The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1890-08-26
Ar ANDERSONVILLE,
MEMOIRS OF ONE WHO SUFFER
ED ITS HORRORS.
His Story Does not Tally With JEFF
Davis Story.


health. He is Of middle age, once Of
hardy physique, but n wv reduced by
exposure in the Rebel prison and by
other causes.
"What did we have to eat" said he
In reply to the correspondents inquiry
"Well, sir, once a day only we had
Junk of bacon the size Of my two fin
gers and about an inch thick. Stock
peas and variegated beans were served
to each man, about handful daily,
with small piece of so-called corn
bread containing the ground cob with
the corn.
! "The beans and peas were old and full
of bugs. Inside of them would be
found rice fat bugs. The beans and
peas were few enough, but t &c bugs
were plentiful. Each squad of pris-
oners would pool their meat and peas
in camp kettle, making soup by boil
ing the bacon, peas and water until
the bacon was dissolved. Circles of
grease formed on the surface of the
soup, and in the centre Of each grease
circle we would always find nicely
boiled bug. With only one meal q
day, which was but fraction of an
ordinary meal at that, a mans appetite
increases. He can eat bugs, bootlcgs
or anything to fill up. So we soon &C
customed ourselves to the bug diet.
The Rebel senries were posted around
the stockade twenty feet apart.
/ sThe dead line inside the prison
was about twenty feet from the fence.
Men were shot for crossing that line.
I remember one poor fellow who had
become crazed under the exposures
and privations of our horrible life.
He was tired of living, so he crawled
over the dead line .AGet back or Pll
shoot yer!'z shouted the. Sentry: Some
one told the sentinel that the man was
crazy. The officer on guard was
called. He warned the crazy prisoner
to get back or be shot. The poor fel-
low shouted Shoot The order was
given to shoot; the rifle cracked and
the irresponsible Union soldier was
corpse.
awe always knew when a prisoner
was dying, because half dozen of his
companions gathered about the sufferer
ready to carry the corpse outside the
stockade. This readiness to act as
pallbearers arose from the fact that
when outside the prison there was at
chance tossnatch twigs and sgEass from
the wayside, to be used as food or
fuel. Every dead man was stripped
of all clothing when life left the body.
we reasoned that clothes were of no
use to the dead, and they were Of use
to protect live men.
s:Our shelter and fuel supply was
decidedly limited. Where the trees
had been cut down inside the stockade,
poor fellows in urgent need of wood
dug the roots out Of the ground to q
considerable depth. This illustrates
the wretchcd want we experienced.
mo shelter was provided by the Rebels.
We were captured as raiders Our
eaptors considered it Their right to take
everything we possessed in the way of
valuables. We were searched thor
pughly. One Of the ten men in our
squad had $3.50 in greenbacks. How
to keep it from the Rebs was ques-
ton. Finally corn cake was baked
in the ashes, into which the money
was pushed. When the searchers
arrived they did not find the cash.
With this money our comrade bought
b piece of rough woven cotton stuff,
with which to make tent to co 'er
ten men.
ct was scant covering for so many.
By digging a cellar two feet deep we
were able to crowd under the cover.
One man slept in an exposed position,
so we all took turns on the outside.
So cramped were our quarters that
when one man desired to turn over
during the night all thu others were
obliged to turn with him. Iremember
one night stone hurt me-we slept on
the bare earth without blanket-and
I pinched the man next to me, desiring
him to turn over so that could move.
My disturbance made him mad. lie
swore at me. ! swore at him. We
then stepped outside to fight it ont.
When we squared off to deliver oul
blows we were actually too weak tc
strike. We resemblsd pair of ex-
hausted pugilists at the end Of hard
fight. and we agreed to finish our diff
ferences after the war, shook hands
and went to bed again, actually amused
at our ludicrous efforts to fight.
ssEvery morning the dead prisoner;
were gathered in rows outside of the
prison. Arms and legs of the corpscs
were tied together. For a time the
'Graybacks' pretended to keep record
of the dead. Finally Union men were
detailed for the purpose. The hesrse
consisted of rough farm wagon, with
rigging. Upon this conveyance th'
bodies were thrown, as farmer would
throw logs of wood. The brutal jsilors
drove the ghastly load 10 trench, into
which the bodies were thrown. On
the way to burial arms and legs pro.
truded from the cart and were mutt
lated against the wheels. The inhu
manity exhibited by the overseers Of
this prison has never been equalled b!
civilized man.
"Too little is known by the rising
generation Of the cruelty of these
Southerners in managing Anderson
vile. 1t was damnable pest hole fol
which there is no excuse, and fol
which. JEFF Davis was responsible
The Rebel general, who managed Lib
BY Prison and afterward managed An,
Jacksonville, said that he would ki!
more Yankees in prison than woul,