Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1874-08-14
A Sad SdOrys

y
the personal experiences of the gallant
Captain r. A. Shotwell, while confiued
in the Penitentiary at Albany, New
York, by Radical officials OF "the best
Government the world ever saw"
EDS. JOURNAL.
At an early hour on the morning OF
the 4th of Suly, 1873-''the Glorious
Fourth 1.-THE writer Of these lines
sat by the bedside of dying convict
in the hospital of Albany Penitentlary.
The occupant of the cot was tail,
emaciated young man, prematurely
grey-haired and bearing upon his
countenance, an ineffacable expression
of deep-seated melancholy. For sew
eral days he had lain in comatose,
unconscious state-his physical pow.
ers no longer obeying the dictates OF
his mind and now it was apparent
to all that the shadow of Death lay
close upon him. At five o'clock ire
mendous explosion shook the build
ing, announcing the dawn of another
anniversary of Independence, and a
few minutes later, amid the roar OF
cannon and the clangor of hundreds OF
bells in the city, the soul of my weary
patient winged its fight to the Great
Unknown-to the realms of Impen-
etrable mystery. The contrast be-
tween the quiet death-bed in the Pen
itentiary and the noisy uproar OF the
world outside the walls was very strik-
ing; but the thunders of artillery We're
not inappropriate, for it was the corpse
of O gallant Southern soldier that lay
before me. How came he to die thus
ffiendless and alone in hospital for
felons? The answer may be found IN
the following sketch
Samuel Oscar Berry was born III
Liberty, Clay county, Missouri. in the
spring of 1910; but, hlving lost his
mother at an early age, he was taken
by hi. father to a small town not far
from Lexington, Kentucky, where he
lived ut the beginning of the Southern
struggle for independence. He was
not yet of age when he left his home
and friends to cast his fortunes with
the Confederacy, becoming a member
of Col. Grigsby's Kentucky cavalry,
and having plenty of hard fighting IN
| der the famous Gen. John Morgan.
Young Oscar had but a single arm, but
| he made such good use Of II, that he
the "one-armed devil" In 1864,
when the Confederates evacuated the
| southwestern borders of Kentucky, he
was commissioned q captain, with
special orders to remain within the
| Federal lines for the purpose of enlist
ing recruits, collecting stragglers and
obtaining information, as well as oil
inficting any and all possible damage
| q
ton. The State at that time was full
of absentees from the Southern army
who were unwilling TO submit to tht
rigors and discipline Of the regular
forces, but were ever ready to engage
in any partiGan enterprise that prom
ised active work and liberal pay
Consequently. Berry found no DIFF
ticulty in collecting Il band OF brav
fellows, as reckless as himself, whose
dashing exploits and wonderful rapid
ity q movement added new terrOrs t.
tho name OF the ''one-armed devil.
Many thrilling III i,i1:.t6 q this partl
ian warfare might lie narrated b..
for the present it must suffice to say
that Berry and his men carried con
sternation and dismay throughout til
whole country AROUND Lexington, i'll,
even to the gates Of Louisville itself
Never was the Ozark and Blood
Ground" more prolific Of terribi
scenes than during the last six month
Of the war.
When the great surrender occurred
Berry's friends urged him to fly fro:
the country 10 avoid the wrath Of tn
; triumphant Uuionists, VINO would ceI
tainly pursue him with yindictivc cGJ.
city to the grave. He, however, rely
!, ing on his Confederate commission i
: exempt him from charges OF BUSH
, whackirg, quietly remained at home
, and was (alay Both, 1862 regui;tr
admitted to parole, ike al othe
Southern officers, by Gen. Palmer, til
commandant st Lot,is"i!le, who as
sured him that he should not TX. ll!u
| Tested SO long as he should submit t
, the laws and attend to his own bnsi
ness. Yet, on the night of Decembe
7 7th, 1865, a troop Of cavalry, b
a forced march of more than fort
, miles, surprised Berry in his be
} and carried him off with ever
insult and lndignity to be arraigne
5 before . military court-martial on sey
enteen different charges, including
} highway robbery, arson, rape an
murder! The Radical papers, mean
, while, teemed with accusations assert
/ ing that he was guilty Of every Grim
, in the decalogue. When the trial cam
: on, it was found that the testimony o.
behalf of the prosecutor was of tn
most abominable and unreliable char
acter; whereas. several Union men @
, prominence in the State, and colone
of a negro regiment, who had bee
captured by Berry, ali bore witnes
that he had repeatedly shown mere
J to prisoners at the risk of his own life
But the Court (as is the case witt
!, nearly all military commissions organ
lied to try political cases. was con
vened, not to decide Justly and impair
TALLY, but to cOnrict; and the proceed
ings were marked by such manifest in
Justice that the counsel for the pris
oner were ready to abandon the cas-
in disgust. On the first day Of Feb
ruary, 1866, a verdict OF equity" o
whacking and the murder OF nm
armed captives was delivered, ant
Berry was sentenced to be hanged
And with an indecent cruelty tina
shows the spirit OF his Yankee custo.
dians, they caused the gallows to be
erected full three weeks before the da,
set for his execution, directly in from
of his windows! They were, however
cheated of their prey; President John
son committed the sentence to tel
years at hard labor in Albany Peniten
tiary.
When Berry reached his new prison.
some time in March, 1866, he found
that evil report had preceded him and
that he was counted one of the most
wicked and desperate men in the insti-
tuition. Called by sense of unjust
treatment. and irritated by the domi-
neering tone OF brutal turnkey, he
lost his temper and made replies which
caused him to be severely punished
He was locked in narrow closet, call
ed the ''shower hath," and several
buckets of ice-cold water were allowed
TO trickle slowly upon the top of his
closely shorn head To the credit of
the institution, it must be added that
this method of punishment has been
forever abolished, in Albany Peniten-
tiary. After undergoing the water
bath with unfinching resolution, Ber-
~ was marched to a cell, and left in
solitary confinement. In this hole,
| which is about six feet long and four