USA > Delaware > Prison life during the rebellion. Being a brief narrative of the miseries and sufferings of six hundred Confederate prisoners sent from Fort Delaware to Morris' Island to be punished > Part 3
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Another was to destroy as many Confeds as possible, without the loss of a single Yank; and various other ideas were kept in view by the cowardly and inhuman Foster.
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TREATMEN, ETC., AT MORRIS' ISLAND-SITUATION, INCIDENTS, ETC. - -
After the suffering in the boat, one more ineffectual application was made for an exchange, but Gen. Jones, the Confederate com- mander, remained firm to his first decision, which was that no ex- change could be effected unless a proportionate share of privates be exchanged with the officers.
Gen. Foster not acceding to this firm proposal of the Rebel com- mander commenced preparing to execut his cruel threat, namely, placing us under the fire of our own guns.
For this purpose a pen was constructed on Morris' Island close to battery Wagner, and in the direct range of our guns at Fort Moultrie, and whenever a shell fell short of Wagner, it would un- doubtedly fall among us.
The land there is entirely level, and destitute of grass, rocks or trees, being only an immense plain of white sand, which, being heated by the rays of a Southern sun, makes sufficient heat to cook. an egg.
The prison pen enclosed near three acres. It was made in a rectangle almost square. A trench of several feet in depth was dug on every side, pine poles several feet in length were then pro- cured and placed perpendicular side by side so close as not to admit the entrance of the smallest animal. This was continued until the entire square was enclosed. The excavated sand was then crowded down by the side of the posts until all was solid and firm.
A small entrance was left at one end so as to admit the prisoners, their attendants, guards, provisions, &c. This was well secured by a large and strong gate, which was kept locked most of the time.
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PRISON LIFE.
On the outside of the pine poles, about twelve feet from the ground, a parapet was made of plank sufficiently wide and strong enough to permit several sentinels on each side, who prom- enaded it day and night, and watched with ever wakeful and vigor- ous eye, Jonny Reb.
On the inside of the enclosure, about thirty feet from the pine poles, stakes were driven in the sand parallel with the wall. All around, from the gate back again a rope was stretched from one to the other, so as to reach all around the sides and the ends.
Inside of the rope was the place allotted to us. We were not permitted to touch the rope upon pain of being instantly shot. Any one endeavoring to cross the rope was shot without hesitaney. The space between the rope and the wall was used for various Yankee purposes. The most general was that of entertaining those who admire and gaze upon suffering humanity, and to heap taunts and reproaches.
The space allotted to us was laid off into wide streets, on each side of which was a row of tents. The tents numbered one hun- dred and fifty. Allowing four to each tent, they just contained the six hundred. The tents were small army tents, capable of holding two men, but there had to be room found in each for four.
The Pen was situated two hundred and fifty yards from Battery Wagner. Every shell thrown from it caused a gar in our Pen. We were four hundred yards from Battery Gregg, which kept up a reg- ular fire on Fort Moultrie and Fort Sumpter.
We were five hundred yards from Cumming's Point, which kept up day and night, a continuous fire on the town of Charleston. We were seven hundred yards from Fort Sumpter, and frequently had a view of the structureless and shapeless mass of rubbish com- posing it.
Our situation was twelve hundred yards from Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island, which kept up a slow fire upon all the Yankee batteries. It was supposed that the shells from this point would fall among us. .
An ironclad was kept on picket near Sullivan's Island and Sump- ter, which occasionally fired on Sumpter and Moultrie.
We were carefully guarded in this enclosure by two regiments of negre who wore all the blackness, and exhibited all the cruelty so gee lar to descendants of Africa. These regiments were com- med . ptit officers, who exercised over them the strictest diat lante and most rigorous dominion.
The white officers were men of very narrow intellect and but limited education-a slight acquaintance with tactics and military
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discipline, and utterly devoid of principle. truth and honor, or any of those manly traits which distinguish the white man from the ne- gro. They were almost to a unit New England offscourings.
The chief commander was one Hallowell of Philadelphia. He was the most inhuman brute that I ever beheld in the shape of a man. He possessed neither principle, sense, honor, humanity nor shame : was in every particular a perfect sample of Yankee dishon- esty, inhumanity, barbarity and cruelty. His eye betrayed such cowardly cruelty, that he could never look a prisoner in the face, and all his words were those of a tyrant.
It was a noted fact concerning all the white officers, that at home, they possessed neither principle, nor honor, nor any of the marks of a gentleman or a Christian.
The privates were niggers of the deepest dye, and betrayed all the ignorance, villainy and cruelty peculiar to barbarians. Their conduct toward the prisoners was characterized by great cruelty and inhumanity. They heaped any amount of unprovoked abuse upon us. And it appeared to be their chief glory to abuse and mal- treat the prisoners.
They promenaded their walk from one end to the other, casting a vicious and revengeful eye at their defenseless charge, and con- tinually offering some unprovoked offense; and no prisoner dare re- ply upon pain of instant death.
The abusive phrase, " Look out dare, white man ! I's gwine to shoot ! my bullet's burnin to go into you !"-was heard almost continually. It soon became quite odious to the ears of a prisoner, and their continual nigger brogue, and filthy nigger songs, and nig- ger abuse, became unpalatable.
At four o'clock in the morning, at twelve in the day, at sunset, and at nine in the night, two nigger shavers entered the Pen, and commenced a monotonous thumping upon two drums. They usu- ally beat about one hour, giving dreadful offense to the ears of sol- diers who had been formerly accustomed to the music of the drum and fife, for this was not music, only a noise.
The prisoners were divided into eight squads or companies and a nigger appointed to attend to each. He was styled the sargent. His business was, first, to form line dress to the right, and then turn eyes to the front ; call the roll, and report to the white officer. Secondly : to see who was sick, and give him some abuse for being sick.
Thirdly, to issue the regular rations each day, of nothing ; to at- tend to the water casks-to see that every one eat his scanty resh- un-fourthly, to oversee the squad detailed to rake up the sand and
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smooth it over every morning-fifthly, to enquire who would take the oath, and go North, and abuse those who refused, which was every last man.
Sixthly, to abuse every man in his squad, by calling him a liar, a thief, a coward, a traitor, a rebel, and various other outrageous epi- thets. No one dare resist this impudence, on pain of being cuffed and taken out to be dealt with in another way.
Seventhly, to steal all they could from their helpless charge, and steal their scanty reshuns, after they had been administered to the prisoners. >
Eighthly, to search every man's person and baggage, in order to ascertain whether any one had any contraband articles about him- self or his baggage.
At the usual drum beats before alluded to, eight niggers came as orderly as a Brigadier General, and commanded, " fall in company," B, or A, or whatever it was. When all the company immediately took their places in rank, the refusal to do so would have procured for the offender, a nigger kick and cuff.
The company, after having gotten their places, were commanded to dress to the right by the side of a big, greasy, thick-lipped negro. After this was done, they were commanded to look steadily to the front, and take the position of a soldier.
Any insubordination on the part of a prisoner, or refusal to com- ply with nigger rules, was punished by nigger rule and authority, which was usually a good kicking and severe tousing.
After the line had taken its position, the roll was called by the nigger Sargeant, and then counted carefully over for fear that some one had escaped. The negro then took his place at the right, and all had to remain perfectly silent, awaiting the approach of the white officer, who presently made his appearance, wearing the vis- age of a villain or murderer.
At his approach, every one had to take the regular posish of a soldier, to receive de wite gemmen wich goverd de culud gemmen. He finally drew near and took a conspicuous place on the right. after which the colored gemmen on our right bowed gracefully in military style, and made his report.
If any thing chanced to be wrong, the nigger was fiercely an- swered by his white master, and this censure always foretold us of a fierce nigger reproof ; for this always followed.
During the day we were frequently visited by the culud gemmen, who came only to call us liars, thieves, rogues, and other cowardly epithets, which could be used in their fiercest sense by brutal and ignorant negroes.
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They frequently took care to examine our baggage, tents, clothes, blankets and persons, in order, they said, to ascertain whether we had any contraband articles, or whether there was any traitor who, by clandestine means, procured us such articles. But their real mo- tive was to abuse the prisoners, to pilfer from them small articles, and their money, small papers, pictures, rings, &c.
This was also a means by which they humbled the pride of the prisoners, and poured out their nigger, or barbarous fury upon the " Southern nigger killers," as they termed them.
They searched at stated intervals under all the tents, to ascertain whether the prisoners were attempting to tunnel out by underground means, a device resorted to at Johnson's Island, Elinira, Fort Dela- ware, and other places, to effect an escape.
We were not permitted to collect in crowds of more than three, any where within the Pen, unless a Federal officer was in the crowd. The reason assigned for this inhuman and outrageous violation of the rules of society, Christianity, and military discipline, was, that when uncollected and scattered, we could not devise and mature plans to effect our escape.
So fearful were the cowardly villains that we would try to es- cape, that the guns of Wagner adjacent to the Pen were kept con- tinually charged with deadly missiles, so that upon the shortest notice, they might be hurled in our midst. Battery Gregg was treated in a similar manner.
In addition to this, two batteries of field artillery were always at hand, and ready for action, and two regiments of negroes, number- ing about eight hundred each, and also a battery of small guns in number sixty, was placed at the gate, on the outside wall, charged, and always ready for active service. These were the great pre- cautions used to secure 550 wretched, starving prisoners.
When we collected in crowds of more than three, the nearest sen- tinel would cry out, " sperse dut crowd," with all the malice and authority characteristic of the newly emancipated freedmen let loose from bondage and restraint, and now free to eject his nigger igno- rance in every direction, and upon any one.
Immediately on receiving this order, the crowd would disperse without saying a word, whatever was the subject of discourse. A refusal to obey de culud gemmen's order, was followed by the dis- charge of a musket and the groans of a wounded prisoner-perhaps one who was lying wrapped in slumber in his tent-the ball missing the offender and finding an allodgment elsewhere.
Firing upon the prisoners was of frequent occurrence. The sio- lation of rules which were petty and unnecessary, was the reason
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assigned for the firing. The rules were made simple, that some one would disobey, and thereby be killed-for barbarous as they were, they did not like to shoot without somne pretext, however sinall.
The rules were of such a character, that some one would be cer- tain to disobey ; and when a day passed without some insubordina- tion, a new rule wa's immediately formed, so as to have a pretext for Sambo to shoot some starving prisoner.
And frequently rules were made and not given to the prisoners, and the first intimation to the offender of his offense, or of the exist- ence of such a rule, was a salute from a Yankee ball.
We were not permitted to collect together in our tents. If a sentinel noticed any more than the inmates of a tent collecting to- gether in the same, he would immediately fire into the tent. We were not suffered to talk loud, or halloo, or shout. If any one presumed upon this authority, he was immediately silenced by the culud gemmen.
Regarding this rule, there was perfect silence in the Pen-no talking, except in a low tone ; no laughing, unless suppressed ; no shouting to another at a distance ; no enquiries about idle affairs ; no noisy army talk, and especially quarreling.
Singing was not tolerated by Sambo, it being a violation ob de wite gemmen's rule. He punished it by shooting, or shooting at the offender. Thus singing, praying, preaching, and anything like worship was entirely denied these abominable cusses of Adam's race, confined in the pine pole pen, who had committed such a great na- tional sin.
Fire was not permitted to come within the Pen-indeed it was not desirable except of a rainy or foggy morning when the sea- breeze was very chilling. When the sun shone, the heat was very burdensome, and almost intolerable. ' The sand frequently got so hot that it was impossible to walk upon it in bare feet.
In the morning, the atmosphere was pleasant, but directly after the rising of the sun, it became very hot and continued so till near midnight. On rainy and foggy mornings, the atmosphere was very chilly and exceedingly disagreeable, and as thinly and poorly clad as the prisoners were, they suffered from the chilly and damp at- mosphere, but were in the proper dress for the heat.
The Yankees at no time gave to the prisoners any articles of . clothing, bedding, or anything to shelter the person from observa- tion, the chilling blast, or the burning rays of the sun.
At 9 o'clock every prisoner was required to go to bed. After that time no one was allowed to talk only in a whisper. If any one abused this privilege, as it was called, by talking aloud, he was instantly fired upon.
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Notone could leave his tent only for necessary purposes, and then was frequently fired upon. No one was allowed, during the night, to go out of his own street.
Many of the prisoners contracted severe and fatal diseases fromn. their continued confinement, harsh treatment, and aggravated start -. ing. The various changes of the atinosphere were also conducive to disease ; and the insalubrity of the climate had an injurious effect upon those used to a more northern and regular climate and the comforts of home.
In cases of disease we received some medical attention. It was: called such, but was in reality worse than none, and had an injurious- effect upon the prisoners, and sometimes resulted in fearful eon- sequences.
The medical attendant, styled a surgeon, was one of those vain, villainous, and inhuman northerners whose conduct is offensive to. all honest men, and whose very countenance betrays the wirked and deceitful heart within the breast.
The professed . Medicus-but in reality only a common citizen- would come to the pen every morning to examine the sick, as he said, bat for no other purpose in reality; than to heap abuses upon them, and argue with them upon the impropriety and meanness of their course in defying the government of the United States. .
After having abused the prisoners enough, he would frequently leave some pills, as he called them, which, upon close inspection, proved to be suril! lampe of dough. These were to be taken in small doses by the sick. These pills would have been very desira- ble, it they had been given several pounds at a time.
Our rations were given to us three times a day. They were in sinall quantities, as the following description will show : In the morning after roll-call, two greasy, thick-lipped niggers entered each street bearing a box containing hard bread or crackers, as they were generally called, or better known by the army phrase hard (. ck.
These crackers were the small army crackers, being about three inches square. and one quarter inch thick. They were baked very hard, as all crackers are, and they had the appearance of having been manufactured for the campaign of 1776. They looked so antique.
They evidently were quite a number of years old from their old and musty appearance. They were covered with a fine quantity of very nice mould, which added greatly to their fine acid taste, and made them quite palatable to those who preferred sour and mouldy crackers.
In short, numbers of thein were entirely rotten, and unfit for any use whatever, but the prisoners ate them greedily, and begged for more.
They appeared to be somewhat moth eaten, for they were full of large and small indentations, and bore strong evidence of having been accessible to some rodentia or gnawing animals, and certainly were visited much and frequently by them.
Some of the rodentia had taken up their continuat abode in the crackers. They were found in large numbers, and quite corpulent. They were about one quarter inch long and less, and not very thick. 5
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PRISON LIFE.
They had a white appearance, and I believe were called maggots.
Vast quantities of them and their eggs were contained in a single cracker. An attempt to dislodge them resulted in the complete an- nihilation of the cracker as a whole, and its entire loss to the owner, which, considering the circumstances, was a matter of no small con- sequence, but on the contrary, one of very great importance, and no one attempted to rid the cracker of the vermin, knowing the final result, but greedily devoured both.
Taking into consideration the fact that the crackers contained quantities of vermin, rust, inould, &c., and were very sour, and some entirely rotten, made it a scene of starving, even if they had been given in sufficient quantities to allay the pangs of hunger, and to satiate the longing appetite.
It has been stated that the crackers were given in the morning by the two niggers. They conveyed the box to the door of each tent, and cried aloud, get your hard tack. They then, with black, filthy hands, threw them into the tent as if throwing them to dogs. Three of these small crackers were given for one day.
This was not sufficient for more than half a meal, and the suffering on the account of the scarcity of food is indescribable. At twelve o'clock the same greasy niggers bore through each street and to cach tent door a box of horse or mule meat, rotten, and, of course filthy, · full of bugs and worms, and a variety of other filth. They gave the usual shout, come and get your meat, and then with black, greasy, filthy hands, they issued the meat reshuns to the starving and wretch- ed six hundred. They stated that five ounces of meat were allowed for each prisoner, but he really only got about two ounces, and very frequently not that.
At four o'clock the same niggers came round with a camp kettle full of liquid called soup, though in reality only warm water in which beans or rice had been cooked. They proposed to give us bean or rice soup every day, and they certainly cooked the beans or rice, but when they were cooked, the niggers eat the beans and rice, and brought to us the water.
Thus our food consisted of three small crackers three inches square, one quarter inch thick, two ounces of meat, (mule or horse,) and half a pint of warm water imitation of soup. Thus we starved day after day and night after night. The rations were nearly enough for one meal. I usually ate it all at once, that was in the evening, and involuntarily fasted till the next.
Considering the smallness of our daily ration, it is not at all won- derful that we suffered the bitterest and most pinching hunger. The only wonder is, that we did not all starve to death in this horrible place.
But the hungry scenes of those wrathful days are indescribable, and any attempt to picture them in all their horrible magnitude and terrific grandeur, so as to do equal justice to the sufferers and their inhuman oppressors would be totally impossible with tongue or pen.
Yet we may draw inferences from them, and by narrating some of thein, we may form some faint idea, and have some very remote conception of their dreadfulness. Try to imagine yourself, gentle
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reader, deprived of all the comforts of home and friends, confined in some filthy pen, on somne sandy and desolate Island, apart from white society, and knowing yourself to be at the mercy of some cannibals, then you may have a narrow idea of the wretched situation of the six hundred.
Again, imagine yourself abused and taunted by the ruthless foe, fired upon, and not being permitted to return a single retort for all their offences, and yourself poorly fed with but one scant meal a day, and that consisting of mouldy, rotten, wormy bread, and rotten mule meat, and warm water, then you can have some idea of the miseries of the starving six hundred.
Starvation and the bitter pangs of hunger were depicted in every countenance, were seen in every face, exhibited in every look, and heard on every side. Oh, there is no misery so dreadful, no sorrow so deep, no wretchedness so complete, no agony so much to be dread - ed, as that of starving in the midst of plenty, only that the wrath of man may be satiated and his hated vengeance glutted. My body recoils and shudders when these agonizing scenes are forced upon my mind.
The prisoners grew familiar with hunger, cold, heat and misery. They submitted to their fate with that cheerfulness which is char- acteristic of the man whose conscience assures him that his course is right and just. 'They bore their suffering with great fortitude and manly energy.
The water given us to drink was of an inferior quality, procured from wells dug in the sand upon the beach. It was given in suffi- cient quantities, the only thing of which we can boast that we had enough. It was hauled inside on wagons, and left for use in tubs and barrels.
The inhabitants of Charleston sent to us by flag of truce a large quantity of provisions snugly boxed and nicely prepared for use. But Sambo must first have his share of them, and the remainder could not be given to us until one of the white gemmen was at leisure so he could inspect the distribution. By this time the sweet potatoes, of which there was a large quantity, were all mouldy and unfit for use. The cooked meat and bread was also spoiled. Thus we were deprived of the use of the provisions sent by the generous-hearted inhabitants of Charleston, to their suffering brethren on the dreary and sandy island called Morris'.
Vast numbers of shells were thrown every day from the Federal batteries to various points, and from different batteries. Gregg kept up an incessant fire day and night upon Sumpter and Moultrie. This fire drew a return from Moultrie, which was executed at long in- tervals, and only when something was to be accomplished by theaction.
Wagner frequently threw shells at Moultrie in order to draw her fire, so that, falling short, it might fall amongst us. This was fre- quently the case, fragments of shells falling among the prisoners, and, indeed, on every side of the pen, yet no man was seriously in- jured by any explosion. But numbers of the niggers, and several of the white gemmen, were seriously wounded, and some were launched into the spirit world.
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One shell thrown from Moultrie exploded immediately over us, but most of the fragments missed the pen, and killed a number of negroes composing the guard. Another one fell in Wagner and did not explode for some time afterward, bat at the explosion killed a number of the garrison.
The guard were frequently driven from their posts by the Rebel shells, and numbers of them were frequently killed and wounded. Teamsters, and others, traveling about the Island, were frequently killed and wounded, and to day passed without the death of some Federal soldiers,
The gunners at Moultrie were so expert that they could kill Yan- kees on every side of us, and we be almost secure from danger. Yet it is to be wondered at that none were killed, considering the great amount of shelling done.
The Federals had a gon mounted at Wagner which invariably bursted the shell inverdiately after leaving the gun. They some- times used this gun to fire directly over our pen, pretending to be firing upon Sumpter, suppesing that the fragments would kill some of tin prisoners, but in this they failed, imt frequently killed some of their sable sons of Mars, by experimenting upon Rebels.
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