I will say in conclusion, my dear sister, that this unadorned outline was written and intended for your eyes alone, free from comment, for the memory of comrades gone is sacredly dear.
N. B.—Not being with General Morgan after the 19th of July, it would be impossible to relate his further adventures.
Completed December 23d, 1865, expressly for a Christmas Present.
We continue the story of K. F. Peddicord’s life from memoranda written by him at intervals, and think it proper to introduce some letters written by him while in prison after the Ohio raid.
After the capture the prisoners were taken by boats to Cincinnati, Ohio. While marching through the streets of the city en route to prison, guarded on all sides by policemen on foot, policemen mounted, and infantry, artillery and cavalry flankers, one of the boys quietly stepped out in the dense crowd. Having citizen’s dress he escaped notice, and to make matters more secure he walked forward and spoke to one of his company, with, “Hello, Jim! Where was you captured?” Jim understood the situation. The guard ordered, “Stand back there!” and their friend fell back into the multitude and proudly went to liberty again. On went the column to the Female Prison, where they were confined four days. The prisoners were then moved to Johnson’s Island, where they were kept eight days. Soon after this the field and staff officers (68) were put in the penitentiary at Columbus, Ohio, and the line officers (119) were taken to Allegheny City and put in the Western Penitentiary of Pennsylvania, where they remained eight months. The men were sent to Camp Douglas, Chicago, Illinois.
The next move in the spring of 1864 was to Point Lookout, Maryland, via Baltimore and Chesapeake Bay. One of the prisoners, Lawrence Peyton, was killed there in a most cowardly manner by Sergeant Young of the Sixth New Hampshire.
From Point Lookout the prisoners were taken by ocean steamer to Fort Delaware, located on Pea Patch Island in Delaware Bay, where they were confined until June, 1865. The following letters are of interest in this connection:
“Division 27, Officers’ Barracks, “Fort Delaware, Del., December 7, 1864.
“Again was I made glad, this evening, upon the receipt of your kind letter of the 1st. Having postponed several days in hopes of getting a letter before writing, at last I was successful, and the realization has made me again cheerful. For, to tell you the truth, I was quite sad. There is nothing so depressing to one’s spirits as the absence or non-arrival of letters from one’s friends, which you will please bear in mind.