The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-06-13
VOTING IN THE PRISON-PENS.
How Union Soldiers in Captivity Stood by
President Lincoln.

Writer in ST. Louis Globe Democrat.
An article in a recent of your paper,
speaking of an election in Andersonve prison,
refers to a similar one in Florence and other
prisons. The writer was one of several thousand
who were taken from Andersonville in Septem
Der, 1864, and removed to Florence, S. c., and
were the first prisoners in that stockade being
guarded in an open field for several weeks while
the stockade was being built On the day before
tho presidential election in 1864, | observed,
about o'clock in the afternoon, that there was
something unusual going on at the big
gate. Rushing UP into the crowd | saw several
of the rebel officers top of the stockade.
They commanded silence, and then one of them,
a Colonel Ivesen, AS near as | can remember,
made speech. He said that the next day was
election day in the North, and that he was desir-
Gus of getting the opinions of the prisoners in re-
gard to the two candidates. and to thatend would
hold an election in the stockade, and he would
see that the result OF the votes would be sent
through the lines to the authorities at Washing
ton. He went on to say that Mcclellan was q
great soldier and was the prisoners friend, and
if elected would open our prison gates and send
us rejoicing to our homes and a great
deal of such stuff, which, | presume,
he thought we all accepted as true
Mr. Lincoln was spoken of as that vile Aboli-
ZIONIST, who was no better than a niger and
it was said that if he was elected it meant star
walton and a miserable death for us all,
etc. You can imagine this caused great excite
ment, and nearly the entire night was spent in
dawned bright and clear. and about 10 A. NJ. the
rebel sergeants came ill., and long line was
formed preparatory to voting Two rebel
soldiers stood near the dead line each with
sack containing beans, one white, the other
black, and they endeavored to impress
upon us that the beans represented
the canddates-the white ones Mcclellan,
the white mans friend; the black ones Lincoln.
the ''nigger-lover.H Each prisoner was directed
to march up to the sacks, select such bean as
he wished, step across the deadl line and drop it
into another sack, held by rebel sergeant, and
then move on beyond line separating the voted
from the others Thus steady stream of
voters was kept up. OF course, no one had any
idea how the election would 60, but there was a
very deep undercurrent of feeling in favor of
Lincoln, and it was manifested by loud
cheers when man would step
up. and, selecting black bean, hold
il up so all could see it, then step forward
and drop it into the bag. Those who voted the
white beans kept it to themselves After a
thousand or moro votes had been cast the
sergeant stated that there were not a dozen
white beans in the bag. This was greeted with
wild cheering, and the rebel officers coming in
closed the polls, saying we were lot of id
sneaking Yankees any way. and deserved starry
ing to death, and to give emphasis to this there
was not mouthful of rations issued for over
forty-eight hours, which was the penalty we
paid for voting for Mr.. Lincoln venture to
say the returns of our polls never reached Wash
ington.