TC or sx sor
of my feverish heh: the stories | had ch uild, from my grandmother, Site
the brave departed and | could see the the Revolutionary sires upon the shores ina and Georgia. Did my childish mind end and remember correctly the stories she told pture of Savannah by the British and the brave se of he colonial forces and the heroic deeds of t Howe and Sam Davis: How Gen. Nathanael Greene had sent his nephew, William Cook, as a mes'senger from South Carolina to Georgia, and the circumstances under which she had married W illiam 'Cook and Sam Davis had married Cook's sister Jane '1 remembered these facts. and the place and circumstances brought them vividly to my mind. We were not very far from tle scenes of the heroic deeds of Capt. 'Sam Davis, the father of Jefferson Davis. I could but remember the story that was told and beBiteved i in the family, as to how Mrs. Nathanael Greene had conceived the idea of the cotton gin; and this fact appeared to be mixed up in some way as one of the cir_ cumstances leading up to our then sad condition. When I was in Marietta Mr. Leavy showed me the 'silver watch that Serg. Jasper had on when he was killed, a large, round silver watch. Mr. Leavy was a descendant of the great hero, and for the information of - those who do not believe that the Jews are heroes and _ patriots, I will here state that Serg. Jasper was a son of OA braham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was killed not far rom Fort Pulaski. On this subject I would further [ state that Col. Meyers, a venerable Jew of Savannah, Ga. had seven sons in the Confederate army, and every 4 one of them a hero. _ I shall doubtless be criticized for these digressions ft rom my favorite topic, but I will here state that Henry Meigs, a brother of Quartermaster-Gen. Meigs, was a nsman of Stonewall Jackson. Thomas Jonathan Jackson descended from the Meigs family, as one might 'know from his name, for no one but a member of this remarkable family would name a son Thomas Jonathan Jackson. Col. Samuel Alexander Atkinson married Mary Mc; Becrald, a daughter of Gov. McDonald, of Georgia, and his son, Spencer R. Atkinson, is now one of the supreme @ dges of Georgia. I knew him asa bright, noble boy. ~ As Tama crank on these subjects, I here add—having B heard it from my father, who received it direct from his cousin, Mrs. Skipwith, a daughter of Gen. Nathanael Greene—that the General was not buried on Cumberd Island, but at Savannah. It appears to be a shame t the grave of this, the second greatest general of the
Revolution, should be 'inknown. Gen. Henry Lee ehthorse Harry"), as 'you know, was buried on erland Island, at the old Green homestead. But
return to my story, and make no apologies for ession.
lineux may have been a brave man, but he
nd appeared to be nervous and timid; and
'more perhaps than any other cause, ren-
disagreeable. Soon after he took
peany of the prisoners to
|) en a
Veteran.
make a desperate effort to escape. Not more than onefourth of our number were able to consider the plan, much less to actively join in the effort. The plan was to make our way to the commissary casemate through the holes we had made in the walls in our attempt to invade the commissary, then lower ourselves into the moat, swim to the bank, make our way to the boat landing, and secure boats capable of holding about fifty men each, there being at the landing two such boats.
This plan failed by reason of the fact that some five or six prisoners, before it could be put into execution, made their escape, and guards were then placed over the boats. Notwithstanding this, nine or ten more made the attempt to escape, but were captured.
The next morning all of us who were able to walk were ordered from the casemates and formed in line upon the parade ground. The garrison was drawn up in line about forty yards in front of us. Two brass field pieces were placed in position and manned. The garrison was ordered to load, which it did in the usual way. We had seen several deserters shot, which was done in about this manner, and we had read of the slaughter of the Mamelukes—but what did all this mean? I must confess that I was without fear; I did not care what it meant. Suffering had left us without fear. We were soon ordered back to the casemates. The General only intended to intimidate us and show us the danger there might be in an effort to escape. About the first of March we heard that we were to be exchanged, and were directed to be in readiness to leave at any time. We were satisfied that the orders had been received, as the officers and men came among us and offered the oath of allegiance to those who wished to remain in the United States until the close of the war. I heard that five or six accepted the offer, but I do not know this to be a fact; none of my personal friends did it. I think it was on the morning of March 4, 1865, that Gen. Millineux entered the prison and informed us that orders had been received to send us to the James River to be exchanged. We made ready to leave the fort, but were almost unwilling to leave, notwithstanding the fact that it had been to us the scene of so much sorrow and affliction. About it lay the remains ot those who were dear to us, who had died from starvation. How altered the appearance of the prison! When we entered we were too much crowded; now, upon the eve of leaving, the passageways were almost deserted.
Upon the hard benches lay the helpless forms of many of our comrades in the last stages of that most horrible disease, scurvy. We embarked upon the vessel "Ashland," and were crowded into the hold of the ship and lay down upon the floor. The helpless were brought down upon stretchers and placed upon the floor. We were very much crowded. More than half of our number were unable to help themselves, and all soon became seasick. As I looked upon the scene, the densely packed mass of suffering humanity, I wondered if a Massachusetts slaver had ever presented a scene so horrible. In this condition we reached Hilton Head, where we were to take on board the two hundred sent there from Fort Pulaski. The "Ashland" having been ascertained to be incapable of transporting us to our destination, we were transferred to a larger ship, called, as I now remember, the "Illinois of New York." Our friends from Hilton Head were then brought aboard.
We left quite a number at Pulaski and Hilton Head,
*:
who were expected to die. Being thought past all hope of recovery, they were left behind. I learned from Capt. Perkins that they had received about the same treatment as ourselves, and their appearance indicated the truth of his statement. He related to me that he had made his escape and had been recaptured and placed in a box or cage just large enough for him to lie down in, but not high enough to allow him to sit upright, and kept there for more than a week.
We reached Fortress Monroe in about four days from the time we left Fort Pulaski. One of the officers died before we reached Fortress Monroe, and his remains were taken on deck, sewed up in his blanket, a heavy weight attached to sink the body, and after prayer the body was consigned to the sea. Two others died before we reached Fort Delaware.
On the 8th of March a large steamer, crowded with prisoners from Fort Delaware, passed us, bound for Richmond. They passed close enough for us to recognize each other, and many were the joyful greetings. But we did not move up the James River; hour after hour we lay at anchor. In the evening a number of medical officers came on board and went through the 'ship. They gave each prisoner a careful examination, and then left. We did not know the object of their visit at the time, but soon learned that we were not to be exchanged, but sent to Fort Delaware, as the medical officers had reported that our condition was so horrible that we ought not to be sent to Richmond. The ship proceeded to Norfolk to take on coal, from which place we were taken to Fort Delaware.
I have written this short story hoping that it might induce some one of our number to write a full history. A list of the names of the "Six Hundred" can be found in a book written by Rev. Handy, of Norfolk, Va., on "Prison Life at Fort Delaware." I saw this book once, and think the above description correct. It would be interesting to read this list. Quite a number of the "Six Hundred" became distinguished men: Manning, of Mississippi; Speaker Crisp, of Georgia; Latrobe, Mayor of Baltimore, and others.
I have doubtless made mistakes, for it has been a long time since these occurrences. Alfonso Allen, of my company, informs me that Bantam Hill was not shot, but was wounded by a bayonet, which passed in at his mouth and came out at the back of his head.
The "Swamp Angel" was situated at the southwest of our position on Morris Island. This great gun was not fired oftener than once or twice a day.
I suggest that the survivors of the "Six Hundred" have a special reunion at the June meeting at Nashville. I can be found at the Cole Building, fourth floor, from eight to nine o'clock, June 22-24.
(To be continued.)