Diary of Private Louis Leon: June 11, 1864

Five hundred more prisoners came in today.

SOURCE: Louis Leon, Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier, p. 65-6

Diary of Private Louis Leon: June 12, 1864

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.

SOURCE: Louis Leon, Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier, p. 66

Diary of Private Louis Leon: June 27, 1864

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.

SOURCE: Louis Leon, Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier, p. 66

Diary of Private Louis Leon: July 4, 1864

Four hundred prisoners left here for some other prison, as there were too many here.

SOURCE: Louis Leon, Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier, p. 66

Diary of Private Louis Leon: July 8, 1864

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.

SOURCE: Louis Leon, Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier, p. 66

Diary of Private Louis Leon: July 28, 1864

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.

SOURCE: Louis Leon, Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier, p. 67

Diary of Private Louis Leon: July 29, 1864

There are at present some 3,000 prisoners here. I like this place better than Point Lookout. We are fenced in by a high fence, in, I judge, a 200 acre lot. There is an observatory outside, and some Yankee is making money, as he charges ten cents for every one that wishes to see the rebels.

SOURCE: Louis Leon, Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier, p. 67

Diary of Private Louis Leon: August 1864

Nothing worth recording this month, except that the fare is the same as at Point Lookout.

SOURCE: Louis Leon, Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier, p. 67

Diary of Private Louis Leon: September 1864

It is very cold, worse than I have seen it in the South in the dead of winter.

SOURCE: Louis Leon, Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier, p. 67

Diary of Private Louis Leon: October 1864

We have got the smallpox in prison, and from six to twelve are taken out dead daily. We can buy from prisoners rats, 25 cents each, killed and dressed. Quite a number of our boys have gone into the rat business. On the 11th of this month there were 800 sick prisoners sent South on parole.

SOURCE: Louis Leon, Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier, p. 68

Diary of Private Louis Leon: November & December 1864

Nothing, only bitter cold. We dance every night at some of our [quarters]. Some of the men put a white handkerchief around one of their arms, and these act as the ladies. We have a jolly good time.

SOURCE: Louis Leon, Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier, p. 68

Diary of Private Louis Leon: May 16, 1864

Left this morning at 11 in a tugboat, and from here packed into the Steamer S. R. Spaulding. We are now on our way to a regular prison. We got there at 8 o'clock to-night, and found it to be Point Lookout, Md., fifty miles from Belle Plain. It is in St. Mary's County. We were drawn up in line, searched for valuables, and they taken from us, and marched to prison, one mile from the landing. There are sixteen men in each tent.

SOURCE: Louis Leon, Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier, p. 63

Diary of Private Louis Leon: May 17, 1864

Saw Mack Sample, Will Stone and several of our company to-day that have been prisoners since the battle of Gettysburg. We get two meals a day.

SOURCE: Louis Leon, Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier, p. 63

Diary of Private Louis Leon: May 18, 1864

We are divided in divisions and companies. There is a thousand in each division and one hundred in each company. A sergeant commands each company. We get light bread one day and crackers the other.

SOURCE: Louis Leon, Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier, p. 63

Diary of Private Louis Leon: May 23, 1864

We are guarded by negro troops, who are as mean as hell. At each meal there is a guard placed over 500 prisoners, who go to their meals in ranks of four. We are not allowed to cross a certain line, called the "Dead Line," but as 500 men go at one time to meals, of course near the door there is always a rush. To-day one of our men accidentally crossed the line. He was pushed over by the crowd, when a black devil shot and killed him, and wounded two others.

SOURCE: Louis Leon, Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier, p. 64

Diary of Private Louis Leon: May 26, 1864

Received two letters to-day, one from home and one from my brother Pincus, who went to Washington on his way to visit Morris and myself, as he has to get a pass from headquarters before he can see us. He was refused and returned home. Our daily labor as prisoners is that at 5 in the morning we have roll call; 6, breakfast, 500 at a time, as one lot gets through another takes its place, until four lots have eaten; we then stroll about the prison until 1 o'clock, when we eat dinner in the same style as breakfast, then loaf about again until sundown. Roll is called again, thus ending the day. We get for breakfast five crackers with worms in them; as a substitute for butter, a small piece of pork, and a tin cup full of coffee; dinner, four of the above crackers, a quarter of a pound mule meat and a cup of bean soup, and every fourth day an eight-ounce loaf of white bread. Nothing more this month.

SOURCE: Louis Leon, Diary of a Tar Heel Confederate Soldier, p. 65