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Memories of Captivity15th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry
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Post-war photo of 1st Lieutenant Ole R. Dahl of Company B
He
spent nearly a year in captivity in various Confederate prisoner of war camps
Photo
Collection PH2361, State Historical Society of Wisconsin
Picture appearing above has
been electronically enhanced by Deep Vee Productions
The following quotes are by 15th soldiers who were held as prisoners of war during the American Civil War.
"When we were captured, many of us were rounded up and led back to Chickamauga Creek by a captain on General Hindmand's staff, who, as previously stated, was a gentleman. He showed no vindictiveness and did not permit his soldiers to take the canteens and knapsacks from the prisoners -- which they tried to do. I gave him my field glass, which I knew I would not be permitted to keep anyway, and could just as well give to one who had the courage to step forward and fight for what he believed to be right... From Chickamauga Creek we were taken two-three miles farther to the troops in the rear, where we found the men who had been captured on Saturday, and at four o'clock we were sent on our way to Ringgold, a distance of twelve miles, where -- we were told -- we would stay overnight and get something to eat... At nine o'clock in the evening we arrived at Ringgold, tired and hungry, and were told we must go four miles further before we could receive rations and leave by train for Atlanta. At eleven o'clock we arrived at a railroad station the name of which I have forgotten and were allowed to light fires. But the night was cold and we got little rest and less sleep. The next morning we were given the unwelcome news that we must go another four miles -- on foot -- before we could get anything to eat. At eight o'clock we were on our way, and we arrived at Tunnel Hill at ten. A detachment was immediately set to work baking some cornbread, but before this was ready, we were put aboard a train and started for Atlanta. Thus for the third time we were disappointed in not receiving anything to eat, and our one hope now was Atlanta. If it had not been for the fact that some of the prisoners had a supply of rations when they were captured -- which they willingly shared with me -- I surely would have starved..." |
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--Lieutenant Colonel Ole C.
Johnson of Field & Staff |
| "On 3 October [1863] we were packed together on some railway cars, which had previously been used to transport living animals, and the excrement now lay piled up to three inches deep on the floor, and we had no opportunity to clean it up. We were then transported to Atlanta, where we were quartered in a pig sty..." |
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--Hospital Steward Anthon O. Oyen of
Field & Staff |
"At the Battle of Chickamauga I was wounded in the left ankle, taken prisoner, and sent to Atlanta. There we just starved, froze, and were sick and full of lice, so it was terrible. Maggots actually got into our wounds." |
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--Private Hans A. Legeson of
Company B |
"Thursday morning we were marched through the city to the [railroad] station, and we sang, so it rang in the streets: The Star Spangled Banner, The Red, White and Blue, and The Battle Cry of Freedom, especially stressing "Down with the traitors, and up with the stars." The citizens got out of their beds and came to their windows, but never said a word. Later we had the pleasure of seeing ourselves described in the Atlanta newspapers as "the most objectionable, the filthiest and the most God-forsaken prisoners" they had ever seen." |
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--Lieutenant Colonel Ole C.
Johnson of Field & Staff |
| "...I was sent to Pemborten prison [in Richmond, Virginia]. It was very crowded here and all strangers, so before I got a place to lie down on the floor the first night I had the prettiest black eye I ever had in my life. Next for breaking one of their rules six of us were turned out on Belle Isle without shelter of any kind in the dead of that memorable cold winter of '63. We walked all night to keep from freezing to death and got a little sleep in the hottest part of the day...After three days on the island we were sent back to Pemborten." |
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--Private Ole Steensland of Company E |
"...our government shows no inclination to exchange prisoners. In truth, it seems to have turned its back on these men without desire to come to their aid. I do not like to believe such a thing about our government, but things seem to point in that direction...we are quite sure about one thing, and that is that the Rebels would very much like to have an exchange...How many, do you think, of those here now will ever get to see their homes again...If these men are not to be sacrifices to indifference, they must be set free, and the only way to free them is to exchange them." |
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--Lieutenant Colonel Ole C.
Johnson of Field & Staff |
| "In the middle of January, 1864, I was requested by the [Confederate] doctors to take over the smallpox hospital that lay a mile outside of town, which I did so that I could get a good opportunity to try my luck at escaping...On 22 February I packed up my things -- an overcoat and a blanket that I rolled together and threw on my back along with a ration bag that held about seven pounds of hard bread and one pound of sugar. These things were naturally stolen from the Rebels, since the rations at the time were very poor. There were also two others who wanted to try to escape, and we were going to stick together. At nine o'clock in the evening we began the march and successfully got through the picket line nearest the hospital without being arrested, but when we had gone about a mile from there, we were discovered by a sentry who was posted that day to catch deserters, both our soldiers and the Rebels'...we had to march back to the town, where I was given lodging in Prison Number 5." |
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--Hospital Steward Anthon O. Oyen of
Field & Staff |
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"The provisions could kill you. The first food I received was cornbread without salt, and it was one and a half inches thick and wide and four inches long; that was a day's ration. Later we received half a pot of flour so we could boil it, fry it, or eat it raw. Once we got rice boiled in water -- a whole pot for the day; another time we got beans and dirt -- also a pot for the day, but without salt or meat, and -- worth noticing -- only one portion for a day's ration. Usually there was cornmeal of the simplist kind, ground cob and all; the farmer's pigs would scarcely eat this..." |
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--Private Sivert
A. Lee of Company H |
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"I often smuggled food in to the boys of my Regiment who lay sick in the hospital -- flour, beans, and other things when I had the chance...When some of my friends in the Regiment were well enough to do some work, I usually got them out of the prison on parole. I can name three of these: Sergeant Major Martin A. Erickson, who later died in Sparta, Wisconsin, was appointed as a clerk in the Doctor's office, and Sergeant Bernt J. Madsen of Company B was appointed as assistant medic in a ward of the hospital, as were Private Ole C. Branstad of Company A and many others from other regiments." |
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--Hospital Steward Anthon O. Oyen of
Field & Staff |
| "The wood was getting short, so we would watch for a chance to carry the dead to the burial place, and they allowed us to carry wood back, but this did not last long, the prisoners started to die so fast that they only allowed us to carry them out to the gate and pile them up until the rebels would come with their wagon and throw them in and haul them away just like we farmers haul fence rails or posts. It was a sight to see the dead --most of them nude or nearly so, with greybacks [a type of insect] litterly covering their bodies which were usually nothing but a skeleton." |
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--Private Ole Steensland of Company E |
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"Tuesday the 17th [of May 1864]: Last night was good; but we only covered some six or seven miles because of fatigue. We are extremely exhausted; the eight months of imprisonment, exposure, and overexertion since out escape and four days practically without any kind of nourishment have made us incapable of managing anything. We have to get ourselves some food for the night, even if we are captured trying; we cannot continue the march without food. One thing is certain; at least they will not take me back to prison." |
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--Lieutenant Colonel Ole C.
Johnson of Field & Staff |
| "We came to Macon [Georgia] on the 17th of May [1864]. We were plased in a inclosere near the city. A very meseble plas...We was 1000 Yeanke Officers at onse of all ranks from Generals down to 2nd Lieut. We tried to get avay by digging an undergrown Rellroad but to our supris when we was redy to go it weas found out..." |
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Captain
Charles Gustafson of Company
F |
| "This brings us into midsummer of '64 when everything had reached a point where it seemed impossible to get worse. Every grass root and every twig that had started to grow along a stump had been dug out and chewed to get what nourishment we could out of it. There we were wallowing in the dirt and filth fighting lice, under the scorching Georgia sun. The gruesome vermin, the terrifying stench of the swamp, and the terrible place where we got our drinking water are all beyond description...At this point a heavy rain came rushing down the ravine, tore the stockade out and washed out a ditch in the hillside from which came what was later called 'Providence Spring'. Later the rebels ran the water from this spring a ways into the prison in a wooden trough. This was the only humane thing I ever knew them to do." |
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--Private Ole Steensland of Company E |
| "...we were quartert in a jail yard. A plase worsh than heall. Even the jail was to good for us, in the daytim al the inmates of the jail wher turned lose on us...her wher 600 U.S. officers in a 4/1 of an acror..." |
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Captain
Charles Gustafson of Company
F |
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"I became ill in prison and was sent to the hospital in Danville [Virginia] the 23rd of April [1864]. My illness was scurvy. Towards the end of June I was somewhat better. I had an attack of chronic diarrhea which I have had the entire time since. Because of the poor food which the Rebels gave us, my illness was aggravated. So, it appeared my days would be numbered. I arrived by flag of truce boat here yesterday and was sent to St. John's Hospital. I am nothing but skin and bones and cannot walk 10 steps alone." |
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--Sergeant Rollin Olson
of Company E |
| "...When they called the names I vas at hand an two of us answard to the same name and I was out of the preson..." |
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Captain
Charles Gustafson of Company
F |
| "Here came the most hopeless and desolate hours of my life. When on Christmas Eve, on the frozen ground as rough as a plowed field, barefoot, almost naked, among all strangers, I was again headed into Andersonville. By this time I had Scurvia [scurvy] so bad that I could have picked my teeth out with my fingers, and when I would chew the raw cornmeal it would be mixed with blood from my gums. Here I almost gave up hope. I spent this night weeping and thinking of my plight. The next day I made new acquaintances, made up my mind that there had to be an end to this somewhere, [and] started again on my fight for life. We dug ourselves into the hillside, like prairie dogs for protection against the cold. We had a terrible winter." |
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--Private Ole Steensland of Company E |
"We were then marched about a mile and a half, when, suddenly turning a bend in the road, the "Old Flag," for the first time, greeted us. A cheer went up from the head of the column, which ran along its entire length, to be repeated time and again, till we had cheered ourselves hoarse and were exhausted...As we marched past it, with uncovered heads, the band played "Hail to the Chief," etc. Many of the old prisoners stepped out of ranks, embraced and kissed the "Starry Banner" with tears-- an old friend, from whom they had long been separated." |
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--1st Lieutenant Ole R. Dahl of Company B |
"We were a hard looking bunch. Some of us almost naked, unshaved, with our louse eaten hair hanging down to our shoulders. My ankles were so stiff and my feet so swollen [due to scurvy] that I could hardly hobble around." |
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--Private Ole Steensland of Company E |
This page Copyright by Scott Cantwell Meeker of Deep
Vee Productions.
All Rights Reserved. Created December 5, 1999. Last updated December
4,
2000.