July 28—We were treated very good on the road, and especially at Goshen, N. Y. The ladies gave us eatables and the men gave us tobacco.
Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier By Louis Léon [53d North Carolina Regiment, infantry]
July 27—We see the Jersey shore this morning. Our vessel was racing with another. We had too much steam up; the consequence was a fire on board, but we soon had it out. We landed at Jersey City at 12 M., and were immediately put in cars, and the officer that promised to send me to my parents refused to do so. We left here at 1, got to Elmira at 8 in the evening.
July 26—To-day on the ocean a great many of our boys were seasick, but not I. I was promised a guard to take me to see my parents in New York for thirty minutes.
July 25—Left Point Lookout at 8 o’clock this evening in the frigate Victor for New York. There are 700 prisoners on board.
July 23—Three hundred more were sent from here to the new prison, which is in Elmira, N. Y., myself with them.
July 8—Engle, Riter and myself received boxes from New York to-day, but as Riter has gone to the other prison with the 400 we have made away with his box.
July 4—Four hundred prisoners left here for some other prison, as there were too many here.
June 27—Received money to-day from home, but they gave me sutler’s checks for it, as we were not allowed any money, for fear we would bribe the sentinels and make our escape.
June 12—To-day, as the negro guard was relieved, two of them commenced playing with their guns and bayonets, sticking at one another. Fortunately one of their guns, by accident, went off and made a hole in the other one’s body, which killed him instantly. The other one kicked at him several times, telling him to get up as the rebels were laughing at him, but in a very short time he found out that he had killed his comrade and that we were laughing sure enough.
June 11—Five hundred more prisoners came in today.
