Unknown; Ohio boys in Dixie: the adventures of twenty-two scouts sent by Gen.
O. M. Mitchell to destroy a railroad; with a narrative of their barbarous
treatment by the Rebels and Judge Holt’s report...; New York: Miller &
Mathews, 1863. pp. 24-25
…The others were captured; four on the same evening, and
two others the next day. I was one of those captured on the same evening.
Shortly after that, they removed us to the barracks in town, where we were
better treated, more kindly treated than we had ever been before that. We
remained there until December, when we were sent to Richmond. We were first
taken to the Libby
Prison, and told that we were to be exchanged. They sent a very light
guard along with us, trusting to our belief that we would be exchanged; and so
believing, we went along quietly and made no attempt to escape, which we could
easily have done. We were taken to the Libby
Prison and kept there about an hour, and then transferred to the criminal
prison, Castle Thunder. Here we were put into a little room up stairs, of which
three sides were only weatherboarded, and there we remained during the months of
December and January, without any fire, and with a very scanty supply of
clothing, as they had taken all our blankets from us when we left Atlanta, with
the exception of two small ones, which we had managed to secrete when we left
the barracks. This was the only covering we had during those two months for all
six of us there. We were very destitute of other clothing at that time-nearly
out of it, in fat. About the 1st of February, however, they wanted
that room, with a number of other rooms on the same floor, for hospital
purposes, and transferred us to a large room down stairs on the ground floor,
which was assigned Union prisoners. Here we enjoyed more liberty than we had
before, and remained until a special exchange was made. They attempted to
exchange us as citizens, leaving our name on the citizens’ list from Castle
Thunder, although we had our names marked as soldiers, and our companies and
regiments were down on the prison books; and, in the charges and specifications
given to the seven of our comrades who were tried and executed, it was admitted
that they were soldiers, and their companies and regiments were named.
Page
last updated on
02/12/2008
|
