shall
do all I can to send the remains of your son home, and if Captain
Church sends his brother, I will send your son with him. I send you a
lock of Johnny's hair, and some of the hair of Wm. Davis, which
please give to his wife.

Deeply sympathizing with you and your family I remain,

Your obedient servant,

A. COOPER,

1st Lieutenant, Commanding D Troop, 12th N. Y. Cavalry.

From Tarboro the 12th Cavalry were moved to Raleigh, N. C., where we made
up our returns and turned over our horses, and were then mustered out of
the service.

From Raleigh we made the march to Petersburgh, and from there to City
Point, where we took steamers for New York. We were sent to Hart's Island,
where we were paid off and were soon at home again.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

MORE ABOUT CHARLESTON--EXCHANGE ON THE BRAIN--MORE ABOUT MACON--CHARLESTON
JAIL YARD MORE FULLY DESCRIBED--THE OLD PRIVY--THE GALLOWS OR
GIBBET--TERRIBLE SUFFERING FOR WANT OF FOOD AND SHELTER--A FIRE AND HOW
GILLMAN HELPED IT ALONG.

We remained in Charleston thirteen days, viz., from September 13th until
the 26th, and it was thirteen days of intense suffering to many, and of
great discomfort to all.

This jail yard itself was filthy to a fearful degree, and was enough to
create an epidemic. An old privy occupied the south-west corner of the
ground, the vault of which overflowed into the yard and emitted an
effluvia that would be certain to create disease, even in an otherwise
healthy locality. We petitioned to have this nuisance abated, and after a
week or more, upon the recommendation of Dr. Todd, who was the attending
physician, and who tried to do all within his power to render our
situation more bearable, some men were sent in one night to tear down the
old privy and clean out the vault.

This took all night and most of the next day, and during that time,
Charleston jail yard was the most revolting place that civilized humanity
ever occupied and lived.

As I have said, there were only fifty "A" tents to accommodate six hundred
officers and, as not over two hundred and fifty could possibly be crowded
into these, there were three hundred and fifty officers without shelter of
any kind, and as the weather part of the time was rainy, the suffering
among those was fearful and a frightful mortality must have ensued, had we
been compelled to have remained there much longer. As it was, I have no
doubt that the germs o