The National tribune., 1901-06-13
IN HOSTILE HANDS.
A Plain Tale of Trial and Suffer-
ing in Salisbury Prison.
BY A. E. SHEARMAN, 117TH md, La
FAYETTE, IND.

My regiment, the 117th n. Y, was i
the very nrst battles at Bermuda Hundre
and Petersburg, Va, in May and June
1864 and had been fighting on those ire
north and south of the James river a.
Summer. We had been in several har
battles and lost heavily. l had been wound
ed on two different occasions, and ha'
lust returned to my regiment from tn
hospital (where | had been for monti
on account of my last wOund), when w
were ordered north of the James RlVer
from the Petersburg front.
In battle on Sept - at Deep Bottom
and Fort Gilbert, i'll front of Rlchmond, L
with a number of others, was taken prs
oner We slept that night Ill an oper
field back of the rebel works, and the neN
day were taken to Richmond (oniy hye
or six miles from our battlefield Of the
day before), and put in Libby Prison.
Upon our arrival at Libby Hrlson, d
the office every man was told to SURRENDER
any yaluables he might have, and that a
record would be made of them, and that
when he was released they would be re-
turned to him. Men gave up watches,
money and other valuables when they
were forced to, but have never heard OF
q case where the ValuableS were returned.
They got very little from our squad, from
the fact that we had not been paid off
for months and had very little money
with u.s. They did not search US very
carefully, as they seemed to be ID hurry
to get us off their hands.
We were sent up onto the second floor
and turned loose, with several hundred
other prisoners. About the first person L
met was q member of my company, RoD-
ert Wilson. who had been captured while
on picket duty with me, month or two
before, on the Bermuda front. As soon
as he saw me he broke down, crying. lie
had been there long enough to see some
of the horrors of Libby Prison. de died
soon after at Salisbury, n. G.
While there the rebel guards would
come in frequently, get us into line and
count US, TO ascertain if any had es-
capped This counting was regular thing,
and when the prisoners were ordered TO
fall in and did not do so promptly, the
rebel guards were not backward IN using
their pistols as clubs, and were more la
BILE to strike a soldier in the face or on
the head than any other place.
1t was a common thing to see rebei
guard knock a Union soldier down with
his pistol, and then kick him. For man
to be sick or disabled was no excuse for
not falling in promptly. All of the guards
were strong, active men and heavily
armed, ready at any moment for an OUT
break, and sometimes it looked as II they
were trying to force one on the prison
ers.
At Libby Prison we got two meals per
day, of black bean soup and bread, but
not enough at the two meals to make half
of one meal At this prison we got plenty
of good water, which was a great bless
ing; also, were under cover and out of the
weather.
ON TO SALISBURY.
Our stay at Libby was short. From
here we went to Belle Island. This
island is in the James River, at Rich
mond, with the city overlooking it. The
only thing to recommend it to us was the
fact that while there We did not want for
plenty of James River water.
Our stay there was shorter thar in
Libby. We were put aboard cattle and
box cars and taken some 200 miles far |
ther south to Salisbury, n. G. We were |
on the road two or three days, with very !
little to eat or drink, and were very glad |
that we were not to go any farther south. |
There were several hundred in our
party, and we made a stir among the in
mates when we marched into the pen at
There were very few prison |
ers there then; most of them were South |
ern Union men, a few Northern news /
paper correspondents, and some 80 or 40 |
Union officers.
This pen was lot of perhaps six acres
Of ground, with a high fence around it; |
outside of the fence, and about three or |
four feet from the top, was platform, on |
which the rebel guards walked back and |
forth, watching for an excuse to shoot a I
Yankee prisoner. Outside, in two corners
Of this pen, We're planted cannon, with |
their muZzles sticking through the fence
into the pen. These guns were double
shotted with canister, and were intended /
for use in case of an uprising of the pris-
1ners. Inside the fence and about one
rod from it was a deep ditch, which was
called the dead line" but the dead line
was actually about six feet farther in,
for it was certain death to a man to get
within six feet of the ditch.
THE DEAD AT SALISBURY.
There was an old dismantled cotton
factory and about four other smaller
buildings inside the inclosure. These
buildings were occupied by the prisoners
as quartres when We went there, but |
within two months after our arrival r.
300 or 10000 of our men had been brought
nto the pen, and the buildings were then
Ill used as hospitals, and they were not
arge enough to accommodate our sick
After the bad weather set in the men |
lied off like sheep. l have seen 100 men
n the dead-house at one time. Accord
Dg to our Government records, our men
lied of there at an average of from 60
o 30 per day from Oct. /, 1864, to March
|, 1865. The National Cemetery at that
place shows l., 1872 Union soldiers We're
buried there, and nearly all were buried
lfter Oct. /, 1864. The record for
Ca, is 13,102 graves; but
600 more than are buried at Salisbury.
The rebels failed to keep death records,
every grave at Salisbury
contains at unknown Union soldier.
OF my regiment alone % men were at
that | have the names Of; about
lalf Of these were buried there. Three
members of my company CA were there;
was the only one of the three that sur
rived.
The dead were Len out in wagons.
which were running day and night part
# the time. The dead were piled up in
he wagons just like so many hogs-gen-
rally but one garment on each, shirt
,r pair of drawers; the balance of their
.lOthing had been taken to keep the living
warm The dead were taken to n hillside
overlooking the pen, and were there
umbled into a trench, probably four or
i've feet deep.
Our rations usually consisted of about
,ne-half pint of rice soup and slice Of
)read. On rare occasions we would get
| small piece of meat, and instead of meat
n soup, would draw about three table
'poonfufs of sorghum This ration was
or "a hours; most Of the men ate all they
,ot at one meal, and then did not get half
.nough, and would then have to wait "a
lours for their next lunch. Occasionally
hey would skip US a day or two; no reg
llar time for serving ratiors-any time
rom 10 O'Clock In the morning until 5
,'clock p. IN. Water was very scarce; we
'ould not get enough to drink.
A FATAL ATTEMPT.
The latter part of November the men
IUhf 1ftssy III |