hot sun, the rain, or the wind, every soldier knows is not conducive to amiability; but there for the first time I learned it by experience, and henceforth have no sympathy for cross cooks with home facilities. How many times have I laughed to see my mess-mate get excited over the dinner he was endeavoring to prepare, wipe the perspiration from his face, and give vent to his opinion of green wood, rice which would not boil, and meat which would never grow tender; and how often has he had his revenge as I poked over fires which would not burn, scorched my fingers, or smouched my only shirt! If an occasional pan was kicked over, and the remains of yesterday's dinner was produced for to-day, the mess understood it, and sympathized with instead of scolding the cook.

The number of prisoners increased while I was in Macon, but unfortunately the accommodations did not; consequently many were compelled to go without any shelter. The commandant, Captain Tabb, had neither energy nor principle, was addicted to the use of spirits, at which times he was more arbitrary than ever, and was, in fact, utterly unfitted for the position. He once, at the request of a prisoner, took a watch and chain to sell for four hundred dollars-not less. After a considerable time, when questioned as to the matter, he said he had sold them for two hundred dollars; and upon being asked how he came by the chain, which he was then wearing, said the purchaser gave it to him. After such an explanation the officer demanded the return of his property, or the four hundred dollars, threatening to expose the affair unless it was complied with; upon which Captain Tabb abused him most shamefully, and then had him "bucked" for several hours, after which the articles were restored. We were all very glad when we were relieved from the petty annoyances to which he subjected us, by his being superseded by Captain Gibbs, a gentleman, who, although very strict, made us no promises he did not intend to fulfill.

An incident occurred shortly after Captain Gibbs assumed command which did not encourage us to hope we had fallen into better hands. Just at dark of the 11th of June an officer of the Forty-fifth New York Volunteers, returning from the spring where he had been bathing, was shot by one of the guards and lived but a few hours. Those who were near could assign no reason for the act but the intention to commit a deliberate murder, as he was not near the "dead line." The senior officer in camp wrote Captain Gibbs, requesting an investigation of the circumstances, and the communication was returned with the following indorsement, "Such investigation as may by me be deemed proper will be made in this case; and it shall be more complete than in the cases of Confederate officers murdered by negro troops at Fort M'Henry and elsewhere." Cooking, eating, washing, and mending occupying but a comparatively small portion of the day one seeks in every direction for amuse

ment or occupation, and Macon was in these respects like the other places in which I was subsequently confined. The papers were soon read; and filled, as all Southern papers are, with stupid invective, pompous bombast, or garbled accounts of battles, they were not very amusing. Later in the year, while Sherman was on his way to Savannah, and we were eager for every word of news good or bad, the papers were withheld from us. Books, whether strangers or old friends, were always welcome. Some took up the study of the languages, some tried to rub up mathematics, some sketched or gave lessons to others, some practiced music, formed glee clubs, or bought violins and flutes with which to accompany the singers. All the games of cards, chess, etc., were the quiet pastimes, while the more active were cricket, wicket, quoit-pitching, gymnastics, and wood-splitting, which, owing to the crowded condition of the ground, were more rarely indulged in. There were three chaplains among us, and services were held on Sunday and once at least during the week, which were well attended. Captain Tabb was once so impudent as to request that the prayer for the President of the United States would be omitted; but no notice was taken of the insult. Our surgeons, of whom there were a number, examined and prescribed for those who answered the "sick call," and the medicines were sent in from the hospital outside the stockade, or the seriously ill were sent there. The scarcity of surgeons and of physicians is very much felt in the South, and the supply of medicines, even among their own soldiers, entirely unequal to

the demand. At our request one of our number, Dr. W——, was allowed to take charge of our prison hospital-just alluded to-a building capable of accommodating forty patients, together with the nurses and attendants, who were volunteers from our number. Application was made for the parole of some of our enlisted men for this duty, but it was refused, and the volunteers from among the officers did the duty nobly and faithfully. A small shanty was built for a cook-house, an oven in which wheat-bread was baked every day, and such supplies as could be obtained were procured through the rebel surgeon, who was nominally in charge. Sometimes for a week there would not be medicines of any kind in the hospital. The most plentiful was a sort of bitters, made from native roots and barks, which was considered a good tonic, and a kind of opium was also manufactured by the women. Whisky was occasionally to be had; quinine, worth $400 the ounce, very seldom; in short, many a life was lost there, which, under ordinary circumstances, would have been prolonged could proper drugs have been obtained. The prevailing diseases were dysentery, malarial fever, typhoid, and scurvy; the first, in all its varied forms, existed to a fearful extent; and it is safe to say that two-thirds of our number were suffering from it, in many of whom it assumed a chronic form, which only change of air and diet can cure. It was always a matter of surprise to me that we escaped contagious sickness; for our low diet, want of vegetables, and the bad air consequent upon our crowded condition, seemed to supply all the requirements and make that type of disease inevitable. Unsupplied as the hospital was with the necessities which the ills of the flesh demand, it was quiet, neat, and clean, with cotton beds raised from the ground, and for these reasons a haven of rest for the sufferers. I speak from experience, for an attack of fever compelled me to become an inmate during the month of July. Before entirely recovering from my indisposition I left the hospital in company with many others, some of whom were scarcely able to bear the change, in order to make room for some twenty of our enlisted men who were suffering from wounds, and had been brought from some other hospital and laid in the open space before ours. Only a few days previous a lot had been sent off to Andersonville, of whom Dr. Parker remarked at the time that it would be the means of their death. And yet he sent them away.

I must not forget the Fourth of July which we spent in the Macon prison. We welcomed it with hearty cheers and the national airs, and at ten o'clock A.M. assembled in and around the main building-sung the Star-Spangled Banner, after which prayer was offered and speeches made by different officers. While we were singing a tiny American flag, which some one had evidently carried as a keepsake, was raised over the crowd, and, after the chorus, was greeted with nine cheers as hearty as ever came from the throats of those who have fought under its stars

and stripes. While Colonel was in the midst of his remarks he was interrupted by the officer of the day with orders from Captain Gibbs for us to disperse. Immediately he was seen some one cried, "Put that flag out of sight!" To which Colonel — replied, “Don't touch that flag!" In response to which remark a murmur of approbation rose from every one present, as they glanced from the flag to the officer, who, after delivering his order, looked up at it for an instant, hesitated, then turned about and retired to his quarters. I do not think it would have been safe for him to have attempted to take it down, and he certainly had good sense not even to suggest its removal. I wish that every Northern Copperhead could have heard the remarks of loyal men there that day. Many of them had been for more than a year in Southern prisons and dungeons-some for a part of the time in close confinement and irons; yet they uttered no words against the integrity of the Government, spoke not of compromise, breathed no complaint; but counseled the same patriotism which led them into the field, the same submission, even unto death if necessary, in the full assurance that, whether death came to them there, or in the thickest of the fight, they would be remembered among those who laid their lives on Freedom's altar.

Toward the latter part of July it was rumored that we were to be removed to Charleston and Savannah, and soon a lot was sent away. About this time Stoneman made his famous raid, and another lot were started on the 29th inst., but brought back for fear he would recapture them. Great was the excitement among us about this time, which was brought to a climax on the 1st of August, when General Stoneman and his staff were added to our number. On the 11th of August, in company with about six hundred others, I was started for Charleston. Packed in box cars, fifty officers and five guards in each, we suffered intensely from heat and thirst.

One of the best plans that was perhaps ever matured by a company of prisoners was arranged to be carried into operation on a train that went a few days before ours. A secret society was organized, with initiation oaths, pass-words, and grips; the members divided into companies and squads, with proper officers, and maps of the country were obtained, to be ready when opportunity offered for escape. Such an opportunity, it was decided, was to be found while being taken to Charleston, and the work of each squad was determined upon and matured. At a preconcerted signal, to be given at some way-station, the guards inside and outside the cars were to be seized, their arms and ammunition secured; while another party, familiar with the working of an engine, were to secure the engineer, fireman, and guard on the locomotive, and another look out for the artillery, in case there should be a gun on a platform car in rear of the train, as was customary. The overpowering of the sentinels in and upon the cars was a very easy matter, for they were

Georgia militia, many of whom would not even have made a show of resistance, and some of them did that night lie down and sleep, leaving their muskets at the disposal of any one; and I am informed that, in several instances, their cartridges were emptied from their boxes in anticipation of the work. The train, in event of success, was to have been stopped near Pocotaligo Bridge, from which General Foster's lines might easily have been reached, being then only ten or twelve miles distant. But the signal never was given. Why it was not I have never heard explained; but it is said that some word or act put the officer in charge on his guard, and that he run the train at the top of its speed, without a stoppage, directly to the city.

The thoughts which are always uppermost in a prisoner's mind are of exchange and escape; and could the many projects which are discussed or put in train be successful, the Confederacy would have few besides the sick prisoners to guard. At Lynchburg two, to my knowledge, procured rebel uniforms, walked out past the guard, and safely reached our own lines. While en route to Macon several escaped by cutting holes through the bottom of the car and jumping out. At Macon one blacked his face and passed out as a negro workman; another bribed the colored driver of the sutler's wagon, and was taken out in a box; while a third clung under the body of the same wagon, and succeeded in getting away. It was quite safe to bribe any of the guards and procure a gray uniform, and quite as easy to get outside the prison grounds, but the trouble only then commenced, the distance to be traveled before reaching a place of safety being very great. Men were compelled to seek somewhere for food; and unless they could meet some of the slaves-who were almost invariably friendly, and ready to lend all the assistance in their power-were liable to be betrayed; besides which, the news of all escapes were spread throughout all the region round, and men turned out with blood-hounds to hunt the game, delighting in the sport; so that of all who started but a very few succeeded in accomplishing their object.

safe to wait until the third and largest was finished, and we confidently expected that in a few mornings some seven hundred of us would be running at large, when some one, to obtain favor with the commandant of the prison, revealed the plot, and we were all suddenly called off to one end of the camp, a guard thrown across, and search was made which unmasked our work, and dashed our hopes of weeks to the earth. The traitor did his work well; we hope his reward was all he asked.

Of exchange I may as well say something here. It was a perpetual theme of conversation, and rumor with her thousand tongues was ever busy among us. Even the wildest and most improbable of stories were not unworthy of discussion, and even the breathing of the word, if it was but to ask some one to exchange a pair of trowsers for a pair of shoes, would bring the cry-which would be taken up far and near"Louder on exchange!" In Charleston the excitement was greatly increased by the exchange of fifty general and field officers in August-that of the surgeons and naval officers in September, as well as the arrangement between General Sherman and Hood. Once at Macon, and again at Charleston, attempts were made by certain men to get up petitions, asking Mr. Davis to allow a committee to be paroled and sent North, to represent to our Government the "fearful condition of our enlisted men" confined in Southern prisons. I am proud to record that both were failures; that the majority refused to petition on the ground that their faith in our Government was sufficient for them to believe it was doing all for the best; and although that at Macon was forwarded on a minority-a very small minority-of names, it was never heard from. At Charleston the second attempt originated with an officer whose term of service had expired; but at a meeting called he and his friends had some home truths thrust upon them, and were informed, if they were previously ignorant, of certain duties which, as officers of the army, they owed to their country-the result of which was that no more petitions were heard of. Here the majority testified in something more weighty than words to their loyalty, to their willingness to remain, to end their lives in captivity, if those who were at the head of affairs thought it best for the cause that there should be no general exchange, or if one could not be arranged without conceding a point to the enemy. On "special exchanges" the feeling was almost universal in their condemnation. Not that any of us were not glad to get away under that rule, but we could not but pity those who have been there eighteen months, and had

men who had not been there perhaps thirty days. The same principle is involved in the exchange of fifty as of fifty thousand; and why then should not those who have been so long sufferers be taken in preference to those just arrived?

We reached Charleston on the morning of

August 13, and were kept waiting a long time | in the street, when I procured some fresh figs, bread, and milk, and, seated on the curb-stone, made an excellent breakfast. We were marched to the work-house, "counted in," and as the heavy grated doors closed behind us, I realized for the first time what it was to be in durance vile. The work-house (from the outside) is a fine-looking building, built on three sides of a square, with two towers which give it quite an imposing appearance. It is built entirely of brick. My curiosity never prompted me to wander through its labyrinth of corridors, staircases, and halls, for knowing it was all cells above and dungeons below ground, a little of that style was sufficient. Turn with me from the main entrance, ascend a dark, narrow, spiral staircase-admitting the passage of but one at a time-to the second-floor, and into the cell with heavily grated windows, which is the space allotted to four Yankee officers, constituting "one mess." There is neither chair nor table, the floor is both our seat by day and our bed by night. Here we passed seventeen days, and wretched days they were. Our only cooking utensils were a small tin pail, which one of our number fortunately brought with him, and an old hoe which we picked up, and fried both cakes and meat upon. The water was scarce and bad, with poor facilities for washing and bathing, while the yard was so filthy that we cared not to avail ourselves of the permission to enter it.

The sutler charged exorbitant prices for every

article, and little chance for purchasing outside was afforded. Books we had not, nor could any be had, amusement of all kinds seemed denied, and I was always glad when night came that I might seek oblivion in sleep, although to seek was not always to find, for myriads of mosquitoes and oppressive heat generally kept me tossing until, worn out, I slept from exhaustion. Well remembered are the nights passed upon that floor, with the beautiful harvest moon pouring her light through the gratings, shining ever quietly, no matter whether I smoked and thought, tossed and fretted, or slept and dreamed. Near by the work-house is the jail, into the yard of which we could look, from the left wing, and the sight of the three hundred and odd prisoners there assured us that our lot was not the hardest, and afforded a trifle of consolation. They were associated with characters of all descriptions, thieves, assassins, prostitutes-both black and white; many living in tents in the yard, many without any shelter, and those with whom we communicated complained of short rations, which we were not subjected to, for ours were what might be called sufficient, and of fair quality, including frequent issues of meat.

Three hundred of our officers were in the Marine Hospital, on the same square, which rumor proclaimed to be a very nice place, and as many more were at the Roper Hospital, where I was anxious to go that I might meet and be with my friends. Not receiving any reply to numerous applications for my removal, I had about given up the hope of change, when the welcome order

came, and the evening of September 4 found me within its walls.

The Roper Hospital is a brick structure, finished in mastic, on the corner of Queen and Marych streets, is three stories in height, with a tower at each end, and one on either side of the centre door. A garden extends the entire front of the building, is inclosed by an iron fence, and gave evidence of former care and cultivation; but weeds and plebeian shrubs were fast crowding upon the rare trees and plants it contains. In the rear is the Insane Asylum, where some officers were quartered, and of which we had full range; and on the right is the Medical College. We were permitted to burn the gas until nine o'clock P.M., which luxury we fully enjoyed and appreciated, serving as it did to make the evening pass quickly and pleasantly. I should not omit to speak of the long piazza at the front, on which I have spent so many hours with my pipe for my companion.