St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1896-02-21
GRAY OLD SOLDIERS STORIES.
of Experience In a Rebel Prison, Getting
TO Washington and Seeing President
Lincoln, Who Helped Them out Of
a crane

~
Lincoln, Who Helped Them out OF
ScTape.
The glowing, glazing, midsummer
sun had at length fallen behind the
tall western factories and given place
successfully to the mellow twilight
and the white radience OF electricity.
The subdued hum and buzz ola great
city in it's playhour, the deep bur-r'r
of trolly cars, the sound OF hoofs on
asphalt pavement, the spatter OF
lawn s~prinklers and the murmur OF
many voices and soft laughter from
neighboring lawns reached our ears.
A cricket chirped and freflies fitted
through the sultry air, while we sat
in a sheltered porch and listened to a
gray-headed veteran who told us
stories OF the war. They were not
so tragic as some of the records OF
our great civil conflict, and will set
down a few as nearly as can re-
member in his Words
Yes, | was in prison at one time,
in Fort Madison, Georgia, | do not
like to talk about it now, it was all
so horrible. was taken out to be
shot once, and do not know why |
was not. can't tell you about that,
but | will tell you ofone ofthe strang'
est things | ever saw or ever knew to
happen to a company at that time.
You see we were 800 or more men
confined in an old factory, which had
been restored as a fort by the rebels.
There were a good many commits
stoned officers among US, and Gen.
Prentice was of the highest rank.
Some OF us were placed in the old
boiler. room, and the floor of this
room was composed Of pitch pine
planks. We found that this pine
wood would carve most beautifully,
and so a great many OF US spent the
weary hours in carving canes; and
some of them were eXquisitely done
with bees and birds and flowers and
animals; some of the men even at
tempted po%rtraiture, and carved
their sweethearts' faces on their
canes, and their comrades said that
some of them were good likenesses.
We spent hours in this way which
would have been melancholy enough
if we had been doing nothing. Capt.
c., the rebel officer who had US in
charge, found out what we were do
ing. You see he had taken away
from us every comfort that we had
possessed and made things as hard
and disagreeable, yes as horrible as
he possibly could, and of course he
could moi allow us this little amuse-
ment. SO he came to our quarters
with q force Of armed men and
said:-
Men, | hear that you have been
making canes, and | expect that you
are preparing to break bounds and
are thinking to use these canes as a
weapon of defense, and therefore |
cannot allowit. You must surrender
them to me. Draw up your men,
general, and do it quietly.
We all arose, too indignant and
angry to speak, and looked toward
Gen. Prentice for orders. He was
white with anger, but he went to his
bunk, took out his canes, and, ap.
preaching the captain, said: Boys,
the captain wishes our canes; he
seems TO think we are making them
for use now, boys. l wish you all to
do as you see me do"
With that he took a cane, placed it
across his Bonded knee and broke it
in pieces, as n would break the
merest splinter, and then, throwing
it in the captains face, cried, Take
that, damn you'll" and then breaking
another, hecried again, "Takethatp'
and we all to a mar stood beside the
general and broke our canes and
threw them in the faces of thosecow.
ardly men, and cried, Take that
damn you!" and looked and felt as
villainous as any band OF cutthroats
that ever paced the earth,-we
peaceful northern farmers! And thu
rebels stood before us, cowed anc
shrinking and livid, with the blooc
streaming from their frightened faces
At length they turned and left us
and never did Capt, c. enter GU,
prison again.
In the course of the war, however
he fell into the hands of some of on
boys, who did something with him
/, what never knew, for they woulc
r never tell. | met two Ct them at