The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1865-04-20
Prom the Hartford Evening Press.
Life and Death in Rebel Prison

When the full history OF the rebellion is
written, the'e will be a supple nent no,e
terrible than almost anything in history
IN every war the most hcart.rendinc is net
told. We have tie battle field and its car.
mage, but when the actors pass off the mo
wing and conspicuous scene. thay are los, to
view. The historian rarely follows them to
the hospital, or looks into The sad homes
that miss them, or relates their captivity
II was once the ell S.c-r IN sell all prisoners
Of war az slaves, hut modern civilization h -
taught mercy to the captive. During our
revolutionary war, the prisoners taken by
the patriots were fairly treated; but the En
glish exercised the greatest barbarism to-
ward those who fell into their hands. They
thought any kindness or comfort misplaced
on rebels. In this war the case is reversed;
the rebel prisoners have been treated with
uniform kindness, they have been well shell
tered, cl thed and fed; but the Union pris-
Onsrs have suffered more terribly than did
their ancestors in the revolut ion. So large
has been their number, SO long their CON
tnenent, and SO cruel their treatment, that
there is no parallel Tor 1t In modern history
II makes distinct feature la the war; and
ar record, considering the time and the &C.
tors In 1t. The plain truth Is that in many
places in the South, tens of thousands q
intelligent, often refined, tenderlv bred,
Christian men. have been shut up in crowd
ed, nsisome pens. without shelter or cloth
ing, aod deliberately, with malice and cool
fors,bought starved 10 death. or been so re
auced by want Of food and wretched food as
"a fall easy prey to the diseases that wait on
6lth, confinement and inadequate diet. We
cannot but wonder that the North is not
aroused iato fame of indignation, or that
Il can even think Of peace with the savage
~retches who hare 30 foully murdered our
fellow.citisens.
Asa contribution to the history Of this
iswer deep of the war, We have before "a .
book entitled Life and DEATH in Rebel Pris.
.sas, which has . general interest. 1t 10
written by Robert Fl. Kellogg, who was SER
gesnt major Of the 18th C,nn cticut rsgi-
ment which rendezvoussj At Hartfrd. It
~as captured, except a small portion of it,
At Plymouth, N. c.. in April, 1854, and Ia.
ken to tbs prison steckade at Andersonville,
Ga. In the narrow Limits of that stockads
we're crowded that summer, thirty thousand
prisoners, Of whom some thirteen Ghousond
died Of want and exposure.
Hr. Kellogg relates with minuteness the
capture, the passage through the South, the
horrible life at Andersonyille, the transfer
- Charleston, and then to Florence, and A.
nally the joyful exchange Of himself and .
<sx Of bis comrades at Savannah in Decem-
Der last. The sad tale is told with simple
ny. withou: exaggerstion. and with every
APPEARANCE Of truth, and presents one of The
most exact pictures Of prison lie that ~
have seen. The prlvstions, the hope and
despair, the schemes Of escape, the deaths
the weary life, the expedie tents to pass tn.
time, the brutality Of the jailors, the heroic
sndursncs Of the msn the Christian meet
ings, snS .hs resbseiss snA murders, :,
=