A rebel prison was but a name for the inhuman cruelties which were practised upon unhappy Union prisoners whose misfortune it was to be confined in them. In many instances death ended a captivity too horrible to be borne. To die suddenly upon the battle-field would be a blessing, compared to the agony of confinement in Libby Prison. Or if, by reason of unusual strength, some poor fellow lived to see the prison-doors swing open to him, it was too often to go forth with health and spirits broken, with the hopeless life of an invalid before him.

By this time money was getting very scarce in the South. She had no manufactories, and depended upon her foreign trade for arms and clothing: so, when the first fine new uniforms were rusty or worn out, she had no means to replace them. Then the women of the Confederate States came to the rescue. They dyed cloth, and made it into clothing, which, from its color, gave the soldiers the nickname of "Butternuts."

By the end of the first year many of the men in the ranks were barefoot. Privations of all kinds were shared by all classes of Southern people. Delicate women, who had been reared in luxury and ease, did not hesitate to soil their soft fair hands in coarse labor for the sake of the Confederacy. They gladly sold their jewelry, clothing, bedding, books, any thing that would bring a price, to buy comforts for their beloved soldiers. Indeed, the Southern women were quite as true to their cause, and as determined to win it, as were the

men.

The Confederate money was so much below par, that is, worth less than one hundred cents on the dollar, that the cost of every thing became very high. A pair of boots cost twenty-five dollars. Coffee was three dollars, and tea five dollars, per pound; paper was twenty-five dollars per ream. Salt, which is so absolutely necessary to make one's food

palatable, could scarcely be bought at any price. We, who saw the war at a distance, can hardly form an idea of the hardships suffered by the people into whose country it was carried.

After the first gush of patriotic feeling at the North, Southern sympathizers began to spring up. There were several reasons for this. Many had within the limits of the Confederate States dear friends, who were in danger. Another reason, quite as powerful perhaps, was, that pet speculations in cotton, sugar, or tobacco, were going to fail if the war continued. Still again: the North had not been very successful, so far, in putting down the Rebellion; and the South might yet succeed if it could be encouraged. So every possible means was employed by these sympathizers to assist the rebels. Women, even, would manage to get through the lines to carry aid and comfort to the Confederates. At Fortress Monroe so much annoyance was caused by this, that no one was allowed to go South without a passport; but even then some contrived to escape detection. One Northern woman, whose story was that she had a sick relative in the rebel country and wished to visit him, was conspicuous for the number of buttons with which her dress was trimmed. There were rows of big buttons and rows of little ones; buttons on her sleeves and buttons on her skirt; buttons to the right of her and buttons to the left of her. At last the curiosity of some one being excited, questions were asked; and the woman confided the fact to another woman, who told, that these buttons were all money, - eagles, halfeagles, quarter-eagles, and dollars, in gold, which she was sent to carry to the rebels.

Another woman was arrested upon suspicion. Upon examination, it was discovered that she wore a quilted petticoat filled with pounds and pounds of sewing-silk in skeins, instead of cotton. It was so heavy, that it had to be supported

by straps over her shoulders. This also was, of course, intended for the use of the Confederacy. A farmer's wagon on its way to market was overhauled. Among the vegetables was found a squash of suspiciously light weight. Upon opening it, a package of letters was found to occupy the place which Nature had intended for the seeds.

A host of such tricks to carry aid to the blockaded South were constantly coming to the light. They proved that the Southern sympathizers, especially the women, were working as patiently as beavers, and as quietly as mice. But

"The best-laid plans o' mice and men

CHAPTER X.

OLD MEN FOR COUNCIL, YOUNG MEN FOR WAR.

T the time of his appointment to his new office, McClellan was the most successful general who had yet taken any part in the war.

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Things were going like a sled over bare ground, in the Army of the Potomac, when General McClellan was called to be its leader. The three-months" men were impatient to go home. The new troops, enlisted at the second call, were raw; and every thing was in a state of confusion. The battle of Bull Run had discouraged many of the Northern people. The rebels were so jubilant, and sure of success, that their very confidence had the effect to make them stronger.

General McDowell was blamed most unjustly for the national defeat at Bull Run. It therefore seemed necessary to change commanders, in order to produce at the North a feeling of confidence, and to rouse enthusiasm.

The first thing that General McClellan did, was to make the soldiers his friends. He used to talk to them in this way: "Soldiers, we have had our last retreat. We have seen our last defeat. You stand by me, and I will stand by you, and victory shall be ours!" They liked the ring of this. It was not long before the new commander was on the best of terms with his army, who called him their "Young Napoleon." He made many reforms in the habits of the men. Among other things, he wished them to "remember the sab

bath day to keep it holy," which seems to have been quite forgotten. General McClellan knew that a good man will do any thing better than a bad man; and so he tried first to train his army to do its duty from a desire to do right. His own moral character was above reproach. He insisted upon the most rigid obedience to orders. Dismissing such officers as he thought incompetent, he undertook to "re-organize," or to make over his army, to suit his own ideas. No money was spared to make the Army of the Potomac perfect in every detail. General McDowell said of it, "There never was an army in the world supplied as well as ours. I believe that a French army half its size could live on what we waste." It is true that a great deal of time and money was spent in getting ready for action; but, as everybody trusted the earnest young commander, nobody found fault. And, indeed, no one could do so rightly. It takes time to drill so large a body of raw troops, and to teach them the art of war.

Besides the thirty-two forts already defending Washington, sixteen more were built and armed in the short space of six weeks. Surrounded by forts as it was, and full of soldiers as a hive is full of bees, the city of Washington was almost blockaded. The rebels had built forts and planted their flags within a day's march of the city. Nearly all the provision had to be brought by water, and rebel batteries were so placed along the Potomac as to command the boats that carried supplies. One of these batteries, at the mouth of Aquia Creek, was bombarded for several hours by the frigate Pawnee and some gunboats; but they failed to silence it.

Agents had already been sent to Europe to buy arms and ammunition for immediate need; and in a short time our own armories were able to manufacture all that were wanted.

In September General McClellan ordered a review of the forces on the north side of the Potomac. It was a fine sight to see seventy thousand well-drilled, well-uniformed soldiers