Private George A. Hitchcock, Company A, 21st Massachusetts Infantry, Andersonville Prisoner of War. Ration bag and "last days ration" of grits from Florence, South Carolina prison.

7 1/2 x 5 3/4 in. black tarred ration bag (soiling to bag, some scattered holes, wear consistent with age and use). Accompanied by old ink tag reading, "Ration bag made in Andersonville Georgia in July 1864 from a piece of knapsack and the string from an old shoe, by G. A. Hitchcock. It held his day's ration of 'grits' and was carried through all his prison life."

[With:] Well-documented ration of grits carried home by Hitchcock, housed and sealed in a glass bottle, 8 1/2 in. ht. (wear consistent with age). Accompanied by browned ink tag affixed to bottle reading, "The last days ration of grits drawn in the Rebel prison at Florence S.C. by George A Hitchcock. Before he had time to cook it he was sent away for exchange. This is a fair sample of the quality and quantity of food which was the chief cause of the frightful mortality in Andersonville and other rebel prisons." Provenance: Bottle obtained 50 years ago by James C. Frasca.

Private Hitchcock was wounded and captured at Bethesda Church, Virginia on 2 June 1864. After spending 13 days confined at Pemberton Prison, he was sent to Andersonville, where he made the bag featured here in the month after his arrival. On 3 November 1864 he was transferred to Millen, Georgia until 27 November when he was sent to Florence, South Carolina. Hitchcock was finally exchanged in Charleston on 10 December 1864.

Further verification of the history of the items featured here came to light in 1997 when Hitchcock’s diary was edited and published under the title of From Ashby to Andersonville, a copy of which is included in this lot. Private Hitchcock was released from the confines of the Florence prison on 8 December 1864. He and the rest of the released prisoners waited under guard in an open field until they could be sent to Charleston, South Carolina for exchange. His diary entry for 8 December reads,

“...After this the gathering of feeble-bodied, feeble-minded fellows were turned out into a large, level field where we remain all day and night with only a few guards to watch us. A ration of meal (grits) and sweet potatoes was given to us, and I devoured the potatoes, leaving the meal for tomorrow.” The next day, December 9, Hitchcock writes, “The day opened cloudy and cold: a bleak wintry wind chilling us - bloodless creatures - to the bone. The small fires were not sufficient to keep us warm while the smoke from them filled and blinded our eyes. Our names were called and each man drew a loaf of bread. Soon after this, the sound of a whistle from the north started every man to his feet and away we all rushed for the cars.”

The condition of the camp fires and the issuance of wheat bread in close proximity to boarding the trains most certainly prevented the cooking of grits. The men arrived in Charleston, South Carolina the next day, 10 December, and were exchanged. One can only imagine that after a continuous diet of grits, Private Hitchcock had no desire to eat his last ration of them, thereby preserving them as a bleak reminder of the privations he suffered.

The Civil War Collection of James C. Frasca