"Rebel Prisoners - The first assortment of rebel prisoners captured at Ft.Donelson,passed thru,en route for Indianapolis,on Sat.morning,at a little after 8 oclock.They were mostly of the 4th.Mississippi Regiment,and numbered twelve hundred,occupying a train of twenty-two cars. Guarded by fifty-three men Co.A,20th Ohio.
The prosoners were a hard looking set of men and boys,the large majority being quite young.Very few were uniformed,most dressed in home-made jeans of all colors,with hats and caps of all styles,from seedy beavers to the most dilapidated slouches ever dignifyied with the name of style.
Some few were rampant with secession.They had been in service six months and never received a cent of pay.They said further that they had been deceived,having been taught that they were to fight agaunst the Dutch and free negroes - that the north were coming down to steal their n----rs.
We asked several if they had any n----rs? They answered no,but some of their friends had.They had also been led to believe that the Northerners were a set of gorillas and monkeys,and that one Southerner could whip ten Yankees. They had among them a considerable amount of Confederate Script,in denominations of ten,twenty five,fifty cents and one dollar,most of which was bought up at rates ranging from fifty per cent to par,by the crowd as curiosities.
A second train from Cairo via Mattoon(?) under charge of eighty seven men of 51st Illinois passed thru about noon with 969 prisoners. The rebels consisted in part of the 4th Kentucky considered the most respectable of the kentucky forces.
......(goes on to describe 7 trainloads passing thru to Indy etc.)
" Another train from St.Louis will complete the lot destined for Indiana.These we are informed,will be quartered in part in this city,and part at Ft.Wayne. One of our most prominent citizen has been informed by Gov.Morton to make arrangements for providing for some eight hundred in this city.These will probably arrive this evening.
Many of the prisoners were quite vociferous in such expressions as ,"Old Abe's War," "Abolition war","Black Republican war," etc...and some of the officers,who were generally full of secession feeling,were loud in their denunciation of Lincoln for having trampled the Constitution.
The whole number of prisoners sent to Indiana will exceed six thousand."
A few excerpts from the Indianapolis Daily Journal:
Feb,25..."Among the prisoners who arrived on sunday and yesterday Lt Col.JJ.Odell of the 26th.Tennessee."
Mar.31..."The following deaths have occured among the rebel prisoners since our last report,twenty five having died since saturday last.
Mar.22...Jackson McNabb Co.C, 26th Tenn.
Mar.24...JW Holloway Co.E ,26th Tenn.
Is interesting your ancestor was early in Roane Co.,Tennessee.So were my paternal line. You may recollect that south of the Tennessee River was Cherokee country until 1836 or so.Have most of the Roane County books if you would like me to look for him.
MWT