Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-05-15


Providence Spring.
lam A. King. member OF the union being
also member Of the orchestra. The Sc
lections were largely of patriotic order,
being pleasing variations and medleys OF
wartime melodies. Miss Florence King Is
the pianist for the orchestra, and also rem
dered piano solo. Mr.. George Newton
and Miss Nellie Newton gave I'm the
Prison Cell I Sit as a duet, the audience
joining in the chorus.
The principal address of the evening was
made by Col. John McElroy, past senior
vice commander-in-chief of the Grand
Army of the Republic. Col McElroy gave
recital of his experiences of eight months
in that most notorious Of all southern pris-
ons. Presumably very few are now livir>
who can say that. Col. McElroy was one
ing a member of the 10th Illinois Cavalry
He, with some 5000 more of his regiment
were captured in 1863, and after boarding
round in a number Of southern prisons
were taken, in February, 1864. to the An
Jacksonville prison, then scarcely completed,
and he was one of thet first of the squad
to set foot inside the stockade.
The prison was moredlike huge corral
he said, as there were no buildtngs-noth-
ing but the stockade, which was construct
ed Of huge hewn logs, set some five feet in
the ground and rising eighteen feet above,
having sentry boxes every thirty feet
around the top, from which the armed
guards kept watch Of the prisoners.
The speaker painted graphic picture OF
Andersonvflle days, IN which he spoke OF
the manner in which the prisoners melted
out justice to the roughs and toughs who
were among them. He spoke especially of
the gang Of New York roughs who deserted
from the Union army toT-the rebels, and
who were rejected by the southerners and
thrown into Andersonville. where they daily
robbed and killed the helpless apd dying.
Law and ordsr Maintained.
The law and order inmates Of Anderson
vile then organized. the speaker said and
determined to hang the whole gang. They
organized court and tried the marauders,
five being sentenced to be- hanged. Col.
McElroy commanded one of the companies
organized to try the marauders, and the
company also did guard duty about the
gallows where the five finally expiated their
crimes The speaker described the manner
Of making the Scant shelter tents out of
pine needles, and later out of the remnants
of blankets the only protection that the
thousands Of prisoners had.
The inner stockade of Andersonville he
said. was rectangular in shape, and about
there were crowded In July and August of
one year 80, 600 human beings. The only
water available for this mass Of human
beings was in "Stockade creek" small
stream of water which flowed almost d.
rectly across the stockade and little south
of the middle of it. The stockade grounds
were high at the two ends, north and south,
and slOped directly down to this creek into
which all the filth naturally drained By
July of 1854 the death rate in Andersonville
was one in every two who entered.
Col. McElroy illustrated his address by
means of large picture of the stockade as
1t appeared in July, 1854
At the close of Col. McElroy's talk, which
was received with great applause Capt
Youngs asked all who had been in Ander-
all, among them being Hiram Buckingham
and Maj. Williams. There were twelve
other veterans in the audience who had
been in other southern prisons.
AS a supplement to the story Of Ander-
sonville in war times Mrs Isabel worrel1
Ball, national aid on the staff of the ma
tional president of the Woman's Relief
Corps, Mrs. Lodusky Taylor, told what An
Jacksonville is now.
Owned by Relief Corps.
Mrs Ball said that the historic grounds
are the property of the Women's Relief
Corps. The Department of Georgia, q. A.
R., purchased seventy acres of the ground
in 1890, paying for them $1,5OO. Finding
that the department was too poor to i'm
prove the grounds they were offered to the
Grand Army of the Republic as Gift in
1S93-4-5, but the national encampment each
time declined to accept them because of
the expense attached. In 1896, Mrs Ball
said, Col. James Averill. commander of
the Department Of Georgia, appeared be-
mems Relief Corps and offered Anderson
Vile to that organization. The Women's
Relief Corps accepted the gift, and that
day raised by personal contribution nearly
50, 600 to carry on the work of making q
park of the old prison stockade. The
national encampment, G. A. R., also sent
them resolutions of commendation for their
action.
Mrs. Ball illustrated her remarks by
means Of a very large map of the grounds,
including stockades. forts, breastworks
and the various wells dug by the prisoners
in vain attempt to procure water. She
said the first thing the w. R. c. did after
acquiring the property was to purchase
fourteen and one-half acres on the north
west corner, which c c them $3.50; This
'a mrs Ball then told Sc the improvements
to the grounds which the w. r. c. had
taker and the accommodation Of visitors
had been erected and furnished by corps
in Massachusetts,. Ohio and Illinois. The
stan liz feet In height and post in Massa-
chusetts had furnished a great flag.
The greatest trouble, Mrs. Ball said, had
been exnerienced in getting anything to
grow on the grounds of the stockade
proper. and she exhibited bottles of the
clay soil. which, she explained. was bad
and WORSE and none OF 1t mt for cultiva-
ton All kinds OF grass seed had been
tried, but all failed. Finally. at great ex-
pense, grass roots had been brought from
Bermuda, and these really threatened to
grow.
whole eighty-two acres, she said, and the
forts lunettes. breastworks and other fea-
lures were left exactly as they were found.
The old wells dug with oyster cans and
prisoners stood exactly as they did when
the prisoners left. never having caved or
crumbled. There are eighteen or twenty
in all, varying from twenty feet to forty
five feet In depth. They have been fringed