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[38] fare; the meals were cooked outside. At one time they pretended to make a mush, or duff, in large tanks containing hot water. The unsifted meal ground with the cob would be thrown into these by the barrel. When taken out and issued to us, unsalted, a little of the outside would be cooked, but inside was raw. Once in a while a little rice or a few black beans, cooked just as they were picked, pods, strings, and dirt, but often raw, were given us. For a while our rations were but a pint of cornmeal, they saying it was all they had to give us, that we were eating them out of house and home, and for many days I drew my rations in my hands and ate it dry, being very thankful to get that.

The last of August 500 of us were sent on cars to Savannah, into another stockade. In a few days 10,000 men had arrived. We were here about six weeks; rain fell most of the time, and once for three days the camp was flooded to our knees.

We could not lie down, and, with many others, I got the fever and ague. For six weeks I suffered terribly. I was then sent to Blackshire Station, near the Florida line, where we stayed two weeks. From there we were sent to Fort Darling to be paroled. On the way I escaped from the train, and, being very tired, lay down under a tree for the night. At sunrise we saw the train pass out of sight; we started down the river, hoping to get to our gunboats, but at sundown three squads of rebel pickets suddenly appeared around us, and took us to the Oglethorpe Guard House in Savannah.

They kept us here three days, and in that time twenty-nine more of our boys were brought in. Many others were shot in the attempt to escape, and we were all put into a car and sent to Charleston (S. C.) jail. Next day they marched us through the city, and we had the opportunity of seeing the havoc that shot and shell from our harbor forts had made. From here we were sent on cars to Florence, S. C., and put into another stockade; this was on December 1, 1864.

There were 10,000 men here, and I found among them many Massachusetts boys, some of them my old schoolmates; but

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