St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1916-10-11
INTERESTING LETTER.
A. b. Pringle Reads One From a Con-
federate Veteran at Meeting Of
Local @. A. II. Post.

A large crowd of comrades of
Chamberlain Post and associates who
were invited, attended the regular
meeting of the post held at G. A. r.
hall Wednesday afternoon. Follow
/ ing refreshments that were served
about 1 o'clock the members enjoyed
a smoke talk and snapped reminis-
| cences
At the regular meeting held later in
the afternoon talks were given by diff
ferent members of the post and a
number of interesting letters were
read. Among them was letter of
unusual interest, as it was from a Con-
federate veteran whom A. B. Pringle
met while at the National Encamp-
ment at Washington over a year ago.
and who in response to a number Of
! questions asked by Mr.. Pringle, an
swered as follows:
Moffatts Creek, Va. March 81, 1916.
Mr.. A. B. Pringle,
My dear old comrade:
1 was somewhat surprised yesterday
at church when Mrs. Bratton handed
me letter saying it was from Uncle
Alex Though surprised, 1 was very
much gratified to hear from you and
to infer from your letter that the win
you well. Yesterday in Virginia was
almost a summer day and this morn
ing We are having a thunder shower.
All the snow here put together
through the winter would not be more
than a foot in depth, and our zero
days would only number five or six.
Now in answer to some of your ques-
tions bearing on our conversation last
October permit me to say that m!
war experience commenced in April
1851, when on the 18th of that month
! was mustered into the service of the
State of Virginia and afterwards trans
ferred to service of the Confederate
States. My, company when we were
mustered into service numbered 70, of
which I was the youngest (1S years..
1 was a high private" C feet 2
inches). We were assigned to 5th
Virginia Infantry, and became part of
what is known through the South as
the Stonewall Brigade, commanded by
Gen. T. J. Jackson, who at the first
battle of Manassas was chriStened as
Stonewall, and his brigade, by order
of the war department, made the
Stonewall Brigade. Out of our orig
inal number of ~ there were Is kill
ed in battle, o died of disease during
the war, and 40 of disease since the
close of the war to the present time.
leaving only seven alive now. From
April IT, 1852, till the war closed,
we had by enlistment at different
times 1O7 recruits. OF these recruits
there were IL killed in battle, rs died
of disease during the war, and 81 since
the war; leaving at present of the 107
recruits IA living. The recapitula-
ton is, total enlistments, 179; killed,
26; died of disease, 35; died since war,
81, with FL still living, 80 of the whole
number having spent from two to IA
months in prison as prisoners of war.
We participated in all of the various
battles between the Army of the Po-
tomac and army of northern Virginia.
1 was taken prisoner May IL, 1854, at
the battle of Spottsylvania court
house and remained a prisoner at
Fort Delaware until June IS, 1865,
when I was released, after taking the
oath of allegiance. Fort Delaware is
on little island at the mouth of the
Delaware river, and head of Delaware
bay, about 80 miles from Philadelphia,
and is, or was, supposed to guard the
entrance by water to said city. I do
not know what state claims the island.
whether New Jersey or Delaware. II
is about one mile to land on either
side. From high private" my rank
at enlistment, 1 was promoted at diff
ferent times until I attained the rank
of LIST sergeant, which position I held
through my term of imprisonment
The little island had on it Covering
about four acres), the fort itself, which
was we'll garrisoned. The barracks
for regiment of infantry were there.
and the prison barracks in addition.
which consisted of wood of barn-like
construction divided into divisions to
hold from 200 to 500 prisoners each
There were 21 divisions each with
three tiers of hunks. There was also
the prison hospital, cooking depart
ment and dining room. On landing
there the federal officers in command
of the post counted off 500 men and
assigned me to their command,
marching us into the prison enclosure
into division No. one. The officials
told me what my duties would be, as
follows: Make rolls of my men. pass
them to their meals, take the sick to
the hospital, collect their mail and
distribute it, to see that the floors, |
hunks ETC.. were kept clean and
sanitary. 1 was told that 1 would be
held personally responsible, but if ir
case of INSTRUMENTATION or refusal to
obey my orders to remember that the
entire United States army would be at
my beck and call, through the army
officials attached to the post.
While in prison I witnessed many
pathetic incidents, many amusing oc-
currences, and, 1 regret to say, many
brutal acts perpetrated by brutal
guardsmen upon helpless prisoners
The prison rations for common prison
ers consisted of two meals per day.
two crackers at each meal, and for
one of the meals, breakfast, very,
very small piece of meat, at dinner
two crackers. small potato and cup
of broth. 1t took 16 of the crackers
to weigh a pound. Our water was
muddy, pumped out of Brandywine
river, with all the sediment and sew
erage of the city of Wilmington mix
ed with it. During part of the sum-
mer and all of the winter our water
was salt, pumped out of Delaware
river. 1 am not making complaint
but the mortality among the prisoners
nj .HT1o izo fhnFe-