, 1889-10-24
"re Cvt -EsC- 3PRING."
4 Soldiers Belief That Its Origin Waa
Certainly Miraculous.

Soldiers Belief That Its Origin Wa
Certainly Miraculous.
The Ohio State journal Is indebted td
J 7 Harris for the following incident
relative to Providence Spring. which
broke out at AndesSonville. and saved SO
many lives and banished so much torture:
Having heard so much controversy
and argument concerning the origin of
Providence Spring that broke forth from
side hill in Andersonville prison pen
during the war, thought. knowing as q
think do all about the matter, that it
might he pleasure, if not duty. to
throw such light on the matter as will
prove satisfactory to ali concerned.
Il was confined in Andersonville dur
ing the late spring and summer of 1864,
and again visited the place last winter
lSS4 and 1885. The spring in question
broke out from the side of hill on Aug.
l3, 1864, without any previous indica-
tIons of a spring or even dampness at
that point. 1t is true it rained very
much duringthe month of June twenty
pnc days., and the argument has been
used by some that the spring broke out
on account of the rain; but that is absurd
for several reasons In the first place /
Know that Andersonville prison was
under!aid with sand to a depth of at
least 5G feet (as ! have helped to dig a
well to that depth near the spring., and
it would he impossible for the rain water
of June to delay its action in that bank
of pure sand until Aug. 13. Secondly,
there has certainly been some dry
weather since that spring broke out, and
if it had only been supplied by seepage
water from rains it would fail to flow in
dry weather, which has certainly never
been the case, as any of the citizens will
tell you who live in that vicinity.
Others have claimed that Providence
Spring was supplied by a branch of the
run that went through the camp, tracing
its way through the sand to the point at
which it broke ont, but such is not the
case, for the spring at that time flowed
from the side of North hill at least eight
feet higher than the level of the water
in the run. 1t is not so today, because it
has, by the action of its water on the
sand, washed a gully or ravine to a
depth of about eight feet, and is conse-
quently at present on or nearer the level
with the water in the run. Now when
the prisoners of war confined in Ander-
sOnville prison pen were suffering-yes,
dying-for want of pure water Qor there
was the excrement and filth from the
Confederate camp of two regiments
washed into the run that furnished
the only water we could get until
Aug. l3. 1864, Providence Spring
broke forth from a side hill that had
given no such indications, at least since
March |, 1854, at which time it had been
first occupied as camp, and if it had
ever run Or flowed previous to that time
II certainly would have been as natural
for it to wash out the eight foot gully or
ravine at that time as it has done since
As soon as daylight came and the spring
was discovered first it broke out in the
night there was quite an excitement
among the prisoners in its immediate
vicinity; il. fact, it almost turned into a
crazy mob to secure some of the cooling
beverage until the prison police took pos.
session of the spring. after which time
each man had to fall into line down the
hi!l and take his turn to get his cup or
pail filed with the water. Some few of
ts,e citizens who live near Andersonviile
claim that there had been q spring ther4
years before their time, and when ques,
toned about the matter they admitted
lat least to mel that they personally knew
nothing about it. but had heard SO and
so from somebody else. OF course the
washing out that the spring has done
since we first discovered it is sufficient
argument to show positively that theiI
talk is without any foundation for truth
whatever, and are only Tin my opinion
irving to obliterate the providence o,
Almighty God.