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Read Ebook: Life in Southern Prisons From the Diary of Corporal Charles Smedley of Company G 90th Regiment Penn'a Volunteers Commencing a Few Days Before the Battle of the Wilderness In Which He Was Taken Prisoner ... Also a Short Description of the March to and Batt by Smedley Charles Dobbins Richard Contributor Stubbs Charles H Contributor
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Ebook has 66 lines and 22703 words, and 2 pages
My name is Richard Dobbins, a native of western Missouri. I belonged to Company H, 18th Regiment Iowa Volunteers--was taken prisoner at the battle of Missionary Ridge, Nov. 25th, 1863--was sent to the Libby prison, in Richmond, Va., where I remained a short time--Then I was sent to Belle Island, where I suffered very much from cold and starvation. I often thought of death, which stared me in the face daily; though I was not worse off than the majority of the other prisoners. I remained there until the 16th of March, 1864, when I was sent with others to Andersonville, in Georgia, where I suffered very much; not so much from starvation as on the island, but from the rain and cold; also from smoke, from the burning of pine wood. We were of course thinly clad, some destitute of blankets, some of shoes, some of pants, while others had scarcely any clothes on them. The majority of us had been searched and robbed of all our good clothing, money, watches, boots, &c. It seemed as though we could expect nothing but death to relieve us from our sufferings. Over twelve thousand of the prisoners died at Andersonville.
On the 8th of September, I, with others, was sent from there, and in due time arrived at Savannah. From thence we were moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where the rebels made a kind of military display of us, by marching us through the city, and putting us in the prison, near the officers who were under the fire of our own guns.
We remained there only one day and night, and then were marched to the rear of the city on the race-course track, where we staid but a short time; then I was sent to Florence, South Carolina. Shortly after I arrived there, I was taken out on "parole of honor," and sent to the Federal hospital by the rebel surgeons, as master of one of the wards there.
It was there I became acquainted with Corporal Charles Smedley, of Company G, Ninetieth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, who was a patient in my ward.
When he first came to the hospital, he complained of chronic diarrhoea and dysentery. After a few days the dysentery left him, though he was very weak. He kindly waited on David Close, and seemed willing to do all he could for him, as he considered Close worse than himself. I think he hurt himself by over exertion. He waited on Close all he could, until he died, which appears to have occurred on the morning of the 18th of October.
A few days after the death of David Close, the hospital was moved inside of the stockade, to the North-west corner. Charles, with others, walked in. In the evening Charles came over to the hospital. We told him he had better get his things, and come back to the hospital and stay, which he did. Shortly after he came, his hands became very sore, apparently from a dropsical affection, and were bandaged up.
His walk, from the hospital to the inside of the stockade, appeared to have been too much for his strength. From that day he became worse, though he was able to walk about, almost every day, until the day before he died.
He died on the night of the 16th of November, 1864. He was washed, shaved, and clean clothes put on him, but no coffin was provided for him. His body was wrapped in a sheet and buried in the burial ground, a short distance north of north-west of the stockade. The number of his grave was probably recorded at the rebel headquarters, as is their custom, but I do not know the number. I tried to get the number, but could not, for reasons best known to the rebel officers.
After his death I secured his Bible, diary, a small book in which he kept the photographs of his family, and a few little tools, with which he used to while away the time in making bone rings, &c.; all of which, with the watch, according to my promise, I have succeeded in delivering to his father.
I was paroled on the 29th of November, 1864, and sent from Florence, South Carolina, to Savannah, Georgia, where I was put on shipboard, and brought, with many others, to Annapolis, Maryland, where I arrived on the morning of the 5th of December, and immediately informed Charles Smedley's father of his sad fate.
RICHARD DOBBINS, Co. H, 17th Regiment Iowa Volunteers
FOOTNOTES:
His little tent as described under date of "3d day, 5th mo. 24th."
The term street must be applied to the road in the centre of the stockade. It cannot possibly be a street in the town.
MARCH TO AND BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.
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