The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1862-10-30
sPEEOs. OF GEN. BEN. PRENrTs..
Life in Southern Dungeons.

sPEEUzA OF GEN. BEN PssENTass
.a Life IN Southern Dungeons. ..r.--
The OCCASION was one of una sual in terest
IRON The fact thai The gallant Gen. Ben. Prem
tiss, Col. Lynch and Capt. Gregg, Of the 58tt
| Illinois, and 'o'hcr prisoners captured on tn,
hard fought field of Shiloh We're present. anC
| had promised to address the meeting. DR.
| Brainard, War Democrat was called to preside
over the meeting and was received With hearty
enthusiasm The President briefly and appro
priately introduced Gen. Prcniis, as the first
speaker. The General came forward amid
very whirlwind of arpl4u-e. Hats were tossed
aloft, handkerchief WAY i by the ladies, anc
cheer after cheer given for the gallant hero
Few men ever received such an ovation; one
SO spontaneous So enthusiastic aud jubilant-
4 As soon as order Was restored, the Genera
spoke as follows: za % es- aU ....s
EUa ,,sE GEN. PRENTIss sPEECH. ,......, =
Ny friends, L feel tree tonight; am a,
home iu Illinois [Cheers ] | have been six
and half months Confined IN Southern dun
geo1s AS | believe by the efforts of demagogues
I North and South Applause Permit me
my friends, to place myself aud these officers
! tonight, upon the record concerning our cap
tivity.
! 1t was represented, as | have learned since
my arrival here, and as was reported previous
Iy to us in prison, that we were taken at the
BATTLE of Shiloh, on the morning of the sixth OF
April last, The true history of that battle is
| vet to be written. On the morning of the 9th
day of last April, the Sixth Division. which
| had the honor to command was in line of bat>
tie fully one quarter of mile in advance of my
camp, before the hour OF six. O'Clock perhaps
lat half past FIVE.
| We were driven from that position to the
front of our camp, at which time unfortunately
for us. some other regiment--not from Illinois,
not from Iowa, not from Missouri-left that
| field and permitted the enemy to flank us Oh our
right. We were then compelled to retire a
short distance, perhaps three to five hundred
/ yards, to the rear, taking position on the left
of Gen. Wallace and right of Gen Huribuf,
| thereby becoming the center of our army on
that day and at precisely half past nine O'Clock
1 having bssn under fire from half past O'Clock
till that time, and having witnessed hundreds
of my men 'bite the dust and. if may use
the term i'll defending our government Cheers
we took our position and held it,thsnk heaven
iuntii quarter after six in the evening [Great
applause. -.g
| Here LEI me say what 1 have not said in pub
1 lie before bus what claim the right Of saying
calm upon my Maker to witness that tell the
truth, that it is my opinion that none but the
gallant wounded @ho lay around US, and the
prisoners, who are represented here tonight
were left at that nour on that hard fought field
We remained until half past FIVE before we
moved from the line. At that hour, or just be.
fore that brave and noble soldier Gen. Wal
lace, fell. had been comforting with HIM on
IlY few minutes before he went down in the
> fight. We had determined to hold our position
we determined to sustain our government; WE
determined there to save the army of Genera
Grant. l think we did it. My officers think we
did it. I care not what others may think
/ Loud applause. f..s.a4 ..,..sy
! And now will give you brief history of ou
lioumeyings, of our imprisonment Before dt
this, if you have any tendrr-footed Union me,
here / want to see them tonight Great and
prolonged applause You may be excusable TO
some things, but in the name of heaven, can yol
refuse to believe your countrynlen returning
from the Southern PRISONS jaded with suffering
and wrecked in constitution say for to-
night, | am but the wreck of a once healthy
robust man. made so by six months close con
inen,ent in Southern prisons dungeons
We were taken from the battle field AM
. that body of men among whom, ladies', wer
: perhaps some of your brothers. wounded, sore
bleeding, were marched % miles through an,
over the worst and toughest road that ever mer
were compelled to march; not having eater
anything since the break of day om, hs ever
to aforementioned Sabbath, the sixth o! April
When we had dragged ouIseve- over thai mud
DIV and rugged 90 miles were compelled f
take cattle cars at Cot'nh aid hurried ava,
;, through raging storm buddled together like
}, flock of sheep. Had il not been that the me-
had in their possession some knives with whc
e e to cut holes through those box cars to admi
the air, they would have suffocated
We were takeu to Memphis arriving Their
: on Tuesday, and there we were met by an i'm
- mense crowd OF people cheering for the victor
of the rebel army The men were not fed tha
night. We were taken tp the Citv Hall.
must be brief. In that hall were the poor so
diers, who in vain had asked for food and bep
ged for water, crowded toget. err 1920 of d
A in one building, half starved Remember
was Tuesday night and nothing TO eat sine
- Sunday morning.
q Wednesday morning came / had been e.
re deavoring to get these men some food. l cal
r. ed upon the colonel commanding the post, to
him the condition of the men, and demande
food It could not be had. Thank heaven
Union man was found who furnished MS son
: Icrackers. [Cheers.] l went from the room
- which was confined, into that immense ha
with all those wounded soldiers lying upon q
floor-no blankets, no surgecns-Ho medic
assistance | noticed at one end of the hall II
Goddess of Liberty. mounted the table, crr
~ ing out Boys, rise to your feet all that ca
- stand up aud sing the glorious old Star Spa
30 gled Banner" Great enthusiasm We sal
it, and then "Columbia the Gem of the Ocean
n- The citizens were running. thinking that '
ro had broken loose, or were trying to. Th
NJ concluded it was better to get US out of Mer
phis, put US on the cars and started us south
NJ suffice it to say, it required some four days
in take us to Mobile-making nenagere Of :,
as We passed along-giving notice at each 81
; ton. 1000 Yankee prisoners coming! tax,
: at Shiloh" They had magnifed our numbt
from 1900 to 1000.
>, At Mobile we were placed upon trauspol
and sent 10 Northern Alabama The Office
were separated from the private soldiers =
we're sent to the town of Talladega-a We
pleasant place. with good water, splendid seer
~ and hospitsble people living there, 1 .
told. We did not experience any of their ht
"a pitality. 1t had been represented to me tina
was to be GENT to one of those pleasant wat,
= ing places of the south, aud would be gran
my parol until ] met townsman and perhs
~, en- old acquaintance of some of these men he
IL named Hunley no doubt known to some of tn,
tender footed Union men Of Chicago. He
ce. qui'e Have you any Chicago men with yol
answered "yes, the compliment for two cC
d panles." de remarked, ~, too have lived