have a better appreciation of the troubles of those who have suffered before us, and may come after us. To-day, prison life was illumined by a female form, one of grace and elegance, Mrs. Colonel Bryan, who visits her brother, Captain Sam. Thompson, a prisoner with us. Her appearance infused new life into our prison circles. It seems, as if there is something more soothing and refreshing in the rustle of female garments, than in any of the other modifiers of the prison worry; the step of a gentle, loving woman, with her winning smile, and cheerful presence, are well-springs of joy to the sufferer. Mrs. Bryan, as she visited the hospital, conscious of nothing but woman's duties and her mission, seemed like a fairy visitation, to the sick and weary soldier, as she moved over the campus, the thousand prisoners thought of home, and their loved ones. This lady traveled thousands of miles, without an escort, subject to the inconveniences and exposure, incidental to such a trip, for the purpose of assisting in ameliorating the condition of the sick in prison, and provide for the comforts of her brother, one of the truest soldiers in the service. An ice-cream saloon has been opened under the cheering auspices of a warm day, and twelve hundred panting prisoners. The conception of the institution, originated with Lieutenant D. B. Griswold, of the engineer corps; who argued, that the prospects for getting out were rather slim-so he concluded he would try and freeze out. Lieutenant Griswold makes cream for the sick, for which they seem quite grateful. The proprietor of this establishment is assisted by Lieutenant William Swiney, of Memphis, who is a brave and faithful soldier. Lieutenant Griswold has much humor, stands his imprisonment better than the best of us; his spirits never flag, is always disposed to be accommodating, makes pies for others to eat, and rings for others to wear; is always on hand at base-ball or cribbage; in fact, I don't know what we would do without "Griz." I first met the lieutenant at camp Chase. it was wet, he was pleased; if it was dry, it suited him as well; hot or cold, it was all the same; and with this happy faculty, for adaptation to circumstances, Lieutenant If Griswold is enabled, to make himself one of the most agreeable gentlmen in prison. A squad of prisoners, who have been on parole, are now entering the "big gate." This arrival is attracting more than ordinary attention, as they have been on parole, and are supposed to bring us news. Captain Morton, of the Thirty-second Tennessee, steps in; he is immediately surrounded by a crowd of prisoners, and is distributing the latest papers to his friends. Captain Morton has the reputation of being a fine officer. Lieutenant Weller is of Taylor's battery; also an accomplished and energetic officer, is receiving the congratulations of his friends. Captain T. Wood and Colonel Steadman pass in, and the "big gate " closes. Colonel Steadman is one of the best soldiers, Alabama has sent to the field. Captain Wood is eminent for courage and judgment. In spite of the superintendent's falsehoods, threats, and misrepresentations, only four men have taken the oath; and to show the class of men, who are faithless, I will state that one is the poet-Bill Rupert; his taking the oath is to be expected, when one refers to that chandoic effusion. Lieutenant Rupert is a native of Illinois, and was an assistant in a Southern restaurant. Another is Colonel Smith's ostler, who was allowed to come with us. He is a Swiss, and very ignorant. The other two are natives of Pennsylvania; one of whom made a speech in Sandusky, the night of his release, in which he stated, he had been forced into the Confederate army. The Sandusky "Register," (that filthy sheet,) was honest enough to rebuke the author of this falsehood, in a well-timed article, the spirit of which was, that while they welcomed the traitors to their ranks, it was the first time they had ever heard of officers being forced into the army. one of these traitors was a Southern man. Placards had been posted in prison, inviting us to take the oath, which were torn down by the prisoners in five minutes. As the traitors went out, they received a succession of groans from the friends of the cause they had deserted. Not CHAPTER X. ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE.-SIMPLICITY OF A PRISONER.-NERVOUSNESS LIEUTENANT Green, Duncan having heard of the brilliant exploits of Dick Turpin, also of the present puissant Emperor of France, Louis Napoleon's (the greatest statesman, with one of the most comprehensive military minds, of this, or any age, and whose history of Cæsar stamps him as a profound thinker, and ripe scholar,) hegira from Ham, concluded that nothing is impossible, save the preservation of the republic of the United States, man having a capacity for self-government, having been proven an hypothesis of error, and in a few years, the sleek bell-ringer of the star chamber at the Federal Capital will accept peaceably, the robes of royalty, that a people (tied hand and foot) will tamely submit to see thrust upon him by his usurping colleagues; and the little stars (those military satraps,) who float in the circle, (some of them in whiskey,) of their lord and master William H. Seward, will be as ready to imitate in this particular, as they have the excesses of the powers that be, in their crusade on the South, among the most prominent being William T. Sherman* and Philip Sheridan.† The night General Sherman ordered thirty families out of Memphis, in 1862, as retaliation, (so he said,) "your guerrillas firing on our transports." Why did he order out of Memphis, women and children, innocent of any participation in was tearfully stormy, yet Duncan, with that intrepidity so peculiar to the citizens of that State that furnished the great Breckinridge, the most perfect gentleman, erudite scholar, and gallant soldier, that this century has produced. Where is the compeer of John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky?-left the building, and groping his way to the open field, crawled to the fence, passing the stream of light that crossed the path from the reflectors, undiscovered, as he had taken the advantage of a drain, which ran to the lake, and which was covered with grass. He commenced sawing one of the posts that supported the fence, when he struck a nail, and becoming excited, (and possibly a little vexed,) rather than wait until the tramp of the relief would deaden the sound, pulled at the plank, and it came off with a ripping sound, that vibrated from one end of the wall to the other, and most unfortunately, a sentinel whom he had not discovered in his eagerness to saw out, was on the wall immediately above him, who exclaimed, "halt," and lowered his musket. Duncan seeing the polished bayonet in the gloom, hallooed, "Raise your gun, you yankee scoundrel, or you are a dead man." The sentinel obeyed orders either from habit or imagining that the rebel had a torpedo in his pocket, and Duncan taking advantage of his surprise, ran like a turkey, and was soon too far in the murky gloom, for the balls (a score of which were fired at him,) to do any damage. The Lieutenant lost his saw, the Yankees some the so-called offences of their male relatives? Why did he not rather, send out his gorrillas, selecting them from the Eighth Missouri, where they could have fought men, instead of burning down houses, murdering inoffensive citizens? (as they did in the case of that esteemed citizen of Memphis, Columbus Alexander, Esq.) The reason he vented his spite on these defenseless families (the writer's being one of them,) was to carry out his doctrine, "that war is cruelty," a policy to which he faithfully adhered at Memphis and Atlanta. His boasted march to the sea, has been beaten by Weston, as it was only a feat of pedestrianism, there being no enemy in front of him. As a marauding expedition, it was a human sirocco, leaving nought but desolation in its track. † Sheridan boasted of having destroyed two thousand well filled barns in the valley Shenandoah; Sherman left nothing of the property of their fellowcitizens. Let the civilized world take these men, (with Butler, the beast; N. P. Banks, a nobody; Schurz, a blasphemer; Pope, the braggart; that Munchausen Kilpatrick; that English adventurer, Wyndam,) and compare them with John C. Breckinridge, Robert E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnson, Stonewall Jackson, Leonidas Polk, G. T. Beauregard, and Kirby Smith, and discriminate between the vandalism of the former, and the forbearance of the latter ammunition, and the author obtained a sensational paragraph. As we moved from the depot to the boat, at Sandusky, Ohio, a densely packed crowd surrounded us, many of whom were women; some of the latter abusing us in unmentionable language, and going so far as to spit at us, and it took the united efforts of the guard to prevent their mobbing us in that most damnable of all places, that sink of Abolitionism, where they mob defenceless prisoners, but don't send soldiers to the front unless they can find some poor Irishman* or German, who they can get drunk, enlist him, and then steal his bounty. While the rush of prisoners and of guards was making to the boat, one stalwart Confederate, with an immense overcoat enveloping his person, had lagged behind, but on noticing the last prisoner file off the gangway, and fearful of being left, rushed eagerly on to the stage-plank, where he was suddenly halted by the guard. "Get off this boat, we don't want any of you fellows talking to rebel prisoners." "Let me pass, I am a rebel ?" "Get off, I tell you, or I'll stick about an inch of this bayonet into you.' "If you don't think I'm a good reb, look at my buttons,' (unbuttoning his overcoat, displaying the well-known Confederate uniform to the astonished guard,) who said: "Get aboard, you're a d―d fool, than Thompson's colt.” "That may be so, Yank, but Jim P. never deserts his crowd." The Lieutenant could have made his escape easily, by the aid of his citizen's coat, and if he had known as much as he does at present, it is probable he would, but as we only learn from experience, the Lieutenant may profit by *The United States Army was composed as follows: Germans, 176,800; Irish, 144,200; British Americans, 53.500; English, 45,500; other foreigners, 48,400; nationalities unknown, 26,500; of the colored troops, (who fought nobly,) 200,000. Total, 694,900. Add to these, twelve or fifteen thousand officers, nine-tenths of whom were Americans; the host of provost guards, teamsters, ambulance drivers, hospital attendants, assistant quartermaster and assistant commissary departments, and the other bomb-proof establishments, all filled with native Americans, and we find that of the thousounds who have been offered up to appease the thirst for blood of Yankee Abolition fanaticism, about seventy-five per cent. of them were foreigners. |