Fifteen Months in Dixie; Or, My Personal Experience in Rebel PrisonsDay, W. W. (William Worthy)
History
Fifteen Months in Dixie; Or, My Personal Experience in Rebel Prisons
Day, W. W. (William Worthy)
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Prisoners and prisons
A half mile from the prison-pen is the cemetery. Here are buried the
13,714 that died a wretched death from starvation and disease. The
appearance of the cemetery has been entirely changed since war days.
Then it was an old field. The trenches for the dead were dug about
seven feet wide and 100 yards long. No coffins were used. The twisted,
emaciated forms of the dead prisoners were laid side by side, at the
head of each was driven a little stake on which was marked a number
corresponding with the number of the body on the death register. The
register was kept by one of the prisoners, and 12,793 names are
registered, with State, regiment, company, rank, date of death and
number of grave. Only 921 graves lack identification. I found 35 of my
regiment numbered, and quite a number whom I knew had died there lie
with the unknown. The head boards have been taken away, and
substantial white marble slabs have been erected in their places. The
stones are of two kinds. For the identified soldiers the stones are
flat, polished slabs, three feet long, (one-half being under ground),
four inches thick and 12 inches wide. On the stone is a raised shield,
and on this is recorded the name, rank, state and number. For the
unknown the stone is four inches square and projects only five inches
above the ground. The rows of graves are about 10 or 12 feet apart.
There are a few stones that have been furnished by the family or
friends of the dead. Aside from the few, so many stones alike are
symbolic of a similar cause and an equal fate. The cemetery covers 25
acres, inclosed by a brick wall five feet high. The main entrance is
in the center of the west side. In the center of a diamond-shaped plot
rises a flagstaff, where the Stars and Stripes are floating from
sunrise to sunset. The cemetery presents a beautiful appearance. The
grounds are nicely laid out and neatly kept, under the supervision of
J. M. Bryant, who lives in a nice brick cottage inside the grounds.
I will close by quoting one inscription from a stone erected by a
sister to the memory of a brother.
“They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the
sun light on them, nor any heat.
“For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and
shall lead them unto living fountains of water; and God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes.”
—Rev., VII: 16, 17.
The writer of the above article was a prisoner of war over 19 months,
was captured at the battle of Chickamauga Sept. 20, 1863; delivered to
the Union lines April, 1865, and was aboard the ill-fated steamer
Sultana.
Would like to know if any comrade living was imprisoned this long.—A. C.
BROWN, Co. I, 2d Ohio, Albert Lea, Minn.
[Illustration: American Flag]
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Transcriber’s Notes
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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