The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-08-05
Prisoner Of War.

A soldier who fought at Stone River,
and was captured by the confederates,
tells this story of his first night as
prisoner in Murfreesboro: Speaking
from experience and observation, l
think the volunteer soldier was about
as Indifferent to hardship and the
chances of war as any other. He was a
free-hearted, reckless fellow, under al
most all circumstances given wholly to
mirth and enjoying keenly satiric
view of his surroundings. / know of
but one thing that stood any chance of
overthrowing this humor, and that was
hunger. A day or two without rations
sharpened this feeling, as it was some
thing to be endured and made the most
of, but add day more and he was diff
ferent animal. We had been poorly
fed previous to going into battle, got
little to eat during its progress, and now
after we landed in Murfreesboro it was
getting to be serious matter. Every
man was keeping sharp lookout for
something to eat. The confederates had
been very lucky during that day; they
had captured, we heard them say, be-
tween three and four thousand prison
ers-a number, even allowing for ex-
aggeration, which they would be very
averse to feeding. After marching into
town we were halted before the court
house, then used as headquarters, in
order to be paroled. Our fears in re-
gard to rations were during the next
half hour intensified, for our number
was augmented until it looked like a
brigade. We were not to be paroled
that day, and as night came on we were
marched off to quarters. / do not know
where the other prisoners were placed,
but it fell to my lot to be Jumped off
with three or four hundred others to
find quarters in an old rickety, but good
sized, carpenter shop. Its owner had
deserted it, or turned it over to the
military for this purpose. 1t was not
quite dark when we entered, and we
could get fair idea of its appearance
Benches, piles of dressed lumber, and
the usual debris of such place consti.
tuted the furniture, while overhead, in
place of floor, the loose boards laid
here and there on the ioists, it was
plain, must serve for hunks. We were
to the door, when the line was cut anC
the others marched on. 1t was well
however, that we were pretty thickly
packed, for the night was cold. We
would have laughed at the cold had il
not been for hunger. Very few of the
men had blankets, and overcoats were
about as scarce, so the only way We
could keep warm was to lie on our sides
close together like sardines in box
When the side next to the floor go
tired, some one in the squad would give
the order to whop, and all turned to-
gether. 1t must have been ten o.
eleven O'Clock before the crowd became
quiet enough to permit of sleep. Sew
eral peremptory orders had been giver
the providers to lie down, and all were
getting anxious for oblivion and the
speedy coming of morning. All at once
one restless spirit up above uttered /;
cry of exultation, Hickory nuts. a bar
rel of hickory nuts!' and all at ono,
there was general scramble over the
loose boards above that threatened tC
precipitate fifty men on the heads o
those below. In the rush the barre
was overturned and its contents rattle(
in all directions to the lower floor, max
ing noise which may be imagined
but not described. On the whole, j
turned out to be very effective distri
button, for it seemed that every man il
the course of fews minutes was pro
vided, and not nut could be found il
the building. The next problem, hov
to crack the nuts, was now occupyin.
the universal mind, and each man tool
his own way of solving it. In mo
ment pandemonium reigned in tn
sound made by that hungry four hun
dred. Everything in the shop was con
verified into nut-crackers. Most of u
had been a day and night without food
and the discovery of the barrel of nut
had sharpened appetites that were no
to be satiated. We must have pre-
sented curious picture-three o
four hundred ravenous men knocking
pounding, kicking all over the building
in the darkness of midnight, vainly en-
deavoring to get the best of our stub
born rations. 1t was very near morn
ing before the racket ceased, and tn
men, tired out by their nervous efforts
gradually fell asleep and dreamed O
home and chicken pie"
The Surviving Generals.