It was hinged on two massive tree trucks. There were two guard towers to each side of the gate. They were manned with six men and one cannon per tower. The gate began to open as at least ten men per door struggled to force them open.
"Welcome to Hell!" one of the tower guards yelled.
Our conquerors hastened our pace to insure we were in the gate before anyone tried to leave the encampment. The closer I got to the gate, the stronger the odor grew. There must have been a dead cow inside. To my surprise it was not a dead cow but dead and dying bodies. There are no words to describe the vial picture before my eyes. The camp was a sea of humanity. The union soldiers were in varied states of clothing. Most wore just tattered pants. Those with no shirts were so thin from malnourishment they appeared as walking skeletons. The quarters were little more then scraps of cloth strung together to form tents. There was a creek flowing through the center of the camp. The camp inhabitants had dammed the creek to allow a pool to form. I watched to see men bathing in the pool, drinking from the pool, and defecating in the pool. I stood in utter disbelief. As I looked to my left; there was a pile of dead bodies riddled with flies, rodents and vultures. If I had consumed my daily ration, I surely would have seen it again. .
My amazement quickly turned to pain as the stock end of a rifle impaled in my kidneys. "Move on, you mule.".
We were huddled in mass against one of the massive walls. A smaller group of prisoners entered the camp from the only other gate on the north wall. We were waiting to be processed. .
"It took me two days!" yelled one of the boys in the bull pit.
The line slowly began to move. We were waiting to see the sawbones. He was going to determine if we had any disease like the Quick Step or untreatable wounds. The sawbones was cutting arms and legs instead of treating the wound. The rear of his shed was littered with rotting limbs.
