The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1884-10-08


d escape of Gen. Payne of the G. s. A
q. who had to seek the protection of
Is gunboat from mob.
5. The excited condition of the peopl
g was somewhat natural, as it was tn
q day of President Lincoln's funera
rt The streets were draped ia mourning
e and the people had sad look abou
k them, and were in tears. We were sen
under an escort over to Alexandria, am
r put in large building near the river
4 From this building We saw a portion 0
d Sherman's army pass going to the grant
review at Washington. Some ieered a
s. US and flung vile epithets: the real sol
r dier passed in silence. Daily our &C
e commedations were narrowed as prison
n ers were brought in. Almost ever,
,, command was represented. Some o
!, Mosby's partisans were there. An off
5 Ger of his was stopped by a contempt
t bic little Sergeant, of the name of Bel
d KNAPP. / never saw such an expression
+ of modification on a mans face as there
S He was powerless and had to submit
}, This same Sergeant attempted TO stop {
e little creole for some oifense; instantly
e with drawn and clasped knife he sprang
D for his insulter, and but for the prompt
: interference of others, he would have
killed him there. This Sergeant had
more mean, petty ways about him, than
any one | ever saw; and many vowed
5 his hearts blood. The Major Comman-
; dant Of the post, Foster, was narrow
minded bigot, and subjected US to every
J annoyance possible. He forced US to cut
J our brass buttons of, and would take
possession of them, if he could. He
bullied US, and tried to force us to take
the oath. We finally threw ourselves
upon the dignity of our paroles, and
that quieted him for awhile. For some
reason he carried some of us TO the
county Jail, which was full to overflow
ing with Federal deserters and bounty
Jumpers. Four of us occupied cell
six by six for twenty-four hours. The
place was reeking with vermin. A
bounty jumper from New York was
there, condemned to death. He did not
seem to mind it, and said his mother
was well provided for, as he had made
seven thousand dollars out of the busi-
ness.
From this den we were sent to the
l. o. o. F. building, and remained there
week, when we were sent to New
| York. We addressed letter to Gen.
Grant, then in Washington City, asking
him why we were detained as prisoners,
in violation of our paroles, and further
asked transportation home. The letter
was duly forwarded, and in consequence,
we obtained our release, and transporta-
ton furnished to New Orleans. We
fell into line most willingly, and march
ed to the steamboat landing most cheer
fully. The streets were crowded with
! ladies, who rejoiced with us at our re-
lease. In shaking hands with one of
them, | was pleased to find left in my
hand dollar greenback. Several other
hand shakes did not result so favorably.
Another kind lady bought several bas-
kets Of fruit and cake, and had it dis
tributed to us. A drunken Federal
sided up to a mess-mate of mine and at
tempted to snatch Phi-Beta pin from
his shirt front, claiming it as his broth
er's, and taken from him at Manassas.
Luckily it had the proper owners name
on it, and the officer who qIelled the
trouble was a member of the same soci- |
ETY.. The soldier was taken in charge, |
and we were not troubled any more.
We arrived next morning at o'clock |
fin New York City by rail, reported to
the provost marshal at Castle Garden |
Barracks, took a good wash of heads, |
hands and feet, and then enjoyed a sub |
stantial meal with the U. S. soldiers. |
The steamer Mcclellan was to leave at
II m. Our captain, Carberry, from
New York, who had us in charge, told
us we were free until that time, and |
cautioned us against getting lost in the
streets. The Christian Association,
through its agents, gave each of us a
testament, as an expression of good
will. We got our money changed, and
INDUCED in eating and drinking, having
our hair cut, and the pests removed
therefrom. We also laid in supply of
liquor for us at sea, as an antidote for
seasickness. At IL o'clock we fell into
line, marched somewhere through the
city, whose inhabitants gazed at us in
wonder. At u m. the ship fired her
gun and slowly steamed out from the
wharf. A French man-of-war in the
harbor was crowded with sailors, who
gave us three cheers as Lees soldiers. |
On board were quite number of Con-
federate deserters to be sent to New Or
leans. They gave us some trouble,
whereupon Capt. Carberry made a
speech to them, and told them plainly
that he would shoot them like dogs, and
that he had no respect for any man who
deserted his colors. Many of us were
sea-sick, and did not care whether the
ship went to the bottom or not. Capt. |
Carberry's uniform kindness won our
esteem and regard. We presented him
with testimonial of resolutions of our
appreciation of his kindness. He ac-
cepted it with more pleasure, he said,
than he did his commission, and would
always endeavor, as he had heretofore,
to so live, as to merit the esteem of
everyone. This appreciation of Fed
eral officer, by gang of prisoners, who
fought against him, was pleasant to both |
parties; and is cited to show that the
rough usages of war had not entirely
blunted the sensibilities of gentlemen.
Arrived at New Orleans, we were
turned over to the Provost Marshal,
who stored us in a cotton shed; then
inspected our paroles, and offered trans |
portation at some convenient opportu- |
nifty. We declined the latter, as we
were with friends, and struck out, with |
the permission of the officer, to see
them. On passing out we were grufiy
hailed by darkey sentinel to fluff dem
clothes of" meaning our jackets. We
cut our buttons off, and threw the gar |
ments into a far corner, where if they |
did not crawl off it is a wonder. Then |
in wooden shirts that had campaigned |
from Virginia to Pennsylvania and back |
again; with coarse, heavy pants, patched |
with numerous pieces Of divers colors; |
coarse woolen socks, and shoes of rough |
material, two sizes above fit; and head |
topped off with an apology for hat, we
strutted down and up the streets until
we found some acquaintance. From |
one, q borrowed coat of immaculate |
white adorned the person of the writer; |
this answered until a genuine Samaritan /
came to our relief, and then, arrayed in |
genuine store-clothes, after luxurious
baths, We were once more transferred to
the civil walks of life.
Thus passed away with Us the last
Yestige Of army life; and four years Of
weary war were passing away as a
dream. By steamer we reached our
home, after an absence of three years
and nine months; had fought in thirty
two actions, and left the bones of nearly |
one-half the company in eonsecrated
soil. Out of one hundred and eight
who marched away to seeming frolic |
at the government expense, eighty only
came back together Forty-two maim-
ed ones told Of the tumult Of war and |
its chances. We were welcomed right |
royalty by all, mingled with tears of
sorrow for those who had gone down
in the fierce blasts of battle, or wasted |
precious life IN the hospital wards. |
Thus ne gradually sank into peaceful
pursuits, and as particles Of once grand