The following is from Grand Army of the Republic~Department of New York~Personal War Sketches of the Members of Charles P. Sprout Post No. 76, of Lockport
Sprout who was with the New York 28th Infantry was killed in Action at Cedar Mountain, Virginia on August 9, 1862
William Henry Empson
Born Norfolk, England
Company “A”, 124th Ohio Volunteers
My first experience in battle was at Spring Hill Tennessee and afterward at Triune and Chickamauga (which in Indian language signifies ‘River of Blood’). I was taken prisoner September 20, 1863 at Chickamauga by the Rebel General Longstreet’s men and confined in Scott and Pemberton Prisons. Richmond Va…. Danville Va., and Andersonville, Ga. from September 29, 1863 to April 29, 1865….
My most intimate comrades were John W. Gould, Seymour E. Hill, William D. Stover, and Barnea Collegan, fellow Prisoners.
The most important event in my military life was my release from prison, where I experienced such terrible suffering while a prisoner, from scurvy, feet and legs badly swollen, and cords on left leg contracting, drawing the leg into a kneeling position, and turning [the flesh] black. Hair came out, mouth swelled and teeth very loose. The affection extending over my whole body until I became helpless. Weight when captured — 145 pounds — when released 65 pounds.
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