Our Exchanged Prisoners: a Youth's Companion article from 1865

This Youth's Companion article and illustration come from the January 5, 1865 edition of that newspaper.

No more touching scene has occurred during the war than that which was exhibited on the deck of the dispatch boat, when the first of our exchanged prisoners in the last exchange that was made, found themselves once more under the protection of the stars and stripes. A terrible record of suffering was written upon their livid faces, gaunt, skinny limbs and tattered clothes. No words can describe the exultation of these poor sufferers a their release. With shouting and cheering, in almost an ecstasy of happiness, they greeted the old flag, singing

"Rally round the flag, boys, 

From near and from far,

Down with the traitor, 

and up with the star!"

The condition of the released prisoners is thus described by a correspondent of the Philadelphia Inquirer: One poor fellow showed me his limbs. They were not larger toward the ankle than a man's thumb. It was touching as well as amusing to the bystanders to here their remarks as they came off the boat. One man, jumping up and stamping with this feet, uttered the exclamation as though it came from his very soul, "God bless the piece of land that I'm now on." Another: "Thank God I'm in His country once more." Others would utter like exclamations of joy and gratitude, such as, "O, what a blessed hour is this!" ; "Hurrah for the Union, I'm once more in it!"  "Fourteen months in Dixie, but never a day more!" An Irishman, as he walked off, said, "Sure this is the happiest day since iver I came to Ameriky." 

The information which these men give concerning their sufferings and the cruelty practiced toward them by the rebel authorities almost staggers belief. At Camp Sumter, which is the prisoner camp where they were confined at Andersonville, thirty odd thousand were held during the summer. Very few of these had any shelter from the rain or burning sun.

Their only resort was to dig holes in the ground, and at each end excavate or scoop out the earth from under, so as to afford a partial shelter. Here two would creep for a little relief. 

Their food we need not describe. It is the same old story which we hear from every one who has ever been subject to the tender mercies of the authorities in the South. Their rations were seldom, if ever cooked. Peas and corn meal, or corn meal with an occasional bit of bacon, and in very small portions, were the only articles furnished them.

The sufferings they endured can never be imagined. As I have gone around and sat by their beds in the different wards, and heard their statements of the conditions of the poor fellows who were at Camp Sumter, and at Andersonville, and Camp Lawton, at Millen, Ga., my very heart has ached, and I have had to leave that I might hear no more.

Illustration from the National Park Service

The Cow Bell Dodge

courtesy amazon.com

 
From the Covington Journal of October 26, 1861 comes this story of a different sort of Confederate tactic.

The Rebels on the Potomac have resorted to an ingenious way of luring our men into snares. It is known, says the Lafayette Courier as the "cow-bell dodge." and it was very successful for a time, especially with newly arrived regiments, companies of which were placed on picket duty for the first time. The rebels, approaching within thirty or forty rods of our outposts and concealing themselves in the woods, commence the irregular tinkle of a cow bell. The uninitiated picket, not suspecting the ruse, and not reconciled to drinking his coffee without milk, goes out to obtain a supply from the supposed cow of some supposed Virginia rebel, flattering himself that he has got a "big thing on Secesh." Not until he finds himself surrounded by a half-dozen or so armed rebels does he learn his mistake. In Richmond are nearly a dozen soldiers who are probably now regretting their ready credulity and appetite for milk. 
--
It reminded me of this story that I had posted a few months ago.

Amenities of War

From the Covington Journal  of August 31, 1861.

"Amenities of War"
We are sure that every reader must have rejoiced to learn from the testimony of the released physicians and others lately held as prisoners of war in Virginia that the reports, so currently disseminated, soon after the battle of Bull Run, respecting the alleged inhumanity of the Southern troops towards the wounded and prisoners who fell into their hands, were without foundation. We have repeatedly cited, in our columns, from the Secession press, voluntary tributes paid to the amenities practiced by the National troops to such of the Confederate soldiers who were found disabled or dying on the battlefield.

In proportion as men are more likely to believe evil than good of their adversaries, is the danger that vague reports, calculated to exasperate the spirit of war, may give a savage ferocity to the conflict in which the whole country is engaged. And the readiness with which such ill-omened rumors were received and circulated by a portion of the press in both sections deserves perhaps to be regarded as a portentous sign of the evil times upon which we have fallen.But, happily, in almost every instance where investigation  was practicable, these stories have proved to be entirely groundless. The American name is thus rescued from the disgrace which these calumnies, if uncontradicted, must have left upon it in the eyes of the civilized world. [National Intelligencer]

Rebel Barbarity in Southern Prisons, an article from the Youth's Companion

"Rebel Barbarity" was the caption in the newspaper

Here is an article from the Youth's Companion of December 10, 1863. It is, perhaps, mostly a propaganda piece, but, even if so, it serves as an example of how reports of southern treatment of northern prisoners spread throughout the north, even among papers like this one, which included children among its audience. Note also that this was written in December 1863, and the most notorious of all Rebel prisons, Andersonville, did not open until a couple months later, in early 1864.

    Probably all the readers of the Companion have heard of the cruel treatment received by United States' soldiers in the Libby and other prisons in and about Richmond. There is no doubt that the most harrowing accounts fall short of the reality. Stories come in to us, authenticated by the bloodless lips of famished men, portraying the horrors of rebel dungeons, and the cruel malice, born and nurtured of barbaric customs, wreaked upon defenseless prisoners, sufficient to make even the boldest rebel sympathizer blush with shame and loathing. Our noble soldiers have endured in vile Southern dens the extent of human woe. They are the real heroes of our nation.

   Our engraving this week pictures the appearance of United States' prisoners, in hospital, who have recently been released from Belle Island. With some of them life was nearly extinct; many were too far gone to understand they were at last among friends, and died unconscious of the comforts surrounding them, exclaiming, "I am too tired, - something to eat - what torment!" Others, writhing and moaning in agony, lingered on a few days, accepting gladly the longed-for food, offered too late. Their weakened systems rejected even the slightest nourishment. The death-seal was upon their brows ere they left the prison where for months they had lingered in slow torture. The sand had been their bed in sun and rain, through cold and heat. It had been their only protection, almost their only covering. Of one hundred and eighty prisoners landed at Annapolis from Richmond about a month ago, fifty-three died in less than one week, victims to ill-treatment and actual starvation endured during their imprisonment.

   Our readers may thus learn how their brothers and friends are slaughtered in Southern slave pens. No false delicacy should prevent the presentation of the whole truth. All the world should know that boasted rebel civilization is the cruelest barbarism, and that the grosest (sic) brutality must be expected of a people educated under the debasing influences of slavery


Here is a link to more information about Libby Prison and a photograph of that prison from the Library of Congress.

A Brave Tennessee Union Boy and a Young Hero: two articles from the Youth's Companion

From the Youth's Companion of April 7, 1864, here are two stories with different versions of an anti-swearing message. 

A Brave Tennessee Union Boy
  The following story is told concerning some prisoners held by the rebels. There were ninety-six, mostly East Tennesseans, imprisoned for Unionism. The following incident will best describe the quality of their Unionism: 


   "Among a batch that had lately arrived, was a man whom the rebels were endeavoring to force to take the oath of allegiance to the Southern Confederacy. But his wife, who had been confined just after his arrest, fearing that his regard for her condition might induce him to submit to what was demanded, sent her son, who was only eight years old, to tell his father not to take the oath."

   "This brave little fellow came nearly one hundred miles on his mission, and when he arrived, the guards refused to admit him. Undaunted, however, by the rebuff, the young hero got close to the picket fence, and shouted with all his might: "Pa! pa! don't you swear. O, pa, don't you swear! We can get along; I got the lot plowed to put in wheat."

From the same issue:

A YOUNG HERO
   Many of the officers stationed at Point Lookout, Md., have their families with them to spend the winter, and among the children are a number of little boys who have imbibed much of the military spirit, and they have organized a company, and drill from time to time. On one occasion one of these young officers used profane language, and no sooner had he uttered that oath than he threw his sword upon the ground, saying "If I can't be an officer without swearing I will not be an officer any longer"  - Congregationalist

Pardons for people who helped slaves escape in KY?

The article I am linking here is from May of 2010, and I don't know how I missed it the first time, but I find it interesting and a good idea.

The timing is actually not bad for me, as I'm currently reading Creating a Confederate Kentucky, a very fine book by Anne Marshall, and this article mentions how Kentucky's role in the Civil War was "ambivalent," a description much more understandable when considered alongside Marshall's book. Also the concept of offering pardons for this type of crime, yet no  descendants of those convicted of these offenses offers an interesting perspective on how the war and slavery are remembered in current times.

This article does not mention the names of all 44 who were to be pardoned, and I have not yet found out if the pardons have yet occurred, but I will look into it more and see what I can find.(One quick question: did the people undertaking this project ever list all of the names or publicize them somehow? If not, then it is no wonder at all that no descendants have expressed interest in this work.)

Also, I do wonder if it is accurate for the writer of the article's headline to use the word "abolitionists." I tend to think of that word as being for those who wanted slavery eliminated, but does it also count for those who simply helped (or tried to help) slaves escape? Is it safe to assume that these people (I've seen them called "operators" on the Underground Railroad) favored the abolition of slavery? Is helping a slave escape the same as wanting the entire institution prohibited? I'll have to think about that some more while wondering if I'm being too finicky in asking these questions.

I also recommend reading the New York Times' Editorial on this story. The article linked above includes a link to it as well, but I am also linking it in case that makes it easier to find. It is worth the click.

(And again, it is interesting to find this commentary in the New York Times, a newspaper frequently referred to in Marshall's book for its observations and thoughts about Kentucky in the late 1800s. The use of the phrase "Modern Kentucky" in the editorial quickly caught my attention, presumably because I'm reading the book about Kentucky of the past.)

Book Review: Andersonvilles of the North, by James M. Gillispie

Andersonvilles of the North: The Myths and Realities of Northern Treatment of Civil War Confederate Prisoners

Author: James M Gillispie

copyright 2009

University of North Texas Press

Andersonvilles of the North: The Myths and Realities of Northern Treatment of Civil War Confederate Prisoners was written by Dr. James M. Gillispie to show that the Union prisons' "difficult living conditions do not by themselves constitute proof of systematic negligence and cruelty and the the most reliable evidence available seriously undermines the widely held idea that Union officials conspired to make their prisons as horrible and deadly as possible." (page5).

Gillispie discusses the origins of the beliefs that Union officials had participated in such a conspiracy and that they showed little or no care for the welfare of the prisoners. He explores postwar writings, by Northerners held in Southern prisons and Southerners held in Northern prisons, to show the spread of such charges by both sides against their enemy. He makes the argument that these accounts are unreliable, due to the motivations the writers had, such as making themselves look brave, despite missing battles, by showing what terrible conditions they had to face in prisons, as well as some of the Lost Cause mythology, in which Southern writers tried to paint their wartime enemies as cruel, sadistic, non-Christian monsters. Both sides used what modern readers might recognize as "propaganda" to make their side look better and the enemy appear more cruel.  The two chapters covering this discussion are quite interesting and shows why he chose to rely more upon the War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies,  The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion  and various diaries and letters written during the war, when these actions were being taken, instead of postwar memoirs and books.

Gillispie then shows how modern writers cover the issue of prisoners of war, especially in Northern prisons, and how many of them continue using the same themes that post-war southern writers used, especially the thought that the North was a land of plenty but did not share its resources with its captives in an acceptable or generous fashion. He shows that many such writings still have some of the "Lost Cause" type of reasoning behind them, but that some writers have started to manage avoiding that, and started to look at more war-time evidence instead of post-war propaganda.

Chapter 4 looks at actual Union official policies regarding the treatment of captives and concludes "Ultimately the more objective wartiome evidence from Northern and Southern sources indicates that Union policies towards Confederate prisoners cannot be defined as vindictive or inhumane." (page 104)

The next four chapters - the heart of the book - discuss nine major Federal prisons, the treatment Confederates received at each and the actions of inspectors and Union officials at each. The nine prisons studied are (in alphabetical order, not the order discussed in the book): Alton, Camp Chase, Camp Douglas, Cam Morton, Elmira, Fort Delaware, Johnson's Island, Rock Island and Point Lookout.

Gillispie relies on inspector reports and communication from Union officials, especially Commissary-General of Prisoners, Colonel William Hoffman, to show that Northern officials did often recognize problems withe the camps and often tried to rectify them. Inspection reports by Union surgeons and officials may sound like biased sources, when they say prisoners had enough food or clothing, and that is a legitimate point, but these reports did provide many criticisms of the conditions of these camps, indicating that the actual inspectors took their duties seriously and performed them in good conscience.

Gillispie, despite  his intent to show that the Confederate prisoners were not intentionally mistreated by their captors, does not paint a  pretty picture of the camps, showing how even the best faced challenges of weather, crowded conditions, and, especially, sanitation, even when the Union tried to rectify such situations. There were situations, such as barracks at Camp Morton or Foster's Pond at Elmira, that Gillispies criticizes the Union leaders for not having them fixed more quickly and efficiently. His is not a book that tries to portray these prisons as being comfortable by modern standards, or Union officials as flawless in their performance.

The final chapter of the book is entitled "The Omnipresent Specter of Disease" and shows the challenges these soldiers faced, even within their own camps, much less in prisons. It is a good reminder of the shape medical science in this country was in at the time of the war, with knowledge of the causes of diseases and how they spread not yet understood. Even the best, most conscientious, doctors and officials simply did not have the knowledge that so many modern readers would find to be basic, in today's world. This is a subject that should be taken into consideration when discussing the subject of conditions of prisons. Disease simply could not be easily avoided during this era.

(One theme throughout the chapters covering the specific prisons was which diseases were most deadly at each prison, what medical science at the time knew about them, their causes and cures, and how surgeons, doctors and officials at each prison tried to combat these illnesses, usually smallpox, diarrhea/dysentery (as classified at the time), and pneumonia.)

Gillispie concludes his book by claiming "In the end, Northern officials appear to have done the best they could at the time for Confederate prisoners of war. Tragically, that was often not enough." (page 238)

I enjoyed this book and found it to be very readable and informative. Gillispie provides a lot of evidence to back up his statements and claims, and makes this a subject certainly worth further reflection. I do wish that he had addressed  accusations that Union officials shot or physically tortured prisoners (such as by hanging them by their thumbs), but given his decision to rely on war-time evidence and not post-war claims and propaganda, such accusations may not have held enough credibility to be worthy of discussion.

For anybody interested in Civil War prisons or prisoners, this book, and the evidence it contains, is certainly one to be read and considered.

(As usual, this review is my opinion only, and done without any form of compensation, other than personal enjoyment.)