Chapter XII

PRISON LIFE DURING THE LAST YEAR OF THE WAR—SEARCHING THE
PRISONERS—STARVATION RATIONS—TRUE TO THE SOUTH—HOME AGAIN.

The following extract from a letter written by W. L. Ellis, Esq., conveys a vivid picture of the treatment of prisoners by the Federals during the last year of the war. Mr. Ellis was taken prisoner at Franklin.

“I surrendered to the Colonel of the Eighth Tennessee (U. S.)
Regiment, and for kindness shown me by him I shall always
feel very grateful. At midnight his command withdrew from the
breastworks and started for Nashville, I accompanying him.
We reached the hills near Nashville at daylight and halted
for breakfast, of which I partook—and keenly enjoyed—with the
Colonel. I remained with him till 5, P. M., Thursday, when,
with 60 other prisoners, I was sent into Nashville. When
our guards halted near the capitol, the prisoners asked for
water, which a kind lady offered to bring, but the officer in
charge refused permission. She was very indignant; but there
was no redress, and we could only thank her heartily for her
kind intentions. We were then escorted to the State prison
and locked up for the night. Here a bit of bread and meat was
handed us by a negro. At daylight we were put on a train for
Louisville, where we arrived late in the evening, and were
again locked up in prison, the negro guards giving each a
small piece of bread and meat. Saturday morning we crossed
the river and marched to the depot, where rations of baker’s
bread and ham were given us. After living on one meal a day,
this food was very acceptable to the hungry prisoners. We then
took the cars for Indianapolis, where we remained one hour. The
citizens would have treated us very kindly had it not been for
the officer in charge. It was here that a gentleman quietly
informed us that if we had any currency, to conceal it, for
we would be searched. His advice was, of course, taken by the
fortunate few who had a dollar. The train arrived at Chicago
about 1 o’clock Sunday morning, and we were ordered into line
and marched three miles through a heavy snow, and then put
into some old barracks, to remain without fire till the dawn
of day. It was intensely cold, and it seemed impossible to
keep from freezing. At daylight the prisoners were ordered
into line, marched to the prison-gates of Camp Douglas, halted
and ordered to ground and unstrap knapsacks. After searching
them thoroughly, and throwing out such articles as they chose,
they ordered us to partly undress, that they might search our
clothing for money. The search ended, we marched into the
enclosure and were allotted to barracks. Soon after, an orderly
came in and notified those without blankets to go with him to
the Captain’s office, and he would furnish them. Only three or
four, of whom I was one, went. While waiting at the office-door
my ears froze—it was so cold. I received a blanket and a pair
of shoes.

“On the second day after our arrival, they appointed one of
the prisoners ‘Sergeant of the Barracks,’ his duty being to
call the roll and see that all was kept in proper order. The
barracks were 18×48 feet, and to each were allotted 165 men.
The prison-yard was said to contain 25 acres, and there were
within the enclosure 59 barracks, 1 office and 1 sutler’s store.

“Our rations consisted of two-thirds of a loaf of baker’s
bread, weighing ten ounces, and eight ounces of fresh beef,
except on every tenth day, when we drew pork and beans. To
divide the beans—they were so few—we had to count them, and the
ration of pork amounted to almost nothing. The men suffered
so from hunger that a prisoner would break the ice, and wash
what we called an outfit—consisting of shirt, pants, drawers
and socks—dry, and fold them ready for use, for five cents,
with which he would buy a bit of bread. Prisoners from East
Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri could get money from home, and
fared sumptuously as compared with those of us who lived south
of the enemy’s line. They were not permitted to receive the
money, but were given sutler’s tickets, which could be used at
the store.

“I formed the acquaintance of two gentlemen, Messrs. Beel and
Black, from Kentucky, who insisted upon my messing with them,
and I fared much better than others, as my friends procured
supplies from the sutler. We remained together two or three
months, when, through the influence of friends, they were
removed into what we called the ‘loyal barracks.’ There were
hundreds of poor fellows who received nothing but their scanty
rations, which barely kept them alive—in fact, I believe some
died from starvation.

“The system of punishment was barbarous in the extreme. They
had a wooden horse, made similar to a carpenter’s saw-bench,
twenty or twenty-five feet long and ten or twelve feet high,
which they called a ‘Morgan mule.’ On this I have seen
prisoners, as many as could be crowded on, remain six and eight
hours in the cold and sleet. It appeared to me they would
freeze to death. Another punishment was to make the offending
prisoner stand in a bending position with his fingers in the
snow as long as they saw fit. In each barracks there was one
guard who appeared to have absolute authority to punish at will
the prisoners under his charge. The barracks in which I bunked
was more fortunate than many. Our guard was a gentlemanly
fellow from Memphis named Nelson; he never punished a prisoner
during my stay.

“Notwithstanding the treatment we received, we could not be
driven to take the oath, but remained loyal to the Confederacy,
having the utmost confidence in its triumph. The morning we
received the news of the surrender of Gen. Lee, Gen. Sweet, the
commandant of the prison, ordered us in line and left it to a
vote whether we would have the United States flag hoisted in
the prison yard; only two voted in favor of it. The guards were
very angry and told the prisoners they ought to remain there
always, but the flag was not hoisted. Soon after we received
the news of the surrender of the other Confederate armies, and
the work of paroling the prisoners was begun. I arrived home on
June 18, 1865.”

This evidence of Mr. Ellis is fully sustained by letters from Messrs. John C. Hearn and James D. Rice; the latter writes: “We fared very badly; the rations were very slim and the treatment was cruel indeed. I have seen many old men crying for something to eat.” Mr. T. M. Boggan, who was at Camp Chase writes: “I was treated very well only our rations were rather short.”

In closing this brief sketch of the services of Co. K, the author wishes to place on record that this has been a labor of love. There was not a comrade for whom he had not the kindliest regard; there was scarcely one to whom he was not indebted, during the three years, for some act showing a reciprocal feeling. For any shortcomings in this history he asks their lenient judgment, assuring each and every one that naught has been set down, naught omitted in malice. God bless the survivors of Co. K! God rest the souls of those whose ashes are scattered from the Lakes to the Gulf!

THE END.