Greetings Cosmic Americans!Those of you following along with the continuing sage of Confederate prisoner of war Henry A. Allen will know that he is about to be transferred from Fort Delaware to a new prison in South Carolina - Port Royal Harbor, to be precise. Allen anticipates a speedy exchange. You can guess from the unusual flourishes in his handwriting that he is happy about this prospect.
If this is news to you, check out Allen's letters to his wife HERE. I just posted one from August 1864. I don't want to give away too much - but I can tell you this. Allen's hopes will soon be dashed. His Union captors are about to use him and his fellow prisoners as human shields! War is indeed Hell .
Peace,
Keith
Impossible to imagine always being at the mercy of men who know you were trying to kill them or their brother soldiers.
ReplyDeleteMy g-g grandfather William Beynon Phillips was at Fort Delaware from September through November 1862 as a member of the 2nd.PA Heavy Artillery. He witnessed the arrival of Confederate prisoners from Antietam. His description of the prisoners along with other observations can be read in the four letters written from the fort. Just go to:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.griffingweb.com/1862.htm