USA > Virginia > Prince Edward County > Prince Edward County > A history of Prince Edward County, Virginia: from its formation in 1753, to the present > Part 7
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On the morning of the 5th we were put in the cars and started for Baltimore. Reaching that point just about dark, we were taken off and marched through the streets of the city to Fort McHenry, when we were placed in the open ground around the fort without food or shelter. I thought it had rained at Westminister, but it was only a drop out of the bucket. Here the clouds seemed to reverse themselves, turning bottom-side up, spilling all the water from on high. In this condition, and in this weather, we remained during the night. No rations ever issued, and the poor old Rebs slept as best they could, being hungry and cold, with no shelter or bedding of any kind.
On the morning of the 6th, rations of coffee, hard tack, and meat were issued. This made us more comfortable and we began to feel like men once more. My recollection is that we remained at Fort McHenry during the day and night of the 6th. Here I will insert the names of my company who
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were with me at that time: R. D. Miller; S. B. Partin; J. J. Riggins; J. W. Foster. Richard Thackston joined us later.
On the morning of the 7th we were placed on board a steamer and taken to Fort Delaware, then under command of General Scheopf. Landed at the fort, another new ex- perience had to be encountered. We were formed in double rank, open order, and ordered to remove our shoes from our feet ! I thought, can this be holy ground? But I was soon to find out. Soon a detail of Yankees came down the line searching each Reb as they passed, confiscating all money, or other contrabrand of war, found in their possession. I did not have one cent and doubt if the clothes on my back would have sold for that sum. Here a roll of the prisoners was made up; names were listed and to what command we belonged, and from what State we came. We were then put in barracks and our prison life began in reality.
Miller, Partin, Riggins, Foster, and myself, were placed in the old barracks. To those barracks were attached a mess, or eating hall, where we obtained our GRUB. As the north- ern people have seen fit to cry down the way we fed the Yankee prisoners on this side, and to praise the manner in which we, the rebel prisoners, were looked after along this line on their side, I will here insert our daily bill of fare, for the benefit of the hungry: Our breakfast consisted of one cup of warm water called coffee, and made from the grounds used in the Yankee hospital, redried, barreled and sent to us; one and a half hard-tack or cracker, sometimes alive with lit- tle living worms; one-fourth of a pound of beef or pork. Now for dinner ! Remember we got only two meals a day! Same quantity hard-tack as for breakfast; and about one pint of what they called soup, made sometimes from potatoes, then cabbage, and again from carrots. A few of these were thrown into a large kettle of water in which beef or pork had been boiled, and was then served to us as first-class soup, fit for
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"the gods," but I have seen my hogs have better. I was in their hands for about six months, and to my recollection, this bill of fare never changed! Yet, I thank them for so much; it kept life in me and gave me strength to return to Dixie and feed back to them lead through my musket barrel !
To resume. There occurred many incidents at Fort Delaware prison which I recall; too many in fact, and for fear of tiring your readers, I will only state a few.
Kations being light, the first thing to look after was how to procure more. So I began to spy around in our mess hall. This hall contained eleven tables, at each of which one hundred men could stand. The mode of feeding was as follows: When breakfast or dinner was ready, a Yankee Sergeant would come out in front of the hall and announce the fact by crying out, "Fall in for Breakfast," or "Dinner," as the case might be. The Rebs would form in double rank, march to the door through which they passed in single file. This door was in the end of the building, and facing table No. 1. As the Rebs marched in, the first man halted at the first tin plate, while the other passed to his rear, the second man halted at plate No 2, and so on until the eleven tables were filled. Noting this mode of procedure, Miller, Partin, and myself, always made it a point to fall in line on the out- side so as to reach the middle of table No. 1. After getting to our plates we would exchange our coffee for a cracker, with some Reb, or else leave it. This was done by crying out. "Here is your cup of coffee for a cracker." The ex- change made, we looked out for the Yankee Sergeant, and when his head was turned, we would again enter the line as it was passing in our rear, and fetch up at the next table. Here the coffee was disposed of as before and we would again enter the line. We sometimes succeeded in getting to all the tables, thus getting the crackers intended for 33 men. Of course these men had to be fed! The Yanks knew that some Reb was stealing, but catching is before hanging, everything
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'cept a fish. We had been here but a short while before we had hard-tack enough to stave off hunger.
Walking out on the levee one day I found my chum, Bob, in a bad fix. A Yankee guard had him on the double quick at the point of the bayonet, trotting up and down the levee. I called out : "Hello, Hootsy B, what's up now?" He shook his head, said not a word, but as in the old song, he had to push along, keep moving. After about two hours of this work, the Yank turned him loose, and he told me the Yanks had caught him at one of our tricks and took him in charge. Well, I promised not to tell on him when we got home, so you must guess the trick.
One interesting place on the island was known as "Devil's Green." Here all manner of gambling was carried on. Some betting money, some crackers, and others tobacco. To illustrate, we will visit the Keno table. Here we found fif- teen or twenty men sitting around the dealer, each having in front of him a card on which are three lines of figures, four figures on each line. Before the game begins each man puts up his chew of tobacco, the dealer draws a figure and crys out, the person having that figure would cover it with chip or but- ton. The call continues, and figures covered, until one of the players has the four figures on the same line covered, when he tells the news by crying out "keno on top," "middle," or "bottom" line, as the case may be. He has won all the "chaws" in the pool, each puts up again, and the game continues as before. From early morn until late at night, the "Devil's Green" was full of men betting at some one of the games there displayed.
Bob Miller and I had no money, so we were always pie- rooting around to see what we could pick up, owned by some other fellow. On one of these outings we each succeeded in hooking a hook and line. Call it stealing if you will, but re- member soldiers don't steal, they only pick up what they need when it can be found and the other fellow ain't looking.
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Having hard-tack in abundance, we proceeded to fish for meat. At one point in the bay all the slops from the mess hall were emptied. To this spot we went, and very soon had as many cat fish as we wanted. Ask any old Fort Dela- ware prisoner to tell you about the cat caught on Delaware Bay; his answer will interest you.
At this time we were not permitted to write to any north- ern friend for money. Going out to the water tank one night, I found a nice Yank on guard. I struck up a con- versation with him, and unfolded my poor and penniless con- dition. After talking some time he agreed that I might write to some of father's friends in Baltimore asking for a little money, and he would forward it. You bet I wrote that letter without delay! Some days after this, a Yankee came in our barracks and hunted me up. He escorted me to Lieu- tenant Wolf, who was the meanest Yankee I ever saw. He questioned me very closely, trying to find out how I got my letter out, but he failed. Then he wished to know who I knew in Baltimore. I gave him the names of several parties, and among them, that of Messrs. Straus, Hartman, Hoflin & Co. Those were the gentlement who sent me the money. Finally, Lieut. Wolf said: "Well I guess you are the man, or rather boy." I said: "Lieutenant, you can call me what you choose here, but I want you to know ,I can stand in a man's shoes when in Dixie." He then sent me under guard to the fort in which was Gen. Scheopf's office. The General was not in when I arrived, so I employed my time in looking at the pictures, of which there were many, hanging on the walls. His private secretary was writing at his desk and said to me: "Johnnie, you had better take off your hat." I in- formed him that "Johnnies" when at home did not take off their hats when in the General's office. He smiled, said no more, and continued his writing. I had almost forgotten where I was, so busy was I in looking at the pictures. Pretty soon I heard the door open, and some one in a loud, hard
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voice said: "Take off your hat, sir." I turned and recog- nized the General. No talking back now; my hat came off in double quick time, and under my arm it went. I knew the time had come, and hats off was in order. The General asked me many questions along the line in which Wolf had gone over, but he got no more information than Wolf did. He then ordered his secretary to give me an order on the Sutler for fifteen dollars. I was sent under guard to the Sutler's place of business. This man refused to give me money, but gave me the amount in 5, 10 and 25 cent Sutler tickets. On my return to barracks I placed myself near the Sutler's win- dow and soon had my checks or tickets converted into Uncle Sam's green-backs. Chum and I were now in the swim. We bought of the Sutler baker's bread and golden syrups. Could you have seen us licking in that soft bread, and those lasses, after eating hard-tack, pork and carrots for so long, it would have done your heart good.
Among the Yankees here, there was one to whom the Rebs had given the name of "Hack Out." His duty was to look after and keep things straight in barracks. He obtained his name in the following manner: While making his rounds some old Reb would get in his way, when he would squall out : "Hack out of this." Some of us remember the many little acts of kindness done for us by this old man while we were prisoners at Fort Delaware. Come down, Hack Out, to see us; we will be delighted to repay you an hundred fold. Old Hack was a particular friend of mine, telling me often that I ought to be at home tied to my mother's apron strings. I don't suppose at that time I weighed ninety pounds.
About this time they began to erect hospitals on the is- land. The lumber for this purpose had to be carried on men's shoulders from the wharf across the island for half a mile. The Rebs were detailed to do this work, for which they re- ceived three meals per day of soft bread, meat, coffee, and soup; in addition each man received a small piece of tobacco.
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Old "Hack Out" made me a Sergeant, and gave me thirty men. My duty was very light; I remained at the wharf to see that each man carried his allotted number of turns be- fore each meal. At this wharf the steamer Oseola landed every day, bringing the mail and passengers for the fort. Being here every day, and seeing the people aboard this steamer, it struck me that some money might be made. On my return to barracks I went among the Rebs who were making fans, rings, tooth picks, and many other articles. I succeeded in buying a nice lot for a very small sum. Next morning on the arrival of the steamer, I called attention to the wares made by the Johnnies, and to my surprise and de- light, found no difficulty in selling out at a big profit. Some of the ladies did not even ask the price. All they wanted was some article made by a rebel prisoner. I sold one lady a loco- motive for the sum of twenty-five dollars. I carried on this business so long as I remained at the fort. Chum and I lived on the fat of the land.
One very great drawback here was the vermin. Never before in the history of man, was there so many lice on the same number of men! They were in our clothes, on the blankets on the bunks, in every crack and crevice, on the roof, on the ground; in a word, they were everywhere! One of our boys seemed to be sweet meat for them. I'll not call his name, for he is now living. He had them to perfection. When "taps" was sounded at night for lights out, he could be seen taking off his shirt and turning it wrong side out. About twelve o'clock he would get up and go through the same perform- ance. After a while our curiosity was aroused, and we asked why he did in this manner. He replied: "I am flanking these d-n lice; while they are going around, I am sleeping." You now see how smart he was; every time he turned his shirt he placed the lice on the outside, and, in order to get at his meat again, they had to perform the flanking act.
With my last communication I fully intended to dis-
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continue my description of prison life and enter again the field where the army was doing actual work, but since its appearance, many of your readers, and among them many of our oldest citizens, have requested me to continue the narra- tion. With your permission I will now continue to do so.
To describe to the uninitiated the lights and shadows of prison life is indeed a hard task and should only be attempted by one whose descriptive powers are far above mine. I shall do the best I can, hoping to please some of your readers. I learn that some of my lady friends object to some of my say- ings; for instance they think the "Kuss words" and "Louse story" might have been left unsaid. They seem to forget that I am trying to give a truthful narration of incidents happen- ing in a varied prison life, and, to record them properly it must be done in order, and just as they occurred.
During the month of August the heat at Fort Delaware was very oppressive, in fact almost unbearable. The barracks had but few windows, and these were placed on line with the first, or lower row of bunks. We who occupied the second, or upper row, received but little air from these. Miller and I determined to cut a small window just at the head of our bunk. We knew that the guard had orders to shoot any prisoner caught doing this sort of work, but this did not deter us The guard's beat was not twenty feet from where we would do the cutting; we had decided to have air from some point. The boys near us objected to our cutting saying, some of us would be killed. We paid no attention to them and be- gan the work. We selected a plank about twelve inches wide, and with our pocket knives proceeded to cut an opening about ten by twelve inches. While one was cutting the other would watch the guard, whose beat was nearly under where we were at work. Finally we cut nearly through and notified the boys to get out, which they did in double-quick time. This left the ground clear for the guard to shoot. We procured a stout stick, and getting as far from the piece to be knocked
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out as possible, we gave it a quick, hard thrust, and ran for our lives. It was well we did, for the piece had scarcely touched the ground before the guard raised his rifle and fired at the hole in the wall. It is needless to tell you he did no dam- age, except to the barracks, as all the "Johnnies" had left, and gone where the Whang-doodle mourneth and the conscript offi- cer cometh not. We had made all our preparations for this shot, and got out of the way. Knowing old Hack-out would be around trying to find out who did the cutting, we did not venture back for several hours. We had fresh air, and did not serve our time in a dungeon under the fort, as would have been the case had we been caught.
Fort Delaware is a large fort situated on an island in Delaware Bay, just opposite Delaware City, and about 13/4 miles from the Delaware, and 21/2 miles from the New Jersey shore. Of course the water surrounding it is at all times very brackish and not at all drinkable. I remember that at one time we were forced to drink that or nothing. Drinking water used for prisoners, was hauled by a water boat from the Brandywine river to the Island and then pumped into large wooden tanks by forcing it with a small engine such as we use here for fire purposes. The tanks were very large and placed outside the barracks. Sometimes before the water could be consumed it became very hot, as there was no protec- tion from the sun. During this time, green slime, such as we see on our frog ponds, or stagnant pools of water, would often form two inches thick on the water in these tanks. Five or six faucets were placed at intervals around the bottom of these tanks from which we drew our drinking water. At one time some accident happened to the water boat, and before it could be remedied, we consumed all our drinking water, and General Scheopf, in the kindness of his heart, permitted us to use water from the reservoir under the fort. We drank this so low there would soon be none left for the garrison, and the General called a halt. Our only resort for water now was
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that in the Bay, which we procured in the following manner : We would take several canteens, and swim some distance out in the Bay, uncork the canteens, dive down as near the bot- tom as we could and permit them to fill. Thus we obtained water a little cooler than that at the surface, but just as salt. This we drank for several days, and, from its effects there was scarcely a well man among the seven thousand prisoners on the Island! This was enough to kill us, but there was an- other enemy entering the fold. We had withstood the storms of battle, the long march, and the hardships of prison life, now we were to undergo another trial. Small-pox put in its appearance, and the poor boys had to succumb to that dread disease, and many there were who found their last resting place in the State of New Jersey, far from home and kindred. The place selected to bury these poor fellows was in New Jersey, just opposite the fort. Many times have I been to the wharf where the dead were placed to be taken over, and found from eight to twenty-three dead men, all of whom had died during the preceding twenty-four hours! This was not the case only one or two days, but for many days. No doubt a scene such as this would touch the hearts of many of my youthful readers, but on us, whose hearts were hardened, it made no impression. Dead men were no rarity to us, scarce- ly a day passed that we did not see one, often one hundred, and sometimes thousands! What man could behold these sights and not become callous where even the dead were con- cerned? So dead to fear had we become, I believe if dead bodies had been piled as so many railroad sills to the height of six feet, an old Reb would not hesitate, in order to get off the damp ground, to spread his blanket and oil-cloth on the pile and sleep as quietly and as peacefully as any of my readers do now in their feather beds!
The barracks at the Fort were built in a hollow square with a sally-port on two sides; leading to these was a plank walk-way three feet wide. These were used by the prisoners
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to keep out of the mud, which consisted of a black, slimy, salty substance, in which it would not do to walk barefooted. Remember, not one in a hundred of these seven thousand had shoes on their feet, and any who ventured in this mud with- out shoes lived to regret it. Their feet would turn blood-red, and after a few days, burst wide open, exposing the bone and sinew; intense suffering followed and many died from this cause alone.
While on the wharf one day, I purchased a water-melon and carried it in for Bob and I to enjoy. We took it out on the canal, a dirty pool of water, and then cut and ate it. We had nearly finished when a "tar heel" prisoner came along, and, eyeing the rind, he opened up as follows: "Say, mister, can't you give me that ar rind for a sick man?" We told him no, we did not wish to kill the sick man. For fear that he would eat it if left on the bank, we put our muddy feet all over it, and threw it in the canal. We went off a little way and watched him Soon he procured a stick, fished out the rind and ate the last bit of it.
Our stay at Fort Delaware was now fast drawing to its close. For several days the rumor had been afloat that we would soon be exchanged and sent back to Dixie. During the month of October the names of seventeen hundred prison- ers were taken, as we thought for exchange. Among this number was Partin, Miller, Foster, Reggin, and myself. Early one morning we were placed aboard the transport steamer, "Philadelphia," weighed anchor, and steamed out of the bay. The men were packed like sardines in a box. ยท When we struck old ocean many became deathly sick. I need not tell you what they did; if you have ever been sea- sick you know. The steamer was short of hands and, not knowing what else to do, I volunteered, and took a hand at hauling the lines. This gave me the privilege of the upper deck among the sailors. I had some green-backs and very soon bought from one of the sailors a quart of good old
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rye. You bet I was now in the swim in good earnest. I went below where Hootsy and Partin were, and offered them a smell out of the quart. They refused, saying they had more in their stomachs than they could contain. I thought so too after hearing them call "york" a few times. We had a very rough passage. The boys did not seem to mind it much as we were "gwine back to Dixie." Alas for our hopes, the Yanks had fooled us. They were merely transferring us from one prison to another! One morning about light, the old transport came to anchor, and we found ourselves in the Potomac river just off Point Lookout, Maryland. Here we disembarked, and, after being searched from head to foot, as at Fort Delaware, were placed in the bull pen and again took up prison life. The place selected for this prison is on a point of land between the Potomac river and Chesa- peake Bay, known as Point Lookout, Maryland. This prison differed from Fort Delaware in many respects. There was no fort or barracks. The prison consisted of a number of acres of land between the river and the bay. These acres were enclosed by a straight up and down fence about sixteen feet high. Near the top of this fence was a parapet on which the guards were stationed, say every twenty feet apart. Near the main gate was a battery of artillery so placed as to comb the entire camp with grape and cannister should it become necessary to do so. The prison was laid off nicely by streets, along which tents were erected, in which from ten to twenty Rebs were placed for shelter. The boys were formed into companies and divisions. Ours was company B, division seven. Roll was called night and morning to see if any Johnnie had, by hook or crook, made his escape. At meal times each man fell in with his own company and marched to the mess hall where he got his cup of hot water and his hard-tack. We found to our sorrow that we could not flank rations here as at Fort Delaware. The Yanks had placed Rebs in charge of the cook-houses and, for fear of los-
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ing so fat a job, they watched us closely, thus many times we left the mess hall hungry. The drinking water here was terrible. The wells were sunk in camp, and, being between the river and bay, both of which at this point are salty, we obtained water not fit for human beings to drink. It tasted as if a quantity of Sulphate of Iron had been put in each gallon. The effect of this water on our poor old Rebs can be better imagined than described.
During November and the part of December while I was at Point Lookout the cold was intense. The winds storms coming across the bay loaded with fine snow and hail, found us poorly provided against its attacks. The boys each had but a single blanket with which to cover, and they would lie down in huddles like so many hogs in a bed, draw the blanket about them as best they could, shiver and cuss, groan and pray, until morning, when the sun, in a measure, would warm them up again. But, you ask, why didn't we keep our fires going? Let me answer you by telling you how we obtained the little fuel we had. One hundred men under guard, were permitted to leave camp by the main gate, and were marched about a mile up the point, where there was a lot of small dead pine. This the boys would break up and take as much as they could carry on their shoulders, and march back to camp. This detail of one hundred men consisted of one man from each tent, and the wood he brought back must last that tent for twenty-four hours. The Yanks may have done better after I left them, but, remember, I am giving you my personal experience. I remember being on this detail one morning, and we had all assembled at the main gate on the inside, thereby blocking the way out right much. Soon a Yankee officer, "Capt. Sides," who was on the inside, and wishing to go out, rode in among us. We being so crowded, could not open up the way fast enough for him, angered him. Without a word he drew his pistol and fired into the crowd. The Rebs scattered as best they could, and ran for
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