The Maine bugle ... campaign; 1-5 Jan. 1894-Oct. 1898 - Maine.gov

2;J4 THE MAINE BUGLE.
mond, which took one day and iiiLjht. I^urinL; the ride the rebs
would reverse the engine every few miles, which ])iled us u[) in
tlic cars, one on top of the other, causing us intense suffering.
We had nothing to cat or drink on the road, being treated by
the citizens on the way like so many beasts of prey that they
would like to kill. After arriving in Richmond we were
escorted to "Hotel de Libby," with the name of Libby & Son
over the door. When wc arrived the building was nearly
empty, containing only a few political prisoners and a few
officers and men who had preceded us. They crowded twenty-
seven hundred of us into the building, which in addition to
what was already there, filled it to the brim.
y\bout six hours after arriving they issued to us some soft
baker's bread and water from the James river. We began to
think that we should not fare so very bad after all ; but how
soon that delusion was dispelled you will see. I was placed in
the second story, and the boards on which I lay were by the
second rear window, with a tobacco press for a [)illow. I was
without blanket, shirt or blouse, having lost my blanket in the
fight and having my shirt antl blouse taken nearly off by the
shot that took my arm.
Just before dark one of the Fourteenth Brooklyn boys
approached the window by which I was lying, the windows all
being protected with iron bars. When he got within about two feet
of the window the report of a gun was heard, and he fell dead,
with only a groan, for he had been shot through the left breast.
The blood from his body s[)urted in my face. The news sjjread
through the building and the boys kept back from the windows.
After dark the officers came into the building to inspect us and
to take our names and regiments. We complained to them of
the shooting and they told us to keep four feet from the windows
and we would not be shot. We then asked for some
supper, and were told that we would probably get some some-
time the next day; which we did, about ten o'clock.
Our wounds were not dressed nor cared for (only what our
own boys could do, those who were not so badly wounded as