The National tribune., 1902-02-20
HORROR or cAhaBA.
Recollections of sufFerings in a Rebel Prison
Pen

Pen.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: be
: longed TO Co. G, 18th Wis, Fourth Corps
: Army OF the Cumberland. Forty of m,
. company We're captured on the last da!
:; of December, 1864, at Paint Rock, Ala
:, We were held prisoners until about Marcel
! Is, 1866, and only 20 of us lived to ge
. home.
u u The first question that greeted us oil
: entering the prison was: Where is ole
: : Billy Sherman?' The poor fellows al
. seemed to think all depended on Unclt
=. Billy, and when we told them that Sher
man was coming that way, and woulC
- soon be there, and how Thomas got ava!
= with Hood at Nashville. there was mucl
y excitement and hurrahing.
. . We were divided into squads of 10 men
: Every 10 had an ordinary skillet set upor
three bricks, in which to cook our rations
which consisted of about n pint of corn
. meal ground up. cob and all, to each mar
q for q days rations. Sometimes we woulG
, draw a little piece OF thin beef. very thT
! at that. We would fill our skillet with
\ water and stir in the meal until il was
thick, and then cut our beef into
small pieces and stir it into the meal. As
+ soon as it was warmed through we would
set it off and all get around it and each
one take a bite, when it came his turn,
with his wooden spoon. until all was gone.
Sometimes we would draw few black
eyed beans; we would divide them and put
them in our pockets and eat them raw, as
we did not have sufficient wood to cook
them.
One ont of the 10 was allowed to GO
ont and get wood. We always let the
one 20 that could carry the largest iond
rs what he could carry at one time had
to last us from six to 10 DAYS. We split
our wood with railroad snike, and that
served rs an AK for about 10 squads.
Our supply Of wood was SO small that
when it rained we could not build fire,
and often ate our meal raw for two md
three days at time.
| We were allowed to go ont into the ont
| side stOckade during the daytime. Then
| in the evening they would make us 20
inside the brick wall. One evening as we
were going in a rebel boy on guard shot
one Of the prisoners. The guards name
was John Hawkins. He said: 81 told
mother that wonld kill -- Yank"
When we came into Cahaba it was so
full that we had to sleep on the ground
outside the sheds. When it rained We
would scrape the mud up in rows. and
then lie down so thick that one could not
turn over unless the whole row wonld
turn. We had to lie down at s o'clock,
and could not get up till Z, and two of us
were not allowed to get up at the same
time during the night.
Cart Hanchett, 10th I'll. Cav, planned
to capture the guards and release the pris- |
oners. One night he took the first guard, |
then put prisoner in his place to call
the time of night: then he went to the |
next guard and did the same. If they |
made any fuss he would swear Mt them |
and tell them he would fix them |
for stealing his blanket: so the next guard |
did not think anything of that. for he |
heard that every night, and thought it was
the prisoners fighting over their blankets
As the guards were captured they were
taken to the sink and guarded. | was
there: Il little fellow, named Hgney, ] |
think. was having n good time with the
guards. He talked So much to them that
they knew him the next morning. He told |
them to "be good and he would parole
them in the morning.
After the Captain had taken all of the
guards on the inside. he went to the out
side gate and took those and then opened
the gates and came inside and tried to get
the boys up, but there was such confusion
that he could not make them undcrstard
He yelled at the top Of his voice: For
Gods sake, boys, come on: the gates are
open" The rebels heard the racket and
came rushing in. They ran us back to ono
end of the pen and planted artillery and
two lines of musketry in front of MS. and
turing of the guards did not come out and
give themselves up they would open fire
They did not fire. although no one came
ont. They lined us IN and had the guards
that were captured look us over to see
If they knew any OF us. but thcv only
found little Rigney. The guards told Rig
nov they would shoot him IL he did not
toll who the others were. hnt thev could
not scare him, so they put him in the dun
gcon until he would tell. He was there
10 or 30 days.
When we reached parole camD. four
niles below Vicksburg, we renorted to tho 1
General in command He asked the rehe' :
''ol. Henderson if that was the case, and I
10 said it was. He then told tho Colonel .
hat ne would give him just three days :
q get Rigney to parole or three Of the I
Pbel nrisoncrs would pay the forfeit I I
aw Rigncy when he came in; the boys
'arried him to camn on their shoulders
At the time of the attemDted escape
here were many officers in the town on
'arOle. and they understood the plan, and Z
we're ready to take command Of us. Soon :
fter these officers We're sent to Ander- o
onville.
We went by steamer up the river to
selma: stayed there three days: we could u
ear Wilson's cavalry. The guards opened I
he gates and told MS to go down to the n
opot. and they wonld send us to our lines. I,
hey put MS in bOX-carS and sent us to n
acksOn, Miss; there they gave us some i
hing to eat. and tho next morning We ri
tartcd for the Big Black River They -
old us that our men would meet us the r.
rst day ont with rationS. We were fOur II
avs marching to the river, and there we -
net onr wagons with the rations. We :,
ravelcd that 40 miles without anything
y eat. As soon as we had eaten our ra
ions they passed us over. Rebel Col.
henderson stood on one end of the pom
DOn bridge, Col. Frazce, of an Ohio regi- q
Icnt, on the other end. and counted us
s we passed. An Ohio regiment was
ned mp along the road, and as we passed :
'e all received n chunk of soft bread
We walked about four miles, then we got
n the cars and rode into camp.
I stayed there until about Anril TO- 7
'as in the tent hospital few days. One
the 18th Mich. was my nurse. He O
'as very kind TO me. Then we were sent
, Vicksburg to the Sanitary Hospital.
bout April 30 we were sent up the river
n hospital boat just ahead of the Sui
ma, which was blown mp, and about 500
the poor boys lost their lives.
We stopped at jefferson Barracks n
'w days, then We're sent to Benton Bar u
lcks, at st. Louis. There we received u
lr ration money and the Government
puld not control the boys after that, SO
ley furloughed MS and sent us home
ot home May 10. 1865, and got my dis
,arge June 10, 1SG5.-A. G. MENoR, Abb ci cci
ne, Kan. 81
Mai. Bradford Only Wounded.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: ]. Can
ald, of MarShalltown, Iowa. says in the