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 2
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THE STORY OF CAMP CHASE.
as well as a testimony to the dead, for he has found in the last eight years that no matter where he has met a Southerner he met a friend.
The unutterable loneliness and shameful disorder. of Camp Chase Cemetery as it was when first seen by the writer moved his heart to pity, and he felt impelled to do what has been done, and the result has been that the monumenal arch was built to the perfect satisfaction and gratitude of the delegations from West Virginia, Kentucky, and other portions of the South, and of all who have seen it.
The events just related lead to a time after the ex-Confederates in the county had formed a Confederate Camp, and the Southern ladies a Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy here in Columbus, and this having been done, he concluded, when the monument was unveiled and presented to the Confederates, that his work was completed.
The presentation of the monument was made by a G. A. R. comrade, Judge David F. Pugh, and received by an ex-Confed- erate Congressman, David E. Johnston, of Bluefield, W. Va., Gen. J. B. Gordon, who was to receive it, being unable to be present. With the presentation of the monumental arch the care and charge of the cemetery was turned over to the Daughters of the Confederacy.
The monument was unveiled by the writer's daughter, Eliz- abeth May (John T.) Gamble, and Florence Tucker (John H.) Winder, assisted by Mrs. David Lindsey (T. M.) Worcester. From the beginning his wife and children, together with Miss Sadie Stimmel, Mr. Charles Roth, and Mr. Thomas J. Davies. gave him constant assistance in the work.
There was opposition to the erection of the monument, not- withstanding the greatly improved sentiment, and threats were made that if done it would be blown up. Two men were en- ployed to stay at the grounds during its erection, and to guard it at night for some ten days after the unveiling, but no one at- tempted to molest it. It may have been because the Governor of the State of Ohio, Hon. George K. Nash, had been present, and had made a speech full of sympathy for the occasion, or it may have been because of fear of the Northern soldiers guarding it. When the storm was most bitter, the gentle-hearted Mc- Kinley, at Atlanta, spoke words that well might silence the crit-
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INTRODUCTION.
icism that followed my every attempt to honor the last resting place of the Confederate dead, and it is fitting that in this per- sonal chapter this splendid sentiment be repeated: "Every sol- dier's grave made during the unfortunate Civil War is a tribute to American valor; and while when these graves were made we differed widely about the future of the government, those differ- ences were long ago settled by the arbitrament of arms-and the time has now come in the evolution of sentiment and feeling, under the providence of God, when, in the spirit of fraternity, we should share with you in the care of the graves of the Confed- erate dead."
The President had uttered these words in 1898. Some of the seeds of kindness fell upon stony places. There were some even in 1902 who hated the sight of that arch.
At this point, even though good taste offending, the writer quotes from Circular Letter No. 86, United Confederate Veterans, May 20, 1898, the words of Adjutant General Moorman, pub- lished in the Confederate Veteran:
To All Commanders and Confederate Veteran Camps.
At Camp Chase, Ohio, where 2,260 Confederate soldiers are buried, that noble "American," Col. William H. Knauss, a brave Union soldier, and his grand coworkers have designated June 4 next as the date for Decoration Day, when ceremonies will be observed and flowers will be strewn over these 2,260 long-neg- lected graves, where rest the heroes, sleeping far away from homes, kindred, and loved ones.
It is well known that the cemetery which contains the re- mains of these Southern soldiers was rescued from decay and neglect, repaired, a stone wall built around the place, trees and shrubbery planted, the grounds cleaned up, and an annual Decora- tion Day observed, through the humanity and patriotism of Govs. R. B. Hayes and J. B. Foraker, the golden-hearted William H. Knauss, Mr. Henry Briggs, a farmer living near, Capt. W. B. Allbright, an ex-Confederate soldier, and a few other friends. By order of JOHN B. GORDON, General Commander.
The Heaven-gifted orator, the knightly soldier, the splendid gentleman has gone from us, but the perfume of his good deeds remains to make the world sweeter. In life his hand clasped the writer's and somewhere and sometime our hands will clasp again.
In telling the story of Camp Chase and Johnson's Island much information was secured through the courtesy of others. The
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THE STORY OF CAMP CHASE.
author has drawn liberally upon the Confederate Veteran, Nash- ville, upon all of the Columbus papers, the Sandusky Register, and other Ohio newspapers. He desires to express his gratitude also to Captains McNeil, Dinkins, Herbert, Lieutenant Mitchell, D. H. Strother, and Majors Wilson and Marlowe for interesting reminiscences, and Mr. C. B. Galbraith, Ohio State Librarian, for the long-lost letters given. The author is impressed with the idea that such a history as this should be given before all those who had a part in it were dead, and many Southern friends have urged it. It is a simple story of men who endured much, who fought bravely, and they who survived went back to their commands and fought again, and when it was all over went home-gen- erally speaking to desolate homes-but one rich in love and af- fection, if there was a Southern woman in that home. Those who died here went to their final rest as became brave men.
The history of these prisons of Ohio has been gathered from various sources-from survivors who remember well the time of their captivity, from diaries kept by prisoners, and from his- tories of regiments, etc.
With no thought but that of pride and admiration for the great American people, regarding no North or no South, but a land rich in memories of its brave dead, this volume is offered.
THE STORY OF CAMP CHASE.
CHAPTER I.
DECORATING THE GRAVES-1896.
After Long Years Strangers Pay Tribute to the Valor of the Southern Dead-The First Programme at Camp Chase-What Was Said That Day and Who Said It-A Stranger from the South Had Something to Say-An Afternoon Where Tenderness Reigned-More Than Two Thousand Flags Fluttering over Low Green Mounds-The Setting Sun Stoops to Kiss the Little Banners as It Sinks to Rest-Left Alone in Their Slumbers.
IN the Introduction the reader was enabled to see the begin- ning of-an annual event, uncommon in the North. When those who began this work shall have gone to their rest, the service will continue.
Because of the uniqueness of its beginning, opposition to it from unlooked-for sources, and because of the warm hand-clasps and tender words of commendation from the South, the history of these events is given. The press, both North and South, have published columns. making the telling less difficult than if one told the story of this simple work from memory. Necessarily the author draws upon these detailed facts, and thus the friends of those who sleep at Camp Chase, Ohio, may see how the strangers, at last, after long years, came to pay reverence to their memory as American soldiers, whether or not in sympathy with the cause in which they were engaged.
The first complete programme of exercises at Camp Chase Cemetery was held upon the afternoon of June 5, 1896. A small service was held there in 1895.
The day was beautiful, and the little cemetery was decorated with two thousand two hundred and sixty American flags waving over the dust of mortals who nearly forty years before had fought bravely, during the battle storm, under the "Stars and Bars."
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THE STORY OF CAMP CHASE.
Quiet, orderly, and reverential were the fifty or more persons who gathered to take part in or listen to the services. Hushed were the voices, as though the sleeping ones might be awakened from their rest.
Speaking of this occasion, the Press-Post, of Columbus, said :
The little Confederate Cemetery at Camp Chase, with its green, waving eim trees, its long grass rank with the richness of the graveyard, its birds the only creatures that until yesterday ever sang a hymn over the last resting place of over two thousand brave men, its deathlike peace-the little cemetery, with its long ranks of the dead, was the scene of one of the most remarkable events ever witnessed in this country. It was a sight that proved that the bitterness of war time can die away even with those who experienced all the heat and passion of the battle, who went through the long, weary marches, who lay in the mud of the trenches under the fire of the enemies' guns, and who froze or famished in dreary camps. Veterans of the Union army were assisted by veterans of the Southern Confederacy in the beautiful work of laying flowers upon the graves of two thousand two hundred and sixty Confederate dead who lie under the grass and in the shade of the trees in the stone-girdled cemetery.
No scene could have been more impressive, especially to those who knew from experience the sadness of the fate of those who had given up their lives and had died in a strange country for that which they believed to be right. For many years the graves were overrun with weeds and brambles, and the cattle of the country wandered over the heads of the men whose valor was greater than that of Spartan. With the exception of the towering elms, which were bushes when the sleepers went to their final rest, only noxious plants grew there. To-day there are flowers and flags and women's tears. Grizzled warriors of the Union stood with bared heads, reverent at the graves of men once foes. Men who had stood guard with loaded muskets over these long-departed enemies paused to drop a tear and lay a flower full of meaning upon their graves. A few scarred ex- Confederates, silent, solemn, and wondering, looked on at the strange sight.
The speakers' stand was a cart brought there by some farmer in the neighborhood; and when the hour for the begin- ning was reached, the Chairman, W. H. Knauss, mounted the cart and, after a song, delivered the following address :
My friends and American citizens, about us and within this inclosure are buried American citizens. For many years this burial ground was open commons, overgrown by briers and
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DECORATING THE GRAVES-1896.
brush, until about ten years ago, when Governor Foraker in his message referred to it as a disgrace and unworthy of a Christian people. From his interest in the matter the government built this wall and the place was cleared of brambles; but from that time until last year no attention had been given to it other than occasionally by individuals, when Governor Hayes secured an appropriation of twenty-five dollars a year from the contingent fund to cut away the briers, bushes, etc.
We will commence these humble exercises without apolo- gies, other than to say that we wish to pay respect to some unknown dead who were American citizens and who died in a cause which they believed was right; and I ask each of you present not to judge or criticise our motives or actions until we are through. If we have done that which is unbecoming Amer- ican citizens, we are willing to be censured for the act of decora- ting these men's graves. This movement is not gotten up by any association or society. I take all the responsibility as a citizen and a soldier.
As our Heavenly Father set for us in the sky a rainbow in remembrance of the storm, so our forefathers left us this beautiful flag, whose colors were taken from the heavens in remembrance of the stormy battles where they shed their blood for liberty and freedom-for free schools, free speech, and free ballot. I have been to this place a number of times, and each time I have said to myself: "They were American citizens, they were men, they had mothers and sisters, some had wives and children, all praying to one God and Father; and O how many a prayer went up that these unfortunate dead might be returned to their homes!"
Alas! the fate of war decreed otherwise, and where their bodies lie is in many instances unknown to their loved ones. There has been a patriotic revival during the past few years among American citizens. Societies have been formed to ex- pound American principles, to impress upon the young what it has cost to perpetuate these principles.
Being a descendant of soldiers from Revolutionary times, my great-grandfather having been in that war, my two grand- fathers in the War of 1812, my father in the Mexican War, and my only brother and myself in the War between the States, I cannot help having respect for conscientious soldiers. I fully believe we should never be timid in a matter of honor or where an expression of our patriotism is needed.
Therefore my conclusion is that it is not unpatriotic or un- American to do what we are doing here to-day. If I were in the South and saw an ex-Confederate do honor to an unknown soldier's grave, I would say with all my soul: "God bless you and yours forever!"
One hundred and twenty years ago three or four thousand
PRISON STOCKADE, CAMP CHASE, COLUMBUS, 01110, 1862,
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DECORATING THE GRAVES-1896.
half-clad, shoeless, depressed, and dispirited patriots, made up of the then thirteen colonies, marching under the scowling De- cember sky, pelted by the pitiless storm of sleet and rain, crossed the Delaware and before daybreak drove in the British sentinels. The enemy had spent the night in drunkenness and revelry, but Washington led his tattered legions on. The commanding officer of the enemy and many of his men were killed and wounded, and a thousand were captured. The surviving British galloped away, leaving their allies to the mercy of their foe. If Washing- ton and his army had been destroyed, there would have been an end to the war. Victory crowned his efforts; and the battle of Trenton, measured by its results, was the decisive battle of the Revolutionary War.
Who composed this army of men from the colonies? Who
FOUR-MILE HOUSE, OPPOSITE CAMP CHASE.
, were these patriotic soldiers? Men from the North and South. Who was this man Washington, upon his knees in the snow at Valley Forge praying to God for guidance and for victory? He was a Virginian and a patriot. Who were his soldiers in that war? Men from the North and South who fought for liberty. Who said: "My life you can have, but never my loyalty and my principles for freedom and my country?" They were American citizens from the North and the South. These dead soldiers lying here should not have tried to overthrow this grand republic that cost such sacrifice. Though we do not seek to justify their cause, to place flowers on their graves is Christianlike. "Charity is the true spirit of Christianity." and charity prompts our acts to-day. These symbols of purity we offer at these lowly graves; these American flags are given that future generations may
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THE STORY OF CAMP CHASE.
einulate the unselfish devotion of even the lowliest of these dead soldiers.
At the conclusion of this address the Chairman introduced Gen. E. J. Pocock, who said :
With malice toward none, with charity for all, we come here to-day to decorate the graves of those known only as deceased prisoners of war. Under the sod of this field. once a military prison, are buried two thousand and more Confederate captives. Sickness and disease carried them to a grave in this inclosure, known in history as Camp Chase. The soldiers here buried have gone to where no man returns. In meeting here these men are not enemies, but brothers of a common country blood. They took up arms against this grand government. The government conquered, the South is reconciled; we are a common country and common fellow-men. For a moment let us forget the battles of Stone River, Chickamauga, Nashville, Gettysburg, Antietam, the Wilderness, the sieges of Vicksburg and Petersburg. Let us forget the cry of "On to Richmond!" the march to the sea, and the thought of Andersonville and Libby. Let us think of the unknown dead lying here, of the mothers, wives, and children who mourn their loss, and of the homes made desolate by the . cruel fate of war. These men died for a cause that we thought was wrong, but they gave up their lives believing they were right in their cause. To-day we are to think of them as the brave men who fought on many bloody battlefields, as the men in Pickett's charge at Gettysburg and in Cleburne's and Cheatham's charges at Franklin. This hour we are to forget the past and think of the sad hearts who in the many years since the war have mourned for their dear ones who lie here in unknown graves.
Rev. Dr. T. G. Dickson, pastor of the King Avenue Meth- odist Episcopal Church, was called from the audience. The Doctor had not been in either army, being a mere boy during the war. After making some appropriate remarks, he closed by saying: "May the roots of the tree of Liberty entwine the bowels of the earth and its branches tower among the clouds."
Gen. Thomas E. Powell, who enlisted as a boy sixteen years old, was present and was called unexpectedly to say some- thing. He said that he was glad to join in this tribute to his old foes. He was glad to see the spirit exhibited on both sides. Peace had brought its blessings, and the men of the South were as loyal after the war as the men of the North. The General spoke of the Cuban struggle for independence, and said that if it became necessary Ohio and Virginia would combine and send
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DECORATING THE GRAVES-1896.
enough men to the field to establish the independence of the brave little island. He considered this occasion second in im- portance as an indication of the good feeling between the North and the South only to the mingling of the blue and the gray at the Gettysburg meeting.
"America" was sung by all present, led by Mr. Nolan. Then Col. S. N. Cook was called out. He told of his expe- rience as a guard at Camp Chase, of his suffering in Southern prisons, and of acts of kindness done him by Confederate soldiers. He told of his boyish captor and the boy's wish that the war would end, that he might see his home once more. He said : "I am only fifteen, and I am so tired of this fighting and marching all the time. My mother would shut the door in my face if I went home before the war is over-unless I am wounded."
"This was in 1862, at Harper's Ferry, Va.," the speaker continued, "and I wonder if he is lying asleep here now, or did he at last get home? It was a long road from Harper's Ferry to Appomattox."
The services were about to be concluded, when a fine- looking, elderly gentleman, with a snow-white mustache, an imperial of the Southerner, stepped forward and said with marked accents of the South: "I beg your pardon, sir, but may I say something?" He was asked his name, but at first declined to give it, until a prominent railroad man and a friend of his intro- duced him as a Mr. W. H. Gardner, a business man of Union City, Tenn. Mr. Gardner said he came to the service as a Southern man. He had fought for more than four years in the Southern army, and he wanted to thank these men of the Northern army for this demonstration. Politicians had tried to make the South believe that there was bitterness in the North against that section, but he knew better and so did the other Southern people. He wished that the mothers of the brave boys: who slept in that cemetery could look down and witness the- magnificent tribute paid them by men who fought against thenr- and won. The war was over, and all were proud to know that Ulysses S. Grant was an American citizen. So were all proud! of the glory of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. He was. glad to be among such people as he had met there. He would carry back with him most pleasant recollections of his short
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THE STORY OF CAMP CHASE.
sojourn in the capital of Ohio, and he would devote himself to telling his neighbors of the touching tribute paid to the Southern dead. Mr. Gardner said that it was the first speech that he had ever made in his life, but he felt impelled to express his appreciation of this beautiful action. At the close of his remarks he was trembling like a little girl. The veterans of the armies of Grant and Lee crowded around to shake his hand, and he received an ovation.
Everybody joined in singing the doxology, and Dr. Dickson pronounced the benediction.
Some of the incidents of that day and the reminiscences that occasion revived are worth telling. Some of the veterans present remembered the story of one marked grave. Just within the shadow of the inclosure stood a simple stone on which was a plain inscription telling that the body that had moldered in the earth beneath was that of George Raney, who was born in Livermore, Ky. There was never a better exemplification of the honors of the war in which brothers fought against brothers. George Raney was a Southern sympathizer, a believer in the greatness of the State over the Nation. His brother loved the flag of the Union and enlisted to defend it. George was wounded and made a prisoner of war. He was brought to Camp Chase. His brother was there as a Union soldier and had to stand guard over him. But blood was thicker than water. All that brother could do for brother was done, but the boy in gray was dying. The struggle was over-only peace now. The simple shaft standing to-day was the tribute of love-the Blue and the Gray.
Many lingered in the grounds until the sun was far down the western sky-lingered and talked in subdued tones. The birds ceased wondering at the thousand little flags which grew so suddenly on the low mounds, and began their evening songs of praise. The cattle in the fields were going home as the last par- ticipant in the services turned away. The leaves upon the elms were whispering as though something unseen was asking what these flags and flowers meant. It meant much to one man who is yet thankful.
So closed the first public ceremony for the Confederate dead at Camp Chase. Nature smiled upon it all, the day had been perfect, and the sun as it sank behind a slow-rising cloud kissed tenderly the waving flags.
CHAPTER II.
CARING FOR THE GRAVES-1897.
A Larger Crowd-A Southern Orator, Colonel Bennett H. Young. Ad- dresses the People Assembled-Address of Judge David F. Pugh, a Northern Veteran-The Chairman Reviews the History of the Ceme- tery-The Mayor of the City Speaks Briefly-Some Letters from the South; Also Cash-The Second Memorial Service over the Confeder- ate Dead a Success.
THERE is of necessity some similarity in such services as these memorial events, but it will interest those for whom this volume is written."
The preceding chapter relates at length the details of that first decoration. Through the newspapers the South learned that there were Union soldiers who were pleased to show a gentle courtesy .to the dead. In the introductory chapter mention was made of the fact that there was an unpleasant side to these events-the criticism of friends and. comrades. But when one has done as conscience dictates, prompted by the charity taught by the lowly Nazarene, the criticisms fall harmless. One can easily forget the unpleasant side when he reads the letters from warm-hearted friends that he has not and possibly will never see on earth.
Many of these letters will be reproduced here, that the writers may know that the wastebasket did not receive them.
To-day Confederate comrades are performing the work begun by the Union soldier who tells this story.
When the time came to prepare for the next decoration services there were many to assist. Those who took part in the services of 1896 were men unknown to the people of the North or South, or, for that matter, to the public at large of Columbus.
At the 1897 memorial, however, a brilliant Southern orator was present, and thrilled the assembled multitude with his impas- sioned eloquence; also a distinguished jurist, a Past Post Com- mander and Past Department Commander of the G. A. R., de- livered an address at once interesting and able. The Southern
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DECORATION SERVICE, CAMP CHASE, 1897.
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CARING FOR THE GRAVES-1897.
soldier was Col. Bennett H. Young, of Kentucky, and the North- ern soldier was Judge David F. Pugh, of Columbus. The exer- cises were held at Camp Chase Cemetery June 6; and again, as on the year before, nature was benign and the day was as fair as the occasion was pleasing. At the first service the flowers were from the lawn and gardens of Columbus and from the dooryards of the farmers living near by, but in 1897 there came loads of flowers from the South. The people of-the South as well as our home citizens became interested in the almost forgotten graves-graves of the dead so long asleep here. So many were the questions asked, and so few seemed to remember anything about Camp Chase Cemetery, that the following facts were gath- ered, some of which have been incidentally mentioned, but being a part of the exercises of that day, they are here presented.
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