Knights of Malta initiation

[paulcalloway]

This is an early-war excerpt from a passage regarding Camp Morton - initially where many Indiana regiments trained - later to become a prison camp.

Soldier recreation was plentiful. Games brought from home included checkers, chess, and card games, and there was the usual "rough stuff" such as the Knights of Malta initiation - this meant being tossed on a piece of tent canvas handled by a squad of tormentors.

Source:
Winslow, Hattie Lou, and Moore, Joseph R.H., Camp Morton 1861-1865: Indianapolis Prison Camp. Indianapolis, Indiana Historical Society, 1995. p.9