Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-11-24
THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED.
Interesting Sketch of Their Memorable
Experienees

At the annual reunion of United
Confederate veterans, the populace
who knew it, saw a small band of
grizzled and gray veterans, marching
proudly behind the banner, thus in
scribed: Survivors of the Immortal
Six Hundred Confederate Officers.
Prisoners Of War. Forty-two days un-
der fire of our own guns on Morris Is
land. Charleston Harbor, S. c., 65 days
on Rotten Corn Meal, Cats and Pickle
, Rations, at Hilton Head and Fort Pu-
laski, Is days in the Hold of the Pris-
on Ship, Crescent City, from Fort Del
aware to Morris Island"
This banner and these men unfold
tale of horror, such as bring forth
shudder and blush Of shame to the
cheeks of every man, woman, or child,
in the confines Of the Union. In all the
annals of ancient or modern history, no
band of human beings, helpless, bound
prisoners of war, were ever called upon
to suffer or endure more. AS one Of
those survivors, even at this distant
day, I shudder to review them. Space
does not permit me to give details; so
shall confine myself to cold, statis-
tical facts. On August the Goth, 1864,
six hundred Confederate officers were
selected from among the prisoners con-
fined in the barracks and prison cells
Of Fort Delaware and marched on
board small coasting steamer, that
piled between Philadelphia and New
Orleans. Into the hold Of this vessel
they were marched, and like dry goods.
packed in shelves, next to the boilers.
coal hunks and furnaces, below the
water line. A narrow gangway, thirty
inches wide, led from the rear Of
these hunks, to an iron ladder; up this
ladder, forty-five feet above their
heads was a closet, and one sinkhole,
for the use of the entire Six Hundred.
Along this ladder was posted six Fed
eral guards, whose orders were to let
but one prisoner ascend and descend
at time. The rations furnished were
pint of hot, salty, greasy pea soup,
and four mouldy, sour, worm eaten
ship biscuits twice a day. The water
furnished was from a small evapora-
tor, whose capacity was only sufficient
for the officers and crew, thirty in
number. The consequence was that
with 600 prisoners, the thirty officers
and crew of the vessel, and the 200
Yankee guards, that this evaporator
could not distill a sufficiently Of water.
So the water given the prisoners was
so hot that in the temperature Of the
hold, was always 120 degrees Fab
renheit, that we would have to blow
and cool it for an hour at time,
it cooled, 1t had a Shiny, and a very
brackish taste. Under these condi-
tions, the calls of nature had to be
obeyed, and the narrow gangway, Of 30
inches, was soon aslosh with the ennis
sions from the tortured men. Each
day, as the ship steamed on her way,
southwark, toward Morris Island, the
weather grew warmer, and the sea
rougher, and the sufferings in that
dark, dismal, heated hold, and the
scent from the bilge water, and the
ever increasing odors Of human ennis
sions, was almost unbearable. When
we reached Charleston harbor, and
were removed to the upper decks, out
Of mephitic odors Of the dark hold, our
compilations were as fair as lilies Of
the valley, and just as devoid of the
rose tinge From off Hilton Head we
were carried to q sand bar on Morris
Island, in front of Charleston and di-
rectly under the guns Of Fort Sumter,
Fort Moultrie, and all the Confederate
batteries guarding that city. Behind
us frowned the Yankee guns, in Bat
teries Wagner, Chatfield and Gregg.
Around us a walled stockade, about
one hundred yards square, manned by
negro guards, under a monster named
Hallowell. Here our guards made pre-
tense Of erecting stronger works and
nearer approaches toward our defenses,
which caused all the guns in Charles
ton harbor to be turned on us, and for
forty-two days, they poured their iron
ball upon us day and night.
Every day the oath Of allegiance
was offered to us, as a means Of es-
cape, from this awful fire. And when
none were induced to take it, the Yam
kee batteries would open terrific fire
in reply to our own guns, and every
now and then, burst one of their own
shells in our midst.
From this awful Hell Of Fire" on
Morris Island, we were removed to
Hilton Head and Fort Pulaski, and
there for sixty-five days we were fed
on rotten corn meal Corn meal that
was kiln dried in 1860, and here issued
to us, in the winter of 1S64-1S65, with
half pint of extra sour, Shiny pickle.
OF course we ate every rat, or cat, and
an occasional dog that came in our
reach. Under these conditions as ]
have before remarked, this band of six
hundred immortals bore their suffer-
ings and were carried back to the
northern prisons, and the survivors
paroled in June and July, 1865. Prior
to this, only eighteen Of these men, un-
der all their hardships, took the oath
of allegiance and escaped further suf-
fering.
And the survivors Of that immortal
band of six hundred Confederate Of
ficers believe today, that you could
have selected from the ranks of any
Confederate army any six hundred
men, and they would have made the
same proud record that we did, whom
fate put to the test. Yours in sum
shine or shoWer.-IAmar Fontaine in