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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC04573.13 |
| From Archive Folder | Collection of John William Flinn, 17th Mississippi |
| Title | A Southern Soldier's Experiences in a Northern Prison |
| Date | November 1893 |
| Author | Flinn, John William (fl. 1863) |
| Document Type | Miscellany |
| Content Description | Originally written for the students of a "lady cousin" who was concerned her pupils were being misinformed about the "kind treatment of Southern Soldiers in Northern prisons." Flinn later presented the address at "S. C. College Nov. 1893." He begins by providing a brief history of his military service and then launches into an in-depth description of his sufferings as a prisoner at Point Lookout, Maryland from July 1864 to March 1865. The manuscript contains a two-page description of the camp's physical layout. Flinn emphasizes the inadequate clothing, foul water, bitter cold, and ravenous hunger which claimed many lives at the camp. He also discusses various ways by which prisoners could obtain "sutler's checks" to purchase, at exorbitant prices, food, clothing, or writing supplies from a local sutler. He concludes with the brutal "murders" of two inmates by black guards. (Flinn does not mention prisoners being issued clothing permits to receive clothing from home as in letter .07.) |
| Subjects | Civil War Military History Confederate States of America Prisoner of War Prison Camp Union Forces Education Women's History Clothing and Accessories Diet and Nutrition Sutler Finance Death Crime African American History African American Troops |
| People | Flinn, John William (fl. 1863-1893) |
| Theme | The American Civil War; African Americans; Education; Women in American History |
| Sub-collection | The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1860-1945 |
| Additional Information | John William Flinn was a member of the 17th Mississippi Infantry in Barksdale's (Humphrey's) Brigade, McLaw's (Kershaw's) Division. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |
| Civil War: Unit | 17th Mississippi Infantry in Barksdale's (Humphrey's) Brigade, McLaw's (Kershaw's) Division |