As the secession crisis worsened before the Civil War, men of the first district of the Missouri State Guard, which later became the nucleus of Missouri Confederates, assembled in Bloomfield, in Stoddard County. Local Unionists, a minority of residents of the Missouri Bootheel, probably felt uneasy. As the situation developed, those supporting the Union had the choice to risk staying put and hoping for the best, pulling up stakes and heading for Union territory such as Illinois, fleeing to the nearest Union post at Cape Girardeau as refugees, or enlisting in a Union regiment. Samuel Scism, a 20-year-old son of John Scism, chose the last option. The Scism family came to Stoddard County in 1854 from Hawkins County, Tennessee, and John purchased a large acreage northwest of Bloomfield.
Beginning in August 1861, many local Union supporters enlisted in a light artillery unit forming in Cape Girardeau. Brigadier-General Ulysses S. Grant authorized a young officer in the 20th Illinois Infantry, John Wesley Powel, to recruit for the battery. It was “…organized at the insistence of General Grant for immediate duty on the guns mounted in the forts about Cape Girardeau."
Samuel Scism enlisted in November 1861. By early April 1862, Battery F was part of the large concentration of federal troops encamped near Shiloh Church in southern Tennessee. A surprise Confederate attack struck the Union camps before dawn on April 6. Private Scism was among those manning guns of Battery F in the heavy fighting from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the area referred to today as the “Hornet’s Nest,” due to the extremely heavy fire on the Union position.
Captain Powell sustained a wound to his arm that necessitated amputation later. General William H. L. Wallace, under whom the battery was serving, received a mortal wound and General Prentiss, who was nearby, was taken prisoner. The Union forces in the Hornet’s Nest surrendered and Scism and his comrades became prisoners.
From there, their captors sent Scism and other prisoners to a newly opened prison camp near Macon, Georgia, Fort Oglethorpe. The camp was grassy with good shade, but as with so many Civil War prison camps, the authorities lacked adequate food and medical care for prisoners and conditions became unsanitary. Samuel developed chronic dysentery and scurvy due to poor diet. Symptoms of the condition also included weakness, swelling of the feet, legs, and hands, and bleeding gums. Confederate authorities paroled the men later in October 1862, moving them to Libby Prison in Richmond, then to Akers Landing on James River, Virginia for exchange. Samuel was in such poor condition he was unable to walk, needed support by two comrades, required transport by carriage to Akers Landing, and spent time in a federal hospital in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.
Scism returned to Battery F in March 1863. While he served on a gun for the remainder of his enlistment, his commander allowed him to drive a wagon and perform other light duties. Samuel served out his enlistment, mustering out December 14, 1864. As attested to in Scism’s disability pension application by five comrades from Battery F and John Wesley Powell, Samuel never fully recovered, although he lived until 1924.
Samuel Scism’s story is a common one among Civil War soldiers who survived prison camps. Vegetables in their diets might have prevented many cases of chronic dysentery. The state of medical care of the time meant that the malady was untreatable and subject to recurrence. Indeed, many veterans perished years later from recurring bouts of the malady.
