Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1862-12-31
Correspondence Of the Philadelphia Bulletin,
Horrors of the Convalescent Camp.

.Convalescent Camp at Alexandria, having |
spent the day in search Of sick Pennsyl-
yana soldiers. More than ever do res
aliza something of mans inhumanity to
man You may have heard a good deal
abuut the abuses in that camp; but the
half has not been told you. The treat,
ment and condition of some Of its inmates
some Of its Nctims-is positively shock
ing.
Going out from Alexandria passed the
notrious slave pen Of Price, Birch & Co.,
dealers in Slaves Icoujured up all sorts
Of horrors inside of those high brick walls
in day, gone by. | imagined, or tried to,
something of the crushed spirits and bleed.
ing hearts and the physical torture Of the
thousands ofhuman beings, oldand young,
knocked off to the highest bidder in the
souls and bodies Of men, women ana chilr .
dren in that dark, dirty prison place. But .
coming back by it after one days visit to
that camp in the mud, after looking into
the wan spiritess, pitiiul faces of the
thousands there, who have hoped against
hope, till all courage is lost, and seeing
where they eat, and s.. ep, and live, or IA,
lher die by inches, in the filth, and yer,
min, and mire of that place provokingly
nicknamed 'Conga,saeepi Camp con- +
cluded that the old slave pen Of 80 many
actual and imaginary horrors, would be q
coveted luxury to many Of the brave, !
good>hearted fellows on the hill And 50
it would.
In the first place the whole bleak, bar
rem hill on which the camp is located is
this day covered in many places with
sticky mud, when we have had no rain
for a week. In stormy times one can't
fail to 20 in ankle deep at every step
The SiLley tents are huddled 'ogether
without floors or straw. Ditch the soil as
you will and it is damp if not soaking wet.
This is the convalescent's bed. II he has
a blanket wLioa isn't always the case,
that i, his covering. His fuel he brings on
his back two or three miles, having to
taket the limbs cut last winter al that point.
saw at least dozen carrying their bun
dies Of sticks thus to-day, like the old man
in the child story, who was met by death
on the way. And yet saw at least twen-
ty cords of good dry wood piled up in
camp! asked one in charge why they
did this, and he thought they didn't
thought it wasn't ncceSsary-yet | saw 1t,
and it is done every day. be papers
have said that several men fro1e to death
in one cold night while thus engaged
lie said but he had died by his pile Of
sticks, and they thought he was murder
ed; one was found in the privy, but they
didn't think he iroze TO death! Heaven
| ly consolation to his friends that will be,
won't it? asked the boys why they had
TO back wood when there was wood in
camp? They said they got part OF stick
from some under officer tocook their food
sometimes, and sometimes they didn't
never half enough for cold weather. |
asked why they didn't cut clump Of
timber standing half mile or more from
camp. They said thst it was guarded, and
the guards had orders to fire on a trespoS'
ser--that few of them got some rails one
cold night and a guard of soldiers cooked
their guns and compelled US to abandon
them.
saw two mer washing their shirts in
creek two miles away-the nearest good
washing place. | asked them if they be-
longed to the convalescept camp. One
replied mo- we belong to. the Death camp
49, and believe himl heard an assists
ant surgeon say that a young soldier Of
bis ward was then lying in his tent on the
ground, with a raging fever and had been
for twenty four hours, because he had no
vacant bed in the hospital. | remarked
that such q state of things ought to be exN
posed. Ho replied, you can't say too
much against the abuses here or make
them as bal as they are. But we (the
Assstants} are Got to blame we do all
we can; we have no power | tried to
have passes issued IL few friends who
have been there since Juiy. to te e&amin'
ed, He couldn't do it-said more passes
were out then than could be examined in
three days. lie and other Assistants had
been prohibited from examining and spe-
cial board OF three had beer appointed
On their door was written. NO business
done tosday nor till Monday by which
time a dozen cases or more will have pas
sed into the other world for examination
They were probably of to Washington
having good time they never work
but three or four hours day. l heard a
gentleman telling member OF Congress
from Ohio who was there, that he had