filthy Stockade and Hospital, the blood +was altered in its constitution, even, before the manifestation of actual +disease. + +<p>In both the well and the sick, the red corpuscles were diminished; and in +all diseases uncomplicated with inflammation, the fibrinous element was +deficient. In cases of ulceration of the mucous membrane of the +intestinal canal, the fibrinous element of the blood appeared to be +increased; while in simple diarrhea, uncomplicated with ulceration, and +dependent upon the character of the food and the existence of scurvy, +it was either diminished or remained stationary. Heart-clots were very +common, if not universally present, in the cases of ulceration of the +intestinal mucous membrane; while in the uncomplicated cases of diarrhea +and scurvy, the blood was fluid and did not coagulate readily, and the +heart-clots and fibrinous concretions were almost universally absent. +From the watery condition of the blood there resulted various serous +effusions into the pericardium, into the ventricles of the brain, and +into the abdominal cavity. + +<p>In almost all cases which I examined after death, even in the most +emaciated, there was more or less serous effusion into the abdominal +cavity. In cases of hospital gangrene of the extremities, and in cases +of gangrene of the intestines, heart-clots and firm coagula were +universally present. The presence of these clots in the cases of +hospital gangrene, whilst they were absent in the cases in which there +were no inflammatory symptoms, appears to sustain the conclusion that +hospital gangrene is a species of inflammation (imperfect and irregular +though it may be in its progress), in which the fibrinous element and +coagulability of the blood are increased, even in those who are suffering +from such a condition of the blood and from such diseases as are +naturally accompanied with a decrease in the fibrinous constituent. + +<p> +VI. The impoverished condition of the blood, which led to serous +effusions within the ventricles of the brain, and around the brain and +spinal cord, and into the pericardial and abdominal cavities, was +gradually induced by the action of several causes, but chiefly by the +character of the food. + +<p>The Federal prisoners, as a general rule, had been reared upon wheat +bread and Irish potatos; and the Indian corn so extensively used at the +South, was almost unknown to them as an article of diet previous to their +capture. Owing to the impossibility of obtaining the necessary sieves in +the Confederacy for the separation of the husk from the corn-meal, the +rations of the Confederate soldiers, as well as of the Federal prisoners, +consisted of unbolted corn-flour, and meal and grist; this circumstance +rendered the corn-bread still more disagreeable and distasteful to the +Federal prisoners. While Indian meal, even when prepared with the husk, +is one of the most wholesome and nutritious forms of food, as has been +already shown by the health and rapid increase of the Southern +population, and especially of the negros, previous to the present war, +and by the strength, endurance and activity of the Confederate soldiers, +who were throughout the war confined to a great extent to unbolted corn- +meal; it is nevertheless true that those who have not been reared upon +corn-meal, or who have not accustomed themselves to its use gradually, +become excessively tired of this kind of diet when suddenly confined to +it without a due proportion of wheat bread. Large numbers of the Federal +prisoners appeared to be utterly disgusted with Indian corn, and immense +piles of corn-bread could be seen in the Stockade and Hospital +inclosures. Those who were so disgusted with this form of food that they +had no appetite to partake of it, except in quantities insufficient to +supply the waste of the tissues, were, of course, in the condition of men +slowly starving, notwithstanding that the only farinaceous form of food +which the Confederate States produced in sufficient abundance for the +maintenance of armies was not withheld from them. In such cases, an +urgent feeling of hunger was not a prominent symptom; and even when it +existed at first, it soon disappeared, and was succeeded by an actual +loathing of food. In this state the muscular strength was rapidly +diminished, the tissues wasted, and the thin, skeleton-like forms moved +about with the appearance of utter exhaustion and dejection. The mental +condition connected with long confinement, with the most miserable +surroundings, and with no hope for the future, also depressed all the +nervous and vital actions, and was especially active in destroying the +appetite. The effects of mental depression, and of defective nutrition, +were manifested not only in the slow, feeble motions of the wasted, +skeleton-like forms, but also in such lethargy, listlessness, and torpor +of the mental faculties as rendered these unfortunate men oblivious and +indifferent to their afflicted condition. In many cases, even of the +greatest apparent suffering and distress, instead of showing any anxiety +to communicate the causes of their distress, or to relate their +privations, and their longings for their homes and their friends and +relatives, they lay in a listless, lethargic, uncomplaining state, taking +no notice either of their own distressed condition, or of the gigantic +mass of human misery by which they were surrounded. Nothing appalled and +depressed me so much as this silent, uncomplaining misery. It is a fact +of great interest, that notwithstanding this defective nutrition in men +subjected to crowding and filth, contagious fevers were rare; and typhus +fever, which is supposed to be generated in just such a state of things +as existed at Andersonville, was unknown. These facts, established by my +investigations, stand in striking contrast with such a statement as the +following by a recent English writer: + +<p>"A deficiency of food, especially of the nitrogenous part, quickly leads +to the breaking up of the animal frame. Plague, pestilence and famine +are associated with each other in the public mind, and the records of +every country show how closely they are related. The medical history of +Ireland is remarkable for the illustrations of how much mischief may be +occasioned by a general deficiency of food. Always the habitat of fever, +it every now and then becomes the very hot-bed of its propagation and +development. Let there be but a small failure in the usual imperfect +supply of food, and the lurking seeds of pestilence are ready to burst +into frightful activity. The famine of the present century is but too +forcible and illustrative of this. It fostered epidemics which have not +been witnessed in this generation, and gave rise to scenes of devastation +and misery which are not surpassed by the most appalling epidemics of the +Middle Ages. The principal form of the scourge was known as the +contagious famine fever (typhus), and it spread, not merely from end to +end of the country in which it had originated, but, breaking through all +boundaries, it crossed the broad ocean, and made itself painfully +manifest in localities where it was previously unknown. Thousands fell +under the virulence of its action, for wherever it came it struck down a +seventh of the people, and of those whom it attacked, one out of nine +perished. Even those who escaped the fatal influence of it, were left +the miserable victims of scurvy and low fever." + +<p>While we readily admit that famine induces that state of the system which +is the most susceptible to the action of fever poisons, and thus induces +the state of the entire population which is most favorable for the rapid +and destructive spread of all contagious fevers, at the same time we are +forced by the facts established by the present war, as well as by a host +of others, both old and new, to admit that we are still ignorant of the +causes necessary for the origin of typhus fever. Added to the imperfect +nature of the rations issued to the Federal prisoners, the difficulties +of their situation were at times greatly increased by the sudden and +desolating Federal raids in Virginia, Georgia, and other States, which +necessitated the sudden transportation from Richmond and other points +threatened of large bodies of prisoners, without the possibility of much +previous preparation; and not only did these men suffer in transition +upon the dilapidated and overburdened line of railroad communication, +but after arriving at Andersonville, the rations were frequently +insufficient to supply the sudden addition of several thousand men. +And as the Confederacy became more and more pressed, and when powerful +hostile armies were plunging through her bosom, the Federal prisoners of +Andersonville suffered incredibly during the hasty removal to Millen, +Savannah, Charleston, and other points, supposed at the time to be secure +from the enemy. Each one of these causes must be weighed when an attempt +is made to estimate the unusual mortality among these prisoners of war. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p386"></a><img alt="p386.jpg (40K)" src="p386.jpg" height="507" width="583"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>VII. Scurvy, arising from sameness of food and imperfect nutrition, +caused, either directly or indirectly, nine-tenths of the deaths among +the Federal prisoners at Andersonville. + +<p>Not only were the deaths referred to unknown causes, to apoplexy, to +anasarca, and to debility, traceable to scurvy and its effects; and not +only was the mortality in small-pox, pneumonia, and typhoid fever, and in +all acute diseases, more than doubled by the scorbutic taint, but even +those all but universal and deadly bowel affections arose from the same +causes, and derived their fatal character from the same conditions which +produced the scurvy. In truth, these men at Andersonville were in the +condition of a crew at sea, confined in a foul ship upon salt meat and +unvarying food, and without fresh vegetables. Not only so, but these +unfortunate prisoners were men forcibly confined and crowded upon a ship +tossed about on a stormy ocean, without a rudder, without a compass, +without a guiding-star, and without any apparent boundary or to their +voyage; and they reflected in their steadily increasing miseries the +distressed condition and waning fortunes of devastated and bleeding +country, which was compelled, in justice to her own unfortunate sons, to +hold these men in the most distressing captivity. + +<p>I saw nothing in the scurvy which prevailed so universally at +Andersonville, at all different from this disease as described by various +standard writers. The mortality was no greater than that which has +afflicted a hundred ships upon long voyages, and it did not exceed the +mortality which has, upon me than one occasion, and in a much shorter +period of time, annihilated large armies and desolated beleaguered +cities. The general results of my investigations upon the chronic +diarrhea and dysentery of the Federal prisoners of Andersonville were +similar to those of the English surgeons during the war against Russia. + +<p>IX. Drugs exercised but little influence over the progress and fatal +termination of chronic diarrhea and dysentery in the Military Prison and +Hospital at Andersonville, chiefly because the proper form of nourishment +(milk, rice, vegetables, anti-scorbutics, and nourishing animal and +vegetable soups) was not issued, and could not be procured in sufficient +quantities for the sick prisoners. + +<p>Opium allayed pain and checked the bowels temporarily, but the frail dam +was soon swept away, and the patient appears to be but little better, +if not the worse, for this merely palliative treatment. The root of the +difficulty could not be reached by drugs; nothing short of the wanting +elements of nutrition would have tended in any manner to restore the tone +of the digestive system, and of all the wasted and degenerated organs and +tissues. My opinion to this effect was expressed most decidedly to the +medical officers in charge of these unfortunate men. The correctness of +this view was sustained by the healthy and robust condition of the +paroled prisoners, who received an extra ration, and who were able to +make considerable sums by trading, and who supplied themselves with a +liberal and varied diet. + +<p>X. The fact that hospital gangrene appeared in the Stockade first, and +originated spontaneously, without any previous contagion, and occurred +sporadically all over the Stockade and Prison Hospital, was proof +positive that this disease will arise whenever the conditions of +crowding, filth, foul air, and bad diet are present. + +<p>The exhalations from the Hospital and Stockade appeared to exert their +effects to a considerable distance outside of these localities. +The origin of gangrene among these prisoners appeared clearly to depend +in great measure upon the state of the general system, induced by diet, +exposure, neglect of personal cleanliness; and by various external +noxious influences. The rapidity of the appearance and action of the +gangrene depended upon the powers and state of the constitution, as well +as upon the intensity of the poison in the atmosphere, or upon the direct +application of poisonous matter to the wounded surface. This was further +illustrated by the important fact, that hospital gangrene, or a disease +resembling this form of gangrene, attacked the intestinal canal of +patients laboring under ulceration of the bowels, although there were no +local manifestations of gangrene upon the surface of the body. This mode +of termination in cases of dysentery was quite common in the foul +atmosphere of the Confederate States Military Prison Hospital; and in the +depressed, depraved condition of the system of these Federal prisoners, +death ensued very rapidly after the gangrenous state of the intestines +was established. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p389"></a><img alt="p389.jpg (43K)" src="p389.jpg" height="525" width="553"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>XI. A scorbutic condition of the system appeared to favor the origin of +foul ulcers, which frequently took on true hospital gangrene. + +<p>Scurvy and gangrene frequently existed in the same individual. In such +cases, vegetable diet with vegetable acids would remove the scorbutic +condition without curing the hospital gangrene. . . Scurvy consists +not only in an alteration in the constitution of the blood, which leads +to passive hemorrhages from the bowels, and the effusion into the various +tissues of a deeply-colored fibrinous exudation; but, as we have +conclusively shown by postmortem examination, this state is attended with +consistence of the muscles of the heart, and the mucous membrane of the +alimentary canal, and of solid parts generally. We have, according to +the extent of the deficiency of certain articles of food, every degree of +scorbutic derangement, from the most fearful depravation of the blood +and the perversion of every function subserved by the blood to those +slight derangements which are scarcely distinguishable from a state of +health. We are as yet ignorant of the true nature of the changes of the +blood and tissues in scurvy, and wide field for investigation is open for +the determination the characteristic changes--physical, chemical, and +physiological--of the blood and tissues, and of the secretions and +excretions of scurvy. Such inquiries would be of great value in their +bearing upon the origin of hospital gangrene. Up to the present war, +the results of chemical investigations upon the pathology of the blood in +scurvy were not only contradictory, but meager, and wanting in that +careful detail of the cases from which the blood was abstracted which +would enable us to explain the cause of the apparent discrepancies in +different analyses. Thus it is not yet settled whether the fibrin is +increased or diminished in this disease; and the differences which exist +in the statements of different writers appear to be referable to the +neglect of a critical examination and record of all the symptoms of the +cases from which the blood was abstracted. The true nature of the +changes of the blood in scurvy can be established only by numerous +analyses during different stages of the disease, and followed up by +carefully performed and recorded postmortem examinations. With such data +we could settle such important questions as whether the increase of +fibrin in scurvy was invariably dependent upon some local inflammation. + +<p>XII. Gangrenous spots, followed by rapid destruction of tissue, appeared +in some cases in which there had been no previous or existing wound or +abrasion; and without such well established facts, it might be assumed +that the disease was propagated from one patient to another in every +case, either by exhalations from the gangrenous surface or by direct +contact. + +<p>In such a filthy and crowded hospital as that of the Confederate, States +Military Prison of Camp Sumter, Andersonville, it was impossible to +isolate the wounded from the sources of actual contact of the gangrenous +matter. The flies swarming over the wounds and over filth of every +description; the filthy, imperfectly washed, and scanty rags; the limited +number of sponges and wash-bowls (the same wash-bowl and sponge serving +for a score or more of patients), were one and all sources of such +constant circulation of the gangrenous matter, that the disease might +rapidly be propagated from a single gangrenous wound. While the fact +already considered, that a form of moist gangrene, resembling hospital +gangrene, was quite common in this foul atmosphere in cases of dysentery, +both with and without the existence of hospital gangrene upon the +surface, demonstrates the dependence of the disease upon the state of the +constitution, and proves in a clear manner that neither the contact of +the poisonous matter of gangrene, nor the direct action of the poisoned +atmosphere upon the ulcerated surface, is necessary to the development of +the disease; on the other hand, it is equally well-established that the +disease may be communicated by the various ways just mentioned. It is +impossible to determine the length of time which rags and clothing +saturated with gangrenous matter will retain the power of reproducing the +disease when applied to healthy wounds. Professor Brugmans, as quoted by +Guthrie in his commentaries on the surgery of the war in Portugal, Spain, +France, and the Netherlands, says that in 1797, in Holland, 'charpie,' +composed of linen threads cut of different lengths, which, on inquiry, it +was found had been already used in the great hospitals in France, and had +been subsequently washed and bleached, caused every ulcer to which it was +applied to be affected by hospital gangrene. Guthrie affirms in the same +work, that the fact that this disease was readily communicated by the +application of instruments, lint, or bandages which had been in contact +with infected parts, was too firmly established by the experience of +every one in Portugal and Spain to be a matter of doubt. There are facts +to show that flies may be the means of communicating malignant pustules. +Dr. Wagner, who has related several cases of malignant pustule produced +in man and beasts, both by contact and by eating the flesh of diseased +animals, which happened in the village of Striessa in Saxony, in 1834, +gives two very remarkable cases which occurred eight days after any beast +had been affected with the disease. Both were women, one of twenty-six +and the other of fifty years, and in them the pustules were well marked, +and the general symptoms similar to the other cases. The latter patient +said she had been bitten by a fly upon the back d the neck, at which part +the carbuncle appeared; and the former, that she had also been bitten +upon the right upper arm by a gnat. Upon inquiry, Wagner found that the +skin of one of the infected beasts had been hung on a neighboring wall, +and thought it very possible that the insects might have been attracted +to them by the smell, and had thence conveyed the poison. +<br><br> +<center><p>[End of Dr. Stevenson's Statement]</center> +<br><br><br> +<center><p> ..........................</center> +<br><br> + +<p>The old adage says that "Hunger is the best sauce for poor food," but +hunger failed to render this detestable stuff palatable, and it became so +loathsome that very many actually starved to death because unable to +force their organs of deglutition to receive the nauseous dose and pass +it to the stomach. I was always much healthier than the average of the +boys, and my appetite consequently much better, yet for the last month +that I was in Andersonville, it required all my determination to crowd +the bread down my throat, and, as I have stated before, I could only do +this by breaking off small bits at a time, and forcing each down as I +would a pill. + +<p>A large part of this repulsiveness was due to the coarseness and foulness +of the meal, the wretched cooking, and the lack of salt, but there was a +still more potent reason than all these. Nature does not intend that man +shall live by bread alone, nor by any one kind of food. She indicates +this by the varying tastes and longings that she gives him. If his body +needs one kind of constituents, his tastes lead him to desire the food +that is richest in those constituents. When he has taken as much as his +system requires, the sense of satiety supervenes, and he "becomes tired" +of that particular food. If tastes are not perverted, but allowed a free +but temperate exercise, they are the surest indicators of the way to +preserve health and strength by a judicious selection of alimentation. + +<p>In this case Nature was protesting by a rebellion of the tastes against +any further use of that species of food. She was saying, as plainly as +she ever spoke, that death could only be averted by a change of diet, +which would supply our bodies with the constituents they so sadly needed, +and which could not be supplied by corn meal. + +<p>How needless was this confinement of our rations to corn meal, and +especially to such wretchedly prepared meal, is conclusively shown by the +Rebel testimony heretofore given. It would have been very little extra +trouble to the Rebels to have had our meal sifted; we would gladly have +done it ourselves if allowed the utensils and opportunity. It would have +been as little trouble to have varied our rations with green corn and +sweet potatos, of which the country was then full. + +<p>A few wagon loads of roasting ears and sweet potatos would have banished +every trace of scurvy from the camp, healed up the wasting dysentery, +and saved thousands of lives. Any day that the Rebels had chosen they +could have gotten a thousand volunteers who would have given their solemn +parole not to escape, and gone any distance into the country, to gather +the potatos and corn, and such other vegetables as were readily +obtainable, and bring, them into the camp. + +<p>Whatever else may be said in defense of the Southern management of +military prisons, the permitting seven thousand men to die of the scurvy +in the Summer time, in the midst of an agricultural region, filled with +all manner of green vegetation, must forever remain impossible of +explanation. + +<br><br><br><br> +<h2><a name="ch51"></a>CHAPTER LI. +</h2> +<p>SOLICITUDE AS TO THE FATE OF ATLANTA AND SHERMAN'S ARMY--PAUCITY OF NEWS +--HOW WE HEARD THAT ATLANTA HAD FALLEN--ANNOUNCEMENT OF A GENERAL +EXCHANGE--WE LEAVE ANDERSONVILLE. + +<p>We again began to be exceedingly solicitous over the fate of Atlanta and +Sherman's Army: we had heard but little directly from that front for +several weeks. Few prisoners had come in since those captured in the +bloody engagements of the 20th, 22d, and 28th of July. In spite of their +confident tones, and our own sanguine hopes, the outlook admitted of very +grave doubts. The battles of the last week of July had been looked at it +in the best light possible--indecisive. Our men had held their own, +it is true, but an invading army can not afford to simply hold its own. +Anything short of an absolute success is to it disguised defeat. Then we +knew that the cavalry column sent out under Stoneman had been so badly +handled by that inefficient commander that it had failed ridiculously in +its object, being beaten in detail, and suffering the loss of its +commander and a considerable portion of its numbers. This had been +followed by a defeat of our infantry at Etowah Creek, and then came a +long interval in which we received no news save what the Rebel papers +contained, and they pretended no doubt that Sherman's failure was already +demonstrated. Next came well-authenticated news that Sherman had raised +the siege and fallen back to the Chattahoochee, and we felt something of +the bitterness of despair. For days thereafter we heard nothing, though +the hot, close Summer air seemed surcharged with the premonitions of a +war storm about to burst, even as nature heralds in the same way a +concentration of the mighty force of the elements for the grand crash of +the thunderstorm. We waited in tense expectancy for the decision of the +fates whether final victory or defeat should end the long and arduous +campaign. + +<p>At night the guards in the perches around the Stockade called out every +half hour, so as to show the officers that they were awake and attending +to their duty. The formula for this ran thus: + +<p>"Post numbah 1; half-past eight o'clock, and a-l-l 's w-e-l-l!" + +<p>Post No. 2 repeated this cry, and so it went around. + +<p>One evening when our anxiety as to Atlanta was wrought to the highest +pitch, one of the guards sang out: + +<p>"Post numbah foah--half past eight o'clock--and Atlanta's--gone--t-o-- +hell" + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p395"></a><img alt="p395.jpg (26K)" src="p395.jpg" height="525" width="361"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>The heart of every man within hearing leaped to his mouth. We looked +toward each other, almost speechless with glad surprise, and then gasped +out: + +<p>"Did 'you hear THAT?" + +<p>The next instant such a ringing cheer burst out as wells spontaneously +from the throats and hearts of men, in the first ecstatic moments of +victory--a cheer to which our saddened hearts and enfeebled lungs had +long been strangers. It was the genuine, honest, manly Northern cheer, +as different from the shrill Rebel yell as the honest mastiff's deep- +voiced welcome is from the howl of the prowling wolf. + +<p>The shout was taken up all over the prison. Even those who had not heard +the guard understood that it meant that "Atlanta was ours and fairly +won," and they took up the acclamation with as much enthusiasm as we had +begun it. All thoughts of sleep were put to flight: we would have a +season of rejoicing. Little knots gathered together, debated the news, +and indulged in the most sanguine hopes as to the effect upon the Rebels. +In some parts of the Stockade stump speeches were made. I believe that +Boston Corbett and his party organized a prayer and praise meeting. +In our corner we stirred up our tuneful friend "Nosey," who sang again +the grand old patriotic hymns that set our thin blood to bounding, +and made us remember that we were still Union soldiers, with higher hopes +than that of starving and dying in Andersonville. He sang the ever- +glorious Star Spangled Banner, as he used to sing it around the camp fire +in happier days, when we were in the field. He sang the rousing "Rally +Round the Flag," with its wealth of patriotic fire and martial vigor, +and we, with throats hoarse from shouting; joined in the chorus until the +welkin rang again. + +<p>The Rebels became excited, lest our exaltation of spirits would lead to +an assault upon the Stockade. They got under arms, and remained so until +the enthusiasm became less demonstrative. + +<p>A few days later--on the evening of the 6th of September--the Rebel +Sergeants who called the roll entered the Stockade, and each assembling +his squads, addressed them as follows: + +<p>"PRISONERS: I am instructed by General Winder to inform you that a +general exchange has been agreed upon. Twenty thousand men will be +exchanged immediately at Savannah, where your vessels are now waiting for +you. Detachments from One to Ten will prepare to leave early to-morrow +morning." + +<p>The excitement that this news produced was simply indescribable. I have +seen men in every possible exigency that can confront men, and a large +proportion viewed that which impended over them with at least outward +composure. The boys around me had endured all that we suffered with +stoical firmness. Groans from pain-racked bodies could not be repressed, +and bitter curses and maledictions against the Rebels leaped unbidden to +the lips at the slightest occasion, but there was no murmuring or +whining. There was not a day--hardly an hour--in which one did not see +such exhibitions of manly fortitude as made him proud of belonging to a +race of which every individual was a hero. + +<p>But the emotion which pain and suffering and danger could not develop, +joy could, and boys sang, and shouted and cried, and danced as if in a +delirium. "God's country," fairer than the sweet promised land of Canaan +appeared to the rapt vision of the Hebrew poet prophet, spread out in +glad vista before the mind's eye of every one. It had come--at last it +had come that which we had so longed for, wished for, prayed for, dreamed +of; schemed, planned, toiled for, and for which went up the last earnest, +dying wish of the thousands of our comrades who would now know no +exchange save into that eternal "God's country" where + +<blockquote><blockquote> +<p> Sickness and sorrow, pain and death +<p> Are felt and feared no more. +</blockquote></blockquote> + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p397"></a><img alt="p397.jpg (45K)" src="p397.jpg" height="505" width="585"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>Our "preparations," for leaving were few and simple. When the morning +came, and shortly after the order to move, Andrews and I picked our well- +worn blanket, our tattered overcoat, our rude chessmen, and no less rude +board, our little black can, and the spoon made of hoop-iron, and bade +farewell to the hole-in-the-ground that had been our home for nearly +seven long months. + +<p>My feet were still in miserable condition from the lacerations received +in the attempt to escape, but I took one of our tent poles as a staff and +hobbled away. We re-passed the gates which we had entered on that +February night, ages since, it seemed, and crawled slowly over to the +depot. + +<p>I had come to regard the Rebels around us as such measureless liars that +my first impulse was to believe the reverse of anything they said to us; +and even now, while I hoped for the best, my old habit of mind was so +strongly upon me that I had some doubts of our going to be exchanged, +simply because it was a Rebel who had said so. But in the crowd of +Rebels who stood close to the road upon which we were walking was a young +Second Lieutenant, who said to a Colonel as I passed: + +<p>"Weil, those fellows can sing 'Homeward Bound,' can't they?" + +<p>This set my last misgiving at rest. Now I was certain that we were going +to be exchanged, and my spirits soared to the skies. + +<p>Entering the cars we thumped and pounded toilsomely along, after the +manner of Southern railroads, at the rate of six or eight miles an hour. +Savannah was two hundred and forty miles away, and to our impatient minds +it seemed as if we would never get there. The route lay the whole +distance through the cheerless pine barrens which cover the greater part +of Georgia. The only considerable town on the way was Macon, which had +then a population of five thousand or thereabouts. For scores of miles +there would not be a sign of a human habitation, and in the one hundred +and eighty miles between Macon and Savannah there were only three +insignificant villages. There was a station every ten miles, at which +the only building was an open shed, to shelter from sun and rain a casual +passenger, or a bit of goods. + +<p>The occasional specimens of the poor white "cracker" population that we +saw, seemed indigenous products of the starved soil. They suited their +poverty-stricken surroundings as well as the gnarled and scrubby +vegetation suited the sterile sand. Thin-chested, round-shouldered, +scraggy-bearded, dull-eyed and open-mouthed, they all looked alike--all +looked as ignorant, as stupid, and as lazy as they were poor and weak. +They were "low-downers" in every respect, and made our rough and simple. +minded East Tennesseans look like models of elegant and cultured +gentlemen in contrast. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p399"></a><img alt="p399.jpg (58K)" src="p399.jpg" height="715" width="537"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>We looked on the poverty-stricken land with good-natured contempt, for we +thought we were leaving it forever, and would soon be in one which, +compared to it, was as the fatness at Egypt to the leanness of the desert +of Sinai. + +<p>The second day after leaving Andersonville our train struggled across the +swamps into Savannah, and rolled slowly down the live oak shaded streets +into the center of the City. It seemed like another Deserted Village, +so vacant and noiseless the streets, and the buildings everywhere so +overgrown with luxuriant vegetation: The limbs of the shade trees crashed +along and broke, upon the tops of our cars, as if no train had passed +that way for years. Through the interstices between the trees and clumps +of foliage could be seen the gleaming white marble of the monuments +erected to Greene and Pulaski, looking like giant tombstones in a City of +the Dead. The unbroken stillness--so different from what we expected on +entering the metropolis of Georgia, and a City that was an important port +in Revolutionary days--became absolutely oppressive. We could not +understand it, but our thoughts were more intent upon the coming transfer +to our flag than upon any speculation as to the cause of the remarkable +somnolence of Savannah. + +<p>Finally some little boys straggled out to where our car was standing, and +we opened up a conversation with them: + +<p>"Say, boys, are our vessels down in the harbor yet?" + +<p>The reply came in that piercing treble shriek in which a boy of ten or +twelve makes even his most confidential communications: + +<p>"I don't know." + +<p>"Well," (with our confidence in exchange somewhat dashed,) "they intend +to exchange us here, don't they?" + +<p>Another falsetto scream, "I don't know." + +<p>"Well," (with something of a quaver in the questioner's voice,) "what are +they going to do, with us, any way?" + +<p>"O," (the treble shriek became almost demoniac) "they are fixing up a +place over by the old jail for you." + +<p>What a sinking of hearts was there then! Andrews and I would not give up +hope so speedily as some others did, and resolved to believe, for awhile +at least, that we were going to be exchanged. + +<p>Ordered out of the cars, we were marched along the street. A crowd of +small boys, full of the curiosity of the animal, gathered around us as we +marched. Suddenly a door in a rather nice house opened; an angry-faced +woman appeared on the steps and shouted out: + +<p>"Boys! BOYS! What are you doin' there! Come up on the steps immejitely! +Come away from them n-a-s-t-y things!" + +<p>I will admit that we were not prepossessing in appearance; nor were we as +cleanly as young gentlemen should habitually be; in fact, I may as well +confess that I would not now, if I could help it, allow a tramp, as +dilapidated in raiment, as unwashed, unshorn, uncombed, and populous with +insects as we were, to come within several rods of me. Nevertheless, +it was not pleasant to hear so accurate a description of our personal +appearance sent forth on the wings of the wind by a shrill-voiced Rebel +female. + +<p>A short march brought us to the place "they were fixing for us by the old +jail." It was another pen, with high walls of thick pine plank, which +told us only too plainly how vain were our expectations of exchange. + +<p>When we were turned inside, and I realized that the gates of another +prison had closed upon me, hope forsook me. I flung our odious little +possessions-our can, chess-board, overcoat, and blanket-upon the ground, +and, sitting down beside them, gave way to the bitterest despair. +I wanted to die, O, so badly. Never in all my life had I desired +anything in the world so much as I did now to get out of it. Had I had +pistol, knife, rope, or poison, I would have ended my prison life then +and there, and departed with the unceremoniousness of a French leave. +I remembered that I could get a quietus from a guard with very little +trouble, but I would not give one of the bitterly hated Rebels the +triumph of shooting me. I longed to be another Samson, with the whole +Southern Confederacy gathered in another Temple of Dagon, that I might +pull down the supporting pillars, and die happy in slaying thousands of +my enemies. + +<p>While I was thus sinking deeper and deeper in the Slough of Despond, the +firing of a musket, and the shriek of the man who was struck, attracted +my attention. Looking towards the opposite end of the, pen I saw a guard +bringing his still smoking musket to a "recover arms," and, not fifteen +feet from him, a prisoner lying on the ground in the agonies of death. +The latter had a pipe in his mouth when he was shot, and his teeth still +clenched its stem. His legs and arms were drawn up convulsively, and he +was rocking backward and forward on his back. The charge had struck him +just above the hip-bone. + +<p>The Rebel officer in command of the guard was sitting on his horse inside +the pen at the time, and rode forward to see what the matter was. +Lieutenant Davis, who had come with us from Andersonville, was also +sitting on a horse inside the prison, and he called out in his usual +harsh, disagreeable voice: + +<p>"That's all right, Cunnel; the man's done just as I awdahed him to." + +<p>I found that lying around inside were a number of bits of plank--each +about five feet long, which had been sawed off by the carpenters engaged +in building the prison. The ground being a bare common, was destitute of +all shelter, and the pieces looked as if they would be quite useful in +building a tent. There may have been an order issued forbidding the +prisoners to touch them, but if so, I had not heard it, and I imagine the +first intimation to the prisoner just killed that the boards were not to +be taken was the bullet which penetrated his vitals. Twenty-five cents +would be a liberal appraisement of the value of the lumber for which the +boy lost his life. + +<p>Half an hour afterward we thought we saw all the guards march out of the +front gate. There was still another pile of these same kind of pieces of +board lying at the further side of the prison. The crowd around me +noticed it, and we all made a rush for it. In spite of my lame feet I +outstripped the rest, and was just in the act of stooping down to pick +the boards up when a loud yell from those behind startled me. Glancing +to my left I saw a guard cocking his gun and bringing it up to shoot me. +With one frightened spring, as quick as a flash, and before he could +cover me, I landed fully a rod back in the crowd, and mixed with it. +The fellow tried hard to draw a bead on me, but I was too quick for him, +and he finally lowered his gun with an oath expressive of disappointment +in not being able to kill a Yankee. + +<p>Walking back to my place the full ludicrousness of the thing dawned upon +me so forcibly that I forgot all about my excitement and scare, and +laughed aloud. Here, not an hour age I was murmuring because I could +find no way to die; I sighed for death as a bridegroom for the coming of +his bride, an yet, when a Rebel had pointed his gun at me, it had nearly +scared me out of a year's growth, and made me jump farther than I could +possibly do when my feet were well, and I was in good condition +otherwise. + +<br><br><br><br> +<h2><a name="ch52"></a>CHAPTER LII. +</h2> +<p>SAVANNAH--DEVICES TO OBTAIN MATERIALS FOR A TENT--THEIR ULTIMATE SUCCESS +--RESUMPTION OF TUNNELING--ESCAPING BY WHOLESALE AND BEING RECAPTURED EN +MASSE--THE OBSTACLES THAT LAY BETWEEN US AND OUR LINES. + +<p>Andrews and I did not let the fate of the boy who was killed, nor my own +narrow escape from losing the top of my head, deter us from farther +efforts to secure possession of those coveted boards. My readers +remember the story of the boy who, digging vigorously at a hole, replied +to the remark of a passing traveler that there was probably no ground-hog +there, and, even if there was, "ground-hog was mighty poor eatin', any +way," with: + +<p>"Mister, there's got to be a ground-hog there; our family's out o' meat!" + +<p>That was what actuated us: we were out of material for a tent. Our +solitary blanket had rotted and worn full of holes by its long double +duty, as bed-clothes and tent at Andersonville, and there was an +imperative call for a substitute. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p406"></a><img alt="p406.jpg (27K)" src="p406.jpg" height="493" width="409"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>Andrews and I flattered ourselves that when we matched our collective or +individual wits against those of a Johnny his defeat was pretty certain, +and with this cheerful estimate of our own powers to animate us, we set +to work to steal the boards from under the guard's nose. The Johnny had +malice in his heart and buck-and-ball in his musket, but his eyes were +not sufficiently numerous to adequately discharge all the duties laid +upon him. He had too many different things to watch at the same time. +I would approach a gap in the fence not yet closed as if I intended +making a dash through it for liberty, and when the Johnny had +concentrated all his attention on letting me have the contents of his gun +just as soon as he could have a reasonable excuse for doing so, Andrews +would pick u a couple of boards and slip away with them. Then I would +fall back in pretended (and some real) alarm, and--Andrew would come up +and draw his attention by a similar feint, while I made off with a couple +more pieces. After a few hours c this strategy, we found ourselves the +possessors of some dozen planks, with which we made a lean-to, that +formed a tolerable shelter for our heads and the upper portion of our +bodies. As the boards were not over five feet long, and the slope reduce +the sheltered space to about four-and-one-half feet, it left the lower +part of our naked feet and legs to project out-of-doors. Andrews used to +lament very touchingly the sunburning his toe-nails were receiving. +He knew that his complexion was being ruined for life, and all the Balm +of a Thousand Flowers in the world would not restore his comely ankles to +that condition of pristine loveliness which would admit of their +introduction into good society again. Another defect was that, like the +fun in a practical joke, it was all on one side; there was not enough of +it to go clear round. It was very unpleasant, when a storm came up in a +direction different from that we had calculated upon, to be compelled to +get out in the midst of it, and build our house over to face the other +way. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p405"></a><img alt="p405.jpg (32K)" src="p405.jpg" height="477" width="459"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>Still we had a tent, and were that much better off than three-fourths of +our comrades who had no shelter at all. We were owners of a brown stone +front on Fifth Avenue compared to the other fellows. + +<p>Our tent erected, we began a general survey of our new abiding place. +The ground was a sandy common in the outskirts of Savannah. The sand was +covered with a light sod. The Rebels, who knew nothing of our burrowing +propensities, had neglected to make the plank forming the walls of the +Prison project any distance below the surface of the ground, and had put +up no Dead Line around the inside; so that it looked as if everything was +arranged expressly to invite us to tunnel out. We were not the boys to +neglect such an invitation. By night about three thousand had been +received from Andersonville, and placed inside. When morning came it +looked as if a colony of gigantic rats had been at work. There was a +tunnel every ten or fifteen feet, and at least twelve hundred of us had +gone out through them during the night. I never understood why all in +the pen did not follow our example, and leave the guards watching a +forsaken Prison. There was nothing to prevent it. An hour's industrious +work with a half-canteen would take any one outside, or if a boy was too +lazy to dig his own tunnel, he could have the use of one of the hundred +others that had been dug. + +<p>But escaping was only begun when the Stockade was passed. The site of +Savannah is virtually an island. On the north is the Savannah River; to +the east, southeast and south, are the two Ogeechee rivers, and a chain +of sounds and lagoons connecting with the Atlantic Ocean. To the west is +a canal connecting the Savannah and Big Ogeechee Rivers. We found +ourselves headed off by water whichever way we went. All the bridges +were guarded, and all the boats destroyed. Early in the morning the +Rebels discovered our absence, and the whole garrison of Savannah was +sent out on patrol after us. They picked up the boys in squads of from +ten to thirty, lurking around the shores of the streams waiting for night +to come, to get across, or engaged in building rafts for transportation. +By evening the whole mob of us were back in the pen again. As nobody was +punished for running away, we treated the whole affair as a lark, and +those brought back first stood around the gate and yelled derisively as +the others came in. + +<p>That night big fires were built all around the Stockade, and a line of +guards placed on the ground inside of these. In spite of this +precaution, quite a number escaped. The next day a Dead Line was put up +inside of the Prison, twenty feet from the Stockade. This only increased +the labor of burrowing, by making us go farther. Instead of being able +to tunnel out in an hour, it now took three or four hours. That night +several hundred of us, rested from our previous performance, and hopeful +of better luck, brought our faithful half canteens--now scoured very +bright by constant use-into requisition again, and before the morning. +dawned we had gained the high reeds of the swamps, where we lay concealed +until night. + +<p>In this way we managed to evade the recapture that came to most of those +who went out, but it was a fearful experience. Having been raised in a +country where venomous snakes abounded, I had that fear and horror of +them that inhabitants of those districts feel, and of which people living +in sections free from such a scourge know little. I fancied that the +Southern swamps were filled with all forms of loathsome and poisonous +reptiles, and it required all my courage to venture into them barefooted. +Besides, the snags and roots hurt our feet fearfully. Our hope was to +find a boat somewhere, in which we could float out to sea, and trust to +being picked up by some of the blockading fleet. But no boat could we +find, with all our painful and diligent search. We learned afterward +that the Rebels made a practice of breaking up all the boats along the +shore to prevent negros and their own deserters from escaping to the +blockading fleet. We thought of making a raft of logs, but had we had +the strength to do this, we would doubtless have thought it too risky, +since we dreaded missing the vessels, and being carried out to sea to +perish of hunger. During the night we came to the railroad bridge +across the Ogeechee. We had some slender hope that, if we could reach +this we might perhaps get across the river, and find better opportunities +for escape. But these last expectations were blasted by the discovery +that it was guarded. There was a post and a fire on the shore next us, +and a single guard with a lantern was stationed on one of the middle +spans. Almost famished with hunger, and so weary and footsore that we +could scarcely move another step, we went back to a cleared place on the +high ground, and laid down to sleep, entirely reckless as to what became +of us. Late in the morning we were awakened by the Rebel patrol and +taken back to the prison. Lieutenant Davis, disgusted with the perpetual +attempts to escape, moved the Dead Line out forty feet from the Stockade; +but this restricted our room greatly, since the number of prisoners in +the pen had now risen to about six thousand, and, besides, it offered +little additional protection against tunneling. + +<p>It was not much more difficult to dig fifty feet than it had been to dig +thirty feet. Davis soon realized this, and put the Dead Line back to +twenty feet. His next device was a much more sensible one. A crowd of +one hundred and fifty negros dug a trench twenty feet wide and five feet +deep around the whole prison on the outside, and this ditch was filled +with water from the City Water Works. No one could cross this without +attracting the attention of the guards. + +<p>Still we were not discouraged, and Andrews and I joined a crowd that was +constructing a large tunnel from near our quarters on the east side of +the pen. We finished the burrow to within a few inches of the edge of +the ditch, and then ceased operations, to await some stormy night, when +we could hope to get across the ditch unnoticed. + +<p>Orders were issued to guards to fire without warning on men who were +observed to be digging or carrying out dirt after nightfall. They +occasionally did so, but the risk did not keep anyone from tunneling. +Our tunnel ran directly under a sentry box. When carrying dirt away the +bearer of the bucket had to turn his back on the guard and walk directly +down the street in front of him, two hundred or three hundred feet, to +the center of the camp, where he scattered the sand around--so as to give +no indication of where it came from. Though we always waited till the +moon went down, it seemed as if, unless the guard were a fool, both by +nature and training, he could not help taking notice of what was going on +under his eyes. I do not recall any more nervous promenades in my life, +than those when, taking my turn, I received my bucket of sand at the +mouth of the tunnel, and walked slowly away with it. The most +disagreeable part was in turning my back to the guard. Could I have +faced him, I had sufficient confidence in my quickness of perception, +and talents as a dodger, to imagine that I could make it difficult for +him to hit me. But in walling with my back to him I was wholly at his +mercy. Fortune, however, favored us, and we were allowed to go on with +our work--night after night--without a shot. + +<p>In the meanwhile another happy thought slowly gestated in Davis's alleged +intellect. How he came to give birth to two ideas with no more than a +week between them, puzzled all who knew him, and still more that he +survived this extraordinary strain upon the gray matter of the cerebrum. +His new idea was to have driven a heavily-laden mule cart around the +inside of the Dead Line at least once a day. The wheels or the mule's +feet broke through the thin sod covering the tunnels and exposed them. +Our tunnel went with the rest, and those of our crowd who wore shoes had +humiliation added to sorrow by being compelled to go in and spade the +hole full of dirt. This put an end to subterranean engineering. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p410"></a><img alt="p410.jpg (41K)" src="p410.jpg" height="471" width="555"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>One day one of the boys watched his opportunity, got under the ration +wagon, and clinging close to the coupling pole with hands and feet, was +carried outside. He was detected, however, as he came from under the +wagon, and brought back. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p411"></a><img alt="p411.jpg (49K)" src="p411.jpg" height="553" width="581"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br><br><br> + +<h2><a name="ch53"></a>CHAPTER LIII. +</h2> +<p>FRANK REVERSTOCK'S ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE--PASSING OFF AS REBEL BOY HE REACHES +GRISWOLDVILLE BY RAIL, AND THEN STRIKES ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOR SHERMAN, +BUT IS CAUGHT WITHIN TWENTY MILES OF OUR LINES. + +<p>One of the shrewdest and nearest successful attempts to escape that came +under my notice was that of my friend Sergeant Frank Reverstock, of the +Third West Virginia Cavalry, of whom I have before spoken. Frank, who +was quite small, with a smooth boyish face, had converted to his own use +a citizen's coat, belonging to a young boy, a Sutler's assistant, who had +died in Andersonville. He had made himself a pair of bag pantaloons and +a shirt from pieces of meal sacks which he had appropriated from day to +day. He had also the Sutler's assistant's shoes, and, to crown all, he +wore on his head one of those hideous looking hats of quilted calico +which the Rebels had taken to wearing in the lack of felt hats, which +they could neither make nor buy. Altogether Frank looked enough like a +Rebel to be dangerous to trust near a country store or a stable full of +horses. When we first arrived in the prison quite a crowd of the +Savannahians rushed in to inspect us. The guards had some difficulty in +keeping them and us separate. While perplexed with this annoyance, one +of them saw Frank standing in our crowd, and, touching him with his +bayonet, said, with some sharpness: + +<p>"See heah; you must stand back; you musn't crowd on them prisoners so.", + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p413"></a><img alt="p413.jpg (33K)" src="p413.jpg" height="399" width="409"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>Frank stood back. He did it promptly but calmly, and then, as if his +curiosity as to Yankees was fully satisfied, he walked slowly away up the +street, deliberating as he went on a plan for getting out of the City. +He hit upon an excellent one. Going to the engineer of a freight train +making ready to start back to Macon, he told him that his father was +working in the Confederate machine shops at Griswoldville, near Macon; +that he himself was also one of the machinists employed there, and +desired to go thither but lacked the necessary means to pay his passage. +If the engineer would let him ride up on the engine he would do work +enough to pay the fare. Frank told the story ingeniously, the engineer +and firemen were won over, and gave their consent. + +<p>No more zealous assistant ever climbed upon a tender than Frank proved to +be. He loaded wood with a nervous industry, that stood him in place of +great strength. He kept the tender in perfect order, and anticipated, +as far as possible, every want of the engineer and his assistant. They +were delighted with him, and treated him with the greatest kindness, +dividing their food with him, and insisting that he should share their +bed when they "laid by" for the night. Frank would have gladly declined +this latter kindness with thanks, as he was conscious that the quantity +of "graybacks" his clothing contained did not make him a very desirable +sleeping companion for any one, but his friends were so pressing that he +was compelled to accede. + +<p>His greatest trouble was a fear of recognition by some one of the +prisoners that were continually passing by the train load, on their way +from Andersonville to other prisons. He was one of the best known of the +prisoners in Andersonville; bright, active, always cheerful, and forever +in motion during waking hours,--every one in the Prison speedily became +familiar with him, and all addressed him as "Sergeant Frankie." If any +one on the passing trains had caught a glimpse of him, that glimpse would +have been followed almost inevitably with a shout of: + +<p>"Hello, Sergeant Frankie! What are you doing there?" + +<p>Then the whole game would have been up. Frank escaped this by persistent +watchfulness, and by busying himself on the opposite side of the engine, +with his back turned to the other trains. + +<p>At last when nearing Griswoldville, Frank, pointing to a large white +house at some distance across the fields, said: + +<p>"Now, right over there is where my uncle lives, and I believe I'll just +run over and see him, and then walk into Griswoldville." + +<p>He thanked his friends fervently for their kindness, promised to call and +see them frequently, bade them good by, and jumped off the train. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p415"></a><img alt="p415.jpg (22K)" src="p415.jpg" height="517" width="359"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>He walked towards the white house as long as he thought he could be seen, +and then entered a large corn field and concealed himself in a thicket in +the center of it until dark, when he made his way to the neighboring +woods, and began journeying northward as fast as his legs could carry +him. When morning broke he had made good progress, but was terribly +tired. It was not prudent to travel by daylight, so he gathered himself +some ears of corn and some berries, of which he made his breakfast, and +finding a suitable thicket he crawled into it, fell asleep, and did not +wake up until late in the afternoon. + +<p>After another meal of raw corn and berries he resumed his journey, and +that night made still better progress. + +<p>He repeated this for several days and nights--lying in the woods in the +day time, traveling by night through woods, fields, and by-paths avoiding +all the fords, bridges and main roads, and living on what he could glean +from the fields, that he might not take even so much risk as was involved +in going to the negro cabins for food. + +<p>But there are always flaws in every man's armor of caution--even in so +perfect a one as Frank's. His complete success so far had the natural +effect of inducing a growing carelessness, which wrought his ruin. +One evening he started off briskly, after a refreshing rest and sleep. +He knew that he must be very near Sherman's lines, and hope cheered him +up with the belief that his freedom would soon be won. + +<p>Descending from the hill, in whose dense brushwood he had made his bed +all day, he entered a large field full of standing corn, and made his way +between the rows until he reached, on the other side, the fence that +separated it from the main road, across which was another corn-field, +that Frank intended entering. + +<p>But he neglected his usual precautions on approaching a road, and instead +of coming up cautiously and carefully reconnoitering in all directions +before he left cover, he sprang boldly over the fence and strode out for +the other side. As he reached the middle of the road, his ears were +assailed with the sharp click of a musket being cocked, and the harsh +command: + +<p>"Halt! halt, dah, I say!" + +<p>Turning with a start to his left he saw not ten feet from him, a mounted +patrol, the sound of whose approach had been masked by the deep dust of +the road, into which his horse's hoofs sank noiselessly. + +<p>Frank, of course, yielded without a word, and when sent to the officer in +command he told the old story about his being an employee of the +Griswoldville shops, off on a leave of absence to make a visit to sick +relatives. But, unfortunately, his captors belonged to that section +themselves, and speedily caught him in a maze of cross-questioning from +which he could not extricate himself. It also became apparent from his +language that he was a Yankee, and it was not far from this to the +conclusion that he was a spy--a conclusion to which the proximity of +Sherman's lines, then less than twenty miles distant-greatly assisted. + +<p>By the next morning this belief had become so firmly fixed in the minds +of the Rebels that Frank saw a halter dangling alarmingly near, and he +concluded the wisest plan was to confess who he really was. + +<p>It was not the smallest of his griefs to realize by how slight a chance +he had failed. Had he looked down the road before he climbed the fence, +or had he been ten minutes earlier or later, the patrol would not have +been there, he could have gained the next field unperceived, and two more +nights of successful progress would have taken him into Sherman's lines +at Sand Mountain. The patrol which caught him was on the look-out for +deserters and shirking conscripts, who had become unusually numerous +since the fall of Atlanta. + +<p>He was sent back to us at Savannah. As he came into the prison gate +Lieutenant Davis was standing near. He looked sternly at Frank and his +Rebel garments, and muttering, + +<p>"By God, I'll stop this!" caught the coat by the tails, tore it to the +collar, and took it and his hat away from Frank. + +<p>There was a strange sequel to this episode. A few weeks afterward a +special exchange for ten thousand was made, and Frank succeeded in being +included in this. He was given the usual furlough from the paroled camp +at Annapolis, and went to his home in a little town near Mansfield, O. + +<p>One day while on the cars going--I think to Newark, O., he saw Lieutenant +Davis on the train, in citizens' clothes. He had been sent by the Rebel +Government to Canada with dispatches relating to some of the raids then +harassing our Northern borders. Davis was the last man in the world to +successfully disguise himself. He had a large, coarse mouth, that made +him remembered by all who had ever seen him. Frank recognized him +instantly and said: + +<p>"You are Lieutenant Davis?" + +<p>Davis replied: + +<p>"You are totally mistaken, sah, I am -----" + +<p>Frank insisted that he was right. Davis fumed and blustered, but though +Frank was small, he was as game as a bantam rooster, and he gave Davis to +understand that there had been a vast change in their relative positions; +that the one, while still the same insolent swaggerer, had not regiments +of infantry or batteries of artillery to emphasize his insolence, and the +other was no longer embarrassed in the discussion by the immense odds in +favor of his jailor opponent. + +<p>After a stormy scene Frank called in the assistance of some other +soldiers in the car, arrested Davis, and took him to Camp Chase--near +Columbus, O.,--where he was fully identified by a number of paroled +prisoners. He was searched, and documents showing the nature of his +mission beyond a doubt, were found upon his person. + +<p>A court martial was immediately convened for his trial. + +<p>This found him guilty, and sentenced him to be hanged as a spy. + +<p>At the conclusion of the trial Frank stepped up to the prisoner and said: + +<p>"Mr. Davis, I believe we're even on that coat, now." + +<p>Davis was sent to Johnson's Island for execution, but influences were +immediately set at work to secure Executive clemency. What they were +I know not, but I am informed by the Rev. Robert McCune, who was then +Chaplain of the One Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Ohio Infantry and the Post +of Johnson's Island and who was the spiritual adviser appointed to +prepare Davis for execution, that the sentence was hardly pronounced +before Davis was visited by an emissary, who told him to dismiss his +fears, that he should not suffer the punishment. + +<p>It is likely that leading Baltimore Unionists were enlisted in his behalf +through family connections, and as the Border State Unionists were then +potent at Washington, they readily secured a commutation of his sentence +to imprisonment during the war. + +<p>It seems that the justice of this world is very unevenly dispensed when +so much solicitude is shown for the life of such a man, and none at all +for the much better men whom he assisted to destroy. + +<p>The official notice of the commutation of the sentence was not published +until the day set for the execution, but the certain knowledge that it +would be forthcoming enabled Davis to display a great deal of bravado on +approaching what was supposed to be his end. As the reader can readily +imagine, from what I have heretofore said of him, Davis was the man to +improve to the utmost every opportunity to strut his little hour, and he +did it in this instance. He posed, attitudinized and vapored, so that +the camp and the country were filled with stories of the wonderful +coolness with which he contemplated his approaching fate. + +<p>Among other things he said to his guard, as he washed himself elaborately +the night before the day announced for the execution: + +<p>"Well, you can be sure of one thing; to-morrow night there will certainly +be one clean corpse on this Island." + +<p>Unfortunately for his braggadocio, he let it leak out in some way that he +had been well aware all the time that he would not be executed. + +<p>He was taken to Fort Delaware for confinement, and died there some time +after. + +<p>Frank Beverstock went back to his regiment, and served with it until the +close of the war. He then returned home, and, after awhile became a +banker at Bowling Green, O. He was a fine business man and became very +prosperous. But though naturally healthy and vigorous, his system +carried in it the seeds of death, sown there by the hardships of +captivity. He had been one of the victims of the Rebels' vaccination; +the virus injected into his blood had caused a large part of his right +temple to slough off, and when it healed it left a ghastly cicatrix. + +<p>Two years ago he was taken suddenly ill, and died before his friends had +any idea that his condition was serious. + +<br><br><br><br> +<h2><a name="ch54"></a>CHAPTER LIV. +</h2> +<p>SAVANNAH PROVES TO BE A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER--ESCAPE FROM THE BRATS OF +GUARDS--COMPARISON BETWEEN WIRZ AND DAVIS--A BRIEF INTERVAL OF GOOD +RATIONS--WINDER, THE MAN WITH THE EVIL EYE-- +THE DISLOYAL WORK OF A SHYSTER. + +<p>After all Savannah was a wonderful improvement on Andersonville. +We got away from the pestilential Swamp and that poisonous ground. +Every mouthful of air was not laden with disease germs, nor every cup of +water polluted with the seeds of death. The earth did not breed +gangrene, nor the atmosphere promote fever. As only the more vigorous +had come away, we were freed from the depressing spectacle of every third +man dying. The keen disappointment prostrated very many who had been of +average health, and I imagine, several hundred died, but there were +hospital arrangements of some kind, and the sick were taken away from +among us. Those of us who tunneled out had an opportunity of stretching +our legs, which we had not had for months in the overcrowded Stockade we +had left. The attempts to escape did all engaged in them good, even +though they failed, since they aroused new ideas and hopes, set the blood +into more rapid circulation, and toned up the mind and system both. +I had come away from Andersonville with considerable scurvy manifesting +itself in my gums and feet. Soon these signs almost wholly disappeared. + +<p>We also got away from those murderous little brats of Reserves, +who guarded us at Andersonville, and shot men down as they would stone +apples out of a tree. Our guards now were mostly, sailors, from the +Rebel fleet in the harbor--Irishmen, Englishmen and Scandinavians, as +free hearted and kindly as sailors always are. I do not think they ever +fired a shot at one of us. The only trouble we had was with that portion +of the guard drawn from the infantry of the garrison. They had the same +rattlesnake venom of the Home Guard crowd wherever we met it, and shot us +down at the least provocation. Fortunately they only formed a small part +of the sentinels. + +<p>Best of all, we escaped for a while from the upas-like shadow of Winder +and Wirz, in whose presence strong men sickened and died, as when near +some malign genii of an Eastern story. The peasantry of Italy believed +firmly in the evil eye. Did they ever know any such men as Winder and +his satellite, I could comprehend how much foundation they could have for +such a belief. + +<p>Lieutenant Davis had many faults, but there was no comparison between him +and the Andersonville commandant. He was a typical young Southern man; +ignorant and bumptious as to the most common matters of school-boy +knowledge, inordinately vain of himself and his family, coarse in tastes +and thoughts, violent in his prejudices, but after all with some streaks +of honor and generosity that made the widest possible difference between +him and Wirz, who never had any. As one of my chums said to me: + +<p>"Wirz is the most even-tempered man I ever knew; he's always foaming +mad." + +<p>This was nearly the truth. I never saw Wirz when he was not angry; +if not violently abusive, he was cynical and sardonic. Never, in my +little experience with him did I detect a glint of kindly, generous +humanity; if he ever was moved by any sight of suffering its exhibition +in his face escaped my eye. If he ever had even a wish to mitigate the +pain or hardship of any man the expression of such wish never fell on my +ear. How a man could move daily through such misery as he encountered, +and never be moved by it except to scorn and mocking is beyond my limited +understanding. + +<p>Davis vapored a great deal, swearing big round oaths in the broadest of +Southern patois; he was perpetually threatening to: + +<p>"Open on ye wid de ahtillery," but the only death that I knew him to +directly cause or sanction was that I have described in the previous +chapter. He would not put himself out of the way to annoy and oppress +prisoners, as Wirz would, but frequently showed even a disposition to +humor them in some little thing, when it could be done without danger or +trouble to himself. + +<p>By-and-by, however, he got an idea that there was some money to be made +out of the prisoners, and he set his wits to work in this direction. +One day, standing at the gate, he gave one of his peculiar yells that he +used to attract the attention of the camp with: + +<p>"Wh-ah-ye!!" + +<p>We all came to "attention," and he announced: + +<p>"Yesterday, while I wuz in the camps (a Rebel always says camps,) some of +you prisoners picked my pockets of seventy-five dollars in greenbacks. +Now, I give you notice that I'll not send in any moah rations till the +money's returned to me." + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p422"></a><img alt="p422.jpg (48K)" src="p422.jpg" height="549" width="493"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>This was a very stupid method of extortion, since no one believed that he +had lost the money, and at all events he had no business to have the +greenbacks, as the Rebel laws imposed severe penalties upon any citizen, +and still more upon any soldier dealing with, or having in his possession +any of "the money of the enemy." We did without rations until night, +when they were sent in. There was a story that some of the boys in the +prison had contributed to make up part of the sum, and Davis took it and +was satisfied. I do not know how true the story was. At another time +some of the boys stole the bridle and halter off an old horse that was +driven in with a cart. The things were worth, at a liberal estimate, +one dollar. Davis cut off the rations of the whole six thousand of us +for one day for this. We always imagined that the proceeds went into his +pocket. + +<p>A special exchange was arranged between our Navy Department and that of +the Rebels, by which all seamen and marines among us were exchanged. +Lists of these were sent to the different prisons and the men called for. +About three-fourths of them were dead, but many soldiers divining, the +situation of affairs, answered to the dead men's names, went away with +the squad and were exchanged. Much of this was through the connivance of +the Rebel officers, who favored those who had ingratiated themselves with +them. In many instances money was paid to secure this privilege, and I +have been informed on good authority that Jack Huckleby, of the Eighth +Tennessee, and Ira Beverly, of the One Hundredth Ohio, who kept the big +sutler shop on the North Side at Andersonville, paid Davis five hundred +dollars each to be allowed to go with the sailors. As for Andrews and +me, we had no friends among the Rebels, nor money to bribe with, so we +stood no show. + +<p>The rations issued to us for some time after our arrival seemed riotous +luxury to what we had been getting at Andersonville. Each of us received +daily a half-dozen rude and coarse imitations of our fondly-remembered +hard tack, and with these a small piece of meat or a few spoonfuls of +molasses, and a quart or so of vinegar, and several plugs of tobacco for +each "hundred." How exquisite was the taste of the crackers and molasses! +It was the first wheat bread I had eaten since my entry into Richmond-- +nine months before--and molasses had been a stranger to me for years. +After the corn bread we had so long lived upon, this was manna. It seems +that the Commissary at Savannah labored under the delusion that he must +issue to us the same rations as were served out to the Rebel soldiers and +sailors. It was some little time before the fearful mistake came to the +knowledge of Winder. I fancy that the news almost threw him into an +apoplectic fit. Nothing, save his being ordered to the front, could have +caused him such poignant sorrow as the information that so much good food +had been worse than wasted in undoing his work by building up the bodies +of his hated enemies. + +<p>Without being told, we knew that he had been heard from when the tobacco, +vinegar and molasses failed to come in, and the crackers gave way to corn +meal. Still this was a vast improvement on Andersonville, as the meal +was fine and sweet, and we each had a spoonful of salt issued to us +regularly. + +<p>I am quite sure that I cannot make the reader who has not had an +experience similar to ours comprehend the wonderful importance to us of +that spoonful of salt. Whether or not the appetite for salt be, as some +scientists claim, a purely artificial want, one thing is certain, and +that is, that either the habit of countless generations or some other +cause, has so deeply ingrained it into our common nature, that it has +come to be nearly as essential as food itself, and no amount of +deprivation can accustom us to its absence. Rather, it seemed that the +longer we did without it the more overpowering became our craving. +I could get along to-day and to-morrow, perhaps the whole week, without +salt in my food, since the lack would be supplied from the excess I had +already swallowed, but at the end of that time Nature would begin to +demand that I renew the supply of saline constituent of my tissues, and +she would become more clamorous with every day that I neglected her +bidding, and finally summon Nausea to aid Longing. + +<p>The light artillery of the garrison of Savannah--four batteries, twenty- +four pieces--was stationed around three sides of the prison, the guns +unlimbered, planted at convenient distance, and trained upon us, ready +for instant use. We could see all the grinning mouths through the cracks +in the fence. There were enough of them to send us as high as the +traditional kite flown by Gilderoy. The having at his beck this array of +frowning metal lent Lieutenant Davis such an importance in his own eyes +that his demeanor swelled to the grandiose. It became very amusing to +see him puff up and vaunt over it, as he did on every possible occasion. +For instance, finding a crowd of several hundred lounging around the +gate, he would throw open the wicket, stalk in with the air of a Jove +threatening a rebellious world with the dread thunders of heaven, and +shout: + +<p>"W-h-a-a y-e-e! Prisoners, I give you jist two minutes to cleah away +from this gate, aw I'll open on ye wid de ahtillery!" + +<p>One of the buglers of the artillery was a superb musician--evidently some +old "regular" whom the Confederacy had seduced into its service, and his +instrument was so sweet toned that we imagined that it was made of +silver. The calls he played were nearly the same as we used in the +cavalry, and for the first few days we became bitterly homesick every +time he sent ringing out the old familiar signals, that to us were so +closely associated with what now seemed the bright and happy days when we +were in the field with our battalion. If we were only back in the +valleys of Tennessee with what alacrity we would respond to that +"assembly;" no Orderly's patience would be worn out in getting laggards +and lazy ones to "fall in for roll-call;" how eagerly we would attend to +"stable duty;" how gladly mount our faithful horses and ride away to +"water," and what bareback races ride, going and coming. We would be +even glad to hear "guard" and "drill" sounded; and there would be music +in the disconsolate "surgeon's call:" +<blockquote><blockquote> +<p> "Come-get-your-q-n-i-n-i-n-e; come, get your quinine; It'll make you +sad: It'll make you sick. Come, come." +</blockquote></blockquote> + +<p>O, if we were only back, what admirable soldiers we would be! +One morning, about three or four o'clock, we were awakened by the ground +shaking and a series of heavy, dull thumps sounding oft seaward. +Our silver-voiced bugler seemed to be awakened, too. He set the echoes +ringing with a vigorously played "reveille;" a minute later came an +equally earnest "assembly," and when "boots and saddles" followed, we +knew that all was not well in Denmark; the thumping and shaking now had +a significance. It meant heavy Yankee guns somewhere near. We heard the +gunners hitching up; the bugle signal "forward," the wheels roll off, +and for a half hour afterwards we caught the receding sound of the bugle +commanding "right turn," "left turn," etc., as the batteries marched +away. Of course, we became considerably wrought up over the matter, +as we fancied that, knowing we were in Savannah, our vessels were trying +to pass up to the City and take it. The thumping and shaking continued +until late in the afternoon. + +<p>We subsequently learned that some of our blockaders, finding time banging +heavy upon their hands, had essayed a little diversion by knocking Forts +Jackson and Bledsoe--two small forts defending the passage of the +Savannah--about their defenders' ears. After capturing the forts our +folks desisted and came no farther. + +<p>Quite a number of the old Raider crowd had come with us from +Andersonville. Among these was the shyster, Peter Bradley. They kept up +their old tactics of hanging around the gates, and currying favor with +the Rebels in every possible way, in hopes to get paroles outside or +other favors. The great mass of the prisoners were so bitter against the +Rebels as to feel that they would rather die than ask or accept a favor +from their hands, and they had little else than contempt for these +trucklers. The raider crowd's favorite theme of conversation with the +Rebels was the strong discontent of the boys with the manner of their +treatment by our Government. The assertion that there was any such +widespread feeling was utterly false. We all had confidence--as we +continue to have to this day--that our Government would do everything for +us possible, consistent with its honor, and the success of military +operations, and outside of the little squad of which I speak, not an +admission could be extracted from anybody that blame could be attached to +any one, except the Rebels. It was regarded as unmanly and unsoldier- +like to the last degree, as well as senseless, to revile our Government +for the crimes committed by its foes. + +<p>But the Rebels were led to believe that we were ripe for revolt against +our flag, and to side with them. Imagine, if possible, the stupidity +that would mistake our bitter hatred of those who were our deadly +enemies, for any feeling that would lead us to join hands with those +enemies. One day we were surprised to see the carpenters erect a rude +stand in the center of the camp. When it was finished, Bradley appeared +upon it, in company with some Rebel officers and guards. We gathered +around in curiosity, and Bradley began making a speech. + +<p>He said that it had now become apparent to all of us that our Government +had abandoned us; that it cared little or nothing for us, since it could +hire as many more quite readily, by offering a bounty equal to the pay +which would be due us now; that it cost only a few hundred dollars to +bring over a shipload of Irish, "Dutch," and French, who were only too +glad to agree to fight or do anything else to get to this country. [The +peculiar impudence of this consisted in Bradley himself being a +foreigner, and one who had only come out under one of the later calls, +and the influence of a big bounty.] + +<p>Continuing in this strain he repeated and dwelt upon the old lie, always +in the mouths of his crowd, that Secretary Stanton and General Halleck +had positively refused to enter upon negotiations for exchange, because +those in prison were "only a miserable lot of 'coffee-boilers' and +'blackberry pickers,' whom the Army was better off without." + +<p>The terms "coffee-boiler," and "blackberry-pickers" were considered the +worst terms of opprobrium we had in prison. They were applied to that +class of stragglers and skulkers, who were only too ready to give +themselves up to the enemy, and who, on coming in, told some gauzy story +about "just having stopped to boil a cup of coffee," or to do something +else which they should not have done, when they were gobbled up. It is +not risking much to affirm the probability of Bradley and most of his +crowd having belonged to this dishonorable class. + +<p>The assertion that either the great Chief-of-Staff or the still greater +War-Secretary were even capable of applying such epithets to the mass of +prisoners is too preposterous to need refutation, or even denial. +No person outside the raider crowd ever gave the silly lie a moment's +toleration. + +<p>Bradley concluded his speech in some such language as this: + +<p>"And now, fellow prisoners, I propose to you this: that we unite in +informing our Government that unless we are exchanged in thirty days, we +will be forced by self-preservation to join the Confederate army." + +<p>For an instant his hearers seemed stunned at the fellow's audacity, and +then there went up such a roar of denunciation and execration that the +air trembled. The Rebels thought that the whole camp was going to rush +on Bradley and tear him to pieces, and they drew revolvers and leveled +muskets to defend him. The uproar only ceased when Bradley was hurried +out of the prisons but for hours everybody was savage and sullen, and +full of threatenings against him, when opportunity served. We never saw +him afterward. + +<p>Angry as I was, I could not help being amused at the tempestuous rage of +a tall, fine-looking and well educated Irish Sergeant of an Illinois +regiment. He poured forth denunciations of the traitor and the Rebels, +with the vivid fluency of his Hibernian nature, vowed he'd "give a year +of me life, be J---s, to have the handling of the dirty spalpeen for ten +minutes; be G-d," and finally in his rage, tore off his own shirt and +threw it on the ground and trampled on it. + +<p>Imagine my astonishment, some time after getting out of prison, to find +the Southern papers publishing as a defense against the charges in regard +to Andersonville, the following document, which they claimed to have been +adopted by "a mass meeting of the prisoners:" +<br><br> +<p>"At a mass meeting held September 28th, 1864, by the Federal prisoners +confined at Savannah, Ga., it was unanimously agreed that the following +resolutions be sent to the President of the United States, in the hope +that he might thereby take such steps as in his wisdom he may think +necessary for our speedy exchange or parole: + +<p>"Resolved, That while we would declare our unbounded love for the Union, +for the home of our fathers, and for the graves of those we venerate, we +would beg most respectfully that our situation as prisoners be diligently +inquired into, and every obstacle consistent with the honor and dignity +of the Government at once removed. + +<p>"Resolved, That while allowing the Confederate authorities all due praise +for the attention paid to prisoners, numbers of our men are daily +consigned to early graves, in the prime of manhood, far from home and +kindred, and this is not caused intentionally by the Confederate +Government, but by force of circumstances; the prisoners are forced to go +without shelter, and, in a great portion of cases, without medicine. + +<p>"Resolved, That, whereas, ten thousand of our brave comrades have +descended into an untimely grave within the last six months, and as we +believe their death was caused by the difference of climate, the peculiar +kind and insufficiency of food, and lack of proper medical treatment; +and, whereas, those difficulties still remain, we would declare as our +firm belief, that unless we are speedily exchanged, we have no +alternative but to share the lamentable fate of our comrades. Must this +thing still go on! Is there no hope? + +<p>"Resolved, That, whereas, the cold and inclement season of the year is +fast approaching, we hold it to be our duty as soldiers and citizens of +the United States, to inform our Government that the majority of our +prisoners ate without proper clothing, in some cases being almost naked, +and are without blankets to protect us from the scorching sun by day or +the heavy dews by night, and we would most respectfully request the +Government to make some arrangement whereby we can be supplied with +these, to us, necessary articles. + +<p>"Resolved, That, whereas, the term of service of many of our comrades +having expired, they, having served truly and faithfully for the term of +their several enlistments, would most respectfully ask their Government, +are they to be forgotten? Are past services to be ignored? Not having +seen their wives and little ones for over three years, they would most +respectfully, but firmly, request the Government to make some +arrangements whereby they can be exchanged or paroled. + +<p>"Resolved, That, whereas, in the fortune of war, it was our lot to become +prisoners, we have suffered patiently, and are still willing to suffer, +if by so doing we can benefit the country; but we must most respectfully +beg to say, that we are not willing to suffer to further the ends of any +party or clique to the detriment of our honor, our families, and our +country, and we beg that this affair be explained to us, that we may +continue to hold the Government in that respect which is necessary to +make a good citizen and soldier. +<blockquote><blockquote> +<p> "P. BRADLEY, +<p> "Chairman of Committee in behalf of Prisoners." +</blockquote></blockquote> +<br><br> +<p> +In regard to the above I will simply say this, that while I cannot +pretend to know or even much that went on around me, I do not think it +was possible for a mass meeting of prisoners to have been held without +my knowing it, and its essential features. Still less was it possible +for a mass meeting to have been held which would have adopted any such +a document as the above, or anything else that a Rebel would have found +the least pleasure in republishing. The whole thing is a brazen +falsehood. + +<br><br><br><br> +<h2><a name="ch55"></a>CHAPTER LV. +</h2> +<p>WHY WE WERE HURRIED OUT OF ANDERSONVILLE--THE OF THE FALL OF ATLANTA-- +OUR LONGING TO HEAR THE NEWS--ARRIVAL OF SOME FRESH FISH--HOW WE KNEW +THEY WERE WESTERN BOYS--DIFFERENCE IN THE APPEARANCE OF THE SOLDIERS OF +THE TWO ARMIES. + +<p>The reason of our being hurried out of Andersonville under the false +pretext of exchange dawned on us before we had been in Savannah long. +If the reader will consult the map of Georgia he will understand this, +too. Let him remember that several of the railroads which now appear +were not built then. The road upon which Andersonville is situated was +about one hundred and twenty miles long, reaching from Macon to Americus, +Andersonville being about midway between these two. It had no +connections anywhere except at Macon, and it was hundreds of miles across +the country from Andersonville to any other road. When Atlanta fell it +brought our folks to within sixty miles of Macon, and any day they were +liable to make a forward movement, which would capture that place, and +have us where we could be retaken with ease. + +<p>There was nothing left undone to rouse the apprehensions of the Rebels in +that direction. The humiliating surrender of General Stoneman at Macon +in July, showed them what our, folks were thinking of, and awakened their +minds to the disastrous consequences of such a movement when executed by +a bolder and abler commander. Two days of one of Kilpatrick's swift, +silent marches would carry his hard-riding troopers around Hood's right +flank, and into the streets of Macon, where a half hour's work with the +torch on the bridges across the Ocmulgee and the creeks that enter it at +that point, would have cut all of the Confederate Army of the Tennessee's +communications. Another day and night of easy marching would bring his +guidons fluttering through the woods about the Stockade at Andersonville, +and give him a reinforcement of twelve or fifteen thousand able-bodied +soldiers, with whom he could have held the whole Valley of the +Chattahoochie, and become the nether millstone, against which Sherman +could have ground Hood's army to powder. + +<p>Such a thing was not only possible, but very probable, and doubtless +would have occurred had we remained in Andersonville another week. + +<p>Hence the haste to get us away, and hence the lie about exchange, for, +had it not been for this, one-quarter at least of those taken on the cars +would have succeeded in getting off and attempted to have reached +Sherman's lines. + +<p>The removal went on with such rapidity that by the end of September only +eight thousand two hundred and eighteen remained at Andersonville, and +these were mostly too sick to be moved; two thousand seven hundred died +in September, fifteen hundred and sixty in October, and four hundred and +eighty-five in November, so that at the beginning of December there were +only thirteen hundred and fifty-nine remaining. The larger part of those +taken out were sent on to Charleston, and subsequently to Florence and +Salisbury. About six or seven thousand of us, as near as I remember, +were brought to Savannah. +<br> + <center><p> .......................</center> +<br> +<p>We were all exceedingly anxious to know how the Atlanta campaign had +ended. So far our information only comprised the facts that a sharp +battle had been fought, and the result was the complete possession of our +great objective point. The manner of accomplishing this glorious end, +the magnitude of the engagement, the regiments, brigades and corps +participating, the loss on both sides, the completeness of the victories, +etc., were all matters that we knew nothing of, and thirsted to learn. + +<p>The Rebel papers said as little as possible about the capture, and the +facts in that little were so largely diluted with fiction as to convey no +real information. But few new, prisoners were coming in, and none of +these were from Sherman. However, toward the last of September, a +handful of "fresh fish" were turned inside, whom our experienced eyes +instantly told us were Western boys. + +<p>There was never any difficulty in telling, as far as he could be seen, +whether a boy belonged to the East or the west. First, no one from the +Army of the Potomac was ever without his corps badge worn conspicuously; +it was rare to see such a thing on one of Sherman's men. Then there was +a dressy air about the Army of the Potomac that was wholly wanting in the +soldiers serving west of the Alleghanies. + +<p>The Army, of the Potomac was always near to its base of supplies, always +had its stores accessible, and the care of the clothing and equipments of +the men was an essential part of its discipline. A ragged or shabbily +dressed man was a rarity. Dress coats, paper collars, fresh woolen +shirts, neat-fitting pantaloons, good comfortable shoes, and trim caps or +hats, with all the blazing brass of company letters an inch long, +regimental number, bugle and eagle, according to the Regulations, were as +common to Eastern boys as they were rare among the Westerners. + +<p>The latter usually wore blouses, instead of dress coats, and as a rule +their clothing had not been renewed since the opening, of the campaign- +and it showed this. Those who wore good boots or shoes generally had to +submit to forcible exchanges by their, captors, and the same was true of +head gear. The Rebels were badly off in regard to hats. They did not +have skill and ingenuity enough to make these out of felt or straw, and +the make-shifts they contrived of quilted calico and long-leaved pine, +were ugly enough to frighten horned cattle. + +<p>I never blamed them much for wanting to get rid of these, even if they +did have to commit a sort of highway robbery upon defenseless prisoners +to do so. To be a traitor in arms was bad certainly, but one never +appreciated the entire magnitude of the crime until he saw a Rebel +wearing a calico or a pine-leaf hat. Then one felt as if it would be a +great mistake to ever show such a man mercy. + +<p>The Army of Northern Virginia seemed to have supplied themselves with +head-gear of Yankee manufacture of previous years, and they then quit +taking the hats of their prisoners. Johnston's Army did not have such +good luck, and had to keep plundering to the end of the war. + +<p>Another thing about the Army of the Potomac was the variety of the +uniforms. There were members of Zouave regiments, wearing baggy breeches +of various hues, gaiters, crimson fezes, and profusely braided jackets. +I have before mentioned the queer garb of the "Lost Ducks." (Les Enfants +Perdu, Forty-eighth New York.) + +<p>One of the most striking uniforms was that of the "Fourteenth Brooklyn." +They wore scarlet pantaloons, a blue jacket handsomely braided, and a red +fez, with a white cloth wrapped around the head, turban-fashion. +As a large number of them were captured, they formed quite a picturesque +feature of every crowd. They were generally good fellows and gallant +soldiers. + +<p>Another uniform that attracted much, though not so favorable, attention +was that of the Third New Jersey Cavalry, or First New Jersey Hussars, +as they preferred to call themselves. The designer of the uniform must +have had an interest in a curcuma plantation, or else he was a fanatical +Orangeman. Each uniform would furnish occasion enough for a dozen New +York riots on the 12th of July. Never was such an eruption of the +yellows seen outside of the jaundiced livery of some Eastern potentate. +Down each leg of the pantaloons ran a stripe of yellow braid one and one- +half inches wide. The jacket had enormous gilt buttons, and was +embellished with yellow braid until it was difficult to tell whether it +was blue cloth trimmed with yellow, or yellow adorned with blue. From +the shoulders swung a little, false hussar jacket, lined with the same +flaring yellow. The vizor-less cap was similarly warmed up with the hue +of the perfected sunflower. Their saffron magnificence was like the +gorgeous gold of the lilies of the field, and Solomon in all his glory +could not have beau arrayed like one of them. I hope he was not. I want +to retain my respect for him. We dubbed these daffodil cavaliers +"Butterflies," and the name stuck to them like a poor relation. + +<p>Still another distinction that was always noticeable between the two +armies was in the bodily bearing of the men. The Army of the Potomac was +drilled more rigidly than the Western men, and had comparatively few long +marches. Its members had something of the stiffness and precision of +English and German soldiery, while the Western boys had the long, +"reachy" stride, and easy swing that made forty miles a day a rather +commonplace march for an infantry regiment. + +<p>This was why we knew the new prisoners to be Sherman's boys as soon as +they came inside, and we started for them to hear the news. Inviting +them over to our lean-to, we told them our anxiety for the story of the +decisive blow that gave us the Central Gate of the Confederacy, and asked +them to give it to us. + +<br><br><br><br> +<h2><a name="ch56"></a>CHAPTER LVI. +</h2> +<p>WHAT CAUSED THE FALL OF ATLANTA--A DISSERTATION UPON AN IMPORTANT +PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEM--THE BATTLE OF JONESBORO--WHY IT WAS FOUGHT-- +HOW SHERMAN DECEIVED HOOD--A DESPERATE BAYONET CHARGE, AND THE ONLY +SUCCESSFUL ONE IN THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN--A GALLANT COLONEL AND HOW HE +DIED--THE HEROISM OF SOME ENLISTED MEN--GOING CALMLY INTO CERTAIN DEATH. + +<p>An intelligent, quick-eyed, sunburned boy, without an ounce of surplus +flesh on face or limbs, which had been reduced to gray-hound condition by +the labors and anxieties of the months of battling between Chattanooga +and Atlanta, seemed to be the accepted talker of the crowd, since all the +rest looked at him, as if expecting him to answer for them. He did so: + +<p>"You want to know about how we got Atlanta at last, do you? Well, if you +don't know, I should think you would want to. If I didn't, I'd want +somebody to tell me all about it just as soon as he could get to me, for +it was one of the neatest little bits of work that 'old Billy' and his +boys ever did, and it got away with Hood so bad that he hardly knew what +hurt him. + +<p>"Well, first, I'll tell you that we belong to the old Fourteenth Ohio +Volunteers, which, if you know anything about the Army of the Cumberland, +you'll remember has just about as good a record as any that trains around +old Pap Thomas--and he don't 'low no slouches of any kind near him, +either--you can bet $500 to a cent on that, and offer to give back the +cent if you win. Ours is Jim Steedman's old regiment--you've all heard +of old Chickamauga Jim, who slashed his division of 7,000 fresh men into +the Rebel flank on the second day at Chickamauga, in a way that made +Longstreet wish he'd staid on the Rappahannock, and never tried to get up +any little sociable with the Westerners. If I do say it myself, I +believe we've got as good a crowd of square, stand-up, trust'em-every- +minute-in-your-life boys, as ever thawed hard-tack and sowbelly. We got +all the grunters and weak sisters fanned out the first year, and since +then we've been on a business basis, all the time. We're in a mighty +good brigade, too. Most of the regiments have been with us since we +formed the first brigade Pap Thomas ever commanded, and waded with him +through the mud of Kentucky, from Wild Cat to Mill Springs, where he gave +Zollicoffer just a little the awfulest thrashing that a Rebel General +ever got. That, you know, was in January, 1862, and was the first +victory gained by the Western Army, and our people felt so rejoiced over +it that--" + +<p>"Yes, yes; we've read all about that," we broke in, "and we'd like to +hear it again, some other time; but tell us now about Atlanta." + +<p>"All right. Let's see: where was I? O, yes, talking about our brigade. +It is the Third Brigade, of the Third Division, of the Fourteenth Corps, +and is made up of the Fourteenth Ohio, Thirty-eighth Ohio, Tenth +Kentucky, and Seventy-fourth Indiana. Our old Colonel--George P. Este-- +commands it. We never liked him very well in camp, but I tell you he's a +whole team in a fight, and he'd do so well there that all would take to +him again, and he'd be real popular for a while." + +<p>"Now, isn't that strange," broke in Andrews, who was given to fits of +speculation of psychological phenomena: "None of us yearn to die, but the +surest way to gain the affection of the boys is to show zeal in leading +them into scrapes where the chances of getting shot are the best. +Courage in action, like charity, covers a multitude of sins. I have +known it to make the most unpopular man in the battalion, the most +popular inside of half an hour. Now, M.(addressing himself to me,) you +remember Lieutenant H., of our battalion. You know he was a very fancy +young fellow; wore as snipish' clothes as the tailor could make, had gold +lace on his jacket wherever the regulations would allow it, decorated his +shoulders with the stunningest pair of shoulder knots I ever saw, and so +on. Well, he did not stay with us long after we went to the front. He +went back on a detail for a court martial, and staid a good while. When +he rejoined us, he was not in good odor, at all, and the boys weren't at +all careful in saying unpleasant things when he could hear them, A little +while after he came back we made that reconnaissance up on the Virginia +Road. We stirred up the Johnnies with our skirmish line, and while the +firing was going on in front we sat on our horses in line, waiting for +the order to move forward and engage. You know how solemn such moments +are. I looked down the line and saw Lieutenant H. +at the right of Company--, in command of it. I had not seen him since he +came back, and I sung out: + +<p>"'Hello, Lieutenant, how do you feel?' + +<p>"The reply came back, promptly, and with boyish cheerfulness: + +<p>"'Bully, by ----; I'm going to lead seventy men of Company into action +today!' + +<p>"How his boys did cheer him. When the bugle sounded--'forward, trot,' his +company sailed in as if they meant it, and swept the Johnnies off in +short meter. You never heard anybody say anything against Lieutenant +after that." + +<p>"You know how it was with Captain G., of our regiment," said one of the +Fourteenth to another. "He was promoted from Orderly Sergeant to a +Second Lieutenant, and assigned to Company D. All the members of Company +D went to headquarters in a body, and protested against his being put in +their company, and he was not. Well, he behaved so well at Chickamauga +that the boys saw that they had done him a great injustice, and all those +that still lived went again to headquarters, and asked to take all back +that they had said, and to have him put into the company." + +<p>"Well, that was doing the manly thing, sure; but go on about Atlanta." + +<p>"I was telling about our brigade," resumed the narrator. "Of course, we +think our regiment's the best by long odds in the army--every fellow +thinks that of his regiment--but next to it come the other regiments of +our brigade. There's not a cent of discount on any of them. + +<p>"Sherman had stretched out his right away to the south and west of +Atlanta. About the middle of August our corps, commanded by Jefferson C. +Davis, was lying in works at Utoy Creek, a couple of miles from Atlanta. +We could see the tall steeples and the high buildings of the City quite +plainly. Things had gone on dull and quiet like for about ten days. +This was longer by a good deal than we had been at rest since we left +Resaca in the Spring. We knew that something was brewing, and that it +must come to a head soon. + +<p>"I belong to Company C. Our little mess--now reduced to three by the +loss of two of our best soldiers and cooks, Disbrow and Sulier, killed +behind head-logs in front of Atlanta, by sharpshooters--had one fellow +that we called 'Observer,' because he had such a faculty of picking up +news in his prowling around headquarters. He brought us in so much of +this, and it was generally so reliable that we frequently made up his +absence from duty by taking his place. He was never away from a fight, +though. On the night of the 25th of August, 'Observer' came in with the +news that something was in the wind. Sherman was getting awful restless, +and we had found out that this always meant lots of trouble to our +friends on the other side. + +<p>"Sure enough, orders came to get ready to move, and the next night we all +moved to the right and rear, out of sight of the Johnnies. Our well +built works were left in charge of Garrard's Cavalry, who concealed their +horses in the rear, and came up and took our places. The whole army +except the Twentieth Corps moved quietly off, and did it so nicely that +we were gone some time before the enemy suspected it. Then the Twentieth +Corps pulled out towards the North, and fell back to the Chattahoochie, +making quite a shove of retreat. The Rebels snapped up the bait +greedily. They thought the siege was being raised, and they poured over +their works to hurry the Twentieth boys off. The Twentieth fellows let +them know that there was lots of sting in them yet, and the Johnnies were +not long in discovering that it would have been money in their pockets if +they had let that 'moon-and-star' (that's the Twentieth's badge, you +know) crowd alone. + +<p>"But the Rebs thought the rest of us were gone for good and that Atlanta +was saved. Naturally they felt mighty happy over it; and resolved to +have a big celebration--a ball, a meeting of jubilee, etc. Extra trains +were run in, with girls and women from the surrounding country, and they +just had a high old time. + +<p>"In the meantime we were going through so many different kinds of tactics +that it looked as if Sherman was really crazy this time, sure. Finally +we made a grand left wheel, and then went forward a long way in line of +battle. It puzzled us a good deal, but we knew that Sherman couldn't get +us into any scrape that Pap Thomas couldn't get us out of, and so it was +all right. + +<p>"Along on the evening of the 31st our right wing seemed to have run +against a hornet's nest, and we could hear the musketry and cannon speak +out real spiteful, but nothing came down our way. We had struck the +railroad leading south from Atlanta to Macon, and began tearing it up. +The jollity at Atlanta was stopped right in the middle by the appalling +news that the Yankees hadn't retreated worth a cent, but had broken out +in a new and much worse spot than ever. Then there was no end of trouble +all around, and Hood started part of his army back after us. + +<p>"Part of Hardee's and Pat Cleburne's command went into position in front +of us. We left them alone till Stanley could come up on our left, and +swing around, so as to cut off their retreat, when we would bag every one +of them. But Stanley was as slow as he always was, and did not come up +until it was too late, and the game was gone. + +<p>"The sun was just going down on the evening of the 1st of September, when +we began to see we were in for it, sure. The Fourteenth Corps wheeled +into position near the railroad, and the sound of musketry and artillery +became very loud and clear on our front and left. We turned a little and +marched straight toward the racket, becoming more excited every minute. +We saw the Carlin's brigade of regulars, who were some distance ahead of +us, pile knapsacks, form in line, fix bayonets, and dash off with +arousing cheer. + +<p>"The Rebel fire beat upon them like a Summer rain-storm, the ground shook +with the noise, and just as we reached the edge of the cotton field, we +saw the remnant of the brigade come flying back out of the awful, +blasting shower of bullets. The whole slope was covered with dead and +wounded." + +<p>"Yes," interrupts one of the Fourteenth; "and they made that charge +right gamely, too, I can tell you. They were good soldiers, and well +led. When we went over the works, I remember seeing the body of a little +Major of one of the regiments lying right on the top. If he hadn't been +killed he'd been inside in a half-a-dozen steps more. There's no mistake +about it; those regulars will fight." + +<p>"When we saw this," resumed the narrator, "it set our fellows fairly +wild; they became just crying mad; I never saw them so before. The order +came to strip for the charge, and our knapsacks were piled in half a +minute. A Lieutenant of our company, who was then on the staff of Gen. +Baird, our division commander, rode slowly down the line and gave us our +instructions to load our guns, fix bayonets, and hold fire until we were +on top of the Rebel works. Then Colonel Este sang out clear and steady +as a bugle signal: + +<p>"'Brigade, forward! Guide center! MARCH!!' + +<p>"and we started. Heavens, how they did let into us, as we came up into +range. They had ten pieces of artillery, and more men behind the +breastworks than we had in line, and the fire they poured on us was +simply withering. We walked across the hundreds of dead and dying of the +regular brigade, and at every step our own men fell down among them. +General Baud's horse was shot down, and the General thrown far over his +head, but he jumped up and ran alongside of us. Major Wilson, our +regimental commander, fell mortally wounded; Lieutenant Kirk was killed, +and also Captain Stopfard, Adjutant General of the brigade. Lieutenants +Cobb and Mitchell dropped with wounds that proved fatal in a few days. +Captain Ugan lost an arm, one-third of the enlisted men fell, but we went +straight ahead, the grape and the musketry becoming worse every step, +until we gained the edge of the hill, where we were checked a minute by +the brush, which the Rebels had fixed up in the shape of abattis. Just +then a terrible fire from a new direction, our left, swept down the whole +length of our line. The Colonel of the Seventeenth New York--as gallant +a man as ever lived saw the new trouble, took his regiment in on the run, +and relieved us of this, but he was himself mortally wounded. If our +boys were half-crazy before, they were frantic now, and as we got out of +the entanglement of the brush, we raised a fearful yell and ran at the +works. We climbed the sides, fired right down into the defenders, and +then began with the bayonet and sword. For a few minutes it was simply +awful. On both sides men acted like infuriated devils. They dashed each +other's brains out with clubbed muskets; bayonets were driven into men's +bodies up to the muzzle of the gun; officers ran their swords through +their opponents, and revolvers, after being emptied into the faces of the +Rebels, were thrown with desperate force into the ranks. In our regiment +was a stout German butcher named Frank Fleck. He became so excited that +he threw down his sword, and rushed among the Rebels with his bare fists, +knocking down a swath of them. He yelled to the first Rebel he met + +<p>"Py Gott, I've no patience mit you,' and knocked him sprawling. +He caught hold of the commander of the Rebel Brigade, and snatched him +back over the works by main strength. Wonderful to say, he escaped +unhurt, but the boys will probably not soon let him hear the last of + +<p>"Py Gott, I've no patience mit you.' + +<p>"The Tenth Kentucky, by the queerest luck in the world, was matched +against the Rebel Ninth Kentucky. The commanders of the two regiments +were brothers-in-law, and the men relatives, friends, acquaintances and +schoolmates. They hated each other accordingly, and the fight between +them was more bitter, if possible, than anywhere else on the line. +The Thirty-Eighth Ohio and Seventy-fourth Indiana put in some work that +was just magnificent. We hadn't time to look at it then, but the dead +and wounded piled up after the fight told the story. + +<p>"We gradually forced our way over the works, but the Rebels were game to +the last, and we had to make them surrender almost one at a time. +The artillerymen tried to fire on us when we were so close we could lay +our hands on the guns. + +<p>"Finally nearly all in the works surrendered, and were disarmed and +marched back. Just then an aid came dashing up with the information that +we must turn the works, and get ready to receive Hardee, who was +advancing to retake the position. We snatched up some shovels lying +near, and began work. We had no time to remove the dead and dying Rebels +on the works, and the dirt we threw covered them up. It proved a false +alarm. Hardee had as much as he could do to save his own hide, and the +affair ended about dark. + +<p>"When we came to count up what we had gained, we found that we had +actually taken more prisoners from behind breastworks than there were in +our brigade when we started the charge. We had made the only really +successful bayonet charge of the campaign. Every other time since we +left Chattanooga the party standing on the defensive had been successful. +Here we had taken strong double lines, with ten guns, seven battle flags, +and over two thousand prisoners. We had lost terribly--not less than +one-third of the brigade, and many of our best men. Our regiment went +into the battle with fifteen officers; nine of these were killed or +wounded, and seven of the nine lost either their limbs or lives. +The Thirty-Eighth Ohio, and the other regiments of the brigade lost +equally heavy. We thought Chickamauga awful, but Jonesboro discounted +it." + +<p>"Do you know," said another of the Fourteenth, "I heard our Surgeon +telling about how that Colonel Grower, of the Seventeenth New York, +who came in so splendidly on our left, died? They say he was a Wall +Street broker, before the war. He was hit shortly after he led his +regiment in, and after the fight, was carried back to the hospital. +While our Surgeon was going the rounds Colonel Grower called him, and +said quietly, 'When you get through with the men, come and see me, +please.' + +<p>"The Doctor would have attended to him then, but Grower wouldn't let him. +After he got through he went back to Grower, examined his wound, and told +him that he could only live a few hours. Grower received the news +tranquilly, had the Doctor write a letter to his wife, and gave him his +things to send her, and then grasping the Doctor's hand, he said: + +<p>"Doctor, I've just one more favor to ask; will you grant it?' + +<p>"The Doctor said, 'Certainly; what is it?' + +<p>"You say I can't live but a few hours?' + +<p>"Yes; that is true.' +"And that I will likely be in great pain!' + +<p>"I am sorry to say so.' + +<p>"Well, then, do give me morphia enough to put me to sleep, so that I will +wake up only in another world.' + +<p>"The Doctor did so; Colonel Grower thanked him; wrung his hand, bade him +good-by, and went to sleep to wake no more." + +<p>"Do you believe in presentiments and superstitions?" said another of the +Fourteenth. There was Fisher Pray, Orderly Sergeant of Company I. He +came from Waterville, O., where his folks are now living. The day before +we started out he had a presentiment that we were going into a fight, and +that he would be killed. He couldn't shake it off. He told the +Lieutenant, and some of the boys about it, and they tried to ridicule him +out of it, but it was no good. When the sharp firing broke out in front +some of the boys said, 'Fisher, I do believe you are right,' and he +nodded his head mournfully. When we were piling knapsacks for the +charge, the Lieutenant, who was a great friend of Fisher's, said: + +<p>"Fisher, you stay here and guard the knapsacks.' + +<p>"Fisher's face blazed in an instant. + +<p>"No, sir,' said he; I never shirked a fight yet, and I won't begin now.' + +<p>"So he went into the fight, and was killed, as he knew he would be. Now, +that's what I call nerve." + +<p>"The same thing was true of Sergeant Arthur Tarbox, of Company A," said +the narrator; "he had a presentiment, too; he knew he was going to be +killed, if he went in, and he was offered an honorable chance to stay +out, but he would not take it, and went in and was killed." + +<p>"Well, we staid there the next day, buried our dead, took care of our +wounded, and gathered up the plunder we had taken from the Johnnies. +The rest of the army went off, 'hot blocks,' after Hardee and the rest of +Hood's army, which it was hoped would be caught outside of entrenchments. +But Hood had too much the start, and got into the works at Lovejoy, ahead +of our fellows. The night before we heard several very loud explosions +up to the north. We guessed what that meant, and so did the Twentieth +Corps, who were lying back at the Chattahoochee, and the next morning the +General commanding--Slocum--sent out a reconnaissance. It was met by the +Mayor of Atlanta, who said that the Rebels had blown up their stores and +retreated. The Twentieth Corps then came in and took 'possession of the +City, and the next day--the 3d--Sherman came in, and issued an order +declaring the campaign at an end, and that we would rest awhile and +refit. + +<p>"We laid around Atlanta a good while, and things quieted down so that it +seemed almost like peace, after the four months of continual fighting we +had gone through. We had been under a strain so long that now we boys +went in the other direction, and became too careless, and that's how we +got picked up. We went out about five miles one night after a lot of +nice smoked hams that a nigger told us were stored in an old cotton +press, and which we knew would be enough sight better eating for Company +C, than the commissary pork we had lived on so long. We found the cotton +press, and the hams, just as the nigger told us, and we hitched up a team +to take them into camp. As we hadn't seen any Johnny signs anywhere, +we set our guns down to help load the meat, and just as we all came +stringing out to the wagon with as much meat as we could carry, a company +of Ferguson's Cavalry popped out of the woods about one hundred yards in +front of us and were on top of us before we could say I scat. You see +they'd heard of the meat, too." + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p445"></a><img alt="p445.jpg (10K)" src="p445.jpg" height="330" width="256"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br><br><br> + +<h2><a name="ch57"></a>CHAPTER LVII. +</h2> +<p>A FAIR SACRIFICE--THE STORY OF ONE BOY WHO WILLINGLY GAVE HIS YOUNG LIFE +FOR HIS COUNTRY. + +<p>Charley Barbour was one of the truest-hearted and best-liked of my +school-boy chums and friends. For several terms we sat together on the +same uncompromisingly uncomfortable bench, worried over the same boy- +maddening problems in "Ray's Arithmetic-Part III.," learned the same +jargon of meaningless rules from "Greene's Grammar," pondered over +"Mitchell's Geography and Atlas," and tried in vain to understand why +Providence made the surface of one State obtrusively pink and another +ultramarine blue; trod slowly and painfully over the rugged road +"Bullion" points out for beginners in Latin, and began to believe we +should hate ourselves and everybody else, if we were gotten up after the +manner shown by "Cutter's Physiology." We were caught together in the +same long series of school-boy scrapes--and were usually ferruled +together by the same strong-armed teacher. We shared nearly everything +--our fun and work; enjoyment and annoyance--all were generally meted out +to us together. We read from the same books the story of the wonderful +world we were going to see in that bright future "when we were men;" we +spent our Saturdays and vacations in the miniature explorations of the +rocky hills and caves, and dark cedar woods around our homes, to gather +ocular helps to a better comprehension of that magical land which we were +convinced began just beyond our horizon, and had in it, visible to the +eye of him who traveled through its enchanted breadth, all that +"Gulliver's Fables," the "Arabian Nights," and a hundred books of travel +and adventure told of. + +<p>We imagined that the only dull and commonplace spot on earth was that +where we lived. Everywhere else life was a grand spectacular drama, full +of thrilling effects. + +<p>Brave and handsome young men were rescuing distressed damsels, beautiful +as they were wealthy; bloody pirates and swarthy murderers were being +foiled by quaint spoken backwoodsmen, who carried unerring rifles; +gallant but blundering Irishmen, speaking the most delightful brogue, +and making the funniest mistakes, were daily thwarting cool and +determined villains; bold tars were encountering fearful sea perils; +lionhearted adventurers were cowing and quelling whole tribes of +barbarians; magicians were casting spells, misers hoarding gold, +scientists making astonishing discoveries, poor and unknown boys +achieving wealth and fame at a single bound, hidden mysteries coming to +light, and so the world was going on, making reams of history with each +diurnal revolution, and furnishing boundless material for the most +delightful books. + +<p>At the age of thirteen a perusal of the lives of Benjamin Franklin and +Horace Greeley precipitated my determination to no longer hesitate in +launching my small bark upon the great ocean. I ran away from home in a +truly romantic way, and placed my foot on what I expected to be the first +round of the ladder of fame, by becoming "devil boy" in a printing office +in a distant large City. Charley's attachment to his mother and his home +was too strong to permit him to take this step, and we parted in sorrow, +mitigated on my side by roseate dreams of the future. + +<p>Six years passed. One hot August morning I met an old acquaintance at +the Creek, in Andersonville. He told me to come there the next morning, +after roll-call, and he would take me to see some person who was very +anxious to meet me. I was prompt at the rendezvous, and was soon joined +by the other party. He threaded his way slowly for over half an hour +through the closely-jumbled mass of tents and burrows, and at length +stopped in front of a blanket-tent in the northwestern corner. The +occupant rose and took my hand. For an instant I was puzzled; then the +clear, blue eyes, and well-remembered smile recalled to me my old-time +comrade, Charley Barbour. His story was soon told. He was a Sergeant in +a Western Virginia cavalry regiment--the Fourth, I think. At the time +Hunter was making his retreat from the Valley of Virginia, it was decided +to mislead the enemy by sending out a courier with false dispatches to be +captured. There was a call for a volunteer for this service. Charley +was the first to offer, with that spirit of generous self-sacrifice that +was one of his pleasantest traits when a boy. He knew what he had to +expect. Capture meant imprisonment at Andersonville; our men had now a +pretty clear understanding of what this was. Charley took the dispatches +and rode into the enemy's lines. He was taken, and the false information +produced the desired effect. On his way to Andersonville he was stripped +of all his clothing but his shirt and pantaloons, and turned into the +Stockade in this condition. When I saw him he had been in a week or +more. He told his story quietly--almost diffidently--not seeming aware +that he had done more than his simple duty. I left him with the promise +and expectation of returning the next day, but when I attempted to find +him again, I was lost in the maze of tents and burrows. I had forgotten +to ask the number of his detachment, and after spending several days in +hunting for him, I was forced to give the search up. He knew as little +of my whereabouts, and though we were all the time within seventeen +hundred feet of each other, neither we nor our common acquaintance could +ever manage to meet again. This will give the reader an idea of the +throng compressed within the narrow limits of the Stockade. After +leaving Andersonville, however, I met this man once more, and learned +from him that Charley had sickened and died within a month after his +entrance to prison. + +<p>So ended his day-dream of a career in the busy world. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p448"></a><img alt="p448.jpg (22K)" src="p448.jpg" height="461" width="401"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br><br><br> + +<h2><a name="ch58"></a>CHAPTER LVIII. +</h2> +<p>WE LEAVE SAVANNAH--MORE HOPES OF EXCHANGE--SCENES AT DEPARTURE-- +"FLANKERS"--ON THE BACK TRACK TOWARD ANDERSONVILLE--ALARM THEREAT-- +AT THE PARTING OF TWO WAYS--WE FINALLY BRING UP AT CAMP LAWTON. + +<p>On the evening of the 11th of October there came an order for one +thousand prisoners to fall in and march out, for transfer to some other +point. + +<p>Of course, Andrews and I "flanked" into this crowd. That was our usual +way of doing. Holding that the chances were strongly in favor of every +movement of prisoners being to our lines, we never failed to be numbered +in the first squad of prisoners that were sent out. The seductive mirage +of "exchange" was always luring us on. It must come some time, +certainly, and it would be most likely to come to those who were most +earnestly searching for it. At all events, we should leave no means +untried to avail ourselves of whatever seeming chances there might be. +There could be no other motive for this move, we argued, than exchange. +The Confederacy was not likely to be at the trouble and expense of +hauling us about the country without some good reason--something better +than a wish to make us acquainted with Southern scenery and topography. +It would hardly take us away from Savannah so soon after bringing us +there for any other purpose than delivery to our people. + +<p>The Rebels encouraged this belief with direct assertions of its truth. +They framed a plausible lie about there having arisen some difficulty +concerning the admission of our vessels past the harbor defenses of +Savannah, which made it necessary to take us elsewhere--probably to +Charleston--for delivery to our men. + +<p>Wishes are always the most powerful allies of belief. There is little +difficulty in convincing a man of that of which he wants to be convinced. +We forgot the lie told us when we were taken from Andersonville, and +believed the one which was told us now. + +<p>Andrews and I hastily snatched our worldly possessions--our overcoat, +blanket, can, spoon, chessboard and men, yelled to some of our neighbors +that they could have our hitherto much-treasured house, and running down +to the gate, forced ourselves well up to the front of the crowd that was +being assembled to go out. + +<p>The usual scenes accompanying the departure of first squads were being +acted tumultuously. Every one in the camp wanted to be one of the +supposed-to-be-favored few, and if not selected at first, tried to "flank +in"--that is, slip into the place of some one else who had had better +luck. This one naturally resisted displacement, 'vi et armis,' and the +fights would become so general as to cause a resemblance to the famed +Fair of Donnybrook. The cry would go up: + +<p>"Look out for flankers!" + +<p>The lines of the selected would dress up compactly, and outsiders trying +to force themselves in would get mercilessly pounded. + +<p>We finally got out of the pen, and into the cars, which soon rolled away +to the westward. We were packed in too densely to be able to lie down. +We could hardly sit down. Andrews and I took up our position in one +corner, piled our little treasures under us, and trying to lean against +each other in such a way as to afford mutual support and rest, dozed +fitfully through a long, weary night. + +<p>When morning came we found ourselves running northwest through a poor, +pine-barren country that strongly resembled that we had traversed in +coming to Savannah. The more we looked at it the more familiar it +became, and soon there was no doubt we were going back to Andersonville. + +<p>By noon we had reached Millen--eighty miles from Savannah, and fifty- +three from Augusta. It was the junction of the road leading to Macon and +that running to Augusta. We halted a little while at the "Y," and to us +the minutes were full of anxiety. If we turned off to the left we were +going back to Andersonville. If we took the right hand road we were on +the way to Charleston or Richmond, with the chances in favor of exchange. + +<p>At length we started, and, to our joy, our engine took the right hand +track. We stopped again, after a run of five miles, in the midst of one +of the open, scattering forests of long leaved pine that I have before +described. We were ordered out of the cars, and marching a few rods, +came in sight of another of those hateful Stockades, which seemed to be +as natural products of the Sterile sand of that dreary land as its +desolate woods and its breed of boy murderers and gray-headed assassins. + +<p>Again our hearts sank, and death seemed more welcome than incarceration +in those gloomy wooden walls. We marched despondently up to the gates of +the Prison, and halted while a party of Rebel clerks made a list of our +names, rank, companies, and regiments. As they were Rebels it was slow +work. Reading and writing never came by nature, as Dogberry would say, +to any man fighting for Secession. As a rule, he took to them as +reluctantly as if, he thought them cunning inventions of the Northern +Abolitionist to perplex and demoralize him. What a half-dozen boys taken +out of our own ranks would have done with ease in an hour or so, these +Rebels worried over all of the afternoon, and then their register of us +was so imperfect, badly written and misspelled, that the Yankee clerks +afterwards detailed for the purpose, never could succeed in reducing it +to intelligibility. + +<p>We learned that the place at which we had arrived was Camp Lawton, but we +almost always spoke of it as "Millen," the same as Camp Sumter is +universally known as Andersonville. + +<p>Shortly after dark we were turned inside the Stockade. Being the first +that had entered, there was quite a quantity of wood--the offal from the +timber used in constructing the Stockade--lying on the ground. The night +was chilly one we soon had a number of fires blazing. Green pitch pine, +when burned, gives off a peculiar, pungent odor, which is never forgotten +by one who has once smelled it. I first became acquainted with it on +entering Andersonville, and to this day it is the most powerful +remembrance I can have of the opening of that dreadful Iliad of woes. +On my journey to Washington of late years the locomotives are invariably +fed with pitch pine as we near the Capital, and as the well-remembered +smell reaches me, I grow sick at heart with the flood of saddening +recollections indissolubly associated with it. + +<p>As our fires blazed up the clinging, penetrating fumes diffused +themselves everywhere. The night was as cool as the one when we arrived +at Andersonville, the earth, meagerly sodded with sparse, hard, wiry +grass, was the same; the same piney breezes blew in from the surrounding +trees, the same dismal owls hooted at us; the same mournful whip-poor- +will lamented, God knows what, in the gathering twilight. What we both +felt in the gloomy recesses of downcast hearts Andrews expressed as he +turned to me with: + +<p>"My God, Mc, this looks like Andersonville all over again." + +<p>A cupful of corn meal was issued to each of us. I hunted up some water. +Andrews made a stiff dough, and spread it about half an inch thick on the +back of our chessboard. He propped this up before the fire, and when the +surface was neatly browned over, slipped it off the board and turned it +over to brown the other side similarly. This done, we divided it +carefully between us, swallowed it in silence, spread our old overcoat on +the ground, tucked chess-board, can, and spoon under far enough to be out +of the reach of thieves, adjusted the thin blanket so as to get the most +possible warmth out of it, crawled in close together, and went to sleep. +This, thank Heaven, we could do; we could still sleep, and Nature had +some opportunity to repair the waste of the day. We slept, and forgot +where we were. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p454"></a><img alt="p454.jpg (51K)" src="p454.jpg" height="657" width="643"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br><br><br> + +<h2><a name="ch59"></a>CHAPTER LIX. +</h2> +<p>OUR NEW QUARTERS AT CAMP LAWTON--BUILDING A HUT--AN EXCEPTIONAL +COMMANDANT--HE IS a GOOD MAN, BUT WILL TAKE BRIBES--RATIONS. + +<p>In the morning we took a survey of our new quarters, and found that we +were in a Stockade resembling very much in construction and dimensions +that at Andersonville. The principal difference was that the upright +logs were in their rough state, whereas they were hewed at Andersonville, +and the brook running through the camp was not bordered by a swamp, but +had clean, firm banks. + +<p>Our next move was to make the best of the situation. We were divided +into hundreds, each commanded by a Sergeant. Ten hundreds constituted a +division, the head of which was also a Sergeant. I was elected by my +comrades to the Sergeantcy of the Second Hundred of the First Division. +As soon as we were assigned to our ground, we began constructing shelter. +For the first and only time in my prison experience, we found a full +supply of material for this purpose, and the use we made of it showed how +infinitely better we would have fared if in each prison the Rebels had +done even so slight a thing as to bring in a few logs from the +surrounding woods and distribute them to us. A hundred or so of these +would probably have saved thousands of lives at Andersonville and +Florence. + +<p>A large tree lay on the ground assigned to our hundred. Andrews and I +took possession of one side of the ten feet nearest the butt. Other boys +occupied the rest in a similar manner. One of our boys had succeeded in +smuggling an ax in with him, and we kept it in constant use day and +night, each group borrowing it for an hour or so at a time. It was as +dull as a hoe, and we were very weak, so that it was slow work "niggering +off"--(as the boys termed it) a cut of the log. It seemed as if beavers +could have gnawed it off easier and more quickly. We only cut an inch or +so at a time, and then passed the ax to the next users. Making little +wedges with a dull knife, we drove them into the log with clubs, and +split off long, thin strips, like the weatherboards of a house, and by +the time we had split off our share of the log in this slow and laborious +way, we had a fine lot of these strips. We were lucky enough to find +four forked sticks, of which we made the corners of our dwelling, and +roofed it carefully with our strips, held in place by sods torn up from +the edge of the creek bank. The sides and ends were enclosed; we +gathered enough pine tops to cover the ground to a depth of several +inches; we banked up the outside, and ditched around it, and then had the +most comfortable abode we had during our prison career. It was truly a +house builded with our own hands, for we had no tools whatever save the +occasional use of the aforementioned dull axe and equally dull knife. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p457"></a><img alt="p457.jpg (60K)" src="p457.jpg" height="567" width="605"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>The rude little hut represented as much actual hard, manual labor as +would be required to build a comfortable little cottage in the North, +but we gladly performed it, as we would have done any other work to +better our condition. + +<p>For a while wood was quite plentiful, and we had the luxury daily of warm +fires, which the increasing coolness of the weather made important +accessories to our comfort. + +<p>Other prisoners kept coming in. Those we left behind at Savannah +followed us, and the prison there was broken up. Quite a number also +came in from--Andersonville, so that in a little while we had between six +and seven thousand in the Stockade. The last comers found all the +material for tents and all the fuel used up, and consequently did not +fare so well as the earlier arrivals. + +<p>The commandant of the prison--one Captain Bowes--was the best of his +class it was my fortune to meet. Compared with the senseless brutality +of Wirz, the reckless deviltry of Davis, or the stupid malignance of +Barrett, at Florence, his administration was mildness and wisdom itself. + +<p>He enforced discipline better than any of those named, but has what they +all lacked--executive ability--and he secured results that they could not +possibly attain, and without anything, like the friction that attended +their efforts. I do not remember that any one was shot during our six +weeks' stay at Millen--a circumstance simply remarkable, since I do not +recall a single week passed anywhere else without at least one murder by +the guards. + +<p>One instance will illustrate the difference of his administration from +that of other prison commandants. He came upon the grounds of our +division one morning, accompanied by a pleasant-faced, intelligent- +appearing lad of about fifteen or sixteen. He said to us: + +<p>"Gentlemen: (The only instance during our imprisonment when we received +so polite a designation.) This is my son, who will hereafter call your +roll. He will treat you as gentlemen, and I know you will do the same to +him." + +<p>This understanding was observed to the letter on both sides. Young Bowes +invariably spoke civilly to us, and we obeyed his orders with a prompt +cheerfulness that left him nothing to complain of. + +<p>The only charge I have to make against Bowes is made more in detail in +another chapter, and that is, that he took money from well prisoners for +giving them the first chance to go through on the Sick Exchange. +How culpable this was I must leave each reader to decide for himself. +I thought it very wrong at the time, but possibly my views might have +been colored highly by my not having any money wherewith to procure my +own inclusion in the happy lot of the exchanged. + +<p>Of one thing I am certain: that his acceptance of money to bias his +official action was not singular on his part. I am convinced that every +commandant we had over us--except Wirz--was habitually in the receipt of +bribes from prisoners. I never heard that any one succeeded in bribing +Wirz, and this is the sole good thing I can say of that fellow. Against +this it may be said, however, that he plundered the boys so effectually +on entering the prison as to leave them little of the wherewithal to +bribe anybody. + +<p>Davis was probably the most unscrupulous bribe-taker of the lot. +He actually received money for permitting prisoners to escape to our +lines, and got down to as low a figure as one hundred dollars for this +sort of service. I never heard that any of the other commandants went +this far. + +<p>The rations issued to us were somewhat better than those of +Andersonville, as the meal was finer and better, though it was absurdedly +insufficient in quantity, and we received no salt. On several occasions +fresh beef was dealt out to us, and each time the excitement created +among those who had not tasted fresh meat for weeks and months was +wonderful. On the first occasion the meat was simply the heads of the +cattle killed for the use of the guards. Several wagon loads of these +were brought in and distributed. We broke them up so that every man got +a piece of the bone, which was boiled and reboiled, as long as a single +bubble of grease would rise to the surface of the water; every vestige of +meat was gnawed and scraped from the surface and then the bone was +charred until it crumbled, when it was eaten. No one who has not +experienced it can imagine the inordinate hunger for animal food of those +who had eaten little else than corn bread for so long. Our exhausted +bodies were perishing for lack of proper sustenance. Nature indicated +fresh beef as the best medium to repair the great damage already done, +and our longing for it became beyond description. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p459"></a><img alt="p459.jpg (20K)" src="p459.jpg" height="391" width="477"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br><br><br> + +<h2><a name="ch60"></a>CHAPTER LX +</h2> +<p>THE RAIDERS REAPPEAR ON THE SCENE--THE ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE THOSE WHO +WERE CONCERNED IN THE EXECUTION--A COUPLE OF LIVELY FIGHTS, IN WHICH THE +RAIDERS ARE DEFEATED--HOLDING AN ELECTION. + +<p>Our old antagonists--the Raiders--were present in strong force in Millen. +Like ourselves, they had imagined the departure from Andersonville was +for exchange, and their relations to the Rebels were such that they were +all given a chance to go with the first squads. A number had been +allowed to go with the sailors on the Special Naval Exchange from +Savannah, in the place of sailors and marines who had died. On the way +to Charleston a fight had taken place between them and the real sailors, +during which one of their number--a curly-headed Irishman named Dailey, +who was in such high favor with the Rebels that he was given the place of +driving the ration wagon that came in the North Side at Andersonville-- +was killed, and thrown under the wheels of the moving train, which passed +over him. + +<p>After things began to settle into shape at Millen, they seemed to believe +that they were in such ascendancy as to numbers and organization that +they could put into execution their schemes of vengeance against those of +us who had been active participants in the execution of their +confederates at Andersonville. + +<p>After some little preliminaries they settled upon Corporal "Wat" Payne, +of my company, as their first victim. The reader will remember Payne as +one of the two Corporals who pulled the trigger to the scaffold at the +time of the execution. + +<p>Payne was a very good man physically, and was yet in fair condition. +The Raiders came up one day with their best man--Pete Donnelly--and +provoked a fight, intending, in the course of it, to kill Payne. We, +who knew Payee, felt reasonably confident of his ability to handle even +so redoubtable a pugilist as Donnelly, and we gathered together a little +squad of our friends to see fair play. + +<p>The fight began after the usual amount of bad talk on both sides, and we +were pleased to see our man slowly get the better of the New York plug- +ugly. After several sharp rounds they closed, and still Payne was ahead, +but in an evil moment he spied a pine knot at his feet, which he thought +he could reach, and end the fight by cracking Donnelly's head with it. +Donnelly took instant advantage of the movement to get it, threw Payne +heavily, and fell upon him. His crowd rushed in to finish our man by +clubbing him over the head. We sailed in to prevent this, and after a +rattling exchange of blows all around, succeeded in getting Payne away. + +<p>The issue of the fight seemed rather against us, however, and the Raiders +were much emboldened. Payne kept close to his crowd after that, and as +we had shown such an entire willingness to stand by him, the Raiders-- +with their accustomed prudence when real fighting was involved--did not +attempt to molest him farther, though they talked very savagely. + +<p>A few days after this Sergeant Goody and Corporal Ned Carrigan, both of +our battalion, came in. I must ask the reader to again recall the fact +that Sergeant Goody was one of the six hangmen who put the meal-sacks +over the heads, and the ropes around the necks of the condemned. +Corporal Carrigan was the gigantic prize fighter, who was universally +acknowledged to be the best man physically among the whole thirty-four +thousand in Andersonville. The Raiders knew that Goody had come in +before we of his own battalion did. They resolved to kill him then and +there, and in broad daylight. He had secured in some way a shelter tent, +and was inside of it fixing it up. The Raider crowd, headed by Pete +Donnelly, and Dick Allen, went up to his tent and one of them called to +him: + +<p>"Sergeant, come out; I want to see you." + +<p>Goody, supposing it was one of us, came crawling out on his hands and +knees. As he did so their heavy clubs crashed down upon his head. +He was neither killed nor stunned, as they had reason to expect. +He succeeded in rising to his feet, and breaking through the crowd of +assassins. He dashed down the side of the hill, hotly pursued by them. +Coming to the Creek, he leaped it in his excitement, but his pursuers +could not, and were checked. One of our battalion boys, who saw and +comprehended the whole affair, ran over to us, shouting: + +<p>"Turn out! turn out, for God's sake! the Raiders are killing Goody!" + +<p>We snatched up our clubs and started after the Raiders, but before we +could reach them, Ned Carrigan, who also comprehended what the trouble +was, had run to the side of Goody, armed with a terrible looking club. +The sight of Ned, and the demonstration that he was thoroughly aroused, +was enough for the Raider crew, and they abandoned the field hastily. +We did not feel ourselves strong enough to follow them on to their own +dung hill, and try conclusions with them, but we determined to report the +matter to the Rebel Commandant, from whom we had reason to believe we +could expect assistance. We were right. He sent in a squad of guards, +arrested Dick Allen, Pete Donnelly, and several other ringleaders, took +them out and put them in the stocks in such a manner that they were +compelled to lie upon their stomachs. A shallow tin vessel containing +water was placed under their faces to furnish them drink. + +<p>They staid there a day and night, and when released, joined the Rebel +Army, entering the artillery company that manned the guns in the fort +covering the prison. I used to imagine with what zeal they would send us +over; a round of shell or grape if they could get anything like an +excuse. + +<p>This gave us good riddance--of our dangerous enemies, and we had little +further trouble with any of them. + +<p>The depression in the temperature made me very sensible of the +deficiencies in my wardrobe. Unshod feet, a shirt like a fishing net, +and pantaloons as well ventilated as a paling fence might do very well +for the broiling sun at Andersonville and Savannah, but now, with the +thermometer nightly dipping a little nearer the frost line, it became +unpleasantly evident that as garments their office was purely +perfunctory; one might say ornamental simply, if he wanted to be very +sarcastic. They were worn solely to afford convenient quarters for +multitudes of lice, and in deference to the prejudice which has existed +since the Fall of Man against our mingling with our fellow creatures in +the attire provided us by Nature. Had I read Darwin then I should have +expected that my long exposure to the weather would start a fine suit of +fur, in the effort of Nature to adapt, me to my, environment. But no +more indications of this appeared than if I had been a hairless dog of +Mexico, suddenly transplanted to more northern latitudes. Providence did +not seem to be in the tempering-the-wind-to-the-shorn-lamb business, as +far as I was concerned. I still retained an almost unconquerable +prejudice against stripping the dead to secure clothes, and so unless +exchange or death came speedily, I was in a bad fix. + +<br><br><br><br> +<center><a name="p463"></a><img alt="p463.jpg (26K)" src="p463.jpg" height="465" width="375"> +</center> +<br><br><br><br> + +<p>One morning about day break, Andrews, who had started to go to another +part of the camp, came slipping back in a state of gleeful excitement. +At first I thought he either had found a tunnel or had heard some good +news about exchange. It was neither. He opened his jacket and handed me +an infantry man's blouse, which he had found in the main street, where it +had dropped out of some fellow's bundle. We did not make any extra +exertion to find the owner. Andrews was in sore need of clothes himself, +but my necessities were so much greater that the generous fellow thought +of my wants first. We examined the garment with as much interest as ever +a belle bestowed on a new dress from Worth's. It was in fair +preservation, but the owner had cut the buttons off to trade to the +guard, doubtless for a few sticks of wood, or a spoonful of salt. +We supplied the place of these with little wooden pins, and I donned the +garment as a shirt and coat and vest, too, for that matter. The best +suit I ever put on never gave me a hundredth part the satisfaction that +this did. Shortly after, I managed to subdue my aversion so far as to +take a good shoe which a one-legged dead man had no farther use for, and +a little later a comrade gave me for the other foot a boot bottom from +which he had cut the top to make a bucket. +<br><br> +<center><p> ...........................</center> +<br><br> +<p>The day of the Presidential election of 1864 approached. The Rebels were +naturally very much interested in the result, as they believed that the +election of McClellan meant compromise and cessation of hostilities, +while the re-election of Lincoln meant prosecution of the War to the +bitter end. The toadying Raiders, who were perpetually hanging around +the gate to get a chance to insinuate themselves into the favor of the +Rebel officers, persuaded them that we were all so bitterly hostile to +our Government for not exchanging us that if we were allowed to vote we +would cast an overwhelming majority in favor of McClellan. + +<p>The Rebels thought that this might perhaps be used to advantage as +political capital for their friends in the North. They gave orders that +we might, if we chose, hold an election on the same day of the +Presidential election. They sent in some ballot boxes, and we elected +Judges of the Election. + +<p>About noon of that day Captain Bowes, and a crowd of tightbooted, broad- +hatted Rebel officers, strutted in with the peculiar "Ef-yer-don't- +b'lieve--I'm-a-butcher-jest-smell-o'-mebutes" swagger characteristic of +the class. They had come in to see us all voting for McClellan. +Instead, they found the polls surrounded with ticket pedlers shouting: + +<p>"Walk right up here now, and get your Unconditional-Union-Abraham-Lincoln +-tickets!" + +<p>"Here's your straight-haired prosecution-of-the-war ticket." + +<p>"Vote the Lincoln ticket; vote to whip the Rebels, and make peace with +them when they've laid down their arms." + +<p>"Don't vote a McClellan ticket and gratify Rebels, everywhere," etc. + +<p>The Rebel officers did not find the scene what their fancy painted it, +and turning around they strutted out. + +<p>When the votes came to be counted out there were over seven thousand for +Lincoln, and not half that many hundred for McClellan. The latter got +very few votes outside the Raider crowd. The same day a similar election +was held in Florence, with like result. Of course this did not indicate +that there was any such a preponderance of Republicans among us. +It meant simply that the Democratic boys, little as they might have liked +Lincoln, would have voted for him a hundred times rather than do anything +to please the Rebels. + +<p>I never heard that the Rebels sent the result North. +<br> +<br> +<hr> +<br><br><br><br><br><br> + +<pre> +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANDERSONVILLE, BY McELROY, V3 *** + +******* This file should be named an03v10h.html or an03v10h.zip ******** + +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, an03v11h.html +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, an03v10a.html + +This eBook was produced by David Widger [widger@cecomet.net] + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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