USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > The story of Camp Chase; a history of the prison and its cemetery, together with other cemeteries where Confederate prisoners are buried, etc > Part 11
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Thirty odd years is a long time. Colonel, and you and I are through fighting and can look back on the scenes of long ago with- out bitterness.
That there was unnecessary hardship in all prisons, North and South, goes without saying. Men in those days were ofttimes cruel to their comrades. An instance of this was related recently by a man who had been a prisoner of war for a time at Macon and Millen. Ga. This was a case of ingratitude by a comrade, and is told simply to show the brutalizing effects of a prison life.
These men belonged to an Ohio regiment. They were captured near Atlanta and taken first to Macon. The friend who tells the story had been a prisoner some time before the other men of his company were captured. It was a common thing that men were two days in the inclosure before they were marked for ra- tions. There were not many prisoners from the North at Macon,
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CAMP CHASE PRISON DURING. W AR LINIES
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THE' STORY OF CAMP CHASE.
there being quite as many Confederate soldiers confined there as Union. The Confederates were charged with one offense or an- other, and were awaiting court-martial. Both Northern and Southern men drew the same amount of rations. During the time the two men were waiting to be named for rations they were fed by the comrade who arrived first. He not only shared his ra- tions, but his bunk, for shelter or bunks at Macon were scarce. When they were shifted from Macon to Millen, they became . separated. One of the two, who shall be called John B. (as he is yet alive and doubtless regrets his heartlessness), had traded a fine pair of boots for a large piece of rag carpet and a sum of Confederate money. With the money he had built a sod hut or cave. It was large enough for three, but he failed to remember the comrade that had befriended him. The latter was too proud to ask any favors, and managed to get an excavation in the sand, which protected him to some extent from the wind. His captors had taken his blankets, and the prison authorities furnished none. The bit of a boy slept in this alone. One raw November night, after the rain had fallen steadily all day and into the night, he went to the dry quarters of this man, John B. He was not wel- comed, but he said: "I have come to say to you, John B., that when you had nothing to eat I fed you. I fed both you and Dave, and you shared my bunk; and now to-night it is cold and wet, and I am sick, and I want you to give me a place to sleep." John growled about it, and finally gave grudging permission that the boy who had befriended him might sit up all night by the door of the hut, but there would be no room to lie down. There was room, however ; but the boy sat all night in a sort of kneeling position, while his comrades slept comfortably. This story illus- trates that there were brutes in both armies.
In the South, as in the North, prisoners captured in battle were kindly treated by the men who stood upon the battle line. W. C. Dodson, of Atlanta, Ga., relates in the Veteran an incident which illustrates this admirably. When he was captured there was placed with him a deserter, or one who claimed he had deserted because he had been conscripted, and Dodson refused to share a bed with him.
There being for several days only the two of us, we were thrown together, but I persistently refused to associate with the deserter. The commissary respected my feelings, and issued my
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rations separately, remarking each time: "Now, Johnny, when you eat that up come back and get more." I had no blankets, having left mine under my saddle, and the first night I determined to sit up by the fire. A good-natured teamster asked me why I did not go to bed. I told him I had no blanket, and could not afford to sleep with a deserter. "Well, Johnny," said the teamster, "durn him, you needn't sleep with him. Come to my wagon, and I will lend you a blanket." There is not a living Confederate comrade whom I had rather meet than that big-hearted teamster. There are many other pleasant incidents connected with my stay with these brave men at the front, and I truly wish there was no other side to tlie picture, but there is.
Soon other prisoners came in, and we were sent back to Ste- venson and turned over to some home guards, who made life almost a hell to us. At Louisville I got into an argument with one of this kind of sentry, and for saying nothing more offensive than that I had been fighting men in the front I found a bayonet at my breast. I still have the man's name, and it may be best for us both if we never meet again.
I remained six months at Camp Chase, but the policy of starva- tion did not commence until afterwards, though many kinds of petty tyranny were practiced. For some flagrant abuse (I forget now the circumstances) several of my mess addressed a note of protest to the commander. It was written and signed by gentle- men of intelligence and refinement, and was respectful. The response received was a squad of soldiers with handcuffs and balls and chains for the entire party. The younger men made light of the punishment, but among the victims was a gentleman (Capt. S. F. Nunelle, of Center, Ala.) much older than the rest, and who was disabled by a wound in the hip. The shackles of course rendered him practically helpless, and we younger ones had to wait on him. To those of us nearest naked were issued inferior Federal uniforms.
In the April Veteran for 1898 appears the following :
W. H. Lastinger writes from Waco, Tex., that among the dead Confederate prisoners buried at Camp Chase, as published in the January Veteran, is W. H. Leatinger, Twenty-Ninth Georgia Regiment, of which he was a member. Knowing nothing of this name "Leatinger," Mr. Lastinger supposes it was himself. He is glad to report that he is still on the top side of terra firma and en- joying good health. Mr. Lastinger wrote: "Until I read the magazine: I knew not where lay G. W. Bond, William Hodge, R. Mckinney. John T. Simons, Elihu H. Tygart, and William Anderson-all my comrades of Company G."
The list of names published in the Veteran were from the Adju- tant General's report for the year 1867. In that report are the
THE STORY OF CAMP CHASE.
names of Alex J. Smith, Company E, Twenty-Ninth Georgia In- fantry, Grave No. 563, who died December 6, 1864, and S. S. or S. P. Smith, Company G, Twenty-Ninth Georgia Infantry, Grave No. 1800, who died March 31, 1865. So much for the printed record. Mr. Lastinger was doubtless correct, as he knew the names of his company by heart.
From the same source comes the story of W. O. Connor, of Cave Springs, Ga., who was for a short time a prisoner at Camp Chase. He was captured at Salisbury, N. C. One of the bat- talions defending Salisbury was composed of "galvanized" Yan- kees, as they were called in the South-men who, as prisoners of war, had taken the oath to support the Confederacy after they had enlisted in the Union army. The writer has tried to show in various ways his respect for the living and dead of the Confed- erate Army, but only one sentiment can be entertained for these creeping things. But to Mr. Connor's narrative :
Having no fortifications, of course this force offered but little resistance to the impetuous onslaught of General Stoneman's dis- ciplined cavalry. Those "galvanized" Yankees threw down their arms and refused to fight as soon as the Yankees made the charge on our lines, and they, with nearly all the rest of the command, were captured.
We were then marched across the Blue Ridge and Alleghany Mountains to Johnson's Station, on the old East Tennessee and Virginia railroad, the first stretch being forty-eight miles before a stop was made, with the exception of two hours at Statesville. On the way we were told that General Lee had surrendered, but of course we did not believe it until we saw numbers of his soldiers on the way home. We were taken to Camp Chase, where we ar- rived May 3, 1865.
En route we were kept a day and a night at Nashville, being quartered in the Tennessee penitentiary. The "galvanized" Yan- kees who were held as prisoners with us had been very abusive in their treatment of the Confederates on this long and arduous march. When we were marched into the penitentiary they were placed in an upper story of the building, and boasted of their superior treatment ; but when we were marched out the next day to take the train they were left locked up in the prison, and then it was our time to crow. We were told that every one of them would be shot for desertion.
Arriving at Camp Chase, we were marched into Prison No. 3. There were about one thousand of us, and as we marched in the roll was called, with instructions to answer either "Oath" or "Ex- change." This meant that our names would be entered as being
CAMP CHASE IN 1861. 119
willing to take the oath of allegiance or to remain in prison until exchanged. Knowing that Lee had already surrendered, about half of the men signified by their answer that they were willing to take the oath of allegiance.
We found in Prison No. 3 from fifteen hundred to twenty-five hundred men, and but sixteen of the entire number answered "Exchange." When the roll of the prison was called, J. Courtney Brown, now a prominent Baptist minister of Aiken, S. C., and the writer were two of the sixteen. Each of the sixteen men who wanted to be exchanged was ordered to report at the gate, with knapsack and one blanket, prepared for marching. During these three weeks all sorts of rumors were circulated as to what would be done with us, one being that we would be put in irons in the Ohio State Prison for life, and another being that we would be shot in retaliation for something the Confederates had done. Every man who has ever been in military prison is familiar with the absurd rumors that will somehow be circulated.
Our comrades gathered around us and bade us farewell, many of them with tears streaming down their bronzed cheeks. We marched out the bluest-looking men that had ever been gathered together, and not one of us would have been surprised if we had been put in front of a file of soldiers and shot down. Instead of this, however, we were marched along the side of the prison wall a short distance, a gate was thrown open, and we were thrown into Prison No. I. Here we found seventy-five or eighty Con- federate officers and citizens, some of whom I knew. Instead of a barracks accommodating two hundred men, we were given rooms arranged for twelve men each. In each room was a cook- ing stove with necessary vessels, and our rations were issued di- rectly to us, so that each man could prepare his food to suit him- self. Hence we were much more comfortably situated and fared better than the men we left in Prison No. 3."
When the time came for liberating the prisoners, all the sixteen were liberated with the others except one little fellow from West Virginia (I never knew his name) who still refused to take the oath, giving as a reason that he had promised his father that he would never do so without his consent. No explanation was ever given why the change was made from Prison No. 3 to No. I, nor was there a word spoken to us in regard to the matter.
An interesting story of an attempt to escape is told in the Veteran by R. H. Strother, of Milton, Ky., who served in the Fourth Kentucky Cavalry :
During the suminer of 1864 a movement was started to organ- ize the prisoners at Camp Chase into companies, regiments, and brigades. After the organization was effected instructions were secretly given in regard to how the break for liberty should be
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made. July 4 was the day selected, and the hour ten o'clock, as. the bread wagon was leaving the prison. The prisoners were not allowed to assemble in crowds, so we had to be cautious in our movements. They were to take position in groups of three or four men, as near the gate as possible without causing suspi- cion. The signal agreed upon was to be "Fresh fish," which was to be given by the leader of the charging squad when the bread wagon went out. The leader with his group was to drop in be- hind the wagon just before it reached the gate, and as it was passing out the signal was to be given and the groups of the charging squad were to fall in rapidly, keeping up a continuous charge through the gate. Those nearest the gate were to rush out and fall immediately in the rear of the charging squad, and those of Barracks No. 2 to drop in behind those of No. I, and so on, which would keep up a continuous charge, so that the gate could not be closed.
The Confederates were to have their pockets full of rocks, which was the only ammunition available. Everything seemed to be working all right, and there were no indications that the officers in charge of the prison had suspected anything wrong.
The morning designated came bright and beautiful. The pris- oners were jubilant over the prospect of escaping, and every man was in his place, waiting for the time. All eyes were watching for the bread wagon to come and to make its exit. Confusion came, however, through the earlier and, as it proved, untimely ar- rival and departure of the wood wagon. This caused the charge to result in failure. The charging squad was so eager that they gave the signal as the wood wagon went out, and the main force were off guard, not expecting the signal at that time. Thus it was that the charging squad passed out through the gate, and, the main column not being in supporting distance, the gate was closed.
There was a picnic that day a few miles from the prison, and most of the Federal officers and soldiers not on duty were going to attend. In fact, when the charge was made a large number of them were mounted ready to start, so that all they had to do was to surround the little squad and march it to prison.
In corroboration of the story told by Mr. Strother, the Ohio State Journal, of Columbus, tells the following story :
On the morning of the 4th of July about twenty prisoners, taking advantage of the large gate being opened, gave a yell and broke for liberty. They were fired upon by the guard; two of them being severely wounded and the remainder captured. It is learned that as soon as the break was made the Eighty-Eighth Regiment formed and pursued the fugitives at double-quick, firing as they went. The prisoners in the meantime pulled off their hats and held them up in token of surrender. Colonel Richard- son, who was in command, then ordered his men to cease firing.
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CAMP CHASE IN 1861.
The first public mention of Camp Chase, so far as the history of it can be gathered from the newspapers of that date, was on May 28, 1861, in the Ohio State Journal, the only newspaper in Columbus now that was in existence then, and was as follows:
Workmen were engaged yesterday in taking down the barracks at Camp Jackson, for the purpose of removing to a new camp to be organized four miles west of this city. It is to be a regular camp, and will contain one hundred acres. The land has been plowed, harrowed, and rolled smooth, and will make a good place for drilling purposes.
The following notices of arrivals of Confederate prisoners are from the same paper and quoted literally :
August 9, 1861 .- Capt. J. W. Free arrived here at a late hour last night from Lexington, Perry County, Ohio, with a company of one hundred and fifty men. This company brought with them from Zanesville one hundred and ten Rebel prisoners, which the Seventeenth Ohio Regiment had sent to that place. Among the number were one preacher, one lawyer, and one doctor.
Under the date of August 19, same year, appears the following :
Twenty-eight prisoners arrived Saturday from West Virginia via Cincinnati; and of these, twenty-three are on parole. They will be immediately transferred to Richmond, Va. The reporter heard one of them remark that if they took Washington City they would not burn it, for there were too many good buildings there ; and as they wished to make it the capital of the Confederacy sometime, these buildings would be needed.
August 20 .- GONE. The secessionists who attracted eager crowds at the American Hotel yesterday left for their homes in Virginia to-day. They were released on parole not to take up arms against the government again.
The last lot of prisoners for Camp Chase in the year 1861 ar- rived on December 28 and consisted of eight captured Confed- erates.
CHAPTER XI.
INCREASING NUMBERS.
The Indifference of Columbus toward the Soldiers-Southern Prisoners Were Not the Only Men Neglected-A Wife Accompanies Her Hus- band to Prison-Arrival of a Number of Officers-A Kentuckian Ex- presses Himself-What the Raw Recruit Said-The Long Roll Beaten -- Almost a Riot.
IT is remarkable that in all the official reports and records of 1861-65 of the Governor of Ohio, his Adjutant General, or his subordinate officers no mention is made of the Confederate prison at Camp Chase except a brief reference made in 1861 by Gov. William Dennison, who in his annual report said :
In accordance with his request, instructions were some time since given to General McClellan to send prisoners to Ohio. Re- garding the jails of the State as being insecure and improper places for confinement, I caused to be erected at Camp Chase a prison of sufficient size for the accommodation of four hundred and fifty inmates, and upon a plan capable of enlargement. A considerable number have been and are there confined, and others are continually arriving.
Columbus was indifferent to the men who had battled and struggled for the cause in which the North was enlisted. For years the men in blue marched in and out of the city. The cit- izens read of war, but felt none of it. They grew weary of the drumbeat and of the glitter and glory of it all. The spirit of commercialism was rampant, and there was a widespread desire on the part of those not in business to organize schemes to get the money of the soldiers. Camp Chase, being central and con- venient, was made the depot for the Union paroled prisoners in the North. Often they came here sick and in tatters and were driven to Camp Chase like so many cattle, and when they got there they were lucky to find an open shed to lie in.
In the spring of 1863 there came from a Southern prison a squad of Union men who were almost naked. They were turned into an open shed, without officers to see to their wants, and they soon became a menace to the troops near by. Days went by
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before these men drew rations. They were fed by men of an- other command who were fortunate enough to have something to spare. This condition of affairs lasted for some time; and the paroled prisoners, hungry, half-naked, and disgusted at the treatment accorded them, plundered the tents of their more for- tunate comrades. The story of this situation at Camp Chase was found in the columns of the Ohio State Journal.
From January 1, 1862, there is no mention of the arrival of Confederate prisoners until on the 24th of February. A few Virginians had been sent back and forth, but nothing of note had occurred. On that date the Journal mentions the arrival of Robert J. Baldwin, who had been captured by General Lander at Bloomery, Ga., together with six captains, nine lieutenants, five first sergeants, six other sergeants, five corporals, and nineteen privates. No names were given except that of Colonel Baldwin. Continuing, the Journal stated:
Nine prisoners captured near Fayetteville, Ky., by Colonel Scammon, of the Twenty-Third Ohio, arrived Saturday last and "took lodgings" at Camp Chase. The visitors are to be in- creased soon by a fresh arrival of the Southern chivalry. The secession sympathizers, who hung their jaws on the reception of the Fort Donelson news, ought to turn out en masse and give their Southern brethren a cordial welcome. Names to-morrow morning.
The names did not appear the next morning. Instead, there was a notice of the arrival of another lot of prisoners, alluded to as follows :
Another detachment of one hundred and four Southern pris- oners arrived about half past nine last night. They were all officers, including Buckner's staff, captured at Fort Donelson. They were generally fine-looking men; and, being all officers, are undoubtedly of the upper crust of chivalry of the South. There appeared to be no uniformity of dress; each seemed to consult his own taste or convenience-perhaps the latter.
The sympathies of the crowd were awakened by the appear- ance among the prisoners of a woman, the wife of one of the officers, who had clung to her husband in his reverses and was determined to share his captivity. She was sent in advance of the others in charge of a special guard. There were also several contrabands in the company, brought along as servants. We doubt very much, however, whether the contrabands will be held as prisoners, but rather as contrabands of war.
It is rumored that twelve hundred more prisoners will arrive at 12 o'clock to-day.
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THE STORY OF CAMP CHASE.
Of the noble woman whose unselfish love prompted her to to go to prison with her husband, no further record can be found. One can only wish that the love of such a wife, that such unbounded affection, was at last rewarded; that each lived to see the war end and, like the hero and heroine of the fairy tale, "lived happily ever after."
The Journal on Saturday, March 1, 1862, gave the following names of those who arrived the Thursday preceding. No doubt these men have friends in the North who will scan the list with eagerness :
Third Mississippi Regiment .- Col. T. J. Davidson, Lieut. Col. J. M. Wiltz, Chaplain J. H. Robinson; Company A, Capt. A. J. Gibson, Lieuts. E. M. Smith, J. W. Day, and H. B. Meneden ; Company B, Capt. J. R. Hill, Lieuts. M. P. Harbin, V. B. Dixen, and J. B. Pennell; Company C, Capt. G. W. Garrett, Lieuts. N. L. Dazey, B. F. Darrod, and J. G. Moore; Company D, Lieuts. J. C. Tumer, W. H. Groyn, and B. H. Estes; Company E, Capt. J. H. Kennedy, Lieuts. A. D. Saddler, and E. Roberts ; Company H, Capt. E. M. Wells, Lieut. J. W. Douglass; Company G, Lieuts. J. H. Keddlesperger, David Lewis, and J. W. Childs ; Company 5, Capt. S. W. McWharter, Lieuts. C. N. Simpson, W. C. Swindale, and W. G. Young.
Twentieth Mississippi Regiment .- Maj. W. N. Brown; Com- pany A, Capt. H. Canteg, Lieut. R. M. Wilson; Company B, W. A. Rover, Lieut. Thos. B. Sykes, R. S. Murff, and J. A. Roberts; Company C, Capt. J. Z. George, Lieut. J. M. Liddel, F. W. Keyes, and A. A. Staddord; Company D, Capt. O. K. Massey, Lieuts. J. C. Williams, P. L. Dotson, and R. C. McClel- land; Company E, Lieut. William S. Champlen; Company F, Capt. Thomas B. Graham, Lieut. P. R. Sterling; Company G, Lieut. W. R. Nelson; Company H, Lieut. Thomas H. Harrison ; Company I, Capt. W. M. Chatfield, Lieuts. F. W. Gale and J. V. Williams ; Company K, Lieuts. S. L. Oldham and J. R. Hene- phile.
Seventh Texas .- Col. John Green, Maj. R. H. Graham, Adjt. H. Douglas, Asst. H. Beall; Company A, one lieutenant (name not given) ; Company B, Lieuts. Kemp, Covid, and Ford; Com- pany C, Capt. Houghton, Lieuts. English and Henderson; Com- pany E, Capt. E. M. Zaut. Lieuts. Donnelly, Martin, Lipscome, and Adams; Company F. Lieut. Moore; Company G, Capt. Moody, Lieuts. Callett and Tildwell ; Company H. Lieuts. Fonest and Craig : Company 5. Capt. John Brown. Lieuts. Ballinger, White, and McDavid.
Third Battalion Alabama Infantry, Capt. D. T. Ryan ; Twenty- Seventh Alabama, Capt. E. G. Wright; Tenth Tennessee, Capt. B. M. Cheatham.
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INCREASING NUMBERS.
The Journal of Monday, March 3, states that seven hundred and twenty prisoners arrived Saturday morning. "They were nearly all officers, many of them men of intelligence, some hav- ing held honorable positions under the government they are now endeavoring to destroy. Some of our citizens showed a disposi- tion to quiz several of them, but their curt replies soon silenced such comment. The prisoners at Camp Chase now numbered some twelve hundred."
The following letter from a gentleman who had been a prisoner at Camp Chase for a time shows that there were some humane men in charge part of the time, at least :
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, FRANKFORT, KY., Feb. 10, 1862. Mr. N. A. Gray.
DEAR SIR: The Cincinnati Gasette of yesterday, in a very un- truthful notice of some remarks made by myself in the House on Saturday last in relation to my late arrest and imprisonment at Camp Chase, conveys the idea that I complained of bad treatment while there. This is not true; and for fear the article may place me wrong with several gentlemen whom I may never see again, but whose respect I wish to preserve, I bear public testimony to their uniform kindness and courtesy to me while a prisoner in their hands. Nothing was said or done by any one to insult me, and I acknowledge the gentlemanly and considerate treatment I received from Lieutenant Colonel Remple, Capt. A. V. Rice. Lieutenants Wright and Knauss, and Sergeant Buice. I remem- ber also with satisfaction the friendly conduct of many members and officers of the Ohio Legislature (which of course includes yourself), and will frankly confess that an utter change of senti- ment with them enabled me to return from Ohio with more hope for the future of our country than I felt before. The Gasette, however, quotes me correctly in that I called Camp Chase prison a "mudhole."
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