The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1876-05-11
For the News.
SOUTHERN PRISON-PENS.
Experience of an Anderson
Vile Prisoner in Dixie.
NO. TX.
NO.. TX.

NO. TX.
Our boys took no part in the fight, but of courst
our sympathy was with No. 2. am not able t.
say what the result might have been, if other cir
eumstances had not transpired, to put stop tC
the contest.
In the midst of one of No. 2's flank movements
another batch of Union prisoners was announced
There proved to be seven of them, one Captain o
New Jersey Cavalry Regiment, two Leutenant'
of the same regiment, two privates, one wagon
master and one civilian. The Captain was a very
inely-dressed officer. He wore a gold-laced cap
fine dress coat, and gold-lace up and down the
seams of his panis. He sported fine chronome
ter gold watch and chain, that cost $780, He was
a Dane by birth and spoke broken English.
The other two officers were not so extravagantly
dressed, but wore very good uniforms and carried
silxc- watches. The wagon-master was Mis-
.sotzaan, by she name of Henry Ingram. lie alsC
carried fine gold chrononeter repeater, valued al
500, and had 5000 in greenbacks in his pocket
besides considerable amount of jewelry.
One of the privates was deserter from the
Union army, and the other was boy about sixteen
years old. who belonged to the State of New York
The civilian belonged to Louisiana. He was
finely dressed, looked to be about 80 years old,
and had on his person $4,000 in greenbacks, that
he had received from some speculator for bis cot
ton crop. He was a wealthy planter and said to be
a Union man. His name was Drake. They were
all captured near Baton Rouge, La
As soon as they were admitted to our room il
and watches belonging to our new friends. The
reader will please take notice that here was anot-
er instance of men coming all the way from Baton
Rouge to Canton, Mississippi, 200 miles under
guard, carrying $4,000 on their persons and good
clothes their backs, and none of their property
disturbed until they fell into the hands of the
Gristocratic young soldiers o of the South.
The guards were slow about getting at their
days work, and had time to tell the newcomers
what they might expect. Ingram was sitting close
to the stove, and after he was informed of the
character of the guards he took out his thousand
dollars and threw it in the stove, and the FIRE re-
duced it to ashes.
Mr.. Drake asked me if knew of any way to
conceal his money, and after little reflection an
idea occurred to me and proposed it to him. /
had become acquainted with Capt. johnson during
the few days we had been together, aud thought
him very clever gentleman. 1 knew the guards
wouldn't dare TO search him, so suggested to Mr..
Drake to give his money over to Capt. johnson for
safe keeping. The money was transferred to the
Captains care not minute too soon, for the door
was thrown open and in walked a half dozen of the
light-dngered gentry, Tucker in their midst, and
went to rihng the pockets of the officers and men
The Captain stoutly objected, and called for the
protection of the Confederate officers, but no at
tention was paid to the call. His fine watch and
chain changed hands, and all the rest of his valua-
bles shared the same fate.
The rest of the prisoners received the same at
tention as the Captain and at the close of the per-
the Confeds. retired to divide their
booty. The Captain procured slip of paper, and
wrote TO the Provost Marshal, complaining of the
treatment he had received All the satisfaction he
received in reply was this answer: "TLatis the
way my men make their living"
After the guards had examined their watches,
jewelry, &C., they returned and we were all required
to stand in line and be searched. Tucker took a
leading part, ard proved that he was an expert
The second investigation only turned up few
small articles, and we were dismissed once more.
The next move of the guards was to take pos
session of the prisoners clothing They took each
out of the room separately and exchanged with
put his own construction on 1t.
Mr.. Drake received in place of his fine suit, an
old U. S. overcoat, very badly worn old shoes and
a very shabby looking hat. lis breeches were
good deal the worse for wear, and on the whole he
was metamorphosed entirely. To add insult to
Injury, he was then hand-cuffed, his ankles chained
together, and treated a spy. Captain johnson,
who had the unfortunate mans money, took sick
the next morning and sent for the surgeon. The
surgeon pronounced him dangerously i'll, and or
iered him removed to the Hospital for treatment.
He was carried out by four men and with him
went NJ. brakes sI3,OO of cotton money. 1t was
evident then that Capt. Johnson had feigned sick
ness for the purpose of getting away with the
.oney, and | suppose the surgeon and officers
we're iu the plot. Mr. Drake was treated as spy
md sentenced to be shot. never learned wheth-
er his sentence was executed or not but the opin-
ion of my comrades was that he was accused of
being a spy as a cloak, in order that the provost
guards could rob him win impunity.
The Union officers who came with Mr.. Drake
from Baton Rouge said that the only charge that
could be sustained against him was that he entered
the Union lines with his cotton, sold it for green
backs, and was captured on his way home. He
iidn't seem to banker after greenbacks any more
than our CaG:on guards did. About that time one
lollar of the hirelng" money as the rebels called
It, was worth fire 'grayback" dollars
The reader II ay be curious to know how our
Jersey Captain and his Lieutenants stood the in
iignities and insults of their captors. The two
Lieutenants were true Americans, who could
ldapt themselves to any circumstances, and when
hey were relieved of their uniforms and furnished
with a suit of old gray clothes and little narrow
Drim dirty white hat each, they pretended to enjoy
he joke as much anybody. Not so with the foreign
Clptain. He was accustomed to have men respect
ind obey him, ard as for jokes, he couldn't see
any points to them at all. Tucker had taken all
his clothes, and also his watch and chain, and
when he was brought back he was completely
,rest-fallen and detected. Being bare-hcaded,
Tucker looked around for cap or hat that would
10 for him, and finally discovered Zouave cap,
which struck him as being the very thing to set
the Captain off The top of the cap was red and
# Tucker had hunted all over Dixie he couldn't
have found anything that would have insulted the
Captain like presenting him with that cap. He
dashed it the floor and exclaimed, 81 viii vair no
Breetish gap! You can't shteek him on me-"
This was just the kind of fun Tucker enjoyed, so
he picked up the cap and again placed it upon the
TaPtFr's head. Again he dashed it down and
moved TO another part of the room, but his tor
mentor followed him up and persisted in forcing
him to wear the cap. The Captain got mu!ish, and
wouldn't talk, but as fast as Tucker put the cap
his head he would dash il off. Finally, Tucker
got tired and left the cap lying on the Captain'-
knee, and some of the boys, out of pity, took it
md gave him an old black bat, which he wore very
If the Captain had used little
discretion, and accepted the cap at frst, he would
have been saved the insult aud humiliation he was
subjected to.
One more of fuckers outrageous acts, and
will be done with him. far he is concerned In
his narrative. We had two negroes with US as
prisoners, one very old and pious man, a slave,
and leader at their plantation meetings. The
Dthcr was young fellow. One day Tucker took
lp the poker and ordered the old negro to pray for
Jeff. Davis. The old fellow obeyed by kueeling
lown and going to work in good earnest, Will
tucker made the young fellow stand before him
and "pat juba." Whenever the old man didn't
pray just 10 suit Tucker, he would strike him over
tie head with the poker. In this way Tucker ex-
fracted very different supplicaiion no doubt from
what would have Seen offered up if the poor old
slave had been allowed freedom of thought.
The time at last arrived for fuckers trial for
murder An officer conducted him to headqua--
ters. where in the course of an hour everything