English Diary 1
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I2th. About six this morning enemy appeared in our front and drove in our pickets ; skirmishing all day, assisted by Cavalry. At 5.00 PM we were overpowered, cut off from the division, and 127 of our regiment, among whom was your humble servant, were compelled to surrender. All the prisoners were dis-mounted, The enemy proved to be the advance of General Lee's army; remained prisoner at Jefferson all night.
13th. The rebels took us to Harrington and then back to Jefferson ; had nothing to eat these two days and men very hungry.picket - a pointed wooden stake driven into the ground, typically to form a fence.
dismounted - If you dismount from a bicycle or horse, you get down from it so that you are standing next to it. -
14th. Marched from Jefferson through Sulphur Springs to Culpepper, distance about twenty miles ; got some biscuit and raw bacon, which men ate with great relish. Took the cars for Gordonsville and remained there all night; the men are tired; the guards strict and will not allow us to purchase anything; prisoners are searched and everything taken from us ; some of the boys hide money in their shoes and stockings to prevent the rebels getting it.
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15th. Quite cool here and feel the loss of my overcoat and boots.
16th. Took the cars this morning for Richmond ; we arrived here at 3. 00 P. M. Men are tired and hungry ; marched from depot through the principal streets to the Pemberton building, opposite Libby, got one-fourth pound bread and one-fourth pound of beef; this is the second time we got anything to eat since we were captured.
17th. Rations this morning consisted of about one-half pound of bread and four ounces of beef to each man for the next 24 hours; men are thinking of home and friends and anxious to be paroled or exchanged. Talk of moving us to Libby, opposite here. They say it is a great deal worse than here, but I think it can hardly be any worse than this place.depot - station
anxious - wanting something very much
parole - the release of a prisoner temporarily (for a special purpose) or permanently -
18th. 400 of us were removed this morning to Libby, weak and hungry.The very name of LIBBY has became synonymous of terror. It carries tyranny and oppression in its simple sound. The soldier who is taken prisoner in Virginia vale is at once haunted with visions of this darksome den and shrinks from entering a place so full of bitter experiences as this is known to be. Fierce hate and revenge reign supreme here, and consequently there is a system of discipline which produces a condition such as we might expect when the discordant elements of beings rage unchecked, and we are not surprised to find the culmination reached in almost fiendish expression.
discordant - dissonant
haunt - to visit habitually or appear to frequently as a spirit or ghost
shrink - move away, especially because of fear or disgust
unchecked - not controlled -
Thousands who have been in Libby will rehearse the story of their misery, want and woe to others; so that the echo will scarcely die out at the remotest period of the present generation. Households in coming time will gather about the fireside and talk of their friends and ancestors who ended their days in so much wretchedness because of their attachment to the Union. As their bravery, heroism and constancy are admired, so will it be with condemnation of malice and fury their persecutors.
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It may be, and probably is, one of the essentials of war. They should not naturally pre-suppose the absence of all humanity and the annihilation of every condition of comfortable existence as they have seemed to do in almost every part of the South where the Confederate authorities have opened these dens.
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The nights are very cold, and there being nothing but gratings in the windows, the men were obliged to walk the whole night long to keep from freezing, and if they can meet with the friendly embrace of slumber at all, it was during the day when the sun would shed its kindly beams upon us and so impart sufficient warmth to our bodies to keep us from shivering.
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I have seen men draw their bean soup in their shoes for want of a cup or plate of any kind to put it in, and what seemed worse than all the rest, was the almost satanic rule that if a prisoner was caught resting his eyes upon the glad scenes of nature through a window, he must be quickly translated from the earth by a ball of a musket. The whole thing is atrocious in the extreme, but we can expect little else.
to draw soup in - to put soup in (a plate)
musket balls are the basic type of bullet used as ammunition by guns
to translate - move from one place or condition to another
for want - if you do something for want, you do it because the other thing is not available or not possible -
The Libby building is three stories high and eighty feet in width and one hundred and ten feet in length. In front the first story is on a level with the street, allowing a space for a tier of dungeons under the sidewalk, but in the rear the land sloped away till the basement floor rose above the ground. Upon passing inside we enter a room about forty feet wide and one hundred feet deep, with bare brick walls, a rough plank floor and narrow dingy windows. This room with five others of similar size and two basements floored with earth and filled with debris, composed the famous Libby prison, in which for months, thousands of the best and bravest men that ever went to battle have been confined and allowed to rot, starve, and be overrun with vermin, perish with cold, breathe stifling, tainted atmosphere, no space allowed us to rest by day, and lying down at night wormed and dove-tailed together like so many fish in a basket.
story - a part of a building comprising all the rooms that are on the same level (floor)
rear - the back part of something, especially a building or vehicle
dove-tailed - if two things dovetail or if one thing dovetails with another, the two things fit together neatly or have some common characteristics -
The name of Libby prison will appear to the mind and memory of all Union soldiers as that place where all manner of cruelties have been practiced, and will not be forgotten as long as one of them treads the earth. Oh! my country! the misery and hardships! I am suffering!
tread the earth - when you step or walk like me (suffer like imprisoned soldiers)
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Some of us had been secretly warned that we were going to be searched and that our money and ail our valuables would be taken from us. We hid our money in our shoe soles, buttons, and in any manner we thought would outwit the rebels. While we were thus engaged, a cruel looking rebel officer came in, followed by three rebel soldiers bearing a table and blank books, The officer called out: "Attention ! prisoners, form in line." Some guards were in front and rear of us and we were ordered not to move or talk.
engage - busy
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The officer then said; "I am Major Turner. Provost-marshall of the City of Richmond, C. S. A. I am under instructions for my government to have you surrender to me your money and valuables. Your name, company and regiment will be carefully entered in this book, and when you are exchanged or paroled, it will all be returned to you; for which I pledge the honor of the Confederate Government. I give you an opportunity to save your money, and when I am through taking that which you surrender, you will be searched by men who are experts and all they find will be confiscated."
be through - to have finished doing something or using something
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One of our men requested permission to ask a question ; it was granted. The comrade said : "Major Turner, as much as you are acting in the matter of the Confederate Government, will you, as its agent, give us receipts of that government for our money ?" No Sir, I am not here to fool my time away ; I am ready to receive your money and valuables." Considerable money was given up. The searching gang came in (and they understood their calling.) The money put in the brass buttons was lost.
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They tried the button with the jaw of a knife, and if the button did not mash, it was cut off, because there was something in it. They found considerable money, but some was so well secured that it was not found. It is needless to say that we never had returned to us any of the money we gave up.
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October 19th. Rations to-day half a pound of bread and four ounces of beef. Our guards changed yesterday. I think we now have a better set of fellows than those we had. They are more anxious to trade with us. Greenbacks in great demand; seven Confederate dollars for one of Uncle Sam's.
anxious - wanting something very much
Uncle Sam is based on a real person named Samuel Wilson, who lived in Troy, New York. He owned a meat packing business with his brother. During the War of 1812, he supplied food for the American soldiers. The troops knew Samuel was sending the food and called it “Uncle Sam’s.” -
20th. Rations about the same as yesterday. We are thinking of home and friends. I have written a letter to my mother in Bristol to let her know of my capture and where I am. I hope she will get it, as I am anxious to hear from home.
anxious - wanting something very much
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21.Rations served out early this morning. I have forgotten to mention before that there are about six hundred prisoners in this room, divided into squads of twenty. One man draws the rations for the twenty and cuts it up. Each man has a number from one to twenty. The twenty rations are put out separately on the floor, and one turns his back and the sergeant points to a ration and says, "Who takes this ?" and the man with his back turned to the ration says- "one," "two," "five" or "ten," as the case may be, on up till the twenty are served. This is done to prevent the sergeant from showing any favor to any particular one.
as the case may be - according to the circumstances
favor - to show preference -
22d. Rations the same as yesterday. The men despondent and anxious to get paroled or exchanged soon. There is a great deal of trading going on here in the evenings.
despondent - in low spirits from loss of hope or courage
anxious - wanting something very much
get paroled - release (a prisoner) on parole
1 - 2025-02-27
2 - 2025-02-26
3 - 2025-02-25
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