English Diary 2

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23d. I forgot to mention that there are fifteen wards in this hospital, twelve tents in each ward, and each tent will contain twelve men; the floor of each tent is covered with straw, without any quilts or blankets. I am in the eleventh ward, tent No. 4; Webb is in the thirteenth ward, tent No. 9. The doctor visits us each day; he does not come in, but stands at the door and asks each patient how he is, and then tells the hospital steward, who accompanies him, to give him such and such a medicine — all by numbers; if they would stay away and give us more grub, we would get well sooner.

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25th. Have not seen Wirz since I came in here. If some of the prisoners come across him after the war is over, he won't live long.

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26th. Father Hamilton called on me this morning and brought me a nice slice of bread and butter; he says he will try and bring me a little milk.

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28th. Feel considerably better; four died in this ward last night, and one fellow died in my tent this afternoon; his name was Darus March. He gave me a picture, in case I get home, to send to Emaline Wooding, Jackson, Susquehanna county.

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29th. Walter Webb called to see me this morning.

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November 8, 1864. Election Day in the North for President of the United States. Wirz has requested that we have a mock election, and each prisoner is to vote, whether of age or not, and says that whatever will be the majority in the hospital will be a fair test as to the result in the North. We all like McClellan but to spite the rebels most of us will vote for Lincoln, So this afternoon each man was given two slips of paper with the names of McClelhm on one and Lincoln on the other; two rebel sergeants visited each tent with a basket and gathered the vote, and at five o'clock they announced the result, which stood, McClellan 531, and Lincoln 1,239. Wirz is terribly angry and says it will be "Link-in and Link-out" for us for some time to come.

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12th. Had another visit from the priest today; he brought me a bottle of milk. it is the first milk I have tasted for thirteen months.

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13th. All the Irish who could walk were called to the gate this afternoon by a Col. McNeill, of the 10th Tennessee (rebel) regiment to see if any of them would take the oath to join the rebel service. Not an Irishman enlisted, but two Yankees did, one from Connecticut and the other from a New York regiment; so you see the Irish are the most loyal.

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14th. Webb called on me today; we had a talk over the excitement caused by the appeal to the Irish; he says McNeill is no true Irishman or he would not try to degrade Ireland and her people by making such a proposition. It is quite cool now and we have hardly any clothing.

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29th. Had another severe attack of rheumatism and feel badly. While one of the doctors visited us yesterday, his dog strayed into one of the tents, and one of the prisoners threw an old blanket over him and killed him; he ate part of it and said it was elegant; he buried the entrails, but one of the other poor fellows dug them up, cooked and ate them.

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December 4, 1864. I asked Dr. Pollott, who attends this ward, if he would examine the records out in the surgeons headquarters let me know how many of my regiment have died at Andersonville since I came here.

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10th. I feel no better. My diary is full; it is too bad, but cannot get any more. Good bye all; I did not think it would hold out so long when I commenced.
Yours sufferingly,
MICHAEL DOUGHERTY,
Co. B, 13th Pa. Volunteer Cavalry.
Confederate State Military Prison Hospital.

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Later Events,
From the time of the last record in my diary in December, 1864, up to April, 1865, I remained in the hospital, and was not able to keep any daily record, even if I had the facilities to do so, which I had not. During this time, as during the previous months, there were constant rumors of exchange and parole, but we heard the same so often that I would not believe it until I found myself homeward bound. We did know, however, that they were sending a great many prisoners north from Andersonville and presumed it was for exchange or parole, although we did not know definitely; and even when my own turn came to leave, I did not know what my destination was until after I had left Andersonville; the sick in the hospital were the last prisoners to be sent away.

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April 12, 1865. Leave Andersonville, Georgia, today. Start from here by way of Selma, thence to Jackson, Miss., stopping at the Big Black river for a week to gain strength before we start north.

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April 20th. Just heard of the assassination of President Lincoln. Our boys are furious over the sad news, saying it is a Rebel plot.

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April 22d. Near Vicksburg, Miss. There are about 4000 of us prisoners at this place. We got orders to be ready to march into Vicksburg tomorrow, as there are two boats ready to take us up the Mississippi to St. Louis, Mo.

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April 23, 1865. Vicksburg. Miss. Went aboard the boat called the "Sultana" to be taken to St. Louis, Mo. There are about 2200 of us. mostly old prisoners from Andersonville, Ga. On the trip up the Mississippi, the "Sultana" met with a terrible disaster, causing complete destruction of the boat; and hundreds of men who had passed safely through many bloody battles and the horrible suffering of Southern prison life perished within but a few days' journey of home and friends. The story of the accident can best be told by the following account taken from a St. Louis newspaper dated May 1, 1865.

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"The Boat Packed"
"The boat was packed to its utmost capacity, the men occupying every available space possible on decks, in the hold, and at other points of vantage. The boat traveled from eight to ten miles per hour, the river being out of its banks about twenty feet and a swift current prevailing. The boat reached Memphis on the morning of April 26th, where a quantity of sugar, which had served as ballast, was unloaded. The boat was towed across the river, and after dark it started on its trip up the river. The terrific explosion which occasioned the destruction of the vessel with its thousands of human freight occurred about four o'clock in the morning of April 27th at "Hen and Chickens" Islands. One of the four boilers burst, and the flying pieces ascended and almost cut the vessel in twain. The fire immediately spread and the cabins burned like tinder, and it was but a short time until the entire craft was enveloped in flames and burned to the water's edge. Hundreds were forced to leap into the water and were drowned in squads, while others who could swim or had secured pieces of drift wood were unable to rescue themselves on account of being grabbed by others, and consequently perished.

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"Night of Terror"
"One thing favorable for the occupants of the boat was that a lively gale was blowing, hence, the bow of the boat having no cabin, it faced the wind until the cabin from the stern was burned. The boat gradually swung around, the unburned part acting as a sail, while that below acted as a rudder, and finally all were driven into the water. The very dark night, heavy rain, and the extreme high stage of the river were decidely to the disadvantage of even those who secured means of escape, From survivors it is learned that hundreds swam for miles, in the hope of reaching some point of safety, and finally sank from exhaustion. Others were caught on protruding limbs of trees, where they remained until the rescue boats appeared the day following. Still others clung to rafts made of fragments from the boat Seven boats came up the river the next day and picked up all the unfortunates who could be found. Some were taken to Memphis, others to St. Louis and Cairo, and all were placed in hospitals, where they remained until able to be released. A significant fact was that out of only fifteen women on board none was saved. They were members of the Christian commission — something similar to the present Red Cross movement.

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''A Heroic Woman''
"One of these women, with more than ordinary courage, when the flames had driven the men from the boat, seeing them fighting like demons in the water and destroying each other in their mad endeavors to save their lives, urged them to be calm, and finally succeeded in quieting them down, and they were saved on pieces of timber that were available. This good woman did not heed the flames that were lapping about her and, when urged by the men to jump into the water and save herself on floating timbers, she refused, saying: "I might lose my presence of mind and be the means of the death of some of you." And so, rather than run the risk of becoming the cause of the death of a single person, she folded her arms deliberately and burned, a voluntary martyr to the men she had so lately calmed. As the dawn of the new day came, the wreckage began to move down the stream, and one survivor, who had saved himself by clinging to the top of a tree, gives this description of the last that was seen of the boat's remains :