Imprisonment of the Plymouth Pilgrim Enlisted Soldiers

On April 20th, 1864 the entire Union garrison was captured at the Battle of Plymouth, NC. General Wessells sent out a flag of truce at 10 a.m. and surrendered at 11. Generously, under the terms of surrender, Confederate General Hoke allowed the prisoners to gather their personal belongings and take those items to prison. This term of surrender was requested by Gen. Wessels and thankfully Hoke agreed. The prisoners were allowed to return to their quarters and retrieve personal items and knapsacks. At least one Plymouth Pilgrim secured a side arm in his knapsack and took it to Andersonville!

Gen. Wessells, his Adjutant General, 2 Aides de Camp and 14 others stayed at Plymouth until April 23rd when they were taken on the C.S. Cotton Plant to Weldon, NC and then by rail to Richmond where they were held in Libby Prison.

The main body of prisoners spent the night of the 20th in an open field just outside of town. The next morning, they received four days rations which contained 32 to 34 pieces of hard tack and 1 pound of pork. Around noon, under guard of the 35th NC & 11th VA, they began their march towards Tarboro, NC. They marched 15 miles and camped.

On Friday the 22nd they began their march at 6 a.m. and marched 12 miles and camped at Williamston; arriving there at 5 p.m. The next morning they started their march again at 6 a.m. and marched 6 miles to Hamilton where they camped. The Postmaster at Williamston said that he would mail their letters home, but it is unknown if he did. The guards were now changed to the 17th NC, a local regiment.

On Sunday the 24th they started their march at 10:30 a.m. It is assumed that the morning was spent with church services by the various Chaplains. They marched 10 miles and camped in a pine grove.

Many of the prisoners commented on how well they were treated by the 35th NC along the march from Plymouth to Hamilton.

The next day they were issued one days ration including 1 pint of meal and a little pork or cow peas. They began their march at 6:15 a.m. arriving at Tarboro around noon on the 25th.

The next day, the prisoners boarded railroad box-cars, some that had previously hauled cattle, for their trip to prison. Although there wasn’t confirmation, most assumed that the final destination would be Americus, GA. There were no mentions of the name "Andersonville." Anywhere from 40 to 70 men were loaded into each boxcar and they left in separate trains over the next four days.

Lieut. Blakeslee, 16th CT, states that "all the officers and the 85th NY were on the first train," but other accounts show that some officers were still with their men. Two of the 101st PA, QM Sgt Edward Boots & Commissary Sgt Charles W. Thompson, were on the first train with the 85th NY. It is assumed that other officers and field and staff NCOs were on the first train as well.

According to the diary of Private Charles Lepley, 103rd PA, “on April 26th the 85th NY left on the first train at 10 a.m., and the 16th CT and part of the 101st PA left at 3 p.m.” Captain John Parry, Co. I, 101st PA states, “Today we again draw the same rations [pork chops and a piece of raw bacon] and start for Wilmington at 4 P.M. 40 of us put in a Cattle Car.” Private Mahlon D. Cushman, Co. I, 16th CT states in his diary that he left Tarboro on the 29th.

The trip to Andersonville made its way through the towns of Goldsboro & Wilmington, NC.

Goldsboro State Journal, April 27th, 1864:

Gen. Hoke's yankee Prisoners. - Yesterday evening the first installment of them arrived - 680 in number. Another lot will pass through to-day, to the number of about 2840. The yankees which passed through were an impudent set of well dressed vagabonds, full of insolence and impertinence. Two cars were loaded with 100 officers of various grades.

Private Cushman, 16th CT, states in his diary that he arrived about 3 a.m. on April 30th at Wilmington and left about noon with the 17th SC as their guard. At Wilmington, they took a ferry across the Cape Fear River to board another train that would take them through the towns of Florence & Charleston, SC. It was on their way to Charleston that they are first referred in print as the "Plymouth Pilgrims." Upon their arrival, they were paraded through the streets of Charleston. The last leg of their pilgrimage took them through Savannah & Macon, GA.

The trains transporting the 2,364 Plymouth Pilgrims arrived at Camp Sumter, Andersonville, Georgia, between April 30th & May 3rd, 1864. Private Charlie Mosher (85th NY), who was on the first train, states that the 101st PA, 2nd MA HA, and the 24th NY Battery arrived on May 2nd. Mosher also states that the 103rd PA & 16th CT arrived on the evening of the 3rd. Private Cushman, 16th CT, states he arrived on the 3rd as well.

Upon their arrival, the officers were separated from the enlisted men. Capt Henry Wirz, the commander of the interior of the prison camp, argued with the guards who had accompanied the prisoners that he had no facilities for officers and that they would have to take them somewhere else. They spent the night in a church in the village of Andersonville and were taken to Camp Oglethorpe in Macon, GA.

The enlisted prisoners were divided into squads of 90 soldiers, 3 Messes of 30 each, with a Sergeant in charge of each mess.  The Sergeants were in charge of properly dividing the meager rations among the men as well as the general care of the prisoners.

 

ANDERSONVILLE, GA

Location of the Plymouth Pilgrims at Andersonville

When they entered the stockade, it is obvious that they made a big impression. John McElroy describes them in his book Andersonville: A story of Rebel Prisons, pg. 168: "They were attired in stylish new uniforms, with fancy hats and shoes; the Sergeants and Corporals wore patent leather or silk chevrons, and each man had a large well-filled knapsack, of the kind new recruits usually carried on coming first to the front, and which the older soldiers spoke of humorously as 'bureaus'. They were the snuggest, nattiest lot of soldiers we had ever seen, outside of the 'paper collar' fellows forming the headquarter guard of some General in a large City. As one of my companions surveyed them, he said: 'Hulloa! I'm blanked if the Jonnies haven't caught a regiment of Brigadier Generals, somewhere'." It's obvious that the Plymouth Pilgrims were a distinct group of soldiers, much different than the average soldier.

Many of the Plymouth Pilgrims, after re-enlisting, had received bounties. Also, shortly before they were captured, they were paid three months back pay. Because of their expected furloughs for re-enlisting, most of the Pilgrims held on to their money instead of sending it home. By some estimates, the Pilgrims brought half a million dollars or more into Andersonville. Prior to the Pilgrims, most of the prisoners had been transferred there from other prisoners, mainly from Richmond, and had little in the way of currency or personal belongings. The Raiders had also been active in stealing whatever belongings that were of any value. There was little hope for the common prisoner.

When the Pilgrims arrived with their knapsacks full of belongings and their pockets full of greenbacks, it completely changed the atmosphere within the stockade. Now there was hope. Small business started up, such as barbers. Games of chance increased drastically. However, the Raiders now increased their vigilance in coming after the Pilgrims. They now attacked during the day instead of under the cover of darkness.

The Pilgrims stayed at Andersonville throughout the summer months, and were there to witness the trial and hanging of the six Raider ring-leaders. In fact, Private Patrick Bradley of Co. H, 2nd MA Heavy Artillery, served as the prosecuting attorney against the Raiders.

Much has been written about the treatment and rations received by the prisoners. One of the most detrimental rations was the corn meal that was issued. In order to make the rations go further, the cob was ground along with the corn. The ground cobs were hard on the digestion and no doubt caused many of the intestinal issues. There was a lack of clean water as the small stream that ran through the stockade was used for human waste, bathing and drinking water. Their shelter, or lack thereof, had its own effects upon their health.

During Sherman's advances in and around Atlanta, it was feared by the Confederates that Sherman would liberate the prisoners, so it was decided to move the prisoners to better locations. Towards the end of August and the first of September 1864, thousands of prisoners were transferred to Charleston, SC & Savannah, GA. These prisoners, however, only included the soldiers who were able to walk with or without the use of a cane. Those that couldn't, were left behind. The prisoners were told that they were being transferred to the coast for parole. This, of course, was simply done to keep the prisoners from trying to escape. The last, and smaller group of transferred prisoners went directly to Florence, SC.

Location of the Plymouth Pilgrims at Andersonville

"Andersonville Memories" by George Hollands, 101st PA.

"Providence Spring" by Samuel W. Porter, 101st PA.

 

 

Charleston, SC City Jail as seen today.

Charleston was basically a holding area until a stockade could finish being built at Florence, SC. While in Charleston, the prisoners were held at the Charleston Race Course, the City Jailyard and the Workhouse. Those that died while in Charleston were buried in either the Charleston Race Course Cemetery or Potter's Field. After the war, the soldiers buried in these two cemeteries were reinterred to the Beaufort National Cemetery, Beaufort, SC.

Towards the middle of September 1864, prisoners began to be transferred to the new Florence Stockade located in Florence, SC.

During the first part of December, there was a special parole for the 10,000 sickest & wounded prisoners throughout all of the prisons. Prisoners at Florence were sent to Charleston for parole. The other prisoners would remain at Florence until February of 1865 when the stockade was finally closed. Those that were sick or wounded were sent to N. E. Ferry, Wilmington, NC for parole and the others were sent to Goldsboro, NC.

Not all of the Plymouth Pilgrims went to Florence, especially those that were taken to Savannah from Andersonville. With Sherman's "March to the Sea" which headed to Savannah from Atlanta, the prisoners had to be moved. They were sent to Camp Lawton in Millen, GA, Blackshear, Thomasville and then finally back to Andersonville arriving there Christmas Day 1864. These soldiers who spent their final days of captivity in Andersonville, would later be paroled at Jacksonville, FL & Vicksburg, MS. These were the prisoners who were involved with the Sultana Disaster.

Most, if not all of the paroled soldiers ended up at Camp Parole, Annapolis, Maryland before being sent home on furloughs; many being returned to active duty after their furloughs.

 

Further Research About Enlisted Plymouth Pilgrim POWs