Through the war and thrice a prisoner in rebel dungeons

Front matter

Through the War

THRICE A PRISONER

REBEL DUNGEONS,

CHAPTER I. The Overt Act of Treason and its Effect North and South, 13

The Overt Act of Treason — The Bombardment — Fire in the Fort — Surrender of Fort Sumter — Beauregard's Congratulation — The North Aroused — Volunteering — Prominent Adherents — A Solid North— Rebel Sympathizers.

CHAPTER n. Advance of the Grand Army from Washington AND ITS Defeat at Bull Run, . . 34 The P'irst Muster — The Storm of Secession — Prevalent Errors — Gen. Scott's Opinion — Advance on Richmond — A Host of Civilians -—Disastrous Delay — Battle at Bull Run — Victory at Hand — The Critical Moment — The Panic — Defeat — Forces Engaged — The Capital's Peril — Cause of Disaster — Opinions on the Fight — Good Out of Evil.

CHAPTER in. Departure of McClellan's Army for the

Peninsula, 69

Organizing the Army — The Army Moving — Strength of Manassas — Off for the Peninsula— Fighting on the Peninsula — On the Chickahominy — Battle of Seven Pines — Interrupted by Floods — Precautions.

CHAPTER IV. Advance of McDowell from Washington, . 89 Occupation of Fredericksburg — Jackson's Strategy — Defenses of Richmond — Reinforcing McClellan — Welcomed by Negroes — At Mechanicsville.

CHAPTER V. The Seven Days' Fight on the Peninsula, . 103 Pushing the Fighting — Change of Base — Rebel Preparations — ■ Fight at Beaver Dam — A Creditable Retreat — Cold Harbor — The Battle Raging — Hand to Hand — Repulsing a Charge — Panic — A Rebel Account — A Rebel Report — Retreating — A Horrid March — Terrible Scenes — Leaving the Wounded — Pursuit Checked — Closing up the Fight — Malvern Hill — Harrison's Landing.

ix

X CONTENTS.

rAoa

CHAPTER VI. My First Capture, 146

Night Movements — Capture of a Spy — Desperate Fighting — Death of Col. Simmons — Fighting Renewed — The Last Shot — Brave Men — Among the Wounded — Taken Prisoner — Rebel Soldiers — Battle of Malvern Hill — Rebels in Retreat — Surgeons at Work — Off for Richmond — Libby Prison — Belle Island.

CHAPTER VII. Gen. Lee's Invasion of Pennsylvania — Battle

OF Gettysburg, 180

The Invasion Planned — Lee Advancing — The North Aroused — Secession Sympathizers — Hooker's Tactics — Hooker Superseded by Meade — Meade in Command — Disposition of Forces — Battle Impending—Death of Reynolds — Getting into Position — Lee Misled — Hancock's Inspection — The Battle Line — The Men in Line — Sickles' Movements — Furious Fighting — Struggle for Round Top — A Night Attack — The Final Assault — Roar of Artillery — -Terrible Slaughter — Close of the Contest — Lee's Retreat — Dr. Falk's Letter.

CHAPTER VIII. Battle of the Wilderness — Our Capture

and Re-capture, 234

Gen. Grant in Command — The Shenandoah Campaign — Forward Again — Counter Movements — In the Wilderness — Skirmishing — Withdrawing the Skirmishers — The Verge of Battle — Still Fighting — The Enemy Repulsed — The Battle Ended — A Close Race — Again in Battle Line — Fleeing for Liberty— A Prisoner Again — Marching to Richmond — Re-captured — Rebel Stores Burned — Contrabands — Brotherly Help — Sheridan's Raid — Sheridan's Gallantry — Leading in Person — Among the Boys Again.

CHAPTER IX. Advance of Grant's Forces, . . . .284 Cold Harbor — Working and Fighting — Captured Again — Victory for the Reserves — A Plan of Escape — Shot on tlie Last Day — Searching Prisoners — Libby and Pemberton — En Route to Andersonville — Planning to Escape — Arrival at Andersonville.

CHAPTER X. Andersonville, 309

Hard to Believe — The Prison Pen Described — Terrible Inhumanity — No Shelter — Miserable Rations — Soaked with Rain — Hopes of Exchange.

CHAPTER XI. Hanging of the Thieves, . . . .324 Mosby's Marauders — Mr. Kellogg's Book — Pocket-picking — The Hanging — Severity Demanded.

CONTENTS. xi

VAGB

CHAPTER XII. Enlargement of Our Prison, . . 336

A New Pen — Religious Work — Prayer Meetings — The Regulators — Rations Served — Molasses instead of Meat — Commotion Among the Rebs — Mean Workmen — Wretched Water — Indignant at Barbarities — Digging for Water — Tunneling Out — Traitors Among the Prisoners — -A Traitor Punished — The Dead Prisoners — Shamming Death — Terrible Mortality — Longing for Death — Idiocy and Mania ^News from Without — The Old Flag and the New — Misapprehensions at the South — Loyal Prisoners — Rebel and Federal Prisons — • Who was Responsible ?

CHAPTER XIII. Andersonville in August, .... 388 Andersonville in August — Suffering from Scurvy — Trading Buttons — "Yankee Tricks" — Stoneman's Raid — Efforts at Suicide — A Crazy Man Shot — Loneliness in the Prison — Dying of Despair — Cruel Deceptions — The Terrible Storm — Providential Spring — Words of Cheer— Horrors of the Dead-House — Heat and Hunger — The Prison Hospital — Longing for Home — Transfer of Prisoners — Out at Last — The " Bull-pen" at Savannah — One Meal a Day — Cold, Disease and Death — Womanly Nobility — Hunted by Bloodhounds.

CHAPTER XIV. MiLLEN Prison, 43a

Millen Prison-pen — Poor Shelter — Deaths from Exposure — Dying Comrades — The Candy Business — Clean Candy — Rebel Confusion — Sherman Coming — Robbing the Dead — A Comrade's Death — A Sham Parole — Insult added to Injury — Charleston Bombarded.

CHAPTER XV. Florence Prison, 463

Economizing Salt — Unpardonable Cruelty — Selecting for Parole — Off Again — Bound for Charleston — Under the Old Flag — Homeward Bound — St. John's College Hospital — Home Again.

CHAPTER XVI. St. John's College Hospital, , , 458

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

John W. Urban, the Author . , . , Frontispiece

Pennsylvania's War Governor, Andrew G. Curtin . . 16

Lieutenant-General Sheridan 32

Major-General Schofield, U. S. A. 48

A Bivouac 64

Road between Yorktown and Williamsburg ... 80

Battle of Seven Pines and Fair Oaks .... 96

Battlefield of the Seven Pines 96

General John C. Fremont 112

Battle of Gaines' Farm 128

Ruins of Gaines' Mill -. . . 128

Hand-to-Hand Fighting at Meciianicsville . . . 144

After the First Day's Battle 160

The Fury of Battle Hosts 176

General John A. Logan 192

Death in the Trenches . . . . . . . 208

LiBBY Prison in War Times 224

Field Hospital 240

Heroes of Lookout Mountain . , 256

Major-General O. O. Howard 272

Braving Mire and Fever 288

Capturing the Flag 304

General George G. Meade 320

General Robert E. Lee 320

Hanging of Six Thieves 332

Major-General Slocum 336

Fate of the Heroic General 352

Shot for Dipping too Near the Dead Line . . . 354

Defending the Commissariat . 368

Battle Heroes 384

The Dead Hero's Companion 400

Chapel in Camp 416

Prisoners in the Andersonville Prison Pen . . . 432

Governor James A. Beaver 448

In God's Country Again 478

xii

CHAPTER I.

THE OVERT ACT OF TREASON, AND ITS EFFECT NORTH AND SOUTH.

'PHE twelfth of April, 1861, will ever be memor- -*■ orable in the history of our country. It was on this day that the first cannon-shot was fired by the traitors in the South on the National flae.

At half past four o'clock in the morning, the flash of a gun from the Stevens' Rebel battery, in Charleston Harbor, followed by the shriek of a flaming shell, which exploded directly over the starry flag on Fort Sumter, announced to the world that the South had rejected all peace overtures of the North, and that they desired that the sword should be the arbiter to settle the issues in question.

It was now evident that the era of compromise and diplomacy was ended, and that terrible war, with all its attendino- horrors and deluee of blood, only could wash away alike the treason and the curse, which since the formation of the government had been a constant, festering sore on the body politic, and a stigma and reproach on the boasted liberty of our Republic. The first gun was soon followed by others, and in a few moments battery after battery responded, until the

(■3)

14 GEN. BEAUREGARD'S MESSAGE.

entire line of rebel fortifications in the harbor, amounting to more than one hundred heavy guns, was raining a torrent of shot and shell on the fort held by a handful of brave men, who were left by their government to defend and hold the most important harbor in the rebellious States, against a force exceeding their own more than one hundred times ; and so ill provided with provisions were they that starvation would have compelled them to surrender to the enemy or to evacuate their position In a few days, even had the rebels not fired a shot. This the rebels fully understood, for Gen. Beauregard sent a message to Major Anderson, a few days before the commencement of the bombardment, requesting him to state at what time he would evacuate the fort If not attacked ; and the federal commander replied, "that he would do so at noon on the 15th, three days later, if he did not In the meantime receive supplies or different Instructions from the government."

The rebels, however, were too anxious to display their great military skill and prowess to desire so peaceable an ejectment of the hated "Yankees" from Southern soil; and so for fear that by giving them a few hours' time they might evacuate, and thus deprive them of the privilege of distinguishing themselves, they notified Major Anderson that in one hour they would open on the fort. That the bombardment of Fort Sumter,

THE OVERT ACT OF TREASON. 1 3

under these circumstances, was entirely uncalled for, and was only a superb act of Southern bravado, is too plainly evident to deceive any one. Had not the rebels for five long months worked most industriously to collect a sufficient force of the most chivalrous soldiers in the South at Charleston, for the purpose of capturing the hated " Yankees " who dared desecrate Southern soil ? And now that they had a force of seven or eight thousand men, and had as many cannon in position as Napoleon had at Jena or Waterloo, Meade at Gettysburg, Grant at Vicksburg, and four times as many as the last had at the capture of Fort Donelson ; and as the best engineering skill in the South, or, as they boasted, in the world, had been brought into requisition to construct the forts and batteries that were to demolish their enemies, was it reasonable to suppose that when all these stupendous preparations had been perfected, and they were fully prepared to commence the assault with at least a reasonable hope of success, and thirsting for the gore of their enemies, that their hopes of immortalizing their names should be dashed to the ground by the peaceable withdrawal of Major Anderson and his seventy half-starved soldiers ? Such a thing could not be thought of. The South must have at least one chance to prove to the world that one Southerner was equal to three Yankees ; so, the bombardment commenced.

1 6 DETERMINED TO VINDICATE THE FLAG.

Major Anderson, the Federal commander was an experienced soldier, and understood perfectly well that his position could not be successfully defended against the tremendous force arrayed against it, unless he should receive aid from a powerful Union fleet. He, however, deemed it necessary so make such a defense as would at least vindicate his flag, and show the enemies of his country that all their efforts to dishonor the nation would not be met with suplnenes's and a willingness to submit to their base dictations. This brave commander, who appears to have, from the first commencement of the difficulty, understood the situation better than his government, had proven his sagacity and forethought by removing his small force from Fort Moultrie, a position even less defensible than Fort Sumter. Here, had he been properly supported, he would at least have made a respectable resistance to the assaults of the rebels.

On account of the small number of his men, and the desire to give them all the rest possible before commencing the unequal contest, Major Anderson kept his men below, where they were safe fromx the furious shower of iron hail which was making sad havoc with the stone, brick, and mortar above them, until they had breakfasted ; when, at seven o'clock, after dividing his command into three squads, he ordered the fort to respond to the enemy's fire. The first gun that

PENNSYLVANIA'S WAR GOVERNOR, ANDREW G. CURTIN.

THE BOMBARDMENT. Ij

thundered back Federal defiance to Southern treason, was fired by Captain Doubleday, since Major-General of United States Volunteers. The small garrison kept up a vigorous fire on their numerous foes during the day; but, as the darkness of night closed over the scene, they ceased firing. Not so, however, the seven thousand men who were determined to overcome the seventy who were shut up in Fort Sumter ; and although aware that Anderson would have to surrender in a day or two, they kept up a tremendous bombardment durinof the entire nio-ht.

Major Anderson had ordered the posterns of the fort to be closed, and kept his men inside of the bomb-proofs ; and although the beleaguered fort was shrouded in darkness and gloom, when not illuminated by the flashing meteors that fell from the guns of its multitudinous foes, the rebels evidently labored under the impression that some of the heroic defenders of it were still alive, and it would be the safest plan to keep up the grand fusilade until the last of the terrible enemy had been destroyed. Who can tell the disgust these chivalrous sons of the South must have felt when they at last succeeded in getting possession of the fort, to find that, after the furious assault that had cost them about half a million of dollars and several days' hard work, not a Yankee was killed, and not one even seriously injured ?

When we read, however (as Schmucker, in his

1 8 FIRING APPLAUDED BY SOUTHERNERS.

History of the Civil War, expressed it), "that tha wharves and what is called the battery were filled with a delighted and astonished multitude, who eazed with mino-led wonder and exultation at the countless shells as they described their symmetrical parabolas through the midnight heavens, and then descended upon the silent fortress," we may come to the conclusion that this demonstration was kept up to still further fire the Southern heart, ^and excite her sons to greater deeds of valor and daring.

At dawn on the following day, the brave little garrison again opened fire, but were soon compelled to cease firing, on account of a greater dancrer threateningf them than the fire from the enemy's guns. The wooden barracks had caught fire several times during the first day's bombardment, but had been extinguished without calling off the garrison from working the guns ; but now the barracks were again on fire, and it soon became evident that the fiames could not be controlled without the grarrison devoting all their time to it.

An eye-witness thus graphically describes the scene :

" For the fourth time, the barracks were set on fire early on Saturday morning, and attempts were made to extinguish the flames ; but it was soon discovered that red-hot shot were being thrown into the fort with fearful rapidity, and it

FIRE IN THE FORT, 1 9

became evident that It would be impossible to put out the conflagration. The whole garrison was then set to work — or as many as could be spared t — to remove the powder from the magazines, .'which was desperate work, rolling barrels of powder through the fire.

"Ninety odd barrels had been rolled out through the flames, when the heat became so intense as to make it impossible to get out any more. The doors were then closed and locked, and the fire spread and became general. The wind so directed the smoke as to fill the fort so full that the men could not see each other ; and, with the hot, stifling air, it was as much as a man could do to breathe. Soon they were obliged to cover their faces with wet cloths, in order to get along at all, so dense was the smoke and so scorching the heat.

" But few cartridges were left, and the guns were fired slowly ; nor could more cartridges be made, on account of the sparks falling in every part of the works. A gun was fired every now and then, only to let the fleet and the people in the town knew that the fort had not been silenced. The cannoneers could not see to aim, much less where they hit.

"After the. barracks were well on fire, the batteries directed upon Fort Sumter increased their cannonading to a rapidity greater than had been attained before. About this time, the shells and

20 A TERRIBLE SCENE.

ammunition in the upper service-magazine ex. ploded, scattering the tower and upper portion of the building in every direction. The crash of the beams, the roar of the flames, and the shower of fragments of the fort, with the blackness of the smoke, made the scene indescribably terrific and grand. This situation continued for several hours. Meanwhile, the main gates were burned down, and the chassis of the barbette guns were burned away on the gorge, and the upper portions of the towers had been demolished by shells.

"There was not a portion of the fort where a breath of pure air could be had for hours, except through a wet cloth. The fire spread to the men's quarters on the right hand and on the left, and endangered the powder which had been taken out of the magazines. The men went through the fire and covered the barrels with wet cloths ; but the danger of the fort's blowing up became so imminent that they were obliged to heave the powder out of the embrasures. While the powder was being thrown overboard, all the guns of Moultrie, of the iron floating battery, of the enfilade battery, and of the Dahlgren battery, worked with increasing vigor.

"All but four barrels were thus disposed of, and those remaining were wrapped in many thicknesses of wet woolen blankets. But three cartridges were left, and these were in the guns. About this time, the flag-staff of Fort Sumter was

SURRENDER OF FORT SUMTER. 21

shot down, some fifty feet from the truck ; this being the ninth time that it had been struck by a shot. The men cried out, ' The flag is down ! it has been shot away.' In an instant Lieut. Hall rushed forward, and seized the fallen flag. But the halliards were so inextricably tangled that it could not be righted ; it was therefore nailed to the staff, and planted upon the ramparts, while batteries in every direction were playing upon them."

Major Anderson, knowing that further resistance would be worse than useless, now surrendered the fort, and his weary, half-smothered men devoted all their energies to extinguishing the flames that were threatening every moment to communicate with the remaining powder, and blow them all into eternity. This was accomplished by evening, and the brave little garrison lay down to rest, feeling at least the consciousness of having done their duty, and that the surrender of this important post to the armed foe« of the Government was no fault of theirs.

It must be said to Gen. Beauregard's credit, that the terms given to the Federal commander were very fair and honorable. Major Anderson and his men were allowed to evacuate the fort instead of being held as prisoners of war, and to retain their arms and personal property, salute their flag with fifty guns, and march out with the honors of war, A United States steamship took them on board on Monday, April 15th, and brought them to New

2 2 MAJOR ANDERSON'S LETTER.

York City, from whence Major Anderson sent the government the following dispatch :

Steamship Baltic, off Sandy Hook, "(^ April 1 8th, i86i. J The Hon. S. Cameron,

Secretary of War, Washington, D. C. Sir : Having defended Fort Sumter for thirty-eight hours, until the quarters were entirely burned, the main gates destroyed, the gorge-wall seriously injured, the magazine surrounded by flames, and its door closed from the effects of the heat, four barrels and three cartridges of powder only being available, and no provisions but pork remaining, I accepted terms of evacuation offered by Gen. Beauregard (being the same offered by him on the nth instant, prior to the commencement of hostilities), and marched out of the fort on Sunday afternoon, the 14th instant, with colors flying and drums beating, bringing away company and private property, and saluting my flag with fifty guns.

Robert Anderson,

Maj. First Artillery.

The news of the bloodless rebel victory in Charleston Harbor was received by the rebels all over the South with the greatest joy and "exultation. Seven thousand Southern soldiers had conquered seventy of their enemies, and this great heroic deed set all the South wild with delight. Had the contest been a battle of the magnitude of a Waterloo, or Gettysburg, the Southern rebels could not have been more ardent in their demonstrations of joy. The establishment of the Southern Confederacy was to many of them now

BEAUREGARD'S CONGRATULATION. 23

an assured fact, and already in the distorted visions they saw the chivalrous sons of the South marching to Bunker Hill, to dictate terms of peace to the subdued and demoralized " mudsills " of the North.

Gen. Beauregard issued an address to his victorious legions that for silly gasconading, and idle Buncombe, is worthy to be put side by side with Falstaff's best effort. In this remarkable proclamation the general thanks the officers who composed his staff (who, by the way, were more numerous than his foes) for their gallantry, and expresses his admiration for the bravery of the regulars, the volunteers, and even the militia, who composed the army and who had immortalized themselves by their heroism in overcoming the terrible enemy, and giving the death-blow to Federal interference with Southern rig-hts. He declared that " they had all exhibited the highest characteristics of tried soldiers."

It has often been asserted by the rebel sympathizers in the North, that the people of the South did not, in the early part of the war, entertain the idea of an invasion of the North, but would have adhered strictly to a defensive policy to resist an invasion of the States that had seceded from the Union, That that supposition was an erroneous one, subsequent events have fully proven. The capture of Fort Sumter, and the defeat of the Union forces at Bull Run, had aroused the military

24 "GRAY JACKETS OVER THE LORDER."

ardor of the South to the highest pitch, and they not only expected to capture the capital of* the nation, but the far-off Yankees up in Massachusetts were to hear, on their own soil, the tramp of the victorious Southern legions, and to hear the fiery Bob Toombs call the long roll of his slaves from the steps of Faneuil Hall, in Boston. The capture of Washington and invasion of the North were fondly-cherished schemes of the leaders of the secession movement very early in the conflict ; and the Southern press almost unanimously urged such a step, and declared that the people of the South demanded such an enterprise. The Mobile Advertiser, in an article urging such a measure, said :

" We are prepared to fight, and the enemy is not. Now is the time for action, while he is yet unprepared. Let the fife sound, " Gray Jackets over the Border," and let a hundred thousand men, with such arms as they can snatch, get over the border as quickly as they can. Let a division enter every Northern border State, destroy railroad connections to prevent concentration of the enemy, and the desperate straits of these States, the body of Lincoln's country, will compel him to a peace — or compel his successor, should Virginia not suffer him to escape from his doomed Capital ! Kentucky and Tennessee are offering to send legions south to our aid. Their route is north. They place theniselves at the orders of our gov-

THE NORTH AROUSED, 25

ernment, and we have not yet heard that our government has ordered them south."

There can be no doubt but that the South expected an easy victory over the North, and that whatever fighting there might be, they expected but little of it would be fought on Southern soil.

When the news flashed over the country that the rebels had at last fired on the old flag, the excitement in the North became probably as intense as it was in the South ; but while in the South it was a feeling of rejoicing and exultation, in the North it was one of the most intense indignation against the dastardly act of the traitors who had now fairly thrown down the gage of battle against the Government. Dastardly, however, as was this act of the rebels, it was yet the very best thing that could have happened the Government. Slow as the loyal North was to believe that the South really meant war, and to accept the true situation of affairs, it needed somethine of the kind to arouse them to a sense of self-respect, and the necessity of arming and preparing to meet the contest forced upon them. It most effectually accomplished that purpose.

The echo of the first gun had hardly more than died away, when from the pine forests of Maine to the broad prairies of the West, was heard the beat of the drum calling the loyal sons of the nation to arms to save the imperiled Republic. While it must be admitted that in almost every

26 THE GRAND NORTHERN ENLISTMENT.

neighborhood in the North a few could be found who still wavered in their allegiance to the Government, and who shed crocodile tears at the prospect of blood being shed by the Government in its endeavors to maintain its existence, yet it is a fact that the vast majority of the people in the free States, and at least a considerable portion in the border States, were loyal, and looked with abhorrence and indignation on this bold attempt to dishonor the flag of the nation. For a time party lines were almost swept away, and the cry, "Rally for the Union," could be heard in every street, hamlet, and highway in the North ; and the starty flag was flung to the breeze until it waved from almost every loyal home.

The enthusiasm became indescribable, and the old and the young, men, women, and children, vied with each other in displaying their devotion to the Union. No age in the history of the world has ever witnessed an uprising of the people in defense of an imperiled government as great and grand as the uprising of the people of the North on this occasion. Mechanics and farmers dropped their tools, merchants and clerks left their stores, lawyers, physicians, and even ministers, their professions, and offered their services to the Government, and in the ranks could be found some of the best citizens in the country.

Horace Greeley, in ItJs "American Conflict," relates, "that a regiment from Rhode Island con-

VOLUNTEERING. 27

tained a private soldier who was worth a million of dollars, and who destroyed the passage ticket he had purchased for a trip to Europe on a tour of observation and pleasure, to shoulder his musket in defense of his country and her laws."

The first call for troops was so promptly responded to, that in a short time a large number hadi offered their services who could not at the time be accepted. Thousands of the names entered on the muster-rolls of the Union regiments belonged to boys of sixteen or seventeen years of age, who in their eagerness to serve their country, represented themselves as being eighteen years of age, that being the age required by the government for admittance into the army.

The North, which but a few days before appeared to be a people of compromisers, who could not be aroused to a sense of the danger threatening them flew to arms with an alacrity and enthusiasm that was in strange contrast with their former indifference. Military companies were soon formed all over the North, politics were almost forgotten, and the only thought that appeared to be actuating the minds of the people was how to put down treason and bring the traitors back to their allegiance, or destroy, root and branch, them, and all the institutions which had brought on the rebellion.

A large number of pro-slavery Democrats and Conservatives in the free States, who had earnestly

28 HONOR THE AMERICAN FLAG.

maintained that the North should accede to the demands of the slave power, and for a long time most emphatically opposed any measures that might have a tendency to inflame the South, ■now came out squarely for war measures to put down the traitors, and warmly supported the government in its efforts to enforce the laws. The action of these men had a most salutary effect, and greatl^' strengthened Lincoln's administration. Among the most prominent of these men might be mentioned the names of Edwin M. Stanton, subsequently Lincoln's great Secretary of War.

Gen. John A. Dix, whose famous dispatch, " If any person attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot," sent, at a later day, an electric thrill through the heart of every loyal person in the country.