New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1864-11-04

fA.
on the afternoon preceding the night fixed on for escape
an officer rode in and announced to US that the plot was
discovered and from our hrge pen we could see on the
hill above Us tho regiments Just arriving to strengthen
the guard. We had been betrayed. II was our belief
that spies were kept in the camp, which could very
easily be done.
The number in camp when LEFT was nearly thirty
Eve thousand. and daily increasing The number in
hospital was about five thousand. vas exchanged at
Port Royal Ferry, August 10th.
PRESCOTT TRACY.
Fighty.second Regiment. y. Wv.
Gin and COUNTY Of Ne,, York I'll. c. HlGGINsoN
and s. NOmoT being duly sworn, say: That the ABOVE
statement Of PRESCOTT TRACY. their ieuow.PiisoAci
agrees with their own knowledge and experience.
II. c. HIGGEsos,
Co X. Nineteenth Illinois Vols.
SYLVESTER Nomor,
Co b. Fifth NewJerscy Vols.
There is a mass OF testimony TO the treatment OF
our prisoners in Libby Prison. RiohmoRd and on Belle
Isle in the James River. showing that they plum.
dered starved frozen. and treated in almost oil respects
with unqualified cruelty.
Private JoSEPH ORDER, % East Tennessee Infantry
testfes:
In Libby my dailyrat.on was oornbFtsd-yeTy roueh.
II was not seyed-pcrty Of whole grains IN lt l~lt-
inches) Thue we hnts Glso 10 re bread as larSe
az ny tco tHg0s heTra journal Int H WIS teA'h
from moi 10 WIS 10 Tie hayelseck Had meat soma~r'
nloGt every other day, about fr0 ounfts. Tie bread
weighed from hal pound 10 three quaricra-fOr two
meu--as some u our men weighed H. could hare ~
~ nv rqfi0Hs and nv paTfaors and r0 haf ptgh % a
hcn s. IL Ras Just The Diet that made lIc ticA
the bread was not done half the time.
Everything was taken from mo bnt ny dress coat
shirt pants aud boots soIt on the toori walked many
a night 90 keep warm tnefe we're two hundred ard
fourteen men in the room sihl IN We !hl close 10
gotAer, about foot apart
went into tie hospital when 7 had tie diarrsca.
there got pea-s0up and slice - white bread sfc VI
halfmy hand. IJ0pnd bugs IN he soup that were boiled
out VI the peas. there twelve days before they
me any medicine, or told mc what Vas the matter
with me.
Private WILLIAM d. FonTR 9th Sew.York Cavalry,
tesifcs that lie was nine months at Belle isle and in
Richmond Hospital; that De bad wheat bread, almost
four inches sqrlrc no. exceeding laf ach n dick
ness a email portion Of bcef-call il Two mouthius We
had this quantity Of bread twice day, and small tE-
cupful Of bean soup Uhicl he'd black tHss 90 - Nmel
would aoat on the top We thon got corn bread about
half the size Of this Bible about - ounces WeGhDwice
a day.
Tter, rae no ac'fe or our 5Dtq4, W,ea soa' you'd
be hr0Da arsy by so'ae " ro"d De tate" Up ei'" "
oihcrs, and boiicd TO Res s0mtfAiHg out Ct e.
Private GEORGE DTGMAS, 9th Michigan who Was at
Belle Isle, testies:
saw the rations tho Rebel guards got hsy v0e four
times NJ much they rot the same kind Of bread
and meat bat lcy could help themselves out OF tie bag
Dzying JdnVdry tie men u0ud run al riglt 70 keep
nara end il he morRiHg uoUid se men lying dad
rom tire sir thy uert frozen this was
nearly oyery morning there; hle men would run
10 keep warm and then lio down and freeze 10 death
we made an estimate and found that srreeea men died
a ntPht from starvation aud cold, GrsTage
If / were TO cit here week couldn't tell you half
our suffering.
Private CHARLES Fl. ALLEN ll6th New York, tesiiGes
as to Belle Isle: "Iwas hungry pretty nearly starved
10 death all tho time"
Priv ate FRANK EICHEIDRRGER. Co A. sth Kansas
was in prison at Richmond. and tesiies as TO food
at did not satisfy hunger; ny appetite 7ds Here' salts
fed my health declined rapidly"
Private DANIEL MCMASS.,43 New. ORR. prisoner on
Belle Ise, tesiifes:
suffered from cold very much. and so did tho men
more than we had cold rain storms; s0ie nen JT01e
to death in q ditch.
II was not much better In the tents; saw men car
ried out OF the tents in blankets dad; tis
then once suppose they died mostly J'oni hanSsr and
cold.
NV guards were not hungry, for they would some.
times throw bread in TO the prisoncIs have picked up
myself It better bread than Ours not 80 coarse
saw U man Kill dog and eat part OF II, and be sold
the rest ofiti got some
Private WALTER S. SMITH. isth New York, prisoner
IN Libby, testfcs
Some laid orr 10 he saov and (roai laid on the
ground the men that laid out some had blankets and
s0rne had none; some troze do0ik many had their
feet frozen: all that slept ont suffered from cold some
in tents suffered from cold.
sau men hat had frozen TO death in The night IsaS
his seren or eisit tines.
1iayo heard men running round the tents to keep
warn al all hours Of the night; tie river was frozen
little while was there; the current is rapid.
The water Wogld freeze two or threo inches IN the
bucket at night; the main street OF the camp would be
very much filled with men lying there
Private VIZ. W. WILCOX. l2ih Ohio Volunteers. was
at Belle Isle. and test1es
There wac great deal ofstcaling Of blankets by tho
guards the men traded their blankets for Tcei the
guards voud bring rice 10 the window, from fifteen TO
twenty pounds, and offer TO exchange for our blankets
they would come 20 the windows ind say, stick your
blanket out go get hold OF the end OF then two
Of the guards would jerk the blanket away and
not give the rice; this not general thing though
was ofcl done; the motive Of the men for doing this
was, they were so near starved out that they were
ready 20 take anything the guard would pass in bags
Of sand in place OF rice and take blankets.
AFTER VIC tGnneled out We were ONLY allowed to 20 10