The National tribune., 1883-10-18
SORR0WFUL STORIES
OF Experiences in the PriS0n-Pens Of
the South.
To the Editor NATIONAL TRIBUNE:


and comrade, Frank w. Smith, of Toledo, Ohio.
have just read it over twice and it has ex-
cited me much, for | thought Frank had gone
to answer the last rol-call but finding that he is
alive, l will, without waiting to read THE
TRIBUNE any further, proceed, through your
columns, to let Frank know that Sam is yet on
his legs. But, Frank they have more flesh on
them now than they did when you and used
to eat our prison mush from that od-fashioned
iron pot in the prison hospital at Florence
that same old pot IN which we used to boil the
shirts of poor sick comrades of our wards! How
often | think of you and Sam Nichols, Marye
Boget. Jim Abrams Rube Smith, Ed. Moyer,V.
@. Smith, and w. +. Grierison all of whose
names you wrote on the fy-leaf of my Testa-
ment, which chaplain gave ne one morning
at Florence prison. have often wondered what
had became of you. / wrote Il card TO Cleveland,
Ohio, years ago, but, getting no reply, con-
Guided you We're dead. IL Mrs. Sherwood had
not mentioned your name in her interview, |
believe | would have thought you were the
man she alluded to, for it sounded like your
work, although, Frank, all of our mess were
good WhOle-souled fellows. | believe i was
the meanest man in the lot. / still have the
old white handled razor with which we used to
cut off the long yermin-flled beard of the poor
live skeletons who were brought to our ward
to die, you might say for we had a big job
every morning carrying out the dead and laying
them on the dead row by the prison wall to
await the dead wagon. / suppose you remem-
Der that morning when q comrade came to take
a last look at brother. who, the day before,
had asked rebel guard for chew of tobacco.
The guard, in tempting way, had offered the
tobacco by holding out the plug and making
several feintS ut pitching it to his victim, who
regarded the demonstrations as friendly and
ventured to say: pitch us a chew" when
the guards face changed to that of a fiend in
an instant, and leveling his gun, with the re-
mark, I'll pitch you a chew, you Yankee"
deliberately shot him through the stomach and
back. If you remember we were not al
lowed to speak to the guard under any cir
cumstances, and the guard availed himself
OF this chance to tempt the tobacco hungry
prisoner to speak to him that he might have
pretext to murder him. We carried the dying
man TO our ward and there had to hold him
until he died. He lived about five hours in
the most horrible agony. His brother stood
over the body, where we had laid it in the
dead row. and swore solemn oath that he
would live to get out of that hell and be re-
yenged, if it took all of his life to accomplish
it. l have often wondered what became of
him; / did have his name, but | have now for
gotten it. Aud i suppose you remember how
we all had a twist at that camp fever, and how
deyoutly we watched over one another through
the state OF delirium. know | was insensibe
day and night cooling my lips and tongue
with water and keeping wet cloths to my head,
and for want of medicine, let nature wrestle
with the disease But that like the balance
of my eighteen months of prison life, | wealth
cred without enlisting in the rebel army.
Frank, could fill volume with our prison
experience, but | only wanted TO let you know
that Sam was alive yet.
REcoLLECTIoNs OF FLORENCE
suppose there will a great many Of the pris-
oners remember me. | was member of COM
pany E, Twenty first Illinois infantry, and was
captured at Chickamauga on Sunday, Septem-
Der 20, 1863. was first taken to Belle ISLE
then to the Smith building, in Richmond, Sec
ond floor, and from there to Danyille prison.
No >, fourth floor. In April, 1864, | was re-
moved TO Andersonville left there the last of
September for Charleston, and from there
went to Florence stockade (auother Anderson
ville) | was, ut Florence, sergeant of the
twelfth thousand, which was mostly composed
of sick and wounded and those who were not
able to stand up to be counted at the daily
morning count. BY the 10th of December my
thousand had nearly all died, or had been used
to recruit other thousands OF lower numbers so
/ was put in charge of q ward of the so-called
hospital, which was merely corner of the
prison-pen set apart for that purpose. And
there, Frank under those miserable, leaky,
packed, scuryy-rotted comrades, you and /, on
dark, foggy nights, used to grope our way
along the narrow path between the feet of the
row on either hand, and pick out the dead
occasionally taking the body of a dead COM
rade from where his last struggle had
thrown it across some other poor helpless
fellow. Then, when morning came, we strip
ped our dead, and, having scalded the ragged,
filthy clothes in the big iron pot put them on
nf n IqS aS maH fol hos
fering the most with cold. That is where we got
acquainted, and feel thatthe friendship which
sprang up under such circumstances Will stand
while life lasts. Ii you ever make another
visit to those dear comrades graves j would
like to go with you, although my means are
limited and | lost my health in those awful
priSon-pens.
a LONG BATTLE WITH FORTUNE.
! Poor in flesh, health, and purse when I came
t home from prison, for as you know, got no
/ veteran bounty, for | was in prison when my
regiment veteranized, and the war was over
when / got home), l was forced, in order to
! make my living to sell books, tinker sewing
/ machines, clocks, dSc. which was rather a small
/ business, you will say; bat, Frank it was bet.
i ter than living around with the blues which |
/ never would allow TO get the better of me; and
/ finally, in the fall of i67, | moved TO Kansas
| determined to make home of my own.
| came here to what was then the widest part oi
/ Kansas and took UP homestead and trapped
and killed buffalo, and sold The hides and meat
! and hired work done on my farm, and added
more 10 it until now | have a fine large stock
/ ranch, but cannot make enough money to stock
! and improve it, as j have to hire all my work
done. But the people here have been good tx
me, and they have given me the opportunity
of serving them iii several public Offices. have
served two terms in the Kansas Legislature
and have held the office of county surveyor foI
ten years. l am now Post Commander of Pos
No. 1876, Department of KANSAS, and shall de
! vote my life, as much as possible, to hepins
| those who are weaker than l. and hope to SEE
the soldiers and sailors united in one CRANE
fraternity, and, regardless of former politics
vote solid as one man for justice to all men ant
women, without regard to nationality, rank, o.
color and Withdraw their support and patron
age from all such soldier -haters as Senator
| Beck aud the papers that indorse his views fo
| | consider them dangerous to the best interests
Of our Government as we'll as to the honest
claims of the soldier. Their actions show tha
1 they consider us a set of perjured hireings fl
only to be trampled under foot that they ma,
climb up and throttle the Nation.
And now, Frank, for this intrusion, you viii
please pardon your old friend and comrade,
SAMUEL S. BoGGs,
Late Sergeant Co. L, 21st Ill. Inf.
SURVEY, Rocks Co., KAN.
THE ANDERsoNVILLE SPRING.
To the Editor NATIONAL TRIBUNE:
A slip taken from the Inter Ocean (date un
known was handed me to-day, in which an
pearcd an article from r. A. Conner, of Kent
land, Indiana; also one from L. A. Nattingel