The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1865-01-07
The Horrors Of A nSiersO.i n ilic.

The following narrative in published in
rient Of patriot prisoners al AnderSonville,
Georgia:
The Andersonvilie prison. or stockales, i
situated in the valley, hills on each side. and
creek running through the center The
StockaIc> are formed Of longs, Sc: in the
ground touching each ether, around q sface
~ thirty-tive acres. The old stockade took
IA only ten acres ot ground, and at one time
5000 prisoners Were confined IN those ten
acres. Two lines of new stOckadcs have
been built around the old, and the prisoners
thus had q little more room. Here We were
stripped Of everything excepting shirt and
pantaioons and turned in the pen. | say pen
for there is no shetet for the prisoners save
the blue come Of heaven, and no bed but the
coll, damn. filthy ground.
This prison is kept by a German by tie
name of WertZ, q desertcr from >i.els army.
TLis Vert !yugh; ut Wilson's Creek on the
tD:on side. Ee is mos, inhuman mouster.
After we were pat in the pen, rebels would
come in and take what clothing the prisoners
hal on that was good for anything. Thus
We were stripped TO shirt and drawers. Dur
ing the operation Of stripping US, Vert
would stand by with a diaboIical look. and
crr out: "D--n the Yankee sous Of BIS !;
b5vs clean dem out ; take all dev got, d-n
en- saw men in this pen entirely naked
with the exception ola brecch Ciout, similar
to those worn By Indians. Wertz came into
the enclosure one dav and commenced swear
ing at the bows when they made rush Cor
him. but he quickly backed out. although he
had revolver in each hand. For this out
rage we go. 30 rations for one day. No oP-
por;unitv was los, by this fend in human
shape to torture us.
We were formed into de;achments Of one
Hundred men each, and numbered. Three
ordcrlies called the roll every morning, and
We all had to stand in line until roll call was
through with-abOut three hours. II a man
stepped ou; Of the ranks he lost his rstlons
for tha; day. If a man was missed out Of
camp no one got ratons until he WAS account
ID for. lfa man was gone a. roi! call. and
another answered for him. the man so ans
werin@ If detected. was put in the stocks for
twcutv-tOur hours, with no ratious. The ma
chine Is made OF two boards with holes GU;
in the side to Ii; q mans anhie. The ankle
j. placed III the lower board. and the upper
one slides down and is locked. The victim
IS then forced to lay in whatever position lie
is placed upon the ground for ,wenty-tour
hours,
Cen. The woods were fall Of hounds trained
to hunt Yankees, and scouts were cCntiuully
on the alert.
Our rations consisted Of three spooufuls Of
rlcc. :wo ounces of corn bread, and from one
to two ounces of fly-blown rlcat per day
The guards around the prison Jared little bet
ter than we. They had a pint of meal per
Gay and 4 little more meat. But theh they
had the chance Of purchasing vegetables,
which We were denied. Even had we been
allowed - purchase. we had no money. as It
had all been taken from US.
For two weeks after arrived at Anderson
vile it rained almost daily. Oh, what a hor-
rble plight our poor starved soldiers were IN.
No shelter, no covering, warm days, cold
nights; we were forced to lay upon the ground
like hogs. We were even denied fire. Some
OF the bows who had contrivcd to smuggle i'll
money. would give two and three dollars for
the privilege Of elping to carry out a dead
man. in order to pick up a stick Of wood. if
possible. Ayd then our poor, dead, starved
soldiers, what horrible looking sights: perfect
skeletons. nor a particle Of flesh upon them
and the skin dried upon the bones, resem
bling skeletons / have seen in doctors Offices.
Our men in this pen died mostly OF starva-
ton.
Men would 90 down 10 the creek az nlSht
after water, and Law down and die. have
| seen them scoop out q hole in the ground and
| get into it al night and in the morning there
would be no life in the skeleton who laid
! there.
There were men here who had been in
prison for sixteen months black with dirt
and exposure, and covered with sores and
vermin. BY the prison records, several of
which | saw, l2.S00 to l3,000 had died since
the establishment OF the Andersonyiile saugh-
ter pen. And this is only q new prison,
built. think. this year, 1864.
About ten feet from the stockade there is a
railing. called the dead line. Any of the
prisoners touching this line, were immediate.
" shot: the guard or sentinel so shooting a
prisoner receive thirty days f!lrlough. !
have seen our poor disheastened starved BOYS
walk deliberately up to the " dead line,' and
get shot, in order to be relieved from their
suffering. As near as could ascertain from
one to two hundred died daily.
The boys would make little ornaments o.
bone, and trade them to the guard for po
tatoe or two, or little meal. A haversaci
full of potatoes was called bushel, ant
cost fifteen dollars.
The prison guards were conscripts, ant
most of them professed to be Union men,
They would sometimes let the prisoners es
cope, but they vsre invariably caught h]