Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1869-07-14

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carrA thinyiao poand lalA hut ~
the hanging had dornvee him ~ the
use Of rs thumbs ho was uheele %
cbov. Tho officers, however put two
twenty fonr pound balls In kurpsack,
and compelled him 10 carry them until
the sack gave away fnlm the weight
Of thc iron. lie was then tied mp by
the wrists aad gagged Ia the mouth by
the bsyonei frUa p. N. tlll the next
morning. He was then taken down
and thrown into the guard-housc, but
was 80 exhausted that he had TO be re-
moved TO the hospital ltwas decided
10 amputate three Of his fingers, but
this was reconsidered lie lost, how
ever, the use of this thumb aud two
fingers. This punishment was in
ilicted by Major Mcconnell, Sdeer OF
the day, and was carried out by Ser
geaut Edward Donnelly.
Another poor prisonernamed Brown,
was once excused by the doctor IRON
work on the plea of illness, but the
Provost Marshal insisted and finding
him too i'll and lacking strength made
him carry a thirty-two pound ball.
He staggered under the weight and
was compelled from weakness 10 put
it down. He was then taken to the
wharf and with bis legs tied together
and his hands tied behind him, n rope
was placed around him and he was
thrown into the water and then drag
ged out. This was done three or four
times, he begging for mercy most
piteously. lie was finally jerked out
of the water and ordered TO return to
his ordinary work. The poor wretch
crept of apparently thankful for any
escape from such torments Capt.
Jos. Rittenhouse was officer Of the day,
and his orders were carried out by
Corporal Spear.
During the latter part Of last Octo-
ber / was placed in irons and com
PEELED to work with an armed sentinel
over me. ] did not know the reason
for this, for | was unconscious Of hav-
ing given otiense, and had cOnformed
to every regulation. ! was then close
ly confined and allowed to communi-
cate with no one for four months. The
pretence for this, ! afterwards learned,
sprang from an attempt of DIR. Mudd
TO escape.
Colonel St. George Leger 6renfel,
aged 65 years, was taken sick and
went to the Doctor TO get excused from
work. The Doctor declined to excuse
him. lie then applied to the Provost
Marshal, who said that he could not
excuse him if the Doctor couldn't
Grenfel then tried 10 work and failed.
They took him to the guard house,
tied him up for half a day, and then
took him TO the wharf, tied his hands
behind him, tied his legs together, and
put a rope around his waist. There
were three officers, heavily armed,
who drove spectators from the wharf;
could see and hear from my window.
The Colonel asked them if they were
gong 10 throw him into the water.
aud they answered, "Yes." He then
jumped in, and because he could not
sink, they drew him out and tied about
forty pounds of iron TO his legs, and
threw him into the water again, and
after be has sunk twice they pulled
him out again, and then compelled him
TO 60 to work. The officers who had
him in hand were, Lieutenant Robin.
son, Lieutenant Pike and Capt George
w. Crabb, assisted by sergeant Mich
ael Gleason, and assistant military
storekeeper G. T. jackson, who tied
the irons on bis legs. Capt. Samuel
PEBBLES tied up Grenfel for saving
that "he was capable Of doing any
TO scrub and do other menial work
when he proved be was so i'll as TO
have refused to eat bis rations for a
week. All Of the officers hated Gren-
fcl on account Of letter which ap.
peared in a New York paper, which
they said 6renfel wrote, about tying
up the prisoner Dunn-whioh letter
was truthful, as Others and myself
were witnesses TO the details il related.
One very stormy night Grenfel, with
four others, escaped in a small boat
and was evidently drowned near the
fort. His escape was discovered but
ihe storm was so severe that il was
deemed too dangerous TO pursue them,
although steamer was at the wharf
Grenfel frequently declared bis inten
lion Of running any risk to escape.
rather than, TO use his own words
"to be tortured TO death at the fort"
These are only two or three instances
OF the many acts Of cruelty practieed
at the fort. During my imprisonment
at Fort Jefferson | worked very hard
at carpentering and wood ornamental
work, making great many fancy
boxes, &c, out Of the peculiar wood
found on the adjacent islands; the
greater portion Of this work was made
for officers. By my industry in that
direction, won some favor in their
eyes / was released in March Of the
present year by executive clemencv.
(Signed) EDMAN SPANGLER.
STATE CONVENTION or SCHOOL SUPER.
INTENDENTs.-Hou.J J. P. Wickersham.