Soldiers' record, 1871-01-14

              ONE FLAG, ONE LAND, ONE HE Alii y ONE RAND, ONE NATION, EVERMORE!
YOL. III. NO. 27 ]
lours at iomc.
THE BABE AND THE SOLDIERS.
Plough and ready the troopors ride,
'Great bearded men with sword by side;
Tliey have ridden long, they have ridden hard.
They are travel-stained an(I battle-scavred,
The hard ground shakes with their martial tramp,
And coarse is the laugh of the mes Of the camp.
I'hey reach a spot whore a mother stands,
With a baby clapping its little hands,
Laughing aloud at the gallant sight ^
Of the mouuted soldiars fresh from tlffi flglit;
The Captain laughs out, "I will glTe you this,
A handful of gold, your baby to kiss,''
Smiles the moth»r—"A kiss can't be sold,"
-But gladly he'll kiss a soldier bold ;"
•He lifts up the babe with a manly grace,
And covers with kisses its smiling face,
•Its rosy cheeks, and its dimpled charms,
And it crows with delight in the soldier's arms.
"Not all for the Captain,'' the soldiers call;
"The baby, we know has a kiss for all."
ffo the Boldiers' breast the baby is pressed
By the strong rough men, and by turns carressed j
And louder it laughs, and the mother fair
Smiles with mute joy as the kisses they - share.
"Just such a kiss," cries one trooper grim,
'' When I left my boy, I gare to him !''
"And just sucli a kiss, on the parting day,
I gave to ray girl as asleep she lay."
Sucii were tlie words of those soldiers brave,.
And thoir eyes were moist when the kiss they igiive.
H A E T E O R D , O O K l ^ . , S A T U R D A Y , J A W A R Y 14, 1 8 7 1 .
Not far from the prison enclosure was
an abundance of growing; timber. Re
peatedly I besought Major Gee to allow
our men to go, under guard, on parole, to
cut wood for fires and for barracks. In
two or three days we could have built
arms at the first report of the musket,
and the vigilant cannoniers at the angles
jof the great prison enclosure were train-ing
their artillery on our dense masses.
Tlie whole fence was lined with Confed-erate
troops eager to shoot us down.
comfortable huts. The request was re-j^\uother stono, and we should have been
fused lie told me lie was going to build
barracks lor the prisonei-w, as soon as ho
could get lumber. 1 asked him to fur-nish
blankets and tents at once, for some
ot our men were dying every niglit on
the bare ground. He promised to sup-ply
them, but no blnnkets came ; nor did
any tents appear before December, and
then only for a third of the men. Think
of a starving man, half naked, lying on
the bare ground on a rainy or snowy
slaughtered like sheep. We gnashed our
teorh and clenched our fists and—resolved!
So fell in the prime of lite, without a
moment's warning, by the assassin's arm,
Second Lieutenant John Davis of the
165th N. Y. Infantry. The i-eligious ex-ercises
were turned into a funeral ser-vice,
As we stood around the yet warm
corpse and saw the purple stream oozing
from those ale lips, and thought of that
far-off home from which tlie shadow of
night. Multitudes of them finally w e r e ^ a t h should nevor be 11 f'tod, and board
forced to dig holes in the ground, where^he eloquent voice of our prisoner ohap-
XWrifctun f(ir The SOLDIERS' KECORD.]
NOTES ON REBEL PRISONS,
BY HOMER B. S P I U G U G.
K V i; N T11—S A LISI! U15 V.
'The number of officers in prison at
•Salisbury ill October, 1804, was about
three hundred luid twenty, m iking about
•eighty to each ofthe four log huts, which
were assigned to them as quarters. In
•each house the officers immediately pro-ceeded
to el^ct one who should serve as
house-commissary. His duty was to re-ceive
the rations from Colonel Hooper,
• the gcneraLoomm^.s-saay. to whomvtJ^e reb-el
authorities delrv;ercd them, and tb dis-tribute
them fairly among the officers in
•his house Log houso number one ap-pointed
Colonel Prey of a New York
Regiment; Captain I>. Tarbell acted in
behalf of log house number two ; Lieut.
Reilly oi Philadelphia A^as commissary
for house numbor three ; and I myself,
ibr house number four. We house-com-missaries
acted as the organ or agent of
1 he officers in all communications with
the rebel authorities. All who were
prisoners in S;ilisbury during that month
will be pleased to learn that Gol. Hooper
is married and happy in Boston, where
he is known as a successful and enter-prising
merohant. Tarbell, who was
eve'-ybody's favorite during the five
months that we were togeiher in the
hands of the uncircumcised, has spent
two years in Cornell University, and ha«
just had the good fortune to be elected
Clerk of the Superior Court ai a salary
of $3000. He resides at Groton, N. Y.
I may l)e pardoned, perhaps, for relating
the following little incident.
In the fall of 1868, just after Cornell
Un'veisity opened at Ithaca, N. Y., it
tell to my lot to examine in English
Orammar all the candidates for admis-sion
to the University. One afternoon
a very 6ei'ious-l(Toking and somewhat fa-miliar
face looked in at my door. "Is
Professor Sprague in V "I am he, sir,''
I replied. "I wish to be examined in
Orammar for admission to the Univer-sity."
"Take a seat, sir, if you please."
He passed a paper to mo on which was
• written, "Please examine I). Tarl)ell in
English Grammar." I recognized the
name and instantly those months of im-prihonment
ila>^hed through my memory.
Fixing a rather stern look on his honest
face, perceiving that ho did not know
me, I asked him rather gnillly, "Where
have 1 seen you, sir 1" "1 don't know as
anywhere," said he, opening his eyes
very wide and looking comically inno-cent.
^*Hufen't I seen ijou inJail, sirT^
said I with a smile. "Why! l^prague,
they burrowed at night or in storms.
More sadly prophetic than any words
could have been, was this living burial of
our brothers ; for they died at the rate
of a thousand a month before winter was
gone ! And now, when years have pass-ed
away, never an icy rain, never a freez-ing
wind, never snow nor sleet, that does
not remind me painfully of our soldiers
dying by inches at Salisbury !
Less sad but more startling than these
slow atrocities was the sudden assassina-tion
of Lieutenant Uatis on the sixteenth
of October. He was a remarkably genial,
faithful and exemplary officer, who had
attracted the attention of the thoughtful
by his patient endurance of hardships,
and his habit of silently poring for hours
over his Bible. In the rear of house
number three stood a thrifty oak^ iq^
the prfsori enoloisure "Mil""about ten or
twelve feet from the tall board fence that
shut us in on every side. There was no
prohibition against going to this tree or
remaining under it. Repeatedly some
of us had climbed it to procure acorns, to
roast for food or to make coffee, if the
bitter astringent liquid could be dignified
with such a name. The doomed lieuten-ant
had violated no rule, committed no
offeiivje. Unconscious of danger, he
stood where we were accustomed to sit
at noon under the tree.
It was Sunday morning at half past
ten (j'clotik. On« oi our icllow prisoners,
Rev. Mr. Einurson, chaplain ot a Ver-mont
regiment, had just circulated notice
that he would conduct religious services
in the open air between houses number
three and four. I had Just stepped into
house four, to procure a Greek Testament
which I constantly carricl and which 1
had with some diffi iilty saved from the
suspicious clutch of Dick Tiiri.er, who
was inclined to think it some treasonable
publication or "infernal Yankee cipher."
As I was coming out. 1 heard* the report
of a musket near by. Hastening to the
spot, I found the lieutenant lying on his
back under the oak tree, a crimson tor
rent gushing from his mouth, his eyes
already glassy and ii.Ked. A gurgling
sound in his th'-oat, and instantly all
was still.
"O Uod! it i.s a loiirfnl thiiii;'
To soo tlio luiiiiaii soul tiiko wntj;',
III any shape, in any mood !
I've SUCH it lusliiiiy forth in blood!"
The murderer was a sentinel standing
on the platform near the top of the high
light fence, lie had fired down upon
Davis at the distance of fifteen or twenty
feet. Ho was now reloading. He did
not appear to be above sixteen yours of
age—a mere boy—but his face wore an
exul ing look, as if ho were half devil,
half fool. Our officers, who had just bo-gun
to assemble for divine worsiiip, Hock-ed
around tho bleeding bodj". One of
them, Captain William Cook, Ninth U.
S. Colored Troops, a young man of the
lain branding in fitting words the hellish
deed, and praying,-"0 ,God ! our only
jefuge in this dark hour, avenge the
atrocious murder of our beloved couipan-ion
; protect that helpless widow so cruel-ly
robbed of one dearer to tier than life ;
and especially grant that this accursed
and blood staiised Southern Confederacy,
black with all its long catalogue of crimes,
may speedily sink into its native hell!"
we were conscious of a de'jper purpose,
a more intense determination than ever
before to battle to the last for that great
cause to which our friend had yielded up
his life!
No punishment was inflicted on the
ass^sin. "We don't punish men for do-ing
f;heir duty," said a rebel officer to me
day, when I inquired if the
w^s__to^be Ijrou^ii to J u j ^ c c .
T O M Y W I F E .
boy
X"
Liko Ruth iu e.ai'ue8t taith and lovt),
I'll follow wliere you lead;
Her faitli could not my owu surpass,
Her love my love exceed.
I cannot fear if thou art near,
I cannot {grieve with thee,
Then thro' the changeful scene of life,
I'll joyful go with thee.
Why should I stay when thou svert gone,
The sunshine of my life'J
How could I bear to meet alone
The conflict and the strife?
With thy strong h)vc, on which to lean,
I'll bravely dare my lot;
For where thou art isjoy to me,
But, grief wtiere thou art not.
I'll go with thee, thy woes are mine,
Thy pleasures make my joy.
No change can shake my trust in thee,
No time my love destroy.
Content witli thee life's path to tread.
Anil its my earnest prayer.
That where thy form in death is laid,
I too may slumber there. G.
G I ' : T T Y S B U R G .
a Y e a r ; S i n g l e , 5 O t s.
how are yon V said ho aluiost jumping most complete amiability and gentleness
over the table at which he sat. I may
add tliat the examination was very briel",
and that he '^'pimed" without difficulty f
Last year ho was president of his class
at Cornell.
of heart, unable to restrain his indigna-tion,
hurled a large stone at the mur-derer's
head. But the seven hundred
rebel guards in the nearest camp,jnst be-yond
the fence, had already sprung to
In the early summer of 1863, the Union
and Rebel armies, under Hooker and
Lee, lay impregnably intrenched and fac-ing
each otner at Fredericksburg. The
last previous contest of any importance
had been the alfair at Ohancellorsville,
from which the rebels had come off with
unbroken strength and renewed hope,
and the Union army with defeat. The
aspect of affairs at the North was more
gloomy than at any other time during !
the entire war. Rebel emissaries and
rebel sympathizers raised their heads in
overy northern state, and assisted the
rebel cause by demanding a cessation of
hostilities, by liercely denouncing the
government, and by resisting drafts.
Grant stood hammering away at Vicks-burg,
which it was loudly prophesied he
never could take ; recognition of the rebel
government by Franco and (jreut Britain
was believed to be imminent ; our army
was just then weakened by the expiration
ofthe term of service of many thousands
of nino months men ; the rebels knew as
well as we that no recruits would be a-vailable
for several months at least; and
all things conspired to convince Lee that
the lime had come for him to strike.
Leaving tun thousand men in front of
Hooker, he moved northward on the 3d
of June with a hundred thousanil men,
conducting his operations so skillfully
that ten days elapsed before the movement
was discovered, at least iu its full extent
and terrible meaning ; by which time he
was preparing to cross the Potomac and
fall with his avenging host upon—what't
whom ? where ? That was preci.sdt/
what the people, of the North, and the
government at Washington, and tlie
chieftains oi the Union army, greatly
desired to know ! Hooker started after
him by way of Dumfries, Bull Run, Lees-burg,
and the Gaps ofthe Blue Ridge.
Lee crossed into Maryland, and threw
out portions of his army in coeri/direction,
occupying Hagarstown, Chambersburg,
Cumberland, McConnelsburg, Carlisle,
York, Greencastle, Kingston ; threiitou-ing
Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Baltimore,
Washington, and even Pittsburg ! and so
disposing his forcos that it was the most
dificult thing in the world to answer (hQ
question that millions were asking—,
What is his objective point ? what is his
purpose ? A certain gentleman, not con-nected
with the army, who was veil ac-quainted
with the topography ofthe whole
region over which Lee was pushing out
his d-ffe'-ent columns, diviimd the purpose
of the rebel General, and wrote an anon-ymous
letter to General Meade, (who had
just then superseded Hooker in cfm-maad,)
saying, Lee will fight ijou at Get-tysburg
r This was more than a fortnight
before the battle,—at a time when there
were no troops near Gettysburg, nor uny
demonstration in that direction. The
eyes of the country were turned anywhere
and everywhere iu se^j^h of the place
where thej blow shouft/ but toward
c^/tysbm'X'. The tho-Kntter
was of sbme such i m p o / c ^ this :"''Lee <
knows that you will pursue him, and that
he mttst fight. He intends to fight. He
has crossed the Potomac lor the express
purpose of fighting. His plan is to lead
different portions of your army in diverse
directions, and thcu, when they are sep-arated
6oyond the possibility of concen-tration,
to fall with his entire force upo!i
each detachment, and crush them all in
detail H one font of a pair of dividers
be placed upon the town of Gettysburg,
the other foot will describe a circle that
will pass within a mile ot every town
which the enemy occupies in force, from
York clean around to <Jumberland. There
are roads over the mountains from every
one of those towns to Gettysburg ; and
simultaneous forced marches can place
Lee's every soldier in Gettysburg iu thir-ty
six hours. Your army should be con-centrated
with all despatch at Gettys-burg."
The writer of the letter showed it to
friends, who urged him to send it to
Meade He at first hesitated to do so,
thinking that his view ofthe case
have suggested itself to Meade and his
immediate advi&eis, and thinking, more-over,
that the letter would probably light
the pipe of some staff officer, and never
meet the eye of the commanding general.
And yet, there certainly was Sk possibility
that this design of Lee might, elude the
observation of a general who had been
placed iu command at such a critical mo-ment,
and who had to look ten thousand
ways at once A brother of a high gov-ernment
olUcial, happening to know of
the writing of the letter, pledged himself
that if it were ssent, Meade should receive
it. It was sent ; and that is all we pos-itively
jmow of the history of the letter.
But we know this,—that in two weeks
from that time its predictions concerning
Lee's movements had been literally veri-fied
; the widely separated divisions of
the Union army had been concentrated,
according to its counsels, and had poured
into Gettysburg, from half the points of
compass, just iu the nick of time ; and the
! mightiest struggle and i»upreniest crisis
' of the war had turned in favor of the na-tiorial
arms. The wiiter of the letter is
now a citizen of Conne-clicm.