The Washington herald., 1915-01-10
BULL RING" CROWDED WITH
PRISONERS.
January 4.

January 4.
Fifty years ago today the army prison
at City Point, Va.-known to the men as
the Bull Ring''-was crowded with hard
ened characters from the ranks Of
Grants command. most of whom had
gone to the front from Northern cities
for the bounty that was paid them for
enlistment
These men were natural criminals. or
ne'er-do-weIls. No motive Of patriotism
had caused them TO enlist. No sense Of
duty kept them in the ranks. They were
dreEs Of society. of the kind the army of
the Republic was Obliged to accept to-
ward the end Of the great struggle for
national unity. They had nothing in COM
mon with the clean and self-respecting
volunteer from the decent homes of the
towns and farms Of the North. They
were adventures. and to the officers who
commanded them they were mere physi-
cal units in a fighting machine---"can-
mons meat" the SPaniards would have
termed them.
AS such these men received the same
treatment. so long as they obeyed orders
and broke no laws, as the best men in
the ranks. When they committed un.aw
full acts they were imprisoned. TO await
trial by their superiors
In the ranks. with waving hags, beat
ing drums, the smoke of battle and the
-, It IL, e. he mir INA
of wars glory. the army criminal was
not to he distinguished from his de-
cent brother. In the prison he stands
forth. concrete evidence that the average
Of human weakness is the same among
men fighting for the flag as elsewhere.
References to the army prison are not
to be found in the reports OF officers,
for officers were not called upon te write
about it. The volunteer workers of the
sanitary commission-the great human
itarfan organization that did a vast
amount of good in the war, by minister
ing to all sorts and conditions Of men
among the soldiers-wrote of it occasion
ally. Perhaps the most graphic descrip-
tfon of the Bull Pen at City Point was
written by an agent of the commission,
William Howell Reed. in 1856
Ozark and Noisome."
Mr.. Reed thus described the prison:
The pen was composed of three large
barracks of one story, which opened
each into separate enclosures or yards.
surrounded by high wooden fences"
The sheds were about 30 feet in width
by 80 feet long, built of enough boards.
one story high. Along the whole length
Of the barracks, on each side. were hunks.
which held three or four men each, the
floor serving for one and three being
made above it. In the center OF the
building was another range of them,
which extended from end to end, and
the scene here beggared all description.
The hunks were not filled. for many were
in the yard. but each one had it's occu-
pants, and their condition was loath-
some in the extreme. They were lying
upon the boards. with no straw or blan-
ket, and although there were no prison
bars or dungeon walls, yet it was dark
and noisome.'
The buildings Uerc strictly guarded
by sentries day and night. while they
were all enclosed in a single railing. be-
tween which and the high fence a patrol
guard was kept constantly in motion.
'Th" inner sentry stood guard upon a
raised platform built out from the fence.
which CAV" him view OF the three
pens and Of every prisoner in them. At
the entrance was "A horizontal bar Of
y God, supported by two upright posts.
from which werc suspended short ropes
used for tying up men by the hands or
thumbs as a punishment"
Strung Up by Thumbs.
That these implements of punishment
were used is evidenced by the following:
As / entered the yard four men were
standing on tiptOe. tied with their hands
above their heads. without overcoats,
shiverinE in a sharp December wind.
their hands black with cold
To illustrate the class Of men Tins
punished. ono Of these four. man Of
fierce and desperate spirit. who had
threatened the lives OF some Of his COM
rad"s. and upon whom already rested
a charge of murder refused to give his
name and regiment to the courtrnartial
convened to try him. This blocked the
trial as n" witnesses could be summon
cd. and. as he was obstinate in his reti
c"n0e. he was ordered to be tied up
every day until he would tell the ORGAN
lZatlon to which he belonged.
For six days he endured this tor
turc. which Al any moment he could
have relieved. and. As 7 afterward learn
cd. when he could hear 1t no longer and
told his name and regiment. his spfrit
was so utterly crushed and broken that
hC became as quiet inoffpnsive and
uhcdient as child
That COurtmartisI dealt. probably.
with every variety Of charge. from pettv
thcfts and disreEpect to officers up TO
desertions tn the enemy, and captures of
of these same deserters ivth arms in
their hands. But, innocent or guilty, held
for the highest crimes known to mill
tarv law. or for the common deIIp-
QuenCies or felonies of q soldier, all were
confined alike and together, awaiting
trial. At this time there were about 400
men imprisoned Their condition WAS
horrible. They were destitute of cloth
ing. and. up to January without stoves.
their sUfferinEs were as needless as they
were intolerable.
1T was my fortune TO obtain admis-
sion, with another member of the sani-
tary commission, to estimate their wants,
to look into their condition and to suE-
gest such remedies or provide such allie
viations as We might have Il in our