Personal Reminiscences of the War of 1861-5 / In Camp—en Bivouac—on the March—on Picket—on the Skirmish Line—on the Battlefield—and in Prison

by W. H. Morgan

I here give a song composed and sung by Confederate prisoners at Fort Delaware, at a concert given by the prisoners, for the benefit of the destitute among the 600 Confederate officers, who were put under fire on Morris Island, and afterwards sent to Fort Pulaski and Hilton Head, and confined there during the winter of 1864-65, and who were sent back to Fort Delaware in March, 1865, in a pitiable plight:

"IN THE PRISON OF FORT DELAWARE

(TO THE TUNE OF "LOUISIANA LOWLANDS")

"Come listen to my ditty, it will while away a minute,

And if I didn't think so, I never would begin it;

'Tis 'bout a life in prison, so forward bend your head,

And I'll tell you in a moment how dey treat the poor Confed.

Chorus:

"In the prison of Fort Delaware, Delaware, Delaware,

In the prison of Fort Delaware, Del.