St. Mary's beacon., 1861-09-26
LIFE IN FORT LAFAYETTE

Up to Friday last ehty-"ight PRISONERS
hid be n committed to Fort Lafayette,
New York harh"r o. those. nine have
been discharged al ..rious times. leaving
seventy-eight sill incsrcerat.d. The
Evening Pos: describes life ut the fort ~
follows:
The place is not so nucl prison Al il
is somewhat exclusive clearinghouse.
with sufficient y stringent rules for the
eighty ~ less borders IN the establishment
/ hese rules ar" conspicus usly placed On
the wall If Gael. room. SO that he HIp rims
may rea,,,; and the facilities for reading are
sonew bat in ajvalce of those for running.
They prescribe that the prisoners rooms
must be ready for inspection ut nine
o'clock in tho mnrhing; that washing must
DC done IN fiie .ari Ut the fort; PRISONERS
must not talk with any member of the gar
rision. but can communicate their wants
to the sergeant of the guard; they must
not leave their rho,ns unless il company
with guard; they must obey inn lici'Iy
the directions Of any member OF the guard;
and they are notified that any trlnsgrcs-
Sion will be- punished hy solitary conine-
ment, or suck othcr restrictions as may he
NECESSARY to strict enforcement Of the
lruics
! There is nothing specially stringent
about these rules. The prisoners must
aud mus, not do certain things. but they
are allowed many privileges. Those who
are together III one room Can converse
freely with each other, but they are uuti-
I'D tlsat they .uu>i not talk about the DO
lltiral affairs t! the country in the hearing
"t any member of the garrison They
. can have lights IA heir ~, nis until fstel II
minutes past Line q lock. and after that
hour noise and loud talking must cease for
the nj eht. For all ncur IL the morning
and afternoon the prisoners can promenade
about the pr, misses. (in company with n
! guard a... IT such tines can call on their
, friends ar,, : .o;; i :soncrs in the other
r"nns The doors Of the rooms are OPEN
! cd i, . A. VI, and closed at o'cipck in
the evening. Ii my DC stated that the
! !rscEers generally appreciate their privi-
! !egcs, an'. that ,n'rc have been no in
punishment
At trrt Lafayette. as elsewhere,
''nnpney,' at Faistarf says, lis GOO. SOL
,iicr." Those who have the meals for
doing so can live nearly as we'll a, Fort
Lafayette rs at ANY hotel. In one large
room, which is about sixty by fifteen feet,
| there are in less than thirty of the
! better class of prisoners. who have
! both FRIENDS and money These have
dubbed t'g"ther and nave made arrange
urnts by which their meals are furnished
TO order Their funds are deposited with
one of the officers, who acts as bursar, and
lie wife of one of the soldiers does their
catering, cooking and washing. To meet
outside bills for food. supplies, newspapers,
tobacco aud ether comforts. the prisoners
give an order on the bursar. The club
I men get n good breakfast and dinner with
moderate allowance at dinner of some
; >timulant J at cost Of about one dollar
er diem for each. They are subject to no
"xtortion of any kind, aud supplies are
| furnished at reasonable rate.
In thc morning. when the Coney Is
land boat, or first train from Brooklyn.
! arrived at Fort Hamilton, the prisoners
who have made arrangements can get all
the city morning papers, and are thus dali
ly informed of affairs in the outside world
Their correspondence only is subject to
censorship. and as has alread y been stated
lett,rs written to or hy the prisoners arc
opened and read ty the proper officer, and
the few persons who have been released
from custody have been forbidden to car
ry away any writtcL communication.
The clb-men live-well They pass
their time in reading. discussing, (au,ong
themselves) matters and things in general
and 1.-The situation" in particular and
play cards, chess and checkers by the
hour. Tobacco is not tabooed, and the
club, for large part of the day, is under
a cloud in more senses than enc.
Similar but smaller clubs have been Or
ganized in some of the other rooms. There
are few prisoners. some of the sail
ors and others. who have no money, ard
are consequently dependent upon the au-
thorities for their daily bread. These are
furnished with good and wholesome but
plain food, differing but litsle from the
rations Of the soldiers who arc their keep
ers. All have al unlimited Lookout view
of the bay and Staten Island shore. Tie
passing ships and steamers break the mon
otony Of an otherwise wearv day. The
three daily trips of the Coney Island boats
are looked for events.
There can be one opinion only of the
conduct Of Colonel Burke and his officer,
and men towards the prisoners in their
charge. The prisoners are allowed every
privilege consistent with their safe-kecp-
ing. and have no reasonable cause for com
plant. The los. of liberty u.s. of course,
the main privation, but those prisoners
who have been discharged testify that, SO
far from the imposition of any unnecessa-
ry restrictions. they were more favored
during their Incarceration than they had
any reaso" to expect when they were sent
to Fort LAFAYETTE.