| My Dear Sir:
In reply, I would say that you have a valuable, interesting and authentic record of Liggon & Co's Tobacco Warehouse Prison, known as 'Rockett's No.1'. It is a gross historical inaccuracy to call this 'Libby Prison', and ought not to be perpetuated, as at this time (1861-62) no such prison was in existence. I was not a prisoner in 'Libby' for this reason. It has become a common error in speaking of prisoners of war, who were confined in Richmond at that time, to say that they were in 'Libby Prison', but such is not the case. The Union prisoners of war, captured at the first battle of Bull Run, Ball's Bluff, and scattering raids during the summer and fall of 1861, were confined in the tobacco warehouse of Liggon & Co., which was located on the bank of the James river, corner of Main and 25th streets. Your book is a record of this prison. It is the original and is correct. During the fall and winter , 1861-62 some of the prisoners were transferred to Salisbury, New Orleans, and Tuscaloosa. On February 19th, 1862, about three hundred and fifty officers, non-commissioned officers and privates were exchanged. This about the same number in prison, and on February 21st these were sent to Newport and delivered to the United States Government, on parole. When we left Richmond on that date there were left no prisoners of war in Richmond except three who were unable to be moved. This ended Rockett's or Liggon's Prison. In the summer of 1862, the Libby property was taken and the famous or infamous 'Libby Prison' came into existence. My signature in the old record is correct, as I remember having signed such a record, which was then in the hands of Lieutenant J.T.W. Hairston, at that time in charge of the prisons. He succeeded one Captain Gibbs. He (Hairston) was a gentleman, and treated all the officers in confinement as gentlemen. I never heard him say an unkind word to any officer, or knew him to commit an ungentlemanly act. The officers were confined on the lower floor, the two upper floors were used for the non-commissioned officers and privates. So far as treatment was concerned in the prison, the officers certainly had no cause to complain, especially in comparison with the subsequent treatment of prisoners. We were allowed our separate mess tables, and a private was detailed to cook for each mess. The fifteenth mess consisted of seven commissioned officers captured at Ball's Bluff, viz: Captain George W. Rockwood of Company A, now living at Marlboro, Massachusetts; Captain Symonds of Company B, afterwards killed; Captain Henry Bowman of Company C, now in Colorado: Captain J.M. Studley of Company D, afterwards Lieutenant-Colonel of Fifty-First Regiment, now in Providence, Rhode Island; Lieutenant J. Evarts Greene of Company F, now editor of the Worcester (Massachusetts) Spy; Lieutenant I. Harris Hooper of Boston, since dead, and myself. Our regiment was paid off a few days before the battle, and we all had money, as did many of the non-commissioned officers and privates. It was not taken from us. We were furnished with fair rations by the enemy, and were allowed to purchase such supplies as we desired when we didn't whistle 'Yankee Doodle', or sing the 'Star Spangled Banner'. Then our out-door supplies were shut off for a few days. Of course, we were not happy and suffered a great deal. But the most unpleasant sight I ever saw in the officers quarters was that of two hundred officers sitting on their cots picking off lice; but even this looks comical when seen through the mists of a quarter of a century. This gave us our prison motto, "Bite and be damned." Do not call your book a record of Libby Prison, it is not just to history, it is not just to the starved and murdered heroes who suffered and died there. The treatment which we received there, as compared to subsequent horrors of Libby, Belle Isle, and Andersonville, bears about the same relation to them as purgatory does to hell, in the once popular theology. One word concerning our prison song. it was sung almost every evening and every time some new verse was added, until it exceeded in length 'John Brown's Body'. The first added verse came in after the one referring to Congressman Ely, and reads: Chaplain Mine's turn will be next, Yours very truly |