West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1905-03-02

piece Of beef or bacon.
Salt, sugar coffee or eoap was
never heard Of In any of the prisons
Every morning about o o'clock a four
mule team would come in after the
dead. Two men would do the load
ing. One would 20 TO the head and
one to the feet, and pick a man up
and swing him back aud forward
aud hollow 'up." and then throw
him In the wagon. They kept on
that way until they got them all
out In the afternoon about 2
O'Clock they would bring in our
rations, In on the same wagon bed.
They would pile IL full Of big coru
pones, without ever sweeping il out.
When they would bring us our cooked
beans they would bring them ia a ten
bushel box. They had lot OF big
kettles that would hold from 40 10
100 gallons, which had been used
before the war TO boil salt in. They
would take two bushel sack Of
stock peas and pour them in a kettle,
dirt, bugs and an, aud throw side
Of rusty bacon on them to season
them, when they were done they
would take scoop shovel and shovel
them into a ten bushel box. After
the beans were all taken out Of the
box that they could conveniently get,
they would lot the boys scrape II out,
and have seen two or three OF the
boys at time standing with their
heads in the box aud their feet stick
ing up
There was small stream Of water
that ran through the stockade. 1t first
ran past where the rebel guards
were camped, and got the filth from
their camp, aud then came on past
the cookhouse and got all the filth
and dirt from that, before it came
into the stockade. There it got the
filth from that camp Of thirty three
thousand, so you can imagine what
kind Of water it was Excepting a
few little private wells, that whole
camp drank that water, they cooked
with 1t, they washed in It. anc used
10 for all other purposes. Is it any
wonder that our men died there by
the thousands
Some time in August the mirao-
ulous spring broke out A beautiful
stream of pure, sweet water bursted
right out Of the bank. 1t ran a
qfyoap, oh,,,t oo tL;,i- a. . ...-t.
wrist, and ] never heard any mere
complaint about water after that. 1
have taken many drink from st.
Our police took charge of 1t imme-
diately. They fixed spouts to it and
run 1t in big tub. They had two
rows Of police running up TO it, and
the men had to come up between in
single file. The front man would
get his water and go away, ard then
the next, and so on. / have seen
hundred at time waiting for their
turn. also saw the gallows that
the six New York raiders were hung
on They were hung On the 1Ith
day of July 1. 1864.
Around on top of the stockade were
sentinel boxes, one about every fifteen
PAGES for the sentinels to stay in.
They would call the hour Of the
night "Post No. I, o'clock, and
all is we'll "Post No. 2, 0.
O. clock, and all is well" +" and so
on, clear around the stockade. One
night after Sherman had taken
Atlanta. they started the pass word,
Post No I, O'Clock and Atlanta's
gone to helll" and passed It clear
round the line.
shall not attempt to try to de-
scribe the awful and untold suffering,
misery apd distress saw in there.
1t would almost seem like mockery.
Hundreds OF comrades have tried to
write it up and tell it, but the half
has never yet been told.
CHARLESTON.
In the latter part Of September
1854, they took about 800 Of Us out
If Ander5onville and loaded us IN
some house cars and started with us
for Charleston, South Carolina The
cars had no seats IN them, aud they
would crowd rs in as long as we
could find standing room. They took
us back past Macon, over the same
road where two months before / had
helped TO tear up the track and burn
the bridge across the river The
cars and engine was very much dilap-
idated, aud at night the men would
use pine knots for llghts IN place Of
lanterns.
They took ne on to Charleston and
unloaded u.s. We we're then marched
TO the workhouse, which was an i'm
mense stone structure with huge
iron gstes and doors There was at
that time about 100 OF our officers
confined in &C. The yard contained
about an acre and was surrounded
With a heavy stone wall We were
pot in there and MS we came march
ing down, the windows next to the
yard were foil Of officers looking out
at us The FIRST one / recognized
was General stoneman. the next was
Colonel Biddle, the Colonel OF my
regiment There was none ot them
had anything on but their shirts aud
drawers When we come close t9
them Col Eiidle recognized some of
bic own regiment, aud when be cav
the condition We we're in it made bim
so mad that he commenced cursing
the southern Confeieracy and every
thing iu it. was afraid the guards
would shoot him down When we
come on MP 10 commenced talking
ln n. III. n.L.I -. -. Ill. 49,