I Held Lincoln by Richard E. Quest

Author:Richard E. Quest [Quest, Richard E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, United States, Civil War Period (1850-1877)
ISBN: 9781612349497
Google: H29RDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Published: 2018-05-01T00:39:38+00:00

20

The Old Pen Again

Loring and Rogers lifted de Doe off the train. Supporting de Doe between them, they limped toward the gates of Camp Groce. Moving through the prison gates, the stench of human effluent made them gasp. The inside of the prison was unrecognizable. Gaunt men clothed in filthy rags shuffled about the yard. Those who were too sick to leave their shed could be heard coughing and hacking. Six hundred men from Camp Tyler had been added to the already crowded enclosure, further straining the minimal resources available to properly care for the prisoners.

With the war dragging on into its fourth year, the South’s resources were severely strained. Everything was rationed: food, clothing, and personnel. The German guards who had so eagerly traded with Loring and the others just a couple of months before were gone.1 They had been ordered to replace men in the dwindling ranks of infantry regiments. Replacing those men as prison guards were those not fit for field duty.

Under the worsening conditions the number of fatalities in the prison increased. Being sent to the hospital was more of a death sentence than remaining in the camp. At least inside the camp you might be lucky enough to have a friend to help nurse you or provide what he could in the way of food scraps. With such desperate conditions came desperate plans for escape. Among the six hundred men from Camp Tyler, forty decided to make a run for it, all on the same night.

With little understanding of the area and no provisions, all forty were recaptured with the exception of a few who died during the escape.2 As punishment for this mass exodus Colonel Gillespie added to the suffering. In the face of a torrential storm Gillespie forced all prisoners out of their sheds. Confederate captain Mason protested this indirect torture but Gillespie ignored his protests. Throughout the night men wandered about in groups seeking what shelter they could find; some men leaned against each other, some sought relief on the lee side of their sheds. Soaked, cold, shivering, and in a horrific state of health, this was the death blow for many. Throughout the night and early morning Loring could only watch as his comrades suffered. September 8 dawned as the storm subsided. Loring recalled that one year ago exactly he had been aboard the USS Weehawken firing upon Fort Moultrie in the shadow of Fort Sumter.3 He thought to himself how much his fortune had changed.

Colonel Gillespie continued to seek ways to punish the men for their audacity and was convinced that Loring was the instigator behind the escapes. In an attempt to discredit Loring and turn his fellow officers against him, Gillespie decreed that “all well officers must hereafter take nightly lodgings in the main shed.”4 This had a direct impact on the three highest ranking officers in Camp Groce, Lieutenant Colonel Flory, Captain DeHart, and Lieutenant Loring. Flory and DeHart were furious at this latest act of tyranny. They strongly protested and were finally able to strike a deal.

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