One day while working at the quarters of a German artillery company,
located on the isthmus next the Potomac side, an American Yankee soldier
came around and raised a friendly conversation about the war issues and
boasted about how he had fought for the Union and how much longer he would
fight. A Louisianian made issue with him and showed all the enthusiastic
patriotism for the South. When they had exhausted their patriotic
vocabularies the Yankee passed on, our German guard, a young, good-natured
fellow, remarked to me, "I bees no war man; I does not want to fight."
Then I inquired how he came to be in the army, and he replied, "Oh, I bees
a poor man; I has no money; they gives me three hundred dollars bounty,
and I bees soldier." Then he remarked, "Our company all voted for
McClellan; Lincoln loves the Nigger too much."
ON THE WHARF DETAIL AND WANTING TO STEAL SOMETHING FROM UNCLE SAM'S
PLENTIFUL STORES.
Several of us were in the big commissary prying around to get into the
bean and potato barrels, when a wagon drove up and a Negro commanded us,
saying, "Four you men go upstairs and bring down some cracker boxes and
load dis wagon." I got in the push and, as soon as we reached the cracker
boxes we give a box a fling from the top of the pack and bursted it, when
we all began eating like hogs. In a minute here came the Negro. "What
you-ens doin' dar? Dems our rations youse eatin'." "A box fell and
bursted, and we are gathering them up as fast as we can." "Well, dat's all
right, but don't you-ens eat no mo'." "Can't we have these scraps." "Yes,
you may; you may have dem scraps." We already had our pockets stuffed.
At another time, working around the commissary, I filled my pockets with
beans and potatoes. These were the only full messes I got while in prison.
The largest detail was known as the Fort detail, building and sodding a
fort on the Potomac side. About three hundred men were worked on it. They
got about three square inches or five cents worth of plug tobacco and a
little drink of whiskey per day. The other details only give one pound of
salt pork and a pint of vinegar for ten days' work. Working ten days for a
pound of pork was rather low wages, but most of us were glad to get such
an opportunity to get out. If we could pick up as much as the staves of a
flour barrel we could sell it for ten or fifteen cents inside of prison,
and a little money went a long way. Mackerel sold at five cents per pound,
and a pound and a half loaf of bread for ten cents. The cheapest tobacco
sold at one dollar per pound, and the men suffered as much for tobacco as
for bread. The most of the users of tobacco would swap a piece of bread
for a chew of tobacco. Tobacco retailed mostly by the chew. Tobacco was
the most common medium of exchange. All of the smaller gambling concerns
used pieces of tobacco cut up in chews, the larger cuts passing for five
or ten chews. Rev. Morgan, the Confederate agent, conducted a school,
which I attended some. Several preachers came in and preached to us, and
the Catholic priests visited us occasionally, besides our local preachers
held open air exercises frequently. The death of President Lincoln
probably delayed our release. After the Confederacy went down we were
aliens without government or protection in our native land. The
proposition to take the oath of allegiance with full rights of citizenship
under the old flag of our fathers seemed as good as we could expect, and
we were soon anxious to do so and return home. About the 6th of June they
began to discharge us. On the 11th of June the following was posted on the
bulletin board: "All men whose homes are in Virginia and North Carolina
who wish to return via Richmond, whose names begin with D and E, will be
discharged upon taking the oath of allegiance to the United States on
to-morrow--12th June." So, before sunrise, I was on the front line of the
penitents and on my knees awaiting for the blessing of being transformed
from a rebel of the deepest dye into the marvelous light and liberty of a
free, full-fledged, loyal American citizen--with all the privileges of a
free "Nigger." As one of the colored soldiers had told me a few days
before. He said, "De'l turn you out some dese days--den you'll be just as
free as we is--and we is just as free as the birds." The stars and stripes
were stretched under the overhead ceiling of the school house; thirty-two
of us stood under the flag that I had fired a thousand shots at, and,
without mental reservation, took the oath and subscribed to the same in
the records. I was marked, Occupation, Planter (that sounded bigger than
farmer); age, 19; eyes, blue; hair, auburn; complexion, fair; height, 6
feet 3-3/4 inches. I weighed 170 pounds when I went there, and got away
with 145 pounds. We missed that day's ration and they gave us six
hardtacks and a half pound of cod fish, which I eat at once. We (three
hundred of us) arrived at Richmond after dark on the 13th of June. It was
raining and we all held together and were instructed to report to the
Provost office at capitol. As we marched the streets the ladies would
remark, "Oh! look, there is our men; I am so glad to see them. Poor
fellows, they are just out of prison." The officer of the guard at the
capitol informed us that no provision had been made for us, and advised us
to go to the New Market for shelter and to report back at 9 a. m. Here we
were furnished transportation--"free cars." This we took to the commissary
and got rations. When we got to Richmond I had not eaten anything for more
than thirty hours. A store keeper that night gave me two loaves of bread
and some small fishes, dried herring, which was divided with my comrades,
Virgil Elliott and Felix Dobbins. When Richmond was evacuated the people
were destitute and most of them on the verge of starvation. So now the
United States Government had nearly all of them to feed, white and black.
When we went to get our rations two men drew together. I told my comrade
to get our meat and I would get our bread. Avery, a consequential mulatto
gentleman, waited on me, and when he weighed up my crackers, I said, "Meat
for two men, please," and he throwed it up quick and pushed it to me. So I
got a double ration of meat.
We crossed the James River on a pontoon bridge over to Manchester--all the
bridges having been burned. Here we found many new freight cars marked U.
S. M. R. R. We took up quarters in them to wait until 8 a. m. next day.
That night a big rain broke down the road and we had to lay over another
day. So I told Felix that I guessed more prisoners came in last night; let
us go over and draw rations with them again, and he said all right. And we
went over and drew another supply. I had now drawn eighteen pounds of salt
pork to do me home. We sold the last draw to an Irish woman who kept a
little shop, and we indulged in a quart of molasses. The people of
Richmond were as clever and sympathetic with us as during the war. One
storekeeper invited us to come in and help ourselves on sweet crackers
(ginger snaps). The good lady that cooked our meat in Manchester sent with
it a plate of nice, hot biscuits. We left Richmond June 16th, but our
train could not cross the Appomattox River. The high water had careened
the new trestle bridge. We walked over and on to another station, and a
train from Burkville came after us. We stayed at Burkville until dark, and
when we were ordered to board some box-cars, I found the door full, and
they said not another could get in. I fought my way in and found those in
the door all there were in it. So I hunted up my comrades, Elliott and
Dobbins, and brought them in, as a thunder storm was coming up. These men
who tried to keep us out were hospital rats. They were clean and did not
want to mix with us lousy, dirty prisoners. After we got in they let no
others in, while many had to ride on top in an all-night rain storm.
Thousands of Federal troops occupied Greensboro and Charlotte. They were
all quite friendly and congratulated us on the close of the war. I said,
"Well, you've freed the Negroes; now what are you going to do with them."
They said, "Oh d----n the Niggers. I say kill 'em; they have been the cause
of all this trouble." We had to walk home from Charlotte, sixty miles, and
got home June 20th, very thankful that I was so fortunate to come back
sound and well, while so many of my comrades had fallen by the wayside or
were broken and maimed for life.