From the Richmond Whig, 8/5/1861
THE FEDERAL PRISONERS. - Three large tobacco factories on
Main street, near 25th, are now occupied by the prisoners brought
from Manassas. We have not been furnished with a “permit” to visit the
interior of any of these prison depots, but, whilst in pursuit of information,
have indulged in the privilege, common to all, of an outside view. The first
thing which ill arrest the attention of a passer-by is the presence of a number
of soldiers moving lazily about in squads, or sitting upon the sidewalk with
their backs against the fences, whilst sentinels are pacing up and down, in
front of and alongside the factories. The inner line of the narrow brick
pavement is the limit within which no one is allowed to pass, without a
“permit.” If you do but stop a minute, and project your toe over the line,
the sentinel will require a retrograde movement of your foot. Such is the
discipline. The force at present employed in guard duty is composed of the B. Y.
G.’s (Buckingham Yancey Guard) and soldiers of the “Provisional Army.” The
windows of the first and second stories of Harwood’s factory are furnished
with a few iron bars. The windows in the upper stories, as well as those in the
other factories, have no such attachments. The prisoners, except when they are
sleeping or eating, are constantly gazing out of the windows. They are not
allowed to hold conversation with outsiders, but chat freely with each other.
On Saturday, we observed four of the prisoners engaged in a
game of cards near one of the windows. At another, one of them was smoking a
pipe, and seemed to be quite contented with his lot. We mention these little
facts to indicate that the “Yankees” (as they are termed) are not treated
with that rigor which some have supposed. On the cross street, a squad of ten or
fifteen of them, mostly Zouaves, were engaged with spades, in digging a trench
to carry off the rain. Others were “toting” water, in tubs, from a spring
near by. Three or four have been detailed to wait upon the wounded, and these
were allowed to cross the street from one factory to another unattended by a
guard. Most of the prisoners seemed cheerful, but some looked haggard and
dejected. During our stay, two fine hearses drew up at the front door of
Harwood’s factory. Each contained a coffin, which was removed into the
building. On inquiry, we learned that two of the prisoners had died from wounds
received in the battle of 21st ult., and their bodies were about to
be sent to the burial ground. The prisoners crowded to the front windows to
witness the removal of their departed comrades, but curiosity, rather than
sympathy, was depicted upon their countenances.
Everybody is asking “What’s to be done with the
prisoners?” Some suggest that they be sent “down South” to Fort Sumter and
elsewhere, to be taken care of until Lincoln is ready to exchange. Others think
the best behaved among them should be sent home, in order that they may impart
their experience to the deluded people of their section, upon the same principle
that a singed rat is sometimes turned loose to frighten away others. - It is
stated that the shoemakers among them will be required to “earn their grub”
by making shoes for the Confederate army.
We hope that while the prisoners are kept her, their
spiritual welfare will not be neglected. John Randolph aptly remarked on a
certain occasion, “The Heathen are at your doors.” The same remark is
applicable to these prisoners, and convey a hint to our Missionary Societies
which should not be disregarded. Why “compass sea and land to make one
proselyte,” when we have among us a large number of men who have been so
accustomed to the “doctrines of devils,” preached to them by the Beechers
and Cheevers of the North, that the “Gospel of Jesus” is absolutely unknown
to many of them. We would not require them to listen to a discourse, or read a
tract, in which the truth was proclaimed, but they should be invited to
attend divine service every Sunday at the Bethel church, or some convenient
place, which might be fitted up for the purpose and thus have an opportunity of
hearing a profitable and wholesome sermon, founded upon the word of God.
It might not be amiss to furnish them with copies of the
Declaration of Independence so printed that the “self-evident truths” of
that imperishable instrument would be brought conspicuously to their attention.
If their minds are not totally blinded by prejudice and ignorance, they would
not fail to perceive that the people of the South are vindicating, while the
North is opposing, that fundamental principle asserted on the 4th of
July, 1776, “that to secure life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,
governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the
consent of the governed.”
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