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009 - Ch8 - Deliverance · Prison Life in Andersonville

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  Speaker 1: Chapter eight of prison Life in Andersonville by John Levi Miley.
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  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by
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  Speaker 1: Jeffrey Smith, New Orleans, Louisiana Deliverance footnote. On February twentieth,
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  Speaker 1: nineteen twelve, the writer received a call from an old friend,
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  Speaker 1: Reverend M. L. Holt of Nullain, Nebraska. He gives this
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  Speaker 1: confirmatory statement to mister Miley. As Sergeant Major of the
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  Speaker 1: third New Hampshire Veteran Volunteer Infantry, I can certify to
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  Speaker 1: the military surroundings at the place of your release. Two
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  Speaker 1: days before your arrival from Goldsboro, General Terry ordered our
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  Speaker 1: third New Hampshire to make a fe forced march to
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  Speaker 1: appoint ten miles distant from Wilmington on the northeast branch
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  Speaker 1: of the Cape Fear River, and take from the enemy
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  Speaker 1: upon Tombbridge. At that point we skirmished with the foe
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  Speaker 1: nearly the entire distance and came up to them just
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  Speaker 1: as they had cut the near end of the bridge
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  Speaker 1: from the bank. With our machine guns. We drove them
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  Speaker 1: off and moored the bridge back to its place. On
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  Speaker 1: the second day, after we received the old Andersonville prisoners
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  Speaker 1: and had the satisfaction of knowing we had prepared their
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  Speaker 1: way by having the bridge in readiness for them to
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  Speaker 1: cross the river into our lines. I shall never forget
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  Speaker 1: the impression made upon us by the condition of these
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  Speaker 1: survivors of Confederate prisons. These events occurred in March eighteen
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  Speaker 1: sixty one in the footnote, at a point on the
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  Speaker 1: Cape Fear River, about ten miles from Wilmington, North Carolina,
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  Speaker 1: A train load of old Andersonville prisoners, who had been
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  Speaker 1: confined also at Florence, South Carolina and Salisbury, North Carolina,
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  Speaker 1: were delivered to General Terry. They had just been paroled
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  Speaker 1: at Goldsboro and were received by him about the middle
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  Speaker 1: of March eighteen sixty five. His headquarters was at a
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  Speaker 1: point on the Cape Fear River, and recently taken from
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  Speaker 1: the enemy. It was now held by the third New
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  Speaker 1: Hampshire sixteenth New York Heavy Artillery and by a division
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  Speaker 1: of Colored troops. The freight cars halted in a pine
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  Speaker 1: fur forest about a mile from this position, which commanded
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  Speaker 1: a pontoon bridge. A squad of cavalry received the ex prisoners,
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  Speaker 1: unfurling the stars and stripes in greeting. Many of the
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  Speaker 1: boys in blue wept when they saw our plight. The
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  Speaker 1: released men tried to hurrah, but were too weak to
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  Speaker 1: raise much of a shout. Three ambulances were loaded with
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  Speaker 1: as many of the sick as could be taken on
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  Speaker 1: the first trip. At the farther end of the Pontoon Bridge,
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  Speaker 1: the road led through a deep cut in the bank
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  Speaker 1: up to the open space of the camp, where guns
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  Speaker 1: pointed over the river towards the forest through which the
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  Speaker 1: freight train had come from Goldsboro with the paroled men.
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  Speaker 1: Spanning this cut was an arch constructed of evergreen bough
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  Speaker 1: and faced with the white cloth square of shelter tent,
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  Speaker 1: upon which was spelled in letters made of evergreen sprigs,
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  Speaker 1: the sixteenth New York welcomes you Home. The march of
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  Speaker 1: a mile from the railroad to the Pontoon Bridge greatly
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  Speaker 1: exhausted the pearoled prisoners. At first, the excitement of once
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  Speaker 1: more gazing upon the flag they loved and being received
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  Speaker 1: by the advanced squadron stimulated them to walk with some
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  Speaker 1: show of vigor, But soon their eyes shone with the
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  Speaker 1: unwonted brightness of fatigue, in contrast with their pinched and
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  Speaker 1: grimy faces. Many sank by the wayside, to be picked
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  Speaker 1: up by the ambulance when the same could return for them.
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  Speaker 1: The stronger ones worked up into the head of the
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  Speaker 1: column which crossed the Pontoon brid ridge, and the advance
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  Speaker 1: files of men undertook to walk up through the cut
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  Speaker 1: in the bank at the bridge end, but their feet
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  Speaker 1: sank in the sand and they were too weak to
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  Speaker 1: go further. Meanwhile, a company of colored soldiers were drawn
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  Speaker 1: up through the cut in two ranks. Facing between these
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  Speaker 1: lines and under the arch are ambulance passed the horses,
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  Speaker 1: tugging with might and main up the steep grade and
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  Speaker 1: through the deep sand. The white officers and the black
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  Speaker 1: soldiers stood at present arms. The eyes of the soldiers
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  Speaker 1: opened and their teeth gleamed with an aspect of astonishment,
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  Speaker 1: as they for the first time beheld seasoned graduates from
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  Speaker 1: a course of experiences in war prisons. The living wrecks
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  Speaker 1: in the ambulances were still more pale and ghastly than
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  Speaker 1: were the stronger ones, following slowly on foot, And as
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  Speaker 1: the latter emerged from the woods onto the floating bridge,
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  Speaker 1: the onlooking crowd of our men off duty began to
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  Speaker 1: be stirred with a great excitement. As the ambulances lined
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  Speaker 1: up before headquarters. General Terry approached. With him were the
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  Speaker 1: brigade surgeon and a representative of the United States Christian commission.
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  Speaker 1: The General looked upon us with tear dimmed eyes, and
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  Speaker 1: turning to the surgeon, gave his pocket flask, saying, doctor,
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  Speaker 1: for God's sake, help these poor fellows. This ambulance stopped
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  Speaker 1: on the crest of the hill when the Christian commissioned
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  Speaker 1: man stepped to its side and said to the my boy,
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  Speaker 1: you will get out here. Seeing I was too weak
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  Speaker 1: to rise from the seat, he said, just lie across
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  Speaker 1: my shoulder. This I did, and he carried me into
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  Speaker 1: a nearby country church building, which sheltered the sick until
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  Speaker 1: they could be conveyed by boat to Wilmington. Meanwhile, the
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  Speaker 1: straggling column of paroled prisoners had crossed the bridge. An
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  Speaker 1: officer undertook to form them into ranks so as to
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  Speaker 1: march in form under the arch in between the lines
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  Speaker 1: which stood at present arms. Their feet sank in the
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  Speaker 1: soft sand of the cut, and after taking a few
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  Speaker 1: steps they were utterly exhausted. The officer in charge thus
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  Speaker 1: addressed the two lines, shoulder arms, order arms, stack arms,
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  Speaker 1: break ranks, and carry these men up the hill. With
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  Speaker 1: a mighty cheer. The athletic colored soldiers sprang forward and
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  Speaker 1: each picked up an emaciated, wilted prisoner, carried him up
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  Speaker 1: the hill, and tenderly placed him on the ground. In
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  Speaker 1: due time, the sick were taken by boat to the
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  Speaker 1: Right House Hospital Wilmington, and the stronger ones were placed
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  Speaker 1: in a camp waiting transportation by steamer to the north.
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  Speaker 1: In the winter of eighteen seventy five seventy six, the
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  Speaker 1: partially regained health of the rider collapsed, and he was
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  Speaker 1: advised to consult his former regimental surgeon, doctor Wells by Fox.
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  Speaker 1: The doctor said, you may live a good while, and
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  Speaker 1: you may not prepare to leave your family in as
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  Speaker 1: good shape as possible. If you have unsettled accounts, fix
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  Speaker 1: them up. Pursue it. To this advice, and, needing the
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  Speaker 1: benefit of a climate warmer than a Michigan winter, he
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  Speaker 1: went to Washington to close up some army matters. Here
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  Speaker 1: he was received very kindly by Surgeon General Barnes, and
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  Speaker 1: by him ordered to have a thorough examination by experts
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  Speaker 1: of the medical Department. The diagnosis was more favorable than
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  Speaker 1: was deemed possible, and its correctness has been verified by
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  Speaker 1: the subsequent years. On the journey from Sheboygan to Washington,
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  Speaker 1: a stop was made at Greenville. With his host, a
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  Speaker 1: call was made on the Reverend James L. Patten, pastor
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  Speaker 1: of the Congregational Church of that place. As the evening passed,
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  Speaker 1: conversationation turned to army happenings. After reciting some experiences in
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  Speaker 1: the service of the United States Christian Commission with an
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  Speaker 1: aroused manner, doctor Patten said, I must tell you of
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  Speaker 1: an occasion that I shall never forget. I was in
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  Speaker 1: the Christian Commission service outside Wilmington, North Carolina, near the
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  Speaker 1: close of the war with General Terry, when he received
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  Speaker 1: the first installment of old Andersonville prisoners as they were
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  Speaker 1: sent into our lines. Terry was all broken up over
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  Speaker 1: their condition. Could the prisoners walk? Asked the writer, Yes,
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  Speaker 1: he replied, some of them could, but many had to
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  Speaker 1: be brought in on ambulances. He was asked, where did
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  Speaker 1: you put those who were sick? We laid them on
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  Speaker 1: the floor of a lit church that was close by,
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  Speaker 1: doctor Patten replied, extending his hand. The writer said, doctor Patten,
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  Speaker 1: thank you. Why why, he replied hesitatingly, You need not
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  Speaker 1: thank me for the story. It is true and you
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  Speaker 1: are welcome to it. Yes, was the response. I have
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  Speaker 1: no doubt the story is true. I do not thank
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  Speaker 1: you for it, but for helping me out of the
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  Speaker 1: ambulance at that time. Need it be said that these
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  Speaker 1: two men found themselves comrades. Indeed, end of chapter eight