The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-08-13


pocket knife for a pie which had been
seasoned b. skimmlng the Stop tubs
at the cook house mixed with any
thing else that could be gotten. and
for which l sorrowfuily repented. for
II gave mo u spell of sickness that
came very near sending me to the
peach orchard" where many of the
boys had gone During the cold win
ter of 81 our ration of wood wao
limited TO three pieces OF pine wood
to tent OF sixteen men While we
had no feather beds to lie on we had
the frozen ground. We would. on re-
firing. form circle. and do what We
called spooning TO keep warm. One
morning l noticed Il palefaced soldier
lying opposite me. or my vis-a-vis. en-
toying a splendid snooze. and noticed
his old shoes were "sockiess." and his
tastered pantaloons reached q few
inches below hts knees. leaving Il bare
naked space l Just reached over from
my couch and took hold of his leg.
and 1T was just as cold as an icicle,
and set he did not awake. SO you see
that he had become SO hardened to
cold and hunger that IT was second
nature.
box house were more fortunate, and
all Of US hustled in some WY 10 make
ourselves comfortable. We Sot per
mission to build us place; therefore
we separated from our chums in the
tent
There were ell kinds of rumors cir
culated in camp. one of which was
true--that our rations OF coffee would
be cut ON because the Confederate
nr ted nn IN
the prison al AndersonvIlle This We
thought i. great hardship, but done In
retaliation. but l presume II was done
on account OF the confederacy not hay
Ing the coffee. So We had TO put our
wits TO work to get some coffee from
somewhere. was on detail very soon
afterwards outside Of the camp white
washing at the hospital department.
and / noticed large pile of coffee
grounds that had been used for the
sick. located the place, and laid my
plan TO lay in a supply. The hospital
was just outside Of the main prisor
camp. where there were a thousand
sick prisoners. and. OF course. they
we're Furnished with a good article OF
coffee; SO the time came for me to act
/ found an old coffee sack and made
nv way close to the wall. stop
ping close 10 the dead line and
where trench ran under the fence.
7 examined the hole 10 see II II ~as
sufficiently large enough for me 10
crawl through. and thor taking ad-
vantage of the guard on his beat when
his back was toward me. ran across
the dead line and through the hole
without being seen filled my sack
With coffee grounds and making my
arrangements 10 return, had to catch
my opportunity when the guard was
again going from me. so ] made the
venture and succeeded IN evadins the
guard. and returned 70 camp the
proudest rebel prisoner in camp--a
venture a little risky We had a camp
Of coffee grounds would have a kettle
full every morning would stand on
the street In front OF my tent and cry;
Here's your hot coffee, cupful for
cracker" And YOU could see the boys
coming from every direction with
cup In one hand and cracker in the
other. So ] made enough crackers 10
have a feast three times day. besides
having the great pleasure of having
as much as could use myself. SO
grew fat and greasy. About this time
ORDERS were issued that no more de-
tails would be made for outside work
The cause learned afterwards. was
tina, Early had made a detour into
Maryland just below Baltimore, and
that his object was 10 make his way
down the Potomac and release the
prisoners OF course, We could only
hear the run1or. and knew nothing of
his plans. but 10 confirm the report. I
know that there seemed TO be little
excitement with tho guards.
I noticed that there was double
set on the parapet and strict orders In
camp, a heavy patrol in the prison and
certainly silence maintained after
taps" o'clock. all lights out and no
talking allowed IN the tents. SO we
were momentari'y expecting something.
hut knew not that the troops had been
reinforced by regiment of cavalry
and company of infantry, on duty
around the gate. extra guns on tho
fort, end we were Informed that oil
the troops on the point were. as we
used to say. resting on their arms.
The old Minnesota was anchored a few
hundred yards In the Chesapeake. with
her sixty guns commanding the prison
she having been on furlough. having
been disabled to some extent by the
rebal Merrimac In Hampton Roads.
After we began to realize the situation.
and In the event OF an attack by Geii-
Arai Early we we're cogitating in our
thing. however costly It might have
been. any opportunity. the whole camn
would have made a desperate attempt
TO free themselves.
After the excitement was over thu
boys went to work In the Same old
routine. trading. trucking. etc, etc.
All kinds of plans we're devised for
escape. There were prisoners who got
together cracker boxes enough to make
small sailboat, and by some means
evaded the guard and made their es-
cape across the Chesapeake Bay. l
never knew how they managed to get
out of the camp--whether they tun-
neied under the fence or scaled the
wall. However, after that our camp
was regularly inspected and we were
kept under the closest surveillance.
We were overioyed on one occasion
after that by a visit from General But
Ter and Secretary Stanton. thinking
that the object Of their coming was
that some arrangements had been made
between the Confederate government;
and the Union for an exchange of pris-