A Prison Diary: 15 Months At Fort Delaware-- Part 5

Food scarcity was a problem, even more so with the elisted men. Political prisoners generally ate better than Confederate prisoners.

But, even so, on June 22, 1864, Handy wrote: "Our rations are now a small piece of bread and meat, each, and a cup of water at breakfast; and at about four o'clock P.M. the same quantity of bread and meat...with the addition of a cup of rice soup. The soup is so bad-- being often filled with flies and dirt-- that I never use it...."

Pretty Crummy Eating. --Old Secesh