LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. §\n{ubL(^np^ntf^i ;|a, UNITED STATES OF AMERIC d The thoughts of war overpozver all others. . . But at last conduR the zvorld to freedojii. — Byron. COLLECTIONS Coffee.-. Cooler, ■CONSISTING OF DAILY PRISON vSCENES IN ANDERSONVILLE, GA., AND FLORENCE, S. C, WITH POETIC EFFUSIONS ON FOR- AGING, ARMY BEANS, ARMY CORNS, SOLDIER'S ORATION, vSOLDlER'S WIDOW, SOLDIER'S DEATH, AND THE SOLDIER'S FUNE- RAL, SILENT SENTINELS, Etc. ^-^.v^v oFCo/V(»rS. .VlA!a2l890, •^^SHinGTOV*' S. CREELMAN Late Co. A 101st Reg't Penn'a Vols., who served forty-six montlis in the Army, inclusive of eleven months in Prison Pens. ADDRESS : WlIvKINSBURG, AlvLEGHENY COUNTY, PENN'A, BOX 196. Entered according to Act of Congress in tlie year i88g, by S. Creehnan, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at IVashington, D. C. '■t-r PRESS OF The Pittsburg Photo-Engraving Co. 1890. PRISON LIFE. VVitJi Scenes and Incidents as seen and experienced during the year 1864, in Andersonville, Ga., and Florence, S. C. treatment and disease. HE Military Prison at Andersonville, Sumpter county, Ga., during our late civil war had a representa- tive from almost every city, county, town and village from Maine to California. Thirty- two thousand prison- ers of war were con- fined there and four- teen thousand died from exposure, cruel Andersonville is situate in Sumpter county, sixty-nine miles south of Macon, COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. and on the railroad from Macon to Americus ; the census report would not be diminished greatly with- out it, the occupants of one dwelling with the addi- tion of two or three smaller huts or cabins comprise the total population. A small rivulet from its source near Anderson station, winds its way perhaps one- fourth of a mile until it enters the stockade and through the prison in an easterly direction, forming a tributary of the Flint. So much by way of des- cription geographically. Was captured with our command at Plymouth, North Carolina, on April 20, 1864, after three days' battle, by the Confederate General Hoke's command, aided by the iron clad ram Albemarle, and after delivering to our captors our arms and accoutre- ments were marched outside the town and given one day's rations for three days' marching; a speedy introduction to the new bill of fare. We arrived at Tarboro, N. C, tired and hungry ; corn-meal was given us in limited quantity, the Tar river supplied us water, and chips and bark were used as a sub- stitute for spoons. We were from this place ship- ped by rail to Rocky Mount on the Weldon railroad, and wondering quietly, but attentively, how many soldiers could be conveniently packed in a freight COLIvECTlONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. car in a standing position without annoying or dis- commoding each other. The next place of import- ance on our route was Goldsburgf, on the Neuse ; here we received one day's rations of damaged crackers, which had a tendency to preserve Hfe until we arrived at Wilmington, on the Cape Fear; here we noticed the blockade runners loading and unload- ing ; we received bread by way of variety, the quality was not to be complained of as much as the quantity. Some of the prisoners amused themselves, during their leisure time, in setting fire to a cotton factory, which detained our train for a time. Next day, being- Sunday, we found ourselves in the city of Charleston, South Carolina ; nothing worthy of note occurred at this place except that the train ran off the track, which event gave us an opportunity to solicit periodicals and books for future study and perusal. After a few hours' delay we were again on the iron rails in open, or uncovered cars on our way to Savannah Junction, three miles northeast of Savannah, Ga., at which place we arrived about dusk, and after being transferred to box cars, were soon whirling over the rice fields along the valleys of the Ogeeche,- Oconee and Ocmulgee to Macon, and southwest past Ogle- thorpe, to our destination, tired, weary, hungry, but COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. satisfied that we were done riding- on railroads under such unhappy circumstances. The distance from Plymouth, N. C, to Andersonville being nine hundred miles by the above described route, or an average of ninety miles per day, from April 20, to May 3, making an allowance of three days for greas- ing, stalling and gathering in wood, water, etc., along the route. After arriving at Andersonville we were formed into line and introduced and made acquainted with Capt. Henry Wertz, who made him- self so famous by his cruel and unjust treatment of defenseless prisoners of war. With revolver in hand he ordered us to fall in line and remain in that posi- tion until further orders, as anything like disobedi- ence would result in death ; and after a short delay we were marched to the stockade ; the strong, pond- erous gates on the north side opened on their mas- sive iron hinges. We all marched in, but many were carried out. We examined our surroundings and made a few melancholy observations, musing in deep soliloquy, thinking that "man's inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn." After meditating we began to explore and investigate, and observed a long line of dead inside the dead line, placed there COU.ECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. 7 to be taken to the dead house during the day, with faces and feet uncovered, clothes worn and torn ; a. label on the breast, pinned to the slender, thread-bare garments, told us the name, regiment, date of death, etc. We turned from the dead to look at the living; some were enorapfed at cookine what we afterwards found to be a very poor selection of cornmeal, both as regards quality and quantity ; others were industri- ously at work at a root trying to manufacture it into a bundle of wood ; some were trying the experiment of washing their Indian or copper colored hands and faces clean and white without the aid of soap, an undertaking which generally resulted in failure ; some carrying and peddling a small can or boot-leg of water trying to dispose of it by sale or in exchange for tobacco ; others still were destroying vermin, which were numerous and very destructive of com- fort, peace or rest, and in many instances of life ; it was obligatory with one and all of us to be active and vigilant, as existence depended in the open violation of the sixth commandment of the Jewish decalogue. Some were swearing about the hard fortunes of war and occasionally added a word or two not complimentary to the Confederates. Others again were grouped together relating the scenes of COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. battlefields, of the doleful present, of the dreary prospect for the near future. Some were dying, far from home, its comforts and cushioned beds. The Belle-Isle and Richmond prisoners had been sent here before us. They were supplied with small pans, pots and other cooking utensils. We, fortu- nately, had some money, and the result was a system of trading was adopted. On the north side and also on the south side were two streets somewhat wider than the others, made so for the purpose of bringing in wood, meal and mush ; on these streets were to be found prisoners trading. One onion or potato would bring one dollar, one pound of salt two dol- lars ; corn-meal was traded for corn-bread, a stray beef-bone that had, perhaps, been boiled a dozen times, would bring a handsome figure, and finally be converted into rings and other mementoes. Hearing a comrade advertise coffee for sale or exchange, we ventured to inquire the price of the soldiers' much- loved stimulant, and being informed that it was worth twenty-five cents per small spoonful, we inquired the wholesale price, and after a few remarks about quality and quantity, we bought the entire stock — sack, wooden spoon, fixtures, good will and all — and after boiling and cooking it. made the dis- COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. covery that it had been boiled previously and the grounds dried in the sun, and sold and resold per- haps twenty times. Sometimes we received cooked rations, consistinQ^ of rice and corn bread. The bread was baked in hot iron pans, and generally well cooked on the outside or crust, while inside could be found its primative condition. The rice was often unpalate- able on account of the absence of milk and sugar and other condiments Part of the time we received meal. We would then cook to suit our fancy, but were frequently governed by the quantity of meal and fael. The meal was of a poor quality, often mixed with corn-silk and other products of the corn, and would average a pint per day to each prisoner. Salt was about as plentiful as diamonds, and like that valuable mineral only valuable on account of its extreme scarceness. The cook-house was situated on the west and upper side of the prison, and close by the small stream of water running into and through the prison. The cooked rations were brought into the stockade in two-horse wagons containing large dry-goods boxes filled with mush or rice, the drivers with laro-e shovels fillinQ- a certain number of wooden buckets full for 10 COIvLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. each detachment. The regularity of the ration wagon depended on the condition of the weather ; an even- ing storm was a signal for a fast, and the length of the fast depended on the length of the storm. In regard to the dead-line, much has been written and told by released prisoners. Ten feet Inside the stockade strips about two inches wide and four feet long were driven in the ground, about twelve feet apart from each other. Wooden strips were nailed on top around the entire length of the prison. Such is a brief description of the dreaded and dangerous dead-line. An unguarded step, an accidental fall, a misstep, resulted in instant death. The place where the water entered the prison was the most dangerous. So many thousands compelled to get water at one place, and in endeavoring to get clear water, would reach too far under the dead- line, and the smoke from the sentinel's gun told the sad tale. Attempts to tunnel out were frequent, but seldom successful ; some one would turn traitor, and for his selfish service would get out on parole; and frequently the prison authorities would make soundings with a long, sharpened iron or spike inside the dead-line, and should a prisoner be so successful in o-ettinof outside unnoticed the blood- COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. 11 hounds were always kept in readiness to obey the commands of their keeper, and the escaped prisoner, if not registered next roll-call, would be found shortly afterward in the dead-house. The stockade was built of laro-e, pine timber, about the size of the largest timbers used in building barns, roughly hewed, placed in an upright position in an excavation ; projecting about twelve or fifteen feet in height, with sentry boxes on top about forty feet distant from each other, reached by steps from the ground outside. No fancy mechanical work nor beautiful finish to feast the artistic eye upon, but for strength and durability unexcelled. Another stock- ade was erected outside, about one hundred feet dis- tant from the one described above, thus makinor escape above ground as perilous as the tunneling pro- cess. Sickness and disease found a coneenial clime in the dirt and filth of Andersonville; the dead-house was seldom without its silent occupants, and the wagons used for hauling the dead were seldom idle. The months of July and August were the most sickly time, and the number of deaths exceeded those of any other months. One hundred and twenty was the highest number of deaths reported on any one day. Doctors were in attendance at the hospital, and the 12 COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. sick were carried from all parts of the prison each morning- to the south-side ofate, to receive such atten- tion and medicines as the prison authorities were able or willinof to bestow on the numberless sick and afflicted captives. All cases of a serious nature were taken to the outside hospital, under the shade of the friendly pines ; but the food was so uninviting and unpalatable, and the vermin so annoyincr and troublesome that few recovered. Another source of suffering was the insufficient quantity of wood received for cooking our meager rations. With forest in view to the east and south, we were given a two- horse wagon load every two or three days for six detachments, or sixteen hundred and twenty pris- oners. Equalized, it would make a strip for each one about the size of a rung of a chair. The Gangreen Hospital was located some dis- tance from the other hospital. Its occupants were less numerous, but its death list generally tallied with its arrival register; entering its domains was like bid- ding hope adieu and existence a long farewell. Some trap^ic scenes and sad events occurred to break the monotony of prison life. On the 8th day of July, 1864, six prisoners were hung for various crimes committed inside the prison — murdering, COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. 13 Stealing, etc. The trials were conducted by the pris- oners according to the forms of law. Twelve prisoners were selected as jurymen. The evidence was sent to General Sherman, who was then writing history on the walls of Atlanta. The evidence was returned with his approval. The gallows were erected inside the prison, near the south-side gate. The condemned ones were brought in from the stocks, where they had been kept for safe keeping, and delivered into the hands of the prisoners, who assisted them up the steps to the traps on the platform, and after deliver- ing brief dying declarations they were pinioned and bandaofed, and a moment later and another act in the cruel, sanguinary drama was finished. The prison authorities neither approved of nor prevented the proceedings. During the month of August there happened what the religiously inclined termed a providential dispensation. Being a lover of nature and the nat- ural, and believing that cause produces an effect, and every effect is produced or originates from some cause, I commenced the task of investigfation in order to arrive at the truth ; and during the above-named month and immediately after a heavy rain fall, a stream of pure, clear water flowed from the dead- 14 COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. line on the north side of the prison near the gate and emanating at the stockade, and after supplying our wants flowed down the hill in a southerly direc- tion to join the filthy stream that entered the stockade on the west. There was a large swamp or pond of water on the level north of the prison, fed by several springs, and its natural outlet was down the slope of the hill, where the Confederates, when building the stockade, excavated and widened to make a foundation track in which to place the stockade, and in doing so at the top of the hill obstructed the natural course of the stream by placing earth dug from the trench, thus impeding and forcing it to find its level and outlet in a more easterly direction. The heavy fall of rain caused it to break throug-h its artificial barrier, and obeying the laws of gravitation follow along the bed of the stockade to the slope of the hill, and rising to the surface was conducted through the dead-line and into the prison by means of wooden o-utters or troug^hs. Confinement or restraint of liberty is calculated to make one ill-tempered, cross-grained and snappish ; such being our case it did not require more than a close rub or a gentle tap to bring on a collision or an engagement; and while the participants seldom COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. 15 hurt each other, it would provoke a kind of a dry cornmeal laugh to hear the eye witnesses remark, "don't hit him with that pound cake," or "don't knock him down with that roast turkey," items that were strangers in the bill of fare at Andersonville. In different parts of the enclosure could be found Justices of the Peace, whose business it was to ad- minister justice and punish offenders of the peace. If a prisoner had stolen anything, the accused and accuser were brought face to face, witnesses were examined, the evidence condensed and the offender, if found guilty, would receive a certain number of lashes from a " cat o' nine tails," and in all cases the number of lashes and severity of them, would cor- respond with the gravity and nature of the offence committed ; and if the case was an aggravated one, he would, in addition to the lashes, have to run the gauntlet, which was a narrow path or space through the densely crowded street, along which he was compelled to pass, and if he arrived at the other end without receiving an occasional bat, he could credit it to his successful dodging and nodding propensities. Sometimes the Qrauntlet ceremonies would be dis- pensed with, and a more mild and quiet performance substituted and administered. One half of the head 16 COIvLECTlONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. and beard would be shaved close to the skin, the Other half allowed to remain to make a prominent contrast; rather disfiguring the man, but generally harming nobody but his own looks and feelings. z^- '^-1^- * * ^i * ^1 * '■^ J-^ * LORENCE.— We were re- moved from Andersonville and landed at Florence during the month of September, 1864. Florence is a small town in Darlington district, South Car- olina, about one hundred miles northeast of Charleston. The prison was situated one mile from the town near a small rivulet, which ran through the prison and emptied into a swamp. The stockade was built after the style of the Andersonville one ; it contained an area of six acres, and its occupants numbered ten thousand. Instead of sentry boxes the earth was banked up to within a few feet of the top of the stockade, all the labor being performed by negroes, who, while at work, sang plantation songs, making their feet, pick or shovel keep time with the music of their sones. Our first keeper at this place was a kind-hearted, humane man — his name was Major Brown. He 18 COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. told US that any letters sent by us, or letters and Other articles sent to us would be taken care of as far as it was in his power to do so. This was the kindest treatment and the most sympathetic lan- guage that we received during our captivity, and his name is tenderly mentioned here, believing that to reward merit is one of the sweets of life, and honor- able mention should be made of an honorable man. He was succeeded by Col. Iverson, one whom the Confederate leaders considered more capable of converting their theories into practice. One of his first acts was the employing of a monster in the shape of a man named Lieutenant Davis, whose heart, if he had one, was as hard as adamant, and so contracted that it required one of Sherman's bullets to expand it, as he was afterward sent to help arrest that victorious General's march on Savannah, and placing himself in the right-of-way of a Union bullet experienced some of the pain which he helped inflict on others. We received one pint of meal each day. The quality was good, but the quantity insufficient. We received wood enough to cook it, which did not require very much. We had better water, the climate was not so warm, and in some respects our COIvlvECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. 19 condition was better than at Anderson vill.e ; but in Other respects we were made to feel our imprison- ment more bitterly. It was the winter season, our clothes had become worn and threadbare, and not having been washed for many months for the reason that they, like their possessors, were worn out and would not endure rouofh handling- much longer — somewhat of a contrast, when we consider that ours were past redemption in one year's time, while the raiments of the Jews in the wilderness '* waxed not old" in forty years, an event which may do to relate to any one who has not practically tested it. We made an attempt on one occasion to wash a shirt in the swamp without the aid of soap, which resulted in failure, and after an attempt to wring it, made the discovery that it was almost in two parts ; however, we made it stick together by half-soling it with an old ragf which we had the ofood fortune to find. "Neces- sity is the mother of invention," so we adopted the boiling process afterwards, by cooking our clothes in a two gallon tin bucket, which we purchased at Andersonville, and the only cooking utensil we had most of the time. Our rule was to cook our mush first, then boil our clothes and place them in the sun to dry, thus effectively disposing of the vermin. 20 COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. Our mess consisted of six comrades, and the ground allowed us was six feet square ; we enclosed it with mud walls about twenty inches high and twelve inches thick, with a small opening at one end, two by three feet, for ingress and egress ; the roof was twenty inches high at the sides, and three feet at the ridge pole or comb, and covered with parts of blankets and thatched piece to piece with wooden pins ; it pro- tected us somewhat from the sun, and broke the force of the rain and allowed it to fall on us in a sprinkled or sifted condition. We tried as well as we could to imitate civilization by erecting a chimney and fire place to help keep us warm and for cooking purposes ; we placed the old-fashioned stick of wood across to hang the mush bucket on, and very fre- quently when the cornmeal dumplings or mush was just ready to dish out. an unwelcome and unman- nerly chunk of brick or clay would obey the laws of gravitation and drop from the top of the chimney and find a resting place in our cooking pail; but we were taught by this time not to be too choice or fastidious about our manner of eating and style of cookine, and, after the sand had settled at the bottom, we satisfied our appetites as best we could under the circumstances. On one occasion we were compelled COLIvECTlONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. 21 to do without rations for three days because we would not disclose the existence of a tunnel which nineteen-twentieths of us knew nothing about ; on the third day we received rations of black beans, which were noted for their age and holiness ; very few took time to cook them, but ate them quickly to satisfy intense hunger, the sound produced resem- blinof the crackinof often heard under acorn trees. Sometimes the prison authorities would break the monotony and have a little amusement at our expense by placing a tub of molasses in the center of the prison, and after advertising it, would with- draw the guards, leaving the flies and prisoners to decide the contest; and the result was, he who ven- tured for a handful generally got an armful, a head- ful or a pocketful. Many of both sexes from the surrounding district came to witness the perform- ances. On the outside near the officers' quarters were a half dozen or so half-grown .pines, to which prisoners were often tied up by the thumbs and forced to remain, their toes touchino^ the orround, for perhaps several hours at a time. Christmas day, 1864, was an eventful one, and known as Counting Day ; on one side of the run and swamp, which was connected with the larger 22 COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. space by a small wooden bridge, were quartered about one-third of the prisoners ; roll-call was of daily occurrence, but, for some reason known to the officers, they concluded to adopt another system of registering on this occasion ; orders were given for all to pass the guards and registers and go over the bridge where the one-third were quartered ; the numerous sick were carried or helped, the infirm and crippled hobbled as best they could. The pro- cess was slow on account of the many sick, and when all were over, packed in the small enclosure, we were about congratulating ourselves, when we were told to prepare to go through the same maneuvers again, as the count was not correct, or some mistake had been made, thus occupying the entire day. Many of the prisoners here died of swamp fever, and many died from hardships and fatigue on account of long imprisonment. But in one respect did Florence and jts commander eclipse Werts, of Andersonville. Orders were issued that all who would take the oath of alleofiance to the Southern Confederacy would be well taken care of and receive plenty to eat, and would be placed on home guard duty at Charlestown and Savannah; the prisoners formed in groups and discussed the programme ; it OCLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. 23 was a severe test ; it seemed that patriotism and existence were being weighed in the balance, with bright prospects of sure death cHnging to the former, and the desire for Hfe prompting the latter. Two hundred took the oath, not for love of the Confeder- ate cause, but simply to save life ; they were taken to Savannah, and in two weeks were returned to the stockade, as not being loyal enough In times of emergency ; they perhaps revered the oath, but they loved the flag whose birth was the morning s'tar of Liberty. Florence is thy name poetic ; There's another Florence, too, 'Neath Italia's skies so sunny, One that poets love to view. Duringf the month of December a cartel of exchange was agreed upon, by which a specified number of the more weak and sickly ones were exchanged for an equal number held by the Union forces, and all who considered themselves belonging to that list were ordered in line ; various were the devices used to deceive the examining doctors ; some would drink an unusual amount of water, and, not being posted in the names and natures of such 24 COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. afflictions, would relate to the doctor how much they were troubled with the gout ; others would swallow tobacco and turn deadly pale ; others would become remarkably lame on short notice; some tied leather or cotton twine around their legs and arms to stop circulation of the blood and otherwise paralyze the limbs ; truthfully stated, we were all objects of pity without making fearfully bad ridiculously worse; but experience has taught us and history reminds us that man sometimes may dissemble, does magnify, and will use deception. We tried to escape on one occasion, but in this, as in other undertakings, failure crowned our efforts. Some things are uncertain, but we have fully decided never to be caught in that same "neck o' woods" again, and will relate it for the benefit of others who may be desirous of obtaining fame on bloody fields, and loathsome prisons. We had obtained privilege to visit a rail fence and get wood. Three of us touched the top rail and landed in a swamp on the other side, and, after paddling through it and over some rising ground, entered another swamp. We had scarcely secluded ourselves around the body of a large tree when we heard the report of the mus- ketry, and, the swamp being only about fifty feet wide. COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. '25 could plainly see our less fortunate comrades picked up one by one ; this state of affairs was kept up from eight in the morning until about three o'clock in the afternoon; we then ventured to the borders of a friendly corn field, and getting a few ears, retreated to the swamp, and, after eating of the sweet, juicy corn, we patiently waited the advent of evening, dis- cussing in undertones the geography of our proposed route, the probabilities of escape, and the possibility of recapture. At eight o'clock we bade adieu to our swampy protector, and traveling through cane-break, cotton and corn fields, reached the Charleston and Wilmington Railroad. All was quiet, and no noise was heard save the song of the negroes returning from work at Florence, where they were helping build the stockade. We followed the railroad toward Wilmington, N. C, occasionally passing a stranger, whom we supposed would conclude we were slaves returning to the plantations. At this time we were making good headway, feeling in the best of spirits, and expecting in due time to enter the Union lines at or near Newburn, N. C. The moon was full, the night was clear; in the distance we noticed a train stop at a station; we held a council of war, and decided to make a flank movement to the left and 26 COLI.ECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. again strike the railroad beyond the town. We passed several cotton mills on the outskirts, and striking a clay road leading toward the railroad, fol- lowed it, and accomplished the flank movement suc- cessfully. It was now about one o'clock in the morning. We halted, and tied together our already worn-out shoes. Listening, we heard sound resembling that often heard when chicken thieves are about. We concluded it was only some African, in search of a chicken for breakfast, and, stepping to the side of the track close to the embankment, which at this place was three feet high and overgrown with small pines, were quietly discussing the best method of crossing the Pee Dee River, when our conversation and our locomotion were brought to an abrupt termination by the word "Halt," and looking down the muzzles of three double-barreled shot guns seemed to give the word a little extra meaning and a double emphasis. We had no alternative but surrender. We tried to imitate the negroes by telling our captors that we were "gwine up de country," but perhaps we did not use the proper accent in the African dialect, and received an answer that it would be healthier for us to "go down the river." COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. 27 One of our captors was an elderly looking gentle- man, wore a standing collar, and assumed some- what of an aristocratic air; we addressed him and explained that our boarding arrangements had not been good of late, and hinted that a good square meal would be acceptable ; we were told to about- face, and on our arrival in town would receive rations. Arriving in the town, we were placed under guard, and received about a peck of onions which had been cultivated for seed and the long tops cut off. Variety is the spice of life ; our last meal was green corn, this one dried onions. It was two o'clock in the morning. Were now placed in another building more secure, but also more comfortable, and allowed to go in pairs, under guard, to the sweet potato patch which surrounded the building. Armed with a plantation hoe and an old four gallon soap kettle we soon made a vacuum in the patch; brim full we placed it on the fire, and in a short space of time done ample justice to ourselves, this being the first time for many months that we had a chance to do so. We gave a negro lad some Georgia scrip to get us a supply of red peppers — something that commanded a premium In prison on account of the scarcity of salt. 28 COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. We were now ordered to march back, under guard, to the prison pen, distance ten miles. It was Sunday morning, and the authorities, being pious, devout men, would not allow trains to run, so we were compelled to go on foot-back. We received permission to take the tin roof off a freight car which had been thrown off the track and wrecked; and it would be within the limits of truth to say that it was taken off in a shorter period of time than it took to place it there when new. Tin was a valuable article on account of the scarcity of cooking utensils. We were landed at the prison that evening, and, after answering some questions, received a pressing invi- tation to enter the confines of the stockade. We had been Out about forty hours, and our reward was a little liberty, a quantity of tin, a good mess of sweet potatoes, and a stock of red peppers. As related before, our mud-walled domicile had the capacity for five, but one of our comrades who had been in the hospital outside, escaped and was captured on the Atlantic coast and sent here for safe keeping, the claims were all taken up, and he accepted an invitation to abide with us. Our sleep- ing arrangements were somewhat contracted, and we were compelled to adopt the spoon system, any one COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. 29 wishing to turn would awake the others and all turn. Our bed was the earth, and our bedding whatever weeds and dried grass we could get ; we dug a well in front of our mansion. Our tools were of a rude and primitive nature, knives, parts of canteens, and a railroad spike. We had dug the well on our arrival here, and afterwards the prison authorities divided the enclosure into districts, separated by- narrow streets or alleys, and this arrangement left our well in the center of and almost wholly occupying the entire width of the alley. It was about ten feet in depth and uncovered, and almost every hour, especially during the night time, some one of the many prisoners would either slide in, walk in, or fall in They were generally more frightened than hurt, as the water was never more than a few inches deep. As we were sleeping a few feet distant, the sound produced resembled that of an explosion. We were removed from this place on the approach of Sherman's army, which at this time was advancing from Georgia and through the Carolinas, and taken to Wilmington, N. C. Here, also, the Confederates were in trouble ; Fort Fisher had been captured, and the Union forces were marching up the Cape Fear and demanding admission into Wil- 30 COIvIvECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. minpfton. We were taken to Goldsboro, distance eighty-five miles, and marched into the woods, and three days afterwards paroled — sworn not to take up arms against the Confederate government during the space of ninety days ; something which we knew we would not be required to do according to the laws and usages of war. We were loaded once more on freight cars, and told that we would be landed at Wilmington next day. We went south across the bridge that spans the Neuse, and early next morning the train, decorated with white flags of truce, approached the Union picket line ; the train moved cautiously and slow, the Commissioners of Exchange met and accepted and signed the final documents, and as fast as could be counted entered the Union lines, after an imprisonment of eleven long, fearfully long, months of weary confinement. The sun was obscured by clouds and fog ; when we inquired the time of day, we were answered half- past eight in the morning ; completely surprising us, we supposing it was five o'clock in the evening. Such is suspense, terrible suspense that we experi- enced on that eventful morning, caused by delays, uncertainty and doubt in attesting and signing the necessary papers. We bade farewell to our cooking COI^LECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. 31 Utensils, and remembered them on account of their age and usefulness in the past. We marched to the north-east branch of the Cape Fear, and were kindly received by Schofield's army, whose bands played "Home, Sweet Home," which seemed to infuse new life into our bodies and nerves, and led us to hope that in the near future we would have new clothes also, and soon be permitted to once more view the green fields of Pennsylvania, After receiving a supply of crackers and tobacco we marched to Wilmington and remained there one week waiting for an escort to accompany our steam- ers and transports to Annapolis, Maryland ; the Confederate privateers were hovering around the coast, and an escort of iron-clads was necessary for safety. We were quartered in the railroad buildings and received all the rations we could wish for or desire. One thing remarkable occurred here ; we could not sleep neither by day or night during the seven days that we remained here ; the doctors told us the cause of it was drinking large quantities of strong coffee, which so excited our nerves that sleep or slumber was impossible until our nervous system ceased to be effected by the stimulant. From this 32 COLIvECTlONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. place we were taken down the Cape Fear, along the Atlantic coast into the Chesapeake at Cape Henry, up the Chesapeake to Annapolis, and after receiving new uniforms entered Camp Parole, and a few days afterwards received sixty day furloughs and took trains on different routes for home. We will add another item in regard to the manner of keeping and observing time in prison ; guard No. i would cry aloud, " Corporal of the guard, post No. i, nine o'clock and all's right," which would be repeated by each guard with the number of the post, until it came around to the place of beginning, the word "all" receiving an extra amount of emphasis, and while food was scarce we received time every hour. During the exciting political campaign in the year 1864, when the northern states were voting for Lincoln and McClellan, the Confederates, wishing to satisfy their curiosity, and test the political pref- erence of the prisoners, placed two sacks of beans, one black, the other white, inside the dead line, and wished us to vote for our choice ; black beans to be cast for Lincoln and white ones for McClellan. It was a primitive way of voting, with economy as a factor, as next day we were fed with the same beans. The inspectors, instead of counting, meas- COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. 33 ured the ballots by the (^iiart to economize time and figures. As many of us were youno-, It was our first vote as American citizens ; eatino- the ballots may have inculcated the political appetite for the future interest we have since exhibited in ballot boxes. Much more could be written and told of the pri- vations, the sufferings and distress ; much could be said of the unmerciful, inhuman and hard-hearted Werts, who left his liberty-loving- Switzerland to help establish slavery in another hemisphere. Much could be related of the terrors of the dead line, and the deadly bullets of the sentry ; and the cemetery with its fourteen thousand occupants ; the dismal dead house, the howling blood hounds, the squeak- ing of the prison gates opening to receive the un- fortunates, thej>atde of the ball and chain, the stocks, the morning roll-call, the noon-day sun, and the mid-night storm ; wrecked constitutions and de- ranged minds, bright intellects, whose morning sun went down at noon. We say that much more could be written, but it is already recorded in history, and liberal minded readers of a more liberal and advanced age than ours, may perhaps be more char- itable, and after reading the cause of our civil con- 34 COIvLECTlONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. rtict, our customs, manners, and teachino-s, assign us a place in history that may not be in keeping with our boasted civiHzation in this evening of the nine- teenth century, and may say that we hved in a half- civiHzed age, when reason was compelled to remain silent and unable to stay the bitter animosity insti- gated and inflamed by leaders of the North and the South ; that prejudice and passion ruled when reason, arbitration and compromise should have de- cided, and bloody warfare been avoided ; they may perhaps refer to the Czar of Russia, who by a stroke of the pen liberated the millions of serfs of his do- minions. The South wished to perpetuate slavery, claiming that it was protected by the Constitution, and practiced and trafficked in by the ancient patri- archs, the chosen people of old ; the North claimed it was morally, religiously and politically wrong, and sent cohorts of soldiers and scores of chaplains to enforce its decree, and inform posterity that the re- lics of barbarism would not be tolerated in a land dedicated to the Goddess of Liberty — to freedom and liberty — that liberty which has made our land the envy and pride of other lands. History may re- fer us to Geneva, where arbitration superceded the sword, and a costly warfare with the British Isles COIvLECTIONvS OF A COFFEE COOLER. 35 avoided, and silendy yet forcibly remind us that " Peace hath her victories not less renowned than war." And "with malice toward none and charity for all," let us nail the lid on the coffin with the con- tents of the past, its gory battle-fields, its loathsome prisons, its sorrows and sufferings, and deposit it in the cemetery of forgetfulness, and let there be inscribed on its epitaph in characters plain, and In letters and language imperishable and bold : War is destructive of human happiness. As to who was responsible for this gloomy pic- ture of our civil war, let posterity and the iron pen of history decide, as a verdict now, while many of the actors survive, would not. be accepted as impar- tial. It such could be the case we would charge it up to the debit side of the Confederate ledger own- ed by Jefferson Davis and his cabinet only ; for the masses of the South we would say, " not guilty." Was it caused by choice or necessity, let the reports on file in the War Department relating to provisions found and captured by Sherman and his generals, and the abundant supply of woodland surrounding the stockades answer. The reader can form his own opinion and give a verdict as to the intent and meaning of the following order, issued by Brigadier m COLLECTIONS OF A COKFEK COOLER. General John H. Winder in regard to opening fire on the prisoners should the victorious Sherman threaten or dare to Uberate the prisoners: Headquarters Military Prison, ) Andersonville, Ga., Jul3^ 27, 1864. \ The officers on duty and in charge of the battery of Florida artillery at the time will, upon receiving notice that the enemy has approached within seven miles of this post, open upon the stockade with grapeshot, without refer- ence to the situation beyond the lines of defense. John H. Winder, Brigadier-General Commanding. Who was responsible for this order? Subordin- ates seldom assume liberty to issue orders of like import and meaning without instructions from supe- riors. Was it dictated by Messrs. Winder and Wertz, or did the authority emanate from the Con- federate capitol ? In military parlance its terror and tone would indicate origin above and beyond that of a brigadier or commander of a military post. This republic, as the party of the first part, holds a first bond and mortgage on Sumpter county, Geor- gia, and the recital of that obligation should read, that for a valuable and costly consideration, the county of Sumpter, in the State of Georgia, shall and will henceforth and forever retain our dead, who sleep on her soil, and they shall rest in honored graves under the folds of one flag, the flag of the republic. Transformed Historic Scenes. ANDERSONVIIvI.E IN 1889. URNING the finger on the dial face of Time forward to the quarter century mark leaves us on the transformed his- toric spot, with its changed aspect, and its vivid reminder of the scenes enacted during- the drama of Civil War — twenty- five years ago. We arrived at Andersonville during the month of September, 1889. The town consists of eight or ten dwellings, and one hotel. We hired a colored guide, who escorted us to the old prison inclosure. The ground is now owned b)- two negroes, and a cotton crop now covers its once repulsive surface; all the evidence of imprisonment once used by the Confederate military authorities have ceased to exist, save a small shed over the once famous spring, that many claimed had supernatural origin. The stock- 38 COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. acle is all down, nothing to define the once ponderous inclosure, except that the stumps of the logs, and the outlines of the prison are well traced and defined by the old water wells, dug by the Union prisoners. There are no remains of the Confederate cookhouse, dead-house, or Captain Wertz's headquarters ; only the unleveled remains of the earthen breastworks, from which Commander Wertz used to point sections of artillery, loaded with grape and canister, to awe and intimidate the prisoners who. dared to sing- patriotic songs within range of the guns. The low ground or swamp lying between the north and south sides of the prison is now grown over with canebrake and brushwood ; this was the locality so uninviting and repulsive while occupied by the prisoners. In other parts of the prison inclosure are trees twelve to fifteen inches in diameter, of the pine and per- simmon variety. Time, with its mellowing influ- ences, is tenderly weaving and quietly placing the cover of forgetfulness on these tragic scenes of other days. The cemetery, a short distance from the old prison pen, is maintained by the Government. Capt. Bryant, the superintendent, was a Union soldier, and the visitor is made to feel at home, notwithstanding the melancholy memories that surround him. The .COI.LECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. 39 Hao- now waves over one livingr and fourteen thou- sand dead. The known graves number 12,779, and the unknown number is 923. The unknown have a square marble head-stone with the sohtary number in figures on its face ; the known have the soldier's name, number and State, and a look at the register in the superintendent's office tells you the company and regiment. The cemetery is inclosed with a durable red brick wall five feet high and eighteen inches in thickness. The six prisoners who ended their captivity here on the gallows, during the year 1864, and were executed by the [)risoners for mur- dering their fellow prisoners, have their head-stones marked "Raiders," with their names and States. Their names are thus inscribed: P. Delaney and W. Collins, of Pennsylvania; Charles Curtis, of Rhode Island; John Sarsfield, of New York ; W. Dickson and A. Munn. both of the United States Navy. The crimes for which they suffered were desperate, and desperate cases required desperate remedies. The old water wells dug by the prisoners still remain unfilled, many of them now being covered over with posts and logs. Florence, S. C, was next visited. The stockade here, like the one at Andersonville, is rapidly dis- 40 COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. appearing and decaying under die relendess hand of Time. The earthen embankment along the outside of the wooden stockade, on which the Confederate sentinel paced to and fro and hourly shouted the time of night, is all that now remains of the obstacle to freedom where ten thousand prisoners suffered during the weary and dreary months of the wmter of ] 864. The Government has also a cemetery here. It, like the one at Andersonville,, is inclosed by a red brick wall, and a macadamized roadway, one mile in length, is now under construction, and will connect the town of Florence with the cemetery. William J. Elgie, a one-armed soldier, is superin- tendent here, and will kindly assist the visitor as he views the small patch of cotton and the shrub trees in the old prison inclosure, and with index finger point out the marble head-stones, on 2,799 of which you will find the melancholy word " Unknown," and 206 only the name. State and number ; and in this four acre bivouac of the dead you will find one head- stone with this inscription; " Florena Budwin, born in Philadelphia, 21 years of age." The records state that she was the wife of Captain Budwin, who was killed by one of the guards at Andersonville, Ga., and from that place sent with the other male prison- COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. 41 ers to Florence. She enlisted as a soldier in dis- guise, and. with love for husband and devotion to country, shared the sad fortunes of war, which cruelly severed her affections, her sex remaining unknown until death revealed the well-kept secret, and left her loyalty and devotion inscribed on monumental marble — perhaps less durable than the causes that prompted her to alone take the vanguard when the flag that now waves over her called for defenders. We leave her romantic and "windowless palace" musing, "The thoughts of war overpower all others." The object of our visit to these old prison pens was in part to find the last resting place of a comrade and brother who died here durine the war. We failed to find a record of him amone the known, leaving Fame to say of one and all : "Rest on, embalmed and sainted dead, Dear as the blood ye gave ; No impibus footstep here shall tread The herbage of your grave. Nor shall your glor)- be forgot While Fame her record keeps. Or Honor points the hallowed spot Where valor proudh' sleeps." 42 COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. In the middle of the cemetery is a mound four feet high, from which arises a flag-pole, at the top of which the United States flag proudly waves from sunrise to sunset; to the south of it a few feet you will observe two cannons standine with their mute mouths pointing heavenward, balls being laid upon them to signify their peaceful mission — looking from the silent graves to the silent spheres — from the once wild music of war to the now calm serenity of death. FORAGING Bv S. Creklman. OT a shot was heard, nor the tap of a drum, As the porker we took was borrowed ; No farewell crack from the owner's shot-o^un, But a siMi and look of deep sorrow. We covered him over with our army blouse. As the night being cold affected his liver; And we hastened to leave the old farmer's house On the banks of the Tennessee river. We husded him lively on that lonely night, With his bristles for a shroud around him ; Wondering if the rest we left in the nest Would meet his sad fate in the morning. 44 COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. Little they'll think of the risk they run When they wake up for corn on the morrow, As we meant to take them, every last one, But we found them too heavy to carry. We landed him safely in the dead of night, Not a cookoo or whooperwill singing ; And with moonshine alone for a signal light, To the camp we determined to bring him. Slowly and sadly we laid him down. Waiting to quarter and scrape him ; And we slept like warriors on the camp ground Until the hour of one in the mornino-. COLLECTIONvS OF A COFFEE COOLER. 45 Not a prayer was said with the funeral rites, As his bones over the ramparts we lowered, In the dead of night, when the miisquito bites And gets in full time with his borer. We dreamed of the time when soldiering was done, And pigs could eat corn unmolested; And with tearful fun about the porker's last run. When — the General had us arrested. yTfrs./'MDro-tne CO- THE SOLDIER'S WIDOW. Bv Frank Cr.ivK. ELL, no, my wife ain't dead, sir. Hut I've lost her all the same ; She left me volun- tarily. But neither was to blame ; It's rather a queer story. And I think you will agree, When you hear the circumstances, 'Twas rather rouQ^h on me. She was a soldier's widow, He was killed on Malvern Hill, And when I married her She seemed to sorrow for him still. But I brouofht her here to Kansas, And I never want to see A better wife than Mary was For .five bright years to me. COIvLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. The change of scene brought cheerfulness, And such a rosy glow Of happiness warmed Mary's cheeks And melted all the snow. I think she loved me some, I'm bound to think that of her, sir; And as for me, I can't begin to tell How dearly I loved her. Three )'ears ago the baby came Our humble home to bless, And then I reckon I was nigh To perfect happiness. 'Twas her's, 'twas mine, But I've no language to express to you How that little orirl's weak finoers Our hearts together drew. Once we watched it through a fever. And with each gasping breath, Dumb with an awful, worldly woe, We waited for its death ; And, though I'm not a pious man. Our hearts together there For Heaven to save our darling- Went up in voiceless prayer. 48 COIvIvECTlONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. And when the doctor said 'twould Hve, Our joy, what words could tell, Clasped in each other's arms Our grateful tears together fell. Sometimes you see the shadows Fall across our little nest, l)iit It only made the sunshine seem A doubly welcome guest. Work came to me a plenty, And I kept the anvil ringing, Early and late you'd find me there, A hammering and singing. Love nerved my arm to labor And moved my tongue to song, And though my singing wasn't sweet, It was almighty strong. \ Pni-sPHoro-ENd-Co COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. 49 One day a one-armed soldier Came to have me nail a shoe, And while I was at work We passed a compliment or two. I asked him where he lost his arm ; He said 'twas shot away At Malvern Hill— " At Malvern Hill?" " Did you know Robert May? " " That's me," said he. " You, you," cried I, Shouting with horrid doubt, If you're a man, just follow me, We'll solve this mystery out. With dizzy step and aching heart I led him to Mary — alas, 'twas true. Then the bitterest pangs of misery Unspeakable I knew. Frozen with deadly horror. She stared with eyes of stone, And from her wild and quivering lips Went one despairing moan. 'Twas he, the husband of her youth, Now risen from the dead ; But all too late. And with one bitter cry her senses fled. 50 COLIvECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. What could be done; on his return He sought in vain some tidings of His absent wife to learn. 'Twas well that he was innocent, Else I'd have killed him, too, So dead he never would have rose Till Gabriel's trumpet blew. It was agreed between us That Mary should decide, And each by her decision Would sacredly abide, No sinner at the judgment seat, Waiting eternal doom Could suffer what I did While waiting sentence in that room. Rigid and breathless there we stood, With nerves as tense as steel. While Mary looked on each white face In piteous appeal. Oh! could not woman's duty Be less hardly reconciled Between her lawful husband And the father of her child ? COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. ol Ah, how my heart was chilled to ice When she knelt down and said, Forgive me, John, he is my husband ; Here, alive, not dead. I raised her tenderly And tried to tell her she was right, But somehow in my achino- breast The pinioned words stuck tight. "But, John, I can't leave baby," What ! Wife and child, cried I. Oh, cruel, cruel fate. Better that I should die. Think of the sad and lonely hours Waiting in gloom for me ; No wife to cheer me with her love, No babe to climb my knee. And yet you are her mother, And the mother's sacred love Is sdll the purest, tenderest tie That nature ever wove. Take her, but promise, Mary, For that will bring no shame, My litde girl shall learn to speak And lisp her father's name. I COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. It may be in the life to come I'll meet my child and wife, But yonder by my cottage gate We parted for this life. (3ne long hand-clasp from Mary And my dream of love was done ; One long embrace from baby, And my happiness was gone. ARMY BEANS Bv Capt. a. L/Aufman. Tune — " Swei t Bye and Bye." HERE'S a plant that grows out ot the soil, Not a rose or a shrub do I mean ; 'Twas sown by the poor sons of toil, And was known as the white army bean. Chorus — 'Tis the bean that we mean. That we ate in the old days of yore. Little beans without greens. That we ate on the James River shore. 54 COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. The hard-tack and salt pork we've eat, And sea-horse from out the far west, In the bonds of a Union all meat, Still we like the small white bean the best. Chorus — 'Tis the bean, etc. There's a spot that the soldier loved dear, The mess tent's the old place I mean, And the grub that we used to eat there Was our old friend the white army bean. Chorus — 'Tis the bean, etc. When the drear nights of winter came grim, And the camp-fires gleamed on the scene, Then the mess kettle filled to the brim With salt pork and little white beans, Chorus — 'Tis the bean, etc. On the bright glowing coals it would sit. When the daylight had fled from the scene, And boil till the darkness had flit, And had softened the hard-hearted bean. Chorus — 'Tis the bean, etc. COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. In the camps on the James River shore, On the march to the South do I mean, When we'd turkey and hard-tack no more We fell back on the white army bean. Chorus — 'Tis the bean, etc. We'll have beans in the sweet bye-and-bye. We'll have pork that you always find With roast beans and bean-soup and pie Made with beans of the old-fashioned kind. Chorus — 'Tis the bean, etc. We have mince-pie and pound cake at home. And forofet all about the mule team ; But we always will weep and bemoan The loss of the white army bean. Chorus — 'Tis the bean, etc. THE SOLDIER'S FUNERAL. By Caroline E. Norton. ARK to the shrill trumpet callinof, It pierces the soft sum- mer air ; Tears from each comrade are falling, For the widow and or- phan are there. The bayonets earthward are turning, And the drum's muffled breath rolls around ; But he heeds not the voice of their mourning, Or awakes to the bugle sound. Sleep, soldier, tho' many regret thee Who stand by thy cold bier to-day ; Soon, soon shall the kindest forget thee. And thy name from the earth pass away. COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. The man thou did'st love as a brother A friend in thy place will have gained ; Thy dog will keep watch for another, Thy steed by a stranger be reined. Tho' the hearts that now beat for thee sadly Soon joyous as ever shall be, Tho' thy bright orphan boy may laugh gladly As he sits on some kind comrade's knee, There is one who will still pay the duty Of tears for the true and the brave, As when first in the bloom of her beauty She wept o'er the soldier's grave. SILEiNT SENTINELS By S. CREEI.MAN. OUNTAINS are na- ture's sentinels. Reviewing the ages as they pass In grrand review, in every clime, Moving- in silence like the spheres, Majestic and sublime. From Northland's frigid halls of ice, To lands beyond the Southern sun ; When nature in her time ofave birth To land and sea on planet earth, From pole to pole. From Himalaya's ariel height, From Chimborazo's craggy peaks. Clad in their uniforms of snow. Unchanging as the ocean's ebb fiow. Forever and forever. COIvLECTlONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. 59 In endless age and nightless day, Guarding widi undisputed sway One planet and two hemispheres, Saluting clouds for countless years, Sentinels of Time. ARMY CORiN. Rv S. Creelman. SOLDIER had a full grown corn On the top of his little toe, And every place the soldier went The corn was sure to oro. It went with him to the picket line. And it went with him for rations. And many a kick the boys did get, And once in a while a thrashino-. o And so the soldier turned him out Of a hole in the army shoe, And swore he'd kill the first son of a gun That would tramp on — the Red, White and Blue. It went with him to the surgeon's tent To get a little corn-ation. When the doctor jerked it out of root He yelled like thunderation. 60 COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. And so the doctor turned him out. As it was against the army rules To have a soldier pray and shout When driving- government mules. THE BATTLE-FIELD. Anon. Dedicated to the First Minnesota Inf., whose loss of 83 per cent, at Gettysburg, July 3d, 1863, is unparalleled in history. HEN at last the victim fired. And work of blood had end ; And twinkling gray had passed away. And morpheus night descend. Oh ! what shouts of pain and hollow moans With terrors rent the air ; Expiring warriors' dying groans. x^nd all the agonizing tones of heroes in despair. THE ARMY MULE. Bv S. CreeIvMAN. Had there been no mule there would have been no war; the fact is the army mule in war is as requisite as the army musket, both having good kicking qualities, and when actively engaged have been known to create desolation and woe. Of the two, perhaps, the mule is the most to be dreaded, as with his ears laid back, and his rear understandings horizontally inclined, he stands as the signal of dano-er; not so with the simple, innocent musket, with its damaged powder and defective cap. It is the well fed and fully developed, long-eared army mule with the galvanic battery attached to the two rear shoes that requires eternal vigilance ; and on more than one occasion has proper credit been denied the mule for conspicuous actions, not only in batde or in the wagon train, but in peaceful camp. Many devout teamsters and piously inclined soldiers have broken pledges made in childhood days by coming in contact and being on too intimate terms 62 COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. with the army mule. He is also noted for his economical habits. He never wastes his amunition, or, in other words, he never kicks unless there is absolute necessity for kicking; and when he does let fly, like the hornet, he seldom makes a mistake, but hits the mark. Another commendable trait of the army mule is, he is quiet and unassuming. In times of danger his winkers are generally open, but he says nothing ; and instances have been known where he received a thrashing intended for another, all without the use of his veto power, and patiently awaiting a time to have revenge. The fact is, the mule was born for war, as it were; a patent self-act- ing howitzer, and by reversing himself could use his driving wheels as a single or double header. He was noted for consistency, the same yesterday, to-day and the day before ; and only a few instances are recorded of the army mule dying, and then only as his last act and deed. In number of days he re- sembles the eagle by renewing his youth, and nearly always turns up in the next campaign right side up with care. Yes, sir, the mule was put together for war purposes, and I repeat, without the mule there could have been no war ; he is generally useful when army supplies have to change base ; he also hauls COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. 63 the rations, he hauls the camp riggings, and some- times he hauls off with his weapons of defense when a former injury calls for revenge. The army mule has been known as a songster. His modus operandi is different from that of the nio^htino-ale, but when given to the world comes direct from his lungs. Another almost foro-otten trait of the mule is his good looks. In taking his photo always take a front view. Several sudden deaths have been noted by disregarding this advice. Take his ears first, place a pair of innocent looking eyes about eighteen inches below the tip of each lug, and beneath his beaming cheeks leave an opening for his fog-horn or feed- box. If your glass is now in good condition we would advise you to retire and complete the other part after you shall have made your last will and named a couple of executors. I repeat, with all due reverence for the rest of the long-eared tribe, that without the mule there could have been no war. CO. K. From the New Bedford, Pa., Mercury. HERE'S a cap in the closet, Old, tattered and blue. Of very slight value It may be to you ; But a crown, jewel studded. Could not buy it to-day, With its letters of honor, Brave "Co, K." The head that it sheltered Needs shelter no more ; Dead heroes make holy The trifles they wore ; So like chaplet of honor, Of laurel and bay Seems the cap of the soldier Marked "Co. K." COLIvKCTlONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. 65 Bright eyes have looked cahnly Its visor beneath O'er the work of the Reaper, Grim Harvester Death ! Let the muster roll, meager, So mournfully say, How foremost in danger Went "Co. K." Whose footsteps unbroken Came up to the town. Where rampart and bastion Looked threateningly down. Who, closing up breaches. Still kept on their way, Till guns, downward pointed, Face "Co. K." Who faltered or shivered ? Who shunned battle stroke ? Whose fire was uncertain ? Whose battle line broke ? Go, ask it of history Years from to-day. And the record shall tell you Not "Co. K." 66 COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. Though my darHng is sleeping To-day with the dead, And daisies and clover Bloom over his head, I smile through my tears As I lay. it away — That battle-worn cap Lettered " Co. K." DIXIES SUNNY LAND By Comrade Lauffer. Air — " Some Twenty Years Ago." Come friend and fellow soldier brave, Come listen to our song About the rebel prisons and Our sojourn there so long. Our wretched state and hardships great No one can understand But those who have endured this fate In Dixie's sunny land. COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. When captured by the "chivalry" They stripped us to the skin, But tailed to give us back again The value of a pin, Except some lousy rags of gray Discarded by their band. And thus commenced our prison life In Dixie's sunny land. This was our daily bill of fare In that secesh saloon. No sugar, tea or coffee there At morning, night or noon ; But a pint of meal ground cob and all Was served to every man, And for want of fire we ate it raw In Dixie's sunny land. We were by these poor rations soon Reduced to skin and bones ; A lingering starvation, worse Than death, we could but own. There hundreds lay both night and day By far too weak to stand, Till death relieved their sufferings In Dixie's sunny land. 68 COLIyECTlONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. We poor survivors oft were tried By many a threat and bribe To desert our glorious Union cause And join the rebel tribe ; Though fain were we to leave the place, We let them understand We'd rather die than thus disgrace Our flao- in Dixie's land. SOLDIER'S ORATION. Bv CapT. a. Laufman. [That was to have been delivered at Boston, July 4th.] Mr. Editor, Citizens of Boston, South Commons, and Bunker Hill District: I take my pen in hand to let you know that I am well, and hope these few lines will find you enjoying the same state of health, etc., etc. And, further, I wish to inform you that in anticipation of the cele- bration of the Fourth of July by the citizens at Bos- ton town, I had prepared my little address for that occasion, thinking that perhaps I might be called upon by some enthusiastic individual to say a few words at that tremendous outpouring of oratory. As no place could be found large enough for the jubilee, it had to be abandoned, and, where are we now? Is it right, Mr. Editor, and people of the out- lying districts, that all the beauty, pathos and putty contained in these undelivered orations should be lost to posterity? I think not. Posterity expects a legacy of Fourth of July orations that will glitter in 70 COLIyECTlONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. the nation's diadem, and illuminate the land from the rock-bound coasts of Maine to where calm Pacific's waters lave the golden sands of California. (Leave room here for cheers and groans.) If this neglect is allowed to prevail, the all-absorbing topic of Free- dom will become a thing of the past ; the Fourth will die and be buried in the dead past along with the COLIvECTlONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. third and fifth, and then who can tell the difference? — not much. Excuse me, I drift — yes, drift with the tide of human sentiment back to the time when the Bay State guards dumped King George's tea into Boston harbor, in the disguise of Indians. I mean the guard, not the tea. Boston was not disguised as an Indian either. I don't want to make any mistakes or erroneous impressions, as this may pass into his- tory a hundred years from now, and be found stick- ing in the archives of the Capitol. So you see the necessity of accuracy. 'Tis well known that when Columbia, like the Roman mother, is asked to dis- play her jewels, she proudly points to the Fourth of July as the brightest and biggest, in fact I might say the larorest of the whole caboodle of cobble stones that deck the nation's shirt collar. The reasons, my dear children, for this day being sacred to the people of this ^country, are as follows, to-wit: On that day, more than a century ago, our four-fathers (I think there were four) decided to leave the old man's work- shop and start business for themselves. Of course the old man grumbled at first, but after a few years unpleasantness, and a few men killed, and the loss of a dozen boxes or so of Oolong and Japan, he gave up, and allowed the thirteen boys to go to house- 72 COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. keeping for themselves ; so they fished out the tea and set up the cook-stove, and have since adopted several orphans from the western district, and now have a big wigwam at Washington, and an Indian training school at West Point. And now, children, I want you to be careful of who you entertain. The country is full of old veterans who would lay down their lives to establish this Fourth of July business ; you can see them on every street corner with a wooden leg and an old accordeon, and the music they make is so en- trancing that you wish you had never been born, or if born, only lived a few hours. When I was a boy one of these old soldiers used to come around every summer. (I often wondered where he spent the winter.) And on rainy days would lie on the hay in the old barn and listen to his blood-curdling tales. This connecting link between the past and the pres- ent, as he called himself, would tell of the glories of the revolution, and how sweet it was to die for one's country. I never could see where the sweet came in. We listened to him all day, and dreamed of him all nieht. I often wished I could have been with o General Washington at Valley Forge, where the army lived on fried oysters, boiled chicken and red birds, and slept on corduroy carpet. He only missed fc. COLLECTIONS OF A COFFEE COOLER. 73 but one good thing in his boyhood, and he has re- o^retted it ever since with the most resfretful kind of regret. He fell in battle, but he never felt in love; no look from maiden's tender eye ever pierced his manly frame ; the demon of infatuation never haunted him ; here I pause ; we found out he was an old fraud ; he had a wooden leg^, 'tis true, but he lost his unwooden leg by the bursting of a bologna sausage in a beer saloon, and so, one by one, we see our dearest idols crumble into dust. But to revert to my theme, fellow countrymen, this Fourth of July business is America's red letter day ; its memories kindle anew the cold embers and lights up the flames of last year's dormant devotion for our Starry Ban- ner. (Cheers.) Poets, philosophers and oratorial orators have stretched not only their imagination, but their suspenders, and sometimes a hemp rope, when supporting and propping up the pole of Liberty. We wander back to the valor and heroism displayed at Eutaw Springs and the Cow Pens ; but the screeching eagle invites them to back seats when the Fourth comes down like a wolf on the fold, and under its banner orators bold — (Cries, no poetry here.) Yes, the evening sun may sink to rest in his watery couch in the Pacific, and may forget to open COtlvECTlONS OF A COFFEE COOLER his winkers as he gets up east of Bunker Hill, but the glories of the Fourth shall never cease to be echoed and re-echoed from your orator's sound — to Puget Sound. Yes, guard your Liberties like unto your tea-renowned shores ; harbor your Freedom like George's Young Hyson ; boil it down, sugar it and preserve it ; bottle it, cork it up in your Con- stitution and By-Laws ; (cries of "more mortar,") remember the words of Patrick Henry ; the actions of Tippecanoe and Waterloo, will moulder away ; the great Alexander, the mighty Hannibal, with their thrones and empires, will be ground into atoms under the driving wheels of the chariot of Liberty ; (cheers,) but the old bell in Independence Hall will still clatter, when your orator and this audience shall have donned angelic overcoats lined with red, white and blue, and with the cardboard of admittance ap- proved well done, join in the chorus of Yankee Doodle Dandy with the white winged tribes, and with thrills of rapture flutter like sea-gulls up and down the beautiful shore, where the Fourth never ends, and the weary orators have rest. (Lights and orator blown away by the burst of applause.) ^ - i,rV*-' w LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 013 786 717 5 m