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17th Iowa Infantry
Manuscripts by Linus Freeman Parrish
Manuscript "C"
Linus Parrish's Andersonville recollections
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NOTES: In his surviving writings, Linus seldom capitalized the first letters of sentences. His periods are mostly indistinguishable from commas, and a grammatically distinct sentence occasionally ends without any punctuation at all. He never divided his writings into paragraphs, and never ended his infrequent rhetorical questions with question marks. These quirks make it hard to tell where his sentences begin and end, or to see any overall structure in his prose. In fact there is no indication that Linus thought of it as having any structure: he merely wrote things down as they came to him. Wherever the written punctuation or capitalization is in doubt , I have tried to make the text read as I imagine it would have sounded when Linus read it aloud. The spelling and underlining in the original are exactly reproduced here, even when the spelling is incorrect.
Linus hoped this piece would appear in print, as his closing sentences indicate. I do not know what or where the Inter Ocean was, but I imagine it was probably a weekly or monthly magazine.
LinusÕs impassioned references to the Great Spring and Curly Dick suggest to me that this article may have been written in response to some current controversy that Linus heard about through the press perhaps during the trial of Andersonville commandant Captain Henry Wirz. Curly Dick may have been someone who testified in Wirzs behalf. I seem to recall reading somewhere that Wirz eventually was hanged, but I know very little about how the horrors of his prison camp were revealed to the Northern public after the war.
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What I know about Andersonville Prison. I will only state a few things. My introduction to the prison was on 1st day of Jany 1865. Myself and nearly all my regt were captured at Tilton Ga., Oct 13th 1864. We were taken first to Montgomery Ala., from there to Selma, then to Cahaba, but only remained at the latter place 2 or 3 days. We were then sent to Millen Stockade, in Ga. We were kept there as long as it was deemed safe, and for fear that the Union Cavalry would run in and release the prisoners held at this place, we were put aboard the cars, and went by way of Macon, Ga., to Savannah, Ga. From there we went to the Blackshear Swamp, but the Johnies still thought we were not far enough away from Old Tecump, or Old Billy Sherman as they called him, so they moved us further South to Thomasville, Ga. There they dug a wide, deep ditch around us, and had their guards stationed along on the embankment made of the dirt thrown from the ditch. We remained only a short time at this place. We were taken across the swamp and country to Albany, where we again boarded the cars Dec. 31st 1864. We were stored away in the box cars, so badly crowded that we could not all sit down. Some had to stand. The night was clear and frosty, real cold. I think ice froze 1/2 an inch thick. There were in the car that I was in, 3 dead men in the morning. We were on the train all night, got on the cars about 6 o'clock, the train did not move till about 3 oÕclock, I think, in the morning. We were not allowed to get off the cars that we might warm ourselves by the fires the guards had built. They were well clothed, had their blankets around them, and still they said they were about to freeze. Some of them thought or talked as though they [crossed out in original] such cold weather was caused by so many northern men being down South, but for all it was so cold, the guards nor officers had any mercy on us poor helpless prisoners jamed into the cars like hogs. As I said before, we were on the cars all night, and till 9 o'clock next morning, which was all needless, as it is only about 50 or 60 miles from Albany where we boarded the cars, to Americus or Andersonville Prison. The run could be made, and was made in about 3 hours. We were required to be on the cars not less than 15 hours. Nothing to eat or drink during these 15 long hours, and but very little chance to straighten ourselves or our limbs. And we were so crowded, as before stated, there were 3 dead men in our car. Other cars had more, others less. It was a good deal like shiping hogs. They wanted to get as many in the car as they could, so as to make fewer cars. Their locomotives were like the Confederacy, weakening and playing out. Well as I started out to tell something about Andersonville, you could not expect me to tell about it till I got there! Well I am at Americus Station, about a half mile from the stockade. Can plainly see it, and a few prisoners in side moving around, and as we had been in ÒMillen Stockade, we knew what they were. At about 9 o'clock A. M. Jany. 1st 1865, we were ordered to get off the cars, and march out and form in two ranks, which we did, all that were able. There were a great many that could not get up on their feet. They had been crouched down so long that they could not straighten their legs. We that could walk were formed in line, counted, numbered, and names taken. While this was being done, Old Cap Wirz, would walk up and down the line, and if he saw a prisoner sit down or attempt to change his position so that he could rest a little, Cap Wirz, that good old Martyn, that Friend of Curly DickÕs, would step up and with his revolver or sword, would strike the helpless man and order him to the front 10 paces, and there make him stand on one foot or mark time, or do something as he, Wirz, said would limber him up. After we had remained in line nearly three hours, or till noon we were then order to march. We went to the Andersonville Stockade, and took our New Years dinner, and what do you think it was. I will tell you, though perhaps you will not remember it all. Corn Bread 000, wheat bread 00, Beef 00 pork 00 Beans 00. Rice 00. Molasses 00. Coffee 00 Chicken 0000. Pie 00000, Cake 0000. This will be as much as we ought to have enumerated, though we had as much in proportion of every thing else. Lots of nothing, but nothing of something. Our fare while we remained here was very scant and poor. I never had for a days ration, while in Andersonville, one half what I could have eaten at one meal, never eat but what I had to quit hungry. I will not attempt to describe the condition of the food, variety, or quantity. This has been done, or tried to be done, many times, but all such trials have come short of the mark. Some have discredited the statements of thousands of as good, true, brave, faithful, honorable men and soldiers as ever lived, or ever bore arms for or against the Union. Hence I forbear to try to describe. As I went to Andersonville 1st of Jan. 1[8]65, I know nothing personally about the Great Spring, or Providence Spring. All I know is what eye witnesses have told me as to the appearance of the spring. That the Spring is or was there I know, for I have drank from it many times. The water was good, the only thing we had. When we went into this prison, there were but few prisoners here, but the numbers increased daily, until about the first of April, the date of my leaving the place in company with 500 other prisoners. At this date, there were I think some where near 20,000 prisoners, probably not so many. The Death rate was enormous. I have seen as high as 77 dead men lying in a row, side by side. All died during one day and night. The dead were hauled away in a large wagon every day. The clothing was all taken from the dead, and worn by the living. The name, co. and regt. was written on a piece of paper or wood and fastened onto the naked body of the dead man, so a record could be kept of the deaths, in prison, and no of the grave. I have seen 27 dead men piled up on one wagon, to be taken to the cemetery, and I will say it is a sight th... will almost congeal the blood, to see dead men handled as they were there, some having their legs or arms drawn out of shape, or doubled up with feet and head almost touching, caused by cramps or convulsions while dying. The same wagons that conveyed these naked, dead men, covered as they generally were with filth and vermins and their own excrements, brought our food to us, and the filth from the dead could be seen on the wagons, as they never washed the wagons. Now then, if Wirz was as good a man as Curly Dick thinks he was, why did he not have some wagons for each purpose, one set for haulling food, one set for haulling dead men to their graves. I dont believe Cap Wirz ever done one thing, or tried to do any thing to mitigate the sufferings, but instead done all he could to increase it. Curly Dick says the spring was caused by heavy rains washing a ditch, about ten feet deep. It was not so when I was there. The spring was on the side of the hill. It appeared to come up out of the ground. There was no ditch, except a little gully washed by running water from the spring. If the ÒInter OceanÓ deems this article worthy, please publish. I was 16 years old at time of enlistment. This my first article.
Co. G 17th Regt Iowa Vet. Vol. Inft. [signed] Linus F. Parrish
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Manuscripts by Linus Freeman Parrish
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