Year: 1876

Prison Pen.
sufferings-How the Southern Chivalry
Treated Brave Men-The Misrepresenta-


tionb of HilPs Congressional Harangue.


The recent amnesty debate in Congress
has moved soldier of this city, who be-
longed to the Oath Ohio Infantry. and
was captured by the rebels in 1864, to
write out the following narrative of his
experiences IN one of the Southern pris-
on pens in which he was confined subse-
quent to his capture. His name is
withheld from publication from motives
of modes ty solely, and as to his relia-
bility iI is only necessary to say that he
is vouched for by one of the most promi-
nent and respectable business men of
this city:


To the Editor Of the State journal:


i was captured with about three hun
dred others near Guntown, Mississippi,
June III, 1864, and was sent to Anderson
vile, Georgia, where we arrived June 10.
Four of US, being comrades cast our lot
together, and we remained together
through thick and thin, and we thought
the greater portion of our life was very
thin. We each of US had gum blanket,
and we had one wool blanket among us
When we arrived at the pen, as we called
it, the first act of our Southern friends
was to demand our gum blankets. Per-
haps it was an act of charity, but we
failed to see it in that light. We were
then marched into the pen.


Ny God Can that be described
Never, no, never. Thousands of beings
that had once been men were crowded
around the gate, all eager to get a word
af Il a..
could our Brother Hill from Georgia have
seen them, he would not be in favor of
another war. Some of them had pants
on, some a shirt without pants, and /
have seen some men there as naked as
they were when they came into the
world. Perhaps some have forgotten
what kind of boarding house we had.
Could you see thirty-fve thousand hogs,
with fence built around them, that had
been kept in one field for six months,
and through the center of that field q
swamp reeking with filth and foaming
with maggots, you would see Anderson
vile prison as we first saw it.


We wanted place to lie down, and
kept walking on and inquring of the
old prisoners if we could not lie here
and there. mo, this ground is all occu-
pied. l can tell you where you can get
lie" We kept on, and soon had the
satisfaction of seeing a piece of ground
in the Confederacy that did not seem to
be occupied. As we came near it we saw
that there was a railing between us and
it, but we had not then heard of the dead
line. Said ], boys, here it is, now we
are all right" An old prisoner standing
by said, you had better look at that
guard up there before you go any near
er." Looking up to the stockade, saw
guard with his rifle cooked and at his
shoulder all ready to pull the trigger.
We were near the dead line.


We resumed our march and at last
came to place where we could lie down,
but one of us would have to lie over a
sink hole. This was little hole made in
the ground about twelve inches in diam
eter and about Is inches deep, and it was
used by three sick men lying near that
could not walk down to the swamp, and
there were thousands of such holes scat
tered all over the prison. In fact
think Andersonville prison was the lar
gest prlvy that was ever inclosed on the
face OF the green earth.


lay over that sink hole every night
from June 10 to July l, excepting for a
short time every hour or two, when one
| OF the sick men would want the use of





to the swamp would try and do so, and
they would not stop on the edge of it.
either, for every foot of ground was used
for some poor fellows bed. So in they
would go, up to their knees in filth, and
have seen some of them so weak from
starvation that they could not lift their
feet out of it, and would fall down and
remain in that filth until they were
helped out. What a glorious place that
was for the "Yanks."


| Through the center of this swamp ran
a little stream of water, about 10 feet
vide, and ordinarily from to inches
deep, and our Confederate friends were
thoughtful enough to build their cook
house on this creek, so that all the spare
grease and slop could run through the
prison. have creased my old shoes
with grease from this water many time
! What refreshing drink Brother Hill, o