| Our Prisoners At Richmond
The friends of the missing members of the fifteenth regiment were rejoiced, Monday by receiving a large number of letters from Richmond, giving assurances of their safety. The letters were forwarded unsealed from fortress Monroe, whither they were brought under a flag of truce. The following is a copy of a letter received by Mayor Davis, the suggestions of which will commend themselves to the benevolent and patriotic people of Worcester County. Richmond, Va., Nov. 3, 1861 Hon. Isaac Davis: Dear Sir---At the suggestion of Col. Lee of the Massachusetts twentieth, we address you as the proper representative of our friends in Worcester County, as regards our several commands, now held with us as prisoners of war by the confederate states of America. Since our capture at the battle of Leesburg, October 21st, we have been in this city, where we have been kindly treated, furnished with enough to eat and that of good quality. Tomorrow (Monday) we of the fifteenth and twentieth Massachusetts are to be sent to Columbia , S. C. Taken as we were without any changes of clothing, of course we now feel the want thereof to a great extreme; and as our men are not supplied with money sufficient to procure that which they so much desire, we write you, believing that our wants will not go unnoticed. Col. Lee suggests that through J. Emory Davis, of Boston, you might receive some information in relation to communicating with us. Very respectfully, Captain Studley also forwards to us the following list of prisoners from Co. D., till now the fate of some of whom have been in doubt:--- From another letter, written by a prisoner of the Fitchburg company we have the following list of prisoners from that company. The following is a complete list of the prisoners from Capt. Forehand’s (Grafton) command, having none unaccounted for. We have received no list of the prisoners belonging to the other companies, but learn from various letters received yesterday that the following persons are safe, in a Virginia tobacco warehouse:--Co. A. Corporal Chas. A. Lamb, Thomas B. Ross, Moses L. Nutting, George H. Watson, George Wood, Sumner M. Frost, Albert A. Pelton, Frank E. Hatch, Andrew A. Rugg, J. W. Kingsbury, [James or Joseph?]Johnson. Co. C. Henry Greenwood, Co. E. Thomas Conroy, Co. F. W. H. M. Brewer, Henry C. Albee, J. Nichols, Co. H. Benj. F. Underwood, John Herst. Co. I. Sergeant Benj. Taft, R S. Corbin, Co. K. P. Coyle, Henry Ford, M. McKensey. Henry Greenwood a printer who was employed as a composer in the Spy office until a few days before the regiment left, says in a letter dated in Richmond:--- “I drop you a few lines, to let you know that I have not gone under, nor run, but stood up to the last. We had a hard one of it, that day. I was in it from the beginning. There are 149 in this room, belonging to the Massachusetts Fifteenth and Twentieth and Tammany regiments, and Baker’s California regiment of Pennsylvania. If we had any means of retreat hey would not have got so many prisoners. We were cut off by the sinking of the boats. We are confined in a tobacco warehouse, 220 of us in one room, 8o feet by 40 with nothing but the soft side of a southern pine board to sleep on. W have two meals a day, consisting of bread and meat in the morning, and soft bread and soup in the evening. The vituals are of the very best quality. We have no blankets and as the weather here is nearly as cold as it is with you, we shall soon begin to suffer with cold. From our prison we can see a factory, which makes some of our boys think of old Massachusetts. We are treated with the greatest kindness by the officers of the confederate army, and everything is done for our comfort that can be conveniently done. I must not close without saying a word in favor of Sergeant Luther Goddard of Co. D. for the indefatigable manner in which he gets things for our comfort and convenience. he is the ‘sergeant of the floor’. I hope we shall be able to see you before long.” |