The City by Moonlight--Old Accusation Renewed--Libby Prison--Discomfort--A
Change--Citizens' Department--Richmond Breakfast--Removed under
Guard--Castle Thunder--Miniature Bedlam--Conceal a Knife--Confined in a
Stall--Dreadful Gloom--Routine of a Day--Suffering at Night--Friends
Exchanged--Newspapers--Burnside--Pecuniary Perplexities--Captain
Webster--Escape Prevented--Try Again on Christmas Night--Betrayed--Fearful
Danger Avoided.
It was still the same sparkling moonlight, and the same intense and
piercing cold, that marked our journey the preceding night, when we
left the cars, and entered the rebel capital.
Everything looked grim and silent through the frosty air, and our
teeth chattered fast and loud as we walked through a few squares of
this now historic city.
But suddenly the sergeant recollected that he did not know what to do
with us, and we were obliged to remain where we were, till he could find
the Provost-Marshal's office, and get instructions. We endeavored to
shelter ourselves as best we could from the unbearable cold, which
really threatened to prove fatal. We had two blankets, or rather pieces
of carpet, and we spread them over the heads of us all as we huddled
together in a solid mass, in the angle of a brick wall. It was
astonishing how much more comfortable this made us--especially in the
inside of the _pack_, where I happened to be. Here we remained shivering
till the sergeant returned. He had found the Provost-Marshal's office,
and proceeded to conduct us thither.
We marched through several of the principal streets, which, but for
the moonlight, would have been entirely dark. At last we arrived at
the office, which, to add to our discomfort, was destitute of fire. We
stood in the empty room looking at the grim portraits of the rebel
generals that stared at us from the walls, until the Marshal himself
entered. He did not deign to speak to us, but opened a sealed letter
which the sergeant handed him, and read that ten disloyal
Tennesseeans, four prisoners of war, and _six engine-thieves_, were
hereby forwarded to Richmond, by order of General Beauregard. We had
hoped that the title of thieves, of which we had become heartily
tired, would now be left behind; but it seemed still to cling to us,
and afforded an unpleasant premonition of the Confederacy's not yet
being done with us. The Marshal then gave his orders, and we were
again marched off.
By this time it was daylight, December 7th, 1862. Richmond looked
still more cheerless by the cold beams of morning than it did before.
We now threaded several tedious streets, and at last came to the James
river, where we halted in front of a most desolate-looking, but very
large brick building, situated on the bank, and surrounded by a
formidable circle of guards. This building we very naturally took to
be a prison, and soon learned that we were right. It was the famous
LIBBY. We entered its precincts, and were conducted up a flight of
stairs, and then, on reaching the upper room, which was a vast, open
one, we saw, almost for the first time since our capture, the old
familiar United States uniform. We were soon in the midst of over a
hundred Union soldiers.
At first our greeting was not very warm, as we still wore the rebel
rags that had served us all summer; but as soon as our true character
and history were made known, we were most cordially welcomed. There
was a small stove--only one--in the cold, empty room, and part of the
inmates were huddled around it. But with the characteristic courtesy
and charity of the American soldier, they soon cleared a place beside
it for us. Then I had leisure to look around.
The room was very large and bare; the floor above was taken out,
leaving it open to the roof. Beside this, the window sashes were all
removed, and the cold wind whistled in from the river far more sharply
than was consistent with comfort. The inmates informed me that they
had only a limited amount of fuel allowed them per day, and when that
was exhausted, they had to endure the freezing as best they could.
Even when the fire was burning, only about a dozen could get around
it, and the room was too large and open to be warmed more than a few
feet from the stove. Yet, with all these discomforts, we rejoiced to
be here. It was the sure pledge that our foes had not been deceiving
us in their promises of an exchange, for these men, with whom we found
ourselves, were actually going northward in the next truce-boat, which
was daily expected. Our hearts beat high as we thought that, after
drinking the bitter draught of bondage and persecution for eight long
months, we were at last to taste the sweets of liberty. What wonder if
our joy was too deep for words, and we could only turn it over in our
minds, and tremble lest it should prove too delightful to be
realized! What cared we for the cold that made our teeth chatter, and
sent the icy chill to our very bones! It was only for the moment, and
beyond that we painted the bright vision of freedom, with such
vividness and warmth, that cold and privations were forgotten
together. But our dream was short.
We talked with our companions, and learned from them many interesting
items of news. The worst we heard, and which, at first, we could
hardly credit, was the existence of a large party in the North who
were opposed to the war; because, as my informant said, "They were
afraid if the thing went on, they would be drafted, and would have to
fight themselves." Oh! how bitterly some of the prisoners, who were
profanely inclined, cursed those who could oppose their government in
such a time as this! Not many of the soldiers sympathized with these
traitors. They were still hopeful of success, and confident that the
time would soon come when they would crush rebellion.
But in the midst of our conversation, an officer entered, and called
for the men who had just been admitted. Expecting to be paroled, as
all the other prisoners in the room were, we at once responded. They
conducted us down to the entrance hall, and called over our names.
The four prisoners of war, and one of the Tennesseeans, were put on
one side, and we on the other. The first party were then taken up
stairs again, while we were put into an immense, but dark and low
room, on the left of the stairway.
This was an awful moment. We now felt that we had been deceived, and
our hopes at once fell from the highest heaven, to which they had
soared, down to perfect nothingness, and a cold sense of misery and
despair came over us. To be thus separated from our friends, also,
seemed like parting the sheep from the goats, and could only be for
the purpose of punishment! No wonder that we looked at each other with
pale, troubled countenances, and asked questions which none were
prepared to solve. But only one moment were we thus crushed beneath
this unexpected blow; the next, we again sought an avenue for hope.
Perhaps they did not recognize us as soldiers, and only wanted to
exchange us as citizens--a matter of indifference to us, provided we
were exchanged at all. We looked around to see what foundation there
might be for this pleasing conjecture.
Our present apartment contained even more prisoners than the one
up-stairs. They were men from all parts of the South. Some of them
had been in prison ever since the war broke out, and a few had been
arrested for supposed anti-slavery principles, even before that event,
and had lived in loathsome dungeons ever since. This would be called
barbarous tyranny if it occurred in Italy; but I have seen men, even
in my own Ohio, who could see no wrong in it when practiced in the
South, on supposed _abolitionists_. There were also some of our own
soldiers here, who had been put in for attempting to escape. This
survey was not calculated to increase our feeble hopes of a speedy
exchange, or even to weaken our fears of further punishment.
In the meantime, breakfast was brought in. It consisted of a small
quantity of thin soup, and a very scanty allowance of bread. To our
delight, the latter was made of flour, instead of corn meal; and all
the time we remained in Richmond, we received good bread, though often
very deficient in quantity.
While we were talking with our new room-mates, an officer again
entered, and inquired for the fifteen men who had last come in. We
answered quickly, for hope was again busy whispering in our hearts,
and suggesting that there had been some mistake, which would now be
rectified, and we taken up stairs again. But there was no such good
fortune in store for us. We were taken out of doors, and there found a
guard waiting to remove us to another prison. Again our hearts sank
within us.
We crossed the street, and halted at a desolate-looking building,
which we afterward learned was "CASTLE THUNDER," the far-famed Bastile
of the South. We were conducted through a guarded door into the
reception-room, where we had to wait for some time. While here, a
fierce-looking, black-whiskered man, who, I afterwards learned, was
Chillis, the commissary of the prison, came in, and said:
"Bridge burners, are they! They ought to be hung, every man of them;
and so ought every man that does anything against the Confederacy."
Had he said _for_, I would have agreed with him heartily.
Soon the guide returned, and ordered us to be conducted up stairs. Up
we went, passing by a room filled with a howling and yelling
multitude, who made such an outrageous racket that I was compelled to
put my hands to my ears. As we came in view, a score of voices
screamed with all the energy their lungs could give:
"Fresh fish! Fresh fish!" The same exclamation greeted every new
arrival.
We were taken into the office and searched, to see if we possessed
anything contraband, or, in plainer terms, anything they could make
useful to themselves. They took some nice pocket knives from the
Tennesseeans, which they had contrived to keep secreted till now. When
it came my turn, I managed to slip a large knife, that I had obtained
at Atlanta, up my sleeve, and by carefully turning my arm when they
felt for concealed weapons, succeeded in keeping it out of the way.
The examination over, I thought they were going to put us into the
miniature mad-house we had just passed; and they did not do much
better, for they put us into a stall beside it. I call it a stall, for
the word describes it most fully. It was one of a range, partitioned
off from the large room in which were the noisy miscreants, and from
each other by loose plank, with cracks wide enough to let the wind
circulate freely through them. Most of the windows of the large room
were out, which greatly increased the cold. Our stall was only eight
or nine feet wide, and perhaps sixteen in length. It was bare of any
furniture--not even having a chair, or any means of making a fire.
In this cheerless place our party, six in number, and nine
Tennesseeans, were confined during the months of December and January!
The first day of our imprisonment here, our spirits sank lower than
they had ever done before. All our bright hopes were dashed to the
ground, and there seemed every reason to believe that we were doomed
to this dreary abode for the remaining term of the war, even if we
escaped sharing with our murdered friends the horrors of a Southern
scaffold. It was too disheartening for philosophy, and that day was
one of the blackest gloom. We seldom spoke, and when we did, it was to
denounce our folly, in suffering ourselves to be deluded to Richmond
by the lies they had told, and not seizing some of the many
opportunities our journey afforded for making our escape. But it was
no use lamenting; and all we could do was to register a solemn vow
never to be deceived by them again. When night came, we knelt in
prayer to God, and if I ever prayed with fervor, it was in this hour
of disappointment and dread. I tried to roll all my cares upon the
Lord, and partly succeeded, rising from my knees comforted, and
assured that whatever might be the issue, we had one Friend who was
nigh to save, and had often made his children rejoice, in worse
situations than ours. The next morning I awoke again cheerful, and
felt nerved for any fate that might befall me.
Here the routine of prison life did not differ materially from that at
Atlanta. We had to go down to the court (the building was square, and
built with an open court in the center) to wash in the morning, and
were immediately taken back to our stall, and locked up. But the
principal difference was our want of fire. This made it our greatest
difficulty to keep warm, and effectually destroyed all those pleasant
fireside chats that had done so much to make our condition endurable
in the Atlanta barracks.
As the darkness and coldness of night drew on, we were compelled to
pace the floor, trying to keep warm; and when sleep became a
necessity, we would all pile down in a huddle, as pigs sometimes do,
and spread over us the thin protection of our two bits of carpet. Thus
we would lie until too cold to remain longer, and then arise and
resume our walk. We had always plenty of light, except when the
awkwardness of the gas managers left the whole city in darkness, which
was frequently the case.
We never omitted our devotions. For awhile the deserters outside, who
were composed of the very scum of Southern society, many of them
being the rowdies, gamblers, and cutthroats of the large cities, tried
to interrupt us by every means in their power; but finding that their
efforts produced no effect, they finally gave over, and left us to
pursue our own way in peace. We found afterward, when, for a short
time, we were put among them, that they respected us the more for it.
Thus it will always be when perseverance is exercised in a good cause.
A few days after our arrival, we noticed a great stir among the
prisoners at the Libby, which was plainly in view across the road, and
but a short distance from us. We learned that a truce-boat had
arrived. Soon a body of United States soldiers came up the street by
us, and our five friends with them. As they passed our window, they
waved their hands in farewell, and continued their journey. No doubt
they were soon with their friends at home.[11] The parting was a hard
one for us. It seemed so much like fulfilling the passage of
Scripture--"One shall be taken and the other left," that we turned
away from the window feeling again the gloom which darkened the first
day of our arrival. We felt utterly deserted and alone; yet we were
glad that some had been able to escape from the power of this accursed
rebellion, "every throb of whose life is a crime against the very race
to which we belong."
[11] A letter was received from one of them by my father a short time
ago. He had not heard of our release, but described our parting, and
gave a rumor which he had heard of our subsequent execution.
In the dead sameness which now settled down again over our
prison-life, we had a delightful daily oasis, in reading the
newspapers. In Richmond we were not, as elsewhere, debarred their
perusal, and there was always some one who had money enough to buy
them, and then charity enough to lend them all over the prison. In
this way, we were enabled to see most of the dailies published. As
soon as we received one, all the party would gather around, while I
read the news and editorials aloud.
The time of our arrival was an exciting one. Burnside had just made
his celebrated advance, and as we read of his crossing the river, we
breathed a prayer that he would be successful, and continue onward to
Richmond. Had he done so, we would either have fallen into his hands
or been removed. In the latter case, we would have made a desperate
effort to escape, for we had firmly resolved never to be moved again
without making a strike for freedom.
But soon came the sad news of his repulse--sad to us, but causing the
greatest rejoicings among the rebels, who felt that they had escaped a
great danger, and renewed the life of their tottering treason.
We missed the books we were no longer able to borrow, and planned all
kinds of means to obtain them. Among other expedients, I managed to
sell my hat. It was a fine one, and had formerly belonged to Jack
Wells; but one day when he was drunk enough to be in a clever humor,
he took mine, which was a very poor one, from me, and put his own on
my head, saying that I looked better in that. No doubt he intended to
trade back, but forgot it when we started away, and so left me in
possession. I sold this hat for three dollars and a half, and bought
another extremely poor one for half a dollar, leaving me three dollars
of available funds; which, added to five more afterward obtained from
a Union man, made quite a fortune. With this I tried to procure a book
I wanted. I gave the money to the corporal who attended the prison,
but he kept it several days, and then returned it to me. I next tried
one of the officers of the prison, but met with no better success.
Determined not to be baffled, I dropped the money through a crack in
the floor to a lady prisoner below, who was allowed to go out in town,
but in a few days she, too, sent it back, saying that the book was not
in Richmond.
Still persevering, I wrote the names of several books on a slip of
paper, and gave it to Chillis, the commissary, who wanted us hung when
we first came, but who was, nevertheless, the kindest official of the
prison; he likewise returned it, saying that _none_ of the books named
were to be found. I then yielded, and reserved my money for the next
best purpose to which it could be applied--to buy bread, which I often
needed. We could at first get small cakes for ten cents apiece; but
they afterward rose to fifteen. We had to take postage stamps in
change, and, having no pocket-book to carry them in, they would often
become torn and cracked, which rendered them worthless. Thus we lost a
considerable portion of our precious money.
We soon became very restless and discontented here, and revolved
desperate plans of escape. It seemed like a hopeless prospect, for we
were in the third story, and could only escape by passing at each door
through successive relays of guards, all of which had a reserve ready
to coöperate with them in case of alarm. Our room was next to the
jailor's office, and on the opposite side was a row of rooms
containing all kinds of prisoners. The one next to us was occupied by
a number of Federal soldiers--some charged with being spies, and
others with murder.
One of the latter was Captain Webster. He was a young and most
handsome man, not over twenty-two years of age. He had, on one
occasion, been sent to take a notorious guerilla captain, named
Simpson, who was then hiding within our lines. When he was found,
Webster summoned him to surrender. Instead of doing so he fired his
pistol and started to run; but Webster also fired, and mortally
wounded him.
When Webster was subsequently taken prisoner, he was held for the
_murder_ of Simpson, and confined in the room next to us. The charge I
have repeatedly heard, not only from himself and fellow prisoners, but
from the officers of the prison. Judge of my surprise, then, on
reading, since my return home, of the hanging of Webster for
_violating his parole_. This being a charge that the law of war would
visit with death, the Confederates _officially lied_ in substituting
the one charge for the other, in order to justify themselves, and
prevent retaliation.
Webster, too, was tired of confinement, and ready to risk all in a
bold strike for freedom. The decision was soon made, and Christmas
evening was the time fixed for the attempt. There were a number of
citizens in the room below, who were in a more favorable situation for
initiating the movement than we were. We had opened telegraphic
communication, as we had done before at Atlanta, and after full
consultation, it was agreed to let these citizens give the signal.
This was to be the cry of fire, and when it was heard, we were all to
rush upon the guards, and overpower them. There were only about thirty
guards in the building, and we had over a hundred and fifty men
concerned in the plot. We were, therefore, sure of success if every
one performed his part--at least in getting out of the building, which
was a less difficult task than leaving the city.
On Christmas eve everything was in readiness with us, and most
anxiously did we wait for the signal. The hours rolled slowly on, and
midnight passed, but no signal was given. We afterward learned that
the citizens below failed in courage when the decisive moment came,
and thus defeated a plan which would, in all probability, have been
successful, and would have startled rebeldom no little in thus
bursting open their strongest prison.
The next night we resolved to try once more. And that no
faint-heartedness might now interfere, we appointed Webster our
leader, knowing that he would not falter. Again we prepared. The locks
of all the rooms were drawn except our own, which was so close to the
guard that it could not be taken off without great danger of
discovery.
Some did not want to go, but were very kind to those of us who did,
supplying us with serviceable shoes, and taking our worn-out ones in
return. At last everything being in readiness, we again waited for the
signal. Those in our room were to remain quiet till it was given, and
then burst off the door, which was a light one, and rush on the guard.
We took a board that supported the water-bucket, and four of us,
holding it as a battering-ram, did not doubt our ability to dash the
door into the middle of the large room, and seize the guard before he
could make up his mind as to the nature of the assault.
The other small rooms were soon vacated, the movement being concealed
from the observation of the guard, by the inmates of the large room,
into which all the others opened, standing up around the doors.
For an instant all was silence. We lifted up our hearts in prayer to
God, that He would be with us, and preserve us through the coming
strife, and if consistent with His high will, permit us to regain our
liberty.
What can cause the delay? Minute after minute passes, and the dead
silence is only broken by the throbbing of our own hearts. We stand
with the board ready, and our spirits eager for the coming contest,
which shall lead us to grapple, with naked arms, the shining bayonets
of the guards. We do not doubt the issue, for the hope of liberty
inspires us.
But now we see our friends creeping _back to their rooms_! We grind
our teeth with rage and chagrin, but soon hear the explanation, which
makes us think that the Lord is indeed watching over us.
Just as our leader was ready to give the signal, a friend pressed to
his side, and informed him that we were betrayed, and that an extra
guard of over eighty men was drawn up in line before the door, with
orders to shoot down every one that issued from it, while still
another detachment was ready to close in behind, and make an
indiscriminate massacre. Had we attempted to carry out our plan, the
guard would have yielded before us until we were drawn into the trap,
and then they hoped to make such a slaughter as would be a perpetual
warning to prison-breakers.
When I first heard this story, I thought it the invention of some
weak-nerved individual who feared the trial and the danger of our
scheme. But it was true. The next day the Richmond papers contained a
full _expose_ of the whole affair, and Captain Alexander, the tyrant
who commanded the prison, threatened to have every one engaged in it
tied up and whipped. But he finally concluded not to do so, and the
excitement passed away.