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iURGr. N. Y„ FRIDAY, JAN. 30, 1863WHOLE NO. 126WEDDING WORDS,Bull,»**bester, ,h madecolored-OfficeJewelry!lm3*' MA-t all de-vo-horseDemo*n Home-•o doorsu N. Y.Teelh:ed Rub*etion.N. Y.A jewel fArwy lady’s ear*A jewel for her fiutter fine,A diamond tr her bosofp dear, tier bosom that is mtn#,Dear glancns tor my lady's ey«s,Dear looks around her form to twinf.Dear kisses for the lip§ I orije,Her dear lip* that are mine.Dear breathings to her, soft and low,Of how*/*/ to\ ahe’s made divine;Dear «tie«vM my love that shew For her Whoso lore is rmu*.Dear cares'lest clouds should shade her way, That ghirineas only on her shine,That she tw hippy as the May,Whose life it ono with mine.Dear wishes hovering round her life,And tender thoughts, a»u| dreams difine, To frml with perfect joy the wife Wbooe happiness is mine.CAMPAIGN SKETCHES.BY A. VOtyNTX**HPMBKR TWOlain and manner, usthe Tru*8at TcuE, MAINstrictly f paid atar.r, $6 00 r, 10 00 40 00ir*, paptrnsnfic d»-l chainedT Er UJDS,mint* inS,stripes,isimeres,tickings,fs* wear,or ladies1f LES,ks.11 kindaS.S.rst floor.\r for theI reasonsr.ody else ant aft to baaing athTHLDuring (he period subsequent to our capture at Mechanicsville, and prior toour arrival in the city of Richmond,♦we were treated with the greatest civility, It was only after we Were delivered into the hands of the authorities in the rebel Capital that we began to experience the mental tortures ami physical discomforts of our captivity.The budding assigned for our involuntary abode was known as the “Libby Warehouse,f notorious as having been the receptacle for prisoners, officers as well as privates, since the outbreak ol the rebellion. The portion of the room occupied by us consisted of three large rooms or lofts, one above another. Judging from the evidence our own senses afforded us, no Hercules had ever been discovered capable of clennsing inis Augean stable; the accumulated filth and vermin of twenty months lay upon the floor or scampered up the walls of our gloomy prison ; old tobacco quids, and other remnants of the first Bull Run victims still occupied, in undisturbed security, the various cracks and crevices At each door stood a sentinel, by each window patroled a guard. No person was allowed to expose his body from the window under penalty of being fired at by the ragged specimens of chivalry, who were eagerly watching an oportunity to display their heroism by murdering in cold blood, unarmed and defenceless men.No such tragedy occurred during our sojourn there, but we were informed by those confined in the building when we arrived there, that some*of their comrades hail been maimed or killed by the malignity pf the guard. We owed our own freedom from assault rather to our discretion in avoiding even the semblance of any provocation, than to any enlightenment on the part of those in charge of us.The officers were confined in another portion of the building, to which we were denied access. As the battle progressed outside the cify, the number of prisoners rapidly increased, and soon over one thousand were lodged in the suit of rooms we occupied. When all had retired for the night, it was with dificulty that one could walk from one end of the room to the other, and without greatly incommoding the sleepers; and many were the anathemas, mental and veibal, showered upon the fellowwho attempted it.If our. keepers were in good humor, our rations were served out to us twice a day. They consisted of a quarter of a sipa!) lo^f pf bread—invariably sour, And a very limited quantity of soup, in which ihf principal ingredient seemed to be flies. Not 6ne in ten of the prisoners had a cup or cjjsh of any description* and none vrer# (urnifhetfui. Those who had money eoold send out and buytin cups holding about a gill each, for which they were obliged to pay half a dollar. Those who had canteens tore off one side and used them for soup dishes; those who bad neither cup, canteen or money were compelled to borrow from their more fortunate companions, or let their soup go by default. Blocks of wood were scooped out to resemble bowls; strips of tin were eagerly seized an/1 improvised into cups;pieces of wood split from the rafters were forced to do sen ice os spoons; in fact, a collection of the articles fashioned and used by the prisoners in Richmond would be a rare addition to any museum, illustrative both of the ingenuity of the makers, as well as the barbarous usages that rendered them necessary.One evening rhe pent up patriotism of the men found vent in a grand concert of national airs. At first the singers consisted of only a few collected together near one of the windows, but the group gradually increased until nearly all those in the room assisted; and the soul-slirring chorus of the Star Spangled Banner, Hail Columbia and other patriotic songs floated melodiously through the latticed windows, past guard and sentry, collecting a crowd in the street who gazed in at the windows and wondered bow the consciences of men guilty of taking up arms against that combination of justice, honesty and truth, the Southern Confederacy, would permit them to be merry evenfor a moment! The next day we were marched to a buijding, the very counterpart of the one we left, and kept without a morsel of food for twenty-four hours. It was intimated that this was the punishment for our vocal audacity of the previous evening; at any rate we regarded it as Mich, and ever after if any enthusiastic mortal ventured to strike up Hail Columbia, some attenuated form would pathetically beg him to desist, asserting that another fast day would surely end his feeble existence.Some of the prisoners having discovered a trap door leading into the cellar, descended, and found two casks of molasses stored away in one corner. It was the woikof a moment to smash in the heads of the barrels and fill their canteens am| cups with the delicious article; then coining up stairs they informed all hands of their discovery, and a grand rush for the cellar ensued. For a short time treacle was abundant; the stairs were covered with it, the floors were carpeted with it, faces werebesmeared with it, and hardly a garment in the room could boast of freedom from the sticky article. As molasses was then selling at six dollars a gallon* the damage inflicted upon somebody was about five hundred dollars. When the owner discovered his loss he was wild with rage, but no one could inform him as to the manner of its disappearance.About the I5th of July, all the prisoners in the various buildings were transferred to Belle Island, in fhp James River, just above Richmond. Here we had more room for exercise, but in no other respect was our condition improved. We were obliged to drink the filthy water from the rivet, or dig wells for ourselves. Our food wap furnished very irregularly, and was often of miserable quality. Had we not been permitted *to buy of the various pedlars who daily visited the Island, we would have suffered greatly from hunger. Sickness was terribly prevalent, and deaths not uofrequent.At length, tftelr si* Weeks of prolonged iriiseiy, we were driven like % herd of cattle to a point sixteen miles clown the liver where our transports were lying laden with rebel prisoners for exchange. It is useless to attempt a description of the scene on board the boats. For the first time since our capture we bad good food and plenty of it, with coffee and sugar without limit. We were told to help ourselves and not be bashful, and we obeyed promptly and willingly.Il is said there is one place where happiness is always to be found—in the dictionary. There is another place where it reigns supreme—on the deck of a steamer bearing a flag of truce, and loaded with exchanged prisoners— homeward bound.Arrived at Harrison’s Landing we were returned to our respective regiments, and in a few days started to join Gen, Pope, who was being sharply pressed by the enemy on the banks of the Rappahannock................ I ■-The body is to die; so much is certain. What lies beyond? No one who passes the charmed boundary comes back to tell. The imagination visits the realm of shadows—sent out from some window of the soul over life's restless waters, but wings its way wearily back, with no olive leaf in its beak as a token of emerging life beyond the closely bending horizon. The great sun comes and goes in the heaven, yet brings no secret of the ethereal wilderness; fhe cresent moon cleaves h*rnightly passage across the upper deep, but tosses overboard no message, and displays no signals. The sentinel stars challenge each other as they walk their nightly rounds, but we catch no syllable of their countersign which gives passage to the heavenly camp. Between this and the other life is u great gulf fixed, across which neither eye nor foot can travel. The gentle friend whose eyes we closed in their last sleep long years ago, died with rapture in her wonder-stricken eyes, a smile of ineffable joy upon her lips, and hands folded-ed over a triumphant heart, but her lips were past speech, and intimated nothing of the vision that enthralled her.J. G, Holland.Alone of all beings here below, man pra)s. Among his moral instincts there is none more natural, more universal, more unconquerable than prayer. The child inclines to it with a ready docdi-ty. The old man recurs to it as a refuge against decay and isolation. Prayer ascends from young Ups, which can hardly muriner the name of God, md from dying lips which have scarcelystrength to pronounce it. Among every people, famous or obscure, civilized or barbarous, we meet at every step with acts ami forms of invocation. Wherever men live, in ceMain creumstance?, at certain hours, anti under the influence ol cetlnin impressions of soul, the eyes lire elevated* the hands join themselves, the knees bend in order to implore or render thanks—to adore or to appease. With transport or withtrem-biing, publicly or in the secret of his heart, it is to prayer that mao applies as a last resource to fill the void of his soul, or to help him to bear the burden of his destiny, it is in prayer that he seeks, when everything else fads him, support for his weakness, consolation in his sorrows, hope for his virtue.The Cincmnaii Enquirer, copperhead, says that Wall, of New Jersey, u is just the man for Senator. He has been opposed to the war from the start!” That’s what’s the matter with “conservatism’” About how much, and what, did the ob*trusive and wordy loyalty of the men who elected Wall mean, as manifuUd eighteen and twenty months ago?
Newspaper Details
Trumansburg News
Trumansburg, New York, US
Fri, Jan 30, 1863
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
John H.
USA 18 Apr 2022
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