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TRGr. N. Y., FRIDAY, JAN. 30, 1863WHOLE NO. 126WEDDING WORDS,Fineetryt#fA-de-ortcmo-oors. y.A jewel f6rvny lady** car,A j#w*l for her fittic«r fine,A diamond (V her bo»ain dear, per bosom that is mm#.Dear #Unen» lor my laity's eys#,Dear looks around her form to twin#,Dear kisses for the Upf I orije,Her dear lijn that ar# min«.Dear breathings to her, aoft and low,Of kpwjtpy lo\ #he*s made divio#;Dear silences my tova that shew For her Whoso lore is rmuo.Dear cares lest clouds should sh*de her way, That ghirluess only on her shine,That she b* hippy as the M*y,Whoso life is ono with mine.Dear wishes hovering round her life,And tender thoughts, 4*u| dreams difin#, To f^itd with perfect joy the wife Whose happiness is mine.CAMPAIGN SKETCHES.eethtub*i.r.BY A VOLVNTJCMtNUMBER TWOandner,fru*I'mCAINictlyid at6 00 0 00 0 00apirc d»-ijgediKts mpes,ares,eardiesS,nda.loor.r the isooeelseK# toH *H.During (he period subsequent to our capture at Mechanicsville, anti 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 (he authorities in the rebel Capital that we began to experience the mental tortures ami physical discomforts of our captivity.The buihiing assigned for our involuntary abode was known as the Libby Warehouse,” notorious as having been the receptacle for prisoners, officers as well as privates, since the outbreak of 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 atforded us, no Hercules hail ever been discovered capable of cleansing 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 firstBull 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 incold blood, unarmed ami 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 had 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 ci(y, thq number of prisoners rapidly increased, and soon over one thousand were lodged in the suit of rooms we occupied. When all had retired far 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 verbal, showered upon the fellow who 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 squill iocff pf bread—invariably sour, and a very limited quantity of soup, in which thf principal ingredient seemed to be flies. Not due in ten of the prisoners had a cup or c|jsh of any description* and non# wer# (urni$heffus. Thoie who bad money etfold send out sad boytin 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 raOre 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/l improvised into cups; pieces of wood split from the rafters were forced to do service as 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 the 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-stirring 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 how 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 even for a moment! The next day we were marched to a buijdtng, 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 rale we regarded it as wich, and ever after if any enthusiastic mortal ventured tostrike 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 coming 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 were besmeared 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 bis loss he was wild with rage, but no one could inform him as to the manner of its disappearance.About the 15th of July, all the prisoners in the various buildings were transferred to Belle Island, in the 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 wc not been permitted Ito buy of the various pedlars who daily visited the Island, we would have suffered greatly from hunger. Sickness was terribly prevalent, anddeaths not uofrequent.At length, tfttlr si* Weeks of pro*longed misery, we were driven like % iierd of cattle to a point sixteen mile* down the river where our transport* 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 cap* tore 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.It 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 ofthe Rappahannock. —111 » ■-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 hlt;*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 prajs. Among his moral instincts there is none more natural, more universal, more unconquerable than prayer. The child inclines to it with n ready docili* ty. The old man recurs to it as a refuge against decay and isolation. Prayer ascends from young lips, which can hardly murtner the name of God, »nd 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 circumstances,at certain hours, anti under the influence ol certain impressions of soul, the eyes it re 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 man 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 fails him, support for his weakness, consolation in his sorrows, hope for his virtue.The Cincinnati 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’# what’s the matter with “conservatism.” About how much, and what, did the obtrusive and wordy loyalty of the men who elected Wall mean, as manifaaUd eighteen end 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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