Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1876-02-25
LEMBER JIM.
q Remiuiscense of AuGcrsonville

social cOnvcrSatOn-tW two cX-Federal
and two eX-Confcderate soldiers
All of us had been prisoners of war,
and the topic of conversation being
Of course the late war it naturally led
to the darkest side-prison life. DR..
Rivers and Mr.. Wright had ex-
perienccd Yankee hospitality at Fort
MciIenry and Camp Chase, Mr.. Sui
livan was captured early in the war
in North Carolina, and had exper-
fenced Southern hospitality but a
short time, while | was "taken in" at
Chickamauga, and had enjoyed pris-
on fare at various Southern prisons
for eighteen month. After each one
had related his experience and all
had enjoyed a pleasant evening, and
had retired for the night, q thought
struck me that q brief sketch Of the
most noted prisoner at Andersonville
might be Of sufficient iu.crest to be
published. In April, 1864, l was
sent with a detachment Of prisoners
from Danvillee, Va, at which place
we had passed the winter and had the
smallpox, to Andersonville, Ga,
where we arrived on the 10Th day of
the same month, which date | shall
ever remember, as it was my 18th
birthday. There were about 1000
prisoners in the stockade on our arri-
val, and detachments continued com
ing in daily from the various prisons
of the Confederacy. | had been in
Andersonvillc about six weeks when
the subject of this sketch came in
with a squad of prisoners from Caha-
ba, Ala. climber Jim,' as he was
called by his fellow prisoners, was
about "a or 25 years old, was 6 feet 3
inches tall, had very dark skin,
piercing black eyes, thin visage, and
a long, black mustache. Every An
dersonville prisoner who reads this
will remember the name, and can GER
tify to the above description. | had
known him all my life. His father
was a blacksmith IN my native town
in Illinois; but James not fancy
ing the calling of his father, departed
from the paternal roof when quite
young, and spent several years prior
to the war at Memphis, Little Rock,
and other Southern cities, as pro-
fessional 9 imbler. Herctulned home,
however, in 1861, and when captured
was spcculating in cotton III and
about Memphis. General Chalmers,
in whose hands he fell, came very
near hanging him for a Union scout,
but finally sent him to Cahaba. AT
Andersonville he was soon quite a
character. Almost any day his som
brero hat and scarlet shirt could be
seen between the dead-line and the
stockade. In fact, he went where he
| pleased inside the prison, while many
were killed attempting to follow his
rash example. During the months
Of June, July, and August the prison
was crowded far beyond its capacity
with halfstarycd and pest-ridden hui
manity. The hospital was wholly in
adequate to the requirements of the
/ prison, and from so to upward of 4
hundred ''stitfs '-as the dead were
called-wcre removed from the stock
adc daily. During this fearful and
never-to-be-forgotten time of distress
and death disorder reigned supreme,
and an organized band of cut-throats,
composed of about 200 Of the worst
characters that could have been pick
ed up in the civilized world, had alb
solute control of the prison, and
robbed and murdered their fellow
prisoners without molestation. The
Confederate authorities were applied
to for assistance in restoring order,
but refused to render it. Finally the
prisoners became desperate, and mobs
gathered and began the arrest of the
raidcrs," as the cut-throats were
called. Strong, bold men were lead
ing the mohs, and the principal lead
er was Timber JIM. The excitement
of making the arrest lasted two or
three days, during which time the
raiders were hunted in every nook
and corner Of the prison-even the
wells dug by the prisoners afforded
them no escape, and several were
captured in these holes As soon as
they were taken the Confederate au-
thoritieS held them for trial by a jury
of their fellow prisoners. In the
meantime 4 prison police force was
organized, composed of 400 prisoners
who received for their services double
rations, which, by the way, was re-
garded as high compensation under
the circumstances. Timber jim was
by general consent made chief of
police, and his wise but harsh policy
soon brought order out of chaos. A
whipping-post was established Ill front
of his tent, where every morning
offenders were brought, tried, and,
when convicted, punished according
to their crime with certain number
of lashes, "well laid on" by sailor,
who, Judging from the cries of his
victims, was wei! suited to his task.
Timber jim was judge and jury, and,
while the punishment of culprits was
severe, it was generally regarded as
being necessary under the peculiar
circumstances. The raiders were
tried by 4 jury of prisoners, and six
of them received the sentence of
death. Wirz erected a gallows inside
the prison, and when the day arrived
for their execution the police formed
square around the gallows, while
thousands iot the prisoners crowded
round to witness the tragedy. The
stockade and outbuildings were COW
cred with rebel soldiers. About ,
o'clock Wirz, with guard of rebel
soldiers, marched in with the con
demned men, and turned them over
to the prison police in the following
speech: "These men have been tried
by a jury Of your own men and found
guilty. | return them to you as good
as | received them. Do with them
as you like, and may God help them
and you" About face; forward,
march," and Wirz and his guard left
the prison.
There was moment of suspense,
and then one of the condemned men
broke through the guard and almost
,ya a1 nyor bo ornu-1 frbi q ,rootoI