We all enjoyed playing pranks on each other. I named myself the “limpy lame dog,” and they all treated me about as considerately.
Some of the boys sighed and worried over having to stay in prison, but situated as I was, I enjoyed it. We only remained 16 days. There was a boat load of soldiers from Johnson’s Island to be exchanged and as it wasn’t a full load, they telegraphed to the Old Capitol that they could take about 75 more men while making the trip. Straws were drawn to see which room would be sent to exchange, and our room got the “lucky straw.”
The boat that carried us was called the “Prairie Flower.” A beautiful boat it was too. We had fine sailing until we got within about six hours ride of Fortress Monroe. Here a heavy snowstorm overtook us and the boat was compelled to anchor.
After the storm ceased and we could see the light-house, we made the rest of our journey in safety. We couldn’t see at night, of course, but when morning came we found ourselves in sight of the guns of Fortress Monroe. We remained here three days and nights, as the wind was still blowing such a gale that the ship had to remain anchored.
When we arrived at City Point, our exchange point, as we marched out, another boat load of Yanks were marched in to be taken home, and we were sent on to Petersburg by rail.
Here we were put in a big tobacco ware house, which was hardly suitable for mules or billy goats, but there wasn’t any other convenient place near by. There were several very large barrels in the building and I told the boys that mother said I was always her best child to find out what was in anything sitting around. So I took my pocket knife and began dissecting. To my great pleasure I found they contained sugar and we soon ate all of the sugar that tasted good in that barrel.
I talked to a citizen through the cracks of the building and told him that he’d better help to hunt a place for me for some of the boys had cut a hole in a barrel in there and had eaten lots of his sugar. The man left and soon came back with the information that there was a barracks about a half mile distant that we could occupy that night, so we went over, and such a place as it was. We had to stay all night as it was so late when we got there, but it was only a good place for bats and hoot owls. He consoled us by telling us that supplies would be sent in from Richmond and they were, early in the night.
When we got our supplies it proved about like the surroundings. Well, we didn’t know what to call it even. Couldn’t think of a name in the English Language to call it. It had been bread and meat once, but had been sent from “God knows where,” as the old woman said about the rail road, and was just poured into a corner of a box car and was of course, about like hog feed.
We had been locked in the barracks and we just said if we were not taken out we’d break the old shack down and go on to Richmond, so we were soon notified that a train was ready and we gladly got on board for Richmond.
The cars that took us were cattle cars and the engine must certainly have had a genuine case of tuberculosis, because it tried faithfully to whistle, but couldn’t make a sound. We would gladly have gone on, or in anything, to get back though.