American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1865-10-25


hoisted in the Genre of the cemetery,
when national salute was fired and sew
eral national songs sung by those pres
ent. The men who accompanied -me,
and to whom l am inebted for the early
completion of my mission, worked ZEAL
-ously and faithfully from early in the
morning until late at night, suffering In
tensely from the effects of the heat. Un-
acclimated as they were, one after anoth-
er was taken sick with fever, and after
brief period, my force of mechanics
was considerably lessened, obiigng me
to obtain others from the residents Of the
different parts of the State All mymen
however, recovered, with the exception
Of Mr.. Eddy Watts, who died on the
10th of July, of typhoid fever, after an
illness of three weeks [ brought his
body back with me ana delivered IL to
his family in this city Seeefal Of the
United States cavalry, detailed by Gen'l
Wilson, died of the same fever shortly
after joining their commands ut Macon.
Andersonville is situated on the South
western Railroad, sixty miles from Ma
con There is but one house in the
place except those erected by the social
ed Confederate Government as houses for
officers headquarters. 1t was. formerly
known as Anderson, but siace the war
the " Vile" has been added. The coun-
try is covered mostly with pines and hem
locks, and the soil is sandy, sterl and un
| fit for cultivation, and unlike the section
of the country but few miles north and
south Of the place, where the soil is vel
adapted for agricultural purposes, and
cotton as well as corn is extensively rais-
ed. 1t is said to be the most unhealthy
part of Georgia, and was probably select
cd as a depot for prisoners on account Of
this fact At mid day che thermometer
in the shade reaches frequently 110ade
grees, and in the sun the heat is almost
/ unbearable
The inhabitants of this sparsely settled
locality, are with few exceptions Of the
most ignorant class ana from their hag-
CARED and sallow faces the effects Of chill
and fever are visible ....
The noted prison pen is III feet long
and $50 feet wide, and contains 27 acres
The dead line is II feet from the stock
ade, and the sentry boxes are 30 yards
apart The inside stockade is is feet
high, the outer one is II feet high, and
the distance between the two is one hun
dred and twenty feet. Nothing has been
destroyed. AS our exhausted and feeble
soldiers left it so. Itstands to-day as a
monument to an iuhumsnity unparalleled
in the annals of war. How men could
survive as well as they did in this pen,
exposed to the rays Of an almost tropical
sun by day and drenching dews by night,
without the slightest covering, is wonder.
full. The ground is filled with the holes
where they burrowed, in their efforts to
shield themselves from the weather, and
many poor fellow in ehdeavoring to
protect himselfi in this manner was smoth
cred to death by the earth falling in up,
on them. A very worthy man has been
appointed superintendent of the grounds
and ceInetry with Instructions to allow, nc
buildings or structures of whatever ma.
ture to be destroyed, particularly thai
blockade surrounding the prison PEN
The stories told of the sufferings of oul
men while prisoners here have been sub
stantiated by hundreds, and the skeptiC
who will visit Andersonvills even now and
examine the stockade, with its oozy sane
soil, the cramped and wretched burrows
the dead lire and the slaughter house
must be careless observer indeed, if ht
is not convinced that the misegies depict
ed of this prison-pen are no eNaggcra
tions, aEl ~
l have the honortobe Cen, your ODD
servant (Signed) Jas. NJ Moore
M Capt and A. @ NJ. [ 80