Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1900-02-22
PRISON DAYS RECALLED.
An Ex-confederate's "Reminiscences
Of Fort Delaware.
Trying Voyage Down the Coast, So
That They Might 30 Placed IN
der Fire Of Their own Cannon.

Philadelphia Record.
Prison life during the war be-
tween the States has been written
up from Northern standpointu upon
very many occasions by soldiers who
OK per@need it horrors in Southern
prisons, but / have encountered lit
tie OF such literature from South
ern soldiers who suffered conilne-
ment in the prisons of the North,
and it has not been because they
had nothing to write about. Mill
tary prisons are bad at the best. but
10 writing of their evils one is apt
to draw more or less upon the i'm
agination, to lend interest TO the
story, and certainly some Of those
! have read had been highly flavor
ed. | have endeavored to avoid
this, and oonfne myself to q sim
pie, unvarnished statement OF facts
as they occurred in my prison ex-
perience, giving credit where credit
is due, all Of which can DO eorrob-
GRATED by men in high standing still
living.
Late one afternoon in July, 1864,
there emerged from a hay loft at
Fort McHenry, Baltimore, fifty or
sixty as miserable looking speoi-
mems Of humanity as the eye had ever
rested upon. and the writer was Of
the number. Some had lost leg,
others an arm, and again others
shuflled along painfully with the
assistance OF cane. These men
we're all Confederate officers who
had been wounded at Gettysburg 3
year before, and they had only re-
Gently been declared conyalescent
and discharged from the hospital.
Our destination was Fort Della
ware, located on Pea Patch Island.
some few miles below Philadelphia,
and our means Of getting there was
by one Of tho small Ericsson boata
that ply between Baltimore ana the
Quaker City,
Some time during the night wo
disembarked at our new prison
home, aud were quickly conducted
to large enclosure aud assigned
our quarters.
As far as ! could judge by the
aid OF a locomotive headlight the
surroundings were mnch moro IN.
yiting than the narrow confines Of
the old hayloft We had left behind
at Fort McHenrY, and these first
Impressions were confirmed when /
arose from my blanketin the morn
/ ing at breakfast call.
On three sides OF this large en-
closure had been erected rude bar.
racks for the accommodation OF a
great many prisoners, and there
we're confined here at that time al
most two thousand officers. Along
the fourth side Of the enclosure ran
q high board fence, which separat-
ed the officers from the prigates, as
under no circumstances we're they
allowed to communicate with each
other
As we had been allowed the news
papers all along We we're pretty we'll
posted as to what had been trans
piring at the front during the past
year, and | was therefore not sur
prised to meet my old commanders,
Edward johnson and George IL.
Steuart, with whom / had parted at
Gettysburg on that memorable Bird
of July the year before. They were
here by reason Of an early morning
visit General Hancock had paid
them a few weeks before at Spott-
sylyania.
PRISON OFFICIALS.
Before the day had passed / was
introduced to General Sehoepf, the
commandant, a fine-looking Ger
man, who had had checkered life
bothin Europe and this country. AT
tbo -, b,naty - . n II =. - - :, ,,ax,n