An image of Fort Deleware
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This is Volume 1 of a newspaper published by the prisoners of Fort Delaware Civil War Prisoner Camp in April 1865 complete with ads!
The complex known as Fort Delaware was erected on a marshy island known as Pea Patch Island the fort covered about 6 acres and was utilized as a prison for Confederate prisoners of war
"General Terror" Albin F. Schoepf was commandant of Fort Delaware Civil War Prison and both he and the hell hole of a prison were dreaded by the Confederate troops, the majority of them had been captured during the Gettysburg campaign and were men from the 26th Georgia Regiment, CSA.
At Fort Delaware, there were, at times, 10,000 Southern prisoners after Gettysburg the population rose to some 13,000 poor souls.
A goodly number of men died of disease such as smallpox, scurvy and dysentery severe malnutrition abounded the camp. Water was putrefied and food scarce.
A prisoner, Captain John S. Swann comments on the food and conditions at the hell hole, "We formed in line and marched to the mess hall, in which were several long rows of plank tables with pieces of bread and meat arranged along the sides at intervales of some two feet. When we were in place each prisoner took one ration. The bread was made of rye and wheat flour, well cooked, but the piece very small, about half enough for a well man. The meat a small chunk of beef. Occasionally all sinew or mostly bone. It was cut up very carelessly and very small, not half a ration. Some days the bread was substituted with crackers, and these were hard days on us. We were permitted to take these rations to our bunks. I ate mine but remained very hungry. When dinner came the same thing was repeated, except there was occasionally a tin cup of what was called corn soup very tasteless and insipid, with little or no grease."
He also wrote: "Not long after my arrival I heard a cry "Rat call! Rat call!" I went out to see what this meant. A number of prisoners were moving and some running up near the partition, over which a sargeant was standing and presently he began throwing rats down. The prisoners scrambled for the rats like school boys for apples, none but some of the most needy prisoners, and the needy were the large majority, would scramble for these rats. Of course but few were lucky enough to get a rat. The rats were cleaned, put in salt water a while and fried. Their flesh was tender and not unpleasant to the taste."
I published this today as I watched the Sunday news shows with all of the horrors com'n across about Iraq and Afghanistan wondering to myself just exactly what have we learned when it comes to the humane treatment of Prisoners of War.
Will some blogger be writing and publishing about the atrocities taking place today but not to see the light of day for many a year to come.
I'd like to think not, but compassion is one thing I am sure needs to be learned from this type of history.
Think about how you feel. Are you compassionate or do you think that kind of treatment of prisoners is valid.
Would the prisoners at Gitmo be allowed to write a NEWSpaper?
Have we grown in our sensibilities or have we grown harder in our stance on prisoners.
Let me know what ya think folks Please.
"Behavior is a mirror in which everyman displays his image"
Goethe
I bid you adieu till the next post and thanks for coming by and allowing me to share my thoughts,opinion, stories and from time to time advice.
