The National tribune., 1882-09-09

| stripe is to distinguish them from genuine
! rebs, and TO insure that they will be well
watched when nearing scenes of danger.
! Their commissioned officers are native South
! erners and military veterans. Ut was esti-
mated that the Foreign Legion consisted Of
rs high as 1000 men recruited from various
prisons. We had no means of ascertainins
even the approximate number. Eight hun
dred who went out of Millen were organized
into a cavalry regiment, and were finely uni
formed, armed, and mounted They were
brigaded with three regiments of rebel cav
airy, and, in an action that followed, this
brigade was ordered 30 charge on troops be-
longing to Sherman's army. All four regi
ments galloped forward in lire, and when
they came under fire, the galvanized regi-
ment shot high and charged far" The
rebels were Tepulsed, but the galvanized
regiment rode for the Union lines. About
half of its members were shot down, and The
rest surrendered as soon as they could get
the Union troops to understand their desires.
These survivors were sent to the military
prison at Rock Island, H., where they made
known all the facts in the case, but nobody
would believe them, and they were detained
as confederate prisoners. Soon afterwards
eighty of them enlisted in a company of the
Sixth United States cavalry and went out to
fight the Sioux Indians.)
Camp Lawton," as the rebels call this
place, is vast improvement on Andersonville,
IN some respects. 1t is about one-third small
er, contains not quite 1000 prisoners, has an
abundance of room for quarters and exercise
grounds and is divided into two sections by
a clear, beautiful brook, skirted by trees and
wild shrubbery. A good police system, es-
tabli.hed by the prisoners, i. in operation to
preserve order; comparative cleanliness as
regards streets and grounds is enforced; our
fuel allowance is more liberal than we have
been generally accustomed to; and Captain
Bowes, the commandtnt, appears to be a
genuine gentleman and soldier. He is in
clined to be hasty and quick-tempered, but
does everything in his power to alleviate our
misery. He deserves to be remembered in
history as the only humane prison-keeper
the South produced in the civil war. He
stands in bright contrast TO such brutal mis-
creants as Winder, Wirz, Iverson, Barrett,
Gee, Turner, and Boisseux.) Notwithstand-
ing all this, our lot is n hard one Winter is
closing in upon us, We are completely des
titute; we have neither tents nor barracks,
and we ate ragged, emaciated, half sick, and
utterly disheartened. If man gets down
right sick he must make arrangements to
die. In the stockade there are neither physi-
clans nor medicines, and few men are taken
out to the burlesque of hospital located
somewhere on the outside The cold, rainy
weather and the scurvy and dysentery are
making daily inroads on our ranks, and we
have given up all hope of ever being rescued
or exchanged. This morning | was detailed |
TO gather wood outside the stockade. While |
five hundred of us were at the gate, await |
ing orders to march out, we crowded so |
closely against the dead-line railing as to al |
most force it over. The rebel officers repeat |
edly ordered US back. About half of us re- |
tired, but the remainder disregarded the |