Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1865-11-02

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ed graveyard into fit place OF lntermeent
for the Nations gallant dead.
At the entrance the works National
Cemetery, Andersonville, Ca" designated
| the City of the Dead.
On the morning of .he 18th of August,
at sunrise, the stars and stripes were hoist
ed in the center of the cemetery, when
national salute was fired, and several ma
tional songs sung by those present.
The men who accompanied me, and to
whom am indebted for the early compile
ton of my mission, worked zealously and
faithfully from early in the morning until
late at night, although suffering intensely
! from the effects of heat. Unacclimated as
they were. one after another was taken
sick with the fever incident to the country,
and in a brief period my force of mechanics
was considerably lessened, obliging me to
obtain others from the residents in different
parts of the State All my men, however,
recovered, with the exception of Mr.. Eddy
Watts, letterer, who died on the 10Th of
July of typhoid fever, after sickness OF
three weeks. | brought his body back
with me, and delivered it to his family in
this city.
Several of the United States Cavalry,
detailed by Gen. Wilson, died OF the same
fever, shortly after joining their command
at Macon
Andersonvlle is situated on the South
Western Railroad, 60 miles from Macon.
there is but one house in the place, except
those erected by the so-called Confederate
Government as hospitals, officers quarters,
and commssary and quartermasters' build
ngs. 1t was formerly known as Anderson,
but since the war the willie" has been added.
The country is country is covered mostly
with pines and hemlocks, and the soil is
sandy, sterile and unfit for cultivation,
aud, unlike the section of country few
miles north and south of the place, where
the soil is well adapted for agricultural
purposes, cotton as well as corn is exten-
sively raised
1t is said to be the most unhealthy part
of Georgia, and was probably selected as
depot for prisoners on account OF this
fact. At midday the thermometer in the
shade reaches frequently 10, deg and in
the sun the heat is almost unbearable.
The inhabitants Of this sparcely settled
locality are with few exceptions, of the
most ignorent class, and from :heir hag-
gard and sallow faces the effects of chills
and fever are distinctly visible.
The noted prison pen is $40 feet long
and $50 feet wide and contains u acres.
The dead line is II feet from the stockade,
and the sentry boxes are 80 yards apart.
The inside stockadc is Is feet high, the
outer one II feet high, and the distance be-
tween the two is 100 feet.
Nothing has been destroyed. As our ex-
hausted, emancipated and enfeebled sol
diers left it, so it stands to-day, as monu-
ment to an inhumanity unparalleled in the
annals of war.
How men could survive as we'll 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 cover
ing, is wonderful.
The ground is filled with the holes where
they had burrowed in their efforts to shield
themselves from the weather, and many a
poor fellow, i'll endeavoring to protect him
self in this manner, was smothered to death
by the earth falling in upon him.
very worthy man has been appointed
Superintendent of the grounds and cemetery,
with instruction to allow no buildings or
structures of whatever nature to be de-
stroyed, particularly the stockade surround
ing the prison pen.
The stories told of the suflerings of our
men, while prisoners here have been sub
stanciated by hundreds, and the skeptic
who will visit Andersonville even now. and
examine the stockade, with its oozy sand,
the cramped and wretched burrows, the
dead-line and the slaughter house, must be
a callous observer indeed if he is not con-
vinced that the miseries depicted at this
prison-pen are no exaggerations.
| have the honor to be, General, your
obedient servant JAMES NJ MOORE.
Captain and Assistant Quartermaster, Z. S. A.