Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1865-11-18
MISCELLANEOUS.
The Prison Pen nt Florence.
THE srocKApE As 1T Is Yow-How OUR SOL
pIERs LrvED-cITY OF THE LIVING DEAD.


THE sTocKApE As IT Is Yow-How OUR SOL
p1ERs LIvED-cITY OF THE LIVING DEAD.
A correspondent of the Chicago 7ri5un.
writes long letter from Florence, Soutl
Carolina, describing particularly the stock
ade at that place, and its surroundings. As
the subject is one of general interest, We
make the following extracts:
FLORENCE
Is name, rather than a place--or, say, a
point at which three railroads center, rather
than town. There is hotel and church
and machine shop, and two so.called
stores, and three bar-rooms, and twenty-five
or thirty residences, and great pine forest.
There is long broad street, at one end OF
which is the hotel-a somewhat pretentious
two story wooden building, with a wide and
lofty piazza in front, and an ungainly tower
IN the centre. At the further end of the
street are the stores and the machine shop.
Midway are the apothecary's and The hos
pital, and q vacant law office. Back of this
street, in the pines, are the dwellings which
constitute the town. The three railroads
have common starting point just in front
of the hotel. Passengers from Wilmington
to Charleston reach her about seven In the
evening, and leave about three in the morn
ing, after paying two dollars each for sup
per and lodging of passably good charac-
ter. Passengers from Charleston to Will
mington reach here about the same hour,
leave at the same time, and pay the same
tax for the supper of the landlord. Those
from Columbia get supper here, and are
taxed one dollar. Those for Cheraw are
obliged to disburse three dollars for supper,
lodging, and breakfast. The town is there
fore, railroad eating house, with sleeping
rooms attached.
Situated at the intersection of the great
cross line of railroad with the great coast
line, about one hundred miles from either
Wilmington or Charleston, and about seven
ty-ive miles from either the coast or Colum-
bia, 1t was peculiarly adapted for the loca.
tion and safety of a prison.
THE sToCKApE
Is about mile and half north of east
from the hotel about third of a mile from
the railroad, and near the centre of great
opening in the pine forest, which is locally
known as the "the old field" The field is q
sandy, rolling, fenceless, irregularly- shaped
tract of 500 acres, more or less, which pro-
badly, at some time, formed the tillable por-
tion of two or three plantations, mostly
given up to turpen;inc and rosin-making
The stockade is about thirty five rods long,
east and west, containing perhaps, sixteen
or seventeen acres. Through the middle of
this enclosure, from north to south, flows
little stream of water five or six feet in
width and four or five inches in depth. 1t
is swiftly running stream. and tha water
has q not unpleasant taste. From either
fha s,rispn clnpoo IN v1,c hrnnk
making five or six acres of low, marshy
ground lying principally east of the stream,
full of snk-holes and stagnant waters, and
miasinatic odors and malaria Influences
the breeding place of agues and fevers, and
typhoids and rheumatic complaints
rank and pestiferous home of disease and
death, than which hellish malgnity could
scarcely have fashioned one more fit to the
purpose of that foul treason which laid Its
foundation in slavery, and sought to enthrone
Rapine and Anarchy as twin deities in the
land of Law and Liberty
Everything remains as the rebels left it
when they evacuated Florence-remains al
most us it was when these hill-sides swarm
ed with our soldier prisoners. On the east
and on the west, twenty rocs or so distant
from the walls, are the long lines of earth
works and far down In front of these again
are the numerous rife-pits commanding the
advance for nearly o hundred rods. The
main entrance to the stockade was at the
northwest corner. Near this corner were
the log houses of the guard, and half a
dozen small ovens. The barracks stand al
most as they did when last occupied, but
the houses over the ovens have been burned.
Just north of this entrance is handsome
little grove of a dozen trees, among which
remain the benches and stools of the officers
of the guard. Fifty feet in front of the
middle of the northern wall was the flag
staff whence loated the banner of treason
and slavery. Its stump only remains and
loyal and disloyal alike cut chips of memen-
to therefrom. Across the pestilential
quagmire, beyond the northwest corner, is
another deserted village of log houses
houses of the guard for the rear of the
prison-pen, not one of which had been touch
ed. l went among them with the wonder
if some long haired, lean bodied, leering-
eyed Johnnie might not spring out with
ready musket and bid me halt; and sure
enough, from one of them suddenly emerged
fellow in grey, who looked at me a mo-
ment, and then strobe away with swing
ing and defiant step. In the southeast cor
ner of the pen was the rear entrance thence
the prisoners went to fetch wood, a dozen
cords of which yet lie piled only five or six
rods away.
The walls of the stockade are fifteen feet
high, built of unhewn logs, some nine or
ten inches in diameter, set deeply in the
ground. This solid wall of oak and pine
logs is unbroken, except by the gate open
ings and the quagmire-the marshy ground
necessitating the substitution of a stcut
\ board fence for the wall of logs Outside
the wall is, OF course, a wide and deep ditch,
the earth from which is thrown against the
logs and forms narrow path about three OF
four feet below their tops, ,whereon the guard
walked and overlooked this prison pen; and
whence iiends IN human shape shot half
crazed boys who struggled over this dead
line, which runs just behind the hut within
which l sit. A ditch could not be dug
through the quagmire, and SO there are
picket platforms built on the fence there
one, noticeabiy, on each side ever the brook
Inside the stockade there has been very
little change save such as time makes. In
the northwest corner, near the main entrance
was the hospital-seven log houses, each
some forty feet long and twenty feet wide
These the guard partially burned when they
left. Through the centre of the enclosure
from east to west is narrow graded road