The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-10-10

Learned. During the day we. had nc
cess TO tho sink built on piles III .ns
hev INT nj ni1ht the gates wcIe
closed and boxes were placed III w go y" =,
part of the camn, 10 when ,ne n'sm rbs,o
iowed 10 20 nj ali hours Of the night mere
were hundreds OF sick I'm camp, easss W VIZ
lent darrhna, reducing the men 10 sheIs,ois,
As these men were clinpeilsu ~ ,,il..,,ai
these boxes. the negroes wVulu oi,s. -
them al the point Of the bay onel 10 n. ,
sround I'm double quick tune. 10 carry tnehi
on their backs. 10 kneel and pray iot ape
lincoln. and forced them To submit 10 ~ va
riety Of their brutal jokes, some y. "i''N" "'
cency would not permit 10 mcht'oh'
FEDERAL sERGEANTs.
The white scrgeants I'm chsrge were hardly
of n better class than their colOred Drotnei.
They belonged 10 that class Of mean coW an,,
who dare not face the foe on tne p"t.iS I ~, ~
whose bravery consist In insulting anu lia,,
treating defenseless prisoner. Oiteh nav
seen them kick a poor, sick, Droken,1o"n
prisoner, because he was physically uhapl, y, =,
lake his place In line at roll-call as luIchIy
a. the sergeant demanded. ffls1n '.rs,T, 70
sometimes punished by them TOO horrlDiy 20
relate. Mon were tied, bands anu leet' w
had 20 stand on u barrel for hours otleis
were bound and dipped head fore .n0sl III "
urine barrei-all this for some lrliiilns -,
fensa. such rs getting water IRON n ptonlo-
tied well, stealing perhaps something ea'a-
BILE, or some other small AFFAIR IL,
But most things. whether good or Dad, WIN
come To an end. More man Two Uohtilo hoN.
RAISED since Lees sure nder. The Confede-
racy was no more, and then the federal pON-
eminent took courage. About the Hauuly y.
June IL commenced To release tnoso inat
were Still living, but in consequence Oh tne
inhuman treatment they had received, TOO
feeble 10 fght again Then we were uuly
sworn I'm not to fight them again, 10 support
the Constitution and amendments. Also
registering our good looks, weight, nelght,
&c, and getting cur signatures, made us ifee
men again.
WENT TO THE PEN.
Having thus been properly whitewashed
we We're sent 10 the pen for paroled prison.
ers This was an enclosed space ADJOINING
the hospital on the east, wherein nothing Dut
sand and some rank weeds could be found.
Here the released prisoners were stored until
"A sufficient number were on hand 10 make
up bOat-lOad. After spending day
or two without shelter or ratlons mere
we were ordered aboard an old trans
mort one of those second. handed
New York ferry boats. Meanwhile, fearful
storm was raging. the waves were house high
IN the bay, and when the boat started ana
reached the open bay the captain found II I'M
possible To proceed. the boat had 10 return
aud anchor near the wharf. The next morn
ing a similar start WAS made. with the same
result That evening Major Brady, the pro >
vOst marshall, came out In tugDOat ana
ordered the captain to leave at once.
on the captains stating that the boat
could not stand the storm, he was again
told he had To go. the Government could not
afford 10 pay $500 per day and allow me boat
to lie idle. a uer finishing their talk our men
on board con mcnced. "MajOr, give Us sOme-
thing 10 eat, we have had nothing for three
DAYS. The Major promised 70 attend 70 MS
and sure enough ne sent four crackers and a
small piece OF salt meat 10 each OF US. Then
the boat started with It's $50 human
beings into the angry waves: All
night the waves were daShlng
overheard. sometimes the machinery would
l..
left To balance the ship thoroughly soaked
To the skin, we finally reached Old Point and
safety IN the morning. No one, perhaps,
brea thed freer than our captain Of the boat.
Leaving Old Point, after short stop, we
reached Rockets that afternoon.
ARRIVAL IL RICHMOND.
Could "A picture have been taken of the
men VINO arrived in Richmond from the
prison ueus during those days. il would not
bo believed that the men who walked rom
the boat IN Rockets in June. 1860, We're the
DrOud soldier BOYS that left here In April,
1861. Silent. frienjicss, and soriowiul each
one went his way. No welcome, no
cheer awaited their return TO this
city aud 10 their homes. . how few
could boast Of having homes. nothing but
good soldier generally prove himself 70 be
good citizen. the ruins a,e gone. war and
desOlatiOn have passed, may II never return
| close with the following interesting sta
tistics: The report of Mr.. stanton, as Secre-
tary of War on the 18TH OF July. 1866. con-
tains the following facts: lie states that the
number Of Federals IN Confederate pr sons
was 2TO,OOO, OF which 22,576 siied,
while the number of Confederate prisoners
in Federal prisons Is put down as 22O,OOO,
Of which number 26.1j6 died. According TO
these figures the percentage OF fedefsl prs
onsrs who died In Southern prisons was UNI
der nine. while that OF the tOnfederates IN
Northern prisons WAS over twelve, These fig
ures tell their own story. We Ofthe South did
what we could for the prisoners thatfell IN our
our means Of supplies plead our cause Of not
being able 70 offer better accommodation 10
them. We, the soldiers Of the COnlederacy,
Jared no better; bur The Federal Govern
ment-it can only oHor expediency as AN eX-
cusc.