The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1863-02-11
A Tenneaaean a. Camp pourla,.


tied Camp Douglas, recently, near that
city, and gives an interesting account Of
an interview which be bad with a Ten
nsssee prisoner:
ale was, probably. about forty-fve
years OF age, but was 90 tmaciated that
Is was difficult TO say within five or six
years, what his age really was. His face
was as CHASTITY as that Of a corpse, aud
tho terror of il was heightened by the
contrast which struggling black beard
flung over its lineaments. The forehead
was high and broad, but retreating, and
his sunken eyes were black, but luster-
less. he wore a sort Of cape cloak, lined
with rusty red, and almost threadbare.
His pants, which were tights, and fitted
him like second ska, were of the greas-
lest description. His shirt was Of the
dirtiest, and two or three small keys and
other tfifies were suspended from his
neck. He had only one boot, and his
right foot was encased in a list slipper.
We have been thus precise in enumerat-
ing this persons wearing gear because he
turned out 10 be better dressed than nine
tenths Of the prisoners IA e@mP.
"'Well,' said the General, kindly, what
is il you would say to me ? He reblied
in mild and subdued voice, that he was
very anxious to take the oath Of alIegi-
auce and return 10 his friends rs there
any chance for me General ? he added,
and the reply was that no answer could
be given TO him at present. Bot could
not be set at liberty on parole P he in
quired, with look of great anxiety
and the General gave him the same re-
ply which he had given him Just before.
The man looked terribly woe-begone at
this destruction of his hopes, aud then
asked permission to say something about
the prisoners treatment. by all meansl
was the rejoinder. Il want all the pris-
oners TO be kept warm, and we'll fed, and
treated as kindly as is consistent With
military discipline. Let me hear what
you have to say The only complaint
he replied, which or any Of the boys
can make is, that we are without blank
cts, and that we are not allowed suiii-
cient fuel. We have plenty to eat and
good coffee TO drink, and are kindly
treated by the officers, but we suffer from
cold
"'Yery well,' said the General, Il will
see to these matters personally, and have
already done all | can at present to OBJ
tain blankets for the Lien. You will
haveihem soon, and | will see that you
have plenty of fuel
"This prisoner was, like many others
in the camp, a native Of West Tennessee.
He was very respectful, and seemed
broken down in pluck and health. We
asked him whether he Joined the South
ern army Of his own free will, or whether
he was forced into the ranks. He was
not exactly forced be said, but the pres
sure of public opinion was so great that
enlistment was almost an act Of compul-
sion, and he said that more than half the
Confederate army was raised in this
manner. We asked him whether the
mass of the Southern soldiery were real
ly aware for what they were called upon
to fight. Hereplied, Very few of them
The newspapers and demagogues had
crammed them with the most airocious
lies about the policy and objects of
President Lincoln, and the feeling of the
North toward the South. I'VE were told
he said, that you wanted TO conquer us,
and turn all our slaves adrift, and en-
courage them to deeds of dreadful inhu-
manity--to rape and murder, and fire,
these statements deceived the people, who
knew no better than they were told, and
they enlisted to fight the North, as their
deadliest and most implacable enemy
Well said we, do you find the
Northern men such monsters as they
were represented TO you?
No. he replied, and if it were pos
sible for the real truth to be made known
to the Southern army, there would be an
outburst there which neither JEFF. Davis
nor Beauregard could put down in a
hurry.
Now, this short dialogue is not re
ported in the exact words which the
prisoner Used, but the spirit and pith of
it are truthful renderings.
"The camp was dry and toll
erably clean, aud there was an air of
hustle and activity over the whole scene.
We found the mess room-and our ac-
count of this must stand for the whole
not very comfortable, and a scraper and
broom would have improved the floor
Some thirty prisoners were ranged around
the fire, or its immediate neighborhood,
and two Of them were superintending
the cooking for the mess, which consists
Of sixty men. Piles of hams and beef
aud bread loaded one end Of the long
pine tables, which reached from one end
of the room to the other; the cups, cook
ing pots and pans were also there, and
the smell Of the reeking viands was par
ticularly inviting. But the menl What
a squslid wornout sickly batch of human
beings they were. Il-clad, dirty, COW
cred with vermin, and many of them
much out of health. We were panied 10
see so much ignorance, amounting TO an
almost absolute barbarism. Among
these poor misguided fellows, we found
but two persons capable of converting
at all, and the rest stood round us and
these, with a vacant stare, aud mouths
open, wearing an aspect Of appalling
ignorance.
"The prisoners in camp represent all
the States in the Confederacy. One old
man especially interested Us. He asked
us pitiiullY. ii he could not get HE lib
erty and go home TO die. He was sixty
eight years old, and in the grip OF death
when he spoke TO us. Some of the men
had the hardest possible rigging on.
One was barefoot, aud all were dirty in
the extreme"