The National tribune., 1910-03-24

ing been intended for enlisted men
only, IL was quite natural to assume
that there were no officers there. Some
time between June and 10. 1864,
saw for two or three days in succession
at the south gate a Lieutenant with
shattered arm, begging for medical at
tention, which he did not get. Instead
he got curses from the rebels for hav-
ing been an officer in niger regi-
ment. / did not learn his name. but
understood he was an officer in one or
our negro regiments. and captured at
the time of the massacre of our colored
troops at Fort Pillow. Tenn, and Ply
mouth. n. c.. in April. 1864. In the
War Records l find this in corrobora-
ton:
&C. S. Military Prison, Macon, Ga,
June 5. 1864.
"Gen s. Cooper. Adjutant and Inspec-
tor-General. Richmond. Va.
General: The Yankee Major of
negro regiment who was captured at
the battle of Ocean Pond. Fla. is. and
| think very properly, confined with
negro prisoners at Andersonville. I
would like to obtain permission to send
to the same place Lieut.. j. o. Ladd. of
Co. E. 35th u. S. Negro Regiment, who
is now a prisoner here and who also
was captured in Florida on board
steamer Columbine. Very respectful
| ~. your Obtulfllt SCI Ndiil-'rtOIS St -
i Gibbs. Captain, C. 5. A, Commanding
| Prisons
Endorsement: Adiutant and Inspec-
| tor Generals Office. July 2. 1864. Re-
spectfuIly submitted to the Secretary of
War.-H. J.. Clay, Assistant Adjutant-
| General"
In Nearly iII of Them.
Lysander Ames, Co. !. 21st Ohio. Ell
more, o., says: Il was captured at
Chickamauga Sept. 20, 1863. The pris
oners were first moved to Dalton,
then to Ringgold. Ga. We were later
sent to Atlanta. Ga, where they put us
in stockade with barracks to live in.
ON Nov. q we left for Richmond. and
landed at Belle Isle. That Winter the
prisoners died pretty fast. On Feb. 2
4 of us boys, living in one tent, killed
a rebel Lieutenants dog and cooked
him for dinner. In April. / think it
was, squad of us marched over to the
depot. Each was given loaf of corn
bread, five inches square. and we were
loaded in cattle cars, and after many
! weary days landed in Andersonville.
We had only the ground to sleep on
with no tents. We stretched our blank
cts on poles to keep the sun and rain
out When StonenIan made his raid
they sent me, with others, to Charles
ton, and put us at the race course,
where we lay three or four weeks. Our
forts shelled the city every night. and
sometimes big fires broke out They
moved us next to Florence before the
fstockade was done. and put US in open
fields, herded worse than stock on a
farm. On Dec. s they paroled one
trainload of us and sent us from
Charleston to Gods country. l am the
only one of my company of 10 captured
and in prison with me that is living"
He Would "Sympathize'
E. S. Kirkpatrick. Co. E, 7th Ohio,
Wellsville, Kan, says: After reading
in The National Tribune of Jan. s the
article Confederate Prisoners of War,
/ let me express my sympathy for those
poor rebel officers who had to live in a
stockade Al days without any shade
trees and had only four hardtack and
soup and fat pork instead of ham each
day. Having had seven months of pris-
on experience, and remembering our
fare at Andersonville, i can 'sympa-
thize.' When 1 left Andersonville 100
of us were packed into a 30-foot car,
and remained there 90 hours without
food or water. l know what it means
to be within range of our own guns.
While passing thru Charleston on our
way to Florence Prison Gen. Gilmore
was dropping red-hot shot within two
blocks of us. L had generously 'divid
ed my clothing with my captors, giving
them my blouse, cavalry boots and hat
and when l reached Florence my ward
robe was reduced TO a peek-a-boo shirt
and pair of drawers. My 'bedclothes
was a piece of thin blanket left by a
dead comrade. My 'rations' was short
half pint of cornmeal with part of the
cob ground with it. We were not in
suited by having nasty, sour pickles
issued to US. This was in the Winter
In their oyercoatS with blankets
wrapped around them. Some of our
comrades sickened and died? Yes, .sev-
eraP died. ! believe about 1000 died
at Andersonville one month";"