Union prisoners. Went over one which
contained 7000. It was built of pine
logs, a foot thick, & 20 ft high, with sentry
boxes on top at intervals of 50 paces.
It was in the form of a square, of 4 - to 500
paces a side, with a little brook running
through the middle. An fort on a hill
by the sidecom within grape shot range
commanded the whole enclosure, and
in case of any attempted escape, as at
Saulsbury, N.C., would have opened in–
discriminately on the whole interior.
By a ladder we got over the Stockade
and descended into theoutside inside. At a
distance of 20 to 30 ft from the logs &
running all the way round was the
Dead Line, a slight hand rail. The
sentries had orders to shoot any man
crossing or touching this & new inmates
were left to find this out by their own
experience. Capt Parker, who had been
at Belle Isle, explained this and other
matters to us. The space inside was
filled with huts of every size & description,
made chiefly of sods & earth & generally
partly underground, just like a very poor
pig stye. The prisoners had all been
removed a few days before & we found