Private ROBERT MORRISON, sworn and examined: —
I was enlisted from the northwest part of Ohio, in Pendleton, Putnam county, Riley township, in the 21st Ohio Volunteers; I was taken prisoner at Chattanooga, September 20th, 1863; I was removed to Richmond; was two or three days on our way; I was stout and healthy when I reached Richmond; I forget the name of the prison into which I was put — I remember, it was Pemberton I remained there about a month, was then removed to Danville, Virginia, remained there till I was brought here; was placed in buildings at Danville.
Our blankets were taken from us; our other clothing was left to us; had no overcoat; had no watch; we saved our money; I put it in the sole of my boot; they searched us for it; we had a stove— got wood once in a while; it was not very comfortable.
My health was first-rate before I entered the service; I was in the army about nineteen months before I was captured; had no bowel complaint or any other sickness while in our army; when I went into the army my weight was one hundred and twenty-five pounds.
I got a chunk of corn bread daily, the size of this Bible; it satisfied me and more too, because I couldn’t eat it; sometimes it was but about half baked; it was of a yellow color; it was of a musty taste; had a very small ration of meat about as large as three of my fingers in breadth, and about two inches in thickness.
I was about two months in prison before I took sick; my first sickness was fever and ague; I had not had it before for some years; I have a little bowel complaint now, it does not trouble me much; I had the lung fever afterwards. I got some eggs then; when I got so as to be up and around I was sent back to the prison; I then took the diarrhśa; that came on in about three weeks after my return to the prison; it reduced me down — was sent back to the hospital; got wheat bread then, an egg, small piece of meat, potatoes, salt meat, some soup not very good; there was rice in the soup; was in a bed when I had the lung fever; I could go into corn bread pretty fast at first; the meat was pretty good — fresh meat; I was there about six months; if the corn bread had been good, with the meat, it would have been plenty; had not been in the habit of eating corn bread; it was kind of musty. In the corn bread there were some grains of corn.
A hundred and fifty men in the room where I was. In a warm evening the room was very close; we had brooms to sweep the room; the privy was handy; the room we were in was about sixty by sixty feet; we had as much food as we wanted, such as it was.
There was about a foot between each man as we lay; we had a small yard we could walk around, about fifteen or sixteen feet wide, by one hundred and fifty feet long; I think it was the corn bread and fresh meat that gave me the bowel complaint; I was not used to the corn bread.
I am twenty-three years of age.
ROBERT MORRISON.
Sworn to and subscribed before me,
May 31st, 1864.
D. P. BROWN, JR.,
United States Commissioner.
Certification for statements taken May 31 and June 1, 1864 (There was only one certification in the document; however it is being included here on the web-page for each applicable statement - MpG ):
I certify that the foregoing testimony was taken and reduced to writing in the presence of the respective witnesses, and by them sworn to in my presence, at the times, places, and in the manner set forth.
D. P. BROWN, JR., United States Commissioner.
Evidence of Officers and Soldiers of the United States Army Returned after Confinement in Rebel Prisons.
Testimony taken at Annapolis, Maryland, at United Slates Army General Hospital, May 31, A.D. 1864.