'Twas a gloomy march from the immediate rear of the Confederate Army to Petersburg and a weary night that was spent in the yard of the penitentiary of that town. In the morning we were relieved of all military equipments such as knapsacks, haversacks, canteens, etc., and also all blankets, shelter-tents, overcoats, or extra clothing.... The next day we were removed to an island in the Appomattox and the rain, setting in, rendered the night hideous enough. The boys gathered in squads and, sitting back to back, on the damp, spongy ground, tried to sleep but, with such a hapless present and such a hopeless future, few could enjoy that luxury.

The next day the whole 1800 were escorted out of town about two miles, that we might take the cars for Richmond. Three hard-tacks (the first food received from our captors' hands) were given us to make us hungry and that we might enjoy our excursion. The sound of the battle in progress (the 21st) on the same ground where we were captured was plainly heard, and we could but wish that the results might be more favorable than those of the 19th.... Towards the last of the afternoon we arrived in Richmond and as we alighted from the coal cars we were told that only one hotel in the place could accommodate us and that one was "The Libby" and, as we were strangers in town and might wish to look around a little, we were escorted through some of the principal streets.

Finally the procession brought up in front of Libby and we were stowed away in it; thus in nine of its rooms were packed 1800 men. We spent a portion of our time in examining our new quarters, the walls of which were covered with the names of former fellow sufferers. Here we received our first half loaf of corn bread which was not so bad in quality as it was in quantity. Then came orders from the Prison Inspector, Dick Turner, to hand over all moneys to him for safe keeping, and some unsophisticated ones obeyed, having their names duly registered, but I have not heard that Turner gave any receipt or that anything ever came back. After a very uncomfortable night, owing to our crowded condition, we were glad to see the morning and soon afterward we were taken across the street (Carey) to Pemberton prison and distributed in its rooms in squads of twenty-five. Turner soon came in and, in his insolent, arrogant style, ordered us to strip ourselves that our clothes might be searched, for he was not satisfied with the amount already given up. Stripped naked, and with our clothing a few paces in front of us, we saw our garments searched for valuables.

Our wallets, watches, jackknives, rings and everything of comfort or value that was not absolutely necessary was gathered into a heap and Turner, with greedy eye, not only inspected but appropriated. At the end of a long half hour we were permitted to dress and then were conducted back to Libby, and other squads followed, the procession continuing till well into the next day, everyone being pretty thoroughly plucked. After all, many of the cunning Yankees were able to circumvent the rebels, since bills of large denominations were hidden in such queer places as ears, mouth and hair, thus enabling the possessor to procure needed comforts in coming days.

Having been, in this manner, completely robbed, we were formed in line for Belle Isle; as the dismal name was sounded our spirits fell, for we had heard the stories of suffering there, but to Belle Isle we went and were conducted to one corner, containing about an acre and a half of ground, enclosed by a low breastwork and a deadline. This part of the island was so low that the spring freshets invariably covered it. The soil is composed largely of sand and is prolific of fleas, bugs and other kinds of insects too disagreeable to mention. The place was extremely hot by day and, through its lowness, cold by night; alternately roasted and all but frozen we passed seven miserable weeks upon Belle Isle, but why thus named beautiful we could never imagine.

For three weeks we were without shelter, then came six good A tents for every squad of one hundred men. When it rained or was colder than usual, we were wont to lower the tent upon us, using it as a blanket; here we would lie and all but smother till the call for rations was sounded the next morning at about nine o'clock. Our rations consisted of a piece of corn bread, 5 x 2-1/2 in. in size and a small piece of rancid bacon or boiled fresh beef. Towards three in the afternoon a half pint of soup, composed of wormy beans, was issued and, though the hogs of the keeper usually tasted it first, we relished it and were glad to get it. While we thought this pretty hard fare, the time was to come later when we looked back upon these days as those of comparative plenty.

By new arrivals our numbers were soon swollen to fully 6,000 men, among them being a portion of a regiment of Germans so new to the country that they were unacquainted with our language, hence a deal of trouble for them, as in their ignorance they would wander over the dead line after a chip for fuel, but they never returned. During the day we were permitted to go to the water, through a narrow passage, as often as we pleased, but at night only five were permitted to go at a time. A sergeant (H. C. French) of Co. G, our regiment, having taken his turn, was coming back and of course there was a rush to be the next one to go down, by the boys in the yard, and in their haste they pushed the sergeant, who was quite weak from illness, into the ditch of the dead line. Without a word of warning he was instantly shot dead by one of the sentries, the bullet passing through his head. This sentinel was a young fellow of sixteen years who, with his mother, while living near Mitchell's Station had been supplied with food during the whole of the previous winter by the commissary of our Brigade. We were told that he was paid for this act of ingratitude by a two weeks' furlough home.

An incident will illustrate the straits to which the lack of food will drive otherwise decent men. We were counted regularly once a week, usually on Saturdays, the object being to find out whether any were escaping. To effect this numbering we were filed out, one by one, into a vacant lot which bordered on the river. While here one day, several of the boys completely buried themselves in the sand, hoping to get away from the island in the following night. No loss was suspected on our return but, during the afternoon, a poor hungry wretch went to the gate and, calling for the sergeant of the guard, offered to reveal something of importance if he would give him a loaf of bread. The rebel agreed, whereupon he was shown where the Yankees were concealed in the sand. It is only fair for the sergeant to state that he knocked the informer down with the butt of his musket, saying that if he were as mean as that, he would go and kill himself.

The Confederate mode of punishing petty offenses among us was most cruel. The culprit was placed astride a tall, carpenter's horse, some six feet in height, and ropes were tied to his feet, fastened to the ground and then drawn as taut as possible; his hands were fastened behind him and tied to the horse. In this condition the unhappy sufferer was obliged to pass three or four hours; most always they were taken down insensible and some of them never recovered from this brutal usage. On the 5th of October came orders to be ready to march. Joyfully we obeyed, confident that our destination was the land of the Stars and Stripes, though rations of a loaf and a half of corn bread clearly pointed in another direction, our halting place being on the south side of the James where, by the side of the Richmond and Danville R. R., we lay all day eating our three days' rations. At 5 p. m. a train of baggage cars drew up and the painful fact dawned upon us that we were simply going to exchange one prison for another.

So closely were we packed, lying or sitting was out of the question and all had to stand. We reached Salisbury, N. C., three days after leaving Belle Isle, and in the evening of the 8th we were turned into the prison enclosure where we saw very little to invite us, though the place was comparatively clean then. The light of fires revealed the shivering forms of unhappy prisoners who had preceded us to this place of detention. It was one of the coldest of autumnal nights and we came so late no provision had been made for us, so, hungry as we were after fasting two days, tired and cold, we faced the uncomfortable night. Worn out with hunger and fatigue, we threw ourselves on the frozen ground with no covering save the heavens, which were very cold that night; dressed, the most of us, in summer blouses with no underclothing, it was one continuous shiver till the rising sun gladdened our eyes and warmed our bodies. We lay down close to each other but, as the night grew colder and the wind whistled more sharply, the end men with one side exposed, unable to endure the cold longer, would leave for some fire or exercise till at last the entire line would dwindle away.

A day's ration of half a loaf of wheat bread and a nice slice of meat put us in proper condition to examine our quarters. The field comprised about seven acres, somewhat triangular in shape with a twelve-foot-high board-fence surrounding it, on whose outside, about four feet from the top, was a continuous platform for the sentries. Facing the entrance were three little brick houses about 30 x 15 and at their right, at right angles, were three other similar buildings; in one corner stood a large brick edifice, formerly a cotton factory, now called the penitentiary, adjoining which was the prison cook-house; near by were two wooden buildings, one a hospital, the other occupied by citizen prisoners; of the large structure, three rooms were occupied by deserters from our army, and two others by rebel deserters, than whom a more graceless lot I never saw. On the north side of the prison-yard and back of the brick buildings were four wooden shanties, built of rough timbers and occupied by our officers who were captured when we were, separated from us only by the beat and bayonet of the sentinel.

Wood was brought in and distributed in a very peculiar manner, since everybody attacked the load at once and to the strong went the major part of the fuel, while the weaker men had to suffer. On our arrival, the whole enclosure was covered with grass, but it soon disappeared. Meanwhile the days were growing colder and our appetites keener; on our way hither I had sold the stockings off my feet for a boiled beet, now I exchanged a good pair of pantaloons for a miserable rebel pair and five dollars, Confederate scrip, and though my blouse was about worn out I felt as happy as a lark in so doing, for by the proceeds I was able to buy another pair of socks and had enough money left for little extras of food for a week or ten days. There were only three wells in the enclosure (four more were dug later) which yielded hardly water enough for drink, thus putting bathing entirely out of the question. There being no bucket for drawing the water, we supplied its place by our tin cups, which we lowered with strings made from suspenders and bootlegs. Through constant dipping the wells were transformed into mudholes, so that a nominal quart of water was really one-fourth red clay.

Made desperate by the prospects of the coming winter, a plan for an escape was formed to be led by General Joseph Hayes (formerly Colonel Eighteenth Massachusetts Volunteers commanding First Brigade, Second Division, Fifth Corps; captured at the Weldon R. R.) but discovery of the plot resulted in the removal of the officers to Danville, Va., and the collapse of the scheme. For the distribution of food the prisoners were divided into divisions of one thousand each and these into squads of one hundred, each one being looked after by a sergeant from its own numbers. About the 1st of November tents were issued, two to a squad, ours receiving for one the fly of an officer's tent, the other a small McClellan, the two affording protection for only a small part of the squad, and those who got any good from them were the immediate friends of the sergeant. All others had to seek cover under ground which they secured by digging holes, somewhat larger than those of woodchucks, but of the same general nature. Pitiable indeed was the condition of the men by this time, since the heavy rains had turned the whole enclosure into a veritable pig-sty whose soft red clay could be made into bricks without further mixing.

The death-rate increased at an alarming rate, so that from forty to fifty were carried out each day to the dead-house. Nearly all of the workshops had been changed into hospitals, also two floors of the old factory building. The dead-house was one of the lower floors of one of the work-shops where, when the weather was bad and the dead were not readily removed, as many as eighty corpses, stark and cold, could be seen piled one upon the other like corded wood. On the coming of the cart to remove them, they were thrown into the same with the least formality possible and so carried off. As we had no means of bathing, one of the worst features of the yard was the mass of animated insect life. Oh! the horrors of such creatures! Through them it might be said that we suffered a thousand deaths. Never at rest, always vigorous, they inhabited every nook and crevice of that dismal yard. They were worse than death. The terrors of a Spanish Inquisition could not bring to bear a mode of torture so vile as these filthy vermin.

Then the state of the yard! The principal diseases were dysentery and pneumonia, so that disease bred corruption and malaria. Those who were taken sick, if their squad sergeant were attentive, were carried to Hospital No. 3, and if, on examination, it were evident that the ailment was incurable, he was sent to a hospital to die. The good wheat bread of our earlier rations was changed to corn bread, made of the coarsest cob meal and given to us with rancid molasses. Meat was issued, after a time, about once in fifteen days and then at the rate of eight pounds of beef and bones to a hundred men. At such times all parts of the creatures were used; the heads with eyes and horns still attached were often issued and in some way made victuals of. All small bones capable of being chewed were swallowed as a dog gulps his osseous food and the larger and harder ones were crushed with stones and boiled for hours; the soup thus obtained was thought a great luxury. To obtain salt a day's ration would be exchanged for enough of this necessity to last a fortnight or so, of course the exchange meant a fast for the day whose ration was traded.

Occasionally flour or meal was given us in the raw and without salt; this was cooked into paste and gruel and very thankful all were to get it; oftentimes the prisoners were kept on one-half the regular rations, possibly one-quarter of the time, and sometimes we went as many as three days with no bread whatever. It was this starvation process that drove good men to enlist in the southern army. About the 12th of November a thick cup of rice soup was given out; the next and the following day, we got only rice water, then came flour without salt. Wood was now issued regularly, each squad getting four sticks of eight foot timber. This particular afternoon it was green pine. To add to our troubles a mist arose, so that the only way we could cook our food was by piling the logs on top of each other and placing a coal underneath which we took turns in keeping alive with our breath, till all had cooked their meal. It was a hapless sight that we afforded that afternoon, black with dirt and smoke, as we ate our food. We had gone so long without food that we had almost lost the sense of hunger and this little meal only served to wake our appetite. Before eating my ration, I could walk about the yard without resting; afterwards I was so weak that I fainted in going to my tent, for I was failing rapidly; my old pantaloons were worn out and slit from the knee downward; the sleeves of my shirt and blouse were almost gone, my shoes and socks worn through, my hair matted with dirt and filth, my complexion that of a negro, my body truly was more dead than alive.

My condition was that of my associates in misery, and it was then that the rebel authorities opened a recruiting station in our midst, offering a loaf of bread and fifty dollars in gold to each one who would enlist; six hundred went out. With the exception of a few desperate characters, all hearts were softened at the sight of so much misery, the faint hearted had mostly enlisted in the rebel ranks and those who remained were true blue and had determined, live or die, to stand fast to their principles. Without anything being said, oaths began to be dropped and testaments to be read; while cant was never so ridiculous and intolerable, true religion and a pure morality began to be the life of the mass.

About the last of November, a friend with whom I had become acquainted on Belle Isle was appointed wardmaster of Hospital No. 5; hearing of my condition, he sent for me. I went and was received like a brother, the dirt washed from me, there being plenty of water in the hospitals, clothes taken from men who had died were given me and I was nursed, cared for and fed out of his own rations till my life, which was slowly ebbing away, was coaxed back again. This friend, a total stranger before my capture, was a sergeant in a Pennsylvania cavalry regiment and our acquaintance began at a devotional meeting where were laid the foundations of the strongest Christian friendship. He was a veritable ministering angel to all those who came under his care, and from his conduct I learned that Christianity was not merely a sentiment but a life, not an idea but a reality.

As remarked before, few cases were admitted to the hospital that were not considered hopeless; from our ward of two rooms, having forty patients, five or six would be carried to the dead-house every night. Army surgeons are bad enough anywhere, but those provided at Salisbury were worse than the common run. Coming in at the time appointed, they never came at any other, they would go along the line of men lying on the floor, hitting the patient with their feet to attract attention, would contemptuously inquire, "Well, what's the matter with you to-day?" and, without waiting for a reply, would prescribe any one of the medicines that happened to cross their minds. There were, indeed, three honorable exceptions, but they could only express their sympathy by words of encouragement. Our ward doctor, the most of the time, was a medical student of the latter class.

November 25th came a decided effort to break out; unfortunately the plot had not been worked up so that a sufficient number understood the plan, so that the effort was made at two instead of four o'clock, when only three divisions had been prepared. On the appearance of the relief at that time, someone gave the watchword, "Who's for liberty?" and, as quick as a flash, every one of those sentinels was disarmed and the boys were using their guns against the sentinels on the fence. The noise of the struggle of course soon brought the troops to the scene and forming on the fence began firing. If theirs had been the only resistance, we might have succeeded; unfortunately for us, the Sixty-ninth North Carolina, a newly recruited regiment, was just outside, awaiting transportation, and they were brought to the support of the guards, and many of the Salisbury citizens, afraid of their property if we got away, trotted down with their fowling pieces and old flintlocks. The fence was soon covered with enemies who began a murderous fire on every tent in the yard, though not a third part of the prisoners knew what was up until it was too late and then, recognizing the hopelessness of the effort, everyone tried to hide himself from the terrible fire. The guards having recovered from their fright proceeded to exercise vengeance by discharging the two pieces of artillery loaded with boiler screws amongst us. No one knows how many were killed, but sixty or seventy were wounded, most of them lying in their tents. The wounded were all placed in the same hospital, were all treated with the same surgical tools and gangrene set in with all, and all, save two or three, died.

Of my company (E) twenty-four were captured, the most of them strong healthy men. As the winter advanced and the cold grew more intense, many of them lost hope and dropped away. From my position in the hospital, to which I had been elected after recovering sufficient strength, I was able to be of help to them. I passed out crust-coffee and opium pills whenever I could get them. The stoutest hearted man in the company was the first to die. A native of Maine, a blacksmith by trade, Jones seemed the one best fitted to endure hardship, yet, allowing himself to become disheartened, he quickly fell a prey to disease. On one of my visits to the boys I found one of them, a corporal (Glines), failing fast. I asked permission of the superintendent to admit him to the hospital as a patient and it was granted. Two days later, I heard that another corporal (Horton) of my company, a near neighbor and friend at home, wished to see me. I found him lying in the mud of his tent, and I knew by the look of his face that he could not live. He asked me if I could do anything for him or, at least, give him some opium. I got some of the pills for him and told him I would do what I could towards getting him into the hospital. Knowing that he could not live much longer he said, "Tell the folks at home I died trying to do my duty and thinking of them." Going back to the ward, I besought the privilege of bringing him to the hospital. The superintendent replied that there was no vacancy, but would be on the morrow, but I might go after supper and get him and give him a place under a bunk. I went upstairs and cooked our scanty meal and, while doing so, the night patients were brought in. While eating my supper, one of the nurses, a pompous fellow, came in and said that one of the patients was a young fellow who insisted on seeing me before going under his bunk. On being told that I was busy upstairs the nurse said he whined, "I wish you would call Johnnie, one moment," but he put a stop to his "nonsense," as the nurse said, by showing him his place for the night and said that he had fainted in taking it. Indignant that my friend had been denied so small a favor, I hurried down to the place where he had been put and cried, "Fred," and, as no answer came I supposed him asleep and thought I would not disturb him. After finishing my work at midnight, I went upstairs to retire; shortly afterward the nurse in attendance called that a corporal, under the bunks, was dead. Hurrying down, I found my friend stiff and cold in death in the middle of the floor. A friend and playmate from boyhood, the merriest boy of us all, smart in school, most joyous in sport, he was the life of our youthful circle. We had enlisted together; his parents, brothers and sisters were all well known to me and I must tell the sad story to them—how he had died in a hospital of which I was an attendant, yet had been unable to comfort him in his dying hours. The sight of my grief was a good lesson to the nurses who were more ready to grant favors thereafter. Horton, the other corporal, died the same night.

A great many died from the effects of the cold weather; numbers of them had their feet frost-bitten and, as they were not taken care of, mortification set in, to be followed by death. Many a poor fellow, weak with disease, left his tent at night, and, stumbling in the darkness would fall and being too weak to call for help would be found in the morning a frozen corpse. Finally, without any warning, on the to us ever memorable 20th of February, '65, orders came to have the sick ready for removal. It was with joyful hearts that we obeyed and, when the gate was opened that we might carry them out, we could hardly contain ourselves for joy. Only when the cars had fully started could we realize that Salisbury, with its filth and dirt, its misery and degradation, its dying and dead, was being left for good. With feeble voices we sang "Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow" and many a prayer of thanksgiving was breathed that we had lived to see the glad hour.