The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1884-01-10
c. THURSDAY JANUARY TO-

asked for more. They complained not when
dying, and they passed away gently as snow
fakes from under an April sun. They had
fought death as long as they could, until so
worn out and exhausted that q change in the
atmosphere, a gale of wind in the night, would
carry them off by scores The survivors had
seen $4,000 of their comrades carried outside
the stockade, where
HOLES WERE DUG FOR THEIR BODIES,
and their toes were left turned up to mingle
with the brier roots of Georgia, without cere-
mony or pity, and as new prisoners came in
and took their places they soon learned by ex-
perience the story Of their lives. Such men
while at Blue Springs were not susceptible of
everything good, they had no hearts for tender
emotions and the impression they made upon
Southern people was disparaging to themselves.
They were as ready to create bad impression
as a good one. hundred incidents proved
this. Here is one
While on our way from Blackshear we were
halted in the pine woods north of Townsville,
and soon q carriage came along with some
ladies in it, and as the road was pretty well
blocked the driver drew up his horses in our
midst and the ladies had good opportunity
of witnessing our miserable condition. All at
once three or four of our boys started up a
song They did not feel like singing but they
taxed themselves and made the effort. Such
sweet music was never heard before among the
pines. 1t was that familiar and touching army
song which was published in the last number
| of the December issue of THE NATIONAL
TRIBUNE:
have for my country fallen;
Who will care for mother how?"
The boys were sitting around singing, and
| the
PINES WERE SINGING ABOVE.
the faces of the ladies were covered with tears,
| the open chapel melody drew nearer together
| the guards and all who had mother on earth
or III Heaven; yet. when the singers were re-
minded of their prison experience, they pur-
| posely spoiled all of the beautiful sentiment
| by singing hideous ccmica song, with heT-
rible chorus, to the chagrin Of the ladies.
Box-ear life on Southern railroads was mis-
! cradle enough-there the dead and living often
/ mingled together; but while on foot for the
| Union lines there was a happy thought in the
contemplation of reaching Gods country /"
| hearts became in measure, softened, the
] hard-pan of our experience began to erumbie,
and when we arrived in Jacksonville on the
2Sth of April, and saw
THE OLD FLAG AGAIN,
a flag that seemed to have been hidden for al
most generation, our men could not restrain
their voices any longer. Hearts became soft
ened by tears, and pent-up loyalty burst
forth; for the victory, the hardest of the war,
| had been won
Yes, outside of stockades and prison pens,
we found some rays of sunshine while on our
| way home; but back, in the rear of us, at An
| dersonville-in that parallelogram of hell
phantoms still arose from its sand holes TO tor
tare us while on orr journey, and when at
Baldwin the guards would have nothing more
/ TO do with us, and said that we were free,
| many could not believe it. When we started
for jacksonville, those who were able COM
menced to run and ran into the Union lines,
| still pursued By the awful shadows of the past