Class ^Z C-LL—
Book 31Ql
(k)pyiight^^'_ .
COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT.
S. M'. DuFi.TR AT 19.
Tliis ])!i( liigraph was taken while the author was on
a furldiigh, fifteen days before he was taken prisoner.
S. ]\T. DUFUR AT 59.
Photographed by F. W. Wheelei- & Son, Richford, Vt.
Over the Dead Line I
OR
^ Tracked by Blood=Hounds ^
f^lVING the Author'' s personal experience during eleven
months that he was confined in Pevibertoii ^ Libby, Belle
Island, Andersonville , Ga., and Florence, S. C, as a prisoner
of war. Describing pla?is of escape, arrival of prisoners , his
escape ayid recapture ; with mimerous and varied incidents and
anecdotes of his priso7i life
BY
S. M. DUFUR
Company B, 1st Vermont Cavalry
War of 1S61-5
THt LibKANY CF
CONGRESS,
Two Co
pies
ieceiverl
DEC
26
190?
Copyright
CLASS <X
Entry
XXc. No,
COPY
9 5
B.
Copyright, 1902,
By the Author, S. M Dufur.
i-
C
S^
(jCp
Printed by Free Press Association, liurlini/ton, Vt.
PREFACE.
In preparing this little volume, I have had an eye, not
so much to a literary production, as to give in compliance
with the oft repeated request of friends and relatives, a
simple and truthful account of my experience in the
prison pens of tiie South during the Great American
Rebellion. This Great Republic was at that time di-
vided against itself. The Northern and the Southern
people were enemies to each other, and although I was
forced to believe by the treatment to which I was sub-
jected at the hands of my captors, that it was their delib-
erate intention to destroy me, I can say, that it is with
no feeling of hatred or revenge that I now give to my
posterity a truthful account of what I saw and suffered.
The Author.
Richford Vt., Dec. 8th, 1902.
INDEX TO CHAPTERS.
Chapter I.
Page I
Peace and Unity reign supreme.
Chapter H.
Page 9
Kilpatrick's famous cavalry raid around Rich-
mond, Va.
Chapter HI.
Page 25
My horse shot from under me.
Wounded and taken prisoner.
Chapter IV.
Page 39
Five of Col. Dahlgren's men and myself sen-
tenced to death.
Chapter V.
Page 52
From Belle Island I escape and with 600 old
prisoners go to Andersonville.
vi OVER THE DEAD LINE
Chapter VI.
Page 69
Our arrival at Andersonville on March 14th,
1864.
Chapter VII.
Page 85
Shot to death for reaching a hand beyond the
dead-hne.
Chapter VIII.
Page 100
Pubhc execution of six Union soldiers for rob-
bing and murdering their fellow prison-
ers.
Chapter IX.
A young Massachusetts soldier's awful ex-
perience.
Page 116
Chapter X.
A nerve-trying experience. A live prisoner
carried to the dead house as dead.
Page 128
Chapter XI.
Page 139
Arrival at FlcM^cnce, S. C.
A break for libcrtv.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS vii
Chapter XII.
Page 153
Eight days and nights wandering through
Southern swamps and mountainous fast-
nesses as escaped prisoners.
Chapter XIII.
Page 166
Secreted by slaves, they throw our pursuers
off the trail.
Chapter XIV.
Page 176
The Negro prayer meeting.
"Sist dese gemmen, O Lor, frou to de Norf."
Chapter XV.
Page if
Escaped from the moon-shiners to be taken by
blood-hounds.
Chapter XVI.
Page 203
Our arrival at Florence prison after an awful
experience of nine days and nights.
Chapter XVII.
Page 213
Description of, and experience in, the Florence
stockade.
viii OVER THE DEAD LINE
Chapter XVIII.
Page 224
During the cold fall and winter storms, the suf-
fering in Florence was indescribable.
Chapter XIX.
Page 237
Leaving the prison of hatred and famine as
paroled prisoners.
Chapter XX.
Page 251
A dying soldier's story; his experience with a
madman.
Chapter XXI.
Pages 263-268
Names, Company, Regiment, date of death, and
Number of all Vermont soldiers whose re-
mains are interred in the National Ceme-
tery at Andersonville, Ga.
OVER THE DEAD LINE.
Chapter I.
It is March, A. D. 1901. The lofty hills of the old
Green Mountain State have not yet put off their white
robes of frost and snow, although the sun's bright rays
have already commenced their work of devastation upon
the spotless garments that for months have clothed their
fertile valleys.
Nineteen hundred and one. Peace and Unity reign
supreme. Moving columns of men, armed and equipped,
huge war vessels moving from port to port, bearing thoai-
sands of mammoth cannon and trained men, panting
horses eager for the charge, glittering bayonets, and the sil-
very notes of the bugle echoing o'er the tent-covered hills
and valleys, are things of the past.
More than a third of a century since the first shot
echoed from the walls of Sumter. More than the aver-
age number of years alloted to man have passed, since that
shot proclaimed to the world that one of the greatest and
most powerful nations of the earth, was divided against
itself. Yes ! War was declared, the first gun fired, and
2 OVER THE DEAD LINE
from mansion to cabin, from metropolis to hamlet, from
the Atlantic to the Pacific the news flashed that by trai-
torous hands, the old flag had been ruthlessly torn from its
proud position, to be trampled beneath the brutal foot of
secession.
"To arms ! To arms !" was the pass-word of every
American patriot. We see and hear the people making
preparations for war. We hear the appeal of the orator,
the notes of the bugle and the din of the boisterous drums,
mingling with the commands of officers, who are endeav-
ouring to form and reform their inexperienced, though
patriotic, volunteers previous to their departure for scenes
that in after years were proudly described to their chil-
dren and grand-children. The dim eye of the veteran
shines, as in imagination it again flashes along the glitter-
ing barrel of his trusty weapon, or as he exhibits the
empty sleeve, or again relates the many thrilling experi-
ences and startling events that emblazon the pages of
his past history. None but those who were eye-witnesses
and saw the young volunteer of 1861, as he marched
])r(>udly away under the flaunting flag, keeping time to
the wild, grand music of war — none but those who knew
him then and now, can realize the changes that time has
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 3
wrought. Those who participated in that hard fought
and closely contested struggle for rights and liberty, who
then possessed health, youth and vigor, are to-day aged
and decrepit. The once lithesome step is now slow. We
see the bowed form and the trembling limbs ; we see him
wrestling with aches and pains, which remind him that
ere long, will be mustered out, the last of those who in
this Great Rebellion placed their all upon their country's
altar. The past rises before him like a dream. Again
he is in the great struggle for National life. He sees his
countrymen as they enlist in the great army of freedom.
He sees them part with those they love; he hears tender
vows of affection as they lingeringly separate, perhaps
forever. Some are bending over cradles, kissing sleep-
ing children, while others are parting with fond mothers,
who with maternal affection hold and press them again
and again to their hearts, grief preventing speech. He
sees them part : now the wife is standing at the door with
the babe in her arms, and at the turn of the road the hus-
band's hand is seen waving her and his child farewell.
He goes with the husbands and fathers; he is by their
side on the bloody fields of battle; in hospitals of pain; on
the weary marches, and standing guard in storms and
OVER THE DEAD LINE
under the quiet stars. He sees them pierced by balls and
torn by shells in the trenches, wild from thirst, the life-
blood ebbing slowly away.
Thousands, yes, millions of men and women are alive
to-day, who in some way, either directly or indirectly,
were connected with that terrible struggle, when nearly
three million responded toi the call for true and loyal men
to defend the Nation's Flag, and to sustain the rights of
freedom and independence for which their ancestors so
heroically fought. Yes, fathers, mothers and their chil-
dren have been born since the first traitorous hand was
raised against that emblem of freedom that our fore-
fathers redeemed with blood and long-suffering, and
which they swore to maintain. Many years have passed
and gone, many winter snows and summer rains have
fallen upon the last resting places of those who, through
dangers seen and unseen, stood by their country's flag
until final victory.
And thus the writer, as one of the survivors of those
eventful days, is reminded that this first day of March,
A. D. nineteen hundred and one, is the anniversary of an
"event" connected with those days of carnage and strife.
It is an event that should be handed down from genera-
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS
tion to generation, that our posterity may be truthfully in-
formed in regard to the terrible sufferings and privations
of those who courageously faced danger and death that
the Union might be preserved.
Statistics show that 25,840 Union soldiers perished
in Andersonville and Salisbury alone, to say nothing of
Florence, Libby, Belle-Island and many other places
where Union prisoners were confined, and of the many
thousands whose iron constitutions carried them through
the trying ordeal, but who came out physical wrecks.
In the fall of 1865, the writer was honorably dis-
charged from the first and only regiment of cavalry that
was recruited from among the loyal and sturdy sons of
the old Green Mountain State. During the four years,
this regiment participated in many a hard fought battle.
Seventy-five general engagements and skirmishes are
credited to its war record from April i6th, 1862 — when
its first charge was made upon the enemy at Mt. Jackson,
Va. — to April 9th, 1865, at Appomatox, where it re-
ceived, and in part executed, the last order given for a
cavalry charge, in the army of the Potomac.
It is upon this cold and dreary March day, the thirty-
seventh anniversary of General Kilpatrick's famous raid,
6 OVER THE DEAD LINE
wherein the ist Vermont Cavalry took a prominent part,
that I take from the dust-covered board, the worn and
faded memorandum, that for many years has lain unmo-
lested in the old attic chest.
As I pause for a moment to peruse the dim lines that
time has nearly erased, I ask myself, "Is this real ? Did
I write these lines in such a terrible place, and while sur-
rounded by scenes that almost baffle description?"
Yes. Each page, grim with age, bears undisputable
evidence of sickness, starvation and death. I am look-
ing upon the same lines that thirty-seven years ago I
wrote while the pangs of hunger, the ravages of disease
and the burning rays of a southern sun were doing their
awful work.
I carefully lift the first tender leaf. My now im-
paired vision rests upon the nearly obliterated words :
March 2nd. Taken prisoner last night. I am badly
wounded, and in Libby prison. What misery I behold."
"March 3rd. Dick Turner, the commanding officer,
told six of us, who were with Dahlgren's command, that
we would be shot. We are not guilty. Have not yet had
my wounds dressed. God help us, in this our suffering
condition."
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS
"4th. They accuse us of murdering women and chil-
dren. The Richmond papers call us murderers. The
guard told us to-day that there is no hope for us."
"5th. I asked Dick Turner for some crutches; he
replied, 'No, you will be in h — 1 with your commanding
officer, before you have a chance to use them'. We are
more afraid of being lynched, than of being shot. On
Bell-Island I found boys I knew."
"6th. O how I suffer. If I am murdered or die,
and this book is saved, never let it be seen by my father
or mother. God knows I am not guilty of any crime. I
only did a soldier's duty."
As I glance at these minute memoranda, reading here
and there a few words, I notice that months have passed,
since, with a trembling hand I wrote, "Have just been
taken prisoner. They tell me I am to be shot. I am
badly wounded," etc., and instead of March, I see July,
August and September. In an entry made July 24th, I
read:
"Another has been taken from our family — Frank
B, Jocelyn, of our company. How poor Frank wanted
to live. He gave me a message to carry to his widowed
mother, should I live to go out."
8 OVER THE DEAD LINE
"July 26th. The members of our family, who are
gradually growing fewer in number, to-day mourn the
loss of another — Mlo Farnsworth. I found him dead at
my side, at three o'clock this morning. He died between
the hours of twelve and three."
"July 27th. One hundred and sixty-three deaths
during the past twenty-four hours. Report says that
cholera is in camp. God help us if this is true."
"28th. Two men were shot near the south gate, for
stepping beyond the Dead Line. Capt Wirz said to-day
that we would soon be paroled."
"August 2nd. The heat is suffocating. I counted
177 dead bodies at the gate, awaiting the last act of the
drama — to be drawn away, and like dead dumb beasts,
thrown into a trench. The stench arising from the dead
bodies at the gate, and the excremental matter in the
swamp, and other parts of the prison, make the air almost
stifling."
Such are a few of the reminiscences recorded in this
little book, by the aid of which, I shall endeavor to por-
tray to the reader the thrilling and heart-rendering scenes
that came under my observation during nearly one year
that I was confined in the Confederate prison pens of the
South.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS
Chapter II.
It was during the winter of 1863-4, and while the ist
Vermont Cavalry, of which I was a member, was lying
in winter quarters at Stevensburg, Va., that the order
was given from the War Department, to recruit from the
ranks, or in other words, re-enlist all three years' men
who had already served two years of their time. The in-
ducements held out to the men for this extra two years'
service, were that they should receive $402 bounty, and a
thirty days' furlough. Many accepted this offer, myself
being one of that number.
At the end of thirty days the veterans came strag-
gling into camp by twos and threes, and by the 25th of
February, the men were all back at their old quarters, and
doing picket duty on the Rapidan river.
It was about this time and on a clear, cold February
morning, just as the first welcome rays of light were seen
in the eastern horizon, that I was seated upon the back of
my faithful old war-horse, on a lonely picket-post situ-
ated near the summit of a hill which commanded a view
of the Rapidan. For eight hours I had remained at my
10 OVER THE DEAD LINE
post, eagerly watching for any unusual move of the enemy
on one side, and for the relief guard on the other, when
I saw by the motions of my horse, that either friend or foe
was in the immediate vicinity oi my post.
Reining my horse a few feet to the rear, where the
wide-spreading branches of a mammoth pine tree entirely
concealed my presence, I looked at my arms, and placed
myself in an attitude of defense. I had not long to wait,
as in a few moments I saw two horsemen approaching
from the direction of the reserve post, and just as I gave
the usual challenge of "Halt ! Who goes there?" I discov-
ered that it was two men from my own company, a Cor-
poral and a new recruit, one of those who are enlisted to
fill the ranks or places of those who have been killed or
discharged. The Corporal had orders for me to report
to my Company Headquarters at once, and the recruit was
to take my place upon the picket-line. As I passed the
reserve post on my way to camp, I was told by the officer
in charge, that the cause of my not being relieved through
the night, was, that the stars and moon shone so brightly,
he did not think it advisable tO' move men along the side
of the hill, as they could be seen by the enemy just across
the river, therefore they could locate my post.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS ^
Arriving at camp, I received orders to be ready to
march at a moment's notice; also an order was given for
each man to draw three days' rations, and sixty rounds
of ammunition. We had worn Uncle Sam's uniform long
enough to learn that a moment's notice might mean thirty
days or it might mean thirty hours, but the three days' ra-
tions, and sixty rounds of ammunition meant business in
the near future.
All day, men could be seen congregated in small
parties, eagerly discussing the probabilities of our intended
move. Officers were hurrying to and fro, and in low
tones giving orders, and answering the many inquiries
in regard to our probable destination and invariably the
answers were, "We know nothing about it."
Many of the boys wrote letters home, sending money
or any article of value that they did not wish to have with
them, should an engagement or a raid occur.
All that day, — February 26th, 1864, — the men were
getting ready, for — they knew not what. All preparations
were made as quietly as possible; no loud orders were
given. Our winter quarters were left standing ; and those
who were excused from duty by the Doctor, and some of
the new recruits, were to occupy them until the company
12 OVER THE DEAD LINE
returned. None but veterans were to go, so we did not
consider this would be a pleasure party by any means.
About sunset that night, our horses were saddled and
bridled; the men with overcoats on, with sabres and re-
volvers hanging to their belts, walked up and down the
company streets, talking in low tones.
No bugle sounded, but as daylight disappeared, and
the shades of night brought out more prominently the
many camp-fires that bespeak the intense darkness so soon
to come upon us, each soldier distinctly heard the com-
mand, though in a low tone of voice, "Lead into line!
Right dress ! Number by fours ! By fours ! Right wheel !
Forward, march !" and Kilpatrick's famous cavalry raid
around Richmond had begun.
The objects of this raid were the liberation of the
Union prisoners in that city; also the destruction of mills
and army stores; the capture of the reserve artillery at
Frederick's Hall Station, and the Virginia Railroad, and
the distribution of President Lincoln's Amnesty Procla-
mation.
Kilpatrick started with six regiments of cavalry, con-
sisting of some 4,000 men. The young and daring
Colonel Dahlgren, who was Kilpatrick's second in this
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 13
enterprise, commanded a body of some four hundred men,
consisting of detachments from the ist Vermont, 2nd and
5th New York, ist Maine, and 5th Michigan cavalry.
All night we marched through the rain and mud,
and the following morning we were fairly in the rear of
Lee's army. We were entirely cut off from all communi-
cation with our army ; we had captured the enemy's picket-
post, and no longer was our destination a secret. Soon
after daylight, a halt was made long enough to feed our
horses, then up and on to Richmond ; tearing up railroad
tracks, destroying telegraph lines, burning bridges, and
makinggeneraldestruction,aswe advanced. The men were
ordered to molest no one who did not molest them, and to
enter no private dwelling. Most of the time during that
long-to-be-remembered ride, the rain fell in torrents, ren-
dering the roads almost impassable.
Colonel Dahlgren and his command fell into ambush,
and he was killed, sixteen bullets passing through his head
and body. His command became separated and the Ver-
mont boys joined Kilpatrick's forces near Richmond. This
was on March ist, and during the afternoon of that day,
Kilpatrick's men were drawn up in line before the fortifi-
14 OVER THE DEAD LINE
cations at Richmond on the Brook turnpike, three and a
half miles north of the city.
Judging the capture of Richmond to be impossible,
Kilpatrick decided to move around the city and join Gen-
eral Butler at Yorktown. At 4 P. M. the column started,
and after destroying two miles of the Fredericksburg
railroad, moved on to Mechanicsville, six miles from
Richmond.
Here, after destroying the railroad buildings and cut-
ting the track, the men got an hour's rest. It was just
after dark, when we turned ofif from the turnpike, and our
regiment entered a small piece of pine woods. As soon
as a halt was made, and our horses picketed, many of the
men camped down at once. Both men and horses were
suffering from want of food and rest; all the sleep that
we had obtained during the past forty-eight hours, was
while riding in the ranks with our heads resting upon the
blankets that were rolled and strapped to the front of our
saddles.
Comrade Horace B. Stetson and myself were tent-
mates at the time, and while I was loosening the saddle-
girths, and caring for our horses. Stetson spread out our
wet blankets, and made us as comfortable a bed as he
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 15
could under the circumstances, as it was raining and
snowing at the time. Our rubber blankets, however, par-
tially protected us from the storm, and we were soon fast
asleep. At 10.30, I was awakened by the report of ar-
tillery, immediately followed by the crashing of solid
shot and shell through the tree-tops. At the report of
the first gun, the bugle sounded "To horse!" and those
who had not camped down for a little rest, and were run-
ning the risk of losing the much-needed sleep, in ex-
change for a cup of hot coffee, had a little advantage of
those who were fast asleep; the latter springing from
their beds in a bewildered state, scarcely knowing where
they were. Small campnfires were shining all through
the woods, and as we entered after dark, knowing noth-
ing of the lay of the ground, neither the points of the
compass, and the dazzling camp-fires threw many of the
men, especially those who were suddenly awakened, into
a bewildered condition; it often happened that if one
moved a few feet from his own quarters, he was com-
pletely lost, or "turned around." As the sound of the
first gim startled me, I sprang from my bed, and shouted
to my comrade, who slept more soundly than myself, to
turn out, that the enemy had opened fire upon us. I then
16 OVER THE DEAD LINE
looked for my horse, and after two or three minutes found
him in almost an opposite direction from where I sup-
posed I had left him. I was not long in arranging my
saddle and bridle, and making a charge for the bed to
secure my blankets, I was somewhat surprised to find my
bed-fellow. Stetson, still quietly sleeping. I caught him
by the foot and pulling him out of the bed,I again shouted
that the Rebs. were shelling the camp.
This time he spoke, and proceeded to instill into
my mind the contempt he felt for my self-imagined cun-
ning, and that if I did not wish to sleep myself, I might
allow others to do so.
"Boom! Boom!" again rang out the Rebel gun, im-
mediately followed by the bursting of a shell, which cut
short poor chummy's scolding, and springing back into
his bed upon his hands and knees, he threw the things
right and left in searching for his cap, as he excitedly
asked : "Why in thunder didn't you wake me up?"
By this time the rebels had advanced to the edge of
the woods, and soon a scattering fire of musketry com-
menced along the out-skirts. Lieut. Col. Preston, of the
ist Vermont, gave the order for his men to fall in on foot,
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 17
and soon quite a line of battle was formed between our
horses and the enemy.
Thus far the enemy appeared to have everything
about their own way, and most likely they mistook our
silence for a preparation to retreat, but when our regiment
opened fire with their Spencer carbines, they appeared
somewhat surprised, and for a time their firing ceased
altogether. After we had fired eight or ten rounds, in
rapid succession, the order was given by Col, Preston,
"Every man to his horse, and lead into line in the open
field to the rear!"
This was the last order or command I ever heard
from this brave and noble young officer, as he was killed
on the 3rd of the following June.
While we were on the firing line, my horse escaped,
or was by mistake taken by some one else; I never knew
which, for I never saw him again. Anxiously going
through the company, making inquiries from man to man,
and from company to company, I heard some one a little
distance away cry out, ''Who wants a horse?" Hurrying
as fast as I could to the spot where I had heard this ques-
tion asked, I found an officer sitting upon his horse and
2
18 OVER THE DEAD LINE
holding another by the bridle. He was a Colonel or a
Lieutenant-Colonel, belonging to our brigade, and said
his servant, a colored boy, who rode this horse, had been
killed or taken prisoner, or had run away. After telling
him to what regiment I belonged, he said I might take
this horse till he called for it. I was very thankful for
this kind act, and assuring the Colonel I would return
the animal at any time after the skirmish was over, I
mounted and galloped away in the direction of my regi-
ment. The stirrup straps to my saddle were very short,
and in my haste to rejoin my command, I had not taken
time to lengthen them, and was thinking of doing so, when
a shell from the enemy exploded near, causing the already
excited horse to turn suddenly to one side, throwing me
heavily to the ground. I was somewhat bruised by the
fall, but gained my feet, and saw, by the dim light of the
camp-fires, the horse of which I stood in so much need,
disappear in the darkness.
A few moment's walk brought me to my regiment,
which had just commenced to break off from the right by
fours. I was anxiously looking and enquiring from one
to the other, for a horse without a rider, when some one
shouted from the front: "Say, there, you fellow who
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 19
wants a horse, there are two horses back in the wood from
which we came." Of course I ran great risk in doing so,
but at once started for the place indicated, and was soon
stumbhng over sticks, stones, and stumps, as I hastened
from one dark object tO' another, in my endeavor to ob-
tain the horse, and escape from the woods before the
enemy should ascertain our movements. I entered the
thicket as near as possible tO' where our company had
camped, which was some twenty or thirty rods distant
from the place whence I started upon this errand of such
great importance to myself. I could hear the enemy
cheering upon the opposite side of the woods, and I well
knew that what was to be done, must be done quickly. I
was about to give up, and return to my company, when to
my joy and surprise, I espied the two horses standing
within a few feet of each other. The first I came upon
was a small black horse, one that was used as a pack
horse to carry small articles, and evidently had been left,
as he was tired out. Another stood near, and I almost
cried with joy, when I discovered what I took to be my
own faithful old "Blaze," as I called him; this horse,
however, did not act like him, as he reared and plunged
in a way that made it almost impossible for me to hold
20 OVER THE DEAD LINE
him, or place my foot in the stirrup. It was during these
efforts that I discovered the horse was not my own, but
he looked so much like him, that in all probability mine
was taken for him. Although this mistake caused me
indescribable suffering, nearly costing me my life, I can-
not say the blame rests upon any one.
I will for a moment leave my perilous situation to the
imagination of the reader. Here was a dilemma from
which the wealth of the Rosthchilds, or the influence and
power of a monarch, could not extricate me. My life
depended, as it were, for a few moments on the obedience
of a horse. It is said by people who have narrowly es-
caped death after fully expecting it, that during an al-
most inconceivably short space of time, many past events
of one's life are recalled to mind ; and thus it was with me.
During the fractional part of a minute that I so earnestly
endeavored to calm that enraged and frightened animal,
all the horrors of Libby, Castle Thunder, and Bell Island
passed through my mind with the rapidity of lightning.
Oh for a few moments of precious time ! Seconds seemed
minutes as I struggled for the mastery of the maddened
brute. Fearing the reader may ask why I did not aban-
don the hope of aid from the horse and try to escape on
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS iii
foot, I will say that for a pedestrian to keep up with a
raiding party of horsemen, especially in the night, would
be almost an impossibility.
With a howl like that of wild beasts, the enemy
charged into the woods. I endeavored to mount without
the assistance of the stirrup, but in this I failed, as the
horse would go from under me before I could gain an up-
right position in my saddle. I well knew that my es-
cape, if not my life, depended upon this horse, and so
earnestly was I engaged that I did not consider how
closely they were upon me, and just as I was hanging to
the side of my horse, with my right leg hooked around
the back of my saddle, I received a fearful sabre cut from
the hand of a rebel horseman, who suddenly appeared
upon the spot and leaning forward in his saddle, said:
"Surrender, you d — d Yankee!" at the same time deahng
me a blow that nearly severed the heel from my foot.
By this time I had gained an upright position in the
saddle, and while this rebel cavalryman was trying his
best to cripple me, and had succeeded in giving me another
slight wound in my left arm by a sabre thrust, I man-
aged to draw my sabre — my revolver being empty — and
placed myself in an attitude of defence, just as my would-
22 OVER THE DEAD LINE
be slayer put spurs to his horse and disappeared in the
darkness.
And now hundreds of rebel cavalrymen passed me,
charging with a yell through the woods. I could not
understand why my opponent left me so suddenly, unless
he thought when I drew my sabre I was drawing a re-
volver, as it was quite dark at the time.
All of a sudden my horse became quiet, ceasing to
rear, jump, and turn; and just as I began to cherish the
hope of my possible escape, I felt a tremuloiis motion of
the animal's body, and the terrible reality flashed upon
me that my horse was shot. My equipment so encum-
bered me that before I could dismount, the wounded an-
imal staggered and fell to the ground. So suddenly did
he fall, that my wounded limb lay under him, and although
the time seemed much longer, it was probably little more
than an hour that I lay bound to the earth by the dead
weight of a ten hundred pound horse. During the death-
struggle Oif the poor animal I cherished a faint hope that
he might change his position sufficiently to allow me to
extricate myself from my painful position. Although
each motion of the struggling animal caused me intense
pain it was welcome compared with the terrible possibility
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 23
of remaining in that position for an indefinite time with no
possible way of escape, coupled with the thought that I
was slowly bleeding to death.
Again and again I cried for help, each time the echo
of my voice in the surrounding wood seeming to mock
me as it mingled with the victorious yell oi the enemy. I
say victorious as in all probability they would have con-
sidered it a victory had not a gun been fired, sO' long as
the Union forces turned their backs upon the Confederate
capital, that twenty-four hours before they had considered
lying wholly at the mercy of the Union troops.
My horse had ceased its death-struggles, and his
dead body was lying on my wounded leg; my knee was
also badly injured by the fall.
24 OVER THE DEAD LINE
Chapter III.
Our soldiers had gone ; no- rebels in sight or hearing,
and all was quiet except an occasional report of a musket,
or the distant barking of a watch-dog, and this upon the
same ground where all was strife and excitement so short
a time before. The pain in my injured limb was terrible,
and the perspiration streamed from my face during my
unsuccessful attempts to regain my liberty.
With a small knife that I carried in my pocket I tried
to cut away a part of the horse's body that bore so heavily
upon my limb. But in this I failed, as my position — ly-
ing on my right side — prevented me from doing so. One
more chance presented itself to view, and in this I was
successful. With my hand I commenced digging the
earth from under my wounded limb, and I can assure you
dear reader that never did I labor under more painful and
discouraging circumstances, than I did during the hour
I worked for my life.
I had overcome one difficulty, although my prospects
were anything but enlivening, when I found myself sit-
ting beside my dead horse, my clothing wet through by
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 25
the snow and rain, badly wounded, and my finger-nails
nearly torn from my hand by digging the roots and hard
earth, from under my imprisoned limb. Alone, and in
the enemy's land; and I thought, as many, many a young
man had, when lying wounded upon the battle field, of
what mv almost broken hearted mother said, as she bade
her seventeen year old boy good bye, when he so cheer-
fully and thoughtlessly entered upon the ever-changing
scenes of war, "God bless and protect you. my boy; Oh
how I shall see you in my dreams lying wounded upon the
battle-field. Remember, my son, that should it thus be,
you can not call upon your father and mother for help,
but you can call upon your God."
All these thoughts came to my mind, and as I had
already learned that "the inevitable strengthens courage,"
and that "necessity is the mother of invention," I went
to work. With a large cotton handkerchief, and a part
of my coat-lining, I dressed my wounded foot as well as I
could under the circumstances, it being very dark, and
the rain and snow falling fast. I tested my strength by
lifting small stones, breaking sticks, etc., fearing I was
growing weak from the loss of blood. Being satisfied
that the flow of blood was subsiding, I prepared to leave
26 OVER THE DEAD LINE
the place, as my body was being chilled through by the
cold. I obtained a narrow piece of board from the wood
that some of the boys had collected, and using it for a
crutch, and a small stick for a cane, I hobbled away in
the direction of — I knew not where. As I passed the
little played-out pack-horse, I cut his halter, and as I saw
the little shivering discarded animal stagger away in the
darkness, I thought he would most likely fall into better
hands than I should. I then passed out of the woods,
and in the direction that our men had taken, crossing the
ground where they had formed in line just previous to
their departure. I entered another piece of woods, and
here my strength partially gave out, and I lay down be-
side a large rock or bowlder, thinking I would remain
there till daylight. I remained in that place an hour or
so, when my wet clothing began to freeze. The rain and
snow had ceased to fall, and the weather was growing
colder. I reasoned that to remain here would mean chill-
ing to death, and to escape capture in the condition I was
in, was impossible. I thus reflected upon my sad and
painful condition, and having no cartridges for my car-
bine, I laid it beside the rock with my sabre, and covering
them with dirt and leaves, left them. I moved on just
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 27
fast enough to keep from being chilled through, and was
probably suffering more excruciating pain than I had
ever suffered before, when a summons : "Halt ! Who
comes there?" was given a few rods in front, and I re-
turned the usual answer, "A friend."
The question was then asked, "What regiment?" I
quickly answered, "ist Vermont; of what regiment are
you?" I asked, thinking the voice was that of a North-
erner; "ist Alabama. Hold up your hands!" was the
reply.
If I had possessed the use of my legs, I would have
cared little for their challenge, but as it was, I was wholly
at their mercy, and little of this did I, as a cavalry rider,
expect at their hands.
We had of late heard much of the terrible suffering
and death of our men who had fahen into the enemy's
hands as prisoners of war.
Stooping down so as to bring my head nearer the
ground, I could see outlined against the sky, the form.s
of mounted men deployed as skirmishers.
Again the order, "Hold up your hands and advance !"
was given by OTie of the men before me, and at the sam.e
time the sharp report of a carbine in the hands of one of
28 OVER THE DEAD LINE
the skirmishers, rang out upon the night air. "Cease
firing," was the stern command of an officer in charge.
This order from one in authority, gave me momen-
tary rehef, as I believed when I heard that shot, that my
time had come, and that they would shoot me on the spot;
but I soon felt assured that it was through excitement
that the shot was fired, for when I called out the name of
my regiment, they did not know but that I might be one
of the advance of an attacking party.
The second time I was ordered to hold up, I replied :
'*I am wounded, and will surrender, but I cannot hold up
my hands, as I am leaning on a stick for support."
Knowing that escape was impossible, I stood for a
few moments as if paralyzed before I could move, while
panoramic scenes of sickness, starvation, and death, stood
out in bold relief before me.
I advanced to within a few feet of the line, when two
horsemen rode up, and wheeling their horses one on each
side of me, ordered me to drop my sticks, and with each
hand to grasp their saddles, and to hold on firmly. I
obeyed the command, and they started their horses into
a brisk trot. My wounded foot and knee had become so
sore I could not bear my weight upon it, consequently I
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 29
relaxed my hold upon their saddles, and fell to the ground,
whereupon one of my escorts kindly informed me tliat if
I commenced any of my Yankee tricks he would proceed
to make a lead-mine of my d — d Yankee body. Fearing
he would carry out his cowardly threat, I exerted myself
to the utmost, and although my sufferings were terrible, I
regained my feet and then said : "You have the power to
shoot a defenceless prisoner, but I trust you have no man
in your army that would stoop to such barbarous and cruel
work. At least, we have heard that you treated your
prisoners of war kindly."
This bit of falsehood and flattery had the desired
effect; at least upon one of them, for after I liad explained
to them that I was badly wounded, and weak from the
loss of blood, but would do my best to wall:, if the dis-
tance was not far and they would go slowly, he said : "My
comrade won't hurt ye I reckon; he thought perhaps you
uns was play in' off on us, and would try to get away."'
As we resumed our march, they appeared to be more
friendly, going sO' far as almost to warrant that I vvould
not be hung, but would be used like other prisoners of
war.
30 OVER THE DEAD LINE
We moved slowly along for perhaps an eighth of a
mile, and halted at an old blacksmith shop, where the two
men dismounted, and one of them took me by the arm
and led me inside. As the rebel soldier and I were seated
upon a couple of nail kegs, at one end of the room, I saw
several rebel officers gathered around a blazing fire in an
old-fashioned fire-place, at the other end of this capacious,
though dirty, apartment, earnestly engaged in conversa-
tion.
They did not seem to notice us, as we entered, and I
soon became interested in their conversation, which would
almost lead one, situated as I was, to believe he was the
only survivor of the whole Union army. There were ten
or twelve of these officers, most of them quite young,
ranking from Second Lieutenant to Colonel, and all cav-
alry officers. As these young men warmed themselves
and dried their clothing by the fire, each in turn related the
many daring deeds he had performed, and how the black
abolitionists had suffered at his hand.
While listening to this conversation, I heard an
officer, whom I took to be a Colonel, say to the rest that
he would give a good deal for a cup of hot cofifee ; where-
upon, I made the proposition that if he would allow me to
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 31
sit up to the fire and warm myself, I would furnish him
the coffee. As I spoke, they all turned to look at me, and
one of them, who appeared to be the superior officer, said :
"Aha, whom have we here? A Yank?"
The guard who sat by me, answering in the affirm-
ative, the officer replied: "Certainly, certainly; sit right
up here my man, and warm yourself."
As the guard assisted me to the fire, they made room
for me, and one of them said :
"Well, Yank, have you been collecting up a little
Confederate lead?"
I had two or three pounds of sugar and coffee mixed
together in my haversack, and as I reached it to the man
who had spoken about it, and told him to help himself, he
took out a small amount, and handing it back to me said :
"Yank, you must not be too free with your coffee, for
it may be a long time before you will get any more."
These men were gentlemanly appearing; they used
me well, took nothing from me, and one gave me bandage,
and offered to help dress my wound, but I concluded to
let it remain as it was until morning, thinking I might
obtain the assistance of the rebel doctors in Richmond.
After I had thoroughly warmed myself, and had answered
32 OVER THE DEAD LINE
the many questions which in a joking way they had asked
me, such as, "What is old Abe doing now days?" "If you
had taken Richmond, were you intending to reside there?"
etc., etc., and after I had done my best to reply in the
same vain and nonsensical manner, I was told that there
was a horse at the door for me to ride, and that a couple
of their soldiers would conduct me to where the rest of
the prisoners were. Believing myself to be the only pris-
oner taken that night, I was somewhat surprised at this
declaration, and turning to the commanding officer, I
asked :
"Have you captured other prisoners, to-night?"
"Certainly, my Yankee friend," he laughingly re-
plied, "you fellows are anxious to get into Richmond, so
we are giving you all the assistance we can. Most of
your raiding party is in camp, about a mile from here, and
some of our Confederate soldiers are entertaining them,
and in the early morning will conduct them into the city.
There were a few who did not accept our invitation, that
have returned."
These remarks were followed by a loud laugh from
all. and wishing to give them a parting shot, I replied, as
they assisted me to mount the horse :
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 33
"President Lincoln will chastise those fellows for re-
turning before they looked over your city; consequently,
you may look for their return in the near future, and their
friends with them. Look out for them."
"Goodbye Yank, you will take Richmond in the
morning; keep your courage up; and by this time, the
two guards who went with me, and myself, were getting
too far away to hear them, and I neither saw nor heard
anything more of these men.
In a little clearing in the pine woods, we found about
forty prisoners. Among them was the young negro of
whom the Colonel had spoken, as being killed or captured,
when the enemy first opened fire upon us that evening.
There were about as many horses captured as there were
men. The men were gathered around a blazing logheap,
and about twenty-five or thirty guards (cavalrymen)
were guarding them. Some of the guards were interest-
ing themselves with the young negro, asking him all kinds
of questions, and telling him how he would "pick cotton
down in old Kentucky," during the coming season.
It was nearly daylight when we arrived there. A
rebel Sergeant loaned me his blanket, and I got about an
3
34: OVER THE DEAD LINE
hour's broken sleep before we started for Richmond. We
were mounted upon the captured horses, and under a
heavy guard, proceeded on our way towards the Rebel
Capital. The distance being about eight miles, it was
about n A. M. when we entered the city. Great excite-
ment and consternation prevailed; the streets were
thronged with men, women and children; the former
eagerly discussing the probability of the total annihila-
tion of the Confederate Capital, should the dreaded Yanks
enter the city, while the later, in juvenile ecstacy, pro-
claimed to the anxious and fear-stricken pedestrians what
terrible things they had heard and seen during the past
forty-eight hours, and especially during the past ten or
fifteen, while the Yankees were almost in the out-skirts
of the city.
But as our dejected and tired little band, many of
us besmeared with mud and blood, entered the city and
marched down the street in single file, with a strong guard
on either side, there looked to be more men than there
really were, and instantly the fear, dread and anxiety of
the people, who believed that nearly all of the Yankee
raiders had been captured, gave way to joy, hilarity, and
a desire for revenge.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 35
The men who were with us as our guards, were old
soldiers; they knew how to use a prisoner, and for this
we were very thankful, for had our escorts been as blood-
thirsty and revengeful as were the people who gathered
around us in the streets of Richmond, and had there been
nothing to oppose them, it is doubtful if there would have
been a man left to tell the story.
They heaped upon us all the abuse artd insults they
were capable of doing. Objects were thrown from win-
dows and doors in to the rank. Women would stand in
their door-ways, and even on the side-walks, calling names
and using insulting and profane language. Small boys
who would shout the name of the Libby Hotel ;
"Free carriage to the Libby Hotel ! Right this way
to thejvibby !" was again and again shouted in our ears.
"Grace God, Captain, have you got the whole Yankee
army?" cried one old lady, from a second-story window,
to the Sergeant who had charge of the prisoners; while
another said in a sneering and mocking way, "You blue-
bellied Yankees, you have taken Richmond at last, haven't
you?"
Such were the expressions of many of these people,
as we waited for an hour or two outside of Castle Thun-
36 OVER THE DEAD LINE
der, previous to our first introduction to the art of rebel
cruelties.
We stopped but a few hours in Castle Thunder (an
old slave pen), and then we moved to the Pemberton
Building. This building was made of brick ; it was three
stories high, and I should think it was 75 or 100 feet
long. It was formerly an old tobacco warehouse; the
great iron tobacco presses stood as dark and silent sen-
tinels, having witnessed the transformation of hundreds
of brave Union soldiers from physical perfection to totter-
ing and emaciated forms.
Here we were installed for an indefinite time upon the
second floor. I failed to mention that when I came up to
the rest of the prisoners that morning, I found two of my
own company — Milo Farnsworth and Frank B. Jocelyn.
These men assisted me into the building and up the stairs;
here we were all ordered into one end of the room. A
stand and a few chairs were brought and placed about the
middle of the apartment. Three or four officers came in
and seated themselves by the stand, and one man at a
time was called up and searched, and passed on to the
other end of the room. In this way they could get nearly
all we had, as we were unable to help each other. Our
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 3T
money, watches, knives and overcoats and boots (if
good) were taken from us. I had $8.00 in silver and five
dollars in greenbacks in a leather belt that I wore around
my body, also a twenty dollar greenback note which I had
m my mouth when I was searched. Finding the five dol-
lar bill and the sixteen silver half-dollars (that I bought
in Canada two weeks before), they appeared to be well
pleased and searched me no further.
As each man was searched he was asked to what
command he belonged. Now, as I was in Col. Dahlgren's
command the first two days of the raid, or until his death,
and thinking that perhaps they knew nothing about him
and his military career, and that they would not look
upon me with such hatred as they would those who were
under Kilpatrick, whom they feared and disliked, I re-
plied that I was with Col. Dahlgren.
Although this was the truth, I made a great mistake,
when I mentioned his name, as I soon found out that
some of the Confederates had met him before, and that
his prowess as a dashing cavalry raider had not met with
their approbation. This was conspicuously apparent in
every word, act and look of these men, especially in those
of the dreaded Dick Turner, who was in command at the
38 OVER THE DEAD LINE
time. His fiendish countenance lightened up with a
glow of unmistakable satisfaction, as with a terrible oath
he ordered me to step one side, and remain there till they
got through. My wounded foot and knee had become so
sore I could not bear any part of my weight upon it, and
with but a single crutch that one of the old prisoners gave
me, and which was too short for me, it was with difficulty
I moved arouod.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS :'.9
Chaptkr IV.
For about an hour I was kept standing or sitting at
one side of the room, before they finished what they called
"examination," but which we called "robbery." During
that time five others took their places beside me, and all
as ignorant of why they were separated from their com-
rades, as I was myself. These men belonged to two or
three different regiments, and by inquiry, I found that
they had all belonged to Dahlgren's command.
Now, were we to be treated better than the rest of
the captured, or were we to be hanged? This was the
question we asked each other, and which was yet to be
solved. We were told not to mingle with the rest of the
prisoners, but to keep by ourselves, at one end of the
room. We reasoned that the object in doing this, was
simply so that they could find us readily and not be obliged
to have the men fall into line in order to find the same
men again. Soon, others prisoners were put into the
room, and we had a hundred and fifty men on the floor.
When Dick Turner came around and stood looking
us over, one of the boys ventured to ask him why we were
40 OVER THE DEAD LINE
sq)arated from the others, he replied that the rest of the
d — d Yankee cut-throats were not going to be hanged
just yet.
Although the rest of the prisoners were informed that
Dahlgren's men were to be executed, we paid but little
attention to the report, and looked upon it as a revenge-
ful threat, until the following day, when we were in-
formed by an item in the Richmond papers, that a noto-
rious character by the name of Dahlgren, who commanded
a gang of Yankee cut-throats and murderers, had been
shot, and that six of his desperadoes, who, for the last
three days had been amusing themselves by burning
buildings and murdering defenceless women and children,
had been captured. When Dick Turner made his rounds
the following morning, swearing at, and kicking any sick
or lame prisoner who chanced to be in his way, I asked
him if he would furnish me with a pair of crutches. The
words were scarcely out of my mouth, when with a fear-
ful oath he growled, "No, you will be in h — 1 with your
commanding officer before you will have a chance to use
them."
The weather was quite cool on the 3rd, and the old
prisoners begged of the guards and non-commissioned
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS il
officers, to bring them up some wood. The new prison-
ers knew that it would be useless to ask, but finally a
colored man brought up an armful of wood and threw it
down upon the floor. One of the new prisoners stood
near, and as the negro threw it down, the soldier slapped
him on the back, and said, "Bully for you, uncle."
lie had no sooner said the words, than a rebel Ser-
geant whom the prisoners called the "kicking Sergeant,"
dealt the young man a blow in the face that felled him
to the floor. This brutal act not seeming to satisfy the
ruffian, he kicked him several times, saying, "I will learn
you to make friends with a d — d nigger."
One of the old prisoners gave me a pair of crutches,
but I could find no doctor to dress my wounds.
The morning of the fourth, I saw another notice in
the Richmond, daily, "Inquirer," I think the paper was
called, that the six Yankee outlaws would be hanged;
there was no hope for them, as they had confessed that
they were with Dahlgren, no trial would be given them.
The paper went on to say : "If Beast Butler should swing
when we do^ get him, why shouldn't these murderers, who
have been taken red-handed in their brutal work, swing,
now that we have got them?"
42 OVER THE DEAD LINE
One or two of these men who were receiving such
marked attention, seemed to worry a good deal about it,
while others made light of it. Speaking for myself, I
will say that I had not an atom of fear that the rebel mil-
itary authorities would carry out their cowardly threat;
but I was in constant fear that their false reports would
so agitate and excite the people who had already nerved
themselves up to a state bordering upon insanity, that
they would be ready and willing participants in any act
of violence the military officials in their imaginary great-
ness might suggest. Therefore, I did not feel that we
were safe for a moment. Any unusual noise among the
soldiers, or upon the streets, and I would hasten to write
a few words in my diary, thinking perhaps they would be
my last.
It was during the fourth day of our captivity that I
said to my comrades in suspense :
"Boys, I for one, propose to lie no longer like a sheep
before his shearer, and say not a word in our own de-
fence, and not even deny this false accusation they bring
against us ; therefore I shall ask Lieut. Turner to hear
me, when he comes around again."
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 4:8
"Don't stand in front of me when you speak to him,
for he will open pan upon you instantly," was the laugh-
ing remark of one.
"You had better wait till just before we are hanged,"
said another poor fellow, whom we afterward heard was
shot for retaliation.
We had not finished our conversation upon the sub-
ject, when we saw Turner coming toward us. As he
came near, I arose to my feet, and saluting him, said :
"Lieutenant, may I speak to you a few minutes?"
"I don't care a d — n who you speak to," was the
response; but as he did not move away, thinking per-
haps that I might say something to convict ourselves, I
hastened to make the following appeal to him :
"Lieutenant Turner, you have us in your power, and
our lives are in your hands. You say we are cut-throats
and murderers, that we have murdered innocent women
and children, and must now pay the penalty with our
lives. I speak for my comrades here, as well as for my-
self. We have committed no crime. We have done our
duty as soldiers and nothing more. I never saw Col.
Dahlgren till we started on this raid. He had four him-
dred men in his command, and they all belonged to dif-
44 OVER THE DEAD LINE
ferent regiments. When we started, he said to us, 'Men,
my command is small, and I want every man to keep his
place. Don't leave the ranks, or go into any house. Do
not molest any private property, or speak to any man,
woman or child along the route. I want you strictly to
obey these orders, and any man doing otherwise will be
punished severely.' We obeyed these orders to the let-
ter, and when Col. Dahlgren was killed, his commaand
became separated and part of them joined the main
column under General Kilpatrick the following day. These
men and myself were among that number, and were taken
prisoners that night. If we are to be shot down like dogs,
or lose our lives by an infuriated, misinformed mob, and
that for coming into your lines, or on to your territory
on a cavalry raid, then every one of your men who came
into Maryland and Pennsylvania eight months ago and
participated in the battle of Gettysburg, Pa., and fell into
our hands as prisoners of war, should fare the same fate.
Thousands of Union men lost their lives by Gen. Lee's
raid into Pennsylvania, and I have not heard, thus far,
that one Confederate soldier has lost his life by this raid."
By this time Turner was moving away, and I never
heard whether my little speech did good or harm.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 45
Just before dark that night, all the raiders were
moved across the way to the Libby, there we remained
till the following day about three o'clock, and we were
then removed to Belle Island, which is in the James
river, nearly opposite the city. The Island comprises
about nine acres, and three acres are surrounded by a
breastwork some three feet in height.
This piece of ground was covered with old, dirty,
Sybley tents, nearly as black as smoke and dirt could
make them. They were crowded with prisoners who
had been confined here and in other prisons from one to
eighteen months. Here I met with three or four of my
own company; among them was George Hull, who lived
neighbour to me in Fairfield, Vt., and was my tent-mate
at the time of his capture at Brandy Station, October
nth, 1863. The sight of these starved, sick, dirty and
emaciated human beings was enough to dishearten the
bravest of the brave. Here, men who but a few months
before, had possessed health, strength, courage and all
things else that go to make the true American soldier,
were now seen staggering from their filthy quarters, cov-
ered with rags and vermin. As we entered the camp my
five comrades and I were told to occupy one of the old
46 OVER THE DEAD LINE
ragged tents at one end of the camp, and not to mix with
the rest of the prisoners, saying it would go hard with us
if we were found in some other part when they called for
us. We had nearly made up our minds that these threats
were for punishment, and that there was not so much dan-
ger of mob law as there was while we were in the city.
We reasoned that they would heap upon us all the abuse
and indignity they could, and still keep themselves within
the bounds of civilized warfare. They dare not kill us,
but as we were raiders and had caused them to suffer,
they proposed to retaliate in every way possible, and make
it just as uncomfortable for us as they were able. We
cared but little for their orders to remain in our tents,
and no sooner were their backs turned, than we were
searching for acquaintances among the dejected looking
throng that rebel cruelty had made almost unrecogniza-
ble. My friend Hull, who' enlisted at the same time and
in the same company that I did, at once began telling me
of what he had heard in regard to the six men who were
in Dahlgren's detachment and were going to be hanged
or shot. He said :
"Now do you know who these men are, and why
they were selected from Dahlgren's command?" I
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS ^7
answered his last question first, and when later I informed
him that I was one of the unfortunate men, I well knew
that I had one sympathetic and true friend in this, the
hour of need, for he immediately began planning some
mode of escape. He informed me that the following day
four hundred prisoners were going to leave the Island.
Their destination was unknown to all, except the officers
in command. He said that two days before our arrival
a man by the name of Sybley had died, and they had not
reported his death as they w'ere drawing his rations. This
dead man was a New York soldier and belonged to the
same mess that my friend Hull belonged to, also to the
same four hundred that were going away.
"Now," says he, "if the Johnnies do not find this
out before we leave the city, we can disguise you as an
old prisoner, and you can answer to the name of Sybley
and get away either to another prison or home." This
being our decision, we at once arranged for my disguise.
This very important part of the arrangement was
made by Comrade Hull, .assisted by one or two others
who belonged to the same hundred, and were among those
to leave the Island the following day. As I have before
mentioned, all my clothing had been taken from me ex-
48 OVER THE DEAD LINE
cept my pants and shirt, and an old, tunnel-shaped,
coarse wool hat that a sympathetic Johnny had given me
in exchange for a four dollar hat, that he assured me was
his exact fit. He also assured me that the one he had
given me in exchanage was not silk, although it was
changeable, he having worn it first one side out and then
the other, for the past four years. I cannot say I was
very well pleased with the trade, that I had no hand in
making, but was better satisfied when I saw the intrinsic
value of the old hat in forming a part of my disguise.
The following morning one of my shirt sleeves was
torn off at the elbow, my bare arms and face were well
besmeared with coal-dust, my long hair combed down
straight under my secession hat, and with a small piece
of an old dirty army blanket covering my shoulders, the
boys acknowledged me all that went to make up the Union
prisoner, except the tottering step and emaciated form.
When all had been satisfactorily arranged, I anxiously
awaited our departure, hardly caring what might be our
destination, could I but escape the doom that seemed to
await me.
At the dawn of day the men were up and astir, es-
pecially the six hundred who were to leave the Island. All
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 49
kinds of rumors were afloat ; some thought we were going
to City Point, Va., to be exchanged, while others ex-
pressed their beHef that we were to go- to another prison.
All our conceptions, however, suddenly ended when the
voice of the dreaded Dick Turner was heard, as he passed
through the camp, ordering the men to get into- line and
march out of the gate, and form on the outside. At a
narrow gateway in the breastwork that surrounded the
camp, Dick Turner was stationed, eagerly watching the
men as they filed by him, and sorrow to him who was
caught "flanking," as they called it, where a man tried
to pass out with a squad to which he did not belong.
During nearly three years of my service, I had en-
countered many hardships and narrow escapes, and only
a few days previous to this while wounded, I lay bound
to the earth by the weight of a dead horse for nearly an
hour; but in all the thrilling experiences through which
it had been my lot to pass, none could compare with the
indescribable and hopeless feeling that took possession
of me as I glanced at the hardened, heartless wretch be-
fore me, and realized how my life hung by a thread, as
it were, which he would quickly sever should he pene-
4
50 OVER THE DEAD LINE
trate my disguise. As we passed through the gate, I
recognized a man in front of me as a Sergeant belonging
to the 5th New York Cavalry — a raider who was cap-
tured at the same time as myself, though not one oi
Dahlgren's men. He was attempting a "flank" move-
ment, having foolishly conceived the idea that he might
possibly pass the guard unobserved, and did not harbor
the thought that should the attempt prove a failure, he
would be brutally assaulted. But such proved to be the
case, for as Turner recognized him as a new prisoner, he
instantly caught a musket from the hands of one of the
guards, and, clubbing the weapon, he felled the Sergeant
to the ground. Not being satisfied with this, he thrust
the point of the bayonet into the fellow's thigh, and with
a terrible oath, kicked him several times as he crawled
back inside the gate upon his hands and knees.
If this man received such inhuman treatment for a
trifling offense, I reasoned that nothing but my life would
satisfy Turner should I be detected in this my feeble ef-
fort to escape the awful punishment that confronted me.
What a weight was lifted as I passed this man unob-
served. What a bright spot suddenly shone upon the
dark cloud that hung over me as the Sergeant who
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 51
counted the men turned to the commanding officer and
said, "Just six hundred, sir."
I felt that meant everything to me; fox had there
been one more than the number required, a search would
have been made, and the chances were that it would have
been found out that one of Dahlgren's men was missing.
I promptly answered to the name of Sibley at roll-
call, and thus far, all went as well as could have been
expected.
52 OVER THE DEAD LINE
Chapter V.
After the prisoners had been formed in two ranks,
counted, and the roll called, Dick Turner stepped in front,
and made the following remarks :
"Yanks, last night my dog was killed by some of you
uns in this ere crowid. I want to know who killed him,
and I'll be d — d if I don't find out if it takes me a month.
So now, you uns jest trot out the sneak that did it, and
you're all right; and if you don't I'll chuck the whole of
you back into that camp, and you'll go just seven days
without rations. Do you hear?"
And he brought down a heavy club upon a barrel-
head that stood near, as if to strike terror to the hearts
of his forlorn and dejected hearers.
I whispered to my comrade, "Can it be that after
passing through all right thus far, I am now to meet
with adversity, perhaps lose my life?"
As I spoke, a young man standing near me stepped
to the front, and taking off his hat, saluted the Lieuten-
ant, saying, "I am the man that killed your dog, sir."
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 53
Every eye was turned towards the two men, and
every man expected to see Dick Turner add another to
his hst of murders; and possibly he might have done so
liad he not been stopped by a superior officer before com-
pleting his cruel work. When told by the brave boy —
who looked to be not more than sixteen years of age —
that he was the only person concerned in the killing of the
dog, and knowing as he must, that the confession was
made to save the brave young man's comrades from extra
suffering, Turner, had he possessed a heart, or anything
pertaining to honor, would have forgiven the trifling of-
fense. But forgiveness was something Dick Turner
could not expect from either God or man, then why ask
it of him ? Walking up to the boy, he said :
"Was you the wretch that killed my dog last night?"
"I was, sir," came the prompt reply.
"And what did you kill him for?"
"For food," answered the young artilleryman, not
taking his eyes from the face of the villian who stood be-
fore him.
"Then you eat dog meat, do you?"
"I do when I am hungry enough, and can get it," was
the reply.
54 OVER THE DEAD LINE
Turner then asked the fellow if he had any of the
meat in his haversack; designating- a small dirty cotton
bag that hung from his shoulder.
The boy took a piece of the meat from the sack, and
held it up before the heartless man, who should have
blushed with shame, but instead he in a sneering tone said :
"You Yankee beauty, if you eat dog meat, eat a
mouthful of that as it is."
The poor fellow, not daring to refuse, took a piece
of the raw meat in his mouth, whereupon the wretch
struck him across the face with the side of his sword,
saying :
"It suits you too well; come with me, you d — d
Yankee dog-killer."
Near the gates there had been constructed an imple-
ment of torture called the "Jack." This consisted of
two posts driven into the ground some six or eight feet
apart; a plank was pinned or spiked to the side of these
posts, about three feet from the ground. The prisoner
was placed astride this plank, with his feet tied together
underneath. His arms were pinioned and a stick of wood
nearly the size of a railroad tie was placed between his
legs, thus stretching the limbs and preventing the sufferer
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 55
from falling from the edge of the plank. I think it was
from five to ten minutes that the boy endured the suffer-
ing before the excruciating pain overcome him, and he
fainted. In about fifteen minutes he revived, and at the
oame time fortune favored him, as one of Turner's supe-
rior officers appeared on the scene. This officer — a Ma-
jor I think — came to take the prisoners from the Island
to the Libby, and as he was in a hurry, he ordered the
boy to be taken from the "J^^ck" and placed back in the
ranks. Lieutenant Turner protested, saying he had only
had him there five minutes, but the commanding officer
was obeyed, although it caused disappointment to him
who had doted on seeing one more emaciated form writhe
in agony to gratify his hellish desires.
As the young man was released he was assisted back
into the ranks and soon after, as he was moving along,
leaning un a comrade for support, he said, "I got out of
that pretty well, didn't I, boys?"
I felt like expressing my opinion in the same words,
but as my case was of a more serious character, and as
yet I was far from being out of danger, I concluded to
be as discreet as possible, speak only when spoken to and
not subject myself to any unnecessary inspection.
56 OVER THE DEAD LINE
We were soon treading the floors of the
notorious Libby, that was as familiar to many
of the six hundred as their own firesides; while
others who, when captured, were taken direct
from the scene of action to Belle Island, had never
been introduced to the managers of that institution ; even
the mere mention of its name aroused a feeling of horror
and despair in the hearts of thousands whose loved ones
were slowly but surely dying from the cruel treatment
they were subjected to.
At the time of which I write, — March, 1864, —
Libby prison was the most notorious place where Union
prisoners were confined. Belle Island was second; and
the name and history of both will be handed down from
generation to generation. But little did the good and
loyal people of the North think while reading of the bar-
barous cruelty perpetrated in Libby upon their brave and
beloved defenders of the Union, that nearly completed
was another den of horrors — Andersonville — whose his-
tory was to startle and shock the world ; whose inaugura-
tors could truthfully boast that they had slain thirteen
thousand brave, noble and patriotic Union soldiers within
its walls. That cruelty, starvation and exposure in the
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 57
prison pen was by far more effective than shot and shell.
Here, for thirty-six hours, the six hundred prison-
ers occupied the second floor of this historic structure,
while waiting the change that would add to the cup of
sorrow that many had drained to its bitter dregs. The
pain that I endured was terrible, but I dared not complain
or ask for medical attendance, for fear of detection.
Health and youth were in my favor, and could I but escape
the ignominious death that I feared awaited me, should
I remain in Richmond, I believed I could endure pain
without a murmur. So long as I remained there I was in
constant danger of being missed from the raiders left on
the Island; and the next morning as I saw Dick Turner
standing at the head of the stairs, looking over the pris-
oners, I believed my doom was sealed. I instantly com-
menced giving a message to Comrade Hull to be con-
veyed to my friends at home, should he live to reach
them, when to my overwhelming joy, I saw Turner retrace
his steps after making some inquiry not relating to Dahl-
gren's raiders or the men who accompanied him.
With the bare floor for a bed, without blankets, and
in cold March weather, our situation was not a desirable
one for the thirty-six hours we remained in Libby, pre-
58 OVER THE DEAD LINE
vioLis to our one thousand miles' ride to Andersonville.
The second night, about twelve or one o'clock, I heard
the voices of men on the floor beneath the one we occu-
pied, and spoke to my comrade, who had fallen asleep,
telling him that something unusual was going on among
the guards, and that I feared my escape from the Island
had been discovered. The anxiety I felt in regard to
my perilous situation, together with the suffering from
my injured limb, prevented me from enjoying either rest
or sleep, before exhaustion came to the rescue. Anj act
varying from the usual course would naturally txjite
my suspicion, therefore sleep was out of the question
until I had turned my back upon those who had so un-
justly said that I should die. Comrade Hull said it was
more likely we were going to move, which proved to be
the case, for in a few moments five or six rebels — among
them the dreaded Dick Turner — walked through the
room, kicking those who were sleeping, and with each
kick uttering an oath, and names that propriety forbids
inserting in these pages.
"Up and get into line ! Fall in ! Fall into line, you
d — d Yankee nigger worshippers!"
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 59
Such were the names and abusive language we heard,
and which only the most ignorant and unprincipled per^
son will ever use.
The men were not long in getting into line, form-
ing two ranks on each side of the room and through the
center. The roll was then called, the men counted, and
the order given, "Forward march !"
As we passed out of the door at the main entrance, a
loaf of corn-bread called a "pone," or "dodger," weigh-
ing about two pounds, was given to each man. Most
likely this was the first, and probably the only instance
where the issuing of food to Union prisoners, caused a
feeling of sorrow and despair among those who would
afterwards so ravenously grasp the unpalatable mixture.
But they knew that if they were going to be paroled or
exchanged, they would not receive these rations, which
the rebels considered sufficient for three days, as the next
day they would be in their own lines. Then again, they
would not care to have the bill of fare at the Libby hotel
known to the people of the North, more than was actually
necessary. Had these prisoners been destined for City
Point, or any contiguous place of exchange, six hundred
Confederate corn dodgers would in a few days have been
60 OVER THE DEAD LINE
on exhibition in six hundred Northern homes. Well the
Johnnies knew it, and well we knew by the size of the
dodg-er, that the distance was great, and that another
prison pen inevitably awaited our arrival.
A picture of that midnight march would be fondly
cherished at the present day by the surviving participants.
Slowly the dejected looking crew wended its way through
the dark and deserted streets of the rebel city, while its
people quietly reposed in the cradle of secession. What
a change in the appearance of these youthful heroes.
What a change a few short months had made in their
mental and physical condition. What an effect calculat-
ing barbarity has had upon them. Yes! The ghastly
faces are vividly portrayed by the light of a street lamp.
The tottering steps of those who are not assisted by com-
rades, or leaning upon crutches and canes for support, is
indisputable evidence of the cruelty to which they have
been subjected. Silently these skeleton forms advance.
The solitude of the night is broken only by the sentry,
as he walks to and fro on his beat.
But hark! The shrill whistle of a railroad locomo-
tive now breaks upon our ears. The guards who walk
on each side of this forlorn and shivering column, urge
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 61
them on, and soon the hne is formed beside the waiting
train of box cars, that stands ready to convey its load of
human freight to that den of horrors, which at that date
was known only to the demons of Hell, and the Southern
Confederacy.
The six hundred prisoners were soon packed into
ten freight cars, each commodious apartment receiving
sixty men. After deducting room for a water barrel,
there was a little over four square feet to each man, or
two feet square. This may appear to the reader suffi-
cient room for those whom I have previously described.
Therefore, I must ask him to bear in mind that our mode
of living did not materially change our height. It was
the breadth and thickness of the boys that caused one of
the rebel officers to remark, when a protest was made
against crowding sixty men into one box car, "You can
pack as many Yanks into a car as you can clapboards."
To protest against any wrong, to ask for food, medi-
cine, clothing, wood, or anything essential to our com-
fort more than they were actually obliged to give to pre-
vent immediate death, was refused with such evident de-
light, that we soon learned to ask them for nothing, and
62 OVER THE DEAD LINE
murmur as little as possible, so that our enemies were then
less delighted.
About three o'clock in the morning of March 9th,'
1864, the engineer and his firemen, — a slave, — stepped on
their engine that was to draw ten freight cars loaded with
six hundred prisoners, and one passenger car, carrying
about forty officers and guards, and pulled out from the
Richmond depot,
"How are you, City Point?"
"How are you going home?"
"What do you think of the parole?"
And all such remarks were made by those whose
heart and courage had not entirely failed them, as we
were being conveyed from the loathsome dens of Rich-
mond, to a place as yet unknown to us. Indeed, we were
as ignorant of our destination as were the cattle which a
few days previously were conveyed to the slaughter in
the same cars that now transported brave Union soldiers
to a more terrible doom.
The reader may consider this hardly credible, in
this, our civilized country; but the patriotic hearts still
beat in the bosoms of many of the survivors who passed
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 63
through that terrible ordeal, and who will vouch for its
truthfulness.
Only once, during a ride of nine hundred miles, oc-
cupying nearly five days and nights, were we allowed to
step on the ground. The third day about two o'clock in
the afternoon, our train halted for one hour at or near a
small station in South Carolina, on the R D rail-
road. The guards were thrown out, encircling about
one-half acre of nice level ground covered with grass and a
few scattering trees. Here we were allowed to leave the
cars and rest our tired limbs, that had remained in such
a cramped condition for the past sixty hours, that many
had become so paralyzed that they had to be assisted
from the cars to the ground, and back ag'ain, at the ex-
piratio.n of the hour that seemed to pass with the rapidity
of thought.
The small amount of corn-bread given us when leav-
ing Richmond was by this time all gone, and some, whose
appetites were more uncontrollable than others, had been
fasting for the past twenty-four hours, having eaten their
allowance during the first day and a half or two days,
then trusting in fortune for the next. But thus far for-
tune had not favored them, excepting through the in-
64 OVER THE DEAD LINE
strumentality of others whose physical condition pre-
vented them from partaking of such coarse food. There-
fore, it was freely given to those who had thus far been
blessed with a degree of health that would enable them to
subsist upon what their more unfortunate comrades could
partake only in sufficient quantity to sustain life.
As for myself, I was so rejoiced over my escape from
Belle Island, that, thus far, I had not given my physical
condition due consideration; neither had my comrade,
who had given me all the assistance he possibly could dur-
ing our journey. But as the distance between us and our
tyrannical keepers at Libby and Belle Island became
greater I began more fully to comprehend the true char-
acter of my condition.
By this time my wounded limb had become badly
swollen — the limited space allotted each person in the car
causing many raps and bruises to the wound it would
not otherwise have received. Then I realized full well
that our condition would not be materially benefited by
the transfer from one prison to another, and that a
wounded man's prospects of recovery in such a place are
not of an encouraging nature.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 65
After we had again been packed into the car, I was
seated in one corner with my wounded leg — which had
been bathed in cold water — slung up on the side of the
car in a piece of an old army blanket, and I did not suffer
so badly, sleeping that night quite well. At this place,
when the men were taken from the cars, we expected that
rations of some kind would be issued to us before the
train again moved on. But what was our dismay when
two or three men advanced with baskets filled with what
we supposed to be some kind of bread, but as they came
alongside, they emptied the baskets, filled with ears of
raw corn, on the car floor saying:
"Yanks, this is the best we can do for you now; you
may eat it or throw it out. We can get nothing else here,
it is impossible."
As this explanation was given, a murmur ran
through the car, mingled with hisses and groans, not en-
tirely free from profanity.
We came from Richmond to Danville, Va., on the
Piedmont Air Line, thence to Americus, Ga., via Atlanta,
and Macon. The guards who came with us from Rich-
mond appeared to be decent kind of men. They had
66 OVER THE DEAD LINE
served in the field and at the front, therefore they did not
attempt to obtain an honorable war record by brutally
treating their prisoners of war. During the day, all the
guards rode on top of the cars, and at night they were
divided into reliefs, one man being posted inside each car
at the door, and one on top. Two of the prisoners were
shot by the guards, while trying to make their escape by
jumping from the cars while in motion. The car door
was left open during the day, the guard sitting or stand-
ing in the doorway. Just at dark the door was nearly
closed, leaving a space two or three inches wide, and at
this narrow opening the guard took up his station, thus
shutting out any light that might shine, and any chance
of escape until the door was again opened. Just as the
shades of night were falling on the eve of the second day
of our journey, when the train was running at some
eighteen or twenty miles an hour, and just previous to
the doors being closed for the night, two New York sol-
diers jumped from the car door to the ground, and made
for the field. One was shot while climbing the railroad
fence, and the other just after reaching the field. These
men escaped from the forward part of the train, thus ex-
posing themselves to the fire all along the train.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 67
The train stopped for a few minutes and some slaves
near by were ordered to bury the dead prisoners. We
learned from the friends of the murdered men that they
told their comrades previous to their leap for liberty that
they did not much expect to escape, but had rather die in
the attempt than longer undergo the pangs of hunger and
other suffering to which they were subjected.
This happened soon after we crossed the South Caro-
lina State Line, and before crossing the State tv/o more
attempts at freedom were made. One proved fatal, the
poor fellow, who belonged to the 5th Michigan Cavalry,
being shot dead as soon as he touched the ground; while
the other, as he jumped, instantly rolled himself under
the side of the car, lying as near the rail as possible, so as
not to be hit by the running gear of the cars, and remained
in this position until the cars had passed over him. There-
fore, one out of four escaped^ either to meet death in some
other form or to reach our lines; the writer never knew
which fate befell him. One of the guards was accident-
ally shot while standing at his post, resting the butt of his
gun on the threshold of the car door. The weapon
slipped from his hand, the hammer came in contact with
the iron that supported the door, the gun was discharged,
68 OVER THE DEAD LINE
the ball entered the man's head under the chin, and, pass-
ing up through his head, killed him instantly. The train
was stopped, and the commanding officer and many of his
men gathered around, and in the car, accusing the prison-
ers of murdering the guard. But upon close examination
they were convinced of the truthfulness of our statement;
though had it not been for the hole in the roof of the car,
showing the direction of the ball, and that the gun could
not have been in the hands of another when fired, I can
not but believe that the result of the accident would have
proved anything but agreeable to the occupants of that
car. )
At Atlanta a small amount of food was given to the
prisoners. A little corn bread and a few hard-tack were
given to a Sergeant, or one acting Sergeant, in each car,
on the fourth day of our journey, and fifteen hours previ-
ous to our arrival at Andersonville. The food — about
sufficient to appease the hunger of ten men — was equally
divided among the fifty-seven men in our car, three men
having died on the way ; and probably the same amount of
food was issued to the rest.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 09
Chapter VI.
On the 14th of March, about two o'clock in the after-
noon, our train halted for the last time on that long to be
remembered ride, at a small station in Sumter County,
Georgia, about sixty-five miles southeast of Macon, fifty
from the Alabama State Line, and one mile from that
prison whose history has startled and shocked the world
with a tale of woe, death and sorrow before unheard of
and unknown to civilization.
From the cars — after being counted like cattle — we
were marched to the gates of the prison, and there sub-
jected to the taunts and jeers of those who were too ignor-
ant to realize the shame, disgrace and brutality of striking
a fallen foe.
He was not a "wolf in sheep's. clothing," but a brute
in Reb's clothing, was the little, swearing, swaggering
hump-backed Captain, who divided the six hundred pris-
oners into nineties. Before opening the gate for us to
pass into that den of horrors, from which so many were
never to return alive, he gave us thoroughly to understand
that should we attempt an escape, we would meet with
YO OVER THE DEAD LINE
instant death; and to emphasize his cowardly threat, he
shook his revolver in our faces. The stockade had been
completed only a few days, therefore we would not want
for wood for some time, as there were many pine stumps
and limbs, together with the chips hewn from the logs used
in the construction of the stockade, which enclosed about
fifteen acres of ground. The large pine logs were hewn
on four sides, and were twenty-five feet in length. A
ditch was dug around the fifteen acres ; the logs, or hewn
timbers were placed on end in an upright position in this
ditch, and the earth tamped around them, thus making a
substantial wall twenty feet high, and running down into
the ground five feet. The camp was a rectangle, being
a little longer from east to west than from north to south.
It was situated on two hill-sides, about equally divided by
a small, sluggish brook running through the centre of the
camp from west to east. Along this brook was a swamp,
occupying about four or five acres.
I think there were only about six hundred in the
prison when we arrived. They were scattered all over the
camp. Our six stopped on the south side. The nineties
were divided into messes containing fifteen men, apd a
sergeant was appointed to take charge of each ninety.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 71
Then, when we drew our beef or bacon — which was but
very few times — it was drawn for the battahon — four
nineties — a sergeant of each ninety drawing for his own.
The ninety rations were then divided into sixj)arts, and
the sergeant of a mess drew his share for the fifteen. The
sergeant — as such he was called, whether sergeant, cor-
poral or private — would cut the meat into fifteen pieces,
generally consisting of about two ounces each, and while
all were gathered around the small amount of tainted beef
or bacon, one man would turn his back, and the sergeant,
kneeling by the precious mite, would lay his knife on a
piece, and say to the man whose back was turned :
"Who has this?"
The answer would come,
"No. 9."
"Who has this?"
"No. II."
"Who has this?"
"No. 3."
And so on, till all the fifteen pieces were given out.
By dividing our rations in this manner, no one could say
there was any partiality shown in the division. The corn
meal was divided diflferently ; the amount being generally
72 OVER THE DEAD LINE
drawn on a rubber blanket and the sergeant measuring out
a pint to each man, calHng the numbers from one to fif-
teen. One of these cups held one or two spoonfuls more
than a pint. After each man drew his cup full, if there
was a little left, the sergeant would divide it with a spoon.
We had been inside an hour or more, when a mule
team was driven into the south gate with rations of corn
meal for the camp. As No. 3 — my number — was called,
I said to those standing about the mess :
''What will I do? I have nothing to draw my meal
in."
Whereupon, a fellow standing by my side, caught
my Crimea hat from my head, and, holding it before my
eyes, exclaimed :
"You are green. What's the matter with that meal-
sack?"
I had not thought of my hat before, but as the ser-
geant cried out, "Hurrah there, No. 3, or you will lose
your meal," I stepped forward and took my twenty-four
hours' rations in the old hat. Some one said to me soon
after, as I stood leaning upon my crutches, thinking what
was best to do next :
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 73
"Chum, if you have no way to cook your grub, and
are going to throw it away, I'll take it and cook it to the
halves." But being too hungry to accept this generous
offer, I made my way to the brook, and with my hand
dipped a sufficient quantity of water into the hat to make
the meal into a sort of dough. I then put it upon a large
pine chip and placed it near the fire, cooking it well upon
one side, then carefully took it from the chip, and prop-
ping it up with the raw side to the heat, I soon had my
dinner, supper and breakfast ; it being my only food for
twenty-four hours. I speak of this, as it was my first
meal in Andersonville.
As I had been robbed in Richmond of all I possessed
except the twenty dollar note, I was pretty destitute. My
first move toward procuring cooking utensils was to find
some one who could change my money. I was warned
by Comrade Hull not to exhibit it more than was abso-
lutely necessary, as some of these fellows had become
financially embarrassed to such an extent that they would
consider it no sin to appropriate my mite to their own
special use. But in a day or two I found a fellow who had
made quite a little sum in the Pemberton, at Richmond,
and he gave me a ten and two fives for my twenty dollar
74 OVER THE DEAD LINE
note. I soon found another who, in some mysterious
manner had become the possessor of two old oyster cans
and a canteen. The cans held about three half-pints each.
I gave him a ten dollar note for one of the cans and five
dollars for half the canteen. The latter had been thrown
into the fire, and unsoldered, thus making two very good
baking dishes, each piece being shaped something like a
tea-saucer, only larger. Comrade Hull was the owner of
about two-thirds of an old army blanket, and this consti-
tuted the whole oi his worldly effects. It was well worn,
but upon stretching it upon four sticks it would in a meas-
ure protect us from the sun, though not from the rain.Hull
and myself tented together, sharing equally the little it was
our good fortune to possess. When I found him he had
no way of cooking his food, excepting as he borrowed
from others the simple substitutes for cooking utensils
they might posses ; and then not until after the owner had
used them, and often others who might have spoken for
them before himself. But now we were pretty well pro-
vided for, and the main part of our daily labor was to look
after our cooking utensils, to see that they were not
burned, stolen or injured in any way by those to whom
we loaned them.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 75
The latter part of March was cold and rainy, and to
add to my seemingly unendurable suffering, I was attacked
by rheumatism, and for three or four weeks I suffered
more than I have the power to tell.
Thirteen Vermont boys camped near the south gate.
We occupied a small piece of ground not more than thirty
feet square, and during the summer we dug a well twenty-
three feet on that piece of ground and found good water.
Among the thirteen there were eight from my own com-
pany — two of them, Milo Farnsworth and Frank B. Joce-
lyn, of Company B, my regiment — were captured the same
night I was.
During the months of March and April many old
prisoners came in from Libby, Belle Island, Danville and
Salisbury. They were ragged, dirty and starved. As I
stood by the gate, and saw these poor, forlorn looking
creatures limp and stagger through the gate, and into an-
other pen, where, if possible, they were to receive worse
treatment than they had in the vile dens where they had
passed the winter, and saw their glassy eyes dilate at the
horrors surrounding them, I said to a comrade at my side :
"Poor fellows! May God help them. If we stay here
long, scarcely a man will be left to tell the story."
76 OVER THE DEAD LINE
It was hard enough for men taken fresh from the
field, and confined in such a terrible place, but for those
who had endured the cold and hunger during the long
winter, with no bed but a hard floor, many of them suf-
fering: from unhealed wounds, there was little chance that
they could bear up under such cruelties as the Confeder-
ate Government found itself capable of inflicting.
My wounded foot grew better as the warm weather
came, my rheumatism left me, and although I was very
lame during the whole summer, I was better of¥ than many
of my comrades. I felt so thankful for my escape from
Richmond, and the ignominious death that awaited me
there, that the pangs of hunger, combined with the suffo-
cating stench that pervaded the atmosphere at Anderson-
ville seemed as trifles as compared with what I had es-
caped. During the heat of the day many of the boys
would lie along in the shade of the stockade. As the old
prisoners from Libby, Belle Island and other places of
confinement had no tents, of course it was an atom of
comfort to be allowed the shadow of the prison wall as a
momentary protection from the burning rays of the south-
ern sun. But no, this was not long to be enjoyed. The
rebels went to work and built a "Dead Line." This con-
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 77
sisted of light pickets, driven into the ground six feet
apart, and on top of these pickets boards two inches high
and one inch thick were nailed, making a railing about two
feet high, 20 feet from the stockade. This was the "Dead
Line" that has been talked of by millions of people; and
many a poor soldier met his death at that fatal line. I
have seen a man shot to death by the heartless wretch who
was standing guard at the top of the wall, for reaching a
hand under the line to procure a chip of wood to cook his
corn-meal ; and I have seen others shot for reaching a hand
under the line to fill their cups with water. One fellow
who had lost a leg, and had suffered until life became a
burden, deliberately stepped over the line, and, seating
himself upon the ground, lay his crutches by his side, and
folding his arms, was shot to death by the wretch who was
only too willing to do the horrible work. Standing in the
immediate vicinity, I closed my eyes a moment upon the
cold-blooded murder, and all was over. The poor cripple,
who could never have borne arms again, was shot to death
and his murderer, we are told, received a furlough for his
bravery. Hundreds of Union prisoners were eye-wit-
nesses to this piece of brutality ; and any ex-Union prison-
ers who may chance to peruse these pages^ will at once be
Y8 OVER THE DEAD LINE
reminded of the one-legged man, familiarly known as
"Pretty Poll," on account of his Roman nose. Each
morning men were detailed to go over the camp, and bring
the dead to the south gate. There they were laid along
in rows, and in the afternoon they were loaded into an
army wagon, and drawn away to the burying ground,
where a few Union prisoners were digging the ditch for
the last resting place of their comrades in arms, receiving
an extra ration for their work. People wearing comfort-
able clothes, who sleep in warm comfortable beds and have
plenty of food, may disapprove of this work by Union
men. But should they reason that this work must be done
and that the poor starving fellows received an extra ration
and fresh air for their work, thereby perhaps saving their
own lives, critics may think differently. Oftimes the dead
were not drawn out for two days. I have counted two
hundred or more dead men at one time; and as they lay
exposed to the hot sun, the effect can better be imagined
than described. Thus the dead who died inside the stock-
ade were disposed of for the first two months; after that
they were carried outside to the dead house.
By this time the spring campaign had opened, and
with the new and old prisoners who then occupied that
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 79
small space of ground, the death roll was surprising to be-
hold. For the want of stretchers, blankets and sticks of
wood were called into requisition and, surprising as it may
seem, it came to be considered a privilege to assist in this
work, so that men would contend for it. It even came to
be a matter of trade, and from one to three dollars in
United States money was the price for being permitted to
carry out a dead body. In doing this work, the bearers
would not only have the opportunity of breathing God's
free air for a short time, but they often obtained admis-
sion to the hospital for a few moments, where they were
likely to find some untasted portion of food that had been
given to the sick, and this they would obtain to appease
their hunger. They were also allowed by the guard to
collect any wood that lay along the roadside; and often
two fellows who had given two dollars for a dead body,
would bring in wood that they could sell for five. Each
morning men were detailed to carry the sick out of the
gate, into a small place that had been partitioned off,
where the doctors would prescribe for those who were not
admitted to the hospital. Generally, the doctors and as-
sistants would get through with this work in a couple of
hours., but one very warm morning, the third of June, for
80 OVER THE DEAD LINE
some reason they were much longer ; those who carried the
sick out were waiting at the gate for orders to pass out
after those who were to be brought back. A fellow who
was acting as sergeant of a ninety said to the guard — who
was walking to and fro between the gate and Dead Line :
"How long before we can go out after our sick?"
"When we get ready," was the prompt reply of the
Johnny, who was posted there to keep the crowd from
pressing too near the gate. Being of the number detailed
that morning, I stood behind the young fellow who was
acting-sergeant, with my hands upon his shoulders. I
advised him to say nothing to the rebel, as the latter ap-
peared to be one of those brave men who would as soon
fire into a crowd of defenceless men as not. But the act-
ing-sergeant again said :
"Come, we want our men, they will die out there in
the hot sun."
"Stand back thar!" was the reply.
Then the sergeant said : "I guess you don't know
your business. Do you, anyhow?"
Whereupon the Reb stepped backward, lifted his
gun and fired. The gun was levelled at the sergeant's
breast, but just as the wretch pulled the trigger, the ser-
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 81
geant caught the bayonet with his left hand, pulHng it
down so the ball struck him in the abdomen, passing
through his body. As my hands were upon his shoulders,
and I saw the quick motion of the rebel, I turned sideways
and the ball, passing through the sergeant's body, struck
me on my left hip, grazing my back, just cutting the skin,
then passed through another man's leg into the ground.
Had the ball passed through my hips, in all probability it
would not have hurt me as badly as it did.
It was about three hundred feet from where the shot
was fired to the place where our boys were camped. They
all rose on hearing the report, and seeing me hopping on
one foot towards them, Hull exclaimed :
"Boys, Dufur is shot !"
And they all started to meet me. As they came up, I held
out my leg, and, swinging it around to assure myself that
no bones were broken, said:
"Yes boys, I am shot, but I think it only a flesh
wound. See how I can move my foot."
They gathered around me, and as the wound was
exposed to view, they had a hearty laugh at my expense,
as there was not enough of blood to wet my clothing. For
6
82 OVER THE DEAD LINE
a long- time afterward when the bo_vs were lying quietly
about, some one would suddenly spring to his feet, and,
going through as many manoeuvres as an Ethiopian jig
dancer, hopping upon one foot, and kicking the other,
would exclaim : "Don't be frightened, boys, it's only a
flesh wound, etc., etc. I felt so thankful that my life had
again been spared that I rather enjoyed the bit of sport
they had at my expense.
About this time Mlilo Farnsworth was taken sick, and
each day for weeks he grew worse, believing himself all
the time to be gaining. Poor fellow ! He was only sev-
enteen or eighteen years of age, and had only been in the
Regiment about three weeks when he was captured. Al-
most direct from a happy home in Northern Vermont,
where as an only son he was petted and loved by fond
parents and kind sisters, he came to that loathsome den
that had been selected for one of the most terrible human
sacrifices that the world has ever seen ! Into these narrow
walls were now crowded nearly thirty thousand men, with
no bed but the earth, no shelter but the heavens. Daily
they were seen crawling from holes, in which, like SAvine,
they had burrowed.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 83
Every root of the mammoth pines was dug from the
ground and converted into fuel. Two large pine trees
were left standing in the south-east corner of the stockade,
as before fuel became so necessary to our existence the
prisoners collected in the immediate vicinity of these trees,
and constructed their rude shelters or homes; therefore,
we could not afterward fell them without endangering
life.
We had not been long in the stockade when, for want
of pure water, the men began digging wells near the bor-
der of the swamp. They obtained water, and a great im-
provement it was on that taken from the filthy brook,
directly over which the Rebs' cook-house was built, and
from which the prisoners were supposed to take all the
water used during imprisonment. Had we been com-
pelled to use the water from this brook through those
warm summer months, I cannot think there would have
been a man living at the end of eight months to tell the
story. The brook was completely covered with floating
grease and offal from the cook-house, and of course noth-
ing but stern necessity would have made us willing to
touch our lips to such a forbidding mixture. It was soon
discovered that the farther from the brook the wells were
84 OVER THE DEAD LINE
dug, the better and colder the water, although it required
patience and hard work to dig wells on the higher ground,
where from twenty to thirty feet of earth had to be taken
out before striking a vein of water, with only an old piece
of a shovel blade and half a canteen as implements of labor.
Nevertheless we were amply paid with the good cold
water we ever after received.
A man who was quietly sleeping in his little blanket
tent near the edge of one of these deepest wells, was in-
stantly buried alive by the falling in of the earth. This
was on June 28th, and the day following two men were
wounded — one mortally — by the guard. A man stepped
inside the Dead Line, and was at once fired upon, but in-
stead of receiving any injury himself, it had fallen upon
the innocent two who were lying down in their tent.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 85
Chapter VII.
It was a common occurrence to hear the report of a
rifle, followed by the cry of some poor fellow who had
been shot while endeavoring to procure a chip or a stick of
wood across the Dead Line, under cover of darkness.
Nearly every day during May, June and July pris-
oners came in. Some were allowed to keep their blankets
and overcoats, and a few had pieces of tents, which, but-
toned together, made a shelter. It would naturally seem
that men who were unfortunate enough to be inmates of
so terrible a place would be drawn together by stronger
ties of friendship than in other and happier circumstances.
But this did not prove to be the case with a certain class,
whom it was our misfortune to have as fellow-prisoners.
There were a few New York "Bounty Jumpers" and men
who came into the army through the New York draft,
who were taken prisoners at the first opportunity they had
of surrendering, and with the intention of living by their
wits. This being defined, is simply robbing, thieving,
and at the same time, escaping every act pertaining to a
true soldier's duty. These desperadoes formed them-
86 OVER THE DEAD LINE
selves into a gang which we caUed "Mosby's Raiders."
They Hved by robbing, and sometimes bv almost murder-
mg their comrades in misfortune. One writer has said :
"We would fain believe such men are exceptions among
Federal soldiers, but it may be we cannot tell how harsh
treatment, and long-continued neglect and abuse, would
degrade manhood, in any. case."
Now I have cause to know that the harsh treatment
that these desperadoes received was previous to their con-
nection with the Federal army, and that they were the
same kind of men, had the same dispositions and princi-
ples, when at home, as when they stood on the scaffold in
Andersonville. They did not interfere with me, as I had
nothing to tempt their cupidity.
There were all kinds of speculation going on in the
prison. On one occasion, flour was issued instead of meal
and being very hungry and thinking more of quantity than
of quality, I thought I would exchange my flour for meal.
There were some who did not use all their meal, being sick,
or else were able to buy articles of food from the Rebs;
therefore I started out with my twenty-four hours' rations
in the lining of an old coat-sleeve — my pantry. Of course
I wanted the flour myself, very much; but it would not
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 87
appease hunger as much as the amount of cheaper food I
could obtain for it. As I passed down the street shouting :
"Who will swap meal for flour?" a man opened the door
of the largest tent in the prison and beckoned me to enter.
I was very thoughtless in going so near this tent, knowing
it to be a rendezvous of the Raiders, six or eight of the
leaders owning the tent together. Seeing I hesitated a
moment, two other men stepped out and told me to walk
in, if I wished to trade. I dared not do otherwise, and
entered, whereupon a pug-nose, pugilistic ruffian, took
from a shelf a small box, already containing six or eight
quarts of flour, and told me to empty my own into that.
I did so, and then waited two or three minutes, thinking
they might not rob me, relying a little upon my lameness
in eliciting their sympathy. But no ; they were the wrong
men to sympathize with suffering humanity. One might
as well look for a tender spqt in the heart of an Egyptian
mummy. One of them at length said :
"What are you waiting here for?"
"For the meal I expect you to give me," I said.
"Oh, get out of this," he said, taking me by the arm,
and as I did not start at once, and told them it was very
hard to be robbed of the small allowance that I was to live
OVER THE DEAD LINE
on for twenty-four hours, I was knocked down and brut-
ally kicked out of the tent. I could show no resistance,
as I was weak and lame. Such were the characteristics of
the Andersonville Raiders.
I think there were thirty-two guard posts, or sentry
boxes around the stockade, and after nine o'clock in the
evening every thirty minutes the guard would cry the hour
of the night.. The prison was bounded on the east by a
vast wilderness and swamp, and from them came such
vast number of mosquitoes that after being scorched by
the burning sun through the day, we were tormented
through the night by these pests; consequently the poor
fellows who were too sick and feeble to guard against them
and the like, might die by these plagues alone, if by noth-
ing else.
The scurvy made its appearance in the fore part of
the summer. This disease is brought on by want of
change in diet, and its horrors none can know but those
who have experienced them. Sometimes the disease
would appear in the limbs, and the cords would be so
drawn up the victim could not walk. The limbs became
swollen and the flesh discolored, as if it had been beaten
with clubs ; and so soft, the impress of the fingers would
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 89
remain a long time. Sometimes it would be confined to
the bones, and not show itself on the surface at all ; in such
cases it would be attended with the most intense pain. At
oher times it would appear in the mouth, and the teeth
would become separated from the gums and finally drop
out altogether, and not a tooth be left in the jaw. I have
seen hundreds of cases of this disease, where the men
actually starved to death, because they were unable to eat
the coarse food furnished them by the Rebel Government.
The blood of the men was in such an impure state
that the least break of the skin would be almost sure to
lead to a gangrenous sore, and many amputations were
performed in consequence. Under the influence of a
scorching sun, the entire upper surface of the foot would
become blistered, and this would break, leaving the flesh
exposed. Having no covering for it, nor any way to pro-
tect it from the heat, gangrene was inevitable; and this
would be followed by a loss of the foot, if not the whole
limb, by amputation. In many cases the victims were so
much debilitated when the attempt was made they would
never recover from the influence of the chloroform.
Some became totally blind, occasioned in all proba-
90 OVER THE DEAD LINE
bility by the victims being constantly exposed to the sun's
bright rays.
About two thousand men died in the month of June,
and during this month it rained twenty-one days in suc-
cession ; and it was scarcely strange that under these con-
ditions disease should increase and assume every imagin-
able form. Captain Wirz appeared perfectly happy as he
daily went his rounds, threatening, swearing at and misus-
ing all those with whom he came in contact. In no way
did he show by word or act that he had the least spark of
sympathy or care for the lives of the unfortunate beings
who had fallen into his power. He did not seem to real-
ize that it was possible for his tyranny to have an end;
little did this wretch think during his monopoly that any
of the starving heroes who were now so completely at his
mercy would in so short a time be numbered among those
whom the Nation honored; and that the same voices now
so piteously pleading to him for bread, would be heard ex-
claiming " Andersonville ! Andersonville !" as he was
launched into eternity by the hangman's hands.
On the 29th of June three hundred prisoners came in
from West Virginia. These newcomers afforded the
Raiders, or camp robbers, Jiew fields of labor. By this
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 91
time they had become so bold that they did not care for,
or choose the shadows of night for their atrocious work,
but would in the broad open light of day commit any crime
from petty larceny to the foulest murder. Upon the en-
trance of the unsuspecting new prisoners, one of their
number — a German — was at once seized upon by the mob
and his watch that he had saved and one hundred and
twenty-five dollars were taken from him. In cutting his
pocket, they inflicted a serious wound upon the man's leg;
this dastardly act aroused the indignation of all, and at
once the injured man proceeded to the gate, where he
came face to face with Capt. Wirz. I saw the giiard
making ready to fire upon the man who was wholly un-
conscious of danger, knowing naught of the Dead Line or
the rules of the prison. But as the old Dutchman — as we
called Wirz — met the enraged man just as he passed the
boundary of death, his life was saved. He held a short
conversation with the Captain, talking what I supposed
to be the German language. I could plainly see by the
gestures of the two men they were very much excited. All
at once the old Captain motioned the man back into camp,
and as fast as the Captain could walk he proceeded to the
ration wagon that had just passed through the gate
92 OVER THE DEAD LINE
loaded with cooked meal — called mush — that they were at
that time using. He ordered the wagon out before it was
unloaded and, stepping upon a box, made the following
remarks :
"Men, listen to vat I say ! Py Got I will never issue
any more rations to you, till you tell who dese men be dat
ish robbin' you!"
The key-note had been struck when a man of his own
nationality was robbed, and help seemed at hand. The
heads of the institution offered to any man who would
come out and give the names of all he knew of these men,
and point them out to the officials, — that he should at once
be taken out and given a parole oi honor ; — that he should
have the limits of a mile around the prison, ten dollars in
greenbacks, and should he the first to go home.
I for one could have given the desired information,
but like the rest of my comrades dare not do it. In one
sense of the word these men were in power, as the physical
strength of one of them was equal to that of ten of the
living skeletons whom they oppressed. We did not know
the strength of the gang, and it was thought by some that
many among us who appeared all right, at heart were vil-
lains. Living in the immediate vicinity of the headquar-
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 93
ters of the gang", I saw and heard all that was going on.
In about an hour from the time of the robbery, eight rebel
sergeants walked into the gate, each with revolver in hand,
and proceeded direct to the large tent headquarters. The
commander in a stern voice, ordered the inmates to come
forth. Oh how innocent and ignorant those desperadoes
appeared ! Up to that moment they had enjoyed the firm
belief that no man within these walls dared for one mo-
ment harbor the thought of bringing them to justice.
Hundreds of men looked on with delight, acknowledging
that one redeeming act had shown bright upon the pages
of rebel barbarity. Eight men were taken from this tent
and marched out of the gate. Upon this, the prisoners
saw that the "Rebs" were going to aid us in earnest, and
all arose as one man and pointed the guilty parties out to
the rebel sergeants as fast as we could discover their
whereabouts. Thus, about seventy-five Raiders were
marched out of the gate in less than two hours ; and during
the remainder of that day and the following forenoon the
number was swollen to one hundred and twelve.
The Confederate Government at once sent word to
our Government stating the facts of the situation, and ask-
ing what was to be done with these men. Our Govern-
94 OVER THE DEAD LINE
ment ordered that they be tried by a jury of our own men,
and punished as their reason dictated. The next day but
one, twelve of these men were returned to the prison with
a ball and chain upon their legs that they were to wear
during the remainder of their imprisonment; they were
also to be tried for robbery in our own lines, if the Federal
GDvernment saw it. The remainder of the gang — except
ing six of its leaders — were turned back into the camp and
compelled to run the gauntlet ; two ranks of men, facing
each other, extended from the gate back into the camp,
perhaps two hundred feet. These ranks were probably
fifty deep, as the exciting scene brought thousands of men
to the spot. The two ranks were armed with sticks, clubs
and everything with which they could inflict a blow. At
first, one man ran through at a time, until fifteen or twenty
had passed, whereupon the gang standing in the gate,
awaiting their time, made a rush through as one man,
thereby escaping many blows that would have justly fallen
upon them had they passed through singly. One man,
small in stature, and a sailor, drew a dirk knife, as he
started upon this perilous race, and swinging it to the
right and left, as he broke through the ranks, badly
wounded quite a number by the thrusts he so dexterously
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 95
executed; but he was quickly overpowered and so badly
injured he lived only a few hours. Two others also lost
their lives through this mode of punishment. That night
Andersonville was quiet. The midnight cry of murder,
so familiar to our ears, was a thing of the past. Ander-
sonville slept. The following day officers were chosen,
and a regular police organization was the result. After
this, woe unto him who fell into their hands and was found
guilty.
Gen. Winders" headquarters were for a short time
one-half mile from the stockade, and although we very
seldom saw him, it was through his orders that any busi-
ness of importance appertaining to- the prison was trans-
acted.
The latter part of June prisoners were taken out to
work on the stockade, as an addition to the old stockade
was found necessary, so many new prisoners coming in
that it was crowded almost to suffocation. The men who
worked on the stockade received an extra ration each day
for their labor. On the first day of July the addition to
the stockade was completed and opened for the reception
of prisoners. All detachments above forty-eight were
ordered to be inside it in two hours, and failing to do this,
96 OVER THE DEAD LINE
their blankets, etc., would be confiscated. This then was
the alternative. Thirteen thousand men must crowd
through an opening eight or ten feet in width, in this short
space of, time, or lose their little property so essential to
their comfort. There was a regular stampede towards
the open space, and many had to creep in upon their hands
and knees, being unable to walk, though feeling anxious
for a change, if only from one prison pen to another, I
could never fully understand why this order was given in
regard to the confiscation of blankets in default of our
moving so quickly, unless it was like so many other acts of
brutality we were daily subjected to at their hands to
make us as unhappy and cause us as much suffering as it
was in their power.
Quite a number of the First Vermont Cavalry came
in after the Battle of the Wilderness, and among the rest,
Brigham and Town oi my own company. They camped
on the north side of the stockade. One day as I was on
my way to the north side to visit the Vermont boys, I
stopped for a few moments to look at a squad of the 27th
Mass. Volunteers, who had just come in, and were seated
upon the ground near the brook. My attention was first
attracted by the remarks of one of the number, who said :
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 97
"Boys, we will never get out of this place alive. I am dis-
couraged, and have no heart to try to fix any place to live
in." Whereupon another member of the party com-
menced talking to his discouraged comrade, in regard to
his depressed and forlorn condition, and while he was thus
speaking, I recognized him as James Miller, of Troy, Vt.,
whom I had not seen since I was ten years of age, I now
being twenty. I at once introduced myself as a fortune-
teller, and approaching Miller, offered for a trifling sum to
reveal to him the hidden secrets of his past history. For
a moment their present condition was forgotten, and curi-
osity prevailed.
"Now is your time, Jimmy," said one.
"Give it to him gently," exclaimed another. While
these joking remarks were being made at Miller's expense
I took from my pocket a small stone that I had two years
before picked up on the shores of the Chesapeake and, on
account of its crystal-like appearance, had not thrown it
away. While looking through this stone, I claimed that
his past life was revealed, and being well acquainted with
his people, I at once told him the number of his brothers
and sisters and the ages of his father and mother. But
7
98 OVER THE DEAD LINE
carrying the joke a little too far, I commenced spelling out
the Christian names of the family, when Miller sprang to
his feet, saying:
"Now I want to know who you are."
I could not keep from laughing at the excitement he
exhibited, and so told him my name. He was much
pleased to meet me, although I was but a boy of ten years
when he last saw me at my father's house. After this we
often met, as we visited from one family to the other. The
physical condition of our family was very good until
about the middle of June, when four of the thirteen whom
I designate as "our family" began to fail in health.
Lieut. Hyde of my company, who passed as a Ser-
geant, captured at Brandy Station, Oct. ii, 1863, and
about eight months a prisoner, was suffering from that
usually fatal disease — in this place — diarrhoea. He was.
a Free Mason, and from a piece of bone I had made him
a small scarf pin representing the order — the square and
compass ; as the poor fellow was so' very destitute of any-
thing pertaining to the comforts of life, 1 borrowed from
him the scarf pin, and going to the gate, I handed it out to
a rebel sergeant whom I had seen wearing the same sym-
bol, I said : "The man who wears this is lying in a critical
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 99
condition, and I wish you would kindly call upon him."
He bowed assent, and during the day came in. Being on
the watch for him, I at once guided him to where the sick
man lay. He talked with him an hour or sO' and went out,
saying he would call again. The next morning he walked
hurriedly into the Lieutenant's tent, threw down a parcel,
and walked out. It contained one pair of drawers, one
shirt, a pair of feeting, some medicine and food. We
were encouraged by the kindness the rebel Sergeant had
shown the poor fellow, as the Lieutenant was beloved by
all his company. But alas! as in many other cases, aid
came too late; in a few days Lieut. Hyde had become so
very low that he was taken out to the hospital ; and a few
hours later a man came in bearing the sad intelligence that
our comrade was dead, and saying that with farewell mes-
sages to ourselves, he had requested that his dying love be
conveyed to his young wife, with his wish that she would
meet him in heaven. When the Lieutenant fell into the
enemy's hands he was not recognized as an officer, so
passed as a private, believing he would be better treated.
At the time of his death four others of our company were
very feeble, — Brown, Farnsworth and Jocelyn not being
able to walk.
LofC.
100 OVER THE DEAD LINE
Chapter VIII,
In addition to our many sorrows, there were also
many cases of extreme suffering caused by the use of poi-
son vaccine. I say poison, as it acted as such, in every
sense of the word. Soon after our arrival in Anderson-
ville the report was circulated that there was a case of
smallpox in camp, whereupon the rebel doctor at once
came inside and vaccinated two hundred or over, and also
gave some vaccine to the sergeants of nineties, that all
could use it who wished. Whether the rebels did this in-
tentionally or not, we could not say; but it certainly be-
came a melancholy fact among us. My own experience
was one not to be forgotten. As soon as the vaccine be-
gan to work upon my arm I saw there was something
wrong, as it did not in the least resemble anything I had
ever seen. My arm was sore for a year, and after healing
a scar was left as large as a silver twenty-five cent piece ;
and even now a sharp stinging pain is occasionally felt, to
remind me of rebel iniquity. I well remember the sad
condition of one man, who from using the vaccine had a
sore break out under his arm and eat into his vitals, the
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 101
opening being large enough to admit a man's hand before
death came to the rescue. It was nothing strange to see a
man who had been vaccinated six months, with his arm
half or two-thirds eaten off, the bare cords exposed to
view, and only dry, dark colored skin covering the bone.
THE EXECUTION.
On the twelfth day of July the six camp robbers were
brought in and hanged. They had been tried and found
guilty of robbery and murder. A scaffold had been
erected on the south side of the stockade, and a noted
character whom we called "Limber Jim" was chosen to
act as executioner. The scaffold consisted of two pieces
of 4x4 joists as uprights, and another 4x6 framed into the
top of these, from which the six fatal ropes were sus-
pended. On the inside of each upright was a cleat, nailed
about six feet from the ground, and from one cleat to the
other ran a plank, fourteen feet long. This plank was
sawn apart in the middle, and a prop placed under each
end, near w^here it was sawn apart. A rope was attached
to the foot of each prop, and by pulling on the ropes the
plank would break down where it was sawn. On this
plank the culprits were to stand, while the executioner,
102 OVER THE DEAD LINE
standing upon another plank just in the rear of the trap,
was to perform the awful work.
About 2 P. M. Capt. Wirz canie in with the six con-
demned men. As they advanced to the scaffold they
halted, and Capt. Wirz spoke as follows :
"These men have been tried and convicted by their
own fellows, and I now return them to you in as good con-
dition as I received them. You can now do with them as
your reason, justice and mercy dictate, and may God pro-
tect both you and them."
The police formed a square around the scaffold, the
prisoners were conducted inside this, and as a man came
forward to pinion their arms, one of the prisoners, a large
muscular-looking man, said, looking up at the suspended
ropes :
"I say never go up there!"
Whereupon he raised his arm, and striking down the
men in front of him, he rushed through the crowd and
across the prison, closely pursued by the police. He was
soon recaptured and returned. During his absence the
fatal noose had been adjusted, and his five comrades in
crime were standing upon the drop. Apparently they had
considered the whole thing a farce until the last moment.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 103
The Catholic priest was endeavoring to minister to their
spiritual wants, but the doomed men apparently paid but
little heed to the consoling words of the Christian man.
They were asked if they had anything to say. One of
them said he was guilty of almost any and everything, but
not of the charges now preferred against him. Another
told an acquaintance to give his watch to his wife in New
York, should he live to go out, and not to tell her how he
died.
Meal sacks were then drawn over their heads; the
drop fell and five of the Andersonville robbers were
launched into eternity. The rope broke, letting the man
on the left of the scaffold fall to the ground. Pleading
for mercy, he was again placed under the beam, and
standing upon the plank occupied by the executioner, was
pushed off, and "Moseby," the Leader of the Raiders," as
he was called, with his five criminal comrades, had gone
the way from whence no traveler returns. After an hour
they were taken down and carried to the dead-house, the
timbers were removed, and there was nothing to show
that the same ground now so peaceably occupied by law-
abiding people was so short a time before the scene of such
terrible work.
104 OVER THE DEAD LINE
During the months of July and August the heat was
almost unbearable, and those whose naked feet were ex-
posed to the hot sand on one side and the burning rays of
the sun on the other, with no cover or shade, except the
shadows of night, suffered almost indescribably. I often
started from where I slept to walk to the brook — a dis-
tance of fifteen rods — and was obliged to step into the
shade of some tent, or substitute for one, to keep my feet
from being blistered. If I stopped for a moment I was
compelled to remove the surface from the earth on a spot
large enough to permit my feet to stand upon the cooler
sand.
During the month of July two of our family, and of
my own company, died. Milo Farnsworth, the young man
I have previously mentioned, rapidly grew worse, and on
the 1 6th he asked me to^ take a small pocket Bible and
some pictures, and keep them for him. I do not imagine
he did this thinking he would go so^ soon, but he was so
sick he was afraid he might lose them. That night I
drew his rations for him, and made a little water gruel
for his supper. Not a very palatable dish for a sick man,
water and a coarse unsifted corn meal boiled together
without salt, but such it was, and the last supper the poor
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 105
boy ever ate. I lay down beside him that night and at
half past one in the morning I heard the guard on the wall
cry the hour of the night. I then spoke to Farnsworth,
asking him to turn from his right side to his left. He did
so, and I asked him how he was feeling. He replied : "O
better, I think." As the guard cried the hour of three I
spoke to him again, and receiving no reply, I lay my hand
upon his face, and saw at once that the messenger Death
had again visited our unhappy home, and during the last
hour and a half that I had slept, had taken my comrade
from my side. I carefully moved around among the boys
who were sleeping nearest me, and in a whisper informed
them of Farnsworth's death. It was not safe to make the
event known outside of our family, and again go to sleep,
as his body might be carried off to some other part of the
camp. The next morning, or a couple of mornings later
would be safer, as the body could then be carried out and
the bearers be well paid for their labor with the wood they
would be allowed to bring in. This was often done, and
considered a joke rather than a theft.
Comrade Hull and myself watched by the dead body
of Farnsworth until daylight. I then cut a curl of hair
trom his head, and placing it between two leaves of his
106 OVER THE DEAD LINE
■ittle Bible, I wrote upon the fly-leaf the date of his death,
how long he had been sick, etc., and that morning we were
permitted to carry him to the dead-house. This was the
first time I had been outside the stockade for over three
months, or during my imprisonment. We laid our dead
comrade beside the many emaciated forms that a few
hours before had been talking of home and comfort, and
now were waiting the final act, the removal to the grave.
I asked the guard if he would allow us to gather some
limbs for wood, and he reluctantly complied. We had to
vary a little from our direct course to the gate, in order to
get the wood, as it had been gathered very clean by those
who preceded us. I was somewhat lame at the time, and
not being very strong, I fell with the stick I was trying to
carry. Six months before I would have thought it an
easy task to carry four such sticks, but starvation had de-
prived me of strength. As I fell I went over a little bank
of earth, and I think for a second it startled the guard, as
he instantly brought his rifle into position, thinking I was
going to run. He then called me a d d Yankee hog,
and said I was not satisfied with what I could carry but
wanted the whole woods. He told me to drop it and move
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 107
on ; but by begging and pleading, I was finally allowed to
carry the stick inside.
On the 24th Frank B. Jocelyn died. He was taken
prisoner the same night as Farnsworth and myself. Poor
Frank ! How hard it was for him to die in this place. A
few days before his death, he was admitted to the so-called
hospital, but his condition was not in the least benefited by
the removal, excepting that the chances of procuring a lit-
tle medicine were more favorable in the hospital. I be-
lieve he would not have died so soon, had he remained in-
side with his friends.
Six of our family, Hyde, Brown, Farnsworth, Joce-
lyn, Hull and myself, occupied a parcel of ground about 12
x6 — that is, we slept side by side — six of us — in a row.
The first of April we selected this piece of ground for an
indefinite space of time, each man except myself enjoying
good health at the time, and all seeming confident that the
near future would deliver us from bondage, and that we
should again clasp the hands of loved ones,
"In the freelands of our own beloved homes."
But alas ! how soon the frail vessel of hope is dashed
upon the hidden reef. In three short months four of our
comrades fell victims to rebel barbarity. Only two were
108 OVER THE DEAD LINE
left, and Hull soon fell a victim to that loathsome disease
— scurvy. His teeth became loose, and he could scarcely
keep them from falling out.
Nearly twenty-five thousand men were now crowded
within the narrow walls ; and, as our honored statesman,
James G. Blaine, has said, "many of them the bravest and
best, the most devoted and heroic of those grand armies
that carried the flag of our country to final victory."
I saw one poor fellow — a German — who, not being
proof against rebel cruelty, had become hopelessly insane,
and had torn his clothing from his body. Entirely nude,
he was stretched at full length upon the burning sand, his
body actually blistered by the sun. I doubt any sane man
living one hour in the same situation. His voice could be
heard half way across the camp, saying :
"Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ!"
These were the only words I heard the poor creature
speak, and his voice gradually grew weaker till his words
became scarcely audible. At last the old Captain was pre-
vailed upon to allow him to be placed outside the Dead
Line, in the shade of the stockade, and there he died in a
few hours.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 109
A few Indians belonging to a Western regiment
were captured and brought into Andersonville. I think
there were ten or fifteen of them, and in less than ninety
days, not one was living. The confinement was what
they could not stand.
About twenty-five or thirty of the Massachusetts
colored troops, captured at Fort , were brought in
the fore part of the season, and a Major belonging to the
same regiment came with them. Had he belonged to a
white regiment he would not have been confined in An-
dersonville, but would have been placed with other com-
missioned officers. But by holding a commission in a
"d — d nigger regiment," as the rebs called it, he was con-
sidered no better. He had received a bad wound in his
foot at the time of his capture, and when he asked the
Doctor to dress his wound, I heard the medical gentle-
man tell him to go to his niggers and get his wound
dressed, if he wished to have it done.
Soon after the arrival of the colored troops, an old
southern planter came in, and looking over the camp, saw
a colored man among the rest whom he believed was one
of his slaves escaped from his plantation in 1856. The
old planter talked with him, but he denied all knowledge
110 OVER THE DEAD LINE
of slavery, saying he was born in Massachusetts, which
statement was vouched for by his comrades. After ques-
tioning and cross-questioning him, and receiving no sat-
isfactory reply, the old planter retired, saying that in all
probability he had ''mistook" his man. But the next day
proved that he had not so easily relinquished all claim to
our colored comrade, as he returned with two of the old-
est slaves on his plantation. The planter's name was
Samuel Johnson. Arriving at the prison^ he, with one of
the old negro slaves, was admitted by Capt. Wirz, and at
once proceeded to the quarters of the colored troops. As
they were near our own quarters, and we thought it
strange to see a citizen walk into camp, followed by Capt.
Wirz and a guard, many of us followed them to see what
was going on. Walking in among the negroes, the
planter said to the old slave,
"Sam, look these men over sharp, and tell me if you
know any oi them."
The old man at once assumed all the dignity requisite
for the imaginary honor conferred upon him, and looking
as wise as Solomon when he decided to divide the baby
equally, he devoted some time to rubbing some old brass-
bowed spectacles, and then gracefully adjusting them, he
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS HI
slowly looked from one to another until his eyes rested
upon the man whom the planter claimed as his own.
Slowly raising his hand, and pointing his finger at him, he
said,
"Dat am Sam Johnson's nigger, sure."
The officer in charge asked for no further proof in
the matter, and the Mlassachusetts colored soldier who
had for eight years been at liberty to act, speak, and con-
demn slavery, again found himself in bondage, and sub-
ject to the yoke that for three years he had faced death to
lift from the shoulders of his race.
A rebel soldier was called in, and at the point of the
bayonet the man who had faithfully served his country
and miraculously escaped the Fort Pillow massacre where
he saw his wounded comrades promiscuously butchered,
was marched out of the prison gate.
This man appeared very intelligent, and said to some
of his comrades before leaving them, that it was not for
long, as he believed the end of the war was near at hand.
A.nother colored soldier belonging to the same regi-
ment, who was captured at the same time, was struck in
the forehead by a spent ball which just crushed the skull,
leaving the minie wedged in the bone. I heard him ask
112 OVER THE DEAD LINE
a Confederate physician if he would try and extract the
ball, or in some way alleviate the terrible pain. The
dashing young Doctor, whose well-fitting new grey uni-
form, covered with brass buttons, and well polished boots
and sword bespoke the self-imagined aristocrat, made some
abusive remark to the poor sufferer, and left him. A few
days later, as I stood looking at the dead, who were
brought to the south gate previous to their removal to the
dead house, I saw the body of the colored soldier who had
so piteously begged aid of the young rebel Doctor. The
men who knew the circumstances of the case, unanimously
denounced the wretch as no better than a murderer, for
had he removed the ball from the fellow's head, the
chances were that he would have recovered. In two
other cases where men were hit in the head by spent balls,
they recovered when the balls were extracted. One of
these men, Henry Crow, Company C, 5th Vermont In-
fantry, recovered from his wound, but was not of a suffi-
ciently strong constitution to stand the hardships to which
we were subjected, and on August 26th he died, his grave
or number, being 4883.
During the months of July and August, the death-
rate was appalling; the process of slow starvation, com-
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 113
bined with the terrible heat that would in a short time
blister the unprotected parts of our skeleton bodies, were
horrors that none but demons could endure. For about
two wefiks during the warmest weather, one hundred and
fifteen was the average number of deaths each day, which
is equivalent to one every twelve minutes and thirty-one
seconds. When the mortality exceeded two hundred, or
reached exactly that number, which was quite frequently,
every seven minutes and twelve seconds, a poor, wretched
mortal, who but a few short months before possessed
health and happiness, yielded to famine and disease — the
result of rebel barbarity.
As new prisioners came in, some would exclaim, "Is
this hell ?"
Well might the poor fellows thus christen this place
of torture, for it had all the appearance of being a God-
forsaken place.
Our rations of one pint of coarse unsifted corn meal
to each man was issued for about two months ; after that,
we drew cooked rations consisting of a chunk of cold
mush, the meal being boiled in large kettles, then after
cooling it was shoveled into capacious boxes, hauled into
8
114 OVER THE DEAD LINE
the prison, and issued to the starving men. This for-
bidding mixture \vas without salt, but not without fihh
of almost every conceivable kind. Thousands of sick men
who would have been under the doctor's care had they
been in our lines, had this repulsive stuff daily set before
them, with the alternative, "Partake or die."
One of the prisoners who was out on a parole of
honor and saw our food prepared at the cook-house, told
me that if the boys who kept soul and body together by
subsisting upon this dirty mixture, knew how it was pre-
pared, and what foul matter it contained, he believed
many of them would actually starve to death before they
would eat it. I begged him to say nothing to the poor
fellows in regard to the matter, as they already knew too
much suffering to have another drop added to the cup.
No ! God forbid that they should know more of the pre-
concerted cruelty than was actually necessary.
It was calculated that each chunk of mush was about
equal to the one pint of dry meal we had previously drawn.
Had the cooked meal been free from filth, we would have
preferred it to the dry, but on account of the scarcity of
wood, we chose the latter.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 115
Lumps of dry meal as large as the end of a man's
thumb, Hies, bugs, whole kernels of corn, pieces of bark,
ashes, coals, hairs, etc., we considered trifling things, for
those who were not ravenously hungry took time to sep-
arate the above named seasonings before eating. But
when filth was purposely added to this already unpalata-
ble mixture, and that of the vilest and most outrageous
kind that the human mind can conceive, then God help the
unfortunates that fell into such hands. Hundreds of
survivors who passed this trying ordeal, can to-day testify
to the truth of my assertion.
116 OVER THE DEAD LINE
Chapter IX.
As I stated in the opening chapter of this work, I
have no intention of placing before the pubHc any state-
ment that differs from my own personal experiences —
what I saw, heard and suffered. And with my own well-
preserved reminiscences of those dark days, and with
the assistance of a small pocket diary, wherein I daily re-
corded the heart rending scenes and incidents that came
under my observation, I now, after more than a third of
a century, endeavor to draw a true picture of scenes and
suffering that can never be erased from the minds of those
who participated in them.
While speaking of the atrocities perpetrated upon
Union soldiers when prisoners of war, I must not omit a
brutal assault upon a young man who belonged to a Mas-
sachusetts regiment, and was taken prisoner during the
month of July, 1864. I first met him in Camp Sumter,
or Andersonville, soon after his arrival at that place. I
saw him nearly every day during his confinement there,
and at Florence, S. C. I also came from Charleston to
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 117
Annapolis, Md., on the same transport, and was with him
during our stay at Parole Camp. Being very well ac-
quainted with him, I did not write his name, company or
regiment in my diary, consequently am unable to give
them to the reader. But should any ex-prisoner of war
who was confined at any of the above named prisons dur-
ing 1864, and was at Parole Camp at Annapolis, Md., in
the spring of 1865, chance to peruse these lines, he will at
once recognize by the following narrative the young Mas-
sachusetts soldier of whom I speak.
It was one day during the latter part of July or the
forepart of August, that a squad of new prisoners came
in, and with them was one whose deformity attracted at-
tention even in that place. He was about twenty years
of age, and I should say that previous to his disfigurement
he was a fine looking young man. One of our family
who was standing with the crowd at the gate, watching
the new prisoners as they filed in through the small open-
ing made at one side of the main gate or door, through
which all prisoners passed, came hurrying back to where
the rest of our boys were, and said, "If you will go down
and look over the new prisoners, you will see a fellow
whose face is literally cut to pieces."
118 OVER THE DEAD LINE
By the expression and apparent excitement of our
comrade, we reasoned that one of the new-comers was
terribly wounded, and not waiting to be told more, think-
ing the man had very recently been wounded, we started
for the farther end of the camp where the new arrivals
had assembled. It was not difficult to identify our man,
for, seated upon the ground, his head bent low, and his
eyes apparently staring into space, was the one we sought.
The comrade who first spoke to us of the poor fellow's
sad condition, did not in the least exaggerate, for no shot
or shell, sabre or bayonet, ever did its work more effectu-
ally. He did not appear to care for or hardly to notice
the terrible surroundings. I made my way through the
crowd as best I could, each one of the new arrivals being
busily engaged in preparing a place that would be as dry
and comfortable as possible. This gang was compelled
to occupy the swamp, all the higher ground being taken
up.
I spoke to one of the men who came with him, and
was informed that they knew little more of the poor fel-
low's history than we ourselves. This lot of sixty or
seventy men had been prisoners about a week or ten days.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 119
and while en route from the place of capture to Anderson-
ville, this man had joined them.
Comrade Hull and I approached the young man and
spoke to him. At first he did not act as if he felt inclined
to talk much, but after a little further conversation, he
told us to come to him the next day, and he would in-
form us how he came to be so terribly wounded. We
took hold and gave what assistance we could in leveling
off the ground, and constructing as good a place as possi-
ble for him to live in.
If a fellow had a hole in a bank that he lived in, it
was spoken of as his "tent."
The following day we again visited our unfortunate
comrade, and found him in better spirits, though every
hour he suffered from his wounds. After giving the un-
fortunate all the encouragement we could, painting An-
dersonville in glowing colors, we asked him for his story,
which I now give to the reader.
In a skirmish with the rebels near , he was
taken prisoner. After the skirmish was over, he was
taken to headquarters, a farm-house, about three miles
distant. Here he was left for about an hour in a room
adjoining that in which the rebel officers were assembled.
120 OVER THE DEAD LINE
The guard who came with him from the scene of action,
remained with him in this room during that time, and
was then reHeved by a rebel soldier who came out of the
officers' quarters. This new guard was given the pris-
oner's revolver, and mounting a horse that was saddled
and standing at the door, he ordered the prisoner to
march in front of him. Knowing naught of his destina-
tion, and thinking that possibly other prisoners might be
quartered in the immediate vicinity, and that it would be
useless to ask information of his surly, brutal-looking
guard, he took up his line of march in silence, and waited
results. He had traveled what he thought might be a
mile from the house, when he heard the guard, who was
riding a few paces in the rear, cock a revolver. Looking
around, he saw the man holding the weapon in his two
hands, apparently examining it. Knowing the revolver
was the one that had been taken from him, and believing
the man was merely examining his prize, he thought
nothing more of the incident until some five minutes
later, the sharp report of the same revolver echoed through
the surrounding woods, which was instantly followed by
a sharp stinging pain through his body, and a numbing
or prickly sensation of the lower limbs. He had been
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDvS 121
shot ! Looking around, he saw his would-be assassin mak-
ing ready to fire another shot.
The highway they were traversing ran through a
pine forest. As he saw his assailant raise his arm to fire
the second time, he quickly stepped to one side, and swing-
ing himself around a large tree, just escaped the second
missile of death, as the ball whizzed past his head.
Seeing the rebel was determined to murder him, he
grasped at the last and only chance that presented itself,
which was to take refuge among the mammoth pines, that
now seemed to stand as angels of mercy, momentarily
protecting him from the murderous brute.
These large trees standing close together, partially
prevented the assassin from making his shots effective,
while the poor boy was exerting his fast failing strength
to keep the trees between him and his cruel assailant. In
this he succeeded until the last shot had been fired, when
he sank to the ground, shot through the body, and lying
at the mercy of the man who had already shown himself
a fiend incarnate.
The first shot had passed through the young man's
body, coming out near the pit of the stomach. The
other five shots having gone wide of their intended des-
122 OVER THE DEAD LINE
tination, the Confederate dismounted from his horse, and
drawing his sabre he walked up to the wounded boy, who
was piteously pleading for mercy, and said, "Now you
d — d Yankee dog, escape from me if you can,"' whereupon
he dealt the young man a fearful blow across the fore-
head with his sabre, cutting the flesh from the bone from
one side of his forehead to the other.
After repeated blows, supposing he had completed
his hellish murder, he pulled off the boy's boots and de-
parted. Not long afterward, a little girl who- chanced to
pass that way, discovered by a faint moan that the soldier
was alive, and reported the fact to her mother, the latter
with an old negro servant conveyed him to her humble
dwelling. Here he remained in concealment seven
weeks, being attended by an old physician of the locality,
when he was discovered by a scouting party of rebel cav-
alry, and sent to Andersonville.
Many kinds of business were carried on inside the
stockade. Men who were capable of commanding regi-
ments of soldiers, men of education, medical students,
law students, all sorts of mechanics, and finally, many of
the bravest, and the best men of the country, mingled
with that ever-changing mass of humanity.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 123
Shouting the prices, and extoUing the excellence of
their merchandise, men could be seen buying, selling and
exchanging their simple and apparently worthless stuff.
Things which at these soldiers' homes were daily thrown
away as worthless, were here carried about by these same
men, guarded, extolled in quality and value, as if they
were priceless gems.
A few razors found their way into the camp, conse-
quently several barber shops were running full blast most
of the time. These shops consisted of army blankets
supported by four small sticks or poles, one at each corner,
from which was conspicuously displayed the good work
done inside, together with the price-list, to the passing
and repassing thousands. The price was usually ten
chews of tobacco, five cents in greenbacks or one dollar
in Confederate money. Later two or three dollars was
the price.
Many times have I watched the proceedings of these
men, noting how diligently and earnestly they applied
themselves to the business that would have been regarded
as simple and childish had they been in a land where free-
dom, peace and plenty reigned.
124 OVER THE DEAD LINE
Should I tell the reader that such a thing as a beer-
shop existed in Andersonville, he would in all probability-
question my truthfulness, but such was actually a fact.
There was not only one, but more than fifty places in
different parts of the camp where beer could be bought
by the glass, pint, quart or gallon. This was made by
the prisoners from corn meal and water.
By adding a certain quantity of corn meal to a barrel
of water, and exposing it to the hot sun for a certain
length of time, it would ferment, and with the addition
of a little "black-strap" molasses, and one or two other
trifling ingredients, quite a palatable mixture was formed.
Barrels of it were sold to those who were fortunate
enough to possess a little cash.
The men who came into the prison with a little money
and were shrewd enough to commence some kind of spec-
ulation, something like these mentioned, fared quite well
as to food and shelter. Some men would sell the clothes
from their backs, or the shoes from their feet for food.
I recollect seeing one poor fellow sell his boots for an
extra ration of corn meal and bacon. A few days later,
he was not only just as hungry as before, but his tender
feet being exposed on one side to the hot sand, and on the
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 125
other to the burning rays of the sun, became blistered, and
having no shelter, his case was sad indeed. His legs
were soon badly swollen, and two weeks later I saw the
body of this same young man, with others, awaiting at
the gate, the death cart, that conveyed them to their last
resting place.
Once, and only once, during my imprisonment, did
I start upon any kind of speculation. Perhaps once in
three or four weeks wheat flour would be issued to the
camp, instead of meal. It was on one of these days I con-
ceived the idea that I could improve my financial affairs
and possibly double my stock in trade. This consisted of
one pint of flour and about one-half pint of corn meal
that I had kept from my ration the day before, and went
to bed very hungry by so doing. I selected as good a
place as I could find to start my store, mixed my meal and
flour together, and baked it into pancakes, and with a
shingle in one hand — to be used as a grocery stand — and
my dish of cakes in the other, I started for the corner 1
had selected for my business stand.
For a while, all went as well as could have been ex-
pected. I had sold about one-fourth part of my cakes
and felt so much encourag-ed I thoudit I could afford to
126 OVER THE DEAD LINE
appropriate a small portion of the food to my own use,
and then continue my sales. Ah ! but this was one of the
many, many mistakes the human family are liable to make
during this short and uneven journey of life. A "finan-
cial mistake," the boys were wont to call it when they —
afterwards — would tell the story of how I failed in busi-
ness; for instead of doing as I intended, partake of a
small part of my stock, and sell the rest, I failed to govern
my appetite and devoured everything but the shingle!
As I walked back to our quarters, one of the boys
asked me if I had sold out ; all laughed when I replied
"No, but I have eaten out, and shall now retire from busi-
ness." I merely mention these trifling incidents that the
reader may understand how confinement, starvation and
constant suffering will not only emaciate the body, but
weaken the mind. The mental condition of the sufferer
undergoes a change and apparently the characteristics of
the child prevail.
Before those who died inside the stockade were re-
moved to the cemetery, the name, company and regiment,
also the number of each, was written on a piece of paper
and pinned to their clothing. Mien who were detailed to
burv the dead drew an extra ration of corn meal and a
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 127
quantity of whiskey for doing this gruesome work. Dur-
ing the first part of the season the dead were taken from
the prison direct to the place of burial, but later on a dead-
house was erected outside; and each afternoon the dead
were carried out to this, where they remained until they
could be taken to the burying ground.
128 OVER THE DEAD LINE
Chapter X.
It was during the month of August, when one hun-
dred and fifteen per day was the death rate, and Ander-
sonville was at its worst, and when many had given up in
despair, only looking for the grim messenger's approach
as inevitable, that a young Ohio soldier conceived the idea
of attempting his escape by being carried to the dead-
house as one of the dead prisoners. Some eighteen or
twenty of us knew that the attempt was to be made, there-
fore we watched proceedings with intense interest. It
was nearly night; six men were engaged picking up the
dead, placing them on stretchers, each made of an old
army blanket wrapped around two small poles. They
carried their dead comrades past the guard at the gate
and past any officers or men they might chance to meet
near the gate or outside. After carrying out thirty or
forty and seeing no particular notice had been taken by
the Johnnies,the two boys who had been chosen to carry
out the "living corpse" as the boys called the young man
who was to personate the dead Yank, proceeded to his
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 129
quarters. As it was quite a risky undertaking, the young
man appeared somewhat nervous when the two men
called for him at "his tent," as the place rigged up to sleep
in was called, whether canvas, turf or wood. His hair
was long and unkempt, his face besmeared with dirt, and
two strings were tied tightly around his wrists, prevent-
ing the blood from circulating, thus causing the hands to
look white and deathlike. He was placed upon the
stretcher, his white hands placed carelessly across his
breast, he was turned on one side and his long hair lay
loosely over his emaciated face. Three or four of us who
were in the secret were in the "tent" and helped to ar-
range everything before he was carried out. The poor
fellow had no comrades from his own regiment, and after
giving us the name and address of his mother — in case
he should lose his life — and seeing how he looked in his
burial outfit, he shook hands with us and again taking his
position on the stretcher, was carried to the gate. We
approached the gate ahead of them, and there as usual
were from fifty to two hundred emaciated, sickly looking
fellows crowded around the entrance awaiting — they
knew not what. Four other men approached the gate
130 OVER THE DEAD LINE
from some other part of the camp, carrying two dead men
nearly at the same time. The crowd gave way for them
to pass. All of those who were knowing to the scheme
gathered at the gate to see if it all passed off well. The
three stretchers passed through the crowd almost unob-
served, the living man occupying the front or foremost
one. The guard, who stood between the opening in the
dead line and the gate during such times, was hurriedly
walking backward and forward, ordering the men to "fall
back thar," "keep back," etc., when the foremost stretcher
on the inside, and a mule team coming in after our mush-
boxes on the outside, approached the gate at the same
time. As the gate opened the men bearing the living man
came suddenly in contact with the mule team, and in their
endeavor to move sideways, the old blanket came off one
of the poles and the seeming dead man fell to the ground.
It was so common to see dead men in almost every direc-
tion that the crowd at the gate thought nothing of seeing
them thrown around or lying around in any condition,
therefore when the make-believe dead man fell to the
ground he acted his part so well that no one but his friends
knew he was alive.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 131
As a take-off on the guards, who were always so
ready to shoot, some one in the crowd jokingly cried out,
"Shoot him; don't let him get away, shoot him!" where-
upon the young man, whose nerves were at their highest
tension, opened his eyes, but the guard fortunately stood
with his back towards him and did not see his face, while
one of the men, bending over to adjust the stretcher, in-
stantly gave him the signal by a grip of the hand, and the
poor frightened boy closed his eyes again. One of the
men standing by my side, who was in the secret, whis-
pered to me: "That was a close call, I fear he will Idc
caught."
With teams passing, the men with the stretchers
going to and fro, together with the crowd at the gate, the
guard became somewhat "rattled," but when all was quiet
and going well, he would assume all the dignity of a Rus-
sian duke. When the stretcher-bearers saw that they
were not detected, they wound the blanket around the
podes again the best they could; the "corpse" was laid
upon it, and without further mishap they arrived at the
dead-house. They were accompanied by a guard to the
dead-house, and as the two faithful bearers lay our young
hero down beside the last man brought in, one of them
132 OVER THE DEAD LINE
spread a piece of an old blanket over his face and said in
a low voice :
"Have courage, and may God help you."
"Good bye."
And stepping back, the other four men, who were not
in the secret, deposited the two emaciated forms they bore
beside that of the living man, and at the stern command of
the guard, "Hurry up thar, Yanks," they left him alone in
his glory.
One of the men who assisted in this incident went
out the following day and found a piece of white paper at
the northwest corner of the building. The Ohio boy had
promised to leave such a piece if he successfully escaped
from the dead-house. Whether he made good his further
escape, was shot, or taken to some other prison, we never
knew.
Quite a number attempted escape by tunnelling out,
and it was said that a few did succeed in gaining their
liberty in this way. This was done by those who had
erected their rude huts near the dead-line. These places
of shelter were very ingeniously constructed of various
kinds of material. Some were made wholly of earth,
some had turf sides and blanket roofs, while others were
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 133
only holes dug in the side-hill. In these last, two or three
men lost their lives by the earth caving in on them while
asleep. Some of these tunnels were started from the in-
terior of these huts. With a piece of an old shovel-blade,
or one-half of a water canteen, they would commence dig-
ging a hole at an angle of forty-five degrees, and large
enough for one man to work in. When they were sure
that they were lower than the bottom of the stockade,
which was five or six feet, they dug in a horizontal direc-
tion. The man digging lay on his face, passed the dirt to
the man behind him, that man to the next, and so on,
until it reached the surface and was carried to the swamp
or brook in the darkness of night. It was a difficult and
very uncertain thing, attempting to escape in this way.
There was danger of the earth caving in upon them, then
they knew nothing of where tbey would come out. One
fellow, after he and his comrades had worked for weeks,
dug up through to see where he was, and was somewhat
surprised to see two rebel soldiers playing cards! He
was under the guards' tent, and later when one of the
"Rebs" fell into the hole, it led to discovery.
Each morning about six o'clock the Andersonville
134 OVER THE DEAD LINE
pack of twelve bloodhounds, led by "Old Spot," encircled
the prison walls.
It was the 6th of September, some over seven thou-
sand men had died, eight out of our mess, or family, had
been taken, five left of the thirteen who six months before
had promised to stand by each other. It did not look
then as if there was going to be a man left to tell the story,
when suddenly a shout and hurrah was heard near the
gate, where we saw the men congregating and soon heard
the cause of the cheering and excitement. One of the
paroled men had brought in the news that six detachments
had received orders to pack up and be ready to leave.
Some said it was a general exchange of prisoners. We
said it cannot be any worse, if we are even going to an-
other prison, it will be a change. Capt. Wirz came in
and said : "The first six detachments will leave here to-
morrow morning." Some of the men were seen shaking
hands with their comrades, while the tears ran down their
sunken cheeks for joy. That night there was no sleep in
Andersonville. Alas ! little did we think that many of
those who passed the night in song and cheer, believing
that deliverance had come, were doomed to end their lives
in some loathsome den equally as bad as Andersonville.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 135
The following the day the six detachments were
marched to the depot, the men were loaded into box cars
and started for Savannah. We felt sad as we thought of
our eight comrades left in the graveyard, without a slab
even to mark their last resting place. We arrived at Sav-
annah about midnight and were taken from the cars and
marched some twenty rods to a small ploughed field.
Here we were kept till morning. The heavy guard over
us, and which was lined up on either side of the cars as
we ran into the city, was proof that instead of home, an-
other prison pen awaited us. The following day we were
again loaded into cars, sixty men packed into one box car,
and there we remained until we were unloaded near the
old race-course at Charleston, S. C.
It was soon understood by the prisoners that another
prison pen awaited them, and that the enemy thought it
unwise to have so large a number at Andersonville when
Sherman, Wilson and such Yankee generals were at large,
consequently our removal. The first three days we were
in Charleston we camped at the water's edge, and could
plainly see Ft. Sumter and the Island from which our
men were bombarding the city. When the shells burst
over the city we could often see them, and then the boys
136 OVER THE DEAD LINE
would cheer as the Httle missiles of death made their ap-
pearance, saying that they came from home. Every fif-
teen minutes a shell was thrown at Ft, Sumter and every
ten minutes one was broken in or over the city of Charles-
ton ; this was done for over four hundred days and nights
in succession.
Col. L. C. Leavens, now treasurer of the Richford
Savings Bank and Trust Company, at Richford, Ver-
mont, was at that time an officer in the Union Army, com-
manding troops on Morris Island in Charleston harbor,
consequently he was unwittingly the cause of making it
so warm for some of the boys from his own State while
paying his respects to the people of Charleston.
While occupying a vacant lot as our temporary camp-
ing ground we were allowed to go into the water, and
there was not one minute during the daytime that there
were not from twenty-five to two hundred men wading in
the water hunting for oysters. They would wade nearly
to their arm-pits, and when their bare feet came in con-
tact with the coveted prize, and it was too far below the
surface to reach with the hand, then down went the man
out of sight, and up came the oyster. If it proved to be
a genuine find it was safely deposited in the hungry fel-
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 13T
low's pocket while he continued his prospecting. The
second day we occupied this camp your humble servant,
wet, cold and tired, picked his way shoreward ; and the old
hat before mentioned contained twenty-three of these
valuable fellows. At night we fell back from the water's
edge and a guard was posted between us and the water.
One day a piece of square timber, some three feet long
and 12 or 14 inches square, was floating around, the boys
pushing it through the water from one to the other in
play. A fellow who belonged to a Wisconsin regiment
said: "When the men are called in to-night, you may
know that I am standing in the water up to my neck, my
head hidden from view behind that block of wood, my
hands grasping each end to keep it in front of my face,
and as soon as dark I will use it to help keep me afloat and
will strike out for the lights on Morris Island." Just
before dark we were ordered back from the water, and
when the men were counted it was found that one man
was missing. It was too dark to see the block of wood,
even had they mistrusted that one of their Yankee prison-
ers had converted it into a transportation craft. The
block of wood was not in sight the next morning, neither
was the Yank, and the following morning when some of
138 OVER THE DEAD LINE
the Johnnies were speculating as to his whereabouts, one
of the boys who had prayed for his safe arrival at Morris
Island, said : "In all probability he has drowned himself
to save his life." From this camp we were removed to
the race-course ; here we remained for eleven days. Dur-
ing that time five of the prisoners were quite badly
wounded by shells from our own guns. After giving us-
a taste of that of which they were obliged to make a full
meal, they again put us on board a freight train and we
were removed to Florence, S. C, one hundred and three
miles distant.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 139
Chapter XL
We arrived at Florence, S. C, on the evening of the
17th, and were taken from the cars and formed into Hne
on the railroad track. After we were counted by the ofifi-
cer in charge, we were marched about a mile in the direc-
tion of the new stockade, which at that time was nearing
completion. There were about one hundred and fifty
slaves doing the work. As the Southerners did not wish
to put any men inside the stockade until it was finished,
the six hundred prisoners were halted about a half mile
from it, and went into camp. A level piece of ground in
an open field was selected for this camp, and two acres of
ground were marked out in a square and a heavy guard
was thrown around us.
We were situated near what appeared to be a large
woods, one side of the camp extended to within about fif-
teen rods of its border. Two pieces of artillery were
placed in a position commanding its side nearest the
woods. The guards who came with us from Charleston
were placed on duty over us. Having served two or three
140 OVER THE DEAD LINE
years in the field, they did not consider it an everlasting
honor to shoot a defenceless foe for the most trifling of-
fense, as we had been accustomed to see guards do at An-
dersonville. These guardians around our little camp
were placed in such a position that no prisoner could ap-
proach or cross their beats unobserved. No sooner was
it ascertained by the prisoners that another Andersonville
pen was awaiting them than a portion of the healthiest of
them began to plan some mode of escape. To effect this
they must either make a break for liberty in a body, or
those who were able must run the guards under cover of
the night; but if this latter plan was adopted, few could
escape before the guards would be doubled, thus putting
an end to all hopes of liberty until the dreaded prison
doors should be thrown open to receive us.
Upon the third day this camp was occupied, it was
rumored that the stockade was completed and that by
night we would take up our quarters within its walls. It
was a dull, cloudy day on the 20th, a cold, drizzling rain,
sufficient to wet the ground, and the few dirty rags which
but partially covered our bodies did not in the least enliven
our prospects. The shades of night were falling. Com-
rade Hull and I stood side by side, discussing the probabil-
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 141
ity of living through the winter, should there be no ex-
change of prisoners, when our attention was attracted by
the report of a musket on the side of the camp nearest the
woods. This was followed immediately by two more
shots in rapid succession, and by a yell from the prisoners,
who were all moving in the direction of the firing. I can
give a vague illustration of this mass of moving humanity
by comparing it to the breaking away of a boom strung
across a river allowing a large quantity of logs to slowly
move down the stream, with no uniform system. My
comrade and I moved with the others, and as we neared
the boundary of the camp the true character of the situa-
tion was no longer a mystery, as we beheld a squad of
prisoners exerting themselves to their utmost in the at-
tempt to capsize the two pieces of artillery, while others
were seizing the guards and relieving them of their arms.
I recollect hearing but three shots fired during the
break, although a few scattering shots were heard in dif-
ferent directions for two or three hours after the breal<
was made. As the prisoners made a rush for the point
indicated, of course all the guards who retained their arms
— and that was nearly all of them — could have opened
fire upon them ; but for reasons best known to themselves.
142 OVER THE DEAD LINE
their fire was withheld. In less than five minutes from
the report of the first gun, not a man who could walk was
left on the ground. Hull and I struck for the nearest
point of woods. I said to him, as we entered the thicket :
"Let us keep as near each other as we can." We did so
for a few minutes, one walking behind and as near as pos-
sible to the other, but we were unable to continue our
flight in this way, as it was so dark in the thick growth
of underbrush that we were compelled to move by the
sense of feeling altogether, and to keep our hands before
our eyes to guard against the limbs and small bushes
which were constantly slapping us in our faces. We con-
sequently separated a little, all the time talking to each
other that we might know by each other's voice where we
were and the direction we were taking.
The woods were filled with men, each poor wretch
striving to gain a few steps in the direction of — he hardly
knew where. For the first thirty minutes, men could be
heard talking in every direction. The main enquiry was :
"To what regiment do you belong?"
While listening to the shouting of the men, intent
upon their questions, answers, etc., Hull and I had neg-
lected to speak to each other for perhaps five minutes, and
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 143
then when I called to him I received no answer. Finding
we had become separated, I shouted at the top of my
voice, but if heard and answered, I could not distinguish
his voice from many others who would respond. While
I was calling the name of my lost comrade, a man who
was near me, although I could not see him, asked me my
name, company and regiment. I told him, and he at once
picked his way through the brush to where I was, and told
me he belonged to a Wisconsin regiment, but formerly
lived in Enosburgh, Vt. When I informed him I was
from Fairfield, an adjoining town, we at once agreed to
form a little party of our own. We sat down upon an
old log and talked the matter over. His name was
Orange Ayers, a man about thirty years old. As soon as
I made up my mind that Comrade Hull and I were not
likely to accompany each other during that night at least,
I made the proposition to my newly- found friend that if
he would travel very slowly, I would endeavor to stay
with him until the following day, and if by that time my
bare feet should fail to stand the rough usage to which
they would be exposed, he might go on and leave me.
He accepted my ofifer, and at the same time told me
not to build any air castles founded upon hopes of liberty,
14:4 OVER THE DEAD LINE
as in all probability we would be safely lodged within the
new stockade inside the next twenty-four hours ; and ex-
plained that it would be almost impossible for us to make
our way through to our own lines. In the first place, we
knew nothing of the geographical points of the country
we must pass through. We could not tell North from
South, excepting what we might learxi from the stars, and
those celestial orbs were refusing to guide us, their bright
rays being cut off by the dark clouds hanging over, and
in their way, shutting out from the poor wanderer's heart
the last spark of comfort that might have been derived
from their beauty.
My feet had become somewhat hardened by exposure
to sun, air, heat and cold, and although constant contact
with stones, sticks, briars and brambles caused intense
suffering, it was trifling compared to what it would have
been had my feet been protected by shoes during my im-
prisonment previous to this pedestrian trial for liberty.
A little rain fell at intervals during the entire night, and
if we halted for a few moments' rest, our bodies would
become so chilled that it was with difficulty we resumed
our march. My comrade was much better clothed than
I was, as he had been a prisoner but three and a half
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 145
months and his clothing was not taken from him when he
fell into the enemy's hands, as mine had been. His shoes,
though considerably the worse for wear, were worth more
than their weight in gold, as my comrade said the follow-
ing morning. I did not have clothes enough on me for a
gun wad; what little there was left of the trousers and
shirt which I had constantly worn for the past eight
months, night and day, only partially covered my limbs.
I remember making the remark during the night that it
would not be a difficult thing for the hounds to follow us,
as my feet and knees were bleeding so freely from the
scratches and bruises they were all the time receiving.
We reasoned that there would not be a thorough search
made before morning, as no rebel would be foolish enough
to enter that dark and dismal forest until light appeared,
so we had but little to fear of being disturbed except by
the reptiles with which the woods abounded. As often
as every hour I would call the name of Comrade Hull as
loudly as I could. The first part of the night quite a
number would answer me, but toward morning no one
would respond to my cry, from which I inferred that the
men were becoming further separated. Probably some
10
146 OVER THE DEAD LINE
had given out, while others who were stronger were far
out of hearing in advance. We moved just fast enough
to keep from suffering with the cold. Had my clothes
been as good as my comrade's, we might have curled up
under some tree top and obtained a little rest and sleep,
but as it was, we moved on together talking of home and
what the future had in store fcr us. Oftimes during this
long-to-be-remembered night of pain and suffering, we
would start for a moment and the beating of our hearts
could almost be heard as a hare or some other small ani-
mal would leap from his lair and bound away in the dark-
ness.
"What would our friends in the far away North say
could they behold us in this dismal swamp, struggling
against such discouraging prospects of gaining our lib-
erty?"
These and many other useless questions were asked
to break the monotony of that dreadful night, until the
first welcome rays of light told us that one more night had
passed, although our suffering had been by far greater
than upon any other night since our incarceration. We
could say we had passed one night with no guard except
the all-seeing eye of Him who watches over us in freedom
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 147
and bondage, in sickness and in health, and against whom
prison walls or the gates of the prison Hell cannot prevail.
Never did the light of day look so beautiful, and never
was it more thankfully received than it was on the 21st
day of September, 1864. We could judge nothing of the
distance we had travelled. During the night we crossed
a small stream, not wide enough to prevent our stepping
over it, but the depth we found to be about three feet.
We had proof of this, as we both stepped in together.
There are many of these small sluggish streams in Geor-
gia and South Carolina, which flow so lazily through
those swampy lands that their course can hardly be dis-
cerned. After it had become fairly light we seated our-
selves upon an old log and made a breakfast of about a
half pound of corn bread which Ayres had wrapped in an
old rag he had taken from his pocket. This we relished,
although it was made of coarse, unsifted corn meal and
water, without salt. The only trouble was the scarcity of
the article.
As our present location was swampy and wet, we de-
cided to move around until we could find a rise of ground
which would be a more agreeable camping place until
night. We did not consider it advisable to travel during
148 OVER THE DEAD LINE
the day, as we were so near the prisons and so many es-
caped prisoners were swarming the coimtry that we rea-
soned we were likely to meet with a searching party at
any moment. We moved about a fourth of a mile and
found what we considered as good a place as we would be
liable to find, when we heard the bark of a dog. We
knew by the sound it was not the howl of a bloodhound,
so we at once made up our minds to reconnoitre a little,
for perchance we might hear or see something to our ad-
vantage. As we moved carefully along in the direction
from which the sound came, we saw an opening through
the trees, and proceeding around the outskirts of the
woods, we discovered a large farm house surrounded by
?. number of negro cabins. We at once selected a position
from which we obtained a commanding view of the dwel-
lings, and here we waited and watched for any move of
their occupants. We had not long to wait, for in a few
moments an old negro woman came out of one of the
cabins with a basket on her head and one in each hand
and proceeded directly toward us. When she had ap-
proached to within a few rods of our hiding place, she
halted near a small pile of chips and began to fill her bas-
ket. For a few moments we did not know what course
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS U9
to pursue. I finally made the proposition to my comrade
that I should fall back into the thicket a few steps, while
he — the sight of his wardrobe not being so likely to create
a panic among the negroes — might make himself known
to any of the colored people whom he could see around
the premises, and at the same time endeavor to obtain any
article of food or wearing apparel that he could appropri-
ate to our own special use. I could particularly appreci-
ate the clothing, let it come as it might ; in fact, I had be-
come so destitute of clothing I could not approach a house
without causing the inmates, either black or white, to
flee from me in fright. For this reason, if for no other,
I needed the clothing more than the food, though we
were both suffering from hunger. Cautiously stepping
from the thicket and looking around to make sure that
the old negro was the only person in sight, and that one
of the cabins would hide him from view should the people
in the big house be up and astir, he said :
"Aunty, have you seen anything of a stray mule
around here?"
The old woman rose to her feet and placed her hands
before her face for a moment, and then clasping them
150 OVER THE DEAD LINE
together exclaimed: "O Lor, Massa, dint you-uns scar dis
ole nigger!"
"Don't be frightened, Aunty ; I am a friend and want
to talk to you for a few moments," he said. He beckoned
to her to come near him so she could understand what he
had to say, and so she could not be seen by any one who
might be looking in that direction, and then told her he
was a Yankee soldier, fighting to free the slaves, and un-
less she could give him food and clothing for his sick
comrade, he must die in the woods, thus eliciting her sym-
pathy in every way he could. This was the first time she
had seen a live Yankee, and her curiosity had been grati-
fied and her fears allayed. She returned to her cabin,
but not before she had expressed her admiration for a
Yankee "Soger" by the repeated exclamations:
"Is you-uns a real Yankee soger? "O Lor! O Lor!
save us !" "You-uns ain't so ugly as we-uns spects you
was, and no horns either." "O Lor! O Lor!"
Such were the words of the poor ignorant creature
as she returned to her humble cottage, with the Christian
determination to divide her scanty allowance with an un-
fortunate fellow being; an allowance which her aristo-
cratic owners would deprive us of. Yea, they were en-
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 151
deavoring to take from us that which God hath made
dearest to mankind — his Hfe. In a few moments the old
negro woman returned with "hoe cake," eight or ten
sweet potatoes, a small piece of bacon, also a few rags
from which your humble servant at once made a selection
sufficient to greatly improve his wardrobe. After I had
bandaged my feet and legs with pieces of the old worn-
out garments, using the old coat sleeves for leggins, I
considered myself in better condition than at any time
during my imprisonment, although I was yet lame from
the wounds I had received seven months before. But I
was nowise so badly crippled as I had thought the past
night would cause me to be. We at once set out intent
upon selecting a camping ground for the day, in as safe a
quarter as we could find, as we did not think it prudent to
allow ourselves to be seen by either black or white people
more than was actually necessary. We made our way
around this plantation, and into another large tract of
timber land on the opposite side. After travelling some
two miles, we made a halt and selected a wind-fall of
trees for our resting place. Here we were entirely hid-
den from view. From the old colored woman we had
152 OVER THE DEAD LINE
obtained a few matches, with her assurance that the "suf-
fer" (sulphur) "is mity near gone." As near as she could
"reckon" we were "a right smart distance from where
they were making a new stockade for Yankees."
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 153
Chapter XII.
We reasoned that the distance was about three miles.
After gathering what dry leaves and moss we could from
beneath the old logs and fallen trees, we made us a bed
that would have been considered "A., No. i" had we
owned it in Andersonville, or could we have retired with
no fear of being roused by bloodhounds. In this place
we remained undisturbed until night, when we again took
up our march under circumstances of more favorable ap-
pearance than those of the past twenty-four hours. For
one thing we had provisions, and although they were poor,
they were sufficient to sustain life for the next twenty-
four hours, and would enable us to retain for a while what
little strength we had left, yet we could easily have eaten
them all for our supper and retired with no danger of our
rest being disturbed by the nightmare, and for the time
being my limbs were partially protected. We had a few
matches, and the dark clouds which had hidden the sun,
moon and stars for the past two days and nights, casting
a gloom over our already forlorn situation, had passed
154 OVER THE DEAD LINE
away ; and as darkness came on, the stars one by one came
out, filling the canopy of Heaven with their beauty, and
the poor wandering soldiers' hearts with gratitude. We
traveled this night without molestation, and rested the
next day without hearing or seeing anything of other
prisoners or of the rebel scouting parties which we knew
were scouring the country in search of runaways. That
night we took the North Star for our guide, and set out
in a northerly direction, avoiding all highways and con-
spicuous places, where guards were most likely to have
been posted. It was about twelve o'clock when we came
to a small stream which was fordable, although the water
came nearly to our arm-pits in mid-stream. Soon after
passing this stream, we were startled by a voice directly
in front of us, and a challenge was given :
"Halt, who comes there?"
What to do or what to say to this sudden interruption
was, for a moment, beyond our comprehension. We at
once fell back a few paces under cover of some trees and
asked each other, "What is to be done?" Not receiving
an answer, the challenger repeated his challenge. The
river cut off our retreat in the direction we had come, so
we grasped at the only chance left us and returned to the
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 155
river bank, which was quite high and steep at this point,
and proceeded down stream, hoping in this way to elude
those who had so unexpectedly barred our way. As we
believed, "discretion is the better part of valor," we re-
treated down stream as fast as we could, until we came
upon a squad of five men a few feet of us. They were
standing upon the bank, and again one of the party asked :
"Who goes there?"
As we must now say something, my comrade an-
swered :
"A friend."
"Advance friend, and give us a piece of doger"
(corn bread).
As this was said, we heard a low laugh among them
and we knew we were among friends. These men proved
to be escaped prisoners and all belonged to a Michigan
cavalry regiment. They knew but little more of the
other escaping men than we did. From where they had
been in hiding during the previous day, they had heard
several challenges given and quite a number of shots fired.
This was indisputable evidence that the Rebs were mak-
ing every effort to recapture us, and there was not a
shadow of doubt that the poor starving Yankees would
156 OVER THE DEAD LINE
exert themselves to the utmost to retain their liberty as
long as possible.
Our new comrades were without any kind of food
and had nothing since they had started on this "trust luck
journey," as one of our party called it. Trusting in God
for our next mouthful of food, we divided what we had
into seven equal parts. We left the main road and stopped
to rest for a few moments and decide whether it would be
advisable to keep together or to separate. It was finally
decided to keep together for the remainder of the night
and the following day, and should fortune favor us until
the next night, we would again separate. Again we
slowly moved along, keeping as near each other as pos-
sible. Some of the way we travelled in the fields, and all
the time kept a lookout for anything we might run across
that could be converted into food. Slowly we picked our
way along, until about three o'clock in the morning, when
we came in sight of a large farm house surrounded by
several outbuildings. After holding a short consultation
among ourselves, we decided that two of our number
should reconnoitre the premises and that if they could find
anything in the provision line, we would borrow it until
we should come that way again. One of the Michigan
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 157
fellows and I were detailed for the business, while the
other five were to keep in the immediate vicinity of the
dwellings in case their services should be needed. Think-
ing we might find some sweet potatoes on some piece of
ground under cultivation, finding nothing in the garden,
we looked for a smoke house. This we soon found, but
the next thing was to find what was inside that we
needed. The people, not expecting us, had not even left
an axe, bar or any other tool that we could substitute for
a key. We looked around among the negro quarters and
found an old axe and a small iron kettle at one of the
cabin doors. We at once proceeded to use the axe in such
a way that it made us masters of the situation in a very
few moments. We borrowed a small ham and about ten
pounds of bacon, and while we were endeavoring to ar-
range things around the smoke house to obliterate as
much as possible the proof of our visit, we heard the re-
port of a rifle on the opposite side of the house. Not-
withstanding this shot was not meant for us, we did not
wait to find out whom it might be who were having such
marked attention paid them at that time of night, but
with the smoked meat and the little iron kettle we made
our way, as quickly as we could, to the edge of the woods.
158 OVER THE DEAD LINE
where we were to meet our comrades. As we approached
the place designated, we saw our five friends making their
way to the same point as fast as possible. We were not
long in learning the cause of the shot we heard while we
were at the smoke house. Three of the five comrades
who were left on the reserve, while the Michigan man and
myself were rifling the smoke house, had formed another
foraging party and were examining the hen house, when
they were suddenly apprised of the fact that their presence
was of an annoying nature. At least they imagined such
to be the case when a minie ball whizzed by them from
one oi the windows, but they had already secured three or
four heavy chickens, which they were very careful not to
lose. We at once held a hasty consultation and con-
cluded we had better get away from there as soon as we
could. We did not believe that the shot was fired by any
inmate of the house, but made up our minds it would nat-
urally be known for miles around that the country was
full of escaped prisoners. This fact we thought would
so frighten the inhabitants they would have a safeguard
placed over house and property, until the escaped prison-
ers had been recaptured or had passed out of that vicinity;
and most likely it was one of these guards who fired. We
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 159
again pushed on through the woods, endeavoring to place
as great a distance as possible between us and the farm
house before light. We walked as fast as we could for
perhaps three-quarters of a mile, and just as day was
dawning we emerged from the woods into a large field.
As there were no buildings in sight, we hastened on across
this field and into another large body of woods. Here
we arranged as comfortable quarters for ourselves as we
could. We divided our little squad into three reliefs and
allowing the seventh man to act as sergeant of the guard,
we posted two men, one on each side, about twenty rods
from us to keep a lookout, so that we should not be taken
by surprise. While the first relief was standing (about
two hours as near as we could judge), the rest of us built
a fire under an old root to hide the smoke as much as pos-
sible. After we had broiled and boiled enough chickens,
ham and bacon for our breakfast, we cooked what re-
mained, and when we separated, it was equally divided.
We took turns watching and sleeping during the day. As
soon as dark we resumed our march, and although we
were foot sore and lame, we felt thankful we had up to
this time escaped the many difficulties we had expected
would present themselves during this our almost hopeless
160 OVER THE DEAD LINE
push for freedom. About midnight the howling of the
dreaded bloodhounds was plainly heard in the distance.
As the noise came froni an easterly direction, we reasoned
they were not on our track, for, as near as we could judge,
we had most of the time been travelling north. After
we had listened to the brutes for some thirty minutes,
their howls ceased, and we made up our minds that some-
one had been recaptured and that perhaps when the brutal
man-hunters ceased their noise some poor suffering form
was being torn by their cruel fangs. Soon after this we
sat down upon the grass at the edge of a small field and
partook of a midnight supper, and although it consisted
wholly of boiled ham, it was preferable to our third part
of a pint of corn meal, such as had been our allowance for
the past seven months. This being the fourth night we
had been on the march, some of us could with difficulty
stand upon our feet, for they had become very tender and
sore. One fellow had a half worn out pair of boots ; cut-
ting the legs off, he gave them to his comrade, who by
cutting them a little and using elm bark in place of a
"waxed end," in a very short time had a very good
protection for his feet.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 161
It was drawing toward the close of the fourth night
when our Httle party separated. We set out in nearly the
same direction, they bearing a little to the left and Ayers
and I a little to the right. We all considered this the
wiser course, although the following day when my com-
rade and I were curled up under an old fallen tree top in
a dark and dismal South Carolina swamp, I said I really
wished we had all kept together. This was a long dreary
day for us; we had but little food, and I was suffering
from the many wounds I had received upon my nearly
nude feet, legs and arms. I suffered much more physical
anguish than my comrade, as his clothing partially pro-
tected him from the many sharp-pointed sticks, stones,
briers and stubbles along the route.
As yet, we had come in sight of no villages and but
a few farm houses. The fourth night, to add tO' our dis-
comfort, the clouds hid the stars and moon that for the
past two nights had gladdened our hearts with their lus-
ter. On, on, through the darkness and solitude of the
night we must wend our way. We stumbled along as
best we could, falling against rocks and over logs, with
nothing for company but the barking of a distant watch
11
162 OVER THE DEAD UNE
dog, the fluttering of a frightened bird, or the noise of
some animal as it bounded away in the darkness. The
intense pain in my injured limbs became almost unbear-
able. I told my comrade once during the night I thought
I must give up, and he must leave me and go on alone.
He would not listen to this, but gave me all the encour-
agement he could, proposing to find as comfortable a place
for me as possible, and while I was resting he would scout
.around and endeavor toi obtain food and return to me.
Fearing, however, that the hounds would come upon me
in my helpless condition, and very well knowing the con-
dition I would be in, if I rested and allowed my muscles
to relax, I exerted both mental and physical strength to
their utmost and kept up until morning. As soon as
dawn we fell back into the woods some little distance from
the fields, and selecting a good place for a camping ground
gathered dry moss and boughs and in a shpj't time con-
structed a very respectable bed. We made a breakfast of
about one-half pound of boiled ham. This was all the
provisions we had left, and Ayers suggested that I should
remain where I was while he tried his luck by daylight in
hunting for food. As he left me that morning, fearing
something would prevent his returning, I remarked that
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 163
if he should reach Florence within the next twenty-four
hours, he could say that if my presence was required they
would be compelled to send some kind of a conveyance for
my use. It did not seem quite so hard to remain in the
woods alone in the day time, as it would have seemed in
the night, but by day or night it was lonely enough. I
can assure you that the danger incident to travelling in
the woods in an unknown country, hungry, foot-sore and
lame, in constant fear of being hunted down like wild
beasts, and that by savage bloodhounds, was not the only
misery that constantly beset our perilous undertaking
while traversing these dark and dismal swamps. We
were all the time in danger of running across some of the
poisonous reptiles that exist in and around these places.
While standing with my bare feet upon an old log in the
darkness of the night, I would often imagine I could feel
it move under me, and that I was standing upon the back
of a monstrous alligator; or that while apparently stand-
ing upon some moss-covered stick or limb, it would prove
to be a huge snake preparing to strike its poisonous fangs
into my unprotected limbs.
It was nearly mid-day; I had formed in my mind
many difficulties and misfortunes that had befallen my
164: OVER THE DEAD LINE
brave and noble comrade, when looking in the direction
of a noise made by the breaking of a twig, I saw him
looking around in search of me. He had not been par-
ticular in noting the spot where he left me, consequently
had been searching for me for the past two hours or more.
He informed me of what he considered our good luck.
While in search of a farm house he came upon an old
negro in the woods. He was loading wood on a cart
and with a dejected looking mule was hauling it to a farm
house about a half mile distant. At first the old man
seemed somewhat frightened at the sudden appearance of
a stranger, but after Ayers talked to him a while and told
him who he was, the old man told him all about the owner
of the small farm where he belonged, and his family, and
promised to assist us all he could as soon as dark that
night. Ayres procured no food, but the old negro had
promised to meet us and provide us with something to eat
and with shelter until my wounded feet should become
healed so I could walk. We talked the matter over dur-
ing the day, and decided to run the risk of accepting the
kind offer, although it was quite a risk to run. I do not
think my comrade would have accepted the hospitality of
our colored friend, had it not been for my helpless condi-
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 165
tion ; but not wanting to leave me to the mercy of the wild
beasts, or bloodhounds, he would take his chances with
me. and together we would escape or again realize the
horrors of rebel cruelty. About one hour after dark we
met the old negro at the appointed place. He was not a
slave, but his wife and children were born and reared in
slavery, and he lived with and worked for the man who
owned them. At this time the owner and proprietor was
a lieutenant in the Confederate Army. His son, 12
years of age, and daughter of ten, with the mother, were
away on a visit, and were not expected home for a week
or ten days. This was surely in our favor, and if the
negroes could be trusted we were all right until the
needed rest could be obtained. The Southern slave pos-
sessed the characteristics of a child. The child may com-
mit any petty offense unknown to the parent, but when
that parent demands of the erring one the whole truth,
and that demand is made under the uplifted rod of cor-
rection, the desired result is at once obtained. Thus our
safety in a great measure depended upon the intellectual
development of those under whose guardianship we were
for a few hours to place ourselves.
166 OVER THE DEAD LINE
Chapter XIII.
Should any man, especially a soldier, demand of a
slave a true statement as to what he might have seen or
heard regarding any escaped prisoners, and accompany
that demand with a threat or perchance a blow or a kick,
the chances were that the negro would at once reveal all
he knew about the prisoners and their whereabouts. But
we must run all chances, and I must here acknowledge
that my comrade accepted these risks entirely on my ac-
count. Had he been alone, he would in all probability
have rested only during the day and moved on north as
fast as possible at night, though in any event his chances
of making his way through to our lines were not very en-
couraging. I fully appreciated his kindness to me, for
had he left me in the condition I was in, I could have done
nothing but throw myself upon the mercy of the people,
and the result of that can be easily comprehended. We
were at once conducted to the negro's cabin. We saw
arrangements had been made for our reception and safety.
There were about twenty slaves on the plantation, but our
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 167
benefactor, whose name was Johnson, his wife and five
children were to be the only members of the colored popu-
lation who should know of our presence. My comrade
and I were told by the negroes that we were to occupy the
upper part of the cabin. In this room were two rude
cots; one of them stood in one corner, and was partially
hidden by a couple of old blankets hung from the rafters.
This cot we were to occupy for the night, unless some
rebel soldier or patriotic citizen should discover our peace-
ful abode. Adjoining the cabin was a small wood shed.
There was no chamber in the shed, but from one rafter to
another were nailed pieces of boards and on these braces
or overlays were three or four boards placed side by side.
By lifting up a short board hung upon leather hinges on
the gable end of the house, a man could crawl through
and out on to these boards and hide himself entirely from
view, and no one would suspect that anyone was lying
on these, so near the peak of the roof.
These arrangements had been made by the negro and
his wife after Ayers had met him in the morning, and the
windows of the cabin had been darkened. \ warm sup-
per awaited us, and doubtless they believed all we said
regarding our appetites, as the five or six black faces were
168 OVER THE DEAD LINE
turned toward us, while the hot corn bread, fried bacon
and sweet potatoes disappeared from the board as by
magic. We learned that no prisoners had been seen, but
that during the past few days two squads of cavalry and
one of infantry had passed. All had inquired about fugi-
tives. They instructed the negroes to tell their young
master upon his return to keep a sharp lookout for Yanks
and report to headquarters at Florence, bringing any
whom he, or any of the citizens of the surrounding coun-
try, might capture. At the same time, they told them not
to feed any Yankee, for after eating his food a Yankee
would murder a black man merely for the fun of it. This
was policy, of course, for the Confederates, as they knew
that the escaped prisoners must call on the colored people
for assistance, as there was not one white man or woman
in a thousand who would not betray the soklier should
starvation drive him to their doors. It could be plainly
seen that a free born negro's intellectual abilities were
superior to his brother in bondage, although he was mis-
used and despised because he was not a slave. Then hav-
ing been born and brought up among slaves, hi':' wife and
children slaves, he really knew but little of freedom except
that he was born free and that according to law the white
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 169
man could not sell him or inflict punishment upon him.
But there was small chance for a free born negro to elicit
the sympathy of the people or obtain justice in the courts
on account of abuse inflicted upon him by ev-n the most
degraded of the white population; but one of the other
slaves entered Johnson's cabin during the evening, and
he was the eldest man on the plantation, having been born
the property of the present owner's grand-parents, on the
same farm, eighty years before. The other iniiabitants
of the quarters had been told that "Mrs. Johnson was
mighty 'flicted dis ere ebnin" and could'nt be "sturbed,"
and our old friend chuckled as he informed us c t what
appeared to him a shrewd device to prevent the others
from entering his cabin during our stay. The old man
who called was a ruling spirit in the church, among the
slaves of this and adjoining plantations, and none doubted
the good man's power to heal the sick, or stay the onward
course of the blood-hounds by his prayers. About 9
o'clock, Uncle Ebin made the proposition that, "if Brud-
der Johnson has no jections and will jine, I will sist dese
gemmen wid a short season of prayer;" and as the bright
light from the blazing logs in the old Dutch fire-place
shone upon those seven or eight black faces, ranging in
170 OVER THE DEAD LINE
years from eighteen to eighty, so earnestly invoking
Heaven's blessings upon those whom they believed to be
the friends oi their race, we could not help but think,
that if the prayers of the righteous availeth much, they
doubtless damaged the cause of secession materially that
evening. We retired to rest about ten o'clock, but not
until we had taken a bath and my wounded feet had been
carefully bandaged with soft cloths well saturated with
coon's oil, of which we were given abundance.
I said tO' my comrade, who' seemed to be interested
in the proceedings, that if there was any virtue in kind
words and cooii's oil, I must be a great deal benefited.
The following morning we awoke greatly refreshed.
After partaking of a coarse but substantial breakfast, we
retired to the same room where we had slept, and there
passed the day of September 24th. My injured feet
were much better, and the prospects of making a good
march the following night were favorable.
The negroes were doing all they could for our com-
fort, and the future was beginning to look bright, when
suddenly our hopes were dashed upon the hidden reefs,
and apparently our chances of longer being free moral
agents were at an end.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 171
The old neg-ress rushed intOi the house with the ex-
clamation, "O Lor sabe us, dey is comin, O Lor sabe
dese poo gemmens," etc.
As we looked down into the lower part of the cabin
and saw the good, true hearted old creature wringing
her black hands as she paced the flooirless cabin, there
was no doubting the fidelity of this abused friend of the
Union.
Looking through a hole in the roof we saw aljout
twenty rebel cavalrymen about thirty rods from us slowly
marching toward the dwelling. In front of them were
eight or ten escaped prisoners, picking their way pain-
fully along the sides of the muddy road.
At a glance the situation was taken in, and the old
negro Johnson thrust his wooly head through the hole
in the floor, where a ladder filled the place of stairs, and
said in a half whisper, "Go on dem boards in de shed."
We were not long in making our way through the
gable end of the house and onto the boards.
The squad of cavalry rode up to the Eastman home-
stead, and asked of the young negroes gathered around
them, where their master was. After being informed by
the youngsters that "Ole Massa is in de war, young
172 OVER THE DEAD LINE
Massa is a right smart distance away, and that Misser
Johnson knode jes wher he be," the troop at once ad-
vanced to our cabin. We heard the officer ask our old
friend if he had seen any run away Yankees 'iook-
ing Hke these beauties here," indicating the poor fellows
in front of him, whose miserable condition should have
brought a feeling of shame and disgrace rather than of
amusement to him and to all like him who had been in-
strumental in inflicting such cruelties as our brave Union
soldiers had been subjected to at their hands.
"Dar no one pass in de daytime sure, but old Tows
make a great fuss in de night; may be dey pass den."
"You could easily ascertain by examining your hen
coop, replied the dashing Lieutenant, and all the rebels
laughed at what they considered his witty remark.
Some of the soldiers dismounted, and while the Lieu-
tenant was talking with the old negro, two men stepped
under the little shed, and one of them cut the tail from
a coon skin that was nailed to the wall and stepping back,
attached it to the bridle on the side of his horse's head.
My comrade and I hugged the boards that merely hid
us from view within four feet of their heads.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 173
"Bkss de Lor deys gone," we heard the old negress
say, and we again crawled back into- the chainber. In
five minutes there were eight or ten of the negro's family
gathered around us, congratulating us on our lucky es-
cape.
How thankful these poor people appeared to be, but
of course they did not consider how many such narrow
escapes we would have before we reached the Union
lines, should fortune favor our endeavor.
The old man Johnson had found me an old pair of
shoes, and Aunty had rigged me a pair of feeting and
several other articles very essential to a soldier's existence.
As night approached and we were again thinking
of moving on, I found to my sorrow, that I was unable
to wear the shoes they had so kindly furnished me, as
my feet had swollen so as to prevent my putting them
on. I proposed that we should move on, and I would
carry my shoes in my hands until I was able to wear
them, but my comrade, having seen eleven more sum-
mers than 1, regarded his judgment a little better, and
he thought we should remain where we were until I
should be able to march. Of course I would abide by his
174 OVER THE DEAD LINE
decision, as he had already proved himself a friend in
need and a friend indeed.
Although there had been one scouting party there
that day, that was no proof that there would not be more,
for in all probability they would continue to patrol all
main travelled roads, keeping up a vigilant search until
they had recaptured as many as possible of the escaped
prisoners.
Having decided not to relinquish our claim upon
oitr kind friends' hospitality for at least another twenty-
four hours, we made ourselves as comfortable as possi-
ble. The old negro, who so earnestly prayed for our
speedy deliverance and called down upon the Southern
Confederacy Egyptian darkness, called upon us in the
afternoon, with two or three books and a couple of Rich-
mond papers. One of the papers was not a week old.
He informed us he "slyed dem out of de big house." The
papers gave us detailed accounts of Sherman's moves,
and although there was no benefit to be derived from
them, yet they were a source of pleasure as we had not
seen a newspaper for seven months or taken a book in
our hands, except a Bible, for the same length of time.
Toward evening we were asked by our benefactors, if
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 175
we would object to eight or ten of the older, ones of the
negro plantation, with five or six from an adjoining farm,
holding a prayer meeting at the cabin. The old man
Johnson and Uncle Ebin assured us that no one would be
invited except those who could be trusted. After charg-
ing them to confide in no one but those who should be
present, we gave our consent.
Soon after dark fifteen of these poor slaves were as-
sembled at the cabin, for the purpose of beholding a live
Yankee, and to give us the benefit of their prayers. After
feasting their eyes upon us for about half an hour, and in
an undertone making occasional remarks to each other,
one venerable man, a pillar of the Colored Methodist
Church, in his enthusiasm invoked every imaginable
blessing upon the Union and its defenders, and every evil
upon its opponents.
Among other things I recorded as a feature of this
impromptu prayer meeting, was the petition of a venera-
ble prototype of Uncle Jake, who appeared to be a ruling
spirit in the party.
176 OVER THE DEAD LINE
Chapter XIV.
He sent up his supplications to Heaven as follows :
"O great and 'telligent Lor, look down on dis ere
meetin' dis ere night! 'Sist dese gemmen who has fled
from rebel'fliction. Dey wants to git frou to de Norf,
and we ax you sisence. O Lor ! Gide em in de paff of
life and may it lead to de promise Ian. Bamfoozle de
hounds and may def cut off dare cent. Help dese gem-
men frou all danger, and on to tudder side of Jordan.
Look upon Massa Lincum in a particlar manner if it be
dy holy will ; and may de year of jubelee come and de rebs
turn up dare toes. Oh Lor ! Hover over de sick and
flicted. Oh Lor ! bless all de generals of de Norf, and
bless all de por sogers dat am chained up in de souf;
bless all de colored people who is grooin down in de dust.
Help dese gemmen right smart; life everlasting. Amen."
This and much more was listened to by the whole
audience and responded to with prolonged "Amens!"
It was nearly midnight when the invited people dis-
persed, each going to his humble abode, but not before
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 177
they had been cautioned by Johnson to keep our presence
a secret.
During the following twenty-four hours nothing
transpired worthy of note. At the expiration of that time
comrade Ayers and I prepared to leave the Christian
people whose hospitality we had shared, again to push
on toward "The land of the free and the home of the
brave." As this sustaining thought drew us near home
and loved ones, it elicited the last spark of energy, and
encouraged and strengthened both soul and body. We
bade farewell to our colored friends, and with two days'
rations of corn bread and bacon, and the blessings of
those who had so kindly aided us in the hour of need, we
again started toward the North Carolina state line.
We had learned all we could from the slaves regard-
ing the geographical points of the country, but as their
knowledge was decidedly limited in this respect, it was
but little use to ask for any information.
We travelled in the woods until after midnight,
when we came out and made our way to a farm house,
and filled a small wooden bottle or keg that we had pro-
cured of Madame Johnson, with milk. The family hav-
12
178 OVER THE DEAD LINE
ing retired for the night, we had no trouble in finding
the milk room, which was erected over a cold spring
near the house. This was a picnic, as my comrade called
it, that we had not expected. After this, we kept in the
fields and highways until nearly daylight, when we again
took up our quarters in the woods. In a secluded spot,
thickly covered with trees, vines and underbrush, we
made a small fire beneath the body of a large tree that
had turned up by the roots. It partly protected us from
view and would hide any smoke and steam that might
arise. We remained in this place all day, having little
fear of being discovered except by the hounds.
The following night, as we were slowly making our
way along the border of a large wood, we were suddenly
confronted by two men, who stepped out of the woods on
our left. One of them raised a gun to his face and
asked, "Say fellers, which will you-uns have, a handful
of buckshot and slugs mixed with your inards, or pull up
and tell us who you be, and what in the d you want
round yeah?"
The bright moon revealed two men of medium size,
and as bad looking men as one would meet in a day's
journey. They were about forty or forty-five years of age,
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 179
and wore butternut colored clothes with their old slouch
wool hats turned up in front. Their faces were un-
shaved, and their hair long. The impression they made
was anything but prepossessing. In military form we
saluted our challengers, and in reply to their inquiry
said:
"We are teamsters from the army and are on our
way home near Raleigh, N. C."
Each of our captors carried a large rifle or shotgun,
and from leather belts around their waists hung re-
volvers and dirk knives. One of them carried two heavy
revolvers and the other one.
After listening to our unreasonable story, they told
us they were employed by the government (Confederate,
we supposed they meant), to act as detectives in picking
up deserters. After talking with them a short time, we
were convinced they were not soldiers, for had they been,
they would have cornered us up in our story, as we knew
nothing of the whereabouts of any part of the Confeder-
ate army, or of the country we were in. In all probabil-
ity they had not thought of detectives or deserters until
we told them we were teamsters from the army ; they then
most likely thought we had deserted. Finding we had
180 OVER THE DEAD LINE
no arms, they ordered us to be seated and the two back-
woodsmen, for as such they talked and appeared to be,
drew a httle to one side and in an undertone conversed
with each other for five or ten minutes. While we were
alone, comrade Ayers and myself passed our opinion on
the two mysterious characters. We had more fear of
them than we would have had of soldiers. Ayers be-
lieved they were outlaws, moonshiners, horse thieves or
criminals of some kind escaping justice by hiding in the
mountainous wilds of that desolate country. They did
not appear to challenge any of our statements, which
led us to believe they were fully as ignorant as their un-
grammatical, outlandish language indicated. After rest-
ing for thirty minutes or so, one of the men ordered us
to follow them, saying as he did so, "We-uns must look
into you-uns cases, and if you-uns prove to be deserters
it will go mighty hard on ye." Ayers did the talking
for us, and explained that we were not enlisted men, but
simply hired teamsters, and our clothing becoming the
worse for wear, we had started for home for clothing
and such necessaries as we could not procure at the front.
They listened, but apparently took little stock in what he
said.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 181
After passing across a large field, we again entered
the woods and in what appeared to be a path on the banks
of a small stream, we marched for two or three hours
before a halt was made. We then stopped only long
enough to take a lunch, which our captors had with them
in a small bag or sack one of them carried on his shoul-
der. They gave each of us a piece of corn bread and a
small piece of meat, of what kind we never knew. Of
our own small amount of food we said nothing.
These men appeared to have met with a disappoint-
ment, as they often spoke about another party that had
failed to meet them. Several times during our rest they
drank from a small keg or canteen, which each carried.
We were invited to partake of the contents of these old-
fashioned bottles, and as we declined with thanks, one
or the other of our captors would make some joking re-
mark as "They's mighty polite, you-uns don't take to
jack, perhaps you-uns are preachers," and many other in-
tended jokes were made at our expense. They gave
Ayers some tobacco and then, when we resumed our
march, he asked what they were going to do with us.
"Keep ye till we-uns find out who ye is," was the reply.
In this way we moved slowly along until nearly morning,
182 OVER THE DEAD LINE
when we came to a small clearing at the foot of a mount-
ain, which could be plainly seen by the bright light of the
full moon, which was gradually sinking behind the
mountain peak.
In the center of this small aperture was situated a flat
roofed log hovel, and from its roof could be seen a small
wave oif smoke slowly winding its way heavenward, which
convinced us that this rustic structure, situated so far
from any other habitation,was the abode of human beings.
As we came near the shanty, a flickering light was dis-
cernible in a rude fire-place, which could be seen through
a small window made in the logs near the door. One of
the men, whose appearance indicated that the contents of
his little wooden bottle consisted of something stronger
than water, made a circular tour of the premises before
a word was spoken. He then commenced tapping lightly
upon the door, but as he did not appear to arouse the in-
mates, the blows were increased until a voice from the in-
side, apparently that of a female, was heard to say : "]'\tn,
Jim, thar's someone at the door," whereupon the muffled
voice of a man was heard, as though his head was covered
with a blanket ; then an oath and another voice, and in a
few moments two or three men were heard calling to each
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 183
other to get up. The continual barking of a dog, ming-
led with the oaths of the inmates, made the unexplored in-
terior of that establishment appear to Ayers and myself
anything but attractive, and our opinion of the place and
its occupants was not in the least improved by our admit-
tance.
The floor or ground was covered with some kind of
hay, which was used for bedding; a few blankets, ragged
quilts and old garments, together with four or five small
boxes, were mixed with the hay. Upon our entrance a
light was made by lighting a rag placed in a small iron
basin filled with grease, which sat on an old rickety table,
in company with two or three bottles, tin cups, dirk
knives, corn bread, clay pipes and black molasses used to
sweeten the liquor. In the far corner was a haggish look-
ing female, sitting in her nest, with a black clay pipe in
her mouth. An old piece of blanket covered her should-
ers, and her long, uncombed hair encircled her pinched
and dirty face, making a picture not soon forgotten.
Three men, whose dress and outward appearance bespoke
their true character, met us with :
"Who in h you-uns got here?"
184 OVER THE DEAD LINE
They were all under the influence of liquor, and con-
ditions indicated a night of revelry and debauch, which
had subsided but a short time previous to our arrival.
These drunken ruffians gathered around us and endeav-
ored to amuse themselves by making abusive and insulting
remarks to us, and having no idea how it would terminate
I thought to myself vwhat I could not say to my comrade,
"Give me Andersonville, Libby or almost any place rather
than this."
We were soon in possession of the knowledge
that one of the men who had made us prisoners was the
leader of the gang. The woman was the wife of one of
the men whom we found in the shanty. This was not
their permanent abode; their headquarters were further
on, and these four persons had been waiting the past
twenty- four hours the return of their comrades, who came
with us, and some other person or persons who had dis-
appointed them. These and a few other facts we gath-
ered from the drunken and disgusting conversation car-
ried on between them, together with the fact that as soon
as it was light they would set out for the home of which
the old woman had spoken several times, she being the
nearest sober of the lot, yet not very sober at that.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 185
These people were all armed and not badly clothed,
but exceedingly dirty and vile. Soon after our arrival
the bottles were replenished with apple jack or some other
kind of liquor, which was taken from a large travelling
bag that hung in one corner of the room, and Ayers and
myself were ordered, instead of invited, to drink with the
others. While we were going through the pretensions,
which were not difficult, the cups being tin and the men all
drunk, the woman growled out :
"What in h you-uns going to do wif them
ragged coons?"
"Shut up, ye," answered one of the gang,
"they's preachers."
And then a loud, brutal laugh ending in a yell, was
indulged in by all hands. When we looked at these peo-
ple and at our surroundings, it seemed hardly possible we
were among human beings. Ayers whispered to me that
as they became more drunk our chances of escape would
improve, and that we should keep cool and pretend to
drink as often as they. About one hour after our arrival
the scene was terrible. One fellow was trying to dance,
when another pushed him and he fell over a box which
was used for a seat. No sooner did he gain his feet than
186 OVER THE DEAD LINE
he caught a gun which leaned against the wall, but be-
fore he could use it upon his assailant, in his drunken
rage, two or three clinched him and a tussle ensued, dur-
ing which the table was capsized, the kettle of oil and fire
overturned into the dry hay, which instantly ignited, and,
in less time than I can write it, a fire was started. One
of the men kicked the burning hay, which scattered the
fire the whole length of the room. The door was thrown
open by Ayers, who was standing nearest it, and as he
went through I followed. In a low tone he said : "Now
is our time."
We joined hands as we passed out, not even stopping
to put out the fire, or to see how our friends fared; we
made for the woods in a way that would have placed us
among the foremost in a pedestrian arena, could our
movements have been witnessed by those who do not in-
dulge too freely in apple jack. We did not speak or look
back until we reached the woods, some six or eight rods
distant, when we halted for a few moments and took a
farewell view of the situation. We were not pursued by
our captors, for as we glanced at the hovel and its occu-
pants there was no doubting the certainty of the destruc-
tion of the former, while the latter were trying to save
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 187
the worthless shanty. The men could be plainly seen in
front of the door, running, jumping, shouting and en-
deavoring to enter the burning hut, from which, in one
minute after we left it, flames and smoke could be seen
issuing from the door and cracks along its walls and roof.
Appearances indicated that the woman did not escape.
The few moments we watched the drunken proceedings
of the outlaws convinced us that they could not save her.
She was at the extreme end of the room, and there was
almost instantly a blaze of fire between her and the door,
which was the only avenue of escape.
"I do not think the brutes have missed us," said
Ayers, "come on." The first welcome rays of light were
visible in the east as we took the last look at the outlaws
and their burning rendezvous, and started on our back
tracks as fast as our tired limbs would permit. As soon
as light, we found the trail and in a couple of hours were
at the place where we ate our midnight lunch with the two
men who conducted us six or eight miles to see their
drunken friends, and their shanty burn.
188 OVER THE DEAD LINE
Chapter XV.
We had but little fear of being pursued, as they had
no horses, and but one was in a condition to undergo a
forced march, and he was tired and apparently had lots of
business on hand when we last saw him. The report of
two guns echoed from the surrounding woods soon after
we left. To account for this, we reasoned that the guns
were left in the burning shanty and were discharged by
heat. Daylight revealed a well-trodden foot path, lead-
ing up a narrow, wooded valley beside a small creek or
river, which proved to be the same which we, a few hours
before, so reluctantly passed over in the opposite direction
with two well armed outlaws as our guides. As we
struck the trail and satisfied ourselves that we were right,
we hastened along as fast as we were able. We dare not
leave this trail until we had arrived in the vicinity of the
place where we met the men who had, for reasons known
only to themselves, started us on a journey which might
have ended in death, had not misfortune overtaken them
previous to the consummation of their plans. From the
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 189
ignorance exhibited by these people, and from informa-
tion eh cited from them during their drunken controversy,
we were led to think that this gang and others, who were
secluded from the world in their mountainous retreats,
were-either moonshiners, men who were hiding from jus-
tice after committing crimes, or who had chosen this mode
of living in preference to being conscripted into the army.
Believing the first supposition to be correct, we felt our
lives and safety depended upon our ability to escape them
and we proposed to do it if possible. As I have said, we
dare not leave the trail in this vast wilderness, as we
feared we might get lost, hence we must keep in the vicin-
ity of habitations. As for being lost, we were that al-
ready, and had been since we left Florence, as we knew
nothing of the country we were in. About ten o'clock
w^e came in sight of a field, and then fell back into the
woods about half a mile from the trail, and there remained
through the day of October 27th.
My worn feet had again become terribly sore, and
as we secreted ourselves under the branches of a fallen
tree and ate our last bit of food, I told my comrade that it
would be impossible for me to hold out much longer with-
out some covering for my feet. The substitute for shoes
190 OVER THE DEAD LINE
which the negroes gave me, together with the few pounds
of food, were things of the past. Ayers' shoes would
last but two or three nights more ; at the end of that time
his feet would be exposed to the rough and stony surface
of the ground. As he had not been without some kind of
covering for his feet during his imprisonment, he feared
that he would be unable to walk when it was gone. Soon
after nightfall of the 27th we again resumed our march,
foot sore, hungry and lame; and I do not in the least en-
large upon our difficulties when I say considerably dis-
couraged. Taking the North Star for our guide, we
slowly picked our way through this lonely, almost unin-
habited country, until the first welcome rays of light along
the eastern horizon announced the departure of one more
night of suffering and the advent of another day of anxi-
ety and adventure.
Several times during the night we came in sight of
some kind of habitation, and as we cautiously approached
the meagre and poverty stricken dwellings, something
would prevent our making a successful attempt to obtain
food. Either our presence aroused the inmates, or some
lank cur would set up a howl that would turn us again to
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 191
battle with the pangs of hunger, in this our almost hope-
less and helpless condition.
As we sat upon a log in a thickly wooded nook just
at daybreak, Comrade Ayres, who had through the six
days of hardship and suffering shown all the discretion
and courage requisite for those who had placed their lives
at their country's disposal, sat with do^wncast eyes, pon-
dering our sad and wretched condition. He suddenly
rose to his feet, nervously paced to and fro for a few min-
utes, and exclaimed : "My God, what are we going to
do?" Seeing he was not in the usual bright and cheerful
mood which had characterized him ever since our escape,
and fearing over-exertion might cause illness, I answered :
"Let us move on by daylight, rather than during the
night, as it will be easier for us both," I then explained
to him the impossibility of making our way to our
lines in the condition we were in ; that we had no chance
to obtain food at night, and that at this season of the year
nothing was growing in the fields. After thinking the
matter over a few moments, he said : "You are right ; we
can gain nothing by these nights of hardship and suffer-
ing, and we will travel by daylight what time we have our
liberty."
192 OVER THE DEAD LINE
We rested for a couple of hours and then plodded on.
We travelled in the edge of the woods for a mile or so,
until we came across an old negro or mulatto working on
a fence near a log cabin, which stood alone, there being
no other buildings in sight. Ayers stepped out in sight,
and accosted him with "Good morning. Uncle." After
we had talked to him for a short time, he informed us that
he and his wife were free born and worked for a man
named Mason, who owned five slaves, and lived about a
mile from where we were, on a small plantation. Mason
or Manson was a captain in the rebel army. The negro
had seen no escaped prisoners,did not know of Florence or
of any town except one lying east about three miles called
Brownville. He gave us some corn bread and about one-
half pound of fat bacon, which made us a breakfast of
which we most decidedly stood in need. About ten
o'clock we came into the edge of a large field, which
looked like an old and bound out plantation. It was
about a mile across this field. After we had covered
about one-third of the distance, we heard what we at first
thought to be a bugle call, but the sound a few moments
later caused a chill to pass through our emaciated bodies,
as the near approach revealed the true character of our
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 193
situation. We were pursued by bloodhounds! This
time it was I who asked, "What are we going to do; how
can we escape?"
"By gaining the opposite side of this field, and climb-
ing a tree before the dogs overtake us. If we fail in this,
we are at the mercy oif the brutes. Hasten for your
life." As Ayers made this quick reply to my inquiry, we
started for the point indicated. Though there were
scrubby trees scattered over the field, there were none
large enough for protection. Half or two-thirds of a
mile is not far, but to one footsore, lame and almost ex-
hausted by continual hardship, together with the fact that
savage bloodhounds were in close pursuit, the distance
seemed anything but short. We were a little more than
half way across when the dogs came in sight. As I
turned and looked at the yelping brutes, the blood seemed
to curdle in my veins, the cold chills swept over me, and
I reached for a club at my feet. As my comrade saw my
motion, he pointed to the weak missile which I, as a
drowning man had grasped, and said : "Drop that, drop
it! If you strike they will kill us."
13
194 OVER THE DEAD LINE
A few rods further on an old log fence ran across the
field. As we reached this fence, which was some four
feet high, the hounds were upon us. We seated ourselves
side by side upon the topmost log and waited develop-
ments, which I must confess we believed would prove dis-
astrous, if they did not terminate in death. This was the
first time since our escape that the advent of rebels even
would have met with a cordial welcome, but it was not
the will of God that our lives should end thus. The same
omnipotent hand stayed the work of the brutal man-hunt-
ers, that our emaciated bodies should not be lacerated by
their cruel fangs. As they surrounded us, three or four
of the pack, which consisted of eleven, sat in front of us
and howled continually; others were sliding their bodies
to and fro on the grass covered ground, while others
were wrestling and playing with each other. We did not
move hand or foot, but sat and watched the well trained
brutes as they howled, barked and played, waiting the
arrival of those who were following them. There was a
highway running along the border of this field, at our
right, and parallel with the course we were taking. Of
this we knew nothing until we saw twelve rebel cavalry-
men enter by this road, and ride directly to the dogs,
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 195
which instantly became quiet. The brutes lay clustered
together sleeping like innocent kittens, while we were
talking with the horsemen.
As the men came up, the lieutenant in command said :
"Oh! These arn't what we are after. Good morn-
ing, fellows, where are you chaps bound?"
The teamster racket was again called into requisition
but this time our questioners claimed they knew nothing
of the troops to which we referred at Charleston, and had
never been aware that the Confederate Government hired
citizens as teamsters, and that it was not a common occur-
rence for their teamsters to become so destitute of clothing
or to resort to Yankee rags if they did.
"Whereupon Ayres independently replied: "Lieu-
tenant, there are many things in this world that you and
I have never seen, and there are officers in our army who
rank higher than you do, who are not familiar with the
exact location of our large army, and if you have seen
any length of service, you can not have failed to see that
many of our men wear Yankee rags when they are obtain-
able, although it is not in accordance with the regulations
to do so."
196 OVER THE DEAD LINE
The rebel lieutenant and his followers laughed heart-
ily at our independence, and then said :
"Well, I am sorry to have our dogs cause you unnec-
essary delay, and if you are going our way we will keep
you company until our respective destinations require our
separation."
We thanked them kmdly and moved on together.
They showed no signs that we were their prisoners, neither
did we. As we came to- the forks of the road, some three-
fourths of a mile distant, one of us said :
"Well, boys, we must leave you here," thinking that
as long as life remained we might hope, although it was a
faint hope indeed.
"No, no!" exclaimed the lieutenant. Your nearest
route to the State Line is the way we are going ; you had
best accompany us if you wish the most direct route."
As he said this, Ayres said : "No more of this non-
sense. Have you Johnnies anything to eat and any to-
bacco about you?"
"Well, Yanks, we hav'nt much, but we will divide,
as you-uns look a little gant," and we all laughed at the
little farce we had been playing.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 197
These men belonged to a Louisiana regiment and
had been in the field for about three years ; therefore they
did not consider it an honor to misuse prisoners, as did
those galvanized brutes who were mostly militia, and who
had been doing duty at the several prisons where we had
been confined. They divided their rations with us, gave
Ay res some tobacco, and gave us any information we re-
quested regarding the escaped prisoners. They informed
us that most of the escaped had been recaptured, and all
were in the new stockade at Florence, with some two
thousand who had arrived since our escape. The hounds
had been on our tracks from where we made our halt and
rested for an hour or so about three o'clock that morning;
therefore, we would have been taken just the same had
we been travelling by night. They told us that not many
had been taken by hounds, their service being called into
use after most of the prisoners had been recaptured. They
also informed us that the dogs were owned in or near
Charleston ; that they seldom attacked a person when they
overtook him, unless he showed fight, and that they were
trained in this way. Then they explained how they were
trained, saying that if they attacked a person and injured
or killed him, the planter would be loath to hunt a run-
198 OVER THE DEAD LINE
away slave in this way, thereby losing the value of the
negro, from two hundred to one thousand dollars. This
conversation was carried on while we were marching
three or four miles, to an old jail or court house, where
they left us. During our journey two of the men dis-
mounted and allowed Ayres and myself to ride their
horses. In this way we rode nearly the whole distance.
This court house, in one end of which was a jail, had
evidently not been used since the commencement of the
war, and the cob-webs, two or three feet in length, were
hanging from the ceiling and a thick coat of dust covered
all. We were locked in this place, and left in charge of
a very old man and woman, who lived in one end of the
building. Our captors and their dogs probably went in
search of other unfortunates, who, like ourselves, had for
six days been struggling for an almost impossible chance
to gain their liberty. We remained in this place for
twenty-four hours. The old people furnished us three
times with a piece of corn bread and a cup of soup. Ayres
called the soup "Mystery soup," the mystery being what it
was made of. An old negro servant brought us our food.
As he came in after our dishes and bent over to pick them
up, I caught hold of the bottom of his short coat. This
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 199
unexpected move caused the old man to back away, and
before I relaxed my hold upon the garment, he had backed
out of it, leaving the coveted article in my possession.
Knowing that this coat was of great value to me, I at
once retreated out of sight with it. Soon the old lady
came to the door and said the gentleman would have to
give up the servant's "west-cut," whereupon Ayres im-
mediately explained to her that I was a holy terror if the
least bit excited or angered, and that the militia, if not
part of Lee's army would have to be called out before I
would relinquish my claim to the garment. After the
good woman had become fully convinced that I was a
dangerous subject and liable to explode, if I was in any
way excited or angered, she said that the gentleman was
more than welcome to the coat and that she was sorry it
was not better. Comrade Ayres, after watching the pro-
ceedings and witnessing the old lady's childish solicita-
tions that I should not become excited more than was
absolutely necessary, laughingly remarked, as I crept from
a back room wearing the garment, that this was our first
attempt at hilarity since we had been in prison; and he
wished the whole Confederate Government, or at least
the commanders of rebel prisons, looked upon all their
200 OVER THE DEAD LINE
captives with the same awe and dread as these apparently
innocent people regarded me; but this was not to last.
About noon the next day two cavalymen came to the jail
and took us out.
After waiting in front of an old dilapidated hotel
that was then occupied by several negroes, until after all
the women and children, old men and negroes in the set-
tlement had looked us over, we were started for Florence.
Our two guards were not as friendly appearing as our
mounted men-hunters of the day before, nevertheless they
allowed us to rest our sore and tired limbs by riding a
part of the way. They gave us a part of their rations,
and laughed heartily when Ayres told them how I ob-
tained my walking coat, as he called it, which was made
of thick grey cotton. It came to my hips, the sleeves were
a few inches too short, but otherwise it fitted well enough
and was the chief part of my wardrobe during the re-
mainder of my incarceration. Almost at sundown we
halted at a farm house for the night. There we found
two rebel soldiers with three escaped prisoners from the
Fifth and Seventh Michigan Cavalry. These poor fel-
lows had been recaptured the day before, and were three
of the five men who had accompanied us for nearly two
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 201
days and nights, and who separated from us three nights
before, some fifteen miles from where we now again met,
under sadder circumstances. Two of their number had
fallen under the deadly aim of their pursuers while striv-
ing to retain their liberty, if such it could be called, as
long as possible. One was shot through the heart and
died instantly, while his more unfortunate comrade re-
ceived wounds, which when they were combined with the
terrible suffering that inevitably awaited him, would prove
fatal.
We were now about ten miles from where we were
recaptured by the hounds, and twenty-three miles from
Florence. We all slept together in an outbuilding near
the farm house, one of the Johnnies at a time standing
guard over us. The following morning the sergeant in
charge obtained some corn bread and bacon for our break-
fast, also a small amount to take along for our dinner.
Soon after sunrise we again took up our march, and just
at dark, upon the same day, the door of the new stockade
was thrown open to receive five as tired, lame and foot-
sore individuals as ever graced a rebel prison hell.
This was just nine days and nights from the time
the break for literty was made. I have not the power of
202 OVER THE DEAD LINE
language to portray to the reader the anxiety, fear, hard-
ship and suffering to which we were constantly subjected
the greater part of the time during that perilous attempt
to escape; therefore, I will for a moment leave him to
take an external survey of this sepulchral den, while my
utterly discouraged comrades and I pass inside to mingle
again with that moving mass of suffering humanity,
where the vermin dieth not and the fires are not built.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 203
Chapter XVI.
It was nearly dark when we entered the new stock-
ade, and not only had all or nearly all of the escaped pris-
oners been recaptured and consigned to these quarters,
but three or four thousand of the Andersonville prisoners
had been sent here during our absence.
At this time I knew nothing of the whereabouts of
Comrade Hull, and hearing from the guards that quite a
number of the prisoners had been shot while trying to
escape, and fearing for his safety, I at once commenced
searching for him among the prisoners. As darkness
came on, and there were no lights excepting an occasional
small flickering blaze made by lighting a pine stick, I
soon lost Comrade Ayres, and after travelling until my
already tired limbs could stand it no longer, I curled up
between two earth huts near the dead line and there
passed my first night in the Florence stockade.
The following day I found Hull; he was not recap-
tured until the fourth day after his escape, therefore had
been in the new pen only five days. He had experienced
204 OVER THE DEAD LINE
hardships and narrow escapes, having been fired upon two
or tliree times during his vacation^ as he called it. As
they were reorganizing some of the thousands, and as I
had not been consigned to any detachment, I managed to
get into the thousand to which Hull belonged, and we
were again in the same mess, which consisted of twenty
men instead of fifteen, as we had in Andersonville.
Soon after our arrival at Florence, Comrade Hull
and myself concocted a little scheme which, if adroitly
managed, would give an extra ration to each of us for an
indefinite time. Here, as at Andersonville, the prisoners
were formed in regimental order, excepting that they were
called thousands and hundreds, instead of regiments and
companies. Each morning the rebels would enter the
stockade, count the men and call the roll. Commencing
with the first thousand, they would count them and if a
man was missing he must be found. If sick, he must be
pointed out by the sergeant of the hundred to the rebel
sergeant before the thousand would be allowed to break
ranks. If a man was missing and could not be found,
after standing an hour or two, the thousand would break
ranks, but the whole thousand would lose their rations
for the following twenty-four hours. The rules of the
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 205
prison were such, that any man being absent at roll-call,
and thus throwing the thousand out of their rations,
should be tied to the whipping-post, situated in the cen-
tral part of the prison, and there receive as many blows —
of the cat-o'-nine-tails — as the chief of police saw fit to
inflict.
One morning, after our thousand — No. 4 — had been
counted and had broken ranks, Hull and myself conceived
the idea of crossing to the opposite side of the camp and
there joining another thousand, as they were that day go-
nig to reorganize or consolidate some of their thousands,
where death had broken their ranks. We had no trouble
in "flanking in," as it was called, consequently Hull and
Dufur of the 4th battalion and Perkins and Briggs of the
9th, drew their rations in the same little sacks, and they
were eventually consumed by the twO' former men. Of
course, we ran some risk in this "flank" movement, but the
extra pint of meal that we drew each night was sufficient
recompense for any little fears we might entertain in re-
gard to consequences, if detected.
The third or fourth day after joining the ninth thou-
sand, flour was issued instead of meal, and while Hull
was drawing the rations for Perkins (himself) and Briggs
206 OVER THE DEAD LINE
in the 9th, I was drawing for Hull and Dufur in the 4th.
By exchanging one pint of flour for a half dozen small
sweet potatoes, we were well provided for, at least for one
day. All passed off smoothly for about eight or ten days
and we began to think our chances good for living through
the winter, should fortune favor us as much in obtaining
something to- protect us from the cold rains and winds,
as it had in the provision line, when a cloud burst directly
over the castle we had built in the air, and the fall thereof
was not only great, but sudden.
The rebels for some reason became suspicious that
they were issuing more rations than they had men, and
at once decided to investigate and if possible bring to jus-
tice any starving wretch who might have the audacity in
any way to seek to obtain an extra pint of provender to
appease his hunger. Acting upon this resolution they at
once ordered the first thousand into line, and after call-
ing the roll and counting the men, placed a strong guard
over them, and in like manner proceeded to the second
thousand, instructing the guards to allow no man to step
out of the ranks until the entire camp had been searched.
Nos. I and 2 were left under guard while they were count-
ing the third, and so on through the eleven or twelve de-
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 207
tachments, which occupied nearly half a day. When the
ninth thousand and seventh hundred were counted, the
rebel sergeant turned to the sergeant or corporal who had
charge of that hundred and said :
"Two men absent, call the roll."
The roll was called, and the absentees proved to be
"Perkins" and "Briggs." Search was made, but to no
avail, as no one knew their place of abode; they were
merely marked "absent," and rations for No. 9 ditto.
Could they for a moment have looked across the camp
and at the seventh hundred of No. 4, they might have seen
standing there in the ranks two rather poorly clad young
men apparently not at ease, although they had received
orders thus to stand.
There were no two men in the fourth battalion that
could in all probability read each other's minds more ac-
curately than Hull and Dufur during the five hours they
were quietly waiting in the ranks that morning. We
were not the only ones who were a little anxious, although
we had imagined at the time that we were alone in this
flank movement ; therefore, were entitled to all the credit
for the generalship and honor emanating from the scheme,
but this was not the case. Others were equally wise, and
208 OVER THE DEAD LINE
this piece of strategy we had jointly and severally re-
garded superior to anything appertaining to our welfare,
now had the appearance of being another drop added to
the cup of sorrow we had already nearly drained to its
bitter dregs.
That about one hundred and sixty rations more were
being issued than there were men in the prison, was shown
by the Johnnies "taking the census," as the boys called it.
Comrade Hull and myself had slept near the gate until
we met with this "financial embarrassment," but after
that we moved a short distance back, where we would be
less likely to be seen by those whom we had unintention-
ally deprived of their rations for twenty-four hours.
For nearly a week everything passed off quietly, until
one day, while I was curled up over a little blaze, endeav-
oring to cook my meal, a man behind me said :
'TIullo Briggs, where's Perkins?"
I was on the point of giving him to understand that
Hull (i. e. Perkins) was in the hospital, thinking that it
was sufficient for one to suffer for trying to procure a cup
of corn meal when starving, when PIull, hearing the name,
crawled from the hole we had dug to shelter us from the
wind and cold, where he was lying while I was preparing
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 209
our frugal repast. The man who accosted us was the
sergeant who had charge of the ninth thousand, and acci-
dentally came across us. He said we must go over to the
ninth with him. We tried to> explain to him that it would
not help them any by our suffering now, and that he ought
to look upon it differently than he would had we caused
the trouble intentionally; but we had to go.
He was one of those men who soar as high and real-
ize nearly as much comfort and honor from imaginary
greatness as from the real thing, besides being totally des-
titute of any kind of friendly feelings toward an unfortu-
nate fellow-being. After talking to us in an abusive
manner for a short time, he ordered two Irishmen to take
us before Stanton — the Chief of Police. Hull said when
on the way : "This means almost death, and I have a
mind to step across the dead line and thus put an end to
my sufferings and at the same time escape the disgrace
that will most likely be our lot if we appear before that
brute who for six months has disgraced the name of Chief
of Police." I sincerely believe that any ex-prisoner who
knew this man will corroborate my statement, when I
affirm that he, who by some means had been chosen to act
14
210 OVER THE DEAD LINE
in this capacity, frequently inflicted punishment upon
those emaciated forms that was cruel and heart-rending
to witness.
I had frequently seen the inhuman treatment which,
for the slightest offense, many oi my starving comrades
had been subjected to at the hand of this unfeeling wretch,
but never did I harbor the thought that it would be my
lot to face the shame and disgrace of being publicly
whipped for what I considered no- crime, and that by the
order of one who was universally known as a low pugilist.
All knew his record as a soldier had been won during his
incarceration, as he came too direct from the place where
he was drafted to the prison pen to receive any war record
worthy of note. Therefore, the thought that old soldiers
or men who had honorably and willingly enlisted and un-
flinchingly defended the flag of their country, through the
darkest days of adversity, were tO' be thus treated, and by
such a character, seemed hard indeed. It seemed as if
Comrade Hull and myself for a long time had endured
all the hardships, suffering and torture that rebel ingenu-
ity was capable of inflicting, and had endeavored to bear
unflinchingly the yoke ol injustice and oppression, but
this seemed the last act in the drama; and that we should
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 211
submit to this contemptible wretch appeared to us more
than we could bear.
We had gone about half the distance from the ninth
battalion to police headquarters, when our two escorts
commenced talking to us about our situation; one of them
said to his comrade:
''Faith, Mike, what d'ye think of a blaggard that will
bate the nearly bare bones of a poor divil, merely for
chating the frog-atin, gander-legged greybacks out of a
pint of male?"
"Ah, an' by the powers of St. Pathrick, it's the heft
of a black-thorn that he nades on his own impty head, an'
so he does," says the other, and turning to us he said :
"Lads, is this all the diviltry j^ez have been up to?"
We told him of the charges against -us. when one of
them said to the other :
"Oi've a mind to let um schkip."
Seeing there was some hope of escape, I said :
"If you allow us to go free, I believe you will never
be sorry."
They looked at each other for a moment, and around
them, as if to make sure no one was listening to the con-
212 OVER THE DEAD LINE
versation, and one of them, pointing toward the opposite
side of the camp, said :
"Take to your hales, me lads, and don't show up on
this side of the brook, rashuns or no rashuns, dy'ye
mind?"
And I can assure you, gentle reader, that we did ex-
actly as our benefactors told us to do; and I am Ireland's
friend to the last.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 213
Chapter XVII.
There were about twelve thousand men in Florence;
the camp was laid out the same as at Andersonville and
surrounded by the same kind of fortifications, but it was
only half as large. After we had remained there six or
eight weeks, the rebels erected three sheds, forty or fifty
feet in length. They were erected in one corner of the
stockade and used for a hospital. There were nO' walls to
these sheds excepting the posts, and when it rained and
the wind blew, the inmates were nearly as bad off as if
they were outside. It was my lot to sleep within two
hundred feet of this rendezvous of suffering, and night
after night as I listened to the shrieks of those who were
bereft of reason, the moans of the dying, I exclaimed : "I
would to God that this heart-rending wail might echo in
every home whose owners have the power to alleviate the
sufferings I now witness."
The 27th of November the camp was thrown into
intense excitement when an officer came in and informed
us that the next day four hundred of the sick were going
214 OVER THE DEAD LINE
to be paroled. That meant men who could be moved, but
not one in twenty of those under the sheds were able to go.
The commanding officer came in and ordered the first
thousand to fall in near the gate and between the dead line
and the stockade. This ground was selected because it
afforded ample room and because the dead line prevented
the other prisoners from approaching those who were
undergoing an examination. It was at first reported that
three men were to be chosen from each hundred, thirty
from each thousand, making four hundred from the camp
of twelve thousand, there being about that number at this
time. But seeing that this was going to be too much
work, and require too much time, only four or five thou-
sand were formed from which to select the required num-
ber. Comrade Hull, being one of the fourth thousand,
happened to be one of those who were chosen. While the
doctor was walking before each hundred, scrutinizing
each man and occasionally asking questions of them re-
garding their imprisonment, hundreds of forlorn looking
creatures pressed closely to the dead line, that they might
see if any acquaintance or comrade was numbered among
the accepted. As I saw Hull step from the ranks and
join those who' had been chosen, I realized that I was the
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 215
only one left of our family of thirteen who ten months
before, as we entered Andersonville, vowed to befriend
each other and remain together during our imprisonment
unless the messenger of death should break our ranks.
Yes, I was alone. Although thousands of men were
within speaking distance, I was comparatively alone.
There were several members of my own regiment in the
prison, but I had not seen them since we left Anderson-
ville. As soon as I saw that Hull was going, I returned
to the place where we had slept for the past three months
and wrote a letter to my mother; and, although my writ-
ing materials were not of the best, consisting of a piece of
white birch bark and a stub pencil, nevertheless they were
sufficient to convey the idea that I was all right and as
happy as could be. I omitted the rest of the sentence,
under the circumstances in a rebel prison hell. I gave it
to him to mail, and requested him to write to my people,
as soon as he reached our lines; but in no way inform
them of the terrible condition we were in. As he passed
out of the gate I waved him adieu, and walked back to
our camp-ground with a sad heart indeed. I remained
for some time seated on the ground with my face buried
in my hands. My thoughts wandered to my far away
216 OVER THE DEAD LINE
home in the old Green Mountain State, and then back
again to my present sad condition. Must I die in this
dreadful place? No! I exclaimed aloud. No', I cannot;
and as I raised to my feet, a voice by my side said :
"What is it that you ain't going to do?"
"I'm not going to die in this hole if I can help it."
"Wall, I don't know as I can blame a fellar for form-
ing that resolution. Sometimes during the ten months
that I have been knocking about in these bull-pens, I've
though I was going to turn up my toes, but as no one
appeared to care, and I was a little stuffy, I thought I
would hold out as long as I could, just to bother the John-
nies."
He then laughed heartily, and immediately asked me
the question asked so many millions of times by one sol-
dier of another during the four years of the war. "What
regiment do' you belong to?" I told him, and found him
to be a member of the Fifth Michigan Cavalry in the same
brigade as my own. After talking awhile he informed
me that his partner (tent mate, he called him) had just
gone with the paroled prisoners. We at once agreed to
form a partnership, and with my old oyster can, half a
canteen and about two^thirds of an old army blanket, that
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 217
comprised the whole of our worldly effects, we were pre-
pared to meet the combined forces of the rebel hosts, with
all their ingenious modes of murdering according to law.
Yes, we would yet live to see Jeff Davis and his follow-
ers dance Yankee Doodle in mid-air with the devil for
prompter, and his imps for partners. I saw I had struck
the right man in the right time, if not in the right place.
His name was Frank McGee. He was a true type of the
back- woodsman ; full of courage, with a larg^ heart and
apparently he could even find enjoyment in the toothache.
He informed me that he owned a building lot down near
the brook, and as we were to^ live together, he wished me
to go with him and look it over, and then we would de-
cide which lot we would occupy, his or mine. After look-
ing over the ground, we decided my place would be pref-
erable, as it was near the gate, thus allowing us to see
what was going on. But had we known of the cold rain
storm that so soon burst upon us, a rain storm that
drenched the unhappy inmates for days and nights in suc-
cession, with scarcely sun sufficient to dry our few clothes
during this time; had we known that the dead would be
brought to the gate and there be left for twenty-four
hours before they were drawn away, instead of being
218 OVER THE DEAD LINE
picked up and carried outside each morning, as the rebels
had previously been in the habit of doing, I. say if we
could have known all this, we should most decidedly have
chosen the ground that Comrade McGee had without re-
serve bargained for, sold and conveyed to some Jersey
soldiers for five buttons and four chews of tobacco, a few
days before.
Abuse, hardships and constant suffering had
driven some of the men to a state of depravity almost
bordering on insanity. They seemed not only to despise
the instigators of their suffering, but everyone with whom
they came in contact, let him be friend or foe. As it was
useless to try to find other quarters farther from the
scenes of such annoying nature, we at once commenced
arranging some kind of a place tO' sleep that would par-
tially protect us from the cold night air, if not from the
rain. The characteristics of my new found friend gave
promise of improvement in my prison life so' long as we
were permitted to remain together. As he came along
with part of an old army blanket hanging from his arm,
he halted in front of me and, throwing it down exclaimed :
"United we stand, divided we freeze." At this time, No-
vember 2oth, the weather was warm and pleasant, especi-
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 219
ally in the day time, but the nights were quite cold, at
least it appeared so to us. who were obliged to use the
bare cold ground for our bed and the canopy of heaven for
shelter.
Believing the maxim, "Make hay when the sun
shines," a wise one. the following day we commenced
making bricks for the purpose of building a house. To
do this, we went to the brook and with our hands and the
half of a canteen, managed to dig clay from the bed of the
stream, and with the aid of a small wooden trowel, con-
verted this soap clay, as it was called, into bricks about
three-fourths the size of an ordinary brick. They were
of a reddish gray color, and after we had dried them in
the hot sun for three or four days, they became quite hard.
By carefully laying them closely together and two deep,
we erected the body to our house, size 5x7 feet, and about
4 feet in height. The tops of the walls were slightly
drawn in and on a stick raised above the walls for a ridge
pole, our blanket was stretched, thus forming quite a re-
spectable roof. We then built a little fire-place, and our
winter quarters were completed.
Many a poor fellow would halt and enviously exam-
ine our quarters. Every day we made what improve-
220 OVER THE DEAD LINE
merits we could, and for a week or ten days were as well
situated as any, so far as good quarters were concerned.
But when the rain began to fall, our house began to show
signs of yielding to the constant patter of rain-drops upon
its unprotected walls. For the first three or four days
as the rain would hold up for a few hours, we would en-
deavor to cover the affected walls with mud and sand;
and had the storm then ceased entirely, we might have
done so successfully. But our house, with many others,
mo'Stly composed of earth, was doomed. The fifth day
of the storm the wind blew a gale, and for three or four
hours the rain fell in torrents. Every spark of fire
through the entire camp was extinguished. When the
storm ceased thousands of men, drenched to the skin, were
seen standing in the street with no shelter or fire to dry
their scanty garments. In the place where their humble
cots had stood, nothing but a bank of mud remained.
Ah ! but heart-rending were the combined moans of the
sick who were exposed to the cold rain, with not suffi-
cient strength to walk. Their moans, cries and prayers
could be heard mingling with the relentless elements of
the storm.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 221
Men could be seen standing with their backs to the
storm, their hands covering their ears, that the awful
shrieks and moans of the dying might not be heard.
Hundreds of homeless and shelterless human beings could
be seen standing with their bodies pressed closely to each
other, that they might save their nearly nude forms from
being chilled through by the cold wind and rain of that
long and terrible night. Upon many a stormy night,
during November and December, did the prisoners resort
to this mode of protection from the cold storms, but never
during our imprisonment did we realize such indescrib-
able suffering as upon this night. Over two hundred
men died during the twenty-four hours. What a sight
to behold ! It actually looked like a hard fought battle-
field as we passed over the camp the following morning.
Comrade McGee was one of a detailed party to go over
the camp, collect the dead and carry them to the gate. I
was not strong enough to assist in this revolting work;
but accompanied the detail, thinking I might recognize
in some of the ghastly remains a former acquaintance, or
some member of my own regiment.
I have not the power of language to portray to the
reader the awful scene. Men were seen in every direc-
222 OVER THE DEAD LINE
tion dead or dying. Lying on their backs, their anus
extended, hands white and wrinkled from long exposure
to the rain, their long hair beaten into the sand, and the
eye-balls covered with sand and dirt. All this cast a spell
of dread, sorrow and despair upon us, mingled with a
feeling of hatred and revenge. The soldier haters and
Southern sympathizers have since often remarked "they
did the best they could for their prisoners; they did not
have sufficient food for their own men." Now, admit-
ting this to be a fact, we ask : Is there another civilized
people on God's earth who would have held men as pris-
oners of war, whom they could not have fed? Thou-
sands of Union soldiers who survived their murdered
comrades stand ready to bear testimony to the truth of
my assertion, that more than one-half of the deaths in
Andersonville and Florence were caused from want of
fuel and shelter to protect us from the heat, cold and
storm.
I furthennore affirm, and can prove, that this terri-
ble human sacrifice could have been prevented by the Con-
federate Government without cost and with no inconven-
ience to them whatever. Both of the above named pris-
ons were situated upon the borders of extensive forests.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 223
An able bodied man could stand on the inside of either of
those prisons and with his arm cast a stone into the edge
of a forest of mammoth pines miles in extent. The stock-
ades were constructed from the bodies of these huge pine
trees, and thousands of cords of wood were scattered over
the ground in the immediate vicinity of those who were
dying for the want of it.
224 OVER THE DEAD LINE
Chapter XVIII.
Should the reader ask why fuel was so essential to
our existence in the warm and sunny South, I must ex-
plain that by eating uncooiked corn meal, hundreds of
names were monthly added to the death roll. During the
cold fall and winter storms, thousands of men perished
from exposure; the cold rain and wind chilling their
skeleton bodies and inevitably causing prostration and
death. Not only would the abundance of wood that lay
decaying on the ground so near our uncomfortable quar-
ters have greatly benefited us in cooking our food, but
rude though comfortable huts could have been constructed
by the prisoners, and for the want of which thousands of
men perished. One of the guards could have taken out
five or six of the prisoners at a time to gather wood. In
this way the guards who were not on duty nights, by
working two days in a month, might have furnished all
the fire wood and building material that was necessary
for the camp. The branches of the fallen pine trees would
have been utilized to good advantage in the construction
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 225
of huts, thus saving thousands of human beings from
perishing with cold and exposure. Had we been allowed
sufficient wood for fuel and protection, such as could have
been had from this material, seventy-five per cent of those
who perished during the cold storms could have been
saved.
A few days after the big storm, our rations, of one
pint of coarse, unsifted corn meal, were stopped. The
first day we failed to draw our rations all kinds of ru-
mors were afloat in regard tO' the cause. Some said it
meant that another batch of prisoners was going the next
day, while many claimed the rebels could not get the ra-
tions to issue, and many who believed this, were heard to
exclaim : "What will they do with us, supposing they can
get no rations for a week or ten days ? And many were
the conjectures among the hungry prisoners until the fol-
lowing morning, when it was made known to the sufferers
by the officers in charge that they were in possession of
the fact that a tunnel, which they could not locate, was in
progress at some point of the stockade, and that they
would issue no more rations to the camp until it was
found. As the men received this unexpected piece of in-
15
226 OVER THE DEAD LINE
formation, it fell like a thunderbolt upon the dejected,
starved and defenceless masses who', for hours, would
crowd and jostle each other for a position near the gate.
For what? That the poor creatures might feast their
eyes upon the sight of the first sack of provender that
should enter. My God ! that sight is as vividly portrayed
to my mind's eye as though I was now standing upon the
same ground, and was numbered with the same mass of
suffering humanity. Not only were the cruel pangs of
starvation keenly felt by this morbid assembly, but we
were compelled to breathe an air oppressed with an intol-
erable stench, hemmed in by a fatal dead line, and in con-
stant danger of being shot to death by unrestrained and
brutal guards.
As the pangs of hunger increased, the murmurs of
the crowd mingled with the familiar howls of the dreaded
bloodhounds, as they hourly encircled the prison walls in
search of escaped prisoners. The third day of our fast,
extra guards were placed on duty, as some of the prison-
ers showed signs of insanity. Many a poor fellow lost
his life by pressing too near the dead line. As the report
of a musket in the hands of a heartless sentry rang out
upon the midnight air, instantly followed by a cry of pain
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 227
from the unfortunate victim, the voice oi some prisoner
would be heard to shout: ''Another Johnnie gets a fur-
lough."
But fearing the result of a protracted fast or starva-
tion, the third day, at 4 P. M. rations were issued to the
camp, although three days and nights they had kept us
thinking we could live on dreams. Only the one pint of
meal was given to^ each man. As it was about dark be-
fore the distribution of the sacks of meal to the thousands
was begun, it was an hour after dark before the last man
received his allowance, and many heard the guards on the
towers cry the hour of midnight before their scanty allow-
ance of meal was converted into an eatable form. Many
were compelled tO' depend upon others for cooking uten-
sils, and were obliged to wait for the owner and perhaps
the second and third parties who had previously engaged
them, before they could utilize the needed articles them-
selves.
The prisoners at Florence voted for President of the
United States in the month of November, 1864. Abra-
ham Lincoln and George B, McCleland were the candi-
dates. The commanding officers of the prison were anx-
ious that the prisoners should vote, believing that they
228 OVER THE DEAD LINE
would not vote for Lincoln's re-election, as they would
doubtless blame him for having made no arrangement for
the exchange of prisoners. Being anxious to find out
how the men felt in regard to the matter, bags were hung
up at the gate, and black and white beans were given to
the prisoners and those who' wished to^ vote were allowed
to cast a bean into the sack, black for Lincoln and white
for M'cCleland. A Confederate soldier stood by to see
that all was fair. For a few hours some of the boys ap-
peared to enjoy the scene; it was a change, anything to
alleviate for a moment the mental or physical condition
of the sufferers.
Once in a while during the day some one would hur-
rah for McCleland, loud enough to be heard all over the
camp. This would bring a smile to the faces of the Con-
federates, who heard it, but a different feeling was mani-
fested upon counting the votes and finding that a large
majority had voted for Abraham Lincoln.
Comirade McGee and myself kept together during
the remainder of my imprisonment. We removed the
clay from our camping-ground, and using a few sticks
issued to us for fire wood, and a part of an old blanket,
we arranged a place to sleep in pleasant weather, though
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 229
we suffered with cold during- the nights, and in rainy
weather. We would stand with our bodies pressed to-
gether in crowds of from twenty-five tO' two hundred
men. This partially protected our bodies, but those who
were barefoot suffered much from cold and the many
bruises they received upon their unprotected feet during
the long nights we remained in this uncomfortable posi-
tion. Comrade McGee and myself were among those
who ''went to roost," as the boys called it.
Just previous to Comrade Hull's departure, the reb-
els ordered the men to fall intO' line, and receive the goods
that our sanitary commission had sent us. These goods
consisted of hats, caps, feeting, underwear, woolen blan-
kets, and many kinds of furnishing goods. If these had
been honorably distributed to the needy, each one drawing
that of which he mostly stood in need, what good might
have been realized. But instead, only a small portion of
the goods were given to the prisoners, and regardless of
our needs. A man, for instance, who was shirtless and
shoeless, would get a cap and suspenders. As for myself,
most anything in the line of wearing apparel would have
given me joy, as the pants and shirt my generous captors
nearly ten months before allowed me to retain, now only
230 OVER THE DEAD LINE
covered my body and limbs in places. I was both thank-
ful and surprised when they gave me my portion of the
goods, which consisted of a tall, light colored wool hat,
while a man standing near by who had been in prison but
a short time and was comfortably clothed, received an
undershirt, drawers and a pair of stockings. As I called
the attention of the officer to these things, he replied:
"You must make exchanges among yourselves." He
knew as well as we that under the circumstances the pris-
oners who, by continual suffering and abuse had been
brought tO' a state nearly bordering on barbarism, cared
but little for the wants of others, especially strangers. It
was the actual belief of not only myself, but many of the
prisoners, that the unequal distribution of the goods was
made in order to alleviate the distress as little as possible.
As I walked back to our quarters with my hat on.
Comrade Hull made the remark that I reminded him of
what he had read O'f missionary work in Africa, how one
of the heathen might be seen walking into church with all
the dignity imaginable, with only a hat on his head and a
shirt with the sleeves tied around his waist. Hull being
more fortunate, drew a cotton shirt. As I could live
without the hat, I traded it with a rebel sergeant for a
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 231
peck of sweet potatoes. We ate sparingly of them for
our supper, and after giving a few to a couple of men who
slept near us, we dug a hole in the ground and buried
them, and our heads lay over our potato bin as we slept.
But the next morning what was our surprise and disap-
pointment to find that during the night, while we slept,
a subterranean passage had been made from the rear of
our sleeping apartment to our potatO' bin, and all but two
or three had been appropriated by some one who had been
particular in noting our place of deposit.
As the winter months drew on, the suffering in-
creased. As we were in the immediate vicinity of the
sheds that had been erected for the protection of the sick
from the cold fall rains, every sound was audible to us,
and the prayers and moans of the dying were heartrend-
ing in the extreme. These were sick unto death, without
blankets, lying on the cold ground, with only a few coarse
pine boughs under their emaciated bodies. There were
no walls tO' the sheds, and if the wind blew the least dur-
ing a storm, the sick would be wet through as though
they were lying out in any other part of the stockade.
Comparatively speaking I would have been well, had it
not been for the constant faint and death-like feeling
232 OVER THE DEAD LINE
caused by starvation and exposure. A man who could
walk was considered well.
During the last four weeks of our confinement at
Florence, my own suffering was by far greater than at
any time during my imprisonment after the first five
weeks. Not only were the cold and hunger sufficient to
destroy life in a short time, but it was a terrible strain to
be compelled to hear the heart-rending wails and moans
of the dying, and the oaths and cries of those whose minds
had yielded to the constant strain. How many times we
said, "Would tO' God it was in our power to alleviate the
indescribable suffering that it is our lot constantly to be-
hold." Night after night Comrade McGee and myself
would go to some other part of the camp and there remain
for hours, to escape the heart-thrilling moans of the dying.
But as all things must have an end, so must the
Sonthern Confederacy and its prison hells yield to the
omnpotent hand of God. It being His will that we should
not all thus perish, the day of relief at last dawned; and
Jan. loth, 1865, six hundred happy souls gave their sup-
plications to Heaven and six hundred emaciated forms
tottered from the loathsome den as paroled prisoners. As
we were not certain in regard to the destination of the
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 233
other prisoners who had previously left the stockade as
paroled prisoners, we were not quite as rejoiced over the
event as we would have been had there not been a doubt in
the way; nevertheless, indications pointed to a genuine
parole, and knowing that a change of prisons would not
in the least bring about a worse state of affairs, we hailed
it with gladness. On the morning of the loth the first
thousand was formed outside the dead line, and about
fifty men were chosen. They were picked out as the
others were some time before. They were to choose men
who had been in prison the longest time, and those whose
term of service had expired. I had but little hope that
I would be picked out, as once before my thousand had
been looked over and a few chosen; but they passed me
by, which caused Comrade McGee laughingly to remark
that I was so thin, most likely I was not seen. But this
time I was noticed and was numbered among the six hun-
dred who, the loth day of January, 1865, rejoiced in their
deliverance. As I was so interested in the events of that
day, I must give in detail some of my personal experience
in regard to my examination and parole.
The reader will remember the difficulties I experi-
enced at Richmond some ten or eleven months previous to
234 OVER THE DEAD LINE
this, and had I been recognized as one of Kilpatrick's
raiders, and one who- had under a disguise escaped from
the ignominious death they had promised me, I would
have remained with them as long as they held prisoners
of war. I once heard Lieut. Wilson, of Andersonville
fame, remark : "The cavalry raiders are not likely to be
the first to^ be paroled, as they were anxious to get into
this country, let them remain until they are satisfied."
But the examining physician knew nothing of me
or my war record, more than my present condition indi-
cated, and apparently did not wish to discuss the cause of
my personal appearance. He looked me over for a mo-
ment and asked me how long I had been a prisoner ; if my
term of service had expired, when captured, and if I would
go to Canada and there remain if I got my liberty? When
asking these and more questions, I was compelled to
break the ninth commandment in order to give him a sat-
isfactory reply. He passed on to the next man, leaving
me for a short time as crestfallen a man as there was on
the ground. As he passed again down the line, he halted
in front of me and instead of saying, "We know you," as
I for a moment thought he was going to say, he said :
"You can step out."
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 235
Never were four words uttered to me that sounded
so sweet to my ears or that meant so much. Hundreds,
yes, thousands of comrades were gathered near the dead
Hne. Some of them were there for the purpose of ascer-
taining who and how many of their friends and acquaint-
ances were numbered with the chosen ones, while others
were there, as they had nothing else to interest them, and
cared not who went or who staid, as long as they were not
going themselves. My friend and comrade, McGee,
stood at the line watching me, and as he saw me step out
of the ranks, he at once started in the direction of our
quarters. I thought he felt badly to be again left alone,
and had thus suddenly gone away that his sad feelings
might not be noticed by others ; but my supposition proved
incorrect, for in a few moments he returned with our old
blanket under his arm, and walking up to the dead line,
said : "Here, chum, you had better take this, for in all
probability you will remain on the outside for some time,
perhaps all night, before they will be ready to start; and
the cold wind sweeping across the plains will chill you,
and perhaps freeze you to death."
I did not accept the profifered blanket, which would
have been of so much value to me that night, but I had
236 OVER THE DEAD LINE
the proof of that man's fidelity and friendship. As I
passed out of the gate I saw my friend standing near the
fatal line with the old blanket hanging on his arm. He
waved me a good bye, and I never saw him again. He
was quite right in regard to the suffering of the men on
the outside of the stockade^that night.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 237
Chapter XIX.
It was about 3 o'clock P. M. when we left the prison ;
near the gate were two or three log cabins and at a large
window in the end of one of these, sat some Confederate
officers with the books. As we passed the window in sin-
gle file, each man was asked his name, company and regi-
ment, and as soon as they were registered the man touched
the pen and he was a paroled prisoner. It was nearly
dark before this work was completed. Some wood was
then given us and fires were built and we were told to
gather around and make ourselves as comfortable as pos-
sible. It was a level and open country to the northeast
and west of us, and as the bleak north winds swept across
the open plains it seemed that some of us must be chilled
to death. My own nearly nude body I feared must suc-
cumb to the relentless cold, but with a fire to warm one
side, while the other was freezing, and with the thought
of home and what the future held in store for me, I man-
aged to pass my last night at Florence, though my suffer-
ing was nigh unto death. I doubt that there was another
238 OVER THE DEAD LINE
man among the six hundred as destitute of clothing as my-
self.
We had not drawn our rations for a day when we
left the stockade, therefore the officers in charge issued a
small ration of hard tack (four, I think) to each man.
This was small, to be sure, but under the circumstances it
was received and eaten with enough grace, cheer, hope and
courage to last for one meal at least. As we were march-
ing in single file past the place where our rations were
given out, what was my joy and surprise to recognize in
the man in front of me James Miller of the 27th Massa-
chusetts Volunteers, whom the reader will remember I
met in Andersonville. When I first met him there he was
a stout, healthy man, but now would weigh but a little
more than one hundred pounds instead of one hundred
and ninety, as then. He was now poor and pale and suf-
fering terribly from rheumatism. We remained together
until we reached our lines, and I cared for and assisted
him all that I was able.
Just before daylight, the following morning, a freight
train drew up and we boarded it — about fifty men in a box
car — and started for Charleston, S. C, a distance of one
hundred and three miles. We were eighteen hours on the
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 239
road and arrived at Charleston about midnight. As our
train was side-tracked in the outskirts of the city, the men
cHmbed out of the cars and huddled together near the
track, anxiously listening for the reports of exploding
shells in and over the city.
The Union forces had been bombarding the city and
Ft. Sumter every day and night for nearly two years.
The shell and solid shots were thrown from Morris Island,
first into the city, and then intO' Ft. Sumter and repeated.
As most of the prisoners had been in Charleston while on
our way to Florence, some of us remaining eleven days
on the old Charleston race-course under fire of our own
guns, we knew all about the bombardment; therefore we
reasoned that if there had been a parole, or an exchange
of prisoners agreed upon, the bombardment would cease
during the transaction. Consequently, the interest and
anxiety exhibited by the prisoners in regard to this mat-
ter was visibly portrayed upon the countenance of each, as
he awaited the verdict that the mammoth guns of the
Island were to pronounce. Their silence meant freedom,
home and happiness; their voices, imprisonment, starva-
tion, suffering and death. The of^cers in charge and the
guards told us it was a genuine parole, but we had been
240 OVER THE DEAD LINE
deceived before, consequently we could not rely upon their
word. But as the hours passed and no sound of shot or
shell was heard, the men became more talkative and lively.
A Confederate general came to us at daylight and said :
"Yanks, you are going home; your boats are lying in the
harbor waiting to convey you to your own lines ; in about
an hour you will march to the wharf and there take one of
our boats that will convey you out to^ your fleet that now
lies about three miles from our docks."
The scene changed; voices that had not been heard
now loudly proclaimed their joy in song and thanksgiving.
Men were seen tO' totter to each other and shed tears of
joy as they clasped each other's hand. One was heard
reveling in a strain of "Old Shady — "Good wheat bread
and a dollar a day, I'm coming, coming, hail mighty
day!"
We were given a breakfast of hard tack and molasses
and then took up our line of march for the wharf, but not
before we were informed that if one of our number spoke
impertinently to a man, woman or child, who might gather
to look at us as we passed through the streets, the offend-
ers should be at once returned to the bull pen. The six
hundred — minus three or four who died on the way —
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 241
marched to the wharf, and there on an elevated wharf that
extended out into the water several feet beyond the rest,
we remained for nearly two^ hours, waiting for the boat that
was to convey us to our own fleet, which was in plain view.
What a glorious sight ! Eight or ten of those large ocean
steamers, together with the mammoth receiving ship, the
"New York," lying so majestically upon the placid waters
of the harbor, that four years before was the scene of the
first conflict that eventually called nearly five million men
to arms.
From their tall masts the stars and stripes were un-
furled to the Southern breeze. The white flag occupied
a conspicuous place upon the same lofty spire, and the glo-
rious scene was hailed with joy and thanksgivings to God.
The boat came at last, and as we left the wharf to
take our places upon its decks, six of our comrades, with
their faces towards home and the flag they loved, lay
stark and cold in death. This seemed terrible indeed, to
die within sight of home, as it were, after passing through
months of indescribable suffering.
The wind blew a gale, and after being on the decks
of the small rebel steamer for over an hour, the officer in
16
242 OVER THE DEAD LINE
command ordered us from the boat, as the wind was too
strong for the small transport to make the passage in
safety. The men were in much fear that something might
yet happen to prevent them from reaching our ships ; they
would not move, although assured the boat was liable to
be swamped or strike some of the torpedoes that were
planted in the harbor. They still refused to leave it, until
revolvers were displayed and threats made to use them.
We were then formed in two ranks and marched to the
Marine Hospital, the distance being about one and one-
half miles.
The route took us through that part of the city that
had suffered most from the bombardment. Large brick
blocks were literally torn to pieces. Nearly every build-
ing had from one to twenty holes through it from the size
of a water pail to that of a cart wheel. Devastation and
destruction on every side ! The streets were strewn with
debris of every conceivable form — nails, tin and glass
covered the ground and hundreds of bare feet bled from
wounds received by coming in contact with them. After
reaching the hospital, which was a mammoth unoccupied
structure, we were placed in it for shelter from the wind
and cold, until the former should abate sufficiently to
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 243
allow the rebel transport to take us out to our own in
safety. As there were no fire-places or stoves in this
building, many of the men built fires on pieces of boards,
old tin pans, etc.
The Confederates, seeing smoke issuing from the
windows, came in, and after talking pretty hard to us,
calling us "d " Yankee fools, and many such pet
names, took us from the building and marched us to the
State's prison yard, about one mile distant. A few of the
men, being unable to walk this distance, a mule team was
called and loaded with twelve or fifteen of those who were
unable to stand. This team formed the rear of as de-
jected and forlorn a looking crew as ever passed through
the streets of Charleston.
Three days and nights we remained under the
shadow of the South Carolina penitentiary, awaiting the
fair weather so earnestly prayed for by those anxious to
grasp the hands of loved ones in their own beloved homes.
The fourth morning the doors of the prison were
again flung open, and the boisterous command of the
rebel officer to "Get into line!" echoed through the dark
and gloomy apartments. Three of our number failed to
respond as their names were called, the messenger of
244 OVER THE DEAD LINE
death having again stoden into our ranks at a moment
when Hberty, home and loved ones were almost within
their grasp.
About 12 o'clock M. the rebel transport steamed out
from the dock with nearly six hundred as light hearts as
ever palpitated in the breast of man. At i P. M. the
steamer came alongside the receiving ship "New York."
Gang planks were thrown from oue vessel to the other,
and the ex-prisoners were led from the rebel boat to our
own by the crew of the receiving ship. This had to be
done to prevent the men, who were too weak to walk alone
with safety, from falling from the planks into the water.
Many of the men would groan as they left the rebel boat,
to show their contempt for their enemies.
Soon after our transfer, rations were issued to the
men, and through some mistake of the quartermaster's,
double rations were given ; in consequence many were
made sick, two or three dying from the effects. Each
ration might not have been larger than that necessary for
an able-bodied man, but certainly was more than should
have been given to men in our condition.
It consisted of six hard tack, or rather large sea-bis-
cuits, considerably larger than our common army crack-
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 245
ers, together with one-half pound boiled bacon and a large
cup of coffee. As I divided my own ration and threw
part of it overboard, a young fellow belonging to the 5th
Michigan Cavalry, whose skeleton frame would have been
considered a prize by the proprietor of a dime museum,
asked me to give it to him if I did not want it myself.
This fellow did not die, but came very near it. Many
had the wisdom to throw away part of their food, but
could not control their appetites sufficiently to allow the
food to remain beside them and not eat it.
The transportation fleet lay at anchor near Fort
Sumter, and as the sight of this historical structure was
of great interest to most of us, we all gathered at the rail
on one side of the ship to get a view of the fort. This
causing the ship to partially turn on her side, and attract-
ing the attention of the captain, he came on deck, and in a
kind and friendly tone said:
"Trim ship there, my boys,"
This being the first kind word or sentence uttered to
us for so long a time, the men again and again cheered the
old captain, and in their enthusiasm invoked heaven's
blessing on him. The characteristics of the child predom-
inated. The smallest thing would now please or anger;
246 OVER THE DEAD LINE
and these were the men who had faced death without
flinching, who had scaled the enemy's works when the
missiles of death literally filled the air.
With a sufficient number of blankets, we passed our
first night after our release from captivity, and with the
stars and stripes floating over us, joy reigned supreme.
The following morning a light breakfast was issued to
the men, and after the surgeon had looked over and pre-
scribed for the sick, we passed from the deck, where we
had remained since our arrival, to the next below, and
there each man received an overcoat, blouse, pants, shirt,
shoes, feeting and underwear, together with a large blan-
ket. This clothing was all new, and our old clothes were
all thrown overboard.
The Cumberland's crew went down with their ship;
the Monitor sank the Merrimac; the Kearsage sent the
crew of the Alabama to a watery grave; but in all, there
was never recorded so great a loss of life as when those
garments were committed to the waves.
About noon we were transferred from the receiving
ship to the "Crescent," a large ocean steamer that was
used for a Government transport during the exchange of
prisoners. About 2 o'clock the same day she swung
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 247
around into position; the hissing of escaping steam was
heard, the monstrous wheels began to move, and more
than five hundred voices rent the air with cheers, and we
were homeward bound.
After a pleasant trip of three days we steamed up
the Chesapeake, and about 4 P. M. of the fourth day our
vessel was safely chained up at the dock at Annapolis,
Md. Many people from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New
York and Maryland were there to meet friends and rela-
tives who might be numbered among the survivors; and
as the ex-prisoners were led from the steamer and formed
in line on the wharf, soldiers and police were called into
requisition to prevent the crowd from pressing too near.
Some were there merely to look at the prisoners, while
hundreds were anxiously asking for friends.
"Do you know George Cumings?" is asked by some
one.
"Yes, he died in Florence."
"Did you know James Marshall?"
"Yes, he is here in the crowd."
Another asks about a brother, uncle, father or hus-
band.
248 OVER THE DEAD LINE
"He died in Andersonville, more than six months
ago," or
"He was shot for stepping over the dead line."
Many, many were the questions asked and answered,
some receiving favorable replies, while many were shocked
by the sad tidings that friends had been starved or frozen
to death, or had died from disease caused by the barbar-
ous and cruel treatment to which they had been subjected.
While some wept, others rejoiced.
A splendid band of music was in attendance, and
the old familiar military airs seemed to revive the dor-
mant spark of life, that the prison hells oi the South had
so nearly extinguished. After standing in line while all
the preliminaries so essential to any military move had
been gone through with, we marched to the barracks,
some fifty rods distant, and there remained for three days,
previous to our rendezvous at Parole Camp, two- miles
from Annapolis city. Before our removal from the city
to Parole Camp we made an entire change in our personal
appearance, had our hair cut, were shaved, and after tak-
ing a bath, drew a new suit of clothing throughout. The
clothing we drew in Charleston harbor and wore home
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 249
was sent back for other prisoners to wear on their home-
ward move.
We now took up our quarters in Parole Camp, where
the hundreds of long barracks all arranged in uniform
system caused the place to resemble a well laid out vil-
lage. After remaining in this pleasant camp a week or
ten days, we drew two months' pay and 27 cents per day
for each day we had been in prison as ration money, and
v/ere granted a thirty days' furlough. The reader can
easily imagine the joy that reigned supreme in the many
homes of the survivors, as they again clasped the hands
of loved ones in the free-lands of the North.
Bidding farewell to the sad scenes we have witnessed,
I will invite the reader to view that home so suddenly
changed from a house of mourning to joy and thanksgiv-
ing. The son and brother who was thought to be dead,
is alive. He is the eldest of that happy group of children
who gather around him. Note the fond father and
mother, shedding tears of joy, as they again and again
clasp the hand of him "who was lost and is found."
Would to God that there might be the same rejoicing
in every home when the fond mother's prayer is so often
heard at the midnight hour, asking God to protect her
250 OVER THE DEAD LINE
boy. But leaving this happy family to rejoice with their
own, I will ask the reader tO' accompany me again to An-
dersonville. I wish to speak of one who gave up his life
in that place, and in whom I became deeply interested.
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 251
Chapter XX.
Soon after our arrival at Andersonville I formed the
acquaintance of a New York soldier named Moore, His
Christian name, and the number of his regiment, have
gone from my memory; but the picture of that sad and
melancholy countenance is as vividly portrayed to my
mind's eye as it was when I sat by his side, and heard
from his own lips the story of his eventful life. He was
about forty years of age, and his home was on the banks
of the Hudson river, of which he never tired of speaking.
A lingering disease was slowly but surely wearing out his
life. How my heart ached for the poor fellow, as he
talked of home and loved ones, whom he well knew he,
in this world, would never more see.
Having myself seen comparatively little of prison
life and hardship, and not yet having become "prison-
hardened" — as the boys called it — the poor fellow saw at
once that he had elicited my sympathy and found a willing
listener to his recitals of the dark and bright sides of a
life that was soon to end. How the sunken eve and
252 OVER THE DEAD LINE
emaciated face brightened, as he talked of home and those
near and dear to him.
''The most beautiful on earth is my Hudson river
home," he would exclaim. "Can it be that I am never to
see my darlino- wife and children again?"
Then he would struggle tO' his feet, and nervously
pace to and fro for a while, and again become calm. How
I tried to encourage him. He told me his experience in
California, from 1849 ^^ 1856, and during the seven years
he was mining in that State he made thirty-five thousand
dollars. In July, 1856, he started for home, placing his
money — eight thousand dollars in bank notes and the re-
mainder in checks — in a small travelling bag, and then
taking the overland route. The story of his chief adven-
ture on that homeward journey made a deep impression
on my mind, and believing it will interest the reader, I
will relate it.
While still within the borders of the half-civilized
far West, he discovered that he was pursued by despera-
does, who had doubtless heard or imagined he had with
him a large sum of money. Believing that the surest
way to elude the ruffians was by secretly leaving the route
he was then travelling, he hired a private conveyance and
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 253
ill a few hours reached a station on a new railroad, fifty
miles distant. It was nearly nightfall when he arrived at
a small station on the central route. After settling with
the man who had brought him the last ten miles, he im-
mediately sought out the agent, to ascertain how soon the
next train would be due.
"Not before midnight," said the agent, "but if you
are very anxious to go on before, you may poissibly ar-
range with that engineer to give you a lift," he said,
pointing to a tall, square built man, dressed in a suit of
blue clothes, well besmeared with oil and coal dust. He
had an oil can in one hand, while with the other he was
feeling the different parts of the machinery, as if to ascer-
tain that no parts were too warm and that all was in run-
ning order. He scarcely looked up from his work, when
asked by the traveller if he could get passage with him
as far as he went.
"I'm going through to C," said he, "if she sticks to
the iron, but it may not be very pleasant for you, if you
are not accustomed to riding on a locomotive."
"I am not," said Moore, "but will pay almost any
price rather than wait."
254 OVER THE DEAD LINE
"Nothing," said the engineer, as he wiped his greasy
hands on a piece of waste and looked at his steam gauge.
"Any baggage?" he asked; "I am off soon now."
Moore took a seat in the cab, after depositing his
valuable travelling bag in the tender box, and thought
himself in luck, after all.
The fireman, a young man about twenty-three or four
years of age, went quietly about his duty. One would
imagine that the engineer and firemen were strangers to
each other, by the way they spoke, and Moore was not
long forming the opinion that the fireman was displeased
with the order he had received, compelling him to make
ninety miles that night, after passing over two hundred
miles of road during the last twenty-four hours. The
next day was their time to go, but the engineer had re-
ceived a telegram an hour before, on receipt of which he
immediately asked permission of the superintendent to
take his engine to C. that night, which was granted. Or-
ders were given to run carefully, look ont for No. 22 —
the through night express — which he was to cross at a
point of safety. Having no train, and a full head of
steam — the Eagle, as the engine was called — seemed to
jump from the rails, as the sober-looking engineer placed
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 255
his hand upon the throttle; and to express it in Moore's
own words, the small stations seenied to fade away in the
distance almost instantaneously.
The head-light had been lighted before leaving the
station ; the shades of night were falling and as we looked
at the fields, fences and farm houses that seemed to pass
us as if by magic, I could see by the expression of the
fireman's face that he could not fathom the meaning of
the terrible rate of speed at which we were going. Not a
word was spoken by either the fireman or engineer. The
former seemed bewildered, as he anxiously glanced at the
steam gauge and then at the solemn man who did not
seem to realize that there were other persons near, or that
we were passing over the iron rails at the rate of sixty
miles an hour. As for myself, I thought I would say
nothing, as in all probability the engineer knew his busi-
ness and would not appreciate an interference by one who
had never stepped on a locomotive before in his life. The
silence was first broken by the fireman, who was looking
at the man that seemed not to notice the rate of speed,
exclaiming :
"We are running fast to-night."
256 OVER THE DEAD LINE
"Coal!" said the man of iron nerves, as with his left
hand he grasped the chain and swung open the furnace
door.
Slowly the fireman obeyed the order, and resumed his
seat, with his eyes riveted upon his master.
"We have steam sufficient to draw a heavy train!"
exclaimed the fireman, looking at him in a frightened way.
"Yes," was the only response; "oil the valves."
I could plainly see that something was wrong by the
terrible rate of speed at which we were going and by the
excited looks of the fireman I reasoned that if there was
cause for him to believe we were in danger, there might
be for myself.
"Wliere will we meet the express?" asked the' fire-
man of the engineer, who had just looked at his watch.
"Don't know," was the answer, as the furnace door
was again swung open,
"You know we meet between here and N.," said the
trembling fireman.
"You know what that fire-box is open for," said the
engineer.
"But look at your steam gauge; it indicates too many
pounds already."
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 257
"And you are the man who dares to tell me my busi-
ness," said the engineer, rising from his seat. "Fill the
fire-box, I say, and if you refuse I will fill it with your
cowardly body."
I had already formed my opinion, and as the fireman
passed me, he whispered a word in my ear that seemed to
curdle the blood in my veins. The terrible reality flashed
upon me that his thoughts coincided with my own; the
man who held our lives iti his hand was mad !
We passed station after station, over bridges, under
arches. A thought, and they were in our rear.
My watch told me that sixty minutes had passed
since we started on this dreadful ride. Reason told me
that as many miles had been passed by that confined body
of hissing, groaning steam.
As I looked at the wild expression of that man's
eyes, the pale face and muscular form, I realized what a
terrible antagonist we must meet, should necessity compel
us to try to overjxDwer him by physical strength. His
reason did not seem to desert him as far as the manage-
ment of the machine was concerned, when as in a savage
voice he gave his orders to the now seemingly paralyzed
17
258 OVER THE DEAD LINE
fireman to "oil the valves," "raise" or "lower" the dam-
per," and that dreadful and oft-repeated shout, "More
coal!" I could not but recall to mind how I had once
seen a maniac mechanically performing manual labor,
though entirely bereft of reason.
A few miles more and we would pass N , the last
station between us and C . It did not seem possible
that he would pass N , unless he had determined on
death and destruction, not only for ourselves but perhaps
to hundreds of others, who were at that moment approach-
ing from the opposite direction, totally unconscious of
danger. Thus we waited until the flash of light that
burst upon our eyes told us that N was in our rear.
We watched the engineer, who sat looking straight
ahead, one hand upon the reverse lever and the other
grasping the throttle, while the wind from the open cab
window blew the black hair from his pale frenzied face, a
picture once seen was never to be forgotten.
"More coal!" he said, making a sweeping motion
with his left hand from the coal bin to the furnace door.
The terrible position we were now in seemed to re-
vive a spark of courage in the terrified fireman, and in-
stead of complying with the order, he said :
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 259
'*I cannot do it. Do you realize, sir, the terrible
danger we are in? Do you realize that at this frightful
rate of speed at which we are going we will in less than
twenty minutes collide with the express?"
"And do you realize, sir," said the madman, as he
relaxed his hold upon the throttle, "that in less than
twenty seconds you will collide with the contents of this,,
if you in the least disobey my orders for the next twenty
minutes?" and he pulled from his breast pocket a loaded
revolver.
"My God! we are lost," exclaimed the fireman, and
his agonized look said plainly that he realized the worst.
I feared he would jump from the side oi the engine, as I
saw him cast his eyes heavenward, as if engaged in
prayer, then to earth below.
"Don't be rash," I said, speaking for the first time,
and the horror of being left alone with this man entirely
bereft of reason came to my mind.
"Sir," I said to the engineer, as calmly as I could,
as I did not wish him to think me excited, "if you will
stop your engine and allow this man and myself to get off
here, I will give you five thousand dollars, that is now in
the tender-box, and put it in your hand the next minute."
260 OVER THE DEAD LINE
"Keq) your seat," was the only reply, as he pointed
with his revolver to the seat I had just vacated. And
again swinging open the furnace door, he said in a husky
voice :
"Coal!"
And as the man covered by the revolver threw the
coal into the hissing, fiery mouth, each shovelful seemed
as so many shovelsful of gravel thrown on my coffin.
"There," said the madman, closing the door, "raise
the damper."
It was done, and all the power and velocity possible
was given to the machine that was hurrying us to destruc-
tion. How I prayed in those agonizing moments that
the approaching train might be a few moments late, and
how I have since thanked my Heavenly Father that I was
not in possession of my revolver, for a few moments later
the heart-rending cry of the half unconscious fireman an-
nounced that the head-light of the express was in sight.
I looked at the engineer ; his pale face wore the same
sad look; I saw him bare his neck by removing a black
handkerchief that encircled it, as if to get air, and his eyes
seemed riveted on the light that gradually grew larger as
it drew nearer. Words cannot express the feelings that
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 261
took possession of my brain at the sight. With his left
hand the engineer now seized a small rope, when three
short shrill whistles echoed from the surrounding hills.
My thoughts seemed to wander; I closed my eyes to
shut out the scene that must follow; I heard the click of
the reverse lever, a shock, and I was hurled against the
cab window by the sudden stop. I saw a flash of light
from the passing express, and the Eagle stood panting on
the side-track at C station!
"Thank God!" I heard the engineer say, as he
stepped from his engine, followed by the fireman and my-
self. His first words, as he took each of us by the hand,
were :
"Forgive me."
''For what?"' I asked, "and why this terrible night
of danger?"
He did not speak for a minute; then he said, as he
held up the message before referred to :
"This was the cause of all. I felt confident that I
could make this station in safety, and although compul-
sory obedience served to accomplish it, I trust you both
will forgive me, when I tell you that I have a little one
dying in yonder cottage."
262 OVER THE DEAD LINE
And as the strong man spoke, a tear rolled down his
cheek. I walked with him to his home, and as I saw him
kneeling by the bedside of his dying child, with the small
white hand clasped within his own, and his powerful
frame shaken by convulsive sobs, I recognized as brave,
noble, tender-hearted man as the world could produce,
Moore finished his story, and then laying his hand
on my knee, said:
"Comrade, that engineer don't run on that road to-
day ; he lives in a cottage within two hundred yards of my
home, and his children play with my children. He re-
ceived the five thousand, and he sounds the whistle each
time the steamer, of which he is the engineer, passes our
home, that we may know he is all right."
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 263
Chapter XXI.
Names and Location of Graves of Vermont Soldiers,
who died in defense of the Union, and whose remains are
interred in the National Cemetery at Andersonville, Ga.
No.
Names.
Rank.
Co.
Reg.
Date of
Death.
4579
12092
11259
10664
8301
9960
3975
11841
5671
12585
3166
4137
11469
12455
9722
3767
7886
12406
4200
8029
6416
6349
4954
6334
5738
11317
11747
10371
4637
8691
4037
Adams, Daniel
Aiken, Wm. A
Aldrich, Harvey B....
Aldrich, Lanson E
Albee, Silas
At wood, Horace, G....
Averill, Franklin
Babcock, Thomas
Bacon, Alcott M
Bailey, Elnathan
Bailey, James
Bailey, Samuel P
Baker. Joseph
Barber, Wm. H
Barker, Freeman
Barnes, Wm. F
Barton, William
Baxter, George
Beadle, Henry A
Hedee, Washington C
Benoit, Joseph
Benson, Allen J
Bently, Merrill W
Berchard, Sardis
Bliss, Fred H
Bohonan, Joseph
Boudry, Andrew
Bowles, Lyman H
Boyd, A. M
Brainard, Joseph P....
Brown, George
Private
Sergeant
Private
C
A
A
A
G
C
I
K
G
F
A
H
A
C
A
F
K
A
C
I
D
C
A
L
L
I
C
A
L
L
D
11
11
11
11
11
ICav.
9
31
9
4
2
iCav.
11
11
11
1 Cav.
11
4
9
9
1 Cav.
11
6
11
1 Cav.
9
11
4
ICav.
1 Cav.
10
Aug. 2, 1864
Nov. 17, 1864
Oct. 20, 1864
Oct. 8, 1864
Sept. 9, 1864
Sept. 28, 1864
July 25, 1864
Nov. 5, 1864
Aug. 14, 1864
Feb. 3, 1865
July 11, 1864
July 28, 1864
Oct. 26, 1864
Nov. 16, 1864
Sept. 7, 1864
Aug. 23, 1864
Sept. 5, 1864
Jan. 6, 1865
July 29, 1864
Sept. 6, 1864
Aug. 22, 1864
Aug. 21, 1864
Aug. 7, 1864
Aug. 20, 1864
Aug. 15, 1864
Oct. 23, 1864
Nov. 2, 1864
Oct. 5, 1864
Aug. 3. 1864
Sept. 12, 1864
July 26, 1864
264
OVER THE DEAD LINE
No.
Names.
Rank.
Co.
Reg.
Date Of
Death.
1068[Brown, Joseph B
4509 Buchanan, James
10745'Bunker, Clark
12185 Burns, John
8815 Burrows, Hiram
12239 Butler, Albert S
10431 Buxton, Chas. B
6806 Camere, Phillip
11769Carter, Geo. VV
2675Caswell, Franklin
4205 1 Cham berl in. Converse.
8923 Chase, Elias S
2811 Chase, Mark C
1228 Chatfield, Wm
51u3 Chesley, Asa J
7361 Clark, John
7345 Clifford, James
1170 Clark, Martin L
2694Ciough, Burchard
3918Clough, John D
3351 Cole, Alvin H
1973Colletts, Joseph
6932Comar, Wm. A
8320 Cook, John J
1044 Corey, Chas. A
5384 Cavil, Wm
3817 Crocker. David
4883 Crow, Henry
11738 Cross, E. F
9724 Crowley, Divine
7698 Cunningham, Julius.
8271 Davis, Oscar F
7974 Day, George
10458 Day, .Toshua L
6840 Dewey, F. F
5927 Donahue, Thomas
6338Doying, Francis W...
3068 Drew, Francis
6104 Dunn, George E
10420 Dunn, William N
10316 Elliot, Charles W
6353 Emmerson, Geo. D...
12065 Fairchild, Geo. L
Private
Corporal
Private
Sergeant
Corporal
Private
Sergeant
Private
A
M
D
B
F
L
A
L
K
D
A
A
H
F
K
M
F
F
A
F
H
H
A
I
F
I
D
C
L
F
F
A
H
A
D
A
F
F
G
G
F
A
A
11
1 Cav.
4
7
11
11
4
11
11
9
6
11
6
10
11
11
4
11
9
11
9
1 Cav.
4
1 Cav.
li
9
5
5
11
11
1 Cav.
9
11
1 Cav.
4
1 Cav.
11
1 Cav.
4
11
11
Oct. 16, 1864
Aug. 1, 1864
Oct. 11, 1864
Nov. 28, 1864
Sept. 10, 1864
Dec. 6, 1864
Oct. 6, 1864
Aug. 24, 1864
Oct. 25, 1864
June 30, 1864
July 29, 1864
Sept. 15, 1864
July 3, 1864
May 20, 1864
Aug. 9, 1864
Aug. 31, 1864
May 16, 1864
Aug. 31, 1864
June 30, 1864
July 24, 1864
Julv 14, 1864
Jurie 15, 1864
Aug. 26, 1864
Sept. 10, 1864
May 11, 1864
Aug. 12, 1864
July 22, 1864
Aug. 5, 1864
Nov. 2, 1864
Aug. 25, 1S64
Sept. 3, 1864
Sept. 9, 1864
Sept. 6, 1864
Oct. 7, 1864
Aug. 25, 1864
Aug. 17, 1864
Aug. 13, 1864
July 9, 1864
Aug. 18, 1864
Oct. 6, 1864
Oct. 4, 1864
Aug. 21, 1864
Nov. 25, 1864
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 265
No.
Names.
Rank.
Co. Reg.
Date of
Death .
821 Farmer, Edward L....
5851 Farnham, Leander B.
6224 Farnham, Lorenzo D.
j4075 Farns worth, Milo
12317 Farrand, Andrew J....
11314 Farrall, Peter H
1 2323 Fernette, Joseph
10969 Fisk, William P
11351 Flint, Charles E
5914 Foster, Ansel, Jr
8201 Foster Horace B
11458 Foster, Haskell
7165 Forrest, Silas
8096 Fox, Willard
10784 Frost, Geo. E
3464 Freeman, Chas. E
6758 Fuller, William J
5480 Garey, Thomas
1730Giloe, Aiken
9799 Gilmar, Sydney A
8572Gleason, Chas. W
11598 Graves, John
5273 Greene, Edmund
12060 Hale, Chas. A
5218 Hall, Benjamin
10843 Hart, Silas L
6657 Havens, Edwin W
7394Hazen, Wayne
10824 Hines, Levi
12300 Hodge, Joseph
11730 Holmes, Joseph
11814 Howard, John
11442 Howard, Keyes
2175 Hubbard, Frank J
10999 Hudson, John W
10910 Hudson, Silas P
3581 Humphrey, John M..
6145 Hyde, Edward
10180 Tngraham, William...
38.53 Jocelyn, Frank B
4690 Johnson, David
10183 Johnson, John W
.3309 Jones, Hennery L
Private
Sergeant
Private
Corporal
Private
14
11
17
1 Cav.
t(
4
11
4
4
17
11
11
3
11
11
9
1 Cav.
11
3
4
11
11
Batt'v
11'
11
o
9
9
11
1 Cav.
11
11
11
Batt'y
11
11
1 Cav.
11
1 Cav.
i(
11
11
6
May 1, 1864
Aug. 20, 1864
Aug. 24, 1864
July 17, 1864
Dec. 24, 1864
Oct. 22, 1864
Dec. 2, 1864
Oct. 14, 1864
Oct. 23, 1864
Aug. 17, 1864
Sept. 8, 1864
Oct. 25, 1864
Aug. 29, 1864
Sept. 7, 1864
Oct. 12, 1864
July 17, 1864
Aug. 24, 1864
Aug. 13, 1864
June 8, 1862
Sept. 26, 1864
Aug. 9, 1864
Oct. 28, 1864
Aug. 9, 1864
Nov. 17, 1864
Aug. 11, 1864
Oct. 12, 1864
Aug. 24, 1864
Aug. 31, 1864
Oct. 12, 1864
Dec. 17, 1864
Nov. 2, 1864
Nov. 4, 1864
Oct. 25, 1864
June 19. 1864
Oct 16, 1864
Oct. 14, 1864
July 23, 1864
Aug. 17, 1864
Oct. 1, 1864
July 24, 1864
Aug. 3, 1864
Oct. 1, 1864
July 14, 1864
266
OVER THE DEAD LINE
No.
Names.
Rank.
Co.
Reg.
Date of
Death.
3886 Jurden, Albert E
6968Kelsey, Luther C
7762 Kingsley, Silas
4207 Knapp, Lewis
6239 Knight, Chas
3990Knowles, CrowellM....
4597 Labounty, Hennery
11074 Lachie, Henry
4664 Lara way, Hiram
7891 Ladabosh, Joseph
8355 Leasot, Clemon
12916 Lumsden, Calvin E
8865 Manchester, James M.
2390Manien, Patrick
5073 Martin, Joseph
11735 Martin, Newcomb
4478 McCrillis, Eri
8475 Maxham, Isiah T
11227 McCallister, Wm. B.. ..
2088 Mclntire. John
7288 Melchee, Wm '
7324 Merrill, Benson J
12631 Monroe, Asa L
9405 Montgomery, Orrin A.
9901 Morgan, Charles.....
4616 Morse, Willard
1544 Mosey, Alfred
12283 Nelson, Stephen
11067 Nichols, Harry
6559 Nownes, Geo. H
704 O'Brien, Wm
4300O'Niel, John
11992 Packard, M. G
11041 Paige, Edgar W
6586 Palmer, Elisha S
5605 Papeneau, Frank
11225 Patch, Benjamin H
10237 Paul, John E
3213 Perrault, Joseph
12721 Perry, Adolphus B
5135Phelphs, Harmon W...
12198|Pike, Normon T
10040iPillsbury, Franklin
Private
17
11
ICav.
11
11
ICav.
11
5
17
11
4
1 Cav.
9
1 Cav.
11
1 Cav.
6
3
1 Cav.
9
1 Cav.
11
10
11
11
ICav.
4
11
ICav.
i(
10
11
4
4
3
4
4
17
4
9
4
4
July 24, 1864
Aug. 26, 1864
Sept. 4, 1864
July 26, 1864
Aug. 20, 1864
Sept. 10, 1864
Aug. 3, 1864
Oct. 17, 1864
Aug. 3, 1864
Sept. 5, 1864
Sept. 10, 1864
Feb. 8, 1865
Sept. 16, 1864
June 24, 1864
Aug. 8, 1864
Nov. 2, 1864
Aug. 1, 1864
Sept. 11, 1864
Oct. 0, 1864
June 17, 1864
Aug. 30, 1864
Aug. 30, 1864
Feb. 10, 1865
Sept. 21, 1864
Sept. 27, 1864
Aug. 3, 1864
June 1, 1864
Dec. 13, 1864
Oct. 17, 1864
Aug. 23. 1864
Apr. 23, 1864
July 30, 1864
Nov. 13, 1864
Oct. 17, 1864
Aug. 23, 1864
Aug. 14, 1864
Oct. 20. 1864
Oct. 2, 1864
July 13, 1864
March 3, 1865
Aug. 9, 1864
Nov. 30, 1864
Sept. 29, 1864
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 267
No.
Names.
Rank.
Co.
Reg.
Date of
Death.
3183
4983
: 1426
6699
11009
9462
1888
13691
8138
7697
9894
6096
11966
15911
12266
7509
4580
12514
10897
12552
6640
5707
2943
648
7813
12561
10811
3382
S444
5963
7810
9574
5823
6587
11171
11220
8436
3784
11476
11287
7920
11840
5307
Plude, John
Preston, Thad's R...
Ranney, Antoine....
Ransom, Geo. W....
Raymo, F. A
Raymore, Lewis
Reed, Dean W
Rice, Fred W
Roberts, J. M
Roscoe, Curtis W....
Ross, Horace F
Sanborn, Henry M.
Sanborn, Martin S..
Scott, Geo. W
Scott, Royal A
Sexton, Thomas B...
Private
Seward, Orange
Shea, John
Sheldon, Harry G...
Sheldon, John
Simmons, Samuel....
Skinner, Francis A.
Smith, John C
Spoor, Wm.
Sprout, Andrew J...
Stewart, Edwin W.
Stiles, Azro B
St. John, Andrew...
Stockwell, A. S
Stone, James A
Sweeney, George....
Tallman, Wm. C...
Tatro, Alfred
Taylor, Henry C
Taylor, James W....
Thompson, Wm. A.
Tupper, Hiram E....
Tuttle, CyrusS
Twaddle, Wm
Wakefield, J. H
Ward, Alfred
Wardner, Oel
Warner, Geo. O
Corporal
Private
Batt'y
11
4
11
11
9
1 Cav.
4
11
11
11
4
11
ICav.
4
4
5
1 Cav.
4
iCav.
17
11
3
11
11
11
11
11
9
11
11
4
ICav.
4
4
11
3
10
July 11, 1864
Aug. 7, 1864
Oct. 24, 1864
Aug. 23, 1864
Oct. 16, 1864
Sept. 20, 1864
June 13, 1864
Oct. 31, 1864
Sept. 7, 1864
Sept. 3, 1864
Sept. 27, 1864
Oct. 11, 1864
Nov. 11, 1864
Aug. 17, 1864
Dec. 12, 1864
Sept. 11, 1864
Aug. 2, 1864i:
Jan. 8, 1865';^
Oct. 14, 1864
Jan. 29, 1865
Aug. 23, 1864
Aug. 15. 1864
July 5, 1865
Apr. 20, 1864
Sept. 4, 1864
Feb. 1, 1865
Sept. 12, 1864
July 15, 1864
Sept. 11, 1864
Aug. 17, 1864
Sept, 4, 1864
Aug. 15, 1864
Aug. 16, 1864
Sept. 11, 1864
Oct. 19, 1864
Oct. 20, 1864
Sept. 11, 1864
July 22, 1864
Oct. 26, 1864
Oct. 21, 1864
Sept. 5, 1864
Nov. 3, 1864
Aug. 8, 1864
268
OVER THE DEAD LINE
No.
Names.
Rank.
Co. I Eeg.
Date of
Death.
4533
8239
11711
3177
9178
7063
11783
10510
4376
5075
12156
1589
4435
7689
8264
14398
5751
11865
7322
Washburn, Samuel...
Watkins, Geo. E
Webster, Wm. A
Weller, David
Wells, Chas. K
Wells, Geo. A
Wheeler, Byron
White, Alonzo
Whitehill. Geo. W...
Whitney, Abel D.....
Willey, Chester S
Wilder, Levi F
Willson, Alva K
Witt, Teodore,
Woodmancy, Geo. F
Woods, James M
Woodward, S. P
Worthing, Silas T....
Wright, Clark S
Private
ICav.
I i
4
9
11
4
11
11
6
9
11
11
6
1 Cav.
11
4
11
1 Cav.
11
Aug.
Sept,
Oct.
July
Sept.
Aug.
Nov.
Oct.
July
Aug.
Nov.
Aug.
July
Sept
Oct.
Oct.
Aug.
Nov.
Aug.
2, 1864
8, 1864
9, 1864
11, 1864
17, 1864
28, 1864
3, 1864
8, 1864
31, 1864
8, 1864
25, 1864
2, 1864
31, 1864
. 3, 1864
24, 1864
24, 1864
15, 1864
6, 1864
30, 1864
ERRATA.
Page 12, line i, for None but, read Few but.
Page 12, line 9, for bespeak, read foreshadozued.
Page 12, line 18, for Frederick's Hull Station, read
Frederic Hall Station.
Page 27, line 13, for Cavalry rider read, Cavalry raider.
Page 35, line 10, for rank read ranks.
Page 47, line 6, for /o«r, read six hundred.
Page 70, line 21, for ^f^", read si.v hundred.
Page 94, line 8, for saw it, 7ead saw iit.
Page 135, line i, expunge the after follozcing.
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CONTENTS.
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CONTENTS.
Page.
To arms ! To arms ! was the pass-word 2
What misery I behold ; wounds undressed 6
He gave me a message to his widowed mother .... 7
I found him dead by my side 8
God help us if this is true • ^
As the guard cried the hour of three I spoke to him
again ^^
Halt! Who goes there? 10
Kilpatrick's famous cavalry raid 12
Col. Dahlgren killed ^3
Sleeping in the saddle ^4
Boom ! Boom ! rang out the rebel gun 16
My horse escapes 1°
I could hear the enemy cheering 19
Oh, for a few moments of precious time 20
Fearfully wounded . 21
Bound to the earth by my dead horse 22
May God bless, and protect you, my boy 23
18
274 OVER THE DEAD LINE
Again and again I cried for help 23
One more chance for life 24
Weak from loss of blood 25
You have the power to shoot me 29
In the old blacksmith shop with rebel officers 30
Informed there was a horse at the door for me 32
"Goodbye, Yank, keep your courage up" 33
In the rebel capitol 34
Free carriage to the "Libby Hotel" 35
In Castle Thunder 36
With a terrible oath, he ordered me to step aside. ... 38
Sentenced to death 40
A brutal act 41
False accusations 43
Are we to be shot like dogs ? 44
On Belle Island ; found friends 45
Will they dare to kill us ? 46
Arranged for my disguise 47
Anxiously awaiting the trying moment 48
The dreaded Dick Turner , 49
What a weight was lifted as I passed that man un-
observed 50
I promptly answered to the name of Sibley 51
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 275
Dick Turner's speech 5^
The confession was made to save liis comrade 53
An implement of torture 54
Turner's disappointment 55
Andersonville. whose history was to startle and shock
the world 56
The last message 57
Oh boys, we are not going home! 59
But hark ! the shrill whistle of the locomotive is heard 60
Sixty men in each box car 61
Ignorant of our destination 62
Terrible suffering, my wounded leg slung to the side
of the car ......; . . 65
Three prisoners shot while trying to escape 66
Rebel guard accidentally shot 67
Arrival at Andersonville 69
Division of the prisoners 70
Dividing the rations 72
My first meal in Andersonville 73
Paid $15 for an old oyster can and half canteen. ... 74
Thirteen Vermont boys for a mess, or family 75
The fatal dead line 76
A cripple brutally murdered yy
276 OVER THE DEAD LINE
Thus the dead in Andersonville were disposed of ... . 78
He Hfted his gun and fired 80
Yes, boys, T am wounded, but I think not fatally .... 81
A man buried alive in an Andersonville well 84
''Shot at the dead line" 85
A gang of desperadoes called Mosby's Raiders 86
Brutally assaulted by Andersonville raiders 88
Became totally blind 89
Andersonville ! Andersonville ! ! as he was launched
into eternity by the hangman's hand . ., 9(3
Andersonville raiders tried for murder 90
An enraged Dutchman, "listen to vot I say" 92
Running the gauntlet; an awful scare . .. .1 94
Introduce myself as a fortune teller 97
A Masonic pin brings aid . 98
We were encouraged by the kindness of the rebel
sergeant , 99
Six camp robbers hung loi
Capt. Wirz brought in the condemned men 102
The Catholic priest was endeavoring to minister to
their spiritual wants 103
I cut a lock of hair from the dead boy's head, and
placed it in his little Bible 104
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 277
Outside the stockade for the first time 105
Farnsworth's death; only two left 107
Hopelessly insane he tore the clothes from his body. . 108
Indians could not stand confinement 109
A planter claims a negro prisoner as his ex-slave. ... no
"Dat am Sam Johnson's nigger sure" m
Our rations, one pint of unsifted corn meal to each
man 112
When the mortality exceeded 200 per day 113
Should he chance to peruse these lines 117
It was not difficult to identify our man 118
We gave the poor fellow all the assistance we could ..119
Knowing his doom was sealed 120
The first shot passed through his body 121
An Andersonville beer shop 123
I went into trade 125
Failed in business 1 126
A fearful undertaking 128
A living man carried to the dead house as dead. ... 129
A trying ordeal 130
A close call .....131
278 OVER THE DEAD LINE
At six o'clock the blood-hounds encircled the prison,
led by "Old Spot" . ., 134
Orders to pack up ^ 135
Under fire of our own guns for 1 1 days in Charleston,
S. C 136
Arrived at Florence 138
A break for liberty ....,......:.... 139
The woods were filled with fleeing prisoners 142
Lost my comrade ..... .<. . . .,. . . .1 142
Travelled in the swamp all night . 144
"Partake or die" 144
Our flag in sight ,...., 144
My feet and knees were bleeding freely , 145
We talked of our friends in the far away North 146
We could judge nothing of the distance we had trav-
eled 147
In sight of a habitation 148
"O Lor! massa, din't you-ns' scar dis ole nigger?". . 150
In a few moments the old slave returned with food. .151
Wandering in Southern swamps 153
Halt ! who comes there ? 1 54
They proved to be friends ; escaped prisoners 155
We hold a consultation 156
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 279
We borrow a ham, to be paid for when we come that
way again I57
We do not beheve the shot to be fired by the people
of the place i 158
About midnight the barking of the blood-hounds is
heard i. 160
On! On! through the darkness and solitude of the
night we must wend our weary way . 161
About tO' give up 1 162
Hunted down like wild beasts 163
Ayers looking for food 164
Secreted by slaves 166
They throw our pursuers off the trail 167
"If brodder Jonsing will has no 'jections I will 'sist
dis gemmen wid a short season of pray'r" . . . .169
"Dar is no one pass in de daytime" 171
"O Lor! sabe us, dey is comin" . . . . . ./.... 171
Of course I would abide by his decision 173
Uncle Eben 174
Beholding a live Yankee 175
The old slave's prayer 176
We prepare to leave the Christian people 177
Taken by moonshiners 179
280 OVER THE DEAD LINE
"We-uns must look into you-ims case" i8o
"They's mighty polite" i8i
At the desperadoes camp 182
On a rickety table were dirk knives, clay pipes, black-
strap, rum and revolvers 183
The moonshiner's w^ife perishes in the flames 184
Soon after our arrival the scene is terrible 185
Ayers said, "Come on, now is our time" 186
Two well armed outlaws as our guides 188
Taking the North Star for our guide 190
He exclaimed, "My God ! what are we going to do?" 191
Ayers accosted him with "Good morning, Uncle," . . 192
My God! we are pursued by blood-hounds . . . 193
Surrounded by blood-hounds 194
We told them we were Confederate teamsters 195
Recaptured 196
Recaptured by blood-hounds 196
Our captors divide their rations with us 197
The mystery soup . ... ., -. .1 198
The old lady ordered me to give up the servants
"wescut" 199
Nine days and nights wandering through Southern
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 281
swamps and mountain fastnesses 201
"Where the vermin dieth not, and the fires are not
built" . . 202
Arrival at Florence 203
Hull and myself concoct a scheme 204
"Flanking" for extra rations 206
Caught 206
"Two men absent; call the roll" 207
Headed for the whipping post 208
Ordered before the brutal chief 209
Disgrace of being publicly whipped 210
"O'ive a mind to lit um schkip" 211
"Take to yer hales, me lads" 212
T was obliged to sleep within two hundred feet of
this rendezvous of suffering 213
I saw my comrade step out, he was chosen 214
I was alone, comparatively alone 215
Exclaimed aloud, "Must I die in this awful place?". 216
I saw I had struck the right man 217
"United we stand, divided we freeze" 218
We made a brick house, size 7x5 feet 219
The terrible storm that burst upon us 220
282 OVER THE DEAD LINE
Oaths, prayers, groans, mingling- with the elements in
the relentless fury of the storm .222
Suffering for want of fuel after the big storm 225
It fell like a thunder bolt on the starving men 226
Voting for President in Florence, beans used for
ballots 227
A Confederate stood by to see fair play 228
Standing closely together we kept from freezing .... 229
Drew a tall hat, otherwise was naked 230
Paroled at last; homeward bound 232
My life depended upon what he would say 234
"Take this, chuniy," the poor fellow said 235
He stood near the fatal dead-line and waved me fare-
well 236
Again I meet Comrade Miller 238
Their silence meant freedom 239
The scene changes . 240
I heard his sad story 240
Charleston literally torn to pieces 242
"Get into line," echoed through the dark and gloomy
apartments 243
On board one of our ships 245
New clothing 1 246
OR TRACKED BY BLOOD-HOUNDS 283
"Do you know my boy?" a mother asked. "Yes, he
was shot for stepping over the dead line" 248
Bidding farewell to the sad scenes 249
The dying soldier's story 251
Trying to escape from the desperadoes 253
*'We are running fast, to-night" 255
"Where will we meet the express to-night?" 255
"And you are the man who dares to tell me my busi-
ness?" 257
In the hands of a crazy engineer 258
"My God! we are lost," exclaimed the fireman 259
"There," said the mad engineer, "raise that damper". 260
As he spoke a tear rolled down his cheek 262
Name, Company, Regiment, No. of grave of all Ver-
mont soldiers who died in Andersonville 263
)Q2
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
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