Imprisoned Marylanders complained bitterly about their lot. Their quarters in Fort Lafayette were "horribly close and damp," wrote Lawrence Sangston. He noted that the drinking water - taken from foul cisterns - presented a special problem: "Each glass would average a dozen tadpoles!"
But prison routine was brightened considerably from time to time, thanks to the sympathetic New Yorkers who sent cases of wine to the Marylanders along with food, clothing and blankets. Among the most generous donors, said Sangston, was Mrs. George Gelston who dispatched "provisions, fruits and flowers" almost daily. Such benefactors enabled the jailed men to enjoy an occasional feast, such as the one described by Sangston as including "cold ducks, pickles, brandy peaches, cheese, biscuits, & etc." - all washed down with Champagne.
"The Civil War, Spies, Scouts and Raiders", Time - Life books, page20
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