The National tribune., 1891-01-01
Elf Great Sugar Raid BY Union Prisoners.

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1863, and were in the Pemberton and Crews
Buildings, have good reason to remember some
OF the extraordinary experience OF that time.
! Most of them had been captured at Chicka-
manga and had, after a week or ten days
/ journey. arrived az Richmond about Oct j.
! They were a wild set Of mon, and while going
! 10 the prison house were quite noisy. A Rich
mond paper said that they were a fue set Of
meE, and that they feared no orders
After a short stay in the first prison house
/ they were finally taken 10 "A three story brick
! building situated ON a northwest corner with
front Of about 30 feet and length Of about 100
/ feet which was divided in The center by a
brick wall from collar TO roof into two build
4 ings. The cast one was called Crews Building,
OF Little Libby; the west one Pemberton
Building. Both together holding about 1000
prisoners.
A small vacant lot was on the opposite corner
TO the south, while on west side OF the vacant
lot was Libby Prison, with its trout extending
10 the next street corner west. Al this corner,
the northwest corner OF the prison, WAS located
the prison Office, with sign over door, Libby
a son, ship Chambers and GrOcers."
On the first Sunday in Richmond a Chap
lain, IL is said, of the 9th n. \. Cav, WAS per-
mittcd TO come over from Libby Prison 10
preach in the Crews Building. Ills text was
Come unto me all ye that labor and arc heavy
laden and i Will give you rest Ills sermon
vas AlAN lhAAlNnbilE dlA Alllilh ltAAai
We had not long been prisoners before we be-
gan 10 get acquainted amongst ourselves, and
TO know moro about the building and its mys-
tcrious apartments; and the prisoners who
were first 10 know about those apartments
were our neigllbors on the west side, in the
lemherton Building, who, IN their search and
explorations by means Of a board 1aEen up from
the floor got down into the cellar and iound
salt. As the prison ratiOns were too fresh,
salt was good discovery aud an improvement
% the rltlOns and was soon in great demand.
The PembertOn prisoners soon supplied them
selves, and had some 90 trade TO their neigh
bors Of the Crews Building by the spoonful,
through a nailod-up doorway.
IL was now question what was in the cellar
Of the Crews Building. IL WAS soon decided by
two comrades who were located along the side
OF a row of tobacco presses, about 20 feet south
OF the northwest corner OF the first floor. Close
10 or nearly under one OF the presses they cut
or sawed q hole through the floor, aud with
half shelter-tent climbed down into the cellar
and found bran and sugar Sugar was q better
discovery than salt, but a discovery Of so much
importance could not be kept secret for more
than one day. OF course, when it was known
that sugar was found a large crowd soon c0ngre-
gated for the purpose OF getting supply, aud
in order that all should have an equal chance,
an arrangement was made that q certain number
Of men every night should 20 down into the
cellar, and the sugar they got should be rationod
out the ration being a pint a day TO every
Inan IN the building.
This arrangement lasted about week. during
which the east side Of the building prisoners
had their sugar, and the west-side prisoners
had their salt Some who had sugar began 10
trade sugar for salt by The spoonful through
the nailed doorway. But this trading was des-
tined not to last long, for some of the Pember-
ton prisoners took il into their heads that they
] "A "A a. a
therefore concluded TO dig through the wall be-
tween the two cellars. They accomplished
their purpose. IL was on the night Of Oct. %,
1863, about six or seven days after the FIRST dis
c0vcry Of the sugar. il was their FIRST aud last
chance at the sugar. for the sugar raid then
played out. Either too much noise had been
made, or the owners OF the sugar were sus-
picious that it was not safe in a cellar under SO
many Yankee prisoners. Whether on account
Of any noise or suspicious about its safety. or
Tor no earthly reason, some one happened TO
come into the cellar on the morning of Oct %,
and made the discovery that a considerable
quantity OF the sugar aud salt was missing aud
that it had probably been taken By tho Yankee
prisoners.
On account Of the hole in the wall il was
supposed that the prisoners uf the Pembert0n
Building, the salt raiders, had taken all the
sugar and salt, and therefore, a punishment,
the PenbertOn prisoners bad their ratiOns cut
of for one day, while the prisoners Of the
Crews Building, the ones most guilty escaped
without punishment
The sugar aud salt was Immediately removed,
and il is presumed was taken 10 some place
where il would be SAFE If the loss had not
been discovered ii is question how long d lime
the balance Of the sugar would have lasted.
About 40 OF 80 bOgsheads Of sugar were re-
moved, and how much that was not taken out,
but was consumed by prisoners, can be learned
by the following official account concerning the
great sugar raid, which was published IN tho
Richmond EIGmiHer IN the latter part Of OCtO-
bcr 1868:
"TOo GOOD TO KEEP.
Certain officials in this city, who have
charge Of the Yankee prisoners, have recently
been made the victims of practical joke which
would be irTcsstably funny but for the fact that
! the laugh rs on the wrong side OF Cousin Sally
1 AIMS mouth aud too expensive ly half It
/ appears that number Of Yankee prisoners con-
! fined in a warehouse, in which Is stored large
/ quantity Of sugar recently took it into their
heads 10 illustrate the we'll known fOudn8ss Of
their race for sweet things by disposiDg Of sO59
! pounds Of the sacharine compound for their in
! diyidual and collective Qualification. IL is re-
ported That the aforesaid officials are abuHdanty
A satisfied with tie gastrOu0mic q experiment. aud
4 will be prepared 10 furnish In their report Of
the same some very valuable statistics for those
| interested IN the science Of animal economy"
] This was copied in Castle Crews, or Crews
/ Building, Oct. 80, -63. ] d0u't know whether
Oct 80 was the date Of the paper or date Of the
/ time II Was copied. It was copied from a paper
loaned by fellow prisoner, aud as the paper
was several days old il is possible il was the
date Of the day il was copied. This is the sec
Ond account, SO far as the writer knows, con-
corning the sugar raid. The other account did
not have a copy Of what WIS published in the
/ Richmond paper.
Would Ike 10 hear from some OthoT comrades
on the same subject-C. \. aud r., o4th H.,
LaGBnge no.
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