Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1864-05-26

. hands TO o system of trestmeu
: which has resulted in reducing man,
3 Of thoseiwho have survived and beer
:. permitted to return to us to q condi
a ton, both physically and mentally
/, which no language we can use car
!. adequately describe, Though near
ly all the patients now in the Naya
Academy Hospital, at Annapolis
and in the West Hospital at Balti
more, have been under the kindesi
. and most intelligent treatment for
about three weeks past. and many
= of them for greater length Of time;
still they present literally the appear
ance Of living skefetoas-many of
them being Lothibg but skin and
bone. Some of them are MANNED
for life, from being exposed to the
inclenency of the winter season on
Belle lIsle--being compelled to lie
upon the bare ground without tents
or blankets, some of them without
overcoats or even coats, with but
little fire to mitigate the severity of
the wind and storms to which they
were exposed. sri L -s-i & =
| The testimony shows that the gen.
eral practice of their captors was to
rob them, as soon as they were taken
prisoners, of all their. money, valua-
bles, blankets and good clothing for
which they received nothing in ex-
change, except perhaps, some cid
worn-out rebel clothing, hardly bet
ter than none at all. Upon their ar
rival at Richmond they have been
confined, without blanket or other
covering, in buildings without fire,
or upon Belle Isle, in many cases
with no shelter, and in. Others with
nothing but discarded army tents,
SO injured by rents and holes as. to
present but little barrier to the wind
and storms On several occasions
the witnesses say they have risen in
the morning from their restingplaces
upon the bare earth, and found sew
eral of their comrades frozen to
death through the night; and that
many others would have met the
same fate had they not walked rap.
idly lack and forth through the hours
which should have been DEVOTED to
sleep, for the purpose of retaining
sufficient warmth to preserve life
In respect to the food furnished to
our men by the rebel authorities, the
testimony proves that the ration of
each man was hardly sufficient in
quantity to preserve the life of a
child, even had it been of proper
quality, which it was not 1t con-
sisted, usually, at the most, of two
small pieces of corn bread, made in
many instances, as the witnesses say,
of corn and cobs ground together,
and badly prepared and cooked; of
perhaps two ounces of meat, usually
of poor quality, and unfit TO be eaten;
and occasionally few black, worm
eaten beans, or something of that
kind. Many of our men were COM
PEELED to sell to their guards and 9TH
ers, for what price they could get,
such clothing and blankets as they
were permitted to receive and have |
furnished for their use by our Gov
ernment, in order to obtain sufficient
food to sustain life; thus, by endea-
yoring to avoid Que privation, reduc-
ing themselves to the same destitute
condition, in respect to clothing and
covering, as they were in before they
received any from our Government
When they became diseased and
sick, in consequence of this exposure
and privation, aud were admitted
into the hospital, their treatment was
little if any improved, as to food,
though they doubtless suffered less
from exposure to cold than before
Their food still remained insufficient
in quantity and altogether unfit in
quality. Their diseases and wounds
did not receive the treatment which
the commonest dictates of humanity
would have prompted. One witness
whom your committee examined,
who had lost all the toes of one foot,
through being frozen on Belle Isle,
states that for days at time his
wounds were not dressed, and that ,
they had not been dressed for four !
days when he was taken from the ,
hospital and carried on the flag of ,
truce boat for Fortress Monroe In ;
reference to the condition to which d,
our men were reduced by cold and
hunger, your committee would give !
the following extracts from the tes- ,
timony: ... .--
One witness testilies-.I had no {
blankets until our Government sent {
us some 1
Question-'How did you sleep be- t
fore you received those blanketsT
Answer-'We used to get together
just as close as we could, and sleep
spoon fashion, so that when one turn
ed over, we all had to turn over
Another witness testifes: :
Questiou--'W ere you hu-gry all I
the timer 5l. f-1fs I,.- !
Answer-'Hungry! / could eat
in the world that came be- !,
fore us. Some OF the boys would I,
get boxes from the North with meat :
of different kinds in them, and after /,
they had pi cked the meat off, they |,
would throw the bones away into the !
spit-boxes, and we would pick the ,
bones ont of the snit- hoxaa and