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Imprisoned in Andersonville, Ga., Paroled in Vicksburg, killed in the explosion of the Steamer "Sultana"on his way home: Lette...
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Imprisoned in Andersonville, Ga., Paroled in Vicksburg, killed in the explosion of the Steamer "Sultana"on his way home: Letter written by Capt. Deming N. Lowry, 115th Ohio Infantry. He writes to his Colonel before boarding the Steamer: "We have all we want to eat, which was not the case while in Hell (Andersonville)."A 2 page letter headed, "Camp Fisk Vicksburg, Miss. March 30/65". Capt. Deming is writing to his Colonel Thomas C. Boone to let him know the status of 4 of his Officers (Capt. Lewis F. Hake, Lt. John Eadie, Lt. Jacob N. Shaffer and himself). The 115th Ohio Infantry had been guarding the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad from Confederate Guerillas. Confederate General Joe Wheeler attacked and captured nearly 200 members of the regiment at LaVergne, Tennessee on December 5th, 1864. They were confined in various prisons, ending up in Andersonville, Ga. Near the middle of March 1865, with the Confederacy crumbling around them, prisoners were finally removed to exchange camps. Capt. Lowry and his 3 comrades were sent to Camp Fisk, an exchange camp in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Reads in full:
"Camp Fisk Vicksburg, Miss.
March 30 /65
Dear Col.
Capt. Hake, Lieut. Eadie, Lieut. Shafer, and myself, with a few of our men are safe in this camp. A few of our men are sick. We have all we want to eat, which was not the case while in Hell (called by some Andersonville). I am in hopes the time is not far off that will bring us face to face, and then I have many things to tell you.
Please write me soon. Remember me to all of our men & officers.
There is about thirty six hundred of our men in this camp, waiting for exchange. Many of the men that have been in prison for a long time are used up for life.
Lieut. Eadie joins with me in sending his regards to you.
Very Respectfully
Your Obedient Servant
D. N. Lowry, Capt.
Col. Boone 115th Regiment OVI"
Lowry and his comrades were finally loaded on the sidewheel steamboat "Sultana" on April 24th, 1865. This ship was legally registered to carry 376 people. Paroled prisoners desperately attempting to head north packed the ship to a total of 2,100. At 2 o'clock in the morning on April 27th, 1865, 7 miles north of Memphis on the Mississippi River, the boilers of the Sultana suddenly exploded, where 1,700 people died making it the worst marine disaster in U.S. history. Hake and Shaffer survived the explosion. Sadly Eadie and our letter writer, Capt. Lowry, were killed. An ironic tragedy that these men had survived the hell of Andersonville, only to be killed on their way home. In fine condition with some light staining. A rare letter. From the Calvin Packard Civil War Battlefield Letter Collection.
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