Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1891-10-29

About the middle of May |. with a
number of other officers and enlisted
men-the latter strong, hearty young
fellows fresh from Grants army-was
sent to Charleston in charge of young
lieutenant named Lewis.
| may add that my story is true in
every particular. and that though there
are great many ''I's" scattered through
it, which is inevitable in a personal mar
rative. that | am not at all eager to fig
ure as hero Still | think can hon
estly say that. like the tens Of thousands
Of conscientious men who fought on
both sides. ! tried to do my duty us a
soldier. though was not yet old enough
to vote
1t would really take as long to tell of
the incidents that occurred between
Richmond and Charleston, as it did to
make the rip-forty-eight hours.
AT Charleston we were confined in the
jailyard. where we were under the fire
of our own batteries stationed on Morris
island. and not an hour of the day, and
frequently of the night. passed that we
did not hear the whirr and explosion of
the shells sent into the city by General
Gilmore's famous Swamp angel
The tent in which was quartered in
the jailyard was directly in the monday
shadow of permanent gallows, on
which many men had been hanged, but
neither the sight nor the dismal creaking
at night brought horrible suggestions to
my mind. 1t would have been very diff
hcult to increase, through the inagina-
ton, the awful reality of our situation
After being in the iailyard about ten
days, an enlisted man who looked like a
living skeleton. for he had been i'll this
wretched place for four months, advised
me to play" sick and get sent to the
Roper hospital
1t did not require much ability as an
actor to play sick. for if had been in my
own home should have been in bed
with at least two doctors in attendance.
But as the Roper hospital was represent
ed by my friend to be a perfect para
disc" in comparison with the jailyard,
determined to exhaust every effort to get
sent there.
hospital was better than the Jail. and he
replied:
"You bet it is Why, it's regular
up and down heaven compared with
this Internal hole. To be sure it amt
out Of the range of shells, but we don't
mind them no more, but it gives you
view Of green woods to the west and
blue water to the east
Views are all very fine," replied,
but they don't appease hunger. What
advantages has this hospital in the way
of extra grub2"
"Finer' exclaimed my informant. tIt
is in charge of the sisters of charity, the
noblest lot Of women you ever saw, and
all the rooms and blankets are clean, and
if you play it sharp you can get white
bread and meat and milk, and all that
till you can't rest. All, if was back
there again | wouldn't leave unless they
carried me away on stretcherr And
the man shook his head and compressed
his lips as if he were chiding himself for
neglected opportunities
There was no resisting this tantalizing
picture Of abundant food and luxurious
surroundings. | had played sick with
great success in Libby, and determined
to enact the same role again Nor did 1t
require acting If it were not that
kept mad right straight along when /
wasn't asleep | should have dropped
down from sheer weakness. for the pains
and exhaustion OF dysentery and incip
lent scurvy were added to the ever pres
ent tortures Of hunger
As a matter of form, for | never saw
them administering any medicine. two
or three doctors. all in Confederate uni
form. came in every morning and made
tour OF the yard and the prison The
next morning waited near the Jail door
till they came down. and then. with
much of the desperation OF Oliver Twist
when. impelled by the same feeling, he
held up his empty bowl and asked foi
more" placed myself IN front Of the
doctors and saluted.
Well, sir said an elderly doctor,
whose face indicated that the milk OF