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Life and Death in Rebel Prisons (Civil War)
Life and Death in Rebel Prisons - Civil War Author:Robert Kellogg Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: wounded. At this time two or three officers came in, bearing a flag of truce, with a demand from Gen. Hoke for the surrender of the town and its garrison. After ... more »a short consultation the demand was refused by our General, and the fight went on, though with abated vigor on our part, as we were thoroughly exhausted by our previous labors. The refusal, however, soon brought them down in force upon us, leaving no alternative but to surrender, although it was done with no willing grace, yet it could but be attended with the consciousness that we had tried the virtue of resistance to the utmost. THE CAPTURE. We were at once marched out of town to their reserve picket force, on the Washington road, where we remained for the night, being allowed to retain our blankets, overcoats, and indeed all that we had with us, excepting, of course, our arms and equipments. I saw but one instance of robbery at the beginning, and that was by an officer, evidently in a state of intoxication. Eiding up to one of our boys, he drew his sword and demanded his watch,using threatening and insulting language, and declaring he would split open his head if he refused. Of course, there was no way but to yield. Here we wrote hasty letters to our friends, Avhich we hoped by some good fortune to send to them, on the route, or at least at the end of our march,— For none will e'er forget his friends, If his heart be true and tender ; Though adverse gales blow swift and long, Love's ties we'll still remember. On the morning of the 21st we awoke to new experiences. Instead of the calls to which we had -been wont to listen, and the labor we had been accustomed to perform, we were but passive beings, subject to the will of a conqueror. In the early part of the day, rations were issued to us for four d...« less