Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-02-26
DOWN IN DIXIE.
interesting Renaissance o.
the Late War.
HEARD BY B. F. TuLINGHAST,

d6AhU 0x d. r IlhLlUd0AOls
Story Of . Confederate Soldier Who Was
Confined In Rock Island Prison for Four
Months. and How He Finally Escapsd-
An Episode Of Local Interest.
B. F. Tillinghast, the talented
managing editor Of the Davenport
Democrat, who left for the south on
q recreative jaunt q couple of weeks
ago, has written an interesting letter
to his paper concerning an episode
ing the civil war, and which he incl
dentally heard while in conversation
with three ex confederates at Chat
tanooga. According to Mr.. Tilling-
hast, the quartette were toasting
themselves before q CRATE fire in one
of the hotels few evenings ago. and
after two had related their experience
in the war, the third spoke as follows:
The next in the row of big rocking
chairs was Scotchman by birth, a
Mississippian by adoption. He en-
tered the service young, was cap
tured at Lookout mountain, and
served as a prisoner at Rock Island
arsenal until he made his escape and
reached Canada. He asked about the
Berryhills, the Boyles, the Bufords.
and others whom he had met or
heard of. He was curious about
points of interest on the island, and
when told that all the graves of the
confederate dead had long since been
leveled BY order of the war depart
ment, he muttered some impreca-
tions, as anyone having comrades in
arms resting there might do, and
properly enough. His own words l
shall try to give from memory, since
to draw a note book at such a time
would have been rudeness, and more
than that, a damper. Here is the
prisoners story of 80 years ago.
There is a thread of bitterness run
ming through it, though it was plain
enough that the Scotchman had tried
to forget the misfortune which was
his fate:
There were five Mississippi regi-
ments, the oath, 9th, goth, 3Oth and
saith in Walthall's brigade of Cheat
hams division engaged in the battles
about Chattanooga, Nov. %, "a and
25, 1868. They were among the
most sanguinary battles of the war
the most so for the regiments have
named. since they were cut down to
about 700 men when we were cap
tured. Soon after the battle we were
taken to Nashville, and there the 700
of us were loaded into cattle cars and
sent through Indiana to Rock Island.
We were unloaded Immediately after
crossing the railroad bridge which
then spanned the slough between the
island and Illinois. The 700 men
were huddled in a group and sur
rounded by a chain guard. Then we
were divided off into companies,
breaking up the old associations.
The men whose names began with A
were ordered to step out by them
selves, and so with B and c and all
through the alphabet.
Kentuckian Favored.
The citizens of Rock Island came
over on the island to see the rebels,
as they called us, and a great deal OF
good natured ban:ering was INDUCED
in by the crowd, though heard moth
ing that was insulting. remember
distinctly that three ladies pushed
themselves to the front of the crowd
getting as near to US as possible. One
of them asked il there were anv Ken
tuckians among us, and when one o.
the boys from that state, who haC
enlisted in a Mississippi regiment
answered aflirmatively, she threw him
an apple and said it was for the
prisoner who would not take the oatf
OF allegiance to the north.
The prison in which we were
quartered was near the center of The
: island. Most persons, when the wore
prison is used, think of a large
gloomy building with narrow, damn
cells. This Rock Island prison wa!
a square enclosure and around it wa.
fence 20 feet high, made of 2-inct
plank doubled. On the outside O
this was parapet rising to within
four feet of the top of the plank, anc
on this the guards walked, they beins
just high enough to look over int
the enclosure. On the west side there
was a large gate. and beyond thi:
S3te tncTe was anOtneT line VI xudIuS
From the center of that gate an ave
nue. led to the eastern side of the bul
pen and this was crossed from norti
to south by another avenue, each a
feet wide. There were rows of build
ings, six on each side of the mali
avenue.
"In all there were IA buildings
capable Of holding 120 men each
Each building was 60 feet from thu
fence. and they were 90 feet apart
that is to say. that much space be
tween the buildings. Inside tn
fence, and all the way around, wa
the dead line, a trench beyond which
no prisoner was allowed to 60.
lin their interiors the building!
we're all alike. We entered from the
end. and on either side was a Ion.
double row of hunks, enough of then
to hold 120 men. At the far end o
the building 80 feet was partitionet