Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1865-09-08

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than oppearsnces now indicate.
AN, very respectfully, ~
Your Obedient Servant,
~R ''-s THOMAS II. BENTON, j.
worthy SOlA1er Terribly AFFLICTED. 4
In one Of the rooms at Benton Barracks
il lying on his cot wounded officer, who
IL afflicted IN q manner worse than II seems
possible for humanity to endure and sur
| vivc. His name is Capt Charles r. John
son formerly Of the 18th Iowa Infantry.
In the first battle of Jackson, Mississip
pi, May 14th, 1868, Capt. johnson, while
leading his men in terrible charge wss
struck " . Minnie ball, which passed
plumb through his bbdy. The bullet IN
its course passed through 10th hips ante
| M 20 tfc sacr,lm, wounding the rdctnm
| so that the contents Of the bowels have,
until quite recent period, passed out both
openings Of the wound. Ever since, the
nature Of his wounds required him to lie
fiat on his stomach, face downwards. In
this painful position he passes away
the long and weary horfs of day and
night.
What added to the intensity of his suffer
ings was the inhuman manner in which he
was banged about and treated for weeks
aifer receiving his injuries by the rebels,
into whose hands hc had the n,isfoiun
to fall atterthc battle. He remained in
jackson four weeks and was then shipped
on II cattle Ear, deprived of medical assist
ancc, to Atlanta, Ga where he remained
in captivity among the heathens until
the place was captured by Gen. Sherman.
The narrative Of what the Captain saw
a,,l r.lt ,.,l., ~.,oH1A =
tercsting volume Some OF the incidents
that he relates almost cause the hair to
stand on end. He was paid off, the day
before he was taken prisoner, all the money
due him from the Government, which was
| 5000. This money and his gold watch
were taken from him by a Jew named Bess
This robber Shylock said he took the arti
| Giles by order Of d. w. Yandcll, of Louis
vile, Ky.
Next a rebel officer whose name singu
larly enough, was Capt. Charles T. John
son, the same as his, came upand demanded
his sidcarms; he came in from the 18th
Louisiana The rebel officer demanded of
the Union officer his name, and on tue lat
ter telling him, he said-sNo josfc now,
that's my name" The Union officer would
rather let the rebel bear his side-arms than
his name.
At length, after weary months of impIis-
onment, Sherman came laundering against
the wallsOf Atlantae The screaming shells
came flying about, and some of the rebels
asked Captain johnson to retreat with
them to the caves in tho hills. No." re.
piled the prisoner Those shells are my
| best friends
As Sherman neared the city, the rebels,
who had been heretofore bosstful, arD-
giant, and insulting, began to simmer
down and behave more decent. A wretch
named Oliver H. Jones, who hung An
drcws and his party OF loyal scouts, came
to the Captain and asked him what Sher-
man would do with him if he was taken.
Hang you," said the Captain.
Jones argued that he only performed an
act of humanity. The humanity consist ed
in this When Andrews was hung up to
the limb of a tree, his toes touched the
ground, and, life, was still Not extinct =
Jones sent negro for shovel and made
him dig hole in the ground under tln
dying loyal mans feet, SO that he could
die more speedily.
The Captain said tina. as an ''act Of hui
mainly our men would hang him
tJones) to tree, the same as he did An
drews.
After the capture of Atlanta, hundreds
Of bitter rebels came TO the Captain to i'm
plore his intcrcession. in their behalf, with
General Sherman. A woman was among
the number who, at one time, when the
rebel stock was up, rushed about the rnis-
oners' quarters with a dagger, and said
she wanted to plunge it into the hearts of
the "Yanks."
1t should be mentioned that while the
Captain was Il prisoner he was attended
by his mother, who spent all her means in
getting to him through the lines. She got
a letter Of recommendation from Gov
kirkwood of Iowa, to Gen. Rosecrans
who forwarded her through the lines to
Atlanta. She arrived there in August,
1868. THIS noble mother is still attending
on her son.
Now we come to another feature of the
case 1t SO happens that Capt. johnson
was honorably discharged from the service
on the Goth Of April last, just one day be-
tore (the 21th,) when by an Act of Con.
gress, lie would have drawn three months
additional pay. He is now without any
means Of support, and not even entitled
to Government rations.
We trust that this gallant young man
who went into the service and was promot.
cd Captain three days before he was of
age, may receive some special relief either
from Congress or some other loyal source.
lie IS an excellent pehman, and has
tired to get clerkship to earn SONG
thing.
In company with Mr.. Barrett, Of the
Provost MatslEsrs ctfce we vi.ited the
Barracks last evening. We found Cant
johnson lying flat ON his belly. His I,cad