Prison Life In Dixie Giving A Short History Of The Inhuman And Barbarous Treatment Of Our Soldiers By Rebel Authorities

Prison Life In Dixie: Giving A Short History Of The Inhuman And Barbarous Treatment Of Our Soldiers By Rebel Authorities

Sergeant Oats...

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Dedication

To the Survivors of Andersonville Prison, My Comrades in Suffering, This Volume is Dedicated....

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Preface

It is not claimed for this story that it gives A full and perfect history of the sufferings of the Union prisoners in the South during the war; but the writer has endeavored to furnish such descriptions and incidents as will give the reader a true picture of Rebel Prisons, and the means and methods of living or dying in them. In doing this, he has relied on his memory; selecting those facts and trying to paint those pictures which are clearest and plainest in his own mind. He has not tried to co

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The Raid

While Sherman's army lay in front of Atlanta, he determined to send his cavalry on a raid to the enemy's rear, to destroy their railroad communication. So, on July 27th, 1864, General Stoneman moved eastward to pass around the flank of the rebel army, and General Ed. McCook, at the same time, started to pass around the left. McCook's command numbered about 2,000 men, well mounted and equipped, of which the writer was One. We all knew the nature of the mission on which we were sent, and felt that

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The Capture

The First chapter closed with our flight after we cut through the rebel's line near Lovejoy station. Twice during the afternoon they pressed our rear so closely that we were obliged to deploy a skirmish line and show fight, in order to gain time. But after dark, we rode on without hearing or seeing anything of our pursuers, and the hope that they had encamped for the night was struggling for a place in our minds; though, really, our knowledge of our pursuers (Wheeler's cavalry) gave us small roo

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Taken To Andersonville

There were Fifty or Sixty of us together when captured in the edge of the swamp. After disarming us we were taken a short distance to a road. Here we were halted and guarded, while the rebs scoured the woods and continued the pursuit. The report of firearms was heard far and near, and every little while a squad of prisoners would be added to our company, till we numbered over Three hundred, when they started us toward Newman. By talking together we learned much of the extent of our disaster. We

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Stripped And Turned In

In my last I gave you a General description of the Andersonville pen. The guard who took us from East Point to the prison were Tennessee soldiers-Ninth Tennessee Infantry, I think. They were old soldiers, and they treated us well. I noticed while in the army, and have marked it since, that soldiers who were, In the front, on either side, respect each other; while the post guards and others who are always in the rear of the real battle line, have a great contempt for the prowess of the enemy. Whe

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Horrible

All the space was claimed and occupied before we got there. Just imagine One or Two of those half-faced tents on every square rod, and Ten or Twelve men without shelter claiming room on the same. Some One claimed every foot. The First few nights we just dropped down wherever we could find room enough, and refused to move for threats, curses, or lice, and we certainly had full rations of each. Four of us determined to stick together, and after hunting Two or Three days we found a place Six feet s

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Providence

“How did you spend your time?” For a while we could hold interesting chats. But we soon wore out all the interesting incidents of our lives, exhausted our supply of anecdotes and stories; and were left with nothing to talk of, except to describe different dishes of food that we wanted, or to curse the rebels for their treatment, and to grumble at our Government for not exchanging us. These were standard themes; they could be repeated, in the same words, every day in the month, and every hour in

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Wrecked

We received very little reliable news from the outside world. When a squad of new prisoners were brought in they gave us the latest and most reliable news from the department of the army to which they belonged. If the rebels won a victory anywhere, the Quartermaster would bring in a paper at ration time, and read us the account of it, and make us feel as bad as he could. The effect of these reports on the prisoners gave me a chance to study human nature. If he read a report of rebel success in t

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Plans Of Escape

Rebels and Yanks worked together till the wounded were all out of the wreck, which was probably about midnight. We did not get all the dead out till daylight next morning. A construction train came down next morning, unloaded its gang of men, took up the wounded, and returned to Andersonville. It returned about noon, and after getting the debris out of the way, and getting all the cars that could be run on the track, they took us back to the pen. One of the smashed cars was covered with a tin ro

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A Leap For Freedom

About the First of October Tom and I found the opportunity to suit us. The train was loaded and guarded about as the wrecked One. We received Two days ration-a piece of corn bread about the size of a brick to each man— no meat this time. Only One guard in our car, and Four or Five on top. It was about Eleven o'clock. The train was running Ten or Twelve miles per hour. The men were quarreling, growling and swearing because they were too weak and tired to stand, and had not room enough to lie down

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In The Swamps

While we were making efforts to flank the swamp, the sky was overcast with clouds. It became so dark that we could not see at all, so we were compelled to stop. We felt around in the dark and ran against a large tree, at the root of which we reclined and waited for day. As the darkness began to turn to a leaden gray, it began to rain. Slowly and in small drops at First, but soon gaining till it rained hard. All the leaves were dripping, and we were soaked and chilled in a short time; and yet the

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Bloodhounds

We crossed Flint River, turned the boat loose, for fear of being tracked from it by hounds, struggled up the bank, and toiled through a dense thicket. The ground was low and had been washed by floods. The old growth of cane and willow had been washed down and stood at a slight angle from the ground, and the new had grown up through it. Imagine a lapped willow hedge, covering acres of ground, with Two men going through it in the dark, and you have a true picture. After working through the tow-hea

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Wanted-A Shirt

The captain of the squad that caught us was a good-natured, jolly old fellow, who looked as though he lived on the best, beef and brandy in Georgia. He treated us well. They stopped with us after dark, at the house of a wealthy planter, in the northern part of Talbott county— a large, white house, in a grove of oaks. It looked pretty and homelike in the moonlight, as we entered the yard. We saw none of the family that night except the host, a pleasant old gentleman, with white hair and beard. He

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Jailed

We put on the socks. I told the woman I would never forget her kindness, and so far I have kept my promise. That was October 20th, 1864-just Sixteen years ago. During these years I have changed so much that I can hardly identify myself; and I think that no One who knows the preacher of to-day, would recognize in him the reckless, hopeless “Oats” of that day; and still the events of that morning are as vivid in my memory as though they had happened during the last year. The guard ordered us to st

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Camp Lawton

The jail at Columbus was an iron building. It consisted of a hall about Twelve feet wide, Twenty feet long, and Twelve feet high; with a double tier of cells on each side. Each cell was about Six feet cube. A shelf about Two feet wide ran along each side of the hall, Six feet from the floor, by which we had access to the upper tier of cells. In each cell was a kind of bunk or shelf to sleep on. When Tom and I were turned into that jail, there were Seventeen jail-birds there. I remember the Numbe

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The Presidential Election

Any One can see by my description of Camp Lawton, that it was a better place than Andersonville. Still it lacked a good deal of being a fit place in which to spend the winter. When Tom and I entered, about the First of November, 1864, there were about Ten thousand men there. They were all corralled on the west side of the creek, and were without shelter, except such miserable apologies as we saw in Andersonville. Nearly all the men in the prison were from that horrid pen-taken out on Promise of

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Enlistments

When we were in Andersonville there were many attempts to find mechanics and artisans among the prisoners. Calls were made for shoemakers, machinists, blacksmiths, etc. The rebel authorities offered to furnish food and clothing and pay good wages to any One who would go out on parole and work in their shops. It was a great temptation to mechanics who were starving in filth and rags; and a good many yielded to it and went out. I will say, though, that but few native Americans were among them. The

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Life On The Railroad

The next day we rolled along over what seemed to be a great, monotonous plain, as wide and as flat as the broad prairies of Northeastern Illinois or Northern Indiana. The poor, sandy plains were timbered with pitch pine, and where the land became swampy, cypress took the place of the pine. Once in a while we would see a clearing, sometimes quite a large plantation, but more than Nine-Tenths of the land was covered by the primitive forest, almost as wild as when the Creeks and Cherokees hunted de

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Sent Back To Andersonville

In the pine woods, about a mile from Blackshear, we were corralled on about Five acres of ground. There was no wall or fence to enclose us. A dead-line was staked off, and outside of it another row of stakes marked the line of sentinels who stood about Ten or Fifteen steps apart: all around us ready to shoot any One who passed the First row of stakes. Had there been nothing between us and liberty except that guard, we could have broken through and escaped; but the memory of those wide rivers and

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Andersonville In Winter

It was now the dead of winter. It rained about Four days of a week, and was cloudy and damp nearly all the time. Heavy east winds prevailed. We seldom saw the sun shine. Our sack-tent, that never did keep the rain out, was now rotten and torn till we had to patch it nearly all over with such scraps of old shirts, pants, or blankets, as we could find. The rebel authorities allowed a detail of Three men from each Hundred to go outunder guard— to the woods to pick limbs and such other pieces of woo

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The General Exchange

During the month of February the rebels furnished material, and detailed a lot of prisoners-giving them extra rations-and had Three sheds erected. These sheds were about Twenty-five feet wide, by One hundred and fifty long; about Five feet high at the eaves, and Ten or Twelve feet high in the center-roofed with boards, and left open on all sides. They were designed for a shelter for those who had no blankets or tents of any kind; and during a hard rain One thousand men would crowd under each she

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Our Last Prison

For Two weeks after the exchange was stopped, our excitement was kept at white heat by rumors of Wilson's raid. At First, he was in Mississippi; next we heard rumors of his movements in Alabama. He was coming toward us, and we began to feel confident that instead of being exchanged we would be released. This filled us with hope and put us in fine spirits. The whole camp seemed cheerful, and confident that we would soon get out, in some way. After my chums left me I went into partnership with Bob

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“The Star-Spangled Banner.”

It was the last of April, 1865. Thirtythree Hundred prisoners were encamped on that little island. The quartermaster brought in our rations, and we noticed more sacks than usual. What does it mean? The old quartermaster gave a knowing wink, and said he was going to fatten us. We wisely guessed that they were going to move us. The rations measured out Three pints of meal per man. Bob and I had our sock full, shook down, and packed-and then had to take part of our rations in his bucket. Next morni

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Homeward Bound

The place selected for our camp was a side-hill pasture, with a few trees scattered over it for shade. The military authorities had made the best preparation they could, in the brief time since the captain of cavalry had reported us. A load of hospital tents had been hauled out and distributed for our use, but we did not put them up that night. We did not need them. Bob and I carried One up under a tree and folded it to lie on. It was about sun-set when we reached our camping-ground. Stragglers

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Speech Of Gen. Garfield At The Andersonville Reunion At Toledo Ohio, October 3, 1879

My comrades: ladies and gentlemen: I have addressed a great many audiences, but I never before stood in the presence of One that I felt so wholly unworthy to speak to. A man who came through the war without being shot or made a prisoner, is almost out of place in such an assemblage as this. While I have listened to you this evening I have remembered the words of a distinguished English gentleman, who once said that “He was willing to die for his country, but he would not do a mean act to save bo

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A Visit To Andersonville In 1880

A correspondent of the Boston Herald who recently visited the site of the prison at Andersonville, writes as follows: Anderson is the name of a station on the Southwestern Railroad, about Sixty miles, or Two hours ride, from Macon. It is nothing but a railroad station, and the only other thing besides the railroad which characterizes the spot, is the immense Union Cemetery, of some Twenty acres, over which floats the Star-Spangled Banner. The Cemetery is located on the spot where the prisoners w

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