Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1909-11-04

given to that common question, one OF
which was:
To give you a good licking"
Because of some of the pretty plain
questions and answers, in about one
minute after every stop of the train
the crowd inside and the crowd out
side seemed quite disposed to settle
the whole question of the war right
then and there.
Wirz, getting off into such crowd,
was wont to demand:
What do you want here? What are
you crowding around this way for?''
I'VE want to see the yankees" was
the reply.
You wants to see dem yankees?
You go fight the yankees, you
see yankees plenty. Stand back.'
The look of the man and the sound
Of his voice were such as to make
the crowd stand back quick, and
stand a good ways back. He some
times stationed guards about fifteen
feet from the train, with instructions
not to let any one come nearer than
that.
At Atlanta, Georgia, the crowd be-
came especially turbulent, and we
were told that the people meant to
mob US when we changed cars. Wirz
suspected their plan, and ordered both
trains to make a quick run to the
next station, which was done, and
We changed there. At every place
where we we're to change cars We
found the train ready and waiting for
us. Rations were handed to US as we
passed from one train to the other.
Bread and meat were all we got,-no
coffee nor any other kind of drink. In
fact. we never got any coffee while
we were being entertained by the con-
federacy.
At Montgomery, Alabama, we were
shipped aboard an old cotton trans
port down the Alabama river and up
the Tombigbee and Black Warrior to
Tuscaloosa, where we arrived in the
early morning of the 5th of Deem
Der. 1t was a terribly cold day for
that latitude, and we were quartered
in an old tobacco shed while Wirz
went to recOnnOiter. AS he wished
to leave all his men on guard over
us, he took with him one of the pr1s-
oners, a man of the list Ohio, to act
as his orderly. This Ohio man after
ward reported to US what occurred.
Virus first move was 70 hunt up a
CAPTAIN GrisWold and find out about
quarters. Captain GrisWold took him
down to the river to an old dilapidat-
ed cotton factory. Wirz said it was
no good, and that he would not put
his Yankees in there. Griswold told
him it was the best he could get IN
Tuscaloosa. well, I'll see was the
reply; eff l can't do any better III
take 'em back to Richmond" After
ward he found a big hotel building
empty. He hunted up the owner who
wouldn't rent it. Wirz told him he
would get good pay for the use OF IT.
Then this talk followed:
"That is not the point; I'll not have
the yankees in my house"
by Cd, you will have yankees IL
vour house, for I'll call out my hun
dred and fifty guards and take 1t. II
they can't do it, I've got FIVE hundred
yankees and they'll fight like hill"
This was a knock-down argument
and the owner walked off on his ear
while Wirz marched his yankees VI
and took possession of the hotel. we
broke ranks and made rush for the
most desirable places. My riend vii
cox, Company D I'd Wisconsin intan
try, and | joined hands so as not tt
get separated. We soon found our
selves in a large 50x60-foot room, The
ceiling supported by four heavy col
umns centrally situated, and by on'
of these posts we pitched our camp
Every one threw down his bundle ant
sat on it. We began to think: wen
what next? How long must we sta!
here? Evidently until the war IS over
We are out of humanity's reach, any
how. An exchange or parole canno
reach u.s.
i The situation did seem discouraglng
To say we all felt down in the mout
is an expression too tame. Our fee
inc was akin to despair. But we oil
not forget that we had enlisted to d(
to suffer, and, if necessary, to DIE