664 Norta CaroLtina Troops, 1861-65.

was a strong Union woman in her sentiments. She was will-
ing that I should remain in prison during the war, fearful
that I would get hurt. My youngest sister told me that she
was required to take the oath to see me. They forced some
money upon me. [Ilere I lose all recollections of dates.

We were notified a short time after my sister’s departure
to be in readiness to leave, and of course we knew that they
intended taking us to Johnson’s Island. Our preparations
were soon made, as we were not encumbered with much bag-
gage. The day before we left Washington, the privates were
sent to Point Lookout. They passed under my window,
about 1,200 in number. By some means they became scat-
tered and the order being given to close up, they rushed up
in double-quick, giving at the same time a terrific yell that
fairly made the dome of the Capitol ring with the echo.
There was a novelty about this that I enjoyed finely, calling
to my mind the lines I had seen: ‘There is life in the old
land yet.” There was a great difference between Federal
officers and ours, for they would promise us anything, yet we
would seldom get it. As an instance of this, in coming to
Washington we suffered much for water. Our guards said
we should have it at the next station. They took all of our
canteens, but from some unknown cause they were never re-
turned to us. We made complaints to the officers in charge
at Washington and they seemed to regret the occurrence very
much and promised us that we should have them again—they
would furnish same to us out of their own pockets. It is
needless to say that this was the last we heard of the canteens.

A few of our officers had overcoats, none had blankets or a
change of clothing. As for money they had not a cent, and
some were almost barefooted, others were nearly naked. I
speak of the officers, as there were nearly a hundred and fifty
in our party, which was ordered to Johnson’s Island. I had
the good fortune to procure another shirt, some underwear
and socks, and a haversack.

After considerable delay we were in the street. We moved
down to the depot of the railroad to Baltimore under a very
strong guard, who were to accompany us to the island. On
the route to the depot, some man sang out (it was very near

 

Prison Lire at JoHnson’s ISLAND. 665

the Capitol), “Three cheers for Jeff Davis,” and they were
given with a hearty yell. Three groans were called for. Abe
Lincoln, and they were given in true Confederate style. I
do not remember the name of the officer who was in command
of the guard at the time. He was a Major from Philadel-
phia. He was very kind to us, and the guard was very civil,
doing everything in their power to make us comfortable.

At Washington we were put on good passenger cars and ar-
rived at Baltimore about 12 o’clock, that night. Here an-
other delay occurred. With a great flourish of troops, some
on foot, some mounted, we were finally marched to the yard
of the negro jail of Hope Slater. I know his place well. It
is about 50 by 30 feet square, with very high walls. We
were all thrust into this miserable den and kept there until
morning. It was quite cold and chilly, and we could neither
walk, stand or sit. Many a bitter curse went forth, but we
were helpless prisoners and had to submit. The next morning
we had rations served to us, very good and plentiful, consist-
ing of good bacon, crackers, cheese, Scotch herrings and whis-
key. About 8 o’clock we were formed again into line and
marched through the principal streets of Baltimore to the
depot of the Baltimore & Susquehannah Railroad. No de-
monstrations of any kind were made in Baltimore, the heavy
guard and strong police force, I suppose, preventing it. We
were again placed in good coaches. There was nothing of in-
terest occurred on the route from Baltimore to Johnson’s
Island. We passed through York, Harrisburg, Alton, Pitts-
burg and various other cities and towns whose names I now
forget. At Harrisburg a woman delivered a long harangue
to the rebels. We concluded that she belonged to the
Woman’s Rights party, and as most of us knew the metal of
that party we concluded to knock under at once. At Pitts-
burg several Copperheads entered the cars and made a close
examination of the rebels, some of the fastidious ones were
much surprised and astonished to find us eating raw meat
for breakfast. One fellow, a doctor, felt us to find the pro-
portion of bone and muscle. We arrived at Sandusky early
in the morning and we could see from the depot the island
that was to be our home. Of all the places in this bright