the utter hopelessness of further resistance earlier than I did, and accepted the dreaded but inevitable situation sooner. The faithfu forty have at last most reluctantly come to the sad and painful conclusion that further resistance is useless, and will no longer refuse the oath if offered.
June 6th to 12th—Captain Waldhauer, of Georgia Hussars, from Savannah, Georgia, a small, quiet, gentlemanly officer, who had lost his right arm in battle, but on recovery, returned to the command of his company, and was captured while bravely fighting below Petersburg, has been released. He sent me from Philadelphia a large blank book, of which I propose to make a prison Album. Several of my friends have contributed articles, at my request, writing brief biographical sketches of themselves, giving their war histories, the battles in which they have been engaged, circumstances of their capture, prison life, etc. Articles which I value very highly have been written by Captain J. W. Fannin, Sixty-first Alabama; Lieutenant W. S. Bird, Eleventh Alabama; Captain T. W. Harris, Twelfth Georgia regiment; Lieutenant G. R. Waldman, Forty-fourth Virginia; Captain J. Whann McSherry, Thirty-sixth Virginia; Captain W. A. McBryde, Third Alabama; Lieutenat H. C. Pool, Tenth North Carolina troops; Lieutenant James K. Kinman, Twelfth Georgia battalion infantry; Lieutenant A. H. Mansfield, Eighth North Carolina; Lieutenant W. A. Scott, Twelfth Georgia artillery; Captain A. E. Hewlett, Twelfth Alabama; Captain W. H. Harrison, Thirty-first Georgia, and Colonel J. W. Hinton, Sixty-eighth North Carolina.
June 13th to 15th—Miss Jamison has sent me a satchel, a citizen's coat and other articles, stating that they were presented by a beautiful Cuban girl, Miss Susie Matthews. I owe them both many thanks.[1] Transportation for all the crippled officers was obtained, and in company with Captain Russell and Captain Rankin, of Georgia, Adjutant Reagan, of Tennessee, and a large number of other wounded officers, I was escorted to the fort, where the oath was read to us, while we stood with our right hands raised aloft. I managed to drop to the rear and lowered my hand during its reading. Soon we took a boat for Philadelphia, and began to realize that the war was indeed over, and we on the way to our respective homes.
- ↑ I am happy to say that as soon as possible after my return home I took occasion to pay back all moneys received during my imprisonment to Mr. J. M. Coulter, Miss E. Jamison and Mrs. M. J. Sullivan, of Baltimore, and Miss A. L. McSherry, of Martinsburg. They were true friends to me while "sick and in prison," and my gratitude to them for their disinterested kindness will end only with my life. May kind heaven prosper them.R. E. P.
