Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1862-04-23
G. Communicated.
An Hour Among the Prisoners at Fort
Douglas

at Chicago, party of Honorable Legisla- |.
tors left Madison, post-haste, for that place, /
to satiate their curiosity in beholding
bodily, and from eye to eye those chival- /
ric sons of the South they had 'hcard in
tale so much about" With their minds |
set IN advance upon store of valuable in
formation to be found in such an enter
prise; and how they would dispose of it to
the Committee on Federal Relations and
on Public Safety, for the good of the
country and fully conscious of the digni-
ty and rcctitude of their positions, thev
approached the guard at the gate cf Camp
Douglas, and, in the name of the great and
sovereign State of Wisconsin they repre-
sented, demanded admittance The sen
tinel, well nigh orercome from the YER
bosity and awe-inspiring demeanor of the
august personages before him; but recol-
lecting his instructions, (Which exclude all
civilians unprovided with pass from the
commandant of the post he rallied his
recuperative energies and more breath to
say that he could n t see il" This un-
expected announcement completely pros
trated our Solons, who silently and with
dropping heads = the types of injured in
nocence = turned their backs upon the
guard and forthwith departed the Garden
City While your correspondent, in the
street car on the way to the Camp, was
contemplating this melancholy reminis-
cence ne was hailed by genteel-looking
man, dccently dressed and apparently of
/ civil manners mutual denouement
revcale him as a Wisconsonian, and -
strange coincidence "A member of the
/ House, VINO had made the trip to Chicago
expressly to see the Secesh prisoners
/ With sly wink Of the eye he proceeded
to tell me that, warned by the fate Of his
hapless colleagues, ne had been careful to
get certificates from all the State officers,
of his official, as well as from the Mayor
and Chief Of Police Of Madison, Of his pr-
vate character which he conceived suf-
ficiently strong TO open the gates of h-ll
itself for him the correctness of which
assertion your CORES spondent, with a civil
bow, ,concurred in When last saw nv leg
islative friend, hc was inside the Camp,
mont crowd Of Dixie gentry, cxpata-
ting upon the exccllencies of a system of
! politics tAet I.ai ,.Ae-da him a IogisIator
Through the kindness of Captain in
the 53rd foot," whose name | regret to
have forgotten, | was furnished with an
excellent and attentive guide, in the per
son Of a Sergeant in said Captains Com
pany, whose name, too has passed from
my memory The first barracks | entered
were occupied by the Tenth Tennessee,
+ (Iri>hl Here saw on their hunks pieces
OF carpet. of all conceivable shades and
patterns from Brussels down to rag, an
swering for blankets. The men, ike all
Irishmen, looked tough and healthy, and
readily responded to my inquiries. They
came principally from Nashville. are most
ly men of families, and right heartily
wished themselves back. To my question,
if they woIld again fight against the gov
ernment, if at liberty to do so one of them
answered, that they fought for waigis, be
.jabers. and, as an act of good faith, in
tended to stand by their contract An
/ 9th, =, alarmed at this bold declaration of
his comrade, corrected him by saying, he
supposed they would be compelled to fight
if they were exchanged. Foreigners tho
they were and many of them but recently
from their native land, as their fresh and
pure Irish brogue betrayed, they still par
took in n large measure Of the strong feel
ing | found to exist among nearly all the
prisoners against the North and her pco-
+ pie. This, Of course, excludes. the exist
ence Of any Union sentiment among them
Let me here pronounce all newspaper ac-
counts to the contrary false Having
made it a special purpose of my visit to as
/ certain the rea sentiments of the prison
ers, and having taken great pains to ac
complish that purpose | am prepared to
say that, excepting portion of West Vir
ginians, who, openly and with apparent
sincerity professed a Union feeling, the
entire complement of prisoners is hope
/ lessly and unalterably welded to the cause
Of Secession. That they are all ready to
cake the oath of allegiance, | might not
question; but, rest assured, their willing
ness for it is not founded in any Union
patriotism, but rather in an anxiety to re
turn to their home and friends.
| next visited the other Tennessee and
Virginia, and Alabama and Mississippi
prisoners, in succession. As a body, they
present a respectable appearance, though
they were poorly clad. and The effrcts of
change Of climate were plainly visible up
on them, / have, indeed, seen many fine
looking men among them, whom | found
to be candid and civil in their answers 20
my questions On the other hand | en-
eountered some bad characters. One of
those, a Fennessean, got terribly wrathy
al me Tor not seeing the analogy bet' cen
their cause and that of 70, after he made