afterward destroyed the
Housatonic, but the boat and crew were never seen afterward. In all
probability they blew themselves up at the same time.

General Beauregard retained all officers captured by his troops in case
he should need them as hostages. Consequently, Columbia, S. C, was to be
our place of abode, instead of Libby Prison at Richmond, where the
officers were generally confined. While in the Charleston jail we heard
from our friends quite frequently. Gilmore's guns would send shells into
the city. They sounded like a heavy wagon-wheel going over a rough
pavement. Next would be a heavy thud, and, in a few seconds more, a
terrible explosion. At first, percussion shells were used, but quite a
large percentage of them would turn in their flight through the air, and
as they would not strike fuse first, no explosion would take place. A
lot of men were always watching for such shells to strike. With shovels
and pickaxes they would dig them out of the ground. The rebel ordnance
department paid one hundred dollars in Confederate currency for every
unexploded shell delivered. The next move was for the Yankees to change
from percussion to time fuses. The first shell did not explode on
striking, so a crowd, as usual, started to unearth it. Quite a number of
spectators were watching the fun. Suddenly the operations were
suspended. The time fuse exploded the shell, killing several persons and
wounding a number more. Of course the Yankees were loudly cursed for
playing such a mean trick, but the ordnance department got no more of
our shells. The second day after our arrival a shell passed over the
jail and landed in a frame building only a block distant. When it
exploded, timbers and boards flew in all directions. We could see the
dust and splinters in the air quite plainly from our window. Somehow, I
felt pleased whenever one of those missiles came along, although we were
liable to be killed at any time by one of them.

Much to my surprise, a single mattress and blanket were sent up to me by
some of my former acquaintances. I considered it only proper that such
good fortune should be shared with Arrants and the paymaster, so we used
the mattress for a pillow, and, by sleeping "spoon fashion," we made the
blanket cover us all. I may state now that it was the only time that we
had a blanket during our entire imprisonment. In all of that part of the
building there was no furniture of any description. We had to utilize
the f