- 7i 
 
 '&S. 
 
I 
 
F 291 
 .P62 
 Copy 1 
 
 i LET ER 
 
 TO 
 
 HON. CHARLES SUMNER. 
 
 / 
 
 WITH 
 
 "STATEMENTS'* OF 
 
 Outrages Upon Freedmea in Georgia 
 
 AND 
 
 CD AN ACCOUNT OF MY 
 
 EXPULSION PROM ANDERSON VILLF, GA., 
 
 BY THE 
 
 KXJ.KLTJX KI>A1N. 
 
 I 
 
 T,Y REV. H. W.^IERSON. D. D-, 
 
 MEMBER N. Y. HIST0BICAI.S0C1ET-V, El 
 
 COMl'LIMENTS OF THE AUTHOR. 
 
 '^K<^ 
 
 -; WASHINGTON: 
 CHBONICLE PBINT., 511 NINTH STBEE" 
 
 187^ 
 
/ 
 
 [Copy. I 
 
 New York, November, 1861 i 
 To the Rer. H. W. Pierson, D. D., 
 
 President of Cumberland College. Kentucky 
 Dear Sir: The undersigned beg leave respectfully to sug- 
 gest to you the propriety of repeating your paper read before 
 the Historical Society at a recent meeting, on the Private Life 
 oflhomas Jefferson, and making public a larger portion of 
 your ample materials, in the form of public lectures The 
 unanimous expression of approbation on the part of the Society 
 which your paper elicited, is an earnest of the satisfaction with 
 which your consent to lecture will be received by the public at 
 
 \ i have the honor to be, very respectfully, yours 
 GEd }E BANCROFT, ISAAC FERRIS 
 
 'TON FISH, GO RH AM D. A BBOT, 
 
 .^. ii^VARTS, SAMUEL OSGOOD 
 
 )ERIC DE PEYSTER, GEORGE POTTS ' 
 ,1'n^- j;i?o?W HENRY W BELLOWS. 
 
 "^p^nTQ^^^^'^^' JOSEPH G. COGSWELL, 
 
 . BRADISH, HORACE WEBSTER, 
 
 And many others. 
 
 N 
 
 \ 
 
LAWLESSNESS IN GEORGIA. 
 
 Washington, D. C, March 15, 18t0. 
 My Dear Sir: It would not become me to express an opinion 
 upon any of the legal questions involved in the Georgia bill 
 now before the Senate, but I respectfully call your attention to 
 the following " statements '' of facts. I certainly am not sur- 
 prised that Honorable gentlemen/jwhom I greatly esteem, should 
 express their belief that the outrages committed upon the Freed- 
 men and Union men in Georgia have been greatly exaggerated 
 in the statements that have been presented to Congress and the 
 country. I know that to persons and communities not intimately 
 acquainted with the state of society, and the civilization devel- 
 oped by the institution of slavery, they seem absolutely incredi- 
 ble. Allow me to say, from my personal knowledge, and pro- 
 foundly conscious of my responsibility to God and to history, 
 that the statements that have been given to the public in re- 
 gard to outrages in Georgia come far short of the real facts in 
 the case. Permit me to add that I went to Andersonville, Ga , 
 to labor as a pastor and teacher of the Freedmen, without pay, 
 as I had labored during the war in the service of the Christian 
 Commission ; that I had nothing at all to do with the political 
 affairs of the State ; that I did not know, and, so far as I am 
 aware, I did not see or speak to any man who held a civil 
 office in the State, except the magistrate at Andersonville ; thr 
 a few days sifter my arrival there I performed the first religVs. 
 
 ■ soViany 
 
 e applied to 
 
 \ r houses and 
 
[Copy.] 
 
 New York, November, 1861 
 
 To the Rev. H. W. Pierson, D. D., 
 
 President of Cumberland College, Kentucky: 
 Dear Sir: The undersigned beg leave respectfully to sug- 
 gest to you the propriety of repeating your paper read before* 
 the Historical Society at a recent meeting, on the Private Life 
 of Thomas Jefferson, and making public a larger portion of 
 your ample materials, in the form of public lectures. The 
 unanimous expression of approbation on the part of the Society, 
 which your paper elicited, is an earnest of the satisfaction with 
 which your consent to lecture will be received by the public at 
 large. 
 
 ) have the honor to be, very respectfully, yours, 
 GEC ^rE BANCROFT, ISAAC FERRIS, 
 
 ^ /rON FISH, GORHAM D. ABBOT, 
 
 .X. EVARTS, SAMUEL OSGOOD, 
 
 )ERIC DE PEYSTER, GEORGE POTTS, 
 J H. FIELD, HENRY W BELLOWS, 
 
 x:.uRGE FOLSOM, JOSEPH G. COGSWELL, 
 
 , BRADISH, HORACE WEBSTER, 
 
 And many others. 
 
 ^ 
 
LAWLESSNESS II GEORaiA. 
 
 Washington, D. C, March 15, I8t0. 
 My Dear Sir: It would not become me to express an opinion 
 upon any of the legal questions involved in the Georgia bill 
 now before the Senate, but I respectfully call your attention to 
 the following "statements " of facts. I certainly am not sur- 
 prised that Honorable gentlemen. jwhom I greatly esteem, should 
 express their belief that the outrages committed upon the Freed- 
 men and Union men in Georgia have been greatly exaggerated 
 in the statements that have been presented to Congress and the 
 country. I know that to persons and communities not intimately 
 acquainted with the state of society, and the civilization devel- 
 oped by the institution of slavery, they seem absolutely incredi- 
 ble. Allow me to say, from my personal knowledge, and pro- 
 foundly conscious of my responsibility to God and to history, 
 that the statements that have been given to the public in re- 
 gard to outrages in Georgia come far short of the real facts in 
 the case. Permit me to add that I went to Andersonville, Ga , 
 to labor as a pastor and teacher of the Freedmen, without pay, 
 as I had labored during the war in the service of the Christian 
 Commission ; that I had nothing at all to do with the political 
 affairs of the State ; that I did not know, and, so far as I am 
 aware, I did not see or speak to any man who held a civil 
 office in the State, except the magistrate at Andersonville ; thr 
 a few days sifter my arrival there I performed the first religj 
 
4 
 
 serrices, and participated in the first public lienors tliat were 
 ever rendered to the 13,716 " brave boys " who sleep there, by 
 iecorating the cemetery with procession, prayer, and solemn 
 hymns to God, as described in Appendix A. 
 
 My time and labors were sacredly given to the Freedmen. In 
 addition to the usual Sabbath services I visited them in their 
 cabins around the stockades, and in the vicinity of the cemetery, 
 reading the Bible to them, and talking and praying with them. 
 It was in the prosecution of these labors that I saw and heard 
 more of sufferings and horrible outrages inflicted upon the 
 Freedmen than I saw and heard of as inflicted upon slaves in 
 any five years of constant horseback travel in the South before 
 the war, when I visited thousands of plantations as agent of the 
 American Tract society, the American Bible Society, and as 
 President of Cumberland College, Princeton, Kentucky. As 
 illustrations of the sufferings of these oppressed, outraged peo- 
 ple, and of their utter helplessness and want of protection from 
 the State or Federal courts, I give a few of the "statements " 
 that I wrote down from their own lips. I know these men, and 
 have entire confidence in their "statements." 
 
 STATEMENT OF CANE COOK. 
 
 Cane Cook now lives near Americus, Sumter County, 
 Georgia. I heard through the colored people of the inhuman 
 outrages committed upon him, and sent word to him to come to 
 me if possible, that I might get a statement of the facts from his 
 own lips. With the greatest difficulty he got into the cars at 
 Americus, and came here to-day. He says : 
 
 " I worked for Robert Hodges, last year, who lives about 
 two and-a-half miles from Andersonville, Georgia. I had my 
 own stock, and rented land from him, agreeing to give him one- 
 third of the corn, and one-fourth of the cotton for rent. We 
 divided the corn by the wagon load, and had no trouble about 
 that I made three bags of cotton, weighing 506, 511, and 479 
 pounds when it was packed. Mr. Hodges weighed it again, and 
 I don't know what he has got it down, but that was the right 
 
 eight ; one-fourth was his, and three-fourths mine. He told 
 
 he would buy my cotton and pay me the market price, which 
 
 we ty-Que cents that day, and I told him h« mijfht have 
 
 1 
 
 \ 
 
Mr. Cook is about fifty years old, has a large frame, has been 
 an industrious, hard-working man, but is now almost entirely 
 paralized and helpless. He is the most shattered, complete, 
 and pitiable wreck from human violence I have ever seen. 
 Mr. Hodges, I am told, owns about six thousand acres 
 of land, and is one of the most prominent and respected citizens 
 of Sumter county. He is a Methodist preacher, aad Mr. Reese 
 informs me, as I write, that he has heard him preach a great 
 many times in the last twenty years to both white and colored 
 people at camp-meetings and different meeting-houses in this 
 region. He refuses to sell any of his land to the colored peo- 
 ple, and will not allow them to build a school-house on it. 
 
 STATEMENT OF FLOYD SNELSON. 
 Floyd Snelson, foreman of the hands employed by the Got- 
 arnment in the National Cemetery, Andersonville, Georgia, 
 says : 
 
 " That in July, 1868, after the work was suspended in the 
 cemetery, and the Lieutenant in charge had gone to Marietta, 
 Georgia, and the schools for the freedraen were closed, and the 
 teachers had left for the North, Mr. B, B. Dikes notified all the 
 colored people who occupied buildings on the land now claimed 
 by him, formerly occupied by the Confedearte Government, in 
 connection with the Andersonville prison, that they must get 
 out of their buildings within four days, or he would have them 
 put out by the Sheriff, and they would have the cost to pay. 
 Nearly all of these men had been in the employ of the 
 Government, at work in the National Cemetery, many 
 of them from the commencement of this work after the sur- 
 render. They all occupied these buildings by permission of the 
 officer in charge of the cemetery, by whom they were employed. 
 Many of them had built these houses at their own expense, 
 and cleared, fenced, and cultivated gardens of from one to four 
 acres, which were covered»with corn, potatoes, and other vege- 
 tables, which, with their houses, they were required to leave 
 without any compensation. Including these laborers and their 
 families, about two hundred persons occupied these buildings. 
 On account of the great difficulty of getting homes for so many 
 on such short notice, most of these colored people applied to 
 Mr. Dikes for the privi'edge of occupying their houses and 
 
it. I got some meat and :ora and other things from him 
 during the year, and he paid me $50 in cash Christmas. I 
 went to him last Friday a week ago, (January 29th, 1869) for 
 a settlement. When he read over his account he had a gallon 
 of syrup charged to me, and I told him I had not had any syrup 
 of him. He asked me if I disputed his word I told him that 
 I did not want to dispute his word, but I had not had ary 
 syrup from him. He got up very angry, and took a large 
 hickory stick and came towards me. I went backwards towards 
 the door, and he followed me. He is a strong man and I did 
 not want to have any trouble with him, and I gave him no 
 impudence. I had a small piece of clap-board in my hand, that 
 I had walked with. He told me to throw it down. I made no 
 attempt to strike him, but held it up to keep off his blow. I 
 went backwards to the door and to the edge of the porch, and he 
 followed me. As I turned to go down the steps— there are four 
 steps — he struck me a powerful blow on the back of my head, 
 and I fell from the porch to the ground I was not entirely 
 senseless, but I was stiff and could not move hand or foot. I 
 lay a long time — I » o not know how long — but he did not touch 
 me. Jolly Low was at work upon the house, and he came down 
 where I was, and Mr. Hodges told him he might lift me up if 
 he was a mind to. He lifted me up and set me on the steps. 
 Mr. Hodges then sent about three miles for Dr. Westbrook, and 
 he came and bled me in both arms; but I was so cold my left 
 arm would not bleed at all, and my right arm bled but a very 
 little The Doctor then told me to go to my friend's house and 
 let him take care of me Two colored men — Anthony Dukes 
 and Edward Corrillus — took me under each arm and carried me 
 to Burrell Corrillus' house, about one hundred and fifty yards. 
 I could not bear my weight upon my feet or stand at all. The 
 Doctor rode by and told Mrs. Corrillus to take good care of me 
 and keep me there a couple of'days. I staid there until Sunday 
 afternoon, when two men lifted me into a buggy and IV r. Cor- 
 rillus carried me to my wife near Americus. My hands, arms, 
 back, and legs are almost useless. I have not been able to lift 
 a bit of food to my mouth. I have to be fed like a baby. I 
 have not gone before any of the courts I have no money to 
 pay a lawyer, and I know it would do no good. Mr. Hodges 
 has not paid me for my cotton, and fays he will not settle with 
 me, but will settle with any man I will send him. While I lay 
 before his door he told me that if I died he would pay my wife 
 $50. I hope there will be some law sometime for us poor 
 oppressed people. If we could only get land and have homes 
 we could get along; but they won't sell us any land." 
 Anderson viLLE, Ga., Feb. 7, 1869. 
 
 X 
 
paying Tent, either in money or a part of the crops that they 
 were growing. But he refused, and said they could not stay 
 on any terms. On the day appointed by Mr. Dikes, (Wednes- 
 day, July 29th, 1868,) the most of the white people in from six 
 to ten miles around, appeared in Andersonville, with their arms, 
 and Mr. Souber, the magistrate of the district, and Mr. Raiford, 
 the Sheriff of the county, accompanied by a party of some 
 twenty-six or thirty armed white men, went to the houses of all 
 these people, (except a very fe'v who had vacated their premises,) 
 and threw all their furniture, and provisions of every kind, out 
 of doors. They then nailed up the doors of all their cabins, on 
 the inside, and punched ofiF a part of the roofs, and got out in 
 this way. By about two P. M., all these people, with their 
 furniture, bedding, provisions, and everything that they pos- 
 sessed, were turned out of doors 
 
 " About four o'clock, the most violent rain storm, accompa- 
 nied with the most terrific thunder and lightning ever known 
 here, commenced and continued the most of the night. Every 
 mill-dam and many of the mills in a circle of ten miles were 
 washed away and so completely destroyed that but one of 
 them has been repaired so as to be used. The women — 
 some of them about to be confined — children and invalids were 
 exposed to this storm during the night. Their beds, clothing, 
 provisions, and themselves were as completely drenched as if 
 they had been thrown into a brook Some of these people got 
 homes by working for their board. Some able-bodied men got 
 twenty-five cents a day. Some of them, (Deacon Turner Hall, 
 of the Congregational Church, Andersonville, among the num- 
 ber,) walked from ten to twenty miles a day, and could get 
 neither homes nor work at any price at all. Many women and 
 children lay out of doors guarding their things, and exposed to 
 the weather nearly a week, before they could get any shelter at 
 all — their hu.=bands and fathers roaming over the country to 
 find some kind of a home. The Rev. F. Haley, of the Ameri- 
 can Missionary Association, arrived the next day, to look after 
 the property of the mission. His life was threatened, but the 
 colored people rallied around him to protect him, and he left the 
 next day unharmed. Large numbers of the white people, from 
 the neighborhood, assembled at Andersonville every day until 
 Saturday night, when they set fire to nine (9) of the buildings, 
 that had been built by the colored people, and burnt them up, 
 and tore down their fences and destroyed their crops. The 
 colored people, supposing that they intended to burn the build- 
 ings occupied for the " Teacher's Home" and the " Freedmen's 
 School," rallied and protected them. No one of the men 
 
engaged in these ontrages, has ever been arrested or punished 
 in any way, and no one of these freedmen has ever had any re- 
 dress for his sufiferings and losses I will make oath to these 
 statements." 
 
 Anderson viLLE, Ga., Feb. 12, 1869. 
 
 STATEMENT OP GEORGE SMITH. 
 
 George Smith now resides five miles from Ellaville, in Schley 
 county, Georgia. He says : 
 
 "Before the election of Grant, large bodies of men were riding 
 about the country in the night for more than a month. They 
 and their horses were covered with large white sheets, so that 
 you could not tell them or their horses. They gave out word 
 that they would whip every Radical in the country that intend- 
 ed to vote for Grant, and did whip all they could get hold of. 
 They sent word to me that I was one of the leaders of the 
 Grant club, and they would whip me. I saw them pass my 
 house one night, and I should think there were thirty or forty 
 of them. They looked in the night like Jersey wagons. I 
 supposed they were after me, and I took my blanket and gun 
 and ran to the woods and lay out all night, and a good 
 many other nights. Nearly all the Radicals in the neighborhood 
 lay in the woods every night for two weeks before election. 
 The Kuklux would go to the houses of all that belonged to the 
 Grant club, call them to the door, throw a blanket over them 
 and carry them off and whip them, and try and make them pro- 
 mise to vote for Seymour and Blair. The night I f aw them they 
 went to the house of Mr. Henry Davis and ordered him out. 
 He refused to come out and they tore down both of his doors. 
 He fired at them and escaped. I heard a good many shots 
 fired at him. He lay out about a week in the woods, and then 
 slipped back in the night and got his family and moved off. 
 He had bought a place and paid $250 on it ; but he could not 
 get a deed, and he has gone oft' and left it. They then went to 
 the house of Tom Pitman and Jonas Swanson, called them to 
 the door, threw blankets over their heads, carried them off and 
 whipped them tremendously. They told them that they were 
 damned Radicals and leaders of the Grant club, and that they 
 would whip every one that voted for Grant, and would not give 
 any work to any but Democrats 
 
 Bob Wiggins, a preacher, was whipped all most to death be- 
 cause they said he was preaching Radical doctrines to the col- 
 
9 
 
 ored people. It was supposed for a good many days that he 
 would die, bat he finally recovered. 
 
 I attended the election at Ellaville. None of the Radicals 
 that had been Ku-Kluxed tried to vote; but a good many Radicals 
 did try to vote, but the judges made them all show their tickets, 
 and if they were for Grant they would not let them vote I 
 saw how they treated others and did not try to put my vote in. 
 I went early in the^'morning, and the white and colored Demo- 
 crats voted until about noon, when I went home. 
 
 Andersonville, February 7, 1869. 
 
 STATEMENT OF RICHARD REESE. 
 
 Richard Reese, President of the Grant club of Schley county, 
 confirms the statements of George Smith in regard to the treat- 
 ment of the Radicals in Schley county. He says : 
 
 "When the Ku-Klux commenced riding about the country I 
 was at Macon attending the colored convention When I got 
 home some white men, Democrats, who were friends of mine, 
 told me that the Kti-Klux would certainly kill me if I staid at 
 home at nights. I took my blanket and hid in the woods. I 
 have never had a gun or pistol in my life. I lay in the woods 
 every night until after election. Day times I came home and 
 worked ray crop. One day, as I was in my yard, Mr. Jack 
 Childers, a Democrat, came along from Americus, and said to 
 me, 'Where is old Dick, the damned old Radical?' 1 said, 
 ' Here I am. ' He said, 'Well, vou will be certain to be killed ' 
 I said, ' Well, if they kill me they will kill a good old Radical, 
 and I haven't got much longer to live noway.' He then started 
 to get out of his buggy and come at me, but the man with him held 
 him in and drove on. I had the Grant tickets in my house, 
 and went to the Bumphead precinct, but there were more Radicals 
 than Democrats there, and they would not open the polls at 
 all. We staid there till twelve o'clock, then started for Ella- 
 ville. The white and colored Democrats were voting, but they 
 would not let a Radical vote until about two o'clock, when 
 Charley Hudson got upon a stump and said no man could vote 
 unless he had paid his taxes He then got down, and he and 
 nearly every white man there went around to the colored voters 
 and told them that if they would vote the Democratic ticket 
 their tax was paid. I offered my ticket, and thev said my tax 
 was not paid, and if I put in my ticket they would put me in 
 jail, and send me to the penitentiary. I had already agreed 
 
10 
 
 with a white man, who owed me $50, to pay my tax, and he 
 said he had done it, but when I fonnd him, and he found what 
 was the matter, he said he had not paid it They demanded 
 $4.50 poll-tax, and I paid it and put in my vote. They were 
 determined that I should not vote, and I was determined that 
 I would vote for Grant any way, as I was the president of the 
 club They told me if I would vote for Seymour and Blair I 
 need not pay my taxes. After I got my vote in I took all my 
 Grant tickets and scattered them among the crowd, and told my 
 club they need not try to vote, it would do no good. { Grant 
 would be elected without Schley county, and we all went home. 
 
 " Last spring we built a'school-house, aud hired a white lady 
 to teach our school for several months. We held meeiings and 
 schools every Sunday. Friday night, February 5, 1869, our 
 school-house was burned up. 
 
 " Last night we had a meeting to see what we could do about 
 building another house. We have a deed of one-and-a-half 
 acres of land, but there is no timber on it, and the owners of 
 the land around have put up a paper forbidding us to cut a 
 stick on their's, and see how tight they have got us. We want 
 the Government or somebody to help us build We want some 
 law to protect us. We know that we could burn their churches 
 and schools, but it is against the law to burn houses, and we 
 don't want to break the law or harm anybody. We want the 
 law to protect us, and all we want is to live under the law." 
 
 Andbrsonville, Feb. 7, 1869. 
 
 {STATEMENT OF REY. CHARLES ENNIS. 
 Charles Eunis informs me that he was sixty-two years old 
 last June; that he was the slave of Mr. G. C. McBee, who kept 
 the ferry on the Holston river, fifteen miles from Knoxville 
 Tennessee; that he has often ferried the Hon. Messrs. Brown- 
 low and Maynard over the river; that he learned to read when 
 a small boy, and that he is now a preacher and teacher. He is 
 the most intelligent colored man I have seen at Andersonville. 
 He says: 
 
 " My wife has been a midwife for many years, and has atten- 
 ded upon a good many white and colored women in child-birth. 
 Last year we lived in Mitchell cuiin'y, and Mr. lleiiry Adams, 
 of Baker county, sent for her to attend his wife, who was about 
 
11 
 
 to be confined. The child was born and did well, After the 
 riot at Camilla we were afraid to remain in Mitchell county. I 
 lived within three miles of Camilla, and a good many of the 
 dead were very near me, but I did not see any of them. I was 
 afraid to go from home. Dr. Sanders, who attended upon those 
 who were shot, told me that more than fifty were killed and 
 wounded. Mr. Adams said his wife liked my wife so well that 
 he wanted us to go to Houston county with him, and he would 
 pay our expenses there; and then he would certainly get me a 
 school, and 1 could live on his place with my wife, and he would 
 pay her $50 a year wages. I told him we would not engage 
 by the year, but only by the month, so long as we could agree. 
 Mr. Robert Adams, his uncle, was his partner, and managed 
 the plantation. On the 19th of January, 1869, he told my wife 
 he wanted breakfast very early, as he was going to attend the 
 burying of his nephew's wife next morning. She got up before 
 day and got it, and 1 carried it to him and he ate it by candle 
 light. After breakfast, as my wife was going to milk, he came 
 out doors, and when he saw her he said : '0 you d — d old 
 b — h, I have catched up to 3'ou, you G— d d — d old rogue,' and a 
 good deal more of the same sort. I was surprised at this, as I 
 knew she had got the breakfast all right, and I had carried it 
 in to him. I went out and asked him in a mild manner, 'Mr. 
 Adams, what is the matter ? what has she done ?' He made 
 no reply at all, but rushed at me and caught me by the hair and 
 commenced beating me. He struck me several times on the 
 head. I made no resistance at all, but said, ' Mr. Adams, I 
 will make you pay for this ' This made him still worse, and 
 he took out his knife and said he would give me something to 
 make him pay for — he would kill me. 
 
 "Henry Ottrecht, a German, and a colored boy named Wash 
 caught him and begged him not to kill me, and told me to 
 promise him that I would not report him. He held on to me 
 until I promised him that I would not report him, and then let 
 me jtO. He told these men that he would have killed me if they 
 had not prevented him. As he started away to attend the 
 bury ing of his nephew's wife, he said to me, 'Now you may 
 go to Perry,' (the county seat,) 'and report me if you want; but if 
 you do I'll be d— d if I don't kill you.' At night my wife 
 heard him tell Charles Evart, a freedman, about the scrape, and 
 he said he would have killed me if they had not held him, and 
 he would kill me anyway, if I reported him. I was a slave 
 until freed the by war, but I never received such treatment 
 during all my life as a slave. I waited on officers in the Confed- 
 erate array from 1862 until the surrender. The last six monihs 
 
12 
 
 I was with Lt. Col. Jones, Second Georgia Reserves, at 
 Andersouville 1 never received a blow or a harsh word from 
 one of thera. I have traveled a great deal before and since the 
 war. I know that the colored people are mere brutally treated 
 now than they were in slavery times. A great many moie are 
 beaten, wounded and killed now than then I know a great 
 many cases where they have 1)een beaten to death with clubs, 
 killed with knives and dirks, shot and hung. We have no pro- 
 tection at all from the laws of Georgia. We had rather die than 
 go back into slavery, but we are worse treated than we ever 
 were before We cannot protect ourselves; we want the Gov- 
 ernment to protect us. A great many freedmen have told me 
 that we should be obliged to rise and take arms and protect 
 ourselves, but I have always told them this would not do; that 
 the whole South would then come against us and kill us off, 
 as the Indians have been killed off I have always told them 
 the best way was for us to apply to the Government for pro- 
 tection, and let them protect us." 
 
 Andersonvillb, Ga., February 10, 1869. 
 
18 
 
 WHY I WAS KU KLUXED. 
 
 Mr. B. B. Dikes, referred to in the foregoing statement of 
 Floyd Snelson, is not the only claimant who has endeavored to 
 secure possession of the grounds in and around the stockades 
 at Andersonville, Georgia. I should have said that he has 
 entered a suit in the U. 8. Court for the possession of these 
 lands, but in the absence of the military he judged the eject- 
 ment of the freedmen, and getting possession in the manner I 
 have described, as more sure and speedy than the " law's 
 delay." 
 
 A Mr. Crawford claims that the land which lies within and 
 around the south stockade, in which are the hospital sheds, 
 where so many of our soldiers died, where even now the bare 
 ground upon which they lay shows the indenture made by the 
 bodies of our suffering dying soldiers, belongs to certain heirs, 
 and he, too, has been endeavoring to get possession of these 
 grounds. My pastoral visitations led me to the cabins in and 
 around the stockades, that have been built upon the land now 
 claimed by Mr. Crawford. As was most natural, they poured 
 into my ears the sad, the almost incredible, accounts of the wrongs 
 they have suffered " since freedom came," or, as they more fre- 
 quently expressed it, " since the surrender came through." One 
 of these men came to me in January, in great distress, and told 
 me that the day before he had been notified by Mr. Souber, the 
 magistrate of the district, that he must leave his house by the 
 next Monday night, or he would bring the Sheriff and turn 
 him out. Mr. Souber told him that he had charge of the 
 land for Mr. Crawford, and that he was agoing to fence it in, 
 and raise a cotton crop in and around these stockades. There 
 are thousands who know how this soil has been ensanguined 
 
14 
 
 and enriched. I had frequently walked over these grounds, 
 and seen evidences of what is both too indelicate and too horri- 
 ble to be described. I confess that my indignation was roused 
 to the highest degree. I sat down immedately and wrote a 
 statement of these facts to Hon. J. M. Ashley, and begged him 
 to call on General Grant, and see if there was any power in the 
 Government to prevent these outrages. 
 
 The Lieutenant in charge at Andersonville called upon me 
 some days later, and informed me that ray letter to Congress- 
 man Ashley had been referred, by General Grant to General 
 Meade, who had referred it to him. I furnished him the facts 
 upon which it was based, and also wrote General Meade as 
 follows ; 
 
 [Copy.] 
 Andersonville, Ga., January 30, 1869. 
 
 General: 1 send you the accompanying "statements" in 
 regard to the matters referred to in my letter to the Hon. J. M 
 Ashley, M. C. My letter was based upon j^d^t of these state- 
 ments. Those additional to what had then been communicated 
 to me are the result of investigations made since Lieutenant 
 Corliss informed me that my letter had been referred to General 
 Meade and to himself. 
 
 I have been acquainted with colored people in the South more 
 than twenty-five years I know the difiBculty of getting at the 
 truth in such matters. But I think these "statements" can be 
 depended upon. 
 
 With great respect, yours very truly, 
 
 H. W. PIERSON. 
 
 To Major General Meade. 
 
 STATEMENTS OF ALBERT WILLIAMS, MARTHA 
 RANDALL, JANE ROGERS, AND BENJAMIN WES- 
 TON. 
 
 Albert Williams states to me that in January after the sur- 
 render he was employed by the Government to work in the 
 cemetery, and worked there until last spring. That Mr. Van 
 
 4 
 
 v:., ;-.?Btf BraiiiiwiiMiBiF" ^^r — ——"^ - -"""-^i, Wi%iy 
 
15 
 
 Dusen, Supt. of the cemetery, gave him the privilege of moving 
 into the house he now occupies, near the stockade that enclosed 
 the hospital buildings; that afterwards Captain Rench gave 
 him the privilege of clearing off the ground east of the stockade 
 and raising a crop; that he hired hands and cleared and fenced 
 about fifteen acres ; that his wife and children helped to raise 
 a crop ; that after it was "laid by," Mr. Crawford, who ctaims 
 the land, called on him and demanded rent ; that he also called 
 on Lewis Williams, Howard Ingrahara, and Butler Johnson, 
 who were raising crops around the stockades by permission of 
 Captain Rench, and demanded rent ; that Mr. Crawford called 
 upon us four, with Mr. B. B. Dikes and Esquire Souber, and 
 compelled us to sign a written contract, which they had pre- 
 pared, that each of us four wou'd pay forty bushels of corn each 
 for rent; that he (WilliamsJ was unable to pay the forty bush- 
 els of corn, but did pay ten dollars in money, ten bushels of 
 corn which he gathered and hauled to Mr. Dikes' crib, for 
 which he was allowed fifteen dollars in rent. None of the four 
 men were able to pay the forty bushels of corn; but Mr. Craw- 
 ford brought the Bailiff, John Law, and took what corn he 
 could, and a sow and pig from Howard Ingraham. All these 
 men but me have left their places that they had cleared and 
 fenced, because they could not pay such rent, and Mr. Crawford 
 has put the places in charge of Mr. Souber, and brought him 
 two mules to cultivate the grounds. Mr. Williams- states that 
 twice the stockade has been set on fire in the night, and he and 
 his boys have toted water and put it out. 
 
 Mr. Williams states that Mr. Souber came to his house some 
 two or three weeks ago, and told him he mast get out of the 
 house and leave the place, that he had charge of it now, that he 
 was going to fence in the grounds and raise a crop in and around 
 the stockade, and that he would not let any body live there but 
 those that worked the place. That some time after this Mr, 
 Souber sent him word by Bob Stevens that he had rented the 
 place to him, and that he must get out or Mr. Souber would 
 have him put out by the Sheriff, Mr. Raiford; that Mr. Stevens 
 and his wife have both been to his house several times with this 
 message from Mr. Souber; that last Saturday (January 23, 
 
16 
 
 1869,) his wife told him that Mr. Souber came to his house 
 while he was away and told her we must get out by Monday 
 night or he would bring the Sheriff and have us put out. Mr. 
 Williams says he will make oath to these statements. 
 
 Mrs. Martha Randall and Mrs. Jane Rogers live very near 
 Mr. Williams. They state to me that they occupy the house 
 by permission of Mr. Souber, as they have agreed to work for 
 him. They both say to me that they heard Mr. Souber tell 
 Mrs. Williams, last Saturday, ihat "they must get out of the 
 house or he would have the Sheriff put them out." 
 
 Note — You will see that there are three witnesses to these 
 statements of Mr. Souber. I saw each of them " separate and 
 apart" from the others, and no one knew what the others had 
 said, and their statements agreed in every particular. 
 
 Benjamin Weston states to me that Major Anthony gave him 
 permission to raise a crop east of the stockade, where the 
 small-pox hospital was located. That he cleared and fenced 
 about six acres ; that there was no clearing on the land — only 
 some of the underbrush was cut out ; that there was not a rail 
 on the place ; that he cut and split all the rails and made a good 
 fence, and raised a crop of corn ; that about the first of August 
 Mr. Crawford came to him and said the land was his, and de- 
 manded thirty-five bushels of corn for rent, and required him 
 to sign a contract and give security for that amount ; that the 
 place only yielded about twenty bushels, of which his family 
 and stock used ten bushels, and he gave ten bushels for rent. 
 
 Mr. Weston states that he heard that Mr. Souber had charge 
 of the land, and about the first of January he applied to him to 
 rent what he had cleared and fenced. Mr. Souber told him that 
 he had charge of the land but it was not for rent ; he was 
 agoing to tend it himself. He then asked me what Mr. Wil- 
 liams was agoing to do. I told him I did not know. He said 
 well, he had better hunt him a house, for I am agoing to tend 
 that place myself. Mr, Weston says he has never had any pay 
 for clearing and fencing the land, only about ten bushels of 
 corn, as above stated. He says he will make oath to the above 
 statements. 
 
 January 29, 1869. 
 
17 
 
 General : I do not know the boundaries of the land chiimed 
 l)j Crawford, hnt as far as I am able to learn, the mob that 
 burnt the l)uildings here last summer, and threats and treatment 
 like that detailed above, have driven off all the families that 
 occupied these grounds by authority of otKcers of the United 
 States Government, except Mr. Williams, and Mr. Rhodes who 
 occupies a building in the large stockade, which he tells me he 
 has been warned to leave. Through the means above detailed 
 Mr. C. has very nearly secured possession, which is nine-tenths 
 in law. With great respect, yours, very truly, 
 
 H. W. PIERSON. . 
 
 To Major General Meade. 
 
 On the 10th of February, 1859, Captain Bean called on me 
 and introduced himself as a member of General Meade's staff, and 
 said he had come from Atlanta to Andersonvile by order of 
 General Mende to make investigations in regard to the matters 
 referred to in my letters. I went with him to the stockade and 
 pointed out the new fences made and the grounds claimed by 
 Mr. Souljer. At his request I went with him to the office of 
 Mr. Williams, the superintendent of the cemetery, and in my 
 presence he told him to notify Mr. Souher to suspend all ivork 
 upon these grounds. 
 
 I confess that I was exceedingly gratified at this complete 
 success of my efforts. I felt that these historic grounds, this 
 Gethsemane of the nation, had been rescued from what I could 
 but esteem a sacreligious use and possession, and that the flag 
 that floated over the dead at Andersonville had been honored by 
 this order. When I told, the Freedmen the result of Captain 
 Bean's visit their joy was great. In describing to me, as they 
 often had, the suffering and losses they had endured when they 
 were driven from their homes, and their cabins were burnt last 
 summer, they always, in their simplicity, spoke of it as the time 
 " when the Government busted up." And this truly described 
 the condition of the Government from that time to the present^ 
 
18 
 
 so far as they were concerned, for these facts show that no mat- 
 ter how horrible and brutal the outrage and personal violence 
 committed upon them there Lad been no punishment to the 
 perpetrators and no redress to the Freedmen. 'Sow they felt 
 that the Government would again afford them some protection. 
 But great as was my joy, and the joy of the suffering Freed- 
 men, it was nothing to the 7-age of those who, after so long a 
 struggle, had been defeated in their elforts to get possession of 
 these grounds just as they were about to become completely 
 successful. Captain Bean visited and left Andersonville on 
 the 10th. On the 12lh I received a Ku-Klux letter, of which 
 the following is a true copy; 
 
 **■■(!* + + * + + •+ + + +* 
 
 I Skull and J 
 
 I: cress-bones. Z 
 
 t*+***^*****H<t " February 12, ]8G!». 
 
 "Dr. Pearsox (so-called). 
 
 "Sir: For your especial benefit 1 am instructed to write you 
 this special communication of warning and instruction. 
 
 " Ihe citizens of this place are aware of a i'cw facts relative 
 to yourself that I will proceed to designate : In the first place, 
 they know you to be a wandering vagrant carpet bagger, with- 
 out visible means of support, and living at present on the earB- 
 ings of those who are endeavoring to make an honest living by 
 teaching. You have also proved yourself a .scoundrel of the 
 deepest dye by maliciously interfering in matters which do not 
 in the least concern you, to the detriment of some of our citizens. 
 "This, therefore, is to warn you to leave this county forth- 
 with. Twent3^-four (24) hours from the above date is the time 
 allowed for you to leave. If after the said time 3'our devilish 
 countenance i:T seen at this place or viciniti/ your ivorthless life 
 will pay the forfeit. Congressional reconstruction, the mili- 
 tary, nor anything else under Heaven, will prevent summary 
 justice being meted out to such an incarnate fiend as yourself. 
 
 " By order of committee." 
 
 I should do great injustice to Mr. Dikes, Mr. Souber, and 
 Mr Crawford, and their sympathising friends, the author and 
 inspirers of the above letter, were I to say, or convey the im- 
 pression, that they were worse men than their neighbors. From 
 what I have seen and heard of them I am sure that in mental 
 
19 
 
 ■culture, hi kindness of heart, in loyalti/, and in Christian civ- 
 ilization the J are decidedly above rather than behnv the over- 
 whelming majority of their fellow citizens. They represent 
 not the /oM'c.'./ but the highest type of patriotism, philanthropy, 
 and Christianity prevailing in that region. I challenge their 
 late Congressional representative, the Hon. Xelson Tift, to go 
 before his constituents and deny my statements in regard to 
 tlie social standing of these men. 
 
 The above letter states my offence : '' You have proved your- 
 self a scoundrel of the deepest dye, by maliciously interfering 
 in matters which do not in the least concern you, to the detri- 
 ment of some of our citizens." But General Grant, General 
 Meade, and Captain Bean interfered far more potentially than 
 I did. If I am a. " scoundrel of the deepest dye" what must 
 they be ? 
 
 The "skull and bones," the insignia of the Ku-Klux Klan 
 and not the stars and stripes, represent the dominant power in 
 that region. " Congressional reconstruction, the military, &c.," 
 are successfully defied. The power of the United States Gov- 
 ernment is not felt or feared. They only know it as powerless 
 to prevent the atrocities enacted before their eyes during and 
 since the war. 
 
 The flag that I had united with others to honor with pro- 
 cession, songs, and cheers, was powerless to protect me, and 
 floats dishonored above the graves of the 12,848 martyr heroes 
 who sutfercd and died in the stockades at Andersonville, as 
 prisoners of war never suffered and died before. 
 
 I need hardly say that with my knowledge of the condition 
 of things around me, as presented onlij in part in this commu- 
 nication, I left Andersonville as desired by the Ku-Klux Klan. 
 I knew that human life — that my life was not worth as much 
 as the life of a chicken in any law-abiding, law-governed com- 
 munity, for should any evil disposed person there maliciously 
 kill his neighbor's chicken he would bo compelled to pay some 
 slight fine or endure some brief imprisonment ; but no one of 
 all the perpetrators of the crimes I have named has suffered or 
 has dreamed of suffering any fine, imprisonment, or punishment 
 
20 
 
 whatever, i knew that in t,lu;ir own language my life was 
 " worthless. '^ I went South to reside in 1843, and there are 
 few who know it as tliorouglily. As agent of the American 
 Bible Society, and in other capacities. 1 have traveled tens of 
 thousands of miles over different States on horseback before the 
 war. Bishop Kavenaugh, of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 South, in introducing me to the Louisville Conference in 1858) 
 told them that though a Presbyterian I had "out itinerated the 
 itineracy itself.'' And yet I have never seen or heard as much 
 of outrage and personal violence upon the colored people in 
 any five years of slavery as I heard and saw at Andersonville, 
 Georgia, from December 22, 18G8, to February 12, 1869. I 
 have never known crime to be committed in any community 
 with such perfect impunity. I have yet to learn of a single iu- 
 stance where the civil courts in that j)art of the Stale have ren- 
 dered any punishment or redress for outrages like those I have 
 detailed. The fact that such crimes have for years been com- 
 mitted with jierfect impunity — ^that tlie men who perpetrate 
 them have not the slightest fear or thougiit of ever being pun- 
 ished — that the Freedraen who have suffered outrages such as 
 the.se, and others entirely too gross for me to repeat, have not 
 the faintest shallow of a hope tliat their wrongs will ever be re- 
 dressed, has reduced these poor people to a state of almost 
 utter hopelessness and despair. 
 
 Turner Hall, a freedman, a deacon in the Congregational 
 church in Andersonville, under whose black skin beats one of 
 the most patriotic and noble Christian hearts I have ever 
 known, writes: " We seem to be forsaken of God and man." 
 
 I have talked with many of these men, who in the late Presi- 
 dential election, with a spirit as noble as ever beat in the heart 
 of a martyr, slept in swamps for weeks, were hunted like wild 
 beasts, and ])eriiled all means of livelihood for their wives and 
 children, and their own lives, that they might vote for General 
 Grant for President. Those of them that were employed in the 
 National Cemetery at Andersonville, Georgia, were threatened 
 with dismis.siou in case they voted for General Grant. Not- 
 withstanding this threat some of them went to the polls, voted 
 
21 
 
 for General Grant, and were immediately dismissed l)y Henry 
 Williams, superintendent of the cemetery. This was done to 
 deter the others, but they went forward aud executed a '• free- 
 man's will'" l)y voting for General Grant. (Mr. Williams has 
 since been removed.) And what to this hour has been their 
 reward from their friends ? I forbear to press this question. 
 
 But with facts like these in mind can anyone suppose that a 
 fair election — an election in which the thousands of Freedmen 
 in Georgia shall give expression to their political wishes — can 
 be held in that State in 1870. The thing is simply impossible. 
 Until these ignorant, outraged people shall have some demon- 
 stration that there is power, either in the State or Federal Gov- 
 vernment, to afford them protection, and punish such outrages 
 as that of Rev. Robert Hodges upon Cane Cook, the Freedmen 
 cannot be expected again to risk their livings and their lives in 
 voting for those whom they know to be their only friends. 
 
 It will be proper for me to add that I did noi come to Wash- 
 ington at the suggestion or with the knowledge of any party in 
 Georgia. I belong to no " delegation." 1 came here at my own 
 charges, in the interests of patriotism and suffering humanity, to 
 lay these facets before Congress and the highest officers of the 
 Government. All my self respect and honor as a man, all my 
 regard for the rights of American citizenship, all my toils for 
 the triumph of the starry banner, all my labors for the education 
 and protection of the ignorant aud outraged Freedmen, and all 
 the emotions stirred in my soul as again and again I have walked 
 amid the graves of the nation's martyred dead at Anderson- 
 ville, compelled me to the performance of these unsought labors. 
 I ask that these Freedmen m>iy he protected and their ivrongs 
 redressed. I ask for the vindication of the rights of Ameri- 
 can citizenship in Georgia and everywhere beneath our oivn 
 flag upon our own soil. 
 
 With great respect, your obedient servant, 
 
 H W. PIERSOX. 
 Hon. Charles Sumner, 
 
 United States Senate. 
 
 I 
 
23 
 
 Appendix A, 
 
 Emancipation Day in Andersonville, Ga, 
 
 JANUARY 1, 18G9. 
 
 BY REV. H. W. PIERSON, D.D 
 
 This day so full of interest to the freednieii, so identified with 
 the name and fame of the lamented Lincoln, and so glorious in 
 the history of our country, was duly celebrated in Auderson- 
 ville, Geoigia. 
 
 If called upon to state what have been the instrumentalities 
 at Avork among this people that have led to what I think all 
 must esteem a most appropriate and beautiful celebration of the 
 day, I must name as first and most efficient, the School for 
 Freedmen, established here by the American Missionary Asso- 
 ciation, in the fall of 1866, and successtully carried on up to the 
 present time. Its first teachers were Miss M L. Root, of Shef- 
 field, Ohio, and Miss M. F. Battey, of Providence, R. I., who 
 labored here for two years, with a Christian heroism, wisdom 
 and success that have left their names indelibly engraved upon 
 the grateful hearts of ail those for whom they toiled During 
 the second year. Miss M. C. Day, of Sheffield, Ohio, aided them, 
 and was a worthy and efficient co-laborer. 
 
 For reasons unknown to the writer, none of these ladies 
 returned the third year, but were succeeded by Miss Laura 
 Parmelee, of Toledo, Ohio, and Miss Amelia Johnson, of En- 
 field, Conn., who are carrying forward the work so successfully 
 inaugurated with undiminished success. The colored people 
 have become so impressed with the value of the school that 
 they are contributing to its support with increasing liberality 
 and enthusiasm 
 
 As the schools for the freedmen are all suspended during the 
 Christmas holidays, a number of teachers and their friends, in 
 other places, had availed themselves of this opportunity to visit 
 Andersonville. At a social gathering at the " Teachers' Home" 
 
21 
 
 it was found that, including tlie visitors, tlic clerks in the ser- 
 vice of the frovernment, and the teachers here, there were present 
 representafiv^es of seven northern States, and all were ready to 
 unite heartily with the freedmen in the celebration of Emanci- 
 pation I)a\'. Tliey were Miss Russell, of Maine; Miss Chanip- 
 ney and Miss 8towell, of Massachusetts; Miss Johnson and 
 Misses Smith, of Connecticut : Mr. Pond, of Rhode Island ; Mr. 
 North, of Indiana; Mr. Ilaughton, of New York; Miss 
 Parmelce, of Ohio, and Rev. Dr. H. W. Pierson. 
 
 The committee appointed to make arrangements for the ap- 
 propriate celebration of the day, anxious to make the fullest 
 possible exhibition of the loyalty of all who were to unite with 
 them in its celebration, determined that it should include (1st,) 
 Services in the Freedmeus' Chapel ; (2d,) The decoration of 
 the Cemetery : and (3d,) Tlie Salutation of the " Dear Old 
 Flag," at the depot. 
 
 All entered with alacrit}-- and delight upon the work of prepa- 
 ration for these services. The colored peo})le ranged the woods 
 to find the choicest evergreens, and the young ladies, with wil- 
 ling hearts jind skillful hands wrought the most elaborate and 
 beautiful wreaths from the Magnolia, Bay, Holly, Cedar, and 
 other boughs with which they were so bountifully furnished. 
 Songs were rehearsed, and all arrangements were duly com- 
 pleted. 
 
 On Xew Year's morning a deeply interested audience met in 
 the room occupied both for school-room and chapel, and at 10 
 a. m., Mr. Floyd Snelson, (colored,) President of the day, called 
 the meeting to order, and services were conducted as follows : 
 (1.) Singing — "From all that dwell below the skies." (2 ) 
 Rendiag the Scriptures, by ■Miss Johnson, of Enfield, Con- 
 necticut. (3.) Prayer, by Deacon Stickney, (colored.) (4.) 
 Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation, by Miss Parmelee, 
 of Toledo, Ohio. (5 ) Singing — "Oh, praise and thanks," — 
 Whittier. (G.) Address by Rev. Dr. H. W. Pierson. This 
 programme having been carried out, the entire audience was 
 formed into a procession and marched to the Cemetery, about 
 half a mile north of us, under the direction of Mr. Houghton, 
 of Brooklyn, New York, Marshal of the day. That procession, 
 embracing so many happy Freedmen and representatives from 
 so many States, moving with so much order, and bearing such 
 beautiful wa'eaths, was certainly one of the most impressive and 
 beautiful I have ever seen. I am sure the sight would have 
 melted tens of thousands of hearts could they have looked 
 upon it Onward they marched upon their sacred mis- 
 sion, singing at times most appiopriate and beautiful songs; 
 
26 
 
 winding down the hillside, crossing upon a single scantling the 
 muddy stream that furnished water for our own prisoners, pass- 
 ing near the rude cabin where the blood-hounds were penned, 
 in full view of the stockades where so raan}^ thousands yielded 
 up their lives, moving onward and up the gentle elevation 
 with slow and solemn tread, they at length reached the front 
 (south) entrance of the Cemetery, where the procession halted. 
 On the right (east) of the gate is a post and tabler, in the form 
 of a cross, bearing this inscription : "National Cemetery, An- 
 dersonville, Georgia." On the left (west) of the gate is , a 
 similar post and tablet, bearing this inscription : 
 
 "On Fame's eternal camping-ground 
 
 Tlieir silent tents are spread, 
 And Glor}- guards, with solemn round, 
 
 Tills bivouac of tiie dead." 
 
 A young lady, designated for the purpose, left the procession 
 and hung one of our most beautiful wreaths upon the cross 
 above this inscription. 
 
 The gates were then thrown open, and the entire procession 
 entered the Cemetery. But how bhall I describe the scene 
 spread out before us as we entered this solemn, silent city of the 
 nation's dead? The Cemetery contains forty-three acres, which 
 are enclo!^ed by a high board fence. It is divided into four prin- 
 cipal sections by broad avenues, running north and south, and 
 east and west, intersecting each other at right angles at the cen- 
 ter of the grounds. There is a sidewalk and row of young 
 trees on each side of these avenues. And then on either side 
 of these avenues and walks, what fields, what fields of white 
 bead-boards, stretching away in long white parallel lines to the 
 north and south, each with its simple record of the name, regi- 
 ment, and date of death of him who lies beneath it So thej 
 sleep their long sleep, lying shoulder to shoulder in their graves 
 as they had stood together in serried ranks on many a field of 
 battle. 
 
 Resuming our march, and moving up the broad avenue, with 
 rank upon rank, and thousands upon thousands of these solemn 
 sentinels upon either side of us, we find on the left (west) side 
 of the avenue, a tablet with this inscription : 
 
 "Tlie hopes, the fears, the blood, the tears, 
 
 That marked the bitter strife. 
 Are now all crowned by \ictory 
 
 That saved the nution's lif'j."" 
 
26 
 
 We paused, and hung a wreath above this inscription, and 
 then moved on to a tablet on the right (east) side of the ave- 
 nue, with this inscription : 
 
 ••Whether in the })rison drear. 
 
 Or hi the battle's van, 
 The fittest place for man to die, 
 
 Is where he dies for man." 
 
 We hung a wreath here, and again our procession moved for- 
 ward and halted on the left (west) side of the avenue, at a 
 tablet bearing the inspired words : 
 
 "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit 
 shall return unto God who gave it." 
 
 Here we placed another wreath, and moved onward to a 
 tablet on the right (east) side of the avenue, where we read — 
 
 "A thousand battle-fields have drunk 
 
 The blood of warriors brave, 
 And countless homes ai-e dark and drear, 
 
 Thro' the land they died to save."' 
 
 Another wreath was placed here, and we marched to the last 
 tablet in the north of the Cemetery, standing in the midst of a 
 section of graves numbering thousands, and inscribed — 
 
 "Through all rebellion's hoi-rors 
 
 Bright; shines our nation's fume, 
 Our gallant soldiers, perishing, 
 
 Have won a deatliless name."' 
 
 After hanging a wreath here, we marched to the center of the 
 Cemetery, and hung our last wreath upon the flag-staff from 
 which the stars and stripes shall ever float above those who died 
 in its defence. 
 
 It was no place for speech. The surroundings were too 
 solemn. Our only other services were to unite in singing "My 
 Native Country, Thee," (America,) and Rev. Dr. Pierson ofTered 
 prayer. And so we decorated the National Cemetery at Auder- 
 sonville, Georgia. It was little, very little, we did, but we could 
 not do more, and we dared not do less. Here are the graves of 
 12,848 "brave boys," who died as prisoners of war in the stock- 
 ades. Eight hundred and sixty-eight other soldiers have 
 
been disinterred and brought nere from Macon, Columbus, Eu- 
 faula, Americus, and other places in Georgia, so that now this 
 Cemetery numbers 13,716 graves. We could not decorate them 
 all, and we dared not decorate those of the States we repre- 
 sented, or of any particular class. We dared not single out any 
 for special honors. We felt that all were worthy of equal honor 
 from us, and from the nation they died to save. And so we 
 decorated the Cemetery as a whole, as best we could, and our 
 tribute of affecti'jn was bestowed equally upon each one of ,all 
 these 13,716 hallowed graves. And most earnestly did we im- 
 plore the blessing of Almighty. God to rest upon our whole 
 country, and upon all the fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, 
 widows, and orphans, whose "dead" we thus attempted to 
 honor. 
 
 It will gratify the relatives and friends of all those buried 
 here, to know that the nation is watching over their dead with 
 pious care. Hundreds of men have been employed in making 
 the improvements already mentioned, aud many others I have 
 not time to notice, and a number aie still at work. They aro 
 planting trees, making and improving walks, placing sod upon 
 the graves, and otherwise beautifying the grounds. 
 
 But I am detaining my readers too loug from what I have 
 already indicated as the third and final part of our programme. 
 
 Day after day the starry banner, the banner of peace ("Let 
 us have Peace") is thrown to the breeze from the flag staff in 
 front of the oflSce of First Lieutenant A. W. Corliss, near the 
 Andersonville depot. This is the most beautiful sight ; indeed, 
 almost the only beautiful sight that greets the vision of a lover 
 of his country here. 
 
 We wished to give expression to the warm feelings of our 
 own hearts, and also to make a demonstration of our loyalty 
 and love for the flag in the presence of the unusual concourse 
 of people assembled at the station for the business or pleasure 
 of New Year's day. 
 
 Our procession was re-formed in the Cemetery, and taking 
 the broad avenue that has been constructed by the government 
 from the depot, a distance of about half a mile, we marched 
 slowdy back in the same order, and singing beautiful songs, as 
 when we came A part of the way our procession was in full 
 view of the residents of the place, and the visitors there. For- 
 tunately, as we reached the depot, the passenger train arrived 
 from the south, and witnessed our loyal demonstrations. Arriv- 
 ing at the flag-staff, the entire procession formed in a circle 
 
LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 
 
 006 
 
 558 
 
 149 369 4 
 
 \ 
 
 aroand it, and sang with enthusiasm Mr. William B. Bradbury's 
 " See the flag, the dear old flag," with the heart-stirring chorus — 
 
 •'Wave the starry banuorhi^h, 
 
 Strike our colors, never! 
 Here we stand to live or die, 
 
 The Stripes and Stars forever." 
 
 Mr. Snelson, the President of the day, then proposed tliree 
 cheers for the " Dear old Flag," which were given with a will. 
 Three cherrs ,were then proposed for Lieutenant Corliss and 
 others, which were given in the same hearty manner. Other 
 patriotic songs were then sung, and after a brief prayer and the 
 benediction, by Rev. Dr. Pierson,thc audience quietly dispersed. 
 
 So we celebrated Emancipation Day in Andersonville, Geor- 
 gia. To all of us who participated in it, it was a joyful day. 
 We also hope our services may gladden and cheer many other 
 hearts all over our broad land. 
 
 ■) 
 
 Note. — I may be mistaken in the name of the Captain wlio made 
 the brief visit to Andersonville, February 10, 18G9. — See page 17. I 
 shall regret if I have not properly lionored one whose bearing was so 
 gallant and gentlemanly. If. W. P.