UNDER THE OLD FLAG.
There was no change at Andersonville, but in the loathsome prison it was
ever the same terrible scene of starvation, corruption, disease,
despair, and death. Every morning those who had died during the night
were collected by the prisoners and laid in rows by the prison gate,
where, during the day, they were piled upon the dead-cart and borne out
to the trenches. There was no hope of relief for the living, and each
prisoner looked forward with indifference to his inevitable fate. Above
them floated the Rebel flag. They were kept there beneath its folds by
Jefferson Davis and General Lee, till thirteen thousand had been starved
and murdered.
Paul knew that, notwithstanding Uncle Peter's constant care and nursing,
he was growing weaker; but he had learned to look death calmly in the
face, and so was undisturbed by the prospect. He knew that God, who
takes care of the sparrows, would not forget his mother, and he felt
that Azalia would sometimes shed a tear when she thought of him.
But one morning there was an unusual stir among the prisoners. "You are
to be exchanged and sent home," said the Rebel officers. They had been
told the same thing so many times, and had been always so cruelly
deceived, that they did not believe the statement till orders were
issued for a portion of them to be ready to march to the cars at an
appointed hour. Paul was among those who were ordered away. All were
ready in an instant, for they had no baggage to pack up, no knapsacks,
no equipments, no overcoats,--nothing but the rags upon their bodies.
Those who were so weak that they could scarcely creep from place to
place rose and stood upon their feet when told that they were to go
home. Paul felt a fresh wave of life sweep over him, thrilling every
fibre of his wasted frame. Hope revived. Home! O the blissful thought!
He rose weak and trembling from his bed on the cold, damp ground,
wrapped his rags about him, and, leaning on a cane, supported by Uncle
Peter, hobbled out and took his place in the long line of skeletons,
and waited with eager eyes to see the gate turn upon its rusty hinges.
It was hard to part with Uncle Peter, who had been so kind to him. "God
bless you and reward you for all your kindness to me," said Paul,
bidding him good by, and shaking hands for the last time.
"I'se sorry to part with ye, Kurnel, but I bless de Lord you is gwine.
We'll meet again one of dese days, whar de Rebs won't trouble us, and
whar we will be free foreber," said the old negro, looking up into
heaven. He could not go. He was a slave. There was no freedom for him
till the rebellion was crushed, or till the grave opened.
The gates turned on their hinges, and the regiment of skeletons in rags
took up its march. Such a procession never before was seen on earth. A
thousand emaciated forms, tottering, reeling, hobbling on canes and
crutches, wending their way to the cars,--not to luxurious cushioned
seats, but to hard, jolting cattle-cars,--for a long ride of hundreds of
miles before reaching the sea-coast. But hope inspired them. They were
breathing fresh air, and were gazing on smiling fields, waving with
grain. They were on their way home. The birds cheered them, singing of
home. "Going home, going home!" said the car-wheels, as they passed from
rail to rail. In joy and gladness they sang:
"I'm going home, I'm going home,
To die no more, to die no more."
It was as if they had left behind them forever all sorrow and suffering,
and that for them there could be no more distress, or pain, or anguish.
It was a long, weary, dusty ride. Some died on the way, but hope kept
most of them alive.
They reached the city of Charleston, passed from the cars to a
steamboat, which was to take them down the harbor to the place of
exchange. The waters danced joyfully around them, as if greeting them
with gladness. The breezes came in from the dark blue ocean and fanned
their wasted cheeks. The waves, like a loving mother, gently rocked them
and sung a soothing lullaby. But O what joy to behold once more the dear
old flag! How serenely and lovingly it floated in the breeze! They
saluted it with cheers,--shed tears of gratitude,--clasped each other by
the hand,--rushed into each other's arms. Those who were able to stand
danced in a delirium of joy! Paul was too weak to sit up. He could only
lie upon the deck, and gaze upon the flag till his eyes filled with
tears, and say: "Thank God, I have seen it once more!" Beneath that flag
there was joy, peace, comfort, food, clothing, and freedom. Hospital
nurses were there with blankets, and great kettles filled with soup and
coffee. For the wounded there were bandages; for the sick there were
cordials, wines, and medicines. There were tender-hearted men, ready to
relieve all their sufferings. It was like passing from the prison of
despair into a paradise of peace and rest, and in joy and gladness they
began to sing,
"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."
The strong men on board of the ship, the nurses, and the stout-hearted
sailors wept like children, and spoke hard words against the Rebels when
they looked upon the haggard countenances, the hollow cheeks, the sunken
eyes, of the skeleton forms around them.
Although Paul was so weak that he could hardly lift his hands to his
head, although his comrades were passing away, although every day he saw
their bodies, wrapped in hammocks and weighted with shot, cast into the
sea, yet he never experienced such bliss, such contentment, as while
lying on the deck through the long summer day, looking up to the old
flag, and the clear sky, and out upon the calm and peaceful sea,
thinking of the sea of glass and the great white throne, and the
calmness, sereneness, and rest of heaven. And at night, when lulled to
sleep by the rippling waves, how enchanting his dreams of home, of his
mother, of the scenes of other days,--the old house, the swallows
twittering around its eaves, the roses blooming beneath the window, the
night-wind sweeping down the valley, the church-bell ringing the evening
hour, its deep tolling when the funeral train passed on to the cemetery
in the shady grove,--his friends welcoming him home once more, Azalia
among them, queen of the hour, peerless in beauty, with rose bloom on
her cheek,--of Mr. Chrome, Judge Adams, and Colonel Dare, all saying,
"We are glad to see you,"--dreaming, and waking, to find it only a
dream.
But the ship was bearing him on. The distance was lessening. One more
day, and the voyage would be at an end, the ship in port. O, if he could
but see his mother once more,--feel her hand upon his brow, her kiss
upon his lip,--then he could die content! A desire for life set in. Hope
revived. He would fight death as he had fought the Rebels, and, God
willing, he would win the victory.