Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1864-04-07
gd9ailg empire,
John MOrgaD's Brother Gives
an Account OF his Treatment
In the Ohio PenItentlary--
shocking and DIsgrRCeGuI Bar
barity TO Prisoners OF war.

HuOCAtNh Nuu DhssfAceHuA bUF~
barlty TO Prisoners OF war.
[Epm the Richmond Examiner, March i'll
A HELl ON EARTH-THE E1PERIRNoE or
a CONFEDERATE OFFICER AMONG THE Con.
ucr-DRyERs or the NoRTH-The experien,
ces OF this war have afforded maay examples
Of Yankee cruelty which have produced an
impression more or less distinct upon the en-
lghtened portions of the world But tho
statement which we proceed to give takes pre-
cedence Of all that has ever yet been nara.
ted of the atrocities Of the enemy aud II is
so remarkable, both on account Of its matter
and the credit that must naturally attach to
its authorship, that we doubt whether the So
called civilized world Of this generation has
produced anywhere any well authenticated
story Of equal horror, Hn.a MI.
The statement we give to our readers is
that we have Just taken from the lips Of Cap
tain Calvin O. Morgan, a brother Of the ia
nous General Morgan, who arrived in Rich
mond under the recent flag of truce, which
covered the return Of teveral hundred Of our
prisoners, Captain Morgan was emong those
Of his brothers expedition who, in last July,
were inearcerated inthe penitenary Of
Ohio, On entering this infamous abode,
Captain Morgan and his eompanious we're
stripped IN reception room and their naked
bodies examined there. They we're again
stripped in the interior al the prison, and
washed in tubs by negro oonvicts their
hair cut close to the scalp the brutul
Warden, who was standing by, exhorting the
negro barber TO "cut Of every d----d lock Of
their rebel hair" After these ceremonies, the
officers were locked up 10 cells, the dimensions
Of which we're thirty-eigbt inches in width,
six and half feet in length, and about the
same height In these narrow abodes our
brave soldiers were left 10 pine, branded as
ielons goaded by Convict drivers, aud in
suited by speeches which constantly remind.
ed them oi the weak and cruel neglect Of that
Government on whose behalf, after imperil-
ing their lives, they were now suffering fate
worse than death. But even these suaerings
we're nothing TO what was reserved for them
in another invention Of cruelty without a par
allel, unless in the secrets of the Internal
II appears that after General Morgans es.
cape suspicion nlighted on the Warden, Ger.
tain Captain Marion, who, it vas thought,
might have been corrupted To alleviate the
suspicion Qor which there were really no
grounds whatever) the brute commenced
system cf deyilish persecution Of the uniortu-
nate Confederate prisoner who remained ia
his hands. One part of the system was soli-
tary confinement in dungeons, These dun
geons we're close cells false door being
drawn over the grating, so as 10 exclude light
and mir The food allowed the occupants Of
these dark and noisome places was three
ounces Of bread and half pint of water per
day. The four walls were bare Of everything
but wRtor,buckGl for the necessities Of nn.
| ture, which was left for days 10 poison he air
the prisoner breathed. He was denied a
blanket deprived Of his oyercoat IL be had
one, and left standing or stretched with four
dark cold walls around him, with not room
enough TO walk in TO keep up the circulation
Of his blood stagnated with the cold, and the
silent and unntterable horrors of his abode.
Confinement in these dungeons was the
| Wardens sentence for tha most trivial often
ses On one occasion nne Of our prisoners
was thus mmured because he refused 70 tell
| Marion which one Of his companions had
whistled contrary to the prison rules. But
the most terrible visitation Of this demons
displeasure occurred not more than six weeks
ago.
Some knives had been discovered IN the
prisoners cells, and Marion accused the oceu.
pants of meditatng their escape. Seven o.
them, all officers, and among them Captain
Morgan, we're taken TO the west end Of the
building and put in the dark cells there. They
were not allowed n blanket or overcoat, and
the thermometer was below zero There was
no room 10 pace. Each prisoner had 10 strng-
gle for life as tho cold benumbed him, by
stamping his feet, beating The walls, now
catching fen inmates OF horrible sleep on
the cold loob aud then starting up to con-
iinue, in the dark, his wrestle for life
81 had been suffering from heart diseake
says Captain Morgan. ut was terribly az.
grayaled by the cold and horror Of the dun-
geon in which was placed had wet tow
el, one ahd Of whichi pressed TO my side; the
other would freeze and had 10 put It's frozen
folds on my naked skin. | stood this way all
night pressing the frozon towel to my side
and keeping my fact going up and down.
felt | vas struggling for life,
Captain Morgan endured this confinement
for eighteen hours, and was taken out barely
Nliya The other prisoners sndAred il ior sis.
teen days and nights In this time they we're
visited atdifferent periods by the physician OF
the Penaentiary--D Loyins-who fell their
pulses and examined their conditions, 10 as.
certain how long life might hold out under the
! exActing torture Rwaa awful, this ceremony
Of torture, this medical examination OF the
victims The tramp OF the prisoners feet, up
aud down, (there was no room 10 walk, J a.
I they thus worked for life, was necessarily 20
4 Ing on. This black lread.mill Of the dungeon
could be heard all through the cold aud dreary
/ hours of the night DR. Loving who was
com paratively humane person, besOUght Mar.
ion TO release the unhappy men said they
had already been taxed to The point Of death
! The wretch r8plied "they aid not talk fipht