The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1882-06-01

necessity forced us to remain silent bp,
neaP OF thinking and vowing was ear.
THE BULL-pEN.
a little after dark the Bull.nen was
or@oned onann and the ponderous gates were
ptndu sartad 10 admit the captiyes. Hope de.
S;ient,,u % us When the gates were closed
th,eu'Iy and and sadly We followed the
tmrung mrung' we were divided in squads and
of cI'deu d;; over to corporals, who had charge
"rm 81 1miIIsiohs. VISIONS was assigned to Company
box Givlslon aJ,slon 4, and placed in cracker.
rMst uUa shanty; The inmates were two
rusty ragged North Carolinians. Thev
%%..I %vi lying spoon-fashion on rough
oo ounA. Greeting me with dubious wei.
tp, .Tlne, they inquired first after Bob Lee.
'~Ion, vnon tue condition of the army, Rich.
no mono, &C., &c, all of which questions
We, me,e repiied to in as pleasant a manner
70 oan trc s,ate OF my feelings would permit.
a ! oneIeo TO divide the ratons in my hav.
eoaek, out, 10 my surprise, instead of
aiccepnng they declined. advising me to
iheep tnem, for they would be needed
ueao1e tha .a MANY days. A good opinion Of
rue 1Tese Iarheels" was formed a. once.
dIa iae moor 90 OF the shanty was a mud pud.
ule; Inc weather was "cold as the rocks
on Iornea's hoary brow" 1t being yery
oa'A was cropping about for dry spot
on which to lay my weary limbs, but
Souio hnd none. A small box was found
aia upon 1t | sat, wondering seriously
mna1 would happen next. One of the
HHveuupans OF the bunk said they could
Gpy squeezing agin the wall" make room.
kindiy thanked him, after musing and
snlVefing for some time. The idea of
isclalch scratch scratch engaged a
large percentage of my meditation
leVery confederate soldier knows what is
meant) aud almost induced me to decline.
put sleep, cold and dampness forced me-
10 yield. In l rolled, in between the
sour smelling and greasy, though kind.
hearted, fellows, and for a half hour did
scratch and scratch again, experiencing
the myriad darts Of the soldiers comfort
ana then fell asleep. Next morning /
was awakened from heavy and unre.
iIeshlng slumber by the shIrill notes of
the bugle call. For an instant thought
l was IN Dixie; one glance was enough
10 dispel the idea my bed. d.felloWs
bounced up crying out "Roll- call, get up
or you will lose breakfast" / followed
their example, and fell into line with o
SAD heart and downcast mien, and an.
swered to the name of "NIuttinschutts.
pEesuming that it was intended for one of
about my size and appearance. An hour
or two after roll-call the company was
formed in line by the sergeant and
marched up to long squatty barn.
looking building termed the "Soup
House" Here we found several narrow
tables extending the whole length of the
building, With small chunks of half.
cooked meat placed along the tables at
Intervals of about two feet. When the
head OF the column reached the opposite
end OF the hall it was halted and faced
towards the meat, each man standing in
front OF piece of meat for second,
then seizlng the piece nearest to him.
We were then marched out. noticed
that several fellows managed to flank an
extra piece. This required the greatest
dexterity, for the scullions, who were
also prisoners, kept sharp lookout, and
very often nabbed the pilferers in the
act. A short time after this the cry
Bread was heard, and the members of
the various companies were seen gather
ing around the sergeants' tents A half
loaf OF wheat bread was given to each
man. So famished were some of them,
that in few moments they devoured the
ration that was issued for twenty four
hours. This did not satisfy their hunger,
for immediately after l have seen them
searching the garbage barrels for bones
and scraps, and eating cverything found
that was st all eatat'5. have seen men
take scraps from places and eat them
which, if told, would scarcely be believed.
Therefore, it is best not to write about it,
! for even at this distant day my remem.
brance of it causes me to feel weak.
1t was common occurrence TO see
men grab up and place in their mouths
quid Of tobacco that some fellow had
finished chewing on and had tossed out.
The used dup quid was facetiously termed
"Old soldier"
The Bull.pen WAS regularly laid out
with wide streets, division being line
of tents or cracker box houses extending
the entire width of the pen. Each
division consisted Of about ten compa-
nies, and was controlled by Federal
non commissioned officer. Each com
pany was under the supervision of n
"Rebel," appointed by the officer in
charge of the division, and who was
called sergeant. 1t was his duty to call
! the roll at reueiNe, march his company to
the souphouse, draw and distribute
rations, make daily reports, appoint
fatigue squads and call the roll at sun
down, the Yankee sergeant or corporal
being present at the roll. calls, to preserve
order, &c. Each company consisted of
from one hundred to one hundred and
fiffv men and was leftare1 Each divis.
ion was numbered. The tents and shan.
ties were of various kinds, styles and
capacities. They lined the streets on
either side in regular order Some of
them were t0ierably comfortable. In
very many stoves were to be found, but
these were almost useless because of the
scarcity of fuel, few sticks of wood
being issued occasionally to each COM
pany. On the front and sides OF many
tents were curious and amusing signs,
such rs "Growlers' Den," "Loafers' Re-
treat" "Rebels' Nest" &C., &c. Others
were adorned with notices of the business
carried on within: "Ring Makers"
"Cook Shop" Tailoring" "Shoe mend
ing" "W hing" &c, &c.
THE "DEAD LINE"
The Pen was enclosed by q high fence
or wooden wall. On the outside piazza
or walk was constructed, about three feet
from the top, and sufficiently wide for
two men to walk abreast. Here the sem
tinels marched to an fro, keeping watch
and ward over the thousands of "Rebel'
prisoners therein confined Inside of the
wooden wall and about six feet from its
base there was ditch running parallel