The Immortal Six Hundred 1911 Editiion With William Epps Notes And News Article

The Immortal Six Hundred 1911 Editiion With William Epps Notes And News Article

Author: Major J. Ogden Murray

Year: 1911

This file contains a scanned copy of the 1911 edition of book "The Immortal 600". Also included are summaries of two captives: David TerrellHarris and William Epps. Extracts from the diary of William Epps are also included. The Immortal 600 were Confederate officers captured by Union soldiers and used as a human shield against Rebel fire. It started in the summer of 1864 when the Confederates transferred several hundred prisoners from Andersonville in Georgia to Charleston, S.C. The Federals took this to mean the Rebels were placing the Union prisoners in harm's way because Charleston was a key target in the Civil War. So Union Gen. John Foster threatened to retaliate by placing Confederate prisoners on Morris Island in Charleston Harbor, which was under shelling by the Confederates. The order actually came from Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, and 600 Rebel prisoners were transferred from Fort Delaware. The Confederate prisoners actually greeted the transfer as good news. They were going back South, hoping that it might be a prisoner exchange. The officers were boarded on the Crescent City, which ran aground north of Charleston. While the ship was stalled, some Confederates trie