Surgeon Nelson D. Ferguson, sworn and examined:—
Surgeon 8th New York Cavalry; residence, Jefferson county, N. Y.; captured 12th May, 1863; taken to Libby Prison same day remained there twelve days; found Union officers there; my treatment same as officers received; daily rations, when first entered, were four inches by four inches by two of unbolted bread, which was coarse and sour about half the time; a ration of beans, worm-eaten, once a day; about seven quarts to fifty-three or fifty-four men, or a gill to each man was served; no other food was furnished by the Confederates; what other they had was bought with their own money.
(The ration of light bread of a common soldier in the United States Army is twenty-two ounces, and twelve ounces of pork or twenty of beef; besides that, our soldiers have thirty pound of potatoes for one hundred rations, or nearly a third of a pound per day to each man, besides coffee and sugar, &c., &c.)
The food furnished us was insufficient for healthful support of life.
When I reached the Libby Prison there were say twenty-five Union officers, no more, in the prison, recently captured; all the former occupants had been removed, as I am informed (and believe) by the rebels, to the number of seven hundred or over; when I left the prison on the 28th, there were sixty-nine Union officers there.
I spent four days in Hospital No. 21, where wounded Union prisoners (very few sick) were under treatment; I was there partly as a visitor, and also did partial duty as a surgeon in the ward; I was too ill to do full duty ; I had better rations in the hospital than in prison, for I had rye coffee and a little meat, say two ounces daily, very poor bacon; the wounded men had the same ration of bread, no beans, two ounces of meat, rye coffee, occasionally a little sugar, and one gallon milk and one gallon whiskey, divided among two hundred and sixty men, or about a tablespoonful of whiskey and milk per man; they had no other nutriment or stimulation.
I consider the nourishment and stimulation they received entirely insufficient to give them a proper chance for recovery. I am surprised that more do not die. There were many bad cases among them that must inevitably sink under this treatment after a few days, and therefore I cannot state the true proportion of deaths. The condition of these men was such that any medical observer would impute it to insufficient stimulation and nutrition. The condition of the wounds generally was very unhealthy, not tending to heal, pale and flabby, and the tissues lax — just such a condition as we expect to see where the patient is improperly nourished by deficient nutrition. These wounded have all been brought there since the battle of Spottsylvania Court House.
When I was captured, I was brought into a rebel fort. It was raining. I had on a rubber blanket; the blanket was taken from my shoulders by a lieutenant, by the authority and consent of the commanding officer. I remonstrated against his taking my private property, and appealed to the commanding officer for protection, and to protect my rights. He replied, "Damn you, you have no rights." It was not possible for him to have been ignorant of the fact that I was a medical officer. Some two or three hours afterwards, when I was about to leave the fort for Libby Prison, the lieutenant remarked to me, "I hope I have treated you kindly.” I replied, “I have always treated your men and officers with kindness and consideration, but you have treated me harshly." I don't think he made any reply. The Provost-Marshal took away my sabre. I told him it; was my private property, and that he ought not to take it away, and his answer was, "It don’t make any difference, I-have a friend to whom I intend to give it.”
I have had wounded rebels under my hand for treatment on various occasions. The course I have always adopted is, to take care of my own men first, then the rebels, giving them equal care and attention of every kind. I have taken my own private rations and given them repeatedly to wounded rebels. All other medical officers of our army have done likewise, as far as my observation has extended.
I have been in the service two years and eight months and I have been in all the cavalry fights of the Army of the Potomac since I entered the service.
The buildings in Richmond occupied for hospital purposes are well suited for such purposes, being large, convenient, and well ventilated. The wards are well supplied with water, and tolerably cleanly. The prison (Libby) had just been thoroughly cleaned and was well white-washed. In the prison, we had one blanket as bed, and one as cover.
No one can appreciate, without experience, the condition of the officers in the prison during the twelve days of my stay. Their faces were pinched with hunger. I have seen an officer, standing by the window, gnawing a hone like a dog. I asked him “what do you do it for?” His reply was, “It will help fill up.” They were constantly complaining of hunger. There was a sad and insatiable expression of the face impossible to describe.
The bedding in Hospital No. 21, where the privates were confined by wounds, was very dirty. The covering was entirely old dirty quilts. The beds were offensive from the discharges from wounds and secretion of the body, and were utterly unfit to place a sick or wounded man on. On the faces of the wounded, there was an anxious, haggard expression of countenance, such as I have never seen before. I attribute it to want of care, want of nourishment and encouragement. There is a deficiency of medical supplies, such as bandages, lint, sticking-plaster, and medicines generally in this hospital, whether from actual want of these articles, or from unwillingness to supply them, I do not know.
N. D. FURGUSON,
Surgeon 8th N. Y. Cavalry.
Sworn and subscribed before me, at
Washington D. C., this 3d day of
June, A. D. 1864.
M. H. KENDIG,
Notary Public.
Testimony taken at Washington, D. D., June 2d, 1864
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Mr. Wilkins, Dr. Wallace, Mr. Walden