The National tribune., 1882-12-21
PRISON EXPERIENCES.
Little Red Cap Relates TIE Sequel to
the AnderSOnViIIe Hanging.
Continued from last reck. ]

As soon as life was pronounced extinct the
bodies of the six Andersonville raiders were cat
down, the meal-sackS were removed. and the
prisoners were permitted to march up ,o the -al-
lows, between parallel lines OF regulators, tp view
the remains. Among those who took advantage
of the opportunity were two friends of Dee raid
ers, who knet down by the side of DclauHy.s
Iifeless body, and as they wiped away the tIotd
from his lips, SwOrG to be rcveHgCd on those who
had done him to death. Indeed. for some time
after the execution those who were iwWcui-
atcly concerned in it had reason TO take extra
precautions for their safety, and all who could
secured details outside the stOckddc, so as t0 hc
| beyond the reach of the w0uld-he as-IS-.us.
| They served as nurses and ward-maStcrs Iu tho
! hospital. and for a short time Linhor Jim
bunkcd with me at the cook-house after had
returned from Wirzs house. Others were not
so fortunate. | well remember seeing corpse
/ brought out of the stockade one morning with
the livid prints of human fingers still plainly
| visible on the throat. 1t was the body OF q
raider who had turned states evidence It the
| trial, and had been strangled 10 death by some
one Of the survivors out of revenge.
POLICING THE PRISON.
! But the raiders, as 4 body. never recovered
! their lost power. Immediately after tine hang
| ing police force numbering some twelve or
/ fifteen hundred mon, was organized within the
4 stOCkade and the camp was thereafter regularly
and thoroughly patroled in every d.rp-..ou.
/ Sergeant Key ut first commanded the force,
which was divided into comPIuic-. but beng
apprchensive that the raiders would carry out
/ their threat to assassinate him. hc secured %
detail in the hospital, and relUgUisEed the
/ captaincy to Sergeant A. X. Hill, of NgU-aDu.
/ Ohio Hill was a g0od-natuTei fellow of .lant
proportions, and quite equal to the wcrs lGu5
! devoved upon him. | have had the pleasure,
since the war. of visiting him at his home iu
! WauseOn, and am glad TO be able to- say tga- ue
! has an interesting family and Is dong w.I.
/ During his administration the b.s "i o.d.r
prevailed within the stOcE&de ard the l.l In
! was as free from crime as the ncsJ-gJvsGgd
/ city. Hill was strict disClpi.na'iau Lu fart,
/ he was Judge and jury combined, and Offenders
/ were always brought to his tent tp De dis ,.p-ad
Of as he might see fl. One Of his tayuglt.
/ modes of punishment was spanking. and
/ can assure You il was administered lu the
good old orthodox fashion. \ split shiagIe was
/ the instrument generally used III It's aualEs-
. ton and those who got taste Of its quality
/ were pretty sure not to incur the risk Oi sgc-
ond visitation In fact, it was held in whole
some dread by the whole prison, and il proved
a very ef;ectual check to sneak-thieyiEg and
petty larceny.
1t was already midsummer, but the weather
seemed to be still growing hotter and hotter. 1t
/ noon the sand on the surface Of the ground
| would actually burn the hand; and | remcm-
her that whenever Wirz had occasion TO send
me to the railroad depot-a distance Of less
/ than mile was obliged, 1T order to avoid
burning my feet-iny shoes had long since gone
to piece5-to run at full speed until ! reached
the creek wh iCh ran across the road about hall
/ way, where | could cool them Ia the water.
The effect of the intense heat on the prisoners
was shocking to see. Mems skins blistered and
( swelled up in great WaJeTy pulls, the deadly
swamp grew more and more offensive g&ngrcne
| became more and more prevalent, and look
/ where YOU would you could not fail to see at
least half dozen men in the last loaths0me
| stages of disease. Yet all through the month
of July our numbers kept increasing. aud
! ere ii was over the fresh arrivals reached
| total Of 1900 We learned through them that
our armies were hewing their way straight TO
| the heart of the cOniederacy, and The day OF
delyGrance drawing nearer and nearer.
| But strike aS heaYi y and swiftly as they might,
death was outstripping them IN the race. can
! hardly restrain the tears even now when /
think that out of the nineteen men of my com
/ pany, who entered Andersonvile at the same
time as |, not one survived its horrors. At each
/ visit found some familiar face missing. But
four were still living at the time of my last visit.
PATHETIC INCIDENT.
! One of the number said to me: Brother Joe
/ died the other day. We were lying IN that
little tent over there when he Just turned over
and said: Wen, Henry, I'm going to die-l
can't stand il any longer. Goodbye Good
bye brother Joe l replied I shall soon fol-
low YOU. and ! hope we shall meet in Heaven
Joe died the next day Henry talked on in
this strain for some time without exhibiting
any especial emotion indeed such occurrences
had become too common to excite remark and
| found that it was useless to reason with him.
He was convinced that he had but little while
longer to live, and taking the picture of sweet
faced lady of Piedmont w Va, from his pocket.
he gave it to me with Instructions to send 1t to
her should | ever reach our lines again. 1t was
the picture of his betrothed.
| am told that some Of my descriptions OF
scenes at Andersonville are too revolving to
be true, yet have rather underestimate than
exaggerated the horrors Of the place Things
had come TO such pass, at the time of which
| write, that in order to get chance to procure
a little tirewood, the prisoners would actually
fight among themselves as To- who shOGld carry
ont the bodies of their dead comrades
The prisoners who arrived during the month
of July brought us news as | have said. of the
forward movement of our armies. Occasionally
we got copy Of a southern paper, and, al
though we knew that reliance could be
placed upon the reports therein, we would gather
around the reader and listen eagerly to all the
war news which it contained.
The reports brought i'll to us by the prisoners
from Sherman army were of the most encourag-
ing character. and from what they said we felt
sure that the downfall of the southern conteder-
acv was at hand The reports from the Army of
the Potomac, on the other hand, were very
contradictory. 1t was clear that Grant was Civ
ing Lee time to rest, but il WAS also evident
that fearful havoc was being made in our ranks
1t was about this time that JEFF Davis went
down to Atlanta and superseded Johnston
with Hood. The rebel papers spoke very conf
IDENTIFY OF what the new commander was going
to accomplish and predicted that nc would
attack Sherman both in front and rear. 1t was
on the 22d of July that the blow WAS struck
but the result was not, by any means, what
the confedcracy expected, as we soon learned
from the prisoners who were brought in after
the battle
ITO be continued.