English Diary 2
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21st. Man was shot at the dead-line last night by one of the guards. Some of the detachments have not had any fire-wood for several days, and cannot cook their raw rations. Another raider arrested today and sent to the guard-house. Report says that all the leaders are going to be arrested and tried for murder; there is evidence against them that they have killed several of their fellow-prisoners.
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22d. The rice we receive is hardly fit to eat, because of so much handling and measuring. I think we make a piteous spectacle standing in squads of thirty around a half bucketful of rice, in the midst of a drenching storm, thunder rolling over our heads, waiting for our rations of rice, which resembles slop. The men that have old tin cups are considered lucky, while others receive theirs on pieces of boards, and in bags made out of pants legs, and caps. Now imagine, if you can. The men eating that rice with a relish with their dirty black fingers. So much for starvation in the "Sunny South."
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28th. The camp today presented one of the wildest scenes I have ever witnessed. The balance of the prison thieves were arrested, but not until after a general fight had taken place, in which clubs and knives had been freely used; four or five men were killed, but the raiders were overpowered and taken to the guard-house.
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July 1864. The prison Sergeants were ordered to write out new company rolls this morning, there being so many deaths and sick in the hospital, that there are very few of the old prisoners left; this is regarded as a good sign for parole or exchange. The weather is very hot; several shots fired at the prisoners last night; one man shot in the knee; over a hundred deaths reported yesterday. I am almost crippled with rheumatism; there are many cases of insanity, the poor fellows not knowing what they do, wander inside the dead line and are shot.
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3d. We cannot live long on the quantity of rations we have been getting. Thinking of our friends at home who are preparing to celebrate the Nation's birthday of freedom tomorrow; they do not imagine the condition of us poor sufferers in this accursed place.
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4th. No rations of any kind today; this is the way the rebels intends us to celebrate the Fourth. A thousand deaths would be preferable to this intense suffering; I have been in twenty engagements and skirmishes, and would rather be in twice as many again than endure the tortures of this hell.
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5th. Captain Wirz sent for all the sergeants of squads and told them he was imformed of an organization in camp numbering six thousand men who were resolved in breaking out of prison, and capture the guards, muskets and artillery; he admonished us to beware, for he was well prepared, night or day, and would not be caught sleeping; he read an order to us received from Richmond, instructing him to open fire when any demonstration was made; he said he would do so with grape and canister, and would not stop while a man was left kicking, inside or out. He has two white flags up, one on each hill inside of the stockade; warning us not to congregate in crowds outside of those flags or he will open fire on us.
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6th. Rations, one pint of meal and two or three spoonfuls of beans and two ounces of bacon; prisoners almost crazy with hunger; there is a gang of men in here this morning selecting a place to build a scaffold upon which to hang the six raiders; I think they are only doing this to frighten the balance of them.
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8th. It is reported this morning that one hundred and twenty-five have died in the last 24 hours; it is comparatively quiet here now since the raiders have been arrested; and we have a good strong police force of about four hundred men, who are divided into squads with a captain in command of each; two-thirds of the prisoners cannot stand or walk, but lie around in all positions.
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9th. Men came in to put up the scaffold today, and to their great astonishment there was no lumber; the prisoners carried it off during the night for firewood and this morning not a stick could be seen; when the news reached Capt. Wirz he was as mad as a hornet and drove all through the camp with twenty of his guards, but could not find any of the lumber; he carried four revolvers.
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10th. One hundred and fifty-two prisoners have died within the last 24 hours; they say almost as many die in the hospital as here. It is said the raiders will be hanged tomorrow, and that is the chief topic of conversation. It is awful hot here now; the sun almost melts us.
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11th. About twenty men came in this morning to put up the scaffold; rations served at nine this morning; the rebels say the raiders are to be executed this afternoon, as soon as the scaffold is finished. It had become known about that we were going to hang some of our own men. When the appointed time arrived, a large crowd of citizens — men, women and children, gathered on the high ground between the principal forts and the prison to witness the hanging. Capt. Wirz was alarmed and excited, fearing we had some Yankee trick on hand to get up a commotion and all break out and capture the place. He had the whole rebel force under arms and the cannon of all the forts loaded with grape and canister and trained on the prison. Everything was ready to fire at the signal. But this act created an exciting scene, which Captain Wirz thought was the expected break. He ran to the signal battery yelling "Fire! fire! — shoot! shoot !" The Captain of the battery being a man of cool judgement, did not obey Wirz. The citizens and guards who were in the way of the cannon stampeded into a regular panic, injuring many of the citizens. Had the Captain of the battery obeyed Wirz, there would be 24 cannon loaded with grape and canister opened upon that human mass in the prison. The 35,000 lives in the prison hung on the firing-cord of that signal gun.
1 - 2025-02-11
2 - 2025-02-10
3 - 2025-02-09
In 2024, the number of babies born in South Korea increased for the first time in nine years. The change is welcome news for a country that is dealing with serious population problems.