bll U58 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. NARRATIVE OF OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS. Cornell University Library E 611.U58 Narrative of privations and sufferini 3 1924 024 875 019 QJnntf U ICIaui irl^nnl Hibraty NAERATIYE or PRIVATIONS AND SUFFERINGS OF UNITED STATES OFFICERS & SOLDIERS WHILE PRISONERS OF WAR IN THE HANDS OF THE REBEL AUTHORITIES. X BEING THE EEPOET OF A COMMISSION OP INQUIRY, APPOINTED BY THE UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. WITH AN APPENDIX, CON"T .4.1 NINO- THE TKSTIMIONY. " Fov I was an hunffred, and ye gave JWe no meat / I was thirsty f and ye gave Jtte no drinTe ; I was a stranger f and ye took Me not in ; naJeedj and ye clothed Me not / sicJCf and in prison, and ye visited Me not. " Iiord, when saw we Thee an Jiungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or slch, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee ? "Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me." MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSIOK VALENTINE MOTT, M. D., LL. D., Ex-President of the Medical Department of the Uni- versity of New Yorlt, and Emeritus Professor of Surgery; Fellow of King and Queen's College of Physicians of Ireland; Honorary Fellow of the Royal Medicdl and Chlrurgical Society of Lon- don, etc., etc. Chairman of the Commission, EDWARD DELAFIELD, M. D., President of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of K,C|^ Yorlt, and Emeritus Professor of Obstet- riea 'aaff the Diseases of Women and Children; Presjitto* of the National Ophthalmological So- ciety, etc., etc. GOUVEENEUR MORRIS WILKINS, Esq. ELLERSLIE WALLACE, M. D., Professor of Obstetrics and the Diseases of Women and Cllildren, Jefferson Medical College, Phila- delphia, etc. HON. J. I. CLARK HARE, Judge of the District Court of the City and County of Philadelphia. REV. TREADWELL WALDEN, Bector of St. Clement's Church, Philadelphia. PUBLISHED AT THE OmCE OF "IITTEIL'S LIVING AGE," BOSTON. PRICE TAVENTY CENTS. $1S A BVSDHEJi. $1!15 A XBOVSAXV. %^'i NOTICES OF LITTELL'S LIVING AGE. If ever literary man had a mission, it is Mr. E. LiTTELL. His life lias been dedicated to the one purpose of providing the public with a pe- riodical containing the cream of the namerous reviews, magazines, literary journals, and news- papers of Europe, improved now and then by the introduc^on of able and interesting articles from native publications. His first work. The Museum, has been so long out of print that a complete set rarely turns up for sale. The con- tinuation, with many improvements, is this Liv- ing Age, of which the forty-sixth volume is now l)efore us. This collection, commenced in 1844, is accessible, as every page has been stereotyped. Whoever possesses it is master of a variety of reading which, in quality and quantity, has ■never been equalled. Here are the best articles on biography, history, literature, travels, science, politics, art, criticism, in a word, " de omnibus rebus," including fiction and poetry, which have appeared, during the last eleven years, in the best periodicals at home and abroad. Week after week, as with the regularity of well-adjusteS mechanism, have the drab-colored livraisons of the Living Age been issued, forming four vol- umes in each year of over 800 pages, in clear and readable type, yet each page equal in quantity to two of the Quarterly or the Edinburgh. But the mere amount of letter press ought to be a sec- ondary consideration. In this work it is. The taste, judgment, and nice tact displayed in the selection of articles are above all praise, because they have never been equalled. Mk. Littell has made it a point to choose not alone articles of immediate but of permanent interest. The biographical papers, concerning the living, as well as the dead, in these volumes, may partic- ularly be spoken of as conveying a vast amount of information, which has been culled from hun- dreds of periodicals. But in nearly all points the work is perfectly, cjclopsediac. When the new serie's was commenced, in 1853, we had the pleasure of referring to the labors of its editor in terms of high eulogy, and wo propli- ^ied that the work would be made even more deserving of popularity than before. We proph- esied truly. The work has improved, and ap- pciU'S constantly improving. In the last-issncd volume we findpapersfrom the Edinburgh,Quar- terly, British Quarterly, and Westminster Re- views ; from Blackwood's, Eraser's, the Gentle- man's, Sharpe's the Dublin University, ani the i\'ew MontlUy Magazines ; from Chambers's Journal, HoKsehotd Words, Bentley's Miscellany, Hoyg't Instructor, American Journal of Insanity, Ailicnaum, Literary Gazette, the Press, Exam- ine[. Spectator, Times, Economist, Punch, Notes and Queries, New York Observer, Boston Trans- cript, and the New York Daily Times. From «uc:h sources a vast variety of admirable papers lias been collected ; many, we venture to say, have hereby been rescued from oblivion. We iii(jrc particularly allude to newspaper articles, which naturally would pass away amid the miji- tiplicity of news journals, but foi- being pre- served by floating down to other yecirs in such a work as this. One great merit of the Living Age is that each volume contains an excellent double index, one referring to the periodicals quoted from, the other giving the general con- tents in alphabetical order. To persons wiio have occasion to use the work for reference, the value of a good index is incalculable for the time it saves. — N. Y. Times, 22 Nov.. Littell'b Liyiuo Age. — This valuable pe- riodical is always welcome. We give below the letter of a clergyman, written to tlio editors in renewing his subscription. Many will join him in his commendations. — Christian Witness. " Living Age. — My well-beloved. — Your wel- come face has been seen again ; and although it does not wear all the graces of fashionable beauty, and might not-captivate the stickler for artistic faultlessness, there is an intelligent ex- pression about it which betrays the cultivated mind and the pure heart, and these are the be^t of recommendations. " The memory of your former visits comes over me not as a dream but as a reality. They did me good — permanent good ; taught me how to think and write, and gave me an ac- quaintance with the world which I have ne^oi: obtained, to an equal extent from any other source. ' " I wish sincerely I was able to fill out an en- tire set of your weekly visitations ; nor have I any idea I could devote the necessary funds to a better purpose. But. I must not provoke the jealousy of a dependent wife and child, or de- prive them of needed comforts, by loving you too well. " So much as this, however, I mnst do : divide my love between them and you for the cominc year. Visit me as you used to do, with yoiu- genial and thought-stirring messages. I bidj-ou welcome to my weary Mondays — to my hours when cares oppress and trials thicken. Come, and let us converse together of other than par- ish scenes, that try the soul. Let us talk of other lands and other men than those imme- diately around ns, and help me climb to fellow- ship with the good and wise, and to a fitness for their companionship when they may be found in living men." Littell'b Living Age. — " Tendef-loin," " psoas muscle," "foie gras," are phrases, we believe, which express the one most exquisite morsel. And by the sdection of these fiom the foreign reviews, — ^the most exquisite morsel from eiuih, — our friend Littell makes up his dish of Living Age. And it tastes so. We commend it to all epicnrea of reading. — N. P. Willis in Home Journal. Published, free of Postage, at Eight Dollars a year, by Littell, Son & Co., Boston. NAREATIYE PEIVATIONS AND SUFFERINGS UNITED STATES OFFICERS & SOLDIERS PRISONERS OF WAR IN THE HANDS OF THE EEBEL AUTHORITIES. THE REPORT OF A COMMISSION OF INQUIRY, APPOINTED BY THE UNITED STATES SANITARY- COMMISSION. WITH AN APPENDIX, "For I was an Jiungred, and ye gave me no iiieat f I was thirsty, and ye gave tne no drink; I -was a stranger, and ye tooh me not in; naked, and ye clothed me notf gich, and in prison, and ye visited me not, '' X/ord, when saw we tJiee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sichj or in prison, and did not minister unto thee ? '* Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me*'' MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION. VALENTINE MOTT, M.D., LL.D., Ex-President of the Medical Dei>artment of the Uni- ' versity of New York, and Emeritus Professor of Surgery; PeJlow of King and Queen's College of Physicians of Ireland; Honorary Fellow of the lpening ia the prison buildings at Dan- ville. A man was standing by the window conversing with private Wilcox. At his feet was the place where he slept at night, closq under the window, and where his blanket lay rolled up. He had his hand on the casement. The guard must have seen his shadow, for he was invisible from the regular beat, and went out twenty feet to get a shot at him. Before the poor fellow could be warned, the bullet entered his forehead, and he fell dead at the feet of his companion. Almost every prisoner had such an inci- dent to tell. Some had been shot at them- selves a number of times, and had seen others repeatedly fired upon. One testifies that he had seen five hundred men shot at. The same brutal style of " sporting " while on guard, seems to have prevailed wherever theiicense was given by this cruel and un- necessary rule. Captain Calhoun, mentions that while he and his companions were on tfieir way to Richmond from North-eastern Georgia, where they were captured, they stopped at Atlanta, and just before they start- ed, a sick soldier who was near the line, be- yond which the prisoners were not allowed to go, put his hand over to pluck a bunch of leaves that were not a foot from the bounda- ry. The instant he did so, the guard caught sight of him, fired, and killed him. Another instance of equal skill In " shoot- ing on the wing," will be noticed In the case of the soldier who only exposed his arm an instant In throwing out some water, and wa» wounded, fortunately not killed, by the reb- el bullet. Something of the same kind was related in the course of conversatioti, but Is not in the evidence, as happening at the Libby, when an officer was shot while waving his hand in farewell to a departing comrade. But there were cruelties worse than these, because less the result of impulse and reck- lessness, and because deliberately done. There opens now a part oT the narrative which is as amazing as it is unaccountable. The reader will turn to the heart-rending scenes of famine which the testimony before the Commission has exposed. The daily ration in the officers' quarter, of Libby prison, was a small loaf of bread about the size of a man's fist, made o{ Indian meal. Sometimes it was made from wheat flour, but of variable quality. It weighed a little over half a pound. ' With it was given a piece of beef weighing two ounces^ But it is not easy to describe this ration, it was so irregular in kind, quality and amount. Its general character is vividly in- dicated by a remark made in conversation, by one of the officers: "I would gladly," said he, with emphatic sincerity, "gladly have pre- ferred tiie norse-feed in inj father's stable." 8 During the pummer and the early part of i the fall, the ration seems to have been less insufficient, and less repulsive than it after- wards became. At no period was it enough to Support life, at least in health, for a length of time, but however inadequate, it was not BO to such a remarkable degree as to pro- duce the evils which afterward ensued. It was about the middle of last autumn that this process of slow starvation became intolerable, injuiaous, and cruel to the extent referred to.. The corn bread began to be of the roughest and coarsest description. Por- tions of the cob and husk were often found ground in with the meal. The cjust was so thick and hard that the prisoners called it iron-clad. To render the bread eatable, they grated it, and made mush of it, but the crust they could not grate. • Now and then, after long intervals, often of many weeks, a little meat was givep them, perhaps two or three mouthfuls. At a later period, they received a pint of black peas, with some vmegar, every week. The peas were often full of worms, or maggots in a chrysalis state, which, when they made soup, floated on the surface. Those who were entirely dependent on the prison fare, and who had no friends at the North to send them boxes of food, began to suffer the horrible agony of craving food, and feeling themselves day by day losing strength. Dreams and delusions began to distract their mindSi* Although many, were relieved through the * The very same phenomenon occurred during the celebrated Darien Exploring Expedition, under Lieutenant Strain, some years ago. The whole party suffered starvation; a number of them died, and the remainder were rescued when they had become emaciated and debilitated nearly to the point of death. v." From the time that food became scarce to the elose, and just in proportion as famine increased, they revelled in gprgeous dinners. Tnixton and Mauray would pass hours in spreading tables loaded with every luxury. Over this imaginary feast they would gloat with the pleasure of a Bourmand." — Darien Explor. Exped., harpers'' Monthly, Vol. x., p. 613. The party separated. Strain and' Avery being the least exhausted and going on before the Others to obtain succor If possible. " At length starvation produced the same sin- fular efiWfct on them that it did on Truxton and [auray, and they would spend hours in describ- ing all the good dinners they had ever eaten. For the last two or three days, when most reduced. Strain said that he occupied almost the whole time in arranging a magnificent dinner. Every luxury or curious dish that he had ever seen or heard of composed it, and he wore away the hours in going round his imaginary table, arrang- ing and changing the several dishes. He could not force his mind from the contemplation of this, so wholly had one idea — food — taken possession of it." — Darien Explor. En^ed., Barp. Monthly, vol. z., p. 160. CRUELTIES OF REBEL AUTHORITIES generosity of their more favored fellow pris- oners, yet the supply from this source was, of course, inadequate. Captain Calhoun speaks of suffering " a burning sensation on the inside, with a general failing in strength." "I grew so'TOolish in my mind that 1 used to blame myself for not eating more when at home." " The subject of food engrossed my entire thoughts." " Captain Stevens having received a box from home, sat down and ate to excess, and died a few hours afterwards." " A man had a piece of ham which I looked at for hours, and would have stolen if I had had a. chance." One day, by pulling up a plank in the floor, they gained access to the cellar, and found there an abundance of provisions : barrels of the finest wheat flour, potatoes and turnips. Of these they ate ravenously until the theft was discovered. But the most unaccountable and shameful act of all was yet to-come. Shortly after this general diminution of rations, in the month of January last, the boxes, which before had been regularly delivered, and in good order, were withheld. No reason was given. Three hundred arrived every week, and were received by Colonel Ould, Commis- sioner of Exchange, but instead of being dis- tributed, were retained, and piled up in warehouses near by, aiid in full sight of the tantalized and hungiry captives. Three thousand were there when Lieutenant-Col- onel Farnsworth came away. There was some show of delivery, how- ever, but in a manner espeicially heartless. Five or six of the boxes were given during the week. The eager prisoner, expectant pefliaps of a wife's or mother's thoughtfiJ provision for him, was called to the door and ordered to spread his blanket, when the open cans, whether containing pres^ved fruits, condensed milk, tobacco, vegetables, or meats, were thrown promiscuously .to- gether, and often ruined by the mingling These boxes sometimes contained cloth- ing, as well C3 food, and their contents were frequently appropriated by the prison offi- cials. Lieutenant McGinnis recognized his own home-suit of citizen's clothes on one of them, pointing out his name on the watch- pocket. The officers were permitted to send out and buy articles at extravagant prices, and would find the clothes, stationery, hams and butter which they had purchased bearing the marks of the Sanitary Commission. In one instance this constant thievery became an unexpected advantage to the inmates. After the famous "tunnelling out," by which so many effected their escape, the guards confessed that they had seen the fugitives, but supposed that they TO PRISONEES OP WAR. were their own men stealing the boxes 1 The tynnet, after running under the street, had its outlet near where the boxes were piled up. All through the winter and late iuto the spring was this suffering, chiefly from hun- ger, prolonged. Tilere is evidence of its continuation even so late as the month of May last. Surgeon Ferguson, who was confined there at that time, gives a most painful picture of what lie saw. " No one can appreciate, without experi- ence, tlie condition of the officers in the pris- on during the twelve days of my st&y ; their faces were pinched with hunger. 1 have seen an officer standing by the window, gnawing a bone lilse a dog. I asked him, ' What do you do it for ? ' Hia reply was, ' It will help fill up.'. " They were constantly complaining of hunger ; there was a sad, and insatiable ex- , pression of face impossi,ble to describe." There is no suffering that can be men- tioned greater than that of the slow and lingering pains of famine, except it be per- haps the agonies of absolute death from hun- ger — but of this no Libby evidence was collected. The description of Libby life might therefore end at this point so far as having reached the climax of all pflssible misery on the one hand, and of all possible barbarity on the other. But the testimony develops still other instances of cruelty, which may as well be introduced here, in order to show the animus of the Confederate authorities. It is stated that for offences, whether triv- ial or serious, the prisoners were consigned to cells, beneath the prison, the walls of which were damp, green, and slimy. These apartments were never warmed, and often so crowded that some were obliged to stand up all night. Jt was in these dungeons that the hostages were placed. But the inhumanity was not confined to , the Hying. It extended even to the disposal I of the dead. The bodies were placed in the cellar, to which the animals of the street had access, and vary often were partly devoured by .hogs, dogs, and rats. ThI officers had the curiosity to mark the coffins in which they , werc'carried off, to find out whether they ' were burled in them. But they proved to ; be only vehicles for bearing them away, returning a score of times for others. ) This must have bfeen the case with pri- vates only, who occupied part of the prison, as it is mentioned that the officers generally secured by contributions, made up among themselves, metallic coffins and a decent, temporary deposit in a vault for those of their number who died, until they could be removed to the North; : One other incident may be noticed which is quite in keeping with all the rest, but without the foregoing catalogue of outrages, to humanity, would appear too shocking to be credible. At the time Kilpatrick made ihls nearly successful raid on Richmond, the city was thrown into a panic by his approach, and the prison officials deliberately prepared — so the story runs — a more expeditions way o^ closing the career of their prisoners. It was somewhat more merciful than starva- tion, because it substituted instantaneous death for an endless agony of dying. The negroes gave the first Intimation to the cap- tives of what was going on.* Richard Tur- ner took care to dash the hopes of his cap- tives, as well as add to their anxiety by in- forming them that " Should Kilpatrick suc- ceed in entering Richmond, it would not help them, as the prison authorities would blow up the prison, and all its inmates."' Lieutenant Latouche was overheard observ- ing to a rebel officer with whom he had en- tered the cellar, where the two hundred pounds of powder were said to be placed, " There is enough there to send every damned Yankee to IIoll." Turner himself said, in the presence of Colonel Farnsworth, in answer to the question " Was the prison mined ? " " Yes, and I would have blown you all to Hades before I would have suf- fered you to be rescued." The remark of Bishop Johns is corroborative as well as curi- ous, in reply to the question, " Whether it was a Christian mode of warfare to blow up defenceless prisoners ? " "I suppose the au- thorities are satisfied on that point, though I do not mean to justiiy it." The idea is so monstrously shocking that the mind hesitates to grasp it, or believe it. Many will try to see in it only a menace to deter any further attempt to take Richmond by a raid. And yet the evidence, even if it does come by rebel admissions, has an air of diabolical sincerity. A remark of Turner's justifying the act, which was mcntloAed to one of the commissioners, but accidentally omitted in the formal testimony, gives quite a decided turn to the very natural probabil- ity that the fiendish plan was resolved upon : " Suppose Kilpatrick should have got In here, what would my life have been worth after you all got loose. Yes, I would have blown you all to Hades before I would have suffered you to be rescued." This was his argument and self-justification in brief, though somewhat more at length at the time. The act was altogether consistent with the characters of the three men who had author- * " Dug big hole down dar, massa. Torpedo in dar, ««re7 10 CRUELTIES' OP REBEL AUTHORITIES ity over the prison : — General Winder, the Commander of the Department, Major Tur- ner, Commander of the Prison, whose bru- tality is fully illustrated by his, management of it, and Richard Turner, Inspector of the Prison, by occupation a negro-whipper, (see the testimony of Colonel Farnsworth,) and whose savage nature vented itself in fre- quent acts of personal insult and physical violence toward the prisoners. Be the story true or false, it is, at any rate, consummately befitting and consistent, inas- much as the strongest reasons for its proba- bility may be derived from the other facts that have' now been narrated. If true, it is strongly corroborative of the vindictive pur- pose which animates the Confederate au- thorities. History may yet write it so, and therefore the Commissioners do not pass it over in silence because of any doubt that may cling to it. Let the spectacle, that, probably, came so near taking place, be, at least, the appropri- ate crown and close of this portion of the narrative ; the Union raiders, bounding over the fortifications of Richmond, intent upon rescuing their companions from a captivity worse than death, — and the three great brick buildings lifted bodily into the air, and let down in one stupendous crush and ruin upon the living forms of twelve hun- dred helpless men ! m. Description. of Belle Isle — No shelter provided from the heat in Summer, or from the cold in Winter — Sufferings during the late severe win- ter—Expedients to avoid Freezing to Death — Men Frozen to Death — The loathsome and inad- equate Food — Mea perishing from Hunger — Unavoidable Filth of the Camp and of the Men on account of the Rules — Neglect of the Sick — Cruelty to the Sick — Incidents of cruelty in Hospitals. But there is a still lower depth of suffering to be exposed. The rank of the officers, however disregarded in most respects, induc- ed some consideration, but for the private soldiers there seemed to be no regard what- ever, and no sentiment which could' restrain. It is to this most melancholy part of their task that the Commissioners now proceed. Belle Isle is a small island in the James river, opposite the' Tredegar Iron-works, and in full sight from the Libby windows. It has pretensions enough to beauty -at a distant view to justify its name, as part of it is a bluff covered with trees. But the portion on which the prisoners are confined, is low, sandy, and barren, without a tree to cast a shadow, and poured upon by the burning rays of a Southern sun. Here is an enclosure, vaiiously estimated to be from three to six acres in exU nt, sup- rounded by an earthwork about three feet high,, with a ditch on eithel- side. On the , edge of the outer ditch, all round the enclos- ure, guards are stationed about forty feet apart, and"keep watch t^ere day and night The interior has something of the look of an encampment, a number of Sibley tents being set in rows, with " streets " between. These tents, rotten, torn, full of holes, — poor shel- tar at any rate, — accommodated only a small proportion of the number who were confined within these low earth walls. The number varied at different periods,, but from ten to twelve thousanc| men hav8 been imprisoned in this small space at one time, turned into the encjosure bke so many cattle, to find what resting place they could. So crowded were they, that at the least, ac^ cording to the estimated area given them, there could not have been but a space two feet by seven, and, at the most, three feet by nine, per man — hardly a generous allotment even for a " hospitable grave." Some were so fortunate as to find shelter in the tents, but even they were often wet with the rain, and almost frozen when the winter set in. Every day some places were made vacant by disease or by death, as some were taken to the hospital, and some to burial. But thousands had no tents, and no shelter of any kind. Nothing was provided for their accommodation. Lumber was plenty in a country of forests, but not a cabin or shed was built, although the commonest material would have been a grateful boon to the cap- tives, and would have been quickly and in- geniously employed by them. This is an established station for prisoners of war, and yet not a movement has been made, from its beginning to this moment, to erect barracks, or make any suitable and hu- mane provisions for the comfort of those cout ' fined there. It remains to this day an opeii encampment, close under the walls of Rich- mond, and well known to the Confederate authorities, with nothing but t'he heavens for its canopy. Here lien thege thousands lay all last sum-" mer, fall, and winter, with nought but the sand for their bed, and the sky for thcii»cov- ering. AVhat did they do in the summer and early autumn, with the sickening heat of a torrid sun pouring upon their unprotected heads ? What did they do when the rain descended and, the floods came ? AVhat did they suffer when the malarious fog enveloped them,, or when the sharp winds swept up the > river, and pierced the^r almost naked and shivering forms. ^ Stripped of blankets and overcoats, hat- less oflen, shoeless often, in ragged coats and TO PRISONERS OF WAR- 11 rotting shirts,' they irere obliged to take the weather as it came. Here and there a tent had a fire, and the inmates gathered round it, but the thousands outside shivered as the cold cut them to tha^bone, and huddled together for warmth a^ sympathy. . The winter came — and one of the hardest winters ever experienced in the Souths— but still no better shelter -was provided^ The mercury was down to zero at Memphis, which is further south than Richmond. The snow lay deep on the ground around Rich- mond. The ice formed in the James, and flowed in masses upon the rapids, on either side of the island. Water, left in buckets on the island, froze two or three inches deep in a'single night. The men resorted to every expedient to keep from perishing. They lay in the ditch, as the most protected place, heaped ifpon one another, and lying close together, as one of them expressed it, "like hogs in winter," taking turns as to who should have the out- side of the row. In the momitag the row of the previous night was marked by the mo- tionless forms of those "who were sleeping on in their last sleep "—frozen to death J , Every day, during the winter season, numbers were conveyed away stiff and stark, having fallen asleep in everlasting cold. Some of the men; dug holes 'in the sand in which to take refuge. All through the night jrowds of them were heard running up and olown to keep themselves from freezing. And this fate threatened them, even more than it would have threatened n/ost men, exposed to an equally severe temperature, even with such thin clothing and inadequate shelter — for they were starving ! The very sustenance of animal heat was withheld, and one of the most urgent occa- sions of hunger, a freezitig temperature, which makes the bodily necessity stronger, and the appetite for food greater, was given full opportunity to make havoc among them. So the last stay and power of resistance was taken away — the cold froze them because they were hungry, — the hunger consumed them because they were cold. These two vultures fed upon their vitals, and no one in the Southern Confederacy had the mercy or the pity to drive them away. Only once was there heard a voice of ifadignant remon- strance in the rebel Congress from a noble- hearted statesman, but it was heard with indifference, and brought about no allevia- tion. Read the rude words of these suffering men. Put together their testimony, and what a harrowing tale it tells ! They were fed m, the swine are fed. A chunk of corn-bread^ twelve or fourteen oun- ces in weight, half-baked, full of cracks as if baked in the sun, musty in taste, Ciintainiijg whole grains of corn, fragments of cob, and pieces of husks ; meat often tainted, suspi- ciously like mule-meat, and a mere mouthful at that; two or three spoonfuls of rotten ' beans ; soup thin and bnny, often with the worms floating on the surface. None of these were given together, and the whole ra- tion, was never one-hftlf the quantity neces- sary for the support of a healthy man. The reader will not be surprised to hear that the men were ravenous when the ra- tions were brought in, nor remain unmoved by the simple and touching expressions which fell fi-om so many of them : — " There was no name for ourhunger." " I was hungry — pretty nearly starved to death all the time." • " I waked up one night, and found myself gnawing my coat sleeve." " I used to dream of having something good to eat." " I walked the streets for many a night — 1 could not sleep for hunger." " I lost flesh and strength, and so did the others, for want of food." . " If I were to sit here a week, I could not tell you half our suffering." There were other indications of the des- perate famine to which they were subjected. They gnawed the very bones which had been thrown away, sometimes breaking them up for soup. They were glad to get the refuse bread which was occasionally thrown to them by the guards. They even ate the rats which burrowed in the encampment. A dog, belonging to an officer, straying into the en- closure was caught and secreted, and before he could reclaim his property, it was torn apart by the man who stole it, some of it eaten by himself, and the remainder sold to his comrades. So reduced were they, that they exchanged their clothing for food, and left themselves exposed the more to the cold. Under the temptation to secure double rations, many worked at their trades of blacksmithing and shoemaking for the rebel army. But as the weary months drew on, hunger told its inevitable tale on them all. They grew weak and emaciated. Many found that they could not walk ; when they at- tempted it a dizziness and "blindness came, and they fell to the ground. Diarrhoea, scur- vy, congestion of the lungs, and low fevers' set in. To add to their suffering there canle the unavoidable consequences of being herded and crowded together, but in this case espec- ially aggravated by a most unnecessary re- striction. A broad beach surrounded the island, and yet only about seventy-five men were permitted to bathe per day in the river. 12 CRUELTIES OP REBEL AUTHORITIES in squads of five or six at a time. At this rate it was literally and almost accurately what so many of the men state : that they were allowed to wash themselves only once in six months. ■ " Lice were in all their quarters." Ver- min and dirt encrusted their bodies. They were sore with lying in the sand. None, not even the sufferers with diarrhoea, were al- lowed to visit the sinks during the night, and in the morning the ground was covered and saturated with filth. The wells were taint- ed ; the air was filled with disgusting odors.* Many were talten sick daily, but were al- lowed to suffer for days before they were re- moved to the hospitals, and when this was done, it was often so late that the half of them died before reaching it, or died at the very moment their names were being re- corded. There was a hospital tent on the island, which was always full of the sic^k. It had no floor, the sick and dying were laid on straw, and logs were their only pillows. " If you or I saw a horse dying," said one, " wouldn't we put some straw under his heaJl ? Would we let him beat his head on a log in his agony ?" When this tent was full, the sick were tar' ken to a hospital in Richmond. The poor creatures were often as prema- turely returned, as they had been tardily re- moved thither. Often were they seen es- corted back, so weak as hardly to be able to move, some even crawling on their hands and knees. Colonel Ely, of the 18th Connecti- cut, saw one of his men, a former schoolmate and townsman, George Ward, a much re- spected citizen of Norwich, Connecticut, returning to the island in this condition, with a squad of others. He threw him a ham, but as the "poor fellow crawled to get it," says Colonel Farnsworth, who also witnessed the sad condition of an old acquaintance, "the rehll guard charged bayonets upon him, called him a damned Yankee, and ap- propriated the ham." An incident which happened in the very hospital from which these men were brought will give even a better idea of how the sick were treated. Two officers made their escape. Imme- diately all the patients who were able to sit up or stand were taken into an empty room under the Libby, and kept there twenty-four hours, without food or blank- ets, as a puishment for not having reported I the contemplated escape. Frooi this treat- ment Siirgeon Pierce died. The officers in the room above took up the floor, supplied * This taint of the drinking water was mentioned in conversation, but was accidentally omitted in the evidenpe. the sick with food and drink, and shared their blankets with them. For this they were deprived by Major Turner of rations for a whole day. A still more vivid picture of a hospital interior is given by Surgeon Ferguson. It is of the notorious and horrible Hospital' No. 21, where, so late asin May last,_Dr. Ferguson says " the wounded Union prison- ers were under treatment, * * * I consider," he adds, " the nourishment and stimulation they received entirely insufficient to give them a proper chance for recovery. I am surprised that more do not die" There were many bad eases among them that must in- evitably sink under this treatment aft«r a few days. The condition «f these men was such, that any medical observer would im- pute it to insufficient stimulation and nutri- tion, t " The bedding where, the privates were confined by wounds was very dirty ; the covering was entirely old, dirty quilts ; the beds were offensive fiom the discharges from wounds and secretions of the body, and were entirely unfit to place a sick or wounded man on. " On the iaces of the wounded was an anxious haggard expression ot countenance, such as I have never seen before ; I attrib- ute it to want of care, want of noui-ishment and encouragement " A Hospital Steward, while a prisoner, at- tending to some duty in the hospital, found, by accident, the Confederate Surgeon-Gen- eral's quarterly report, which he brought away with him when he was paroled. By this, it appears that in the months of Jan- uary, February and March last, out of nearly twenty-eight hundred patients, about fourteen hundred — or half the number — died ! This document will be found in the appendix.* And what was here done in prison and hospital, to our private soldiers on Belle Isle, and to our officers in the Libby, was done nearly all over the South. These facts are most conspicuous only because in the foreground. But from almost every station in the distant South, of which any- thing is known, comes the same story of robbery and insult, of starvation on food both bad and insufficient, of exposure — in the day to heat, and in the night to the frost— of shootings without warning, of close and filthy rooms or unsheltered encampments, of disease without care or medical treat- ment, and of deaths without number. Danville has yet the whole of its dreadful tale to tell. Andersonville has yet to ac- count for its average of one hundred and thirty deaths a day, at which rate the whole •Pago 66. TO PRISONERS OF WAR. 13 of its present number^-tbirty-five thousand — will be dead in' a few montha.* The very railroads can speak of inhuman transportations from one point to another of the sick, the wounded, and the unwounded together, crowded into cattle and baggage cars, lying and dying in the filth of sickness, and the blood of undressed wounds. IV. The men as they appeared when brought on board the flag-of-truce boat, and into the Hos- pitals — I)istressing spectacle— Hunger, naked- ness, filthiness — Disease and death from star- vation and cold — Cries for food— Imbecility and insanity of many — Opinions of the sur- geons — The Medical Report of the Commission. The Commissioners do not feel at liberty, in presenting a narrative like this, every fact of which is rooted in the appended testimony, to make any inferential state- ments, although there are some incidents which are as essentially connected with such a state of things, as certain known effects are with certain established causes. A hundred scenes of suffering could be im- agined and depicted by one conversant with the medical and other phenomena of famine and exposure to cold, which would be rec- ognized as part of their own history by those who saw or experien'ced the wretch- ed life led by the prisoners on Belle Isle. But, as it has happened, the reader is ■furnished with vivid descriptions, by eye- witnesses, of the men as they appeared at the time- of their transfer into the hands of the United States Government, and they have only to be imagined back on Belle Isle, or wherever else they had been, to get all too painful a conception of what was daily to be witnessed there. ' "I have been," said Mr. Abbott, who, as special agent of the Sanitary Commis- * At the very moment this inquiry is con- cluded and this report is being prepared, a me- morial is brought to the President of the United States by commissioners appointed by the prison- ers still in confinement at Andersonville, repre- senting their sufferings and appealing for succor. A statement is also published, verified under oath by three of these soliiiers, who were ex- changed August 16th. These documents are so 'remarkably corroborative, in every particular, of tbe results developed by the inquiry, and, m some respects, represent a state of things so much worse than at the date at which the in- vestigation closed, that they have been appended In a supplement, which will be found, after the evidence, on page 259. The frequent menacing . predictions of the rebel press, and the evident precipitation of cruel measures upon the prison- ers which is exhibited bv the testimony taken before the Commission, find a fitting confirma-, tion and counterpart, in this the latest account which has come from a Southern prison. slon, was among the first to come in contact with the returned prisoners — " I have been on the battle-field, and in the hospitals, and witnessed much suffering, but never did I experience so sad and deplorable a con- dition of human beings as that of the paro- led Union prisoners just from Belle Island, and the rebel prison of the South." It was his business, for a period, to accom- pany the flag-of-truce boat as it plied be- tween City Point, Virginia, and Annapolis, Maryland, bringing ho™e thousands of the wretched men. The greater proportion of them were living skeletons, and each suc- cessive boat-load was in a worse condition than the last. Hundreds, at each trip, were stretched on cots, sick with every form of disease which could have been induced by confinement, exposure, and bad food. A number were dying ; several died before the boat landed. Every one was in a frightfully filthy condition. All were de- ficient in clothing. Many were almost na- ked, and whatever thejr had on was ragged and dirty. Their hair and beards had grown long, having been uncut for many months. Their bodies were encrusted with dirt, and infested with vermin, (^ne man had convulsions during a whole trip, caused, the surgeon said, by vermin. The vermin were very thick upon his body, and he threw his attenuated arms about, catching as at lice, throwing them off, and slapping them with his blanket. In this state the prisoners were landed, and were received by the surgeons of An- napolis and Baltimore. Many were so weak that they had to be carried ashore on stretchers, and died in the brief transit. Others tottered to the hospital, with the little strength they had remaining, only to die in a few hours. Some of them were found covered with bad and extensive sores, caused by lying on the sand. Many had lost their reason, and were in all stages of idiocy and Imbecil- ity.* One had become Incurably Insane in his joy at being delivered. Often they acted like children and had to be taught again the decencies of life, so Ion" had they "been unhabituated to them. A number had partially lost their sight, hearing, and speech. One man was point- ed out to the commissioners who had been so covered by vermin, that after having been, as was supposed, thoroughly washed, his head even been shaven, was laid upon a » "Wilson was exceedingly debilitated, and had become perfectly childish, and almost idiotic from suffering, and Strain feared that bad efl^ects rai-'ht ensue if he was permitted to eat as much as lie wished." Darien Explor. Exped. Harpen Month, vol. X. p. 762. 14 CRUEEXIES OS KEBEL AUTHORITIES clean bed — in ten nniintes tke sheets and his clothing were covered with vermin again. And this was not peculiar to him. It was only an instance of the unavoidable con- ■dition of all. In some cases they were so eaten by lice as to very nearly resemble a case of scabbing from small pox, being cov- ered with sores from head to foot. Many had been badly irost-bitten, and came ashore with feet partially amputated. In one case it was mentioned to the visitors that a frozen foot feU off els the man was being carried ashore ! Without exception they were ravenous for food. ' Their cries for something to eat were pitiful to hear. The surgeons had to restrain their voracil^', and keep them on small quantities of liquid food lest they should kill themselves by over-eating or by eating solid food. They would often en- treat for the sight of an apple or a piece of meat, that they might enjoy at least the vision of what they could not have. It was their invariable reply in answer to the question, " What was the matter? "That they had been starved, exposed, and neglected on Belle Isle ? " The surgeons, themselves, were unani- mous in their opinion as to the cause of their condition, not only fi-om the uniform story of the men, but from the character- jsfics of the different diseases, the revela- tions of the post-mortem examination, and especially, and most conclusively of all, the invariable treatment which proved most ef- ficacious ; namely, not medication, but sim- ple nutrition and stimulation. They all agreed in attributing the con- dition of the men to one or more of the following causes: Deprivation of clothing; insufficient food, in quantity and quality ; want of fresh air on account of over-crowd- ing; consequent and unavoidable unclean- liness ; want of adequate shelter during the fall and winter ; and mental depression the natural result of all. The reader wUl be impressed by the em- phatic utterances of the surgeons : SuKGEON VandekKieft. — " Their con- dition is on account of ill-treatment by star- vation and exposure, as I am convinced is the case by their actual condition on their arrival, and by rations shown to me. That the men must have been in good health when captured, I do not need such a state- ment, as "I am well acquainted with the regulations which govern the medical de- partment of our army, ' to send to the rear every man who is not perfectly able to bear arms.' * * * " The diseases most common among these returned prissners are scurvy, diarrhoea, and conoestion of the lungs, which arenot ame- nable to the ordinary treatment in use in civil life, or in hospitals of our own army; they are most successfully mastered by high nutrition and stimulation, with cleanline^ and fresh air — medicinal treatment being of small assistance in the recovery of the sufferers, and often being entirely dispensed with, * * • thus proving by the counteract- ing effect of good food, air, cleanliness, and stimulants, that these disorders are the re- sult of the causes above stated." Sdkgeost Ely. — Speaking of the dead whom he had found on the boats as they landfed, " No words can describe their ap- pearance. In each case the sunken eye, the gaping mouth, the filthy skin, the clothes and head alive with vermin, the repelling bony contour, all conspired to lead to the conclusion that we were looking upon the victims of starvation, cruelty, and exposure, to a degree unparalleled in the history of humanity. Nearly every instance leads us irresistiljly to the conclusion that death has been owing to a long series of exposures and hardships, with a deprivation of the barest necessities of existence. * » » • " In many cases that I have observedj the dirt incrustation has been so thick as to re- quu-e months of constant ablutions to recover the normal condition and function of the in- teguments. Patients have repeatedly sta- ted in answer to my interrogatories that they had been unable to wash their bodies once in six months, that all that time they had lain in the dirt. * ,* * In many instances this is the prime, exciting cause of the dis- eases of the pulmonary and abdominal or- gans which are so constantly found among our Richmond patients." * Surgeon Parker. — " The majority of the diseased cases were diarrhoea, caused by bad diet, of insufficient and bad quality. They have resulted from the want of variety of diet. I found nutrition was the most suc- cessful treatment. I do not consider the (rebel) rations, I have seen, sufficient for the support of life for any long time." Surgeon Peters. — " The post-mortems have made apparent diseases of nearly all the viscera to a remarkable extentf Under a spare but concentrated diet many have ral- lied. In one instance a boy gained fifty pounds in two weeks. I think nine-tenths of the men weighed under one hundred pounds. They had an uncontrollable ap- petite." SuBGBGN Chapel. — " We were obliged * See his evidence for a report at length of the results of the post-mortem examinations. Ap- pendix p. 48. t See Dr, Carpenter on Starvation, whbre fifty- two per cent of the starved were thus affected. TO PRISONERS OF WAR. 15 to treat them as children in regulating their diet, having to restrain their over-eating, and confino them to a concentrated, but nourish- ing -and generous diet. Several cases had no disease whatever, but suffered from ex- treme emaciation and starvation * » * « * All gave evidence of extensive visceral dis- ease, of which starvation, cold and neglect were undoubtedly the primary cause. Some of the cases sank from extreme debility, with- out, any evidence of disease as the cause of death.", The professional opinions of these gentle- men, and the other incidental medical testi- mony scattered thi-ough the appendix, will, without doubt, be received with great weight 'by the reader. But, after all, the evidence of the men themselves, rudely and abruptly worded, and so often unconsciously graphic and pathetic, will come more convincingly to the popular heart. It will bo enough for most people that the captives were hungry day and night, and suffered the gnawing pains of famine, with its dreams and delusions. It will be enough that they became weak and emaciated to the degree in which they were found when ex- ' -changed. It will be enough that they were poisoned by foul air and over-crowding ; and that they were exposed in the depth of win- ter to the cold, without shelter and without covering. It will be enosgh that thousands. t)f them became hideously diseased, and that most of them miserably perished. People do not need any other information in the face of such facts as these in order to come to a just conclusion, and yet there is a certainty and a satisfaction in scientific facts, and in the testimony of nature, which ou^ht to be recognized in an investigation like this. For this reason the commissiosiers made the investigation also a eeientific one, and ^ 'append a medical statement, prepared at ' "their request by one of their number, drawn likewise from the evidence, the facts and ar- guments of which are fully indorsed by the medical members of the commission. Eeported suffering of the Rebel Army, and Era- barassmeat of the Rebel Government for want of Supplies, as an Excuse for Denying Food and ClDhiijg to United States Soldiers— The Imposibility of ttiere being any such Defici- ency — The Pftysioal Gondition of tlie Rebel Army perfect — Facts drawn from Rebel testi- mony. ' It has been sdd, and has been the gener- al impression, that the rebel government was itself embarrassed for want of supplies — fhat its own soldiers were naked and hungry, and that even the prison guards shared the pri- vations of the prisonerSk It will be noticed that this excuse, urged strenously by their friends, and half accepted by every one disposed to be moderate ana just, after all, only accounts for a small por- tion of the conduct of the rebels to their captives. Why were they robbed of their private property: the money, and the few trinkets a man usually carries with him ? Or, if this was the uncontrollable habit of a wild sol- diery, why was it the regular proceeding of the Libby authorities on the entrance of an officer ? Why was it often done with brutal violence, when the person undergoing the process expostulated ? By whose connivance were the supplies of food and clothing, sent from the North, stolen ? By whose neglect, or by whose order, were they withheld in immense quantities from men palpably starving and freezing ? How 13 it that — after three years of war, during which everything military had grown colossal and correspondingly complete, with them, as with us, — that no extensive bar- racks, even of the cheapest and frailest kind, offering, at least, space to move in, and shel- ter from the weather, were not erected ; but that open encampments, or city warehouses too small for such occupation, continue in use to this day ? How is it that, even urider such circum- stances, supposing them, for some reason, un- able to have done better, they made rules circumscribing the prisoners still further, ex- posing them to the poison of foul air, gener- ated by unavoidable personal uncleanliness, and by the equally unavoidable accumular tions of filth under certain conditions of dis- ease, for which either no provision was made, or if made, they were capriciously prevented from using ? * Why, when over-crowding a building with captives, did they make an imaginary bound- ary line, two or three feet inside the win- dows, to be observed under penalty of in- stant death ? How is it that the guards were not only permitted, by this regulation, to amuse themselves with taking the lives of the prisoners, upon certain given opportuni- ties, but were negatively encouraged even to murder and assassination, by the indifference of the prison authorities ? * " Sometimes we were allowed to go to the privy, and sometimes we were not. We have been Iceptfrom it so much as three days, until we fouled the floor." Appendix, page 34. " After we tunnelled out, we were only allowed to go to the privy six at a time ; the floor was in one mess — filthy; an ordinary one horse wagon load of human excrement on the floor every morn- ing." Appendix, page .39. °* The enclosure on Belle Isle was a mass of filtb every morning, from the inability of the men tc proceed to the sinks after evening." Appendix 16 CRUELTIES OF REBEL AUTHORITIES And is there anything to account for the condition of their hospitals for prisoners? Even supposing them to be ill-supplied with medicines, there were common remedies, easily at hand, which were seldom adminis- tered — or supposing them to be ill-furnished with hospital comforts, even with sheets and bedding, there was no necessity for placing the wounded, as well as the sick, on beds too foul to approach, and afterward made still more offensive by the permitted accumula- tions of the secretions and putrid discharges of tlie patients. Why, also, when their arrangements in- duced so much sickness and disease, did they leave the men to suffer, often for weeks, be- fore th«y removed them (and then like sick animals) from the encampment or the prison to the hospital, often to die on the way, or as soon as they were put in the hands of a phy- sician ? Why did they discharge them when so feeble that they reeled back to the place of captivity, and even had' to crawl thither on their hands and knees ? Or why, as in one instance (and one, under such circum- stances, may be many), did they subject them, even before they were convalescent and discharged, to such a punishment as con- finement in a cell, exposure to cold, and de- privation of food ? These grave developments of the testimony, by no means new to many at the North, and occasionally the subject of newspaper report (though never in such detail as now related), nave as yet elicited no excuse or explanation ; and until an excuse or explanation comes, the government by whom such things are authorized, and the pefiple by whose public sentiment such things are encouraged, will stand arraigned for almost immeasurable in- humanity and criminality before the civilized world. But it is important that this matter of famine aud freezing, suffered by our men, should take more than a negative place, among the foregoing positive facts, as half explamed away, if it should appear that neither were necessary or unavoidable. These are the two worst developments of the inquiry — the facts cannot be denied, for no evidence was ever more closely knit in support of anything, and the question, there- fore, lies" open : Were the people who were capable of these other unaccountable and in- excusable acts, capable, also, of deliberately withholding necessary food from their prison- ers of war, and furnishing them with what was indigestible and loathsome, when their own army was abundantly supplied with good and wliolesomO' food ? Were they capable, aUo, not only of depriving their prisoners of their own clothing, but also of withholding the issue of sulficieiit to keep them warm, when the soldiers of their own army were well-equipped, and well-protected froni ex- posure to the wet and cold ? But the inquiry cannot stop at this point. If they were capable of this, then they were capable of beholding, without compassion, their fellow beings subjected to the worst and most lingering agonies which humanity can endure. Putting together the act, and this insensibility to its consequences, what other deduction can be drawn, than that all was a pre-determined plan, originating some- where in the rebel counsels, for destroying and disabling the soldfers of their enemy, who had hotiorably surrendered in the field? Aud has it come to this ? Has the ofl;- threatened black flag, the signal of a foe that has no mercy and gives no quarter, been floating all this time, not courageously on the battle field, but over pi^sons and hpspi- tals in the South, full of, surrendered and helpless men ? The commissibners, from the outset, con- sidered this department of their investigation to be fully as important as the other, and were at equal pains to leave it no longer a raattei: of doubt whether or ^ot the rebel government was unable to provide their pris- oners with food and clothing, good and suf- ficient. One fact was evident on the face of things, that no army could have endured such forced and violent marches, the fatigues and expos- ures of such desperate campaigning, and have kept up a spirit for such indomitable fighting, unless they had been well-equipped, and their physical condition had been maintained by every means, medical and commissary, known in a well regulated army. The rebel authorities could not afford to swell their army by conscription on the one hand, and to let the material, thus obtained, escape its military use, by famine and dis- ease on the other. The same arbitrary en- ergy which could enforce the one, could provide against the other. Nor are the quotations of Confederate prices any criterion by which to judge. Fbe country is rich and fertile, if the Con- federate currency is ^inflated and poor. Every agricultural resource of a soil and climate, unsurpjtssed by any other in the world, has been quickened to meet the emer- gency. The necessity has, also, in three years, developed other and unknown foun- tains of supply — all at the command of a strong, desperate, and despotic government, which has not hesitated to employ every means to keep its armies on the most per- fect military footing. This reasoning is borne out by the facts developed in the inquiry. The testimony will be found to be qmte a revelation of the TO PRISONERS OF WAR. 17 rebel mode of sustaining an army and a war. Their efficiency in this respect must be ad- mitted — an efficiency created partly by a greater aptitude and inclination for the sin- gle art of war, than for the many arts of , peace ; and partly by the deadly necessity they are under for the most strenuous pos- sible defence of their rebellion, on account of the extraordinary power developed by the Government of the United States. It appears, from the testimony, that the guards of the prisoners (of whose privations so much has been said) were better supplied with food than the prisoners. The question was frequently asked, and elicited the invari- able reply, that they did not share the same ration. Their supply was of a different character, and was enough. Sometimes they threw fragments of food to the hungry cap- tives on Belle Isle. It will be remembered, that at the time the Libby prisoners were so insufficiently fed, a room in the cellar was found stocked with provisions of excellent quality. But no testimony on this point can be so eatisfactory as that derived from the rebel Boldiers themselves. Several of the commissioners went directly from Annapolis to Washington for the ex- press purpose of visiting and examining the rebel prisoners. They found a large num- ber at the Lincoln Hospital. Although these prisoners were suffering from wounds received m the late battles of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania, they were in a physical con- ation which alone was evidence enough of the care that had been taken of them by their own government. In every case they were healthyj hardy, vigorous men. There was scarcely a trace even of the terrible fa- tigue they had so recently endured. Better than all, as an indication of their condition, their wounds were healing as only the wounds of men in perfect health can heal. Nine, out of the whole number, were ex- amined under oath. The formal testimony stopped atr this number, as it was found by conversation, that all had the same account to give, and it was needless to multiply depo- sitions. They came from six of the principal ii States of the Confederacy. Two were from Virginia, two from South Carolina, two from Georgia, one from Mississippi, one from North Carohna, and one from Alabama. In order to make the inquiry more com- plete and satisfactory, certain members of the Commission afterwards visited Fort Dela- ware, and the Hospital on David's Island, New York, at both which stations rebels were confined, and the testimony of eleven more was procured. The men were from Virginia, Georgia, North Caroling, and Mis- sissippi. tHIBD SERIEp. LIVING AGE. VOL. XXVII. The evidence of these three separate sets of witnesses, which has been placed together, was given without hesitation, and is uniform and reliable. Any amount of such could have been procured, but that which has been taken will be found full enough. The result of the whole amounts to this : In the words of one of them — '■ They had nothing to complain of in the way of food and clothing." They were supplied with rations, only a few ounces less than the over- generous ration of the United States army. The quality of the rebel ration was as satisfactory to the rebels as the quantity. The corn-bread was excellent, made by themselves from fine meal. One of them naively observed that he preferred it to Northern meal ! They had never had any meal furnished them of that quality which was ground with the cobs and Eiusks, and in which whole grains of corn occasionally ap- peared. This inferior kind, they saidj was '■ given to stock." The only time in which they suffered any privation was on a forced march, when they were in advance of their supplies — a matter liable to occur in any army. In winter they lived in cabins or tents^ well warmed, and well supplied with fuel. None ever suffered from the cold. In' sum- mer they were sheltered by tents, but these they left behind when on a campaign. They were fully supplied with clothing and with blankets or oilcloths. A requisition on the quartermaster could always procure any ar- ticle that was necessary. When engaged in active service, however, they carried as little eis possible, only the clothes they had on and a single blanket, but no man was restricted as to the amount he might carry. It may be imagined what a condition they were in, un- der this system, as respects dirt, vermin, and rags, after a long campaign and a pitched battle. They describe the hospitals, both in the city and in the field, as comfortable, and wif.h sufficient medical attendance. The bedding and sheets in Hospital No. 4, in Richmond, was said by one of them to be fully as good as those on David's Island, New York. There were also the usual deli- cacies for the sick. From all this, it appears that the Southern army has been, ever since its organization, completely equipped in all necessary respects,^ and that the men have been supplied with everything which would keep them in the best condition of mind and body, for the hard and desperate service in which they were en- gaged. They Mew nothing of famine or freezing. Their wounded and sick were never neglected. So do the few details of fact that could be 1258. 18 CRUELTIES OF REBEL AITTHORITIES extracted, without suspicion of tUeir object, from the soldidrs of the Southern army, con- firm the reasoning which accounts for its efficiency. ' The conclusion is inevitable. It was in their power to feed sufficiently, and to clothe, whenever necessary, their prisoners of war. They were perfectly -able to include them in their military establishment ; but they chose to exclude them from the position always as- signed to such, and in no respect to treat them like men tdkea in honorable warfare. Their commonest soldier was never com- ; pelled, by hunger, to eat the disgusting rations furnished at the JLiibby to United States, offlcors. Their most exposed en- campment, however temporary, never be- held the scenes of suffering which occurred 'daily and nightly among United States sol- diers in the encampment on Belle Isle. The excuse and explanation are swept away. There is. nothing now between th« Northern people and the dreadful reality. VI. The treatment of rebel prisoners atTTnited States Stations — The humane orders of the Government — rScene at Lincoln Hospibal — Interior of the Sta- tion at Fort Delaware — The Hospital on David's Island — Johnson's\Island — ^Point Looltout — Tender care of sielc and wounded Rebels at all these Stu^ ticns — Kind treatment of the wounded prisoners — Abundant shelter, fuel, clothing, and food ftu- njshed them — Facilities for bathing and exerciseT Small mortality — No robbing — No shooting — No abuse — Christian burial of the dead — The con- trast of the Union and Rebel pHsoners at the moment of exchange. The moment has now come for the re- verse to this melancholy picture, and it will be as grateful to the American people at large, as it was to the Commissioners. Early in the progress of their investiga- tion, while in the midst of the sufferers taking their testimony, and occasionally hearing floating and irresponsible rumors of cquai neglect and cruelty on our part twward the rebel prisoners in our hands, they determined to make a full inquiry in- to the conduct and management of United States Stations where they were confined. A large proportion of the testimony will be found devoted to this department. The variety and the widely separate sources of I the evidence, will only make more conspiou- ' ous its absolute unity and truth. It reveals an impressive ooatEast, point for point, with tlkat which has just been narrated, and has' turned out to be entirely confirmatory of what Quartermaster-GeneraKMeigs declares in bis letter,* " that such prisonexa are * See page Si. treated, with all the. consideration and kindness that might bO expected of a hu- mane and Christian people." The design of the Government is fully exhibited in the circular orders issued by Colonel Hoffman, Commissary-General of Prisoners.f The ration was to be generous and abundant; its elements of the fullest va- riety. The amount issued being greater than a man could consume, the excess over that which was given, was to. go to the formation of a Prison fund, which was to be applied in various ways, (not expressly provided for in the army regulations,) that would promote the health and comfort of the prisoners. Army clothing was to be furnished by requisition, whenever needed, the only dif- ference being that the buttons and trim- mings were to be taken from the coats, and the skirts cut so short that the captives should not be mistEtken for United States soldiers. . Careful accounts were to be kept of the nwnoy-itnd valuables taken from each pris- oner, which accounts were to accompany him, if transferred from one post to another ; and when paroled, the articles were to be returned. They were to be permitted to correspond with their fKends. All articles that were sent to them were to be delivered, if not contraband. The hospital had its separate provisions. The keepers in charge were to be " respon- sible to the commanding officer for its good order, and the proper treatment of the sick." A fund for each hospital was to be created, as in other United States hospitals, and to be expended for the comfort of the sick, Snd " objects indispensably necessary to promote the sanitary condition of the hospital." The minute directipns of the entire order look equally to the seduritj' of the prisoners, > and to all that is necessary for them in health or sickness. The dommissioners are able to testify that the order is fully carried out. They took pains not only to procure evidence as to the fact, but to see for themselves. Two members of the Commission came, without previous notice, to the Lincoln hos- pital in Washir^on, where they had^ heard that several hundred of the rebels lay, having been wounded in the recent bat- tles. The chief object of the visitors at the time has beea a&eady mentioned. But they were able also to observe how well the hospital was conducted. Altkough arriving at an unseasonable t The *hole document will be fbund on page TO PKISONERS OP WAR. 19 hour.when the surgeons and nurses were The following description is from notes examining and dressmg the woiinds, they taken on the spot by one of the party were instantly admitted, with marked and and written out immediately afterward- cordial courtesy, by Chief Surgeon McKee, " The prisoners numbering between eight upon his learning the mission upon which and nine thousand were lodged outside the they had come. _ walls of the fort, (which is situated on an Ihe wards were airy and neat, free from island,) in well built and ventilated barracks, offensive odor, the beds so clean that the and have free access at all hours to the ad- visitors sat upon them while taking testi- joining enclosures for air and exercise. They mony. The men themselves were cheerful were permitted, and, indeed, urged to bathe and good-natured, the more shghtly wounded in squads in the river and to wash in sluices crowding up curiously to know what was to which the tide had access twice in the going on, until requested to retire. Some twenty-four hours, and the facilities for were sitting by their beds reading novels or these purposes were so great that any odd numbers of periodicals, now and then a man might, if he chose, wash his whole bible. They were always ready to converse, person every day, and swim in the Delar and answered the questions that were put to ware twice a week. them without hesitation. _ [ " Every man is ftirnished 'with a commo- The visitors could see no difference in dious bunk, with the head raised at a propijr these two wards from the twenty or more inclination above the feet, presenting a strik- others in the same hospital that were apgro- ing contrast to a Confederate prison, where priated to the United" States soldiers, the patients were mostly in clean, white under- clothing, and if it had not been for a figure in butternut-colored uniform here and there, nothing would have suggested the presence of an enemy. The wounds were being tenderly unband prisoners sleep on the floor, or on the earth,^ and have not even a bunch of straw between them and the ground. " The result of these precautions, and of the superior ventilation of the barracks waa to render the quarters of the prisoners free from the unpleasant odor which generally ex- aged and dressed by the surgeons and their ists where large number of men are brought assistants. .Kindness and attention were j together, and compelled to live in common, visible everywhere. Female nurses and a | The same remark applies to the hospitals, white-hooded Sister of Charity were con- which are spacious, clean, and in good order. stantly moving from bed to bed. One of them was seen carrying a waiter of iced porter to the wounded, and holding the glass to the lips of the more helpless, The spectacle was in remarkable contrast with that which had been described by Dr, Ferguson, only the evening before, as wit- nessed by him in Hospital No. 21, Richmond, where our soldiers lay amid the secretions of their body, and the purulent discharges of their wounds, dying of neglect, and for want of the commonest medical attention. Some time after this, two members of the commission made an especial visit to Fort Delaware, for the express purpose of exam- ining into the prison and hospital arrange- ments there, in order to give, in this narra- tive, their own direct testimony and de- Bcrintion, as well as whatever evidence they might be able to collect. They fixed upon Fort Delaware because it was one of the most extensive of the United States stations for prisoners of war, and because it had been the object of vari- ous rebel reports.* * A recent speehnen from the Richmond De- ipatch, July 14t!i. Speaking of' some returned prisoners, trie account runs: " They were sub- sequently imprisoned at Fort Delaware, where those who had money fared pretty well, but Otiiers, less fortunate, suiffered waily 'privations. " When we went through the barracks, shortly before sunset, the men were gener- ally out of doors walking about, talking, playing cards, washing, or occupying them- selves in other ways. They appeared in general, contented and cheerful. Many of them had improvised sutler's shops, and were seated on the ground or boxes, sell- ing coffee, broiled ham, bread, and other articles of food to their comrades, who were gathered around laughing and chatting. " The means to prosecute this traffic came, we were told, from sympathizing friends in different parts of the Union, and fivjm small sums of money paid as wages to such of the men as were willing to be detailed to per- form various duties outside of the barracks at different points on the island. We tasted the coffee, which was sold for five cents a pint, and found it well made and palatable. " Much good humor seemed to prevail, and there was not a little good-natured laughter while we were making the purchase. We were struck by the assured yet affable air with which General Schopf moved through They state,; that the condition q'f the Confederate prisoners at that point is deplorable in the ex* treme, and strongly urge the adoption of soma measures for their relic?. Sickness is very prey- alent- among them, while the rations are meagre and of poor quality." 20 CRtJELTIES OF REBEL AUTHORITIES the dense throng that pressed to look at the visitors. He was unattended even by an orderly. His manner indicated a conscious- ness that he had nothing to fear from indi- vidual resentment. "In addition to the water of the river which, as already stated, is accessible at all times for the purposes of cleanliness, thirty thousand gallons of drinking water are brought every day from the Brandy- wine, and distributed among the prisoners and the soldiers of the garrison, by means of large hose and a forcing pump worked by a steam engine. Health and comfort are ..therefore studied in this as in other particu- lirs, but it was at first found difficult to pre- vent the prisoners from drinking from shal- low wells dug by themselves, the water of which is brackish, and heis a tendency to produce disease. " The rations issued to the prisoners were the subject of an attentive examinJition. We tasted the bread, which is made of four parts of flour and one of Indian meal, and found it of superior quality, sweet and pala- table; better indeed than is met with at hotels or places of resort in the country; quite as good as may be found in any well- ordered family. The meat was also sweet and of good quality. The diet is judiciously varied, potatoes and fresh vegetables being furnished in large quantities, wherever the health of the men appears to require it. The rations actually received by the prison- ers until the 1st of June, 1864, were nearly three pounds of , solid food for each man per day, besides coffee, sugar, molasses, etc. The quantity was then reduced to about thirty-four and a half ounces per diem.* "The health of the prisoners is as care- fully considered in the matter of clothihg, as in other respects ; those who "require blan- ks or additional garments being supplied with them on proper application. Large nlimbers of coats, pantaloons, etc., were is- sued in this way during the past and pre- vious winters. When a prisoner is placed on the sick list, and taken to the hospital, he is put in a warm bath, supplied with clean under-clothing, and then laid on a ■■ bed with clean sheets, in an airy apart- ment, where his condition is, so far as his disease will permit, one not only of com- parative but absolute comfort. " The percentage of deaths at Fort Dela- ware was, during some months of last autumn and winter, large. This result arose from a • " The reduction recently made in the prison- er's rations," writes Quartermaster-Geueral Meigs, June 9th, "was for tlie purpose of bringing ifc nearer to what the rebel authorities profen to sUow their soldiers, and no complaint has been boaid of its insufficiency." variety of causes originating before the pris- oners were captured • and brought to the island, and which the officers there could not at first remove or control. Among these may be enumerated the want of vaccmation, which seems to be as rare among the poorer classes of the South as it is general at the North ; the attempts made by the prisoners to vaccinate each other, which often caused disease of a dangerous type from the charac- ter of the virus employed ; and the bad state of the body of many of the men taken at and near Vicksburg, who were broken down by hardships and fatigues sustained before their capture, as well as by the influence of the terrible malaria of the South. " But while the ratio of mortality among . the American soldiers in the hands of the , rebels has continued to augment with time, the health of the Confederate prisoners at Fort Delaware has, on the contrary, im-, proved under the influence of good food or kind treatment, until in May, 1864, but sixty- two died out of eight thousand one hundred and twentyrsix confined at the island. " The cruel and unusual rule by which an approach to the windows from inadvertence, or for the most innocent purpose, is made an offense punishable with death in the Confed- erate prisons, is, it need hardly be said, un- known in Fort Delaware. Few restraints are imposed, and those only such as are im- peratively necessary for the preservation of order and cleanliness among a numerous and motley crowd, which necessarily contains some men of gross and filthy habits." * Shooting was never resorted to unless a rule was grossly and persistently violated. Even then the direction was to order the prisoner " three distinct times to halt ; " and if he " failed to halt, when so ordered, the sentinel must enforce his order by bayonet or ball." There were but five instances of shooting, under these instructions, and thfly wefe in every case in obedience to them. It is hardly worth while to notice the question whether any were shot for looking out of the windows. No such order was ever given in this, or any other United States Station. Here the windows were seen filled with the prisoners. The Commissioners are under great obli- gations to General Schbpf, Commander of the Post, for the courtesy shown them, in personally conducting them over the station, and to the sui^eons aud officers in attend- ance, who readily furnished all the evidence that was asked for. It was here that the documents, the general circular, the orders, and the schedules of rations and clothing were obtained. * From notes by Judge Hare* TO PRISONERS OF WAR. The, testimony is exceedingly full and sat- isfactory on It is the same story everywhere; — pris- oners of war treated worse than convicts, shut up either in suffocating buildings, or in out- door enclosures, without even the shelter that is provided for the beasts of the field ; unsup- plied with sufficient food ; supplied with food and water injurious and even poisonous; compelled to live in such personal uucleanli- ness as to generate vermin ; compelled to sleep on floors often covered with human filth, or on ground saturated with it ; com- pelled to breathe an air oppressed with an intolerable stench ; hemmed in by a fatal dead-line, and in hourly danger of being shot by unrestrained and brutal guards ; de- spondent even to madness, idiocy and sui- cide ; sick of diseases (so, congruous in charaotsr as to appear and spread like the plague) caused by the torrid sun, by decay- ing food, by filth, by vermin, by malaria, and by cold ; removed a.i the last moment, and by hundreds at a time, to hospitals corrupt as a sepulchre, there, with few remedies, little care and no, sympathy, to die in wretched- ness and despair, not only among strangers, but among enemies too resentful to have pity or to show mercy. These are positive facts. ' Tens of thou- sands of helpless men have been and are now being disabled and destroyed by a pro- cess as certain as poison, and as CTuel as the torture or burning at the stake, because nearly as agonizing and more prolonged. This spectacle is daily beheld and allowed by the rebel government. No supposition of negligence, or thought- lessness, or indifference, or accident, or in- efficiency, or destitution, or necessity, can account for all this. So many and such posi- tive forms of abuse and wrong cannot come from negative causes. The conclusion is unavoidable, therefore, that " these privations and sufferings " have been " designedly inflicted by the miljtary and other authority of the rebel govern- ment," and cannot have been " due to causes which such authorities could not control." Further than this, the Commissioners are not required to express an opinion. Whether * For the full account see Supplement, page 74. 24 or not they are, the result of an infuriated . and vindictive animosity against the Federal government and people, or the result of a pre-determined policy, deliberately formed, to discourage and affright our soldiers, to de- stroy them, or to disable them for further military service, or to compel our Govern- ment to an exchange on other than the terms to which it is in honor and by necessity com- mitted, the public are in a position to decide. The Commissioners ^ave now performed their painful task. I^ has not been a grate- ful duty to narrate facts so unworthy of any people, especially of one heretofore so highly respected, so much admired, and in so many respects a credit to the American name. That name is shamed and dishonored by their exposure. But there is one source of pride and con- fratulation ; that, whatever abuses may have eeu developed on the Northern side of this war, none of them were originated or sanc- tioned by the government. In every case they have been the impulsive acts of sub- ordinates here and there ; and such are in- cident to any conflict. The noble and mag- nanimous ma"hner in which the go\'ernment treats the enemies to its peace and pros- perity, when they have become helpless pris- oners in its hands, is, alone, a sufficient mani- festation of the spirit, which animates it in waging this war. No sentiment of anger or resentment has actuated it from the begin- ning. The condition of its prison stations and hospitals is the best and proudest exponent of the cause of humanity which it seeks to maintain. This praise will be awarded it by the historian and by posterity, when the story of this stupendous struggle shall be written. Can as much be said of the cause which stands in opposition to it ? The facts of this narrative, and of others that will be yet more complete, will also enter into the future his- tory of this conflict, but will form its most tragical chapter. It will in that day be known whether the ^ spirit which animates the South is not also the spirit which has generated the-cause of the South. The spirit which animates a cause gives the character to , that cause. A people like an individual is estimated by its actions and by its motives. Perhaps the world will yet discover a strange and reciprocal working of influences in the production of that which now opposes the Republican progress of this government. Perhaps the social theory, already so widely accepted, may yet be fully established, which attributes the alienation of the South- ern people to a .simple difference of feeling on a question of humanity. A too positive denial of humanity to another race, and a top positive contempt for a poorer class of CRUELTIES OF REBEL AUTHORITIES their own race, have fostered those per- verted principles, which would undeAnine a government filled with a more generous idea, and excite a hatred toward the people who would uphold it. As an exponent of the inhumanity of the Southern cause, it is not unjust, therefore, to point to its prisons and hospitals, where disregard of the sacred- ness of human life, and the cry of human suf- fering, has such an extraordinary manifesta- tion. * And in the face of all this, the confederate congress, with the approval of the confeder- ate president, issued, on the I4th of June last, a manifesto, of which the following is the concluding declaration : " We commit our cause to (he enlightened judgment of the world, to the sober reflections of our adversaries themsehes, and to the sol- emn and righteous arbitrament of Heaven." Can this appeal, to both Divine and hu- man judgment, be really sincere, or is it only a rounded and rhetorical termination of a state paper ? Is the rebel government re- ally so unconscious of this barbarous warfare, that it confidently expects the respect and sympathy of the civilized world ? Is it re- ally so unconscious of vindictive cruelty, that it confidently expects a revulsion in its favor from a community whose fathers and brothers and sons lie piled by thousands in pits and trenches, not on the battle-field hut in the neighborhood of prisons and hos- pitals ? Is it really so unconscious of crime that it claims even the favorable judgment of Him, unto whom all hearts are open, from whom no secrets are hid, and who requires of man to deal justly and to love mercy ? Is it really anxious to stand before that bar*hose final discrimination betviten good^and evil it has been revealed, shall rest upon the sin- gle fact of humanity or inhumanity, whether the passions of anger and hate have been con- trolled, whether enemies have been forgiven, whether privation and suffering ha-ve been relieved ? In view of the powerless captive, hungry, naked, sick and wounded, does it re- ally await " the solemn and righteous arbitra- ment" of Him, to-day, who will hereafter say to the cruel and the unmerciful : " I was an hungred, and ye gave lie no meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink : I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in : njiked and ye clothed Me not : sick and in prison, and ye visited Me not " ? Let the Southern conscience listen ! Let it remember that'the judgment of Heaven is on the side of humanity, and against cruelty and oppression ; that a wrong done to a man is a wrong done to God, who will make the cause of the suffering His own, and will avenge Himself on His enemies : " Verily, I say unto you, Inasmuch ek ye TO PRISONERS OF WAR. 25 did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me ! " "And here the Commissioners leave the sub- jest. Their inquiry was originated, and has been pursuod^in the hope that it might, by awakening further attention, be one of the means which would bring about an abandon- ment by the rebel government of its prison and hospital system. The many and simulta- neous exposures which have been made, may possibly influoe, at least, a prudence which may work the same result as a bfetter motive. Already there are symptoms of some such movement, and of an adnaission, even at this late moment, of the misary that has been produced, a moveihent and admission wheth- er made from necessity or self-interest does not yet appear.* * It has not been thought necessary to allude to the subject oi' the suspen^on of the cartel of exchange, as it had but little bearing on the points to be inves- tigated. But the lately published letter from Major General Butler, Commissioner of Kxciiange, to the Confederate Commissioner, Ould, is of interest and importance at the present juncture. It will be found priatod entire in the supplement. The following; extract from General Butler's letter But whatever the event may be, this in- (juiry will have worked its best purpose, if its facts should ever reach that nobler portion of the Southern people, who are really chiv- alrous and really religious, who have been committed to these abuses, whc have not been kept in ignorance of them, and lead to a protest and revulsion that will compel their government to a repudiation of the iniquity, and to a course more worthy of a civilized and christian people. has a connection with the above remark in the re- port : "I unite with you cordially. Sir, in desiring a speedy settlement of all these questions, in view of the great suileriug endured by our prisoners in th^ hands ofcyour auihorities, of which you so feelingly speak. Let m& (t^^s, iJi view of that s^fferinff, why you have delayed eight months to amwer a propositionj which, by now acc^tins, you admit to be right, just, and humane, allowing that sujfet ing to continue so long! One cannot help thinking, even at the risk of being deemed uucharitable, that the benevolent sym- pathies of the Confederate authorities have been lately stirred by tlie depleted condition of their ar- mies, and a desire to get into the tirld, to effect the present campaign, the hale, hearty, and well-fed prisoners held by the United States, in exchange for the half-starved, sick, emaciated, and unserviceable soldiers of the United States now languishing in your prisons." The following paper having been read before the Commission, by Dr. Wallace, it was, on motion of Dr. Delafield, adopted by the Commission, and ordered to be ap- pended to their Report. ' •MEDICAL EEPORT. Food — Quantity of Food for a Man — Character of Food — Relation of Food to Temperature— Ration of the Soldiers — Treatment of Rebel Prisoners at U.S. Stations — Rations — Clothing, Shelter and Fuel Condition of Rebel Prisoners — Treatment of Union Prisoners in Rebel Ilandts — Rations of " Union Prisoners — Quantity of Ration — Character and Quality of the Ration — 111 Effects of the Rations No Variety in rations of Union Prisoners — Comparison of rations of Union and of Itebel Prisoners Consequence of DeBoient Food — Diseases Produced by InsuflBcient Food— Insufficient nutriment is Starvation — Privations other than of Food— Crowd Poisoning — Uncleanliness Coni- pelled — Condition of Union Prisoners — Clothing and Warmth vs. Starvation — The Sick and Feeble, liable to Freeze Men Frozen — Nuinbers diseased as above — Management of the Sick — Star- vation in Flanders Cause of condition and Mortality of returned Union Prisoners — Treatment of Sick Union Prisoners — Mortality in Rebel Hospitals for Union Prisoners — Mortality in U. S. A. Hospital— Mortality at Belle file — Mortality at Andersonville — Mortality at Fort Delaware — Mortality at Johnson's Island — Additional Mortality— Kindness of Rebel Surgeons. To' Dr. Valentine Mott, Chairman, etc. Mb. Chairman :— _ According to the direction of the Com- mission, I lay°be.fore you certain considera- tions relating to the treatment adopted by the authorities of the States in rebellion to- wards United States soldiers held by themas prisoners of war, with the view of determin- mg the influence of this treatment upon the hygiene and mortality of its subjects. I shall ground my remarks upon the evidence ap- pended — upon the opinions of reliable scien- tific authorities — and to some, though slight degree, upon our own personal observation. Food. In investigating the subject before us, the question of food takes rank as of first im- portance ; and, in considering this point, there are certain well established facts relating to the subject of alimentation, to which we must refer. 26 CRUELTIES OF REBEL AUTHORITIES I Quantity of Food for a man. In deciding upon the quantity of food re- quisite for the due support of a man, Profes- Sir John Rdss, " resists cold bette.- than the man who is stinted, while the starvation from cold follows but toosooil a starvation in food.'' sor Daltoo* says that " any estimate of the And Sir John Franklin, in his narrative of a total quantity should state also the kind of journey to the Polar sea, writes, " noquanti- food used," as the total quantity will necessa- 1 ty of clothing could keep us Warm while we rily vary with the quality, since some articles fasted." " In tropical climates and in hot contain much more alimentary material than ! seasons, the system requires a smaller quan- others." And Surgeon-General Hammondf : tity of food than in colder countries and in cold seasons." * Individuals whose business requires much bodily exertion, or that they should spend much of their time in the open Character of Food. says, "it is necessary that the food of man should consist of a variety of substances, in air, eat more than those of sedentary hafits! order that the several functions of the or- ' And we have, from the authority of 'Carpen- gamsm may be properly carried on ; no fact ter, in his work on Human Physiology, that in dietetics is better established th*n this." . "a considerable reduction in the amount of And Professor Dunglisonf speaks to the same food sufficient for men in regular active ex- end thus: "mafi is so organized as to be ercise, is, of course, admissible where little adapted for living on both animal and vege- bodily exertion is required, and where there table substances, and if we lay aside our is less exposure to lovy temperatures." mixed nutriment, and restrict ourselves whol- ' Ration of the soldier. The ration of the British Soldier IS, at ly to the products of the one or the other kingdom, scurvy supervenes.§ , Dalton states that the amount of solid food """"^ stations, sixteen ounces of bread and required during twenty-four hours by a man twelve ounces of uncooked meat ; at foreign in full health and taking free exercise in the stations, four ounces more of meat are al- open air, is, of bread, nineteen ounces ; meat, 'owed. Any extras are bought by the sol- sixteen ounces ; and butter, three and a half ^^^^ °"* "^ ^^^ o^° funds. The French sol- ounces ; in all, thirty-eight and a half ounces." ^]^^ in the Crimea had forty-two and five- Hammond places the amount of solid food eighths ounces of solid food, about ten and a " required to maintain the organism of a ^^^^ ounces of which were animal, the rest healthy adult American, up to the full meas- vegetable. In time of peace his ration is nre of physical and mental capability, at 'ess. " The American soldier is better fed about forty ounces, of which two-thirds should t**^" ®"3' o'lier in the world. This is proved be vegetable, and one-third animal." by the healthy condition of the troops. Scur- Moreover, duo variety in the food \s but vy, one of the first diseases to make its ap- second in importance to sufficient quantity, pearance when the food v< of inferior quality, (See Pereira on food and diet.) In fact, the last named physiologist declares that " no matter how nutritious food may be, it is far better to exchange it for that even less nu- tritious, than to continue an unvarying same- ness." Relation of food to temperature. • And as to the relation of food to tempera- ture : "In temperati! climates, the seasons exercise an influence, not only over the qual- ity, but the quantity of food taken into thesys- tem. Most persons eat more in winter than in summer. The cause is doubtless to be found in the fact, that, in cold weather a greaterquautity of respiratory food is required in order to keep up the animal heat, than in hot weather, when the external temperature more nearly approaches the temperature of the body. || " lie who is well fed," observes * Human Physiology- t Treatise on Hygiene.- i Human tiealth. S Professor Wood, in his Treatise t)n Practice of MediCiiie, defines Saurvy to be a disease In which "the blood IS depraved, and the system debilitated, Witha tendency to hemorrUage and to local conges- U Hammond's Hygiene. has prevailed to so slight an extent, &c."f His ration of solid foodt is about fifty-two and a half ounces, with a fair range for variety ; and extra issues of pickles, fruits, and special vegetables, are made, when the medical offi- cers deem them necessary. This ration is more than the man is generally able to con- sume, and the surplus is resold to the govern- ment for his benefit. Treatment of Rebel Prisoners at U. S. Stations.— Rations. The rations issued for the rebel soldiers held by our government as prisoners of war, were the same as for the United States gai> rison troops and soldiers on active service, except the bread ration, which was four ounces less ; and the amount given, was, of solid food, forty-three ounces, besides e.xtra vegetables, etc., sometimes, which were (see Captain Clark's evidence) procured by sale of the surplus, as above noted in the case of the Federal troops. No material change was made until the first of June,- 18G4, since which date the amount given was reduced to * Pereira, Food and Diet. t Hammond's Hygiene. X Assuming soft bread and &Gsh beef as the baste TO PRISONERS OF WAR. thirty-four and a half ounces, while the range for variety of articles remained unchanged, and from the excess of the rations issued, the surplus fund for the use of the prisoners was larger than before. That this amount will Tje sufficient for comfort and health in the warm weather, and under the inactive life of the prisoner, we must infer from the state- ments of Pereira, Hammond, and Carpenter (above), and may likewise consider proven by the fact, that at Fort Delaware, even in the cold weather of the past winters, the prisoners could not consume all that was given them, and that large quantities of food were secreted, and wasted by them.* By authority of the War Department, the same Regulations as are observed at all sta- tions, where prisoners of war are held,f and of course at all such stations, the same gen- eral condition of things must prevail. Clothing, shelter, and fuel. Our evidence exhibits that all needful clothing and blankets, in some cases even to I excess, as well as good and adequate shelter, with sufficient fuel for comfortable warmth, were furnished by the United States Govern- ment to the rebel prisoners. Condition of Rebel Prisoners. In our visit to Fort Delaware we passed through the barracks and enclosures contain- ing about eight thousand prisoners. We ob- served that these men were in good physical condition, and presented the aspect of health and strength : as was the case at other sta- tions, as seen by the appended evidence. The careful attention to cleanliness urged, and sometimes even enforced, by the United . States officers in charge, doubtless contributes to their general good condition in no small degree. We were unable to observe any dif- ference between the treatment of the rebels and the United States soldiers in the hospi- tal at Fort Delaware, or in Lincoln Hospital near Washington. The evidence proyes the same arrangements of ward, and bed, and diet, to have been made, with all other nec- essarv appliances, for the rebel as for the Union soldier, in the time^of sickness, at all stations where prisoners of war ar^ held by the United States Government. Treatment of Union Prisoners in rehel hands. Wlien we come to investigateihe testimo- ny in relation to the treatment of United States soldiers while prisoners in the hands of the rebels, .we find a most serious differ- ence from the state of things above described. Rations of Union prisoners. We learn from those returned that the ra- *See also letter from Quartermaster-General Ucigs, npponded. ' "t See Appendix. 27 tions given them varied at different timea and places, but their declarations all concur in this, that they had not food enough to sus- tain their strength, nor to satisfy their hun- ger ; and though these men were held cap- tive at various times, and for a varying peri- od, and at various places, yet their average statements are the same with little limitation. Quantity of ration. Wheat bread was given to some of them for a short time, but the bread was generally made of corn meal. The largest daily ration of wheat bread, of which we have evidence, would weigh about eleven (11) ounces, and the smallest but little more than three (3) ounces. The largest daily ration of corn bread was in bulk from thirty-one (31) to thirty-two (32) cubic inches, representing rather more than twelve (12) ounces of corn meal, while the smallest represented but four (4) ounces. The ration of meat was, in a few instances, from four (4) to six (6) ounces, but generally about two ounces, though in some cases it was less than this. The meat was irregularly given ; not often daily, and to some, only at intervals of days, or even several weeks, and when meat was served, the bread was, in many instances, diminished. About half a pint of soup, containing sweet potato, or generally beans or peas in amount about two ounces, was sometimes given, with or without, meat in different cases. The beans and peas were occasion- ally given raw and dry. The maximum amount of solid food for one day, described, was . . 10 oz. bread. 6 oz. beef. With half a pint of soup made of the water in which the beef was boiled, and con- taining about two ounces of beans or peas, and, therefore representing . . . 2 oz. Total, 18 oz. The minimum amount was about . . . Total, 4 oz. bread. 1 oz. beef. 6 oz. And so between five (5) and eighteen (18) ounces the rations varied, and in the article of meat, especially, was the great deficiency. Character and Quality of the Ration. But it is necessary to note the character also of the rations. The quality of the wheat bread appears to have been good, but that of the corn bread decidedly the reverse. It was made of meal which was 28 coarsely ground and rough, contained all the hull (or brail), often whole graiiA of corn, with fragments of cob or of husk in- termingled ; frequently ill-baked, or over- baked, and sour and musty withal. The soup, was, by universal declaration of the witnesses, repulsive in odor and dis- gusting in flavor. It appears to have been made of the water in which the beef was boiled. Gravel and sand were the least objectionable of the impurites found in it. The beans and peas issued were generally worm-eaten, and contained these insects in quantities, so that they would be floating on the surface, or intermixed throughout the mass of soup and beans. Ill effects of the Rations. Dunglison, in the work before quoted, says that " Corn bread, with those unaccus- tomed to its use, is apt to produce diarrhoea, ■in conse(juence probably of the presence of the husk,* with which it is always more or less mixed, &c.," and it is " but little adapted for those liable to bowel affections, &c. And Dr. Hassall says, " In those unaccustomed to its use, maize is considered to excite and to keep up a tendency to diarrhcea." Every one is aware of the laxative influ- ence of so-called bran bread,f which is due to the physical action of the hidl of the grain upon the delicate lining membrane of the stomach and bowels, acting thereupon as an excitant or irritant, though tempered by the bland influence of the wheaten flour. Now what must be the result when the meal is of corn, and coarse, and intermix- ed with hull and grain entire, with husk and cob in fragments, among our Northern troops, who are, for the most part, " unaccus- tomed to the use of corn meal " ? We see by the evidence, that some of the men observed the influence of this bread, in producing the diarrhoea with which so many were afflicted. The character of the soup, as above de- scribed, would stamp it as entirely unfit for food, and upon men already sufl'ering from diarrhoea, the evil influence of such a com- pound is but too plainly to be imagined. The evidence shows that some could not eat it, though hungry to starvation. No variety In Bations of Union Prisoners. The average amount of meat allowed was so small that it is not worthy of special con- sideration ; and as to the variety and change of diet, upon which all physiologists lay so great stress, — it is not in the Reco!rd, — there was none of it. * Prof. DunRllson informs me that by the word Tiusk, lie intendd to imply that whioh is commonly denominated bran. t iSce X'crcira,.]food.and Diet, CRUELTIES OP REBEL AtTHOKITIES Comparison of rations of Union and of Eebel pris. oners. How do these amounts and qualities com- pare with: the maximum forty-three ounces, or the minimum thirty-four and a half oun- ces, of standard Government food, of excel- lent quality, and abundant room for variety, . and extra issue of frestf vegetables according to necessity, which the United States Govern- ment allows its prisoners? The question may be answered by contrasting the exhaust- ed, the attenuated, the melancholy, the im- becile, the dying, and the dead. Union sol- diers, returning nome from Richmond, with the cheerful, healthy, and vigorous South- erners, held at, or released from, the various United States stations referred to in the ap- pended testimony. Consequence of deficient food. Let us look now at the consequence of de-, ficiency of food, as explained by students anjl obseiwers of the subject. In the Medical and Surgical history of the British army whieh served in Turkey and the Crimea, we find that " during January, 1855, by the deficiency of food, the efficien- cy of the whole army was seriously com- promised. Disease was simply the more overt manifestation of a pathdlogical state of the system, which was all but universal, and merely indicated the worst grades of it. Fe- ver and affections of the bowels represented the forms in which morbid actions were usu- ally presented, while gangrene and scurvy indicated those privations and that exposure from which these diseases were mainly de- rived." Again, " in starvation the tissues of the body are consumed for the production of heat, and rapid loss of weight is the conse- quiin^ce. The other vital processes all in- volve decomposition of the substance of or- gans, and add to the loss which the body un- dergoes. From insufficient food for a few Diseases produced by insn£9cient food. weeks, disease is almost invariably induced ;'' typhus and typhoid fever, scurvy and ancemia are the consequences." * Dr. Carpenter, in his Human Physiology, says, " the prisoners confined in Mill Bank Penitentiary, in 1823, who had previously received an allowance of from thirty-one to thirty-three ounces of dry nutriment daily, had this allowance sud- denly reduced to twenty-one ounces, — ani- mal food being almost entirely excluded from the diet scale. They were at the same time subjected to a low grade of teniperature, and to considerable exertion ; in the course of a few weeks the health of a large proportion of the inmates begSn to give wav, The first symptoms were loss of color, an3 diminution of health and strength, subsequently diar- * Hammond's Hygiene. TO PRISONERS OP WAR. rhcea, dysentery, scurvy, and lastly adynamic fevers, or headache, vertigo, convulsions, maniacal delirium, apoplexy, &Cv ^fter death, ulcerations of the mucous lining of the alimentary canal were very commonly found ; fifty-two per cent, were thus affected. That the reduction of the allowance of food was the main source of the epidemic, was proved, * * » &c." Insufficient nutrition is starration. We appeal here to Chossat's Inquiries, i"e- sulting in the proof of this curious effect of insufficient nutriment, that it produces an in- capability of digesting even the small amount consumed. " So that, in the end, the results are the same as those of entire deprivation of food, the total amount of loss being almost exactly identical, but its rate being less." Privations other than of food. But in addition to a starvation diet, our evidence furnishes proof of confinement to overcrowded rooms, without proper ventila- tjon — of want of clothing — want of shelter — and denial of suitable means of warmth, whether by hlankets or hy fuel, and this even during the fall, winter, and spring just passqd. Crowd-Poisoning. '^Overcrowding, imperfect ventilation, and want of cleanliness, are three conditions usu- ally associated, and may be designated by the single term Crowd-Poisoning."* The evidence exhibits that about twenty square feet was, in some instances, all the superficial space permitted to each man confined in pris- on. And, on Belle Isle, it would appear that ' for a time there was little variation from the same area. " The air of crowded camps and habitations becomes contaminated through emanations givep off during respiration, through effluvia from the skin, and by the decomposition V)f the various excreta. The nitrogenized matter carried into the air from the skin, and the products arising from the decomposition of the excreta, are sources of deadly mischief. The effects of overcrowd- ing are not only manifested ty the increased violence and the adynamic character of all diseases occurring among those exposed, but the development and severity of the ady- namic fevers appear particularly connected with this cause." t ■ And again, "To the or- ganic matters emanating from the human Ijody, more than to any other cause, the in- jurious results of overcrowding are to be as- cribed." " The proofs are ample, that the emanations from the human body are of a decidedly del- eterious character, when present in large • Woodward; Camp Diseases. f Woodward. 29 amounts in the atmosphere inhaled. They aire absorbed by the clothing, and even the walls of the room take them up and retain them for a long time." * "If animals be kept crowded together in ill-ventilated apartments, they speedily sicken." f " The continued res- piration of an atmosphere charged with the exhalations of the lungs and skin is the most potent of all the predisposing causes of dis- ease." t Uncleanllness compelled. Dut Dr. Woodward alludes to " want of cleanliness " as one of the elements of ordi- nary crowd-poisoning. Far more than ordi- nary was this "want" in the rebel prisons, especially on Belle Isle. A reference to the evidence will show that accumulatidn of filth of the most noisome character was compelled by prison discipline ; that important accom- modations were denied during the night hours, resulting in unavoidable soiling of the quarters of the prisoners, while the means of bathing, though convenient, were to so great an extent denied the prisoners, as to- produce, in a large number of them, a con- dition of the skin, which is not only a disease in itself, but is also a cause of disorders vari- ous and grave. § Condition of Union Prisoners. We observed the surface of the bodies of a number who suffered thus; it was of most remarkable aspect, appearing as though it had been covered with a heavy coat of com- mon varnish, which had dried^and cracked, and was pealing up in scales of every size. To the^ touch, it was as sand-paper of irreg- ular quality. The cuticle — ^both effete and living — lay in masses, separated by fissures of varying extent and depth, through which watery and bloody fluids were seen exuding. The soles of the.feet were like the sole of a plastergr's shoe — white, brown and yellow ; the cuticle dried and broken, and laminated variously. , The functions of the skin, upon which physiologists lay so great stress, are here al- most entirely unperformed, and hence we have " gastric disturbances, and diarrhoeas," with suppression of that aeration of blood — that true respiration, which, physiologists teU us, takes place through the skin. _ Hence the lungs are overtaxed, and congestions are in-, duced. And when to this we add the. depraved state of the blood of the sufferers, and their exposures to cold, and wet, and storm, by day and night, we have, in full quantity, those general and specifil condi- * Hammond. f Dungiison. i Carpenter. $ See Surgeon Ely's evidence. 30 CRUELTIES OF EEBEL AUTHORITIES tions, which induce pulmonary diseases of every grade and character. Clothing and warmth vs. starratiou. On the question of clothing and varmth ; from what has been shown above, a corollary is directly deducible, viz.: That if food be in limited quantity, low temperature should be avoided, and external warmth duly main- tained. " Artificial warmth may be made to tak& the place of nourishment otherwise re- quired. And there is adequate ground for considering death by starvation, as really death from cold. The temperature of the body is maintained with little diminution till the fat is consumed, and then rapidly falls, unless it bo kept up by heat externally ap- plied." * Now not only was external heat not granted' by the rebels to their prisoners, but their blankets were generally taken from them, as also some of their personal clothing. The sick and feeble liable to freezing. Further, " the side and feeble will not bear the low temperature, which, to those in good' condition, acts as a healthful stimulant. In diseases attended with deficient power of cir- culation, congelation of the tissues is liable to occur, from the effects of a temperature which could not give rise to it in a healthy subject." We see that diarrhosa, scurvy, — and these two disorders existing coincidently " in the majority of cases of diarrhoea," — coilgestion of the lungs of atonic character, and " debilitas," (as the medical records of the hospital have it,) all stand out promi- nently in the evidence, as being an almost constant condition among those who have been prisoners in Danville, Va., Richmond, Va., and especially on Belle Isle. The au- thorities hereinbefore quoted show that these formidable disorders are the legitimate off- spring of the treatment to which our men have been subjected while in the hands of the rebels. Shall we be surprised that dis- eases obey the laws of their production, or that they flourish, luxuriant and rank, in a soil specially prepared for their reception ? And are not all these " diseases attended with deficient power of circulation " ? Are not the subjects of the same " sick and fee- ble " V Is it all surprising that they cannot bear the low temperature of a winter on Belle Isle, — clad only in worn-out or scanty cloth- ing, — with inadequate or with no shelter,'— with little fire, or generally none at all, — and having no resting place but the ground, in mud and frost and snow ? Nay, is it not a cause for wonder that " congelation of the tissues " was not even more common among them? Our evidence tells of many men freezing on Belle Isle, to loss of limb, "and more, of life. * Carpenter. Men frozen. We saw cases of '"imputation by frost," at the United States Hospitals, at Baltimore, and Anapolis, and the " Quarterly Report of the hospitals for the Federal prisoners, Ri'iluAond, Va.," (appended,) shows that of , two thousand seven hundred and seventy- nine patients admitted in January, February, and March, 18G4, there were fifteen cases of gelatio, (or freezing,) and fifty of gan- • grene from frozen feet 1 And from the same Numbers diseased as above, document we find that two thousand one hundred and twenty-one, out of the two thousand seven hundred and seventy-ninej,; were affected with debility, adynamic fevers, diarrhoea, dysentery, diseases of the chest,.- and scurvy — the very effects proved above to be produced by starvation, cold, over- crowding, filth, and exposure ; and, as al- ready mentioned, the testimony of the United States surgeons at Annapolis and Baltimore shows that the great m&jority of our soldiers received from rebel prisons suffered undw~ the same affections. These surgeons further Management of tbe sick, declare, that these diseases did not yield to ordinary medical treatment ; that they were most successfully managed by " nullifying (he cause," that is, by nutrition and stimulation, with especial attention to cleanliness and"' fresh air, medical agencies being only acces- sories, and sometimes not resorted to at all. Starvation in Flanders. M. Fleury (tours d'hygiene) says : " Sous le nom dejilvre de famine, M. de Meersmaa a tracd un tableau complet et m^thodique de I'e'tat morbide que ddoeloppe I' alimentation in- suffisante, et qu'il dit avoir observe en 1846 et 1847 dans les Flandres beiges." He then recounts the article, which is too long to bear quotation here, but it is a most singularly ac- curate description of that which our soldiers returned from rebel prisons state in regard to their own feelings and sufferings, — of those conditions which tie United States surgeons at the Baltimore and Annapolis hospitals have delineated to us, — and which we wit- nessed and observed in our visits to the insti- tutions above mentioned. Cause of condition and mortality of returned Cnion prisoners. It is utterly incorrect to charge the bodily attenuation, the mental imbecility, and the startling mortality which prevail so largely among the men from the prisons of the South, Upon the mere diseases of which they are the subjects. If a man swallow a poisonous dose of arsenic, he will suffer pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, hcemorrhages, and convulsions, even unto death; are these "more overt'' manifestations," — these necessary oonsequen' TO PRISONEES OF WAR. ces of the morbific agent applied,^ — to be considered as' the causes of the death V Or shall we go to the true fii'st cause direct, and say " the man died by poisoning by arsenic " V So have our men died,— from cold and exposure, from crowd poisoning, from starva- tion and from privation, while the way to death was roughly paved with disease of body and of miad, — mere minor manifesta- tions of those allied powers of evil. Treatment of sick Union prisoners. But we further find a similar treatment, — similar in kind, though modified in degree, — dealt out to the wounded and the sick on Belle Isle and in Richmond. The evidence of those who have been under the care of the surgeons at these stations is corroborated by the testimony of Colonel Farnsworth, and by that of Surgeons, Ferguson and Richards. The latter lay stress upon the offensive, and "utterly unfit," character of the beds and bedding, and declare that the diet was " en- tirely insufficient to give them a proper chance of recovery," and state further that there was a deficiency of medical supplies in the hospital for Federal prisoners, while the evidence is before us that at General Hospi- tal No. 4, Rii4. D. P. Brown, Jr., United titates Commissioner. CRUELTIES OF EEBEt AUTHORITIES S, Smith, sworn and ex- Private Walter amiued : — Am from New York ; enlisted August 27th, 1861, in the 48th New York; captured at Morris Island, July 18th taken to Co- lumbia, S. C. ; never had any blanket ; ra- tions were corn bread — enough — small piece of meat and rice; done very well there; from there taken to Richmond — Libby Prison. Was put on Belle Isle in two days after . tents torn, holes in them ; about half of our men slept outside — fifty ; it ^rained through the tents. Some laid out in the snow and frost; I laid on the ground ; the men that laid out, some had blankets and some had none ; some froze to death ; many had their feet frozen ; all that slept out suffered from cold some in tents suffered from cold . I saw men that had frozen to death in the night ; I saw this seven or eight times. We had wheat bread when we first went there; about eight inches by four and a-half, by an inch and a half or more thick ; meat ration four or five times a week, as big as my three fingers, each time, for three or four months ; after that got none, except once in a while : I had a chronic diarrhoea ; kept my strength pretty well till then ; lost flesh before. The corn bread was very poor — ground with cob ; on the days they gave us meat, they gave us less bread ; when we had meat, the bread ration was about one-half the size of the loaf produced here, («ame as before referred to, weighing fifteen ounces) ; we got half of this loaf (for the whole day) when we got meat; two- thirds when we had no meat; we never got as much as the whole loaf; when we came away, they gave us rations to' last through the day — one loaf; we got soup ' four or five times a week at first ; soup and ' meat same day ; latter part of time, scarce any soup. The guards fared better; they got meat when we did not; they got a third more bread ; our rations not sufficient to keep down hunger ; suffered the last three months ; had the diarrhoea twice ; got it the last time, three or four days before I came away ; the men suffered very much who had been on the island for some time ; felt no pain when hungry; never kept from sleeping from hunger ; left Belle Isle, 1 7th of Slarch ; think thirty or forty died while I was there. I have heard the men running round the tents to keep warm at all hours of the night ; the river was frozen a little while I was there ; the current is rapid. The water would freeze two or three inches in the bucket at night ; the inain street of the camp would be" very much filled with men lymg there. TO PRISONERS OF WAR. 39 From the general talk from the men in the camp, I think that the statement, that seventeen men would die on an averagj a night, is likely to be correct. WALTER S. SMITH. Sworn to and subscribed before me, May 3.SI, lb04. D. P. Bkown, Jr., United fetates Commissioner. Testimony taken at United Slates Army Gen- ,erat Hoapital, Diviaion JVo. 1, Annapolis, Maryland, June 1st, 1864. AL3J, THE COMMISSIONERS PRESENT. Private Wii. W. AVilcox, of Cleveland, Ohio, sworn and examined: — I enlisted August, 1862, in the 124th Ohio Vblunteers.' Taken prisoner at the battle of Chicka- mauga, Ga., September, 1863; taken to Tunnel Hill, Ga. ; was in good health at the time of capture ; thcBoe to Richmond, Va. ; placed on Belle lole. They took everything except the natural clothing, even to knife, on body ; no blankets given us ; I hid my money and they did not get thijt. ^ No shelter provided ; slept on bare ground ; no covering in. the least ; was put on the Isle the last day of September, or first of Octo- ber; staid there eleven days; men came When I did ; had no shelter ; were turned in- to an enclosure in which there was no shel- ter; I suppose there were two thousand , without shelter. 36™oved to the city of Richmond ; we were all removed there ; placed in Smith's tobacco factory; no covering nor bed until the blankets were sent to us by the United States; received the blankets about the l£t of December. Removed to Danville, and placed in to- bacco wai"ehouse ; windows broken out ; mis- firable cold place ; we took the blankets with us from Richmond'; so cold, we suffered; no means to keep warm,, except by walking around ; the cold prevented sleeping to a great extent ; a man could not sleep alone comfortable with one blanket. I There was a great deal of stealing of blankets by the guards ; the men traded their blankets for rice ; the guards would bring rice to the window, from fifteen to twenty pounds, and ofier to exchange for bur blankets ; they would come to the win- dows and say, " stick your blanket out so I can get hold of tfee end of it ;" then two or more of the guards would jerk the blanket away and not give the rice ; this was not a general thing, though it was often done ; the motive of the men for doing this, was, they were so near starved out that they were ready to , take anything ; the guard would pass in bags of sand m place of rice and take blankets. When we first came there, our bread was made from middlings, shorts and bran, such as we feed our cattle ; it was a combination of most everything, corn-hulls, bran, and refuse fiour ; got about half pound : the bulk was only one-quarter larger than the loaf shown, but was fighter than this ; I should say from two to three ounces lighter. Our beef, when we first went there, would range from four to six ounces a day. Oui- soup was made from sweet potatoes ; about half pint in quantity, and tlie liquor the beef was boiled in ; some days we would not get any soup ; the soup was hardly pal- atable. There was a difierence in our rations ; we drew this black bread for about a week, then drew corn bread ; the corn bread was about the size for a ration as the loaf shown here ; I should judge our rations were heavier than that loaf, about two to three ounces, (loaf weighs now twelve ounces and a fraction). In every ration there was cobs, whole corn, as hard as on the cobs, sometimes husks as long as my finger ; the loaf was sweet when we first got it ; not sufficient to satisfy hunger. The way it affected mc was to make me so / weak I would become blind ; if I'd get up to move sa far as aoi-oss this room, I would be- come blind and everything would got dark, and I would fall from weakness ; my strength kept declining all the time before I got the diarrhoea ; did not have much diarrhcea until the first of ^3.Tch. I was removed to the hospital about the middle of December, from Danville ; I had no disease I know of but weakness, swelling of the legs, with purple andnnflamed and yellow spots ; the skin cracked and water ran out of my legs ; rations better at the hos- pital, jvhen I first went there, than they were in prison ; we were allowed no privilege at all in prison. After we tunnelled out, we were only al- lowed to go to the privy six at a time ; the floor was in one mess — filihy ; an ordinary one-horse wagon load of human excrement on the floor every morning. Not allowed tp look out the window ; was shot at twice for looking out ; a man was shot alongside of me, while standing at the win- dow ; he was standing two feet from the win- dow, with his hand on the casement ; the sen- try could not see him from the sentry's beat ; I presume the sentry saw his shadow; he stepped out of his position to shoot at him, perhaps twenty to twenty-five feet ; the sen- try shot him in the head aild killed him in- stantly ; I suppose I have seen five hundred men*shot at ' our orders were not to put our 40 ♦ heads out tlie windows; this man had not put his head out at that time; he had rolled up his blanket and was standing; over the place where he slept on the floor ; his name was Alexander Opes, of the lOlst Indiana. With one exception, we were treated very well by the phj'siciana; never heard any fault found of any physician but Dr. Moses, of Charlestown ; don't know his first name ; when once we had mouldy bread given to us in the hospital. Dr. Fontleroy made a fuss about it and had it changed. WM. VV. WILCOX. Sworn to and subscribed before me, June 1st, 1604. D. P. Brown, Jr., United i^iates Commissioner. ' Private William D. Foote, recalled: — The first case of death I remember, was a Massachusetts man,who died from frozen feet ; from the looks of them you could hardly tell they were feet ; he laid in the next bed to me ; they first took oflT the toes of one of the feet, and then took off the foot; in a few days he died from amputation ; he was in the game ward ; brought m the middle of No- vember. Saw no man frozen to death on Belle Isle ; saw any number of men brought in with frozen feet, who afterwards suffered amputation ; ten or twelve person,s were so brought in ; two or three of the amputated cases died ; I speak of what occurred in my ward. WILOAM D. FOOTE. Sworn to and subscribed before me, June 1st, 1804. D. P. Brown, Jr., United States Commissioner. Private Hiram J* Neal sworn and exam- ined : — I am from Maine ; enlisted in the 4th Maine Regiment ; taken prisoner at Bristow Station, in October, 1863 ; taken to the Pemberton prison, from there to Belle Island, which I reached 24th February ; remained until January 18th, blankets taken from me'; nothing given in their place ; after eight days, we had tents at Belle Island. At first the men had to lay out till they could find tents ; had nothing to sleep upon. About one-fifth of the men were permitted by the rebels to retain their blankets ; had no straw or board to lie on ; tents old and rotten — full of holes ; those in the tents managed to keep warm, though they couldn't sleep; those out of the tents, from three to six hundred, tried to run about to keep warm. Saw many with frozen feet carried off; ia one morning saw eleven corpses, three frozen stiff. New first of January, deaths occurred CRUELTIES OF REBCL AUTHORITIES eight or ten in twenty-four hours, principally in the night ;^ I deem the causes of those deaths to have been exposure and starvation. When I left, January 18th, there were about five thousand men there ; I was trans- ferred to the hospital for diarrhoea and dis- ability. Rations not sufiicient to satisfy hunger; waked up one night and found myself gnaw- ing my coat sleeve ; used to dream of having something good to eat. I had a pain in my chest and bowels; had the diarrhoea when I was captured ; had a pain in my l.rvels then ; had about (bur move- ments of the bowels a day brfore captured; not able to do duty all the time ; I had been thirty-six hours on the march with one night's rest just before I was captured ; was iu the fight about an hour. HIRAM J. NEAL. Sworn tp and subscribed before me, June 1st, 1864. D. P. Brown," Jr., United States Commissioner. Private CtiARLES F. Pfounstiel, sicom and examined: — I am a Germa;n ; enlisted in 2d Maryland, September 24, 1 862 ; raptured in Tinnessee; imprisoned in Belle Island ; reached there January 21st ; remained till 6th of March." They took my blankets, sixty dollars in money, and a watch worth thirty doUai-s. , For two days had no shelter ; then I got in the tents ; air came in on every side ; many men without tents ; two hundred men went in with me ; the greater part had no tents ; some had a blanket or old coat. ' Some froze to death ; could not keep warm; one out of my regiment froze to death; he reported to the doctor that he was sick but he paid him no attention, perhaps because the man could not speak English. Every morning we cairied out some men froze to death, and from starvation some fbur or five men. We did not get enough to eat; ten or twelve ounces of corn bread and two spoons of beans almost' rotten ; sometimes we had soup — not fit to eat, yet had to eat it ; had meat only three or four times while I was there ; two or three ounces each time ; I was hungry all the time. I couldnot sleep for hunger and cold, dirt and lice ; I washed twice a day in the James river ; strength kept up. till last eight days; I then I felt sick in my bowels ; had no diar- rhoea ; did not go to the'hospital ; left with ' the 9th Maryland. - > I I saw a good many cases carried in a blanket to the doctor, and when they got there many of them were dead ; had my feat , frozen.. TO PRISONERS OF, WAR. 41 There might be many deaths I did not see ; I have reason to believe there was. I have stated what I saw- -three or four a niiiht. The men woul two rooms for roll call ; in this room were the sick and weak who could haidly stand ; the crowd was immense ; our men were counted out one by one ; the officers — there were one thousand officers; any one not attending this roll call was compelled to- stand in ranks four hours on the floor. AVhen I first entered Libby in November, we received a small loaf of corn bread, il/out two ounces of poor beef and a little boiled rice each day ; the loaf was about an inch and a half longer, thicker and heavier than this.* The crust was very thick ; we used to call it iron-clad, and grate it and make mush out of it, as the most palatably way ; we could not grate the crusts. After November we received about two ounces of beef once in four weeks on an average ; from the 25th of Elarclf till the 6th of May, not a bit of meat was issued in officers' quarters. For the three months of Foburarv, March, and April, there was a pint of black peas issued to each man every week, and a little vinegar ; these peas were full of bugs, nearly every ration ; they called them bugs, but they were httle white maggots in a chrysalis state ; we pounded the peas so as to mash them, and let the bugs flow to the surface ; there was about an ounce of soap and a little salt given each man. This was inadequate to satisfy hunger, and for two months I have had a burning sensa- tion, when in prison, in my intestines. I used to dream of food, and foolishly would blame myself for , not having eaten more when at home; the subject of food engrossed my entire thoughts ; not all suffered as I did ; the majority did; some were fortunate enough to receive boxes from home. We were allowed to write letters once each week, not to exceed six lines. Boxes sent us from the North were stored in a warehouse near the prison ; we could see them in the windows ; the contents of the boxes were being stolen or ruined by keep- ing,, and when issued I think would have * The same loaf before referred to. 42 CRUELTIES OF- REBEL AUTHORITIES been eaten by none but starving men ; every package and can was broken open, and the contents were poured promiscuously into a blanket, so that everythino; ran in together ; they stole a great many of our boxes : one of the guards told me that they saw our men escaping through the tunnel, and that they did not prevent them, supposing it was their own men stealing our boxes; the Sanitary supply sent us, we received but little of; we were allowed to send out and buy at ex- travagant prices ; they sold us the Sanitary hams, butter, and stationery. Marks of the Sanitary Commission were on the cases and on the paper. For trivial offences, officers were sent to the cells ; there had been about eighty-five men in ; many of those men were mnocent that were placed there as hostages ; they said the cells were damp, walls green, no stoves; they were about twelve feet by twenty ; at one time there were sixteen men in those cells; some had to stand all night; I believe this fully. 1 was in the hospital with pneu- monia. Just before I left, Capt. Stevens received a small box from home, sat down and ate to excess, as any man would under the circum- stances, and died a few hours afterwards. The surgeon was very kind to us. The hospital food was just like the quarter food, with the exception of a little rye conise and sugar; not quite' so much broad. I had a byirning sensation on the inside, with a general failing in strength. A man had a piece of ham which I looked at for hours. . When I came away on the 16tb of May, and saw the pale faces of the men through the bars, I cried. They begged me for God's sake to appeal to the Government and write to the papers — to do anything in the world to get them relieved. I am confident that if they remain long in that situation, they will never be fit for anything. The men never blame our Government for their suffering. I know the Rebels have plenty, for we went down into the cellar, and brought, up corn meal, flour, potatoiJs and turnips, which we divided with our' fellows ; the flour was excellent; I ate about a quart of it. I am a communicant in the church, and was studying for the ministry when the war broke out. I am a 'member of the Reformed Church. A. R. CALHOUN. Sworn to and subscribed before me, June 1st, 1804. D. P. BnowN, Jr., United SttUes Commissioner. I certify that the foregoing testimony was taken and reduced to writing in the presence, of the respective witnesses, and by them sworn to in my presence, at the times, places, and in the manner set forth. D. P. Brown, Jr., United States Commissioner. .,,, Teaimony, by letter, of LieuL-Col. Farns- worlk, 1st Conn. Caoalry. Norwich, June 29th, 1864. Gentlemen : — In reply to a letter from one of your Committee, 1 have the honor to' make the ibllowing statement of what I saw, heard and felt of the treatment of prisonera of war by the Confederate authorities, at* Richmond, Virginia: , I entered service October, 1861; was cap- tured on the 14th of July, 18G3, in a cavalry skirmish near Ilalltown, Va.; was conveyed to Richmond, and confined in Libby prlrou ; - was paroled and sent North on the 14th of Marfch, 1864. My treatment by my immediate captors was gentlemanly in the extreme ; even going so far as to assist me in concealing money, so as to prevent the Richmond authorities from robbing me. Upon reaching the Libby, we were rigidly- searched, and all moneys and attractive jack-'i ; knives, nice overcoats and meerschaum pipes were kindly appropriated by the prison au- thorities; rubber blankets, canteens, spurs and haversacks were taken from us. Lieut. Moran, for complaining of this treatment, was knocked~down by Richard Turner, inspector of the prison clothing. There was never an issue of clothing or blankets made by the Confederate authori- ties during the time I was there confined.- We d.d receive one hundred (100) each of tin plates, cups, knives, forks, (mostly dam- aged by bayonet-thrusts, they having been picked up from battle-fields), for the use of gne thousand (1000) officers. Accommodations — In six (6) rooms, one hundred by forty, there were confined as many as twelve hundred (1200) officers of all ranks, from Brigadier-General to Second Lieutenant. This space was all that wsis al- lowed us in which to cook, eat, wa.sh, sleep and exercise. You can see that soldierly muscle must fast deteriorate when confined^ to twenty (20) superficial feet of plank ;. we were not allowed benches, chairs or stools, nor even to fold our blankets and sit upon them ; but were forced to sit like so many slaves upon the middle passage. This continued until the appointment of General Butler, Commissioner of Exchange, after which time we were allowed chairs and stools, which we made from the boxes and barrels sent us from the North. TO PRISONERS OF WAR. There was plenty bf water allowed ug, and B tank for bathing in four (4) of the rooms. There were seventy-six (76) windows in, the six (6) rooms, from which in winter there was no protection. Subsistence. — Our rations consisted of one-quarte<' ({) of a pound of beef, nine (9) ounces of ^read of variable quality, gen- erally of whipat flour, though sometimes of weat flour and corn meal, a gill of rice, and a modiimm of salt and vinegar per day. This continued until the 11th of \November, which was the first day that meat was not issued, and bread made entirely of corn meal was substituted for wheat, bread ; this meal was composed of cob and grain ground together, ^nd when mixed with cold water, without salt or any r.aising, made the bread. Meat was next issued on the 14th,. and the issue suspended on the 21st. On the 26th we re- ceived salt pork, sent to the prisoners by the United States Government; from this time out, meat was like angels' visits ; sometimes it was issued at intervals of ten days, and' sometimes not in thirty (30) ; the longest in- terval was thirty-four (34) days. The amount of rations first issued will un- doubtedly sustain life ; but their long contin- uance without exercise will produce disease of a scorbutic nature.* The rations issued after the 11th of No- vember will-not sustain life, and without the aid sent to us from the North the mortality would have been great. Nine ounces of such corn bread.and a cup of water per day, are poorer rations than those issued to the vilest triminal in the meanest States prison in the Union ; yet this was considered fit treatment by the hospilable chivalry of the South to be extended to men taken in honorable warfare, any one of them the peer of the arch traitor, JeflF. Davis. ' Boxfes. — We began to receive boxes in October. Thesfe came in good order, were inspected in our*presence, and delivered to us entire ; they came regularly, and were dehvered in good order up to about the first of January; after' this time boxes were sent regularly from the North, and were re- ceived by Col. Ould, Commissioner of 6x- changa, but they were not issued to us ; they were ^tored in a building within sight of the prison, and at the time of my leaving, three thousand (3000) had been received there and not delivered to us ; what was the cause of this non-delivery of boxes we were never informed. They keep up a semblance of delivery, however, by the issue of five (5) or ax (6) a week, they receiving from the North about three hundred (300) a week. The contents of these boxes were, un- , doubtedly, appropriated to the private use of tbe officials ia and about Eicmuond. Here 43. is simply one instance : Lieut. Mamnnis, of the 18th Reg:, Conn., since killed m battle,' recon;nized a suit of citizen's clothes which had been sent to him from the North, on the person of one of the prison officials, and ac- cused him of the theft, and showed his Aame on the watch pocket of the pants. Such cases were numerous. Belle Isle.— Upon the 26th day of Jan- uary, 1864, I visited BuUe Island, as an assistant in the distribution of clothing sent by the Government, and by the Sanitary Commissions of the, North ; this was my first time outside of the prison walls in six months. The island' is situated just opposite the Tred- egar Iron Works in the James river. Tlie space occupied by prisoners is about six« acres, enclosed by an earthwork three (3) feet in height; within this space were con- fined as many as ten thousand (10,000) pris- oners. The part occupied by the prisoners is a low, sandy, barren 'waste, exjrased in summer to a burning sun, without the shad- ow of a single tree ; and in winter, to the damp and cold winds up the river, with a few miserable tents, in which, perhaps,' one- half (0 the number were protected from the night fogs of a malarious region ; the others lay upon the ground in the open air. One of them said to me : " We lay iu rows, like hogs in winter, and talfe turns who has the outside of the row." In the morning, the row of the previous night was plainly marked by the bodies of those who were sleeping on in their last sleep. Fed upon corn bread and water, scantily clothed, with but few blankets, our patriotic soldiers here suffered the severest misfortunes of this war. Here, by hundreds, they offer- ed up their lives in their country's cause, victims of disease, starvation and exposure, — sufferings a thousand times more dreadful than the \woundsof the battle-field. As many as fourteen (14) have been known to freeze to death in one night. This I have from men of my own regiment, and it is perfectly reli- able. The hospitals upon the island are Sibley tents, without floors, the ground covered with straw, and logs of wood placed around for pillows, to which, when alont to die, he men were carried; and here, with logs for their pillows, the hard, cold ground for their bed, death came to their relief, and the grave closed over the victims of rebel barbaritj'. ' The officer in charge of the island was well spoken of by the men. lie deprecated the condition they were in, but said he could do no more, for the authorities gfave him no more to do with ; and yet it is a fact that the men were stimulated to work iit their trades, as blacksmiths, etc., for the benefit of the Con^ 44 federate Government, by the offer of double the quantity of rations they were then re- ceiving ; thus acting out, in their treatment of Northern soldiers, the great principle of Slavery and of tlie South, that the lives of the poor and helpless are in their eyes of no more value than|the amount of interest they will produce on capital. The facilities for washing were good, a sandy beach all around the island, and the whole number of prisoners could have washed in the coui-se of the day ; but, under the management of the authorities, only a limited number (say 75 men per day) were able to wash, being conducted under guard to the water, in squads of five (5) or six (C). The sickness fcaused by the above treats ment was of the respiratory organs, pneu- monia, &c., and chronic diarrhoea. Men were without medical treatment on the island until di-iease was so far advanced that when taken away in ambulances to the hospital in squads of twenty (20), one-half (^) of them hive died within five (5) hours — some of them while their names were beinu taken at the hospital. Men were returned from the hospital to the island when so weak that they have been obliged to crawl upon their handd and knees a part of the way. On the 20th of November, 1863, a squad were passing the prison (Libby) in this con- dition, going from the hospital to the island ; among. them was George Ward, a school mate of mine and of Col. Ely, of the 18th Conn. Vols. Col. Ely threw a ham to him from the window. As the poor fellow crawled to get it, the rebel guard charged bayonets on him, called him a damned Yan- kee, and appropriated the ham. The bodies of the dead were placed in the cellar of the prison, to which there was free access for animals from the street. I have known of bodies being partially devoured by dogs, and hogs, and rats, during the night. Every morning the bodies were placed in rude coffins and taken away for burial. Of- ficers have marked the coffins thus taken away, and have seen them returned twenty (20) times for bodies. You may draw your own inference as to the rites of burial ex- tended to a Yankee prisoner in the Capital of the Southern Confederacy. Officers dying, their brother officers pro- cured metallic coffins and a vault, in which they were placed until they could be re- moved North. An officer, (Major Morris, of the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry, I think,) who had in the hands of the Confederate authorities several hundred dollars, taken | from him when he entered the prison, died in the hospital, and the autfaoratiQS refused CRUELTIES OF REBEL AUTHORITIES to use his money for a decent bunil, and we raised it in the prison. s Libby Mined. ^ Upon the approach of Kilpatriok on his grand raid on Richmond, about the 1st March, the greatest consterna- tion was produced among the inhabitants. The authorities felt sure of his ability to enter the city and free the prisoners. We were informed one morning by the negroes who labor around the prison, that during the night they had been engaged in excavating a large hole under tie centre of the building, and that a quantity of powder had been placed therein. Upon inquiring of certain of the guards, we found it the general impression among them that the prison was mined. Kichard Turner, inspector of the prison, told officers there confined, that " should liilpatrick succeed in entering Richmond, it would not help us, as the prison authori- ties would blow up th6 prison and all its inmates." The adjutant of the prison. Lieutenant Latouehe, was heard by an officer (Lieuten- ant Jones, 55th Ohio) to use the following words to a rebel officer with whom he had entered and examined the cellar where the powder was reported as placed : " There is enough there to send e»ery damned Yankee to hell.' Major Turner said in my presence the day we were paroled, in answer to the question, " Was the prison mined ? " " Yes, and 1 would have blown you all to Halves bt-fore I would have suffered you to be res- cued." Bishop Johns said in the prison, when asked if he thought it was a Christian mode of warfare to blow up defenceless prisoners : " He supposed the authorities were satisfied, on that point, though he did not mean to justify it." I am very respectfully, Your obedient servant, CHAS. FARNSWOKTFI, Late Lieutenant-Colonel 1st Connecticut Cavaliy. Norwich, June 30th, 1804. State of Connecticut, ( County of New London, ) Personally appeared Charles Farns- woRTii, signer of the foregoing iu- Btrunieutand statement, and made solemn oath that the facts stated therein are true, before me. David Yoitng, Justice of the Teace. Additional Testimony by Lefter of Lieuten- ani-ColoTwi Farnswarlh. Norwich, Conn , July leth, 18C4. Rbw Treadwell Walden, Philadel- phia : Sir:— Tour favor of the 14th inst. re- ceived. In answer to your request for a TO PRISONERS OF WAR. written statrment of facts, related to you by myseliin convevsation, in regard to the con- duct of the guards at Richmond, Virginia, and the provision made for the sick upon Belle Isle, I submit the following : In what is known as "the "Pemberton buildings," nearly opposite the "Libby," there wore confined a large number of en- listed men. Hardly a day went by that the guards did not fire upon the prisoners. I have known as many as fourteen shots to be fired in one day. They were thus subject to death if they merely came near the win- dow to obtain iresh air. It was a very com- mon occurrence to hear thfi report of a mus- ket and then see the sergeant of the guard bring out a wounded or dead soldier. ° The guards would watch for an opportu- nity to fire upon their prisoners, and, without warning the prisoner to leave the vicinity of tlie window, fire. Lieutenant Hammond, of the Kinggold cavalry, (better known to Libbians as "'Old Imboden,") was at the. sink, which is con- structed upon the outside of the building. From the upper part of the sides, boards are removed for the purpose of light or ven- tilation. The guard below caught sicrht of Lieutenant Hammond's hat, through this opening, and fired. The ball entered the side, far below the opening, showing that the guard was intent upon striking his man ; but a nail gave the bullet an upward turn and it passed through Hammond's ear and hat- brim. From the position he was in, there is litt'e doubt that but for the ball striking the nail he would have been struck in the breast. The attention of Major Turner was called to it, but he only laughed and said, " The boys were in want of practice." The guard, when spoken to about it, said " He had made a bet that he would kill a damned Yankee before he came off guard." There | was not the least attention paid by the com- mander of the Libby prison to this deliberate attempt at murder. Lieiitenant Thomas Iluagins, of a New York regiment, was stmding at least eight feet from a window on the second floor; the guard could just see the top of his hat. To 45 morning roll-call, never spoke of you except as damned Yankees — told you " j ou were better treated than you deserved." This " high-toned Southron " was employed as the negro-whipper of the prison. Colonel Powell, 2d Virginia cavalry, (Union,) Colonel Streightand Captain Reed, 5Ist Indiana, and others who had been con- fined in the cells, used to witness the whip- pings, (the cells were at one end of the cel- lar where the whipping-block was,) and they could hear, — even if they shufr their eyes to the horrid exhibition. Colonels Powell and Streight told me of as many as six negro women having been stripped and whipped, at one time, for hav- ing passed bread to our soldiers as they marched through the street. The flogging of the negroes that worked at the Libby was an every-day occurrence. These blacks were free negroes from the North, who were employed as servants, but fell into the hands of the enemy. lie flog- ged one of them so severely that he was un- able to move for two weeks, and walked lame months after. His offence was resisting a white negro-drivbr. The hospital tents on Belle Isle were old SIbleys. These were not temporary hospi- tals, for many died in them each day ; but when they could notcontnin all the sick some sick were removed to Richmond hospitals. " These tents were awful places for human be- ings to be placed in — without floors, a heap of straw for a bed, Ic^s of wood for pillows — men died with less attention than many a man pays to a favorite dog. The hospitals in Richmond were much bettpr, being in buildings, and were furnished with bunks and straw beds — some of them with sheets. But though treated with kindness, compared with Belle Island, the want of proper medi- cines was visible, and many died for the want of the most simple remedies. Upon the 25th of October, 1863. two ofli- cers, (Major Howstcn, 132d New York, and ' a Lieutenant 4th New York Cavalry,) es- caped from the hospital. Immediately, upon its being kn^vn, all the sick who were well I enough to sit up or stand, were removed from be sure oP his man, the guard left his beat ; the room and placed in an empty room un and stepped into the street. Being seen, a | der our prison. Here they were kept for warning cry was uttered, and Huggins twenty-four hours, without food or blankets, stooped and the bullet buried itself in the ^ as a punishment, it was said, for not reporting beams above. This was the same guard that the contemplated escape of the offijers named, fired at H immond. From this treatment, Sui^eon Pierce of the Richard, or as usually called, Dick Turner ' 5th Maryland died. i was the inspector of the prison, and acted The officers in the room above, removed a under the orders of the commander. There portion of the floor and furnished the sick was nothing too mean for him to do. He with food .and drink, and shared their blaur searched you when you entered, knocked ou down if you grumbled, took your b'an- ;et Irom you if found lying upon it after I kets with them. ' Tlii.< conning to the knowl- edge of Major Turner, we were deprived of rations for one day — October 29th, 18U3. 46 I'his was not the action of the surgeons of the Libby, for, with one exception, they were kincfand attentive, and did all in their pow- er for our comfort, but of the commanderof the department, Brigadier-General Winder, and of Mijor Turner, commander of the prison, who, I am informed, was dismissed from We ^t Point, by orders from the Secre- tary of War, having been convicted of for- gofy. I was informed by men whom I knew — Ward and Winship of the 18th Connecticut and Ferris and Stone of the 1st Connecticut — that the enclosure in Belle Isle was amass of filth every morning, from the inability of the men to proceed to Dhe sinks after even- ing. Mmy of the guards would fire upon the prisoners for the least violation of the rules. The men were in a miserable condition and looked sickly, worn out — starvation and ex- posure was expressed upon their features. Trusting that the above will assist you in your report, I am respectfully yours, CHARLES FARNSWORTH, Sworn to and sub'jcnbed before me, this ISth day, of July, A. D. 1864, David Young, Justice of the Peace. CRUELTIES OP REBEL AUTHORITIES Testimony taken at Wanldngton, D. C, June 2d, 1864. Commissioners Present. — Mr. Wilkins, Dr. Wallace, Mr. Walden. Surgeon Nelson D. Ferguson, sworn and ex- amined : — Surgeon 8th New York Cavalry; resi- dence, Jefferson county, N. Y. ; captured 12th May, 1803 ; taken to Libby Prison same day ; remained there twelve days ; found Union officers there ; my treatment same as officers received ; daily rations, when first « eijtered, were four inches by four inches by two of unbolted bread, which was coarse and sour about half the time ; a ration of beans, worm-eaten, once a day ; abouiseven quarts to fifty-three or fifty-four men, or a gill to each man was served; no other food was fur- nished by the Confederates ; what other they had was bought with their own money. (The ration of light bread of a common soldier in the United States Army is twenty- two ounces, and twelve ounce? of pork or twenty of beef; besides that, our soldie'rs Lave thirty pound of potatoes for one hun- dred rations, or nearly a third of a pound per day to each man, besides cofiee and sugar, &o., &c) The food furnished us was insufficient for bealthful support of life. When I reached the Libby Prison there were say twenty-five Union pfficers, no more, in the prison, recently captured ; all tlie for- mer occupants had been removed, as I am informed (and believe) by the rebels, to the number of seven hundred or over ; when 1 left the prison; on the 28th, there were sixty- nine Union officers there. I spent four days in Hospital No. 21, where wounded Union prisoners (very few sick") were under treatment ; I was there partly aa a visitor, and also did partial duty as a sur- geon iif the ward ; I was too ill t* do full du- ty ; I had better rations in the hospital than in prison, for I had rye coffee and a little meat, say two ounces daily, very poor bacon; the wounded men had the same ration of bread, no beans, two ounces of meat, rj-e coffee, occasionally a little sugar, and one gallon milk and one gallon whiskey, divided among two hundred and sixty men, or about a tablespoonful of whiskey and milk per man ; they had no other nutriment or stimulation. I consider the nourishment and stimulation they received entirely insufficient to gine them a proper chance for recovery. I am surprised that more do not die. There were many bad cases among them that must in- evitably sink under this treatment after afew days, and therefore I cannot state the true proportion of deaths. The condition of these men was such that any medical observer would impute it to insufficient stimulation and nutrition. The condition of the wounds generally was very unhealthy, not tending to heal, pale and flabby, and the tissues lax — just such a condition as we ej^pect to see where the patient is^mpryperly noui'ished by deficient nutrition. These wounded have all been brought there since the battle of Spott- sylvania Court House. When I was captured, I was brought into a rebel fort. It was raining. I had on a rubber blanket ; the blanket was taken from my shoulders by a lieutenant, by the author- ity and consent of the commanding officer. I remonstrated against his taking my private property, and appealed to the commanding officer for protection, and to protect my rights. He replied, " Damn you, you have no rights." It was not possible for him to have been ignorant of the fact that I was a medical officer. Some two or three hours af- terwards, when I was about to leave the fort for Libby Prison, the lieutenant remarked to me, " I hope I have treated you kindly," I replied, "I have always treated your men and officers with kindness and consideration, but you have treated me harshly." I don't think he made any reply. The Provost- Marshal took away my sabre. I told him it was my private property, and that he ought not to take it away, and his answer was, " It ■ TO PRISONERS Jon't mafee any difference, I have a friend to .■whom I intend to give it." I have had wounded rebels under my hand for treatment on various occasions. Tiie course 1 have always adopted, is, to take care ot my own men first, then the rebels, giving them equal eare and attention of every kind. I have taken my own private rations and given them repeatedly to wounded rebels. All other medical offii^ers of our army have done likewise, as far as my observation has extended. ; I liave been In the service two years and eifrht months, and I have been in all the cav- ali y fights of the Army of the Potomac since I entered the service. i : The buildings in Richmond occupied for hospital purposes are well suited for such purposes, beins; larire, convenient, and well ; venliliited. The wards are well supplied . with water, and tolerably cleanly. The pris- on (Libby) had just been thoroughly cleaned and was well white-washed. In the prison, we had one blanket as bed, and one as cover. No one can appreciate, without experience, ;-the coiKlItion of the officers in the prison during the t\yelve days of my stay. Their faces were pinched with hunger. 1 have seen an officer, standing by the window, .•gnawing a bone like a dog. I asked him >>' what do you do it for ? " His reply was, " It will help fill up." They were constantly complainina of hunger. There was a sad an;! insatiable expression of the face impos- sible to describe. ^ The Jx'dding in Hospital No. 21, where ithe privates were confined by wounds, was very dirty. The covering was entirely old dirty quilts. The beds were offensive from the discharges from wounds and secretion of I OF WAR. 47 the body, and were utterly unfit to place a sick or wounded man on. On the faces of the -wounded there was an anxious, haggard expression of countenance, such as I have never seen before. 1 attribute it to want of care, want of nourishment and encourage- ment. There is a deficiency of medical sup- plies, such as bandages, lint,' sticking-plaster, and medicines generally in this hospital, whether from actual want of these articles, or from unwillingness to supply them, I do not know. N. D. FURGUSON, Surgeon 8th N. Y. Cavalry Sworn and subscribed before me, at Washington, D. C, this 3d day of June, A. D. 1804. M. H. KENDIG, Notary Public D. W. Richards, M. D., sworn and ex- amined : — Residence, Northampton County, Pa.; employment. Assistant Surgeon in ]45th Pennsylvania Volunteers ; taken prisoner May 19th, 1863; taken near Spottsylvania Court House, and conveyed to Prison Hos- pital No. 21, in Richmond, on the 20th of May, and left there 28th May. I have heard Dr. Furgusorl's deposition, as made before this Committee. I corroborate that testimony as relating to the con(Jition and treatment of wounded prisoners. I know nothing further in regard to this mat- D. W. RICHARDS, Assistant Surgeon 145th P. V. Sworn and subscribed before me, at Washington, t). C, this 3d day of June, A. 0. 1864. ^ M. H. N. Kpndig, Notary Public. EVIDENCE OP UNITED STATES AEIY SUEGEONS, IN CHAEGE OF THE FOUB HOSPITALS AT ANNAPOLIS AND BALTIMOEE, MD., TO. WHICH EETUENED UNION PEISONEES ,WEEE BEOUGHT FEOM EICHMOND, VA. ' ALSO, EVIDENCE OBTAINED FEOM E^E-WITNESSES. Testimony of Surgeon B. A. VanderKieft, in cliarge of United States Army General IJo.'ipital Dlvixinn No. 1, Annapolis, Mary- ■ land. Takeri at the Hospital, May Slst, ' 1864. Commissioners Pbesent. — Mr. Wilkins, Dr. Wallace, Mr. Walden. I have been the recipient of all the pris- oners returned from Richmond since the' 1st of June, 18G3, except one steamboat load which were four hundred to five hundred; I have received, I should judge, nearly (3000) three thousand ; these are In a debilitated condition, badly clad, and down-spirited, on account of ill-treatment by starvation and exposure, as they all on inquiry agree in stating, and as I am convinced is the case by their actual condition on their arrival, and by rations shown to me, whi;h they unanimous- ly state are the only ones given them. They unanimously state that their blankets, overcoats, watches, and jewelry and money have been taken from them, partially by their immediate captors, but also in a quasi-official way, telling them that they will be restored 48 CRUELTIES OF REBEL ADTH0RITIE3 when they are released, which, as far as I know, and have been informed, have never been done. - The returned prisoners state that the of- , fieials, such as guards and nurses, often re- ceive money from them, such as they may have been able to secrete, with the promise that they shall have the equivalent returned in food, which promise is not performed. Colonel Palmer de Cesinola (4th New York Cavalry) told me that while acting as distributing commisiar)' of articles of food and clothing sent by United States Govern- ment and United States Sanitary Commis- sion, he observed that some, of our prisoners at Richmond and Belle Isle, in order to re- ceive a less cruel treatment and to obtain larger rations, were acting as shoemakers for the Rebel Government. He at once told those men that such action was disloyal, as by so doing they indirectly assisted the re- bellion. The result of this remark induced the rebel authorities to deprive him of the privilege of being longer a distributing com- missary. ' Almost in all cases I find that our men state that when they were captured, they were in very good condition as to general physical health ; but 1 do not eve» need such a statement, as I am well acquainted with the regulations which govern the medical de- partment of our army, " to send to the rear every man who is not perfectly able to bear arms," and if a lew feeble men have fallen into the hands of the rebels, they belong to the class called "stragglers," which cer4ainly belong to the minority. From my experience of fifteen years of constant medical and military service in Northern Europe, the East Indies, and Med- iteiTanean, as well as in our own army, since September, 1861, I aflSrm that the treatment to which our men have been subjected while prisoners of war in the hands of the enemy, IS against all rules of civilized warfare, and that I would prefer to fall into the hands of the Chinese of Borneo, called " Anack Baba," who murder their prisoners, than to fall into the hands of the rebels, where the lives and comtbi't of prisoners of war is a matter of such cruel mdiff'erence, to say. the least, if not indeed, as one might almost be justified in supposing, a matter of determined policy. If I may believe the st-iteraents of our re- turned prisoners, the diseases under which they are sutferintr when they come into my hands, are attributable to the following causes, one or more : deprivation of clothing, deficiency of food in quantity and quality, want of fresh air on account of overcrowd- ing in prison buildings and consequent una- voidable uncleanliness, and mental depres- sion, the result of the above causesi and want of adequate shelter, e.xpoBure during the fall and wmter. The diseases most common among these returned prisoners are 8curvy,_ diarrhfflaj' and congestion of the Jungs, which are not amenable to the ordinary treatment in use in civil life or in hospitals of our own army They are most successftilly mastered b^ high nutrition and stirttulation, with cleanli- ness and fresh air — medicinal treatment being of small assistance in the recovery of the sufferers, and often being entirely dis- pensed with. The medical records in my office show that this system is the only valid and effec- tive mode of management, thus proving by the counteracting effect of good food, air, cleanliness, and stimulants^ that these dis- orders are the result of the causes above stated. I swear the above statement to be true. B. A. VANDERKIEFT, Surgeon U. S. Volunteers in Charge. Sworn and subscribed before me, fills sixth day of jUne, In tbe yefir of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and slxcy-tour, (June 6th, 1804.) [seal.] H. p. Leslie, Notary Public for and in the County of Anne Arundel, Maryland. Testimony, hy Letter, of Surgeon William S. Ely, Executive Officer U. S. A. General Ho'read, and tl(reetslxteenth8 of an ounce of m«at in ittdqretate. CRUELTIES OF REBEL AUTHOEITIES produced by insufficient and a ba4 quality of diet. Their stomachs were not able to retain a sufficient quantity of solid food when the men first got here. I was led to the belief that the diarrhoea was produced by bad diet. I found nutrition was the most successfiil treatment. Have had cases of frost bite here result ing in mortification of the ends of the toes. Those were cases from Richmond — eight or ten cases. Though the men would be strong enough to walk from the dock up here, at the same time they were in that debilitated condition that a slight change of air would cause con- gestion oi the lunigs, and death. Stimulants and tonics are largely used. There were a good many cases of scurvy. In the majority of cases of diarrhoea, there would be scorbutic symptoms. I had at one time eight returned prisoners who lost their teeth. I suppose this was owing to the treat- ment these men had received, and their diet. At the hospital we give each man twenty ounces of bread per day, and one pound of meat, including bone ; could not give the percentage of bone ; we also give vegetables. In the winter we give cabbage, potatoes, rice and beans, molasses, tea, butter. A healthy soldier would get no butter. Twelve ounces of meat and twelve ounces of bread per day, rejecting the other articles, would be insufficient to preserve good health. G. B. PARKER. Sworn to and subscribed before me. May 31st, 18G4. D. P. Brown, Jr., United States Commissioner. June 1st, 1864. Commissioner Present. — Hon. J. I, Clark Hare. Surgeon 6. B. Parker, who was before sworn, recalled : — A great many of those whoiii I mentioned yesterday as suffering from debility and no specific disease, afterwards recovered. Seve- ral cases where their appearance was really favorable died very suddenly. On exami- nation, post mortem, they were found ex- sanguinated to a wonderful degree ; the evi- . dence of which was in large white fibrinous iclots in the leftside of the heart, and extend- ing into the aorta.. This was found to be the case with the mwority of those who died. In other cases, as I mentioned yesterday, they would take on acute disease, generally congestion of the lungs, and die within twenty-four hours after the attack. iG. B. PARKER, AisiatantSwgeouff. S.Anui'. ' TO PRISONERS OP WAR. Testimony of Surgeon Be Witt C. Peters, in charge ofJarvis General, Honpital, Bal- timore, Md., taken at Baltimore June \st, 1364. Commissioners Present: — Dr. Mott, Dr. Delafield, Judge Hare. Db Witt C. Peters, sworn and examin- ed: — I am an Assistant- Surgeon of the United States Army, stationed at Jarvis General Hospital, Baltimore. On or about the 16th of April, 1864, I received at the hospital over which I had charge, some two hundred and fifty paroled prisoners of war, recently returned from Belle Island and Richmond. The gi^eater majority of these men were in a semi-state of nudity. They were labor- ing under such diseases as chronic diarrhoea, phthisis pulmonalis, scurvy, frost bites, gen- eral debility, caused by starvation, neglect, and exposure. Many of them had partially lost their reason, forgetting even the date ot their capture and every thing connected with their antecedent history. They resem- ble, in many respects, patients laboring un- der cretinism. They were filthy in the extreme, covered with vermin. Some had extensive bed sores caused by laying in the sand and dirt, and nearly all were extre^nely emaciated'; so much so that they had to be cared for even like infants. Their hair had not been cut, nor the men shaved in many instances lor months. On inquiry of these men as to what . was the matter with them, the invari- able answer was starvation, exposure, and neglect, while prisoners on Belle Island. They informed me, that while on Belle Island during the inclement months of the past winter, there were congregated at one time in a space less than three acres, one hundred and ten squads of prisoners, , each numbering one hundred persons. Less than half of these had old worn-ouli Sibley and other tents for shelter. The remainder were obliged to accommodate themselves as best they could. But a few of them had blankets. These were issued to them by our Govern- ment under flag of truce. Some had over- coats. Manjr had no shoes except patches that they had contrived themselves. Those that escaped freezing to death dur- ing the cold nights, did so by exercising and by huddliag together in heaps like hogs, al- ternating places with those more exposed in the heslps, and with those in the tents, until at last they were obliged to go to the hos- pital. ' , . They informed me, that eaxjh mormng, numbers were found frozen to death, who haDE WITT C. PETERS, Assist. Surgeon United States Army, in charge of Jarvis Hospital, Baltimore, Md, Sworn to and subscribed before me, June Ist, 18H. D. P. Brown, Jr., United States Commissioner, Testimony of Surgeon A. Chapel, in charge of West's Buildings Hospital, Baltimore, Md., taken at Baltimore, June 2, 1864. ' Commissioners Present: — Dr. Mott, Dr. Delafield, Judge Hare. Surgeon A. Chatel, affirmed and exam- ined : — I am Surgeon in charge of West's Build- ings Hospital, Baltimore. On the 18th of April, 1864,1 received at the hospital one hundred and five of the paroled prisoners from Richmond, brought to this point on the flag-of-truce boat " New York. " These were the worst cases received at this point by that boat ; none of them being able to stand alone. All were brought into the hospital upon stretchers. Nearly all were in an extreme state of emaciation, filthy in the extreme, and cov- ered with vermin. Some of them so eaten by the vermin as to very nearly resemble a case of scabbing from small-pox, being covered with sores from head to foot, so as scarcely to be able to touch a well portion of the skin with the point of the finger. Their appearance was such in the way of filth and dirt, as to convince any one that they had not had an opportunity for ablution for weeks and months. Several were in a state of semi-insanity, and all seemed, and acted, and talked, like chil- dren, in their desires for food, &c. Very few of them had blankets or clothing, some in a state of semi-nudity. Upon being questioned upon the causes of their condition, the testimony was uni- versal: — starvation, exposure, and neglect, while prisoners at Richmond and Belle Isle. Their universal declaration was, in jefer- pnce to their living, that they were provided with only one small portion of corn-bread per day, which was made simply from corn- meal and,water, without salt, not larger than a man's hand ; it was about an inch and a quarter thick. This was the portion for the day. They sometimes got small portions of meat once a day, two days in a week. Several of them told me that they had been able to get occasionally a small piece of th'e flesh of a dog, which they had cooked and eaten with greslrt relish, and that they had CRUELTIES OF REBEL AUTHORITIES caught rats and eaten them in the same way. Many of them believed that the meat issued to them was cut from the bodies of mules. They said, while on Belle Isle they had no means of shelter, but were obliged to huddle together in heaps, to protect them- selves from the inclement weather ; — often one or two blankets in thickness covering five or six persons ; — often lying one upon another in tiers, and changing places as they became tired out. They state that they had Uttle or no shelter while prisoners at Belle Isle. We were obliged to treat them as children, in regulating their diet in the hospital, hav- ing to restrain their over-eating, and confine them to a concentrated but nourishing and . generous diet. Several cases had no disease whatever, but sufiered from extreme emaciation and star- ' vation. The limb of one of these men could be spanned with the thumb and finger, just j above the knee.. This patient, a boy of nineteen years old, would not weigh over fifty pounds then, though in health probably one hundred and thirty-five pounds. This was not a solitary instance, many others being extremely emaciated. Many present- ing the appearance of mere living skeletons, with the skin drawn tightly over the bones. ! Many of them were laboring under such diseases as dropsy, pulmonary consumption, scurvy, mortification from cold, several ] having lost one-half of both feet from this cause. Several were afflicted with very severe bed-sores, caused by lying in the sand with- out shelter. One man, unable to lie in any other way but on his face, and lived about fpur weeks in this way. | Up to the present time, of the number \ received, (one hundred and five), forty- two have died. AH gave evidence of extensive visceral disej^e, of which starvation, cold, ; and neglect, were undoubtedly the primary, cause. Some of the cases sank from extreme . debility, without any evidence of disease as the cause of death. A. CHAPEL, Surgeon U. S. A. Affirmed to and subscribed " before me, June 2d, 1864. D. P. Brown, Jr., United States Commissioner. Testimony of Miss D. L. Dix, taken at Bal- ■ timore, Maryland, June 1st, 1864. Miss D. L. Dix sworn and examined : — .Last winter I was at Annapolis and ex- amined many hundred returned prisoners. Linquired of these men exactly the manner. in whi^h, they were fed and treated on Br.lle ; TO PRISONERS OF WAR. Island, examined them individually, and by Bixes and sevens. I saw no disposition on the part of these men to exaggerate their sufferings. , Inquiring from what causes they had suf- fered most severely, whether rapid marches, exposure to inclement weather, lack of ap- parel, or hunger, — the answer was invari- ably, " From hunger while at Belle Island." I inquired the amount of animal food allowed a day, when they had any at all ; they re- plied that an iron-bound bucket, filled with packed meat, was the allowance for one hundred men ; the weight of bucket and meat would be twenty-five pounds. When cooked this^afforded a very small quantity for each man. As Winter and Spring advanced, the only food supplied was corn-meal mixed with water and roughly baked. This bucket of meat I speak of was allowed them about twice a week, with a very little rice . in the autumn. I understand that in the hospitals they occasionally had a little boiled rice, to which was sometimes added a very, small quantity of brown sugar or molasses. I gather from Confederate authority as well as from our returned prisoners, — and a Confederate official whose evidence cannot be questioned in that matter, declared, that the sole sustenance at Belle Island was corn- meal and water, — that of the numbers re- maining at Belle Island, then about eight thousand, about twenty-five died daily ; that the mortality in Georgia was still greater, and that it would be but a few weeks before the deaths would count fifty a day. Another fact which he affirmed as a rea- son for withholding so much from our prison- ers, sent by their friends and the Govern- ment, was the cruel and severe restrictions imposed on their men in our hands. I had visited those very prisoners to whom he referred at Point Lookout; they were supplied with vegetables, with the best wheat bread, and fresh or salt meat three times 'daily in abundant measure — the fuU Gov- ernment ration. ; In the camp of about nine thousand rebel prisoners, there were but four hundred re- ported to the surgeon ; of these, one hundred '.were confined to their beds, thirty were very 'sick, and perhaps fifteen or twenty would never recover. The hospital food consisted of beef tea, beef soup, rice, milk, milk punch, milk gruel, lemonade, stewed fruits, beef-steak, vegeta- bles and mutton ; white sugar was employed in cooking. The supplies were, in fact, more ample and abundant than in hospitals where our own men were und'er treatment. To return to the condition of the Federal prisoners on Belle Island, there was at no 53 time adequate shelter for the entire number till late m spring, when the number had been greatly reduced by transfer to Georgia, exchanges and death. I was told that in the morning it was not uncommon to find men dead from exposure and rain. ' I have repeatedly seen the exchanged prisoners reduced to the lowest extremity through want of food. Of more than four hundred landed in Baltimore, some little time since, nearly, if not the entire number,.^ were suffering from the effects of hunger ; more than one hundred of these were taken a few yards across the wharf, to the hospital, on stretchers ; seven died before they could be taken into the building, and §even more that same night. Their clothing was filthy to the last degree ; they were covered with vermin ; they were the merest bundles of bones and skin, and some bones piercing the flesh. The cries of these poor men for food were pitiful in the extreme. In addition to their other sufferings, many^ had lost portions of their feet by frost. The minds showed the weakness of the body. Some were reduced to idiocy. They would entreat for an apple or a bit of meat to look at, if they could not be allowed solid food. Many of these poor creatures died, and others, I understand from surgeons, are en- feebled for life. Jjklany of these prisoners when brought on the flag-of-truce boat, were observed to clasp their hands and fix their gaze upon the American flag : " It is enough, thank Godj we are at home." A remarkable trial of disinterestedness : Rev. M. Hall said, " What can I do for you, my boys ?" " Hasten ex- changes and bring away our comrades." A gentleman of Washington, who had been permitted to convey a body for burial to the South, on board the flag-ot-truce boat, remarked that all the rebel prisoners were in vigorous health, ecjuipped m clothes fur- nished by the United* States Government ; many of them with bankets and haversacks, while we received in return not one able- bodied man at that time. I have witnessed this fact myself, on other occasions on the flag-of-truce boats. The rations served to the prisoners on Belle Island, whether drawn from supplies furnished by the Federal Government, or through the individual liberality of North- ern citizens, were never dispensed in suf- ficient quantities by the Confederate author- ities to satisfy hunger. I have seen tons of provisions shipped on the flag-of-truce boat from the North, for the relief of our prisoners at Richmond. Little or nothing came from the South for rebel prisoners at the North. Clothing and blank- 54 ets wore sent by ^nr Government to the pris- oners in quantities, but not fully distributed, One reason why our men were, so wholly destitute of clothing at a late season, was the temptation they were under to give them away for a biscuit, or a small quantity of food, to save them from starvation. D. L. DIX. Sworn to and subscribed before me, June 1, 1864. D. P. Brown, Jb., United States Commissioner. I certify that the foregoing testimony was taken and reduced to writing in presence of the respective witnesses, and by them sworn or affirmed to in my presence, at the times, places, and in the manner set forth. D. P. BROWN, JR., United States Commissioner. CRUELTIES OF KEBEL AUTHOftlTIES Testimony of Joseph B. Ahbott, Special Re- lief Agent United States Sanitary Com- miision. taken at Washington, D. C, June Srd, 1864. CoMMissiONBKS PRESENT.— Mr. Wilkins, Dr. Wallace, Mr. Walden. Joseph B. Abbott, aged twenty-eight years. Agent of Special Relief Department, United States Sanitary Commission. Holds his com- mission as Chief Assistant, Special Relief Department, United States Sanitary Com- mission. Is a native of New Hampshire, has been a resident of North Carolina, resided in North Carolina nearly four years, prior to the war.^ Has been engaged with the United States Sanitary Commission 'since March 12th, 1862. During the past Spring, since February, my position has given me means of observa- tion of returned prisoners from Richmond, Belle Island, Danville, Salisbury, and Co- lumbia, but directly from Richmond. I first came in contact at Fortress Monroe with prisoners on flag-of-truce boats, from City Point to Annapolis. The men had no blank- ets, but what were said to have been fur- nished them at City Point by the United States Government. Very few had coats ; many had no shirts ; pants, poor, ragged and dirty ; clothing all dirty ; skin very filthy, and covered with vermin. One man had convulsions all the time during the trip. As- sistant Surgeon Dr. Fry told me that they were caused by vermin. The man was much emaciated ; vermin very thick upon his body — common body lice. He was scratchiiia as at lice, and throwing them off him and slap- ping them with his blanket. This is a general statement of all my ob- servation. My experience extended over three boat loads. No difference in' the condition of the prisoners' clothing. The condition of the men On the last boat as to physical state, was worse than all previous. Two or three boat loads have arrived since my services ceased. Jilr. Thompson, one of the United States Sanitary Commission Agents, accompanied the men on these boats. Mr. Thompson is now at White House, Virginia, on the Pa- munky river. Cannot communicate with him by telegraph. In general aspect and condition of re- turned prLwners, all were more or less ema- ciated. Of the first boat load, three-fifths very much so. Of second and third boats, four-fifths very much so. The condition of some of those who were less emaciated than others was owing to their having money with which they purchased provisicrj. 1 believe the fact from statements made by tlien; en my inquiry. My attention was drawn to the fact by the Assistant Surgeon. I could pick out the men that had money by their physi- cal condition. Clothing was usually taken from them by their captors before their arrival at Rich- mond. Money was taken from them official- ly just before entering prison, except those that had succeeded in secreting it. I believe these facts from statements made by the men. They were also credited with the amounts, and were told.that when released the amounts would be returned. I heard of no soldier who had it returned to him. In ease of of- ficers it was sometimes returned in Confed- erate currency. On the first boat load there was about one hundred and fifty on cots sick, — with diar- rhoea generally. " Many of these one hun- dred and fifty men had the scurvy; great many suffering from pneumonia. Often heard the physjcian say that these disorders were due to confinement, exposure, and bad food. In all I saw some ten or twelve dying on the boats. From the last boat I saw five come off on shore in a dying state. I saw one man die on the boat ; the Doctor said his death* was 'caused by starvation. Saw one already dead on the boat at Fortress Monroe. The Doctor said his death was caused by eating. He died from eating too much after he had been starved. ' He ob- tained this over amount of food after having come into our hands. The Doctor said that be had to be very cautious in giving them their rations, or they would injure themselves by getting too much ; that several had died in consequence of eat- ing too m^ch, which they obtained from their comrades, who were too feeble and too fat gone to eat the rations which were given them. Some would secrete their rations and TO PBISONERS OP WAR. tiy to get a second ration. The Assistant Surgeon told me tha* the one I had seen dead had eaten three rations which he had obtaiited from his comrades. The prisoners on board the boats statedl that their diseases and sufferings, such as I witnessed, were caused by want of protection from wet and cold, and by insufficient and bad food; this was their invariable state- ment. The Union prisoners were not at all tin- dictive, and expressed a desire to have the rebel prisoners well clothed and fed ; this was the case wjth all the men I spoke to on the subject on the three boats. My reason for making this inquiry was the remark of the Union prisoners in regard to the healthy condition of the rebel p;-isoners who were exchanged. Some of them re- marked that it would make the condition of the Union prisoners worse if they attempted to retaliate, and would do no good. The general idea as expressed by the men was, 55 that they did not wish to see the rebel pris- oners treated as they had been. _ I have been on ,the battle-field and in hos- pltalsand witnessed much suifering, but never did I experience so sad and deplorable a con- dition of human beings, as that of the pa- roled Union prisoners just from Belle Island, and the rebel prisons of the South, emaciated by starvation, with impaired minds, vision, powers of speech and hearing, occasioned by want of sufficiency of wholesome food, ex- posure to the cold and inclement storms of wind and rain. I believe from what I have seen and experienced among our unfortunate pris- oners on board the flagof-truce boats, that their barbarous treatment and sufferings which they endured while confined in the military prisons of the South can hardly be exaggerated. J. B. ABBOTT. Sworn and subscribed beflire me at Washing- ton, I),C., this 3d day of June, A. D. 1861. M. H. N. Kendig, Kotary Public. QUARTERLY REPORT Of the. Hospitals for the Federal prisoners, Richmond, Va., furnished by Surgeon-General, C. S. A., April 1, 1864. Obtained by a parolecTand returned Federal prisoner. ' Jan. Fbb. Mae. DISEASES. Anasarca Jan. Fl£B. MAE. ' DISEASES. i i 1 1 s 1 i 1 6 1 11 40 2 1 20 1 15 7 27 646 1 S 4 4 1 4 3 J 7 2 23 42 2 4 1 27 107 2 6 7 1 23 1252 1 & 2 1 12 17 1 3 4 524 "i u 8 1 12 14 1 1 1 15 20 33 6 9 17 J Febvis Coat. Communis '■ Int. Quart " " Tertiaua " Remittent ■■" Typhoides Erysipelas 6 6 4 10 18 11 14 31 22» 38 18 4 4 4 1 21 20 10 6 i) 63 1 1 1 1 4 1 5 1 1 2 i 12 1 1 18 I'j:) •) 12 1 1 1 6 1 2 1 38 1 2 1 3 23 20 20 36 3 ■ 15 100 337 23 34 1 1 2 1 3 7 1 46 45 1 35 2 8 10 207 1 , 1 1 1 3 1 \ 2 1 28 1 7 13 265 6 24 i 3 1 /7 16 4 6 S 97 10 20 11 35 1 6 77 27 283 9 27 2 4 4 3 12 SO 17 r 1 12 120 1 1 1 6 1 2 . 5 4 29 1 4 13 260 3 20 1 3 3 3 39 9 1 1 9 109 1 7 Hydrothorax Ehe^matism Acute " Chronica . 1 3 f ariola ) Convales- Ulcus 1 Diarrhoea Acuta *' Chronica .... Dysentery Acii ta *' Cht'onica. ... Gelatin Vulnus Inoisum 6 Vulnus Sclopiticum...; Otitis 3 Debilitas n Hsemorrhois 9, Hepatitis Chronica Morbi Cutis Scorbutus 7 Dry Gangrene ftora Irozen jFcet Total Bronchitis Acuta " Chronica Oatarrhus Epidemicus . It ' SSI] 561 12779 Total Deaths 139« phthisis Pulmonalia . . . Pleuritis A true copy. (Signed) A. R. ROOT, Colonel Commanding, Camp Parole. Neuralgia Paralysis Tetanus iubo Syphiliticum Cvdfitis A true copy. B. A. VANDERKIEFT, Surgeon U. S. Vols, in charge U. S. General liospi- pital, Division No. 1, Annapolis, "Md. The Commission have received a letter from Col. Oi-ehitis SVphilitis Primitiva. . . . ""^ " Consect .... A. K. liooT, Commanding, &c., stating that he has satisfactory evidence of tlie authenticity and relia- bleness of this " Quarterly Kfeport."' 56 CEUELTIES OF REBEL ATJTHOEITIES EYIDENCE EELATING TO UNITED STATES STATIONS FOE EEBEL PEISONEES; Letter from Quartermaster-General, M. C. Meigs, United States Army. Qdaktermasteb-Gbnerai/8 Office, Washington, D. C, July 6th, 1864. Dr. Ellbslie Wallacej Philadelphia. SiK, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 20th ult, in which, in behalf of a Committee of the Unit- ed States Sanitary Commission, you make inquiry in relation to the condition and treat- ment of rebel prisoners of war in our hands. In reply, you are respectfully informed that such prisoners are treated with all the consideration and kindness that might be ex- pected of a humane and Christian" people. The rations allowed to them are ample and of good quality. The reduction recently made in the prisoner's ration was for the purpose of bringing it nearer to what the rebel authorities profess to allow their sol- diers, and no complaint has been heard of its insufficiency. Suitable provision has been made by the Government for supplying the prisoners with all necessary clothing and blankets ; and at each depot tllfere is a sutler, authorized to sell to them, at reasonable rates, certain prescribed articles of comfort and conveni- ence,' such as our soldiers desire to purchase. Fuel is provided by the army regulations, and is liberally furnished. Shelter is not denied to any " during the inclement and cold season," and for those who require them, comfortable hospital ac- commodations, and skilful medical and sur- gical attention are provided. The Commissary-General of Prisoners in- forms me that he has heard of no order to shoot prisoners for being at the windows or near them, and he does not believe that or- ders of that character have any where been given. He has heard of no prisoners being shot under such circustances. General Butler did, in the early part of this year, offer to exchange prisoners, grade for grade, and man for man, of those at Point Lookout, and two other places, but the pro- position was not acceded to by the rebel au- thorities. Tfour inquiries are thus substantially an- Bwered. I enclose copies of the prders of the Com- missary-General of Prisoners, regulating the conduct and treatment of prisoners of war, and the rations they now receive.* I am, very respectfully. Your obedient servant, M. C. MEIGS, Qaarlermaster-Gencral, * Printed iu this Appendix, Testimony taken at Fort Delawfire, June ilst, 1864. Commissioners Pkesbnt. — Dr. Wal- lace, Judge Hare. Captain Gilbert S. Clark, sworn and examined : — I came to this post 18th March, 1862, and the Subsistence Department at this post has been under' my charge since May, 1862. The rations were as follow,: Bread — 18 onnces per ration ; or,' Corn Meal — 20 ounces per ration. Beef — 1 pound per ration ; or, Bacon or Pork — f pound per ration. Beans — 8 quarts per one hundred men; or, Hominy or Rice — 10 pounds per one hun- dred men. Sugar — 14 pounds per one hundred men. . Kio Coffee — 7 or 9 pounds per hundred men. Adamantine Candles — 5 per one hundred men ; or. Tallow Candles — 6 per one hundred men. Soap — 4 pounds per one hundred men. Salt — 2 quarts per one hundred men. Molasses — 4 quarts per one hundred men, twice per week. Potatoes — 1 pound per man, three times per week; "W hen beans were issued, hominy or rice not issued. These were the rations to which the pris- oners were entitled. Bread was issued, in point of fact, and not corn meal. Fresh beef was issued, during this time, four times a week. When we had to give them hard bread they received a pound. When fresh beef was given, a pound and a quarter was given, and a less proportion of salt meat. This was done by orders of the command- ing officer, with a view to the sanitary condi- tion of the men. According to instructions for the Commis- sary-Generjd of Prisoners, a fund was creat- ed by selling all surplus rations, under regu- lations, and with this fund were purchased vegetables in addition to the regular rations. The order referred to, under which this course was adopted, was as follows : CIKCULAK. 4 " v. A general fund, for the benefit of the prisoner, will be made by withholding from their rations all that can be spared without inconvenience to them, and selling this sur- plus, under existing regulations, to the Con> missary, who will hold the funds in his hands, TO PRISONERS OP WAR. 57 and be acountable for them, subject to the commanding officer's order to cover pur- chases. The purchases with the fund will be made by or through the Quartermaster, with the approval or order of the command- inn; officer, the bills being paid by the Com- missary, who will keep an account boot, in wh'ch will be carefully entered all receipts and payments, with the vouchers; and he will keep the commanding officer advised, from time to tiine, of the amount of this fund. At the end of the month he will furnish the commanding officer with an account of the fiin:! lor the month, showing the receipts and disburspments, which account will be for- warded to the Commissary-General of Pri- soners, with the remarks of the commanding offiier. With this fund will be purchased all such articles aa may be necessary for the health and comfort of the prisoners, and which would otherwise have to be purchased by the Government : among these articles are all table furniture and cooking utensils, articles /or policing purposes, bedtlcks and straw, the means of improving or enlarging the barracks accommodation, extra pay to clerks who have charge of the camp, post- office, and who keep the accounts of moneys deposited with the commanding officer, &c., &c." The provisions, according to my return, actually issued, were the same as for the garrison troops. The rations detailed above were the rations actually given to the men. The amount drawn on the books, for their account, was larger — and as large as that issued to the garrison, with the exception of flour or bread, which was eighteen ounces instead of twenty-two ounces. When I say actually issued, I mean when entered on my returns as issued. The difference between the amount thus issued, and the amount given as above, was sold and converted into a fund for the benefit of the prisoners, as I have stated, according to the order of which I have ffiven an extract. This flind was expended and applied for their use in the purchase of extra vegetables and articles of comfort. This course is pursued towards our own troops in camp and garrison; the surplus which they do not use being sold for their benefit to the Commissary of Subsistence, and regularly entered, and the proceeds ap- plied to theii* use. ' . The surplus rations sold for the prisoners were about the same as those sold for the garrison at the same time, showing that the amount actually consumed by the prisoners was about the same, per man, as that con- sumed by the garrison. When hard bread is issued, prisoners not unfrequently leave a portion of it on the table. A large amount of brfead has been found stowed away by them in the barracks. The rations are pre- cisely the same as that used for garrison, and of very good quality. My expenditures for vegetables alone, for the use of the prisoners, out of the fund arising from the sale of the surplus rations, amounted, at times, as high as from $2,000 to $3,000 a month. For instance, I would buy extra quantities of potatoes and onions, turnips, cabbage, pickles, carrots. I have frequently asked my overseers if the prisoners complained of not having enough, and if they did, to give them more, and to let no man want, as I could afford to do from the savings. During all the t'me I have been here, I have scarcely heard a complaint. No material change was made in the rations given to the prisoners till the first of this month, (June '64) ; since this date, the following has been the ration given the prisoners : The rations issued on the returns remain- ed the same as before. The amount given was reduced to the following quantity, by order of the Secretary of War : "B." " RATION : "Pork or Bacon, . Fresh Beef, . . . Flour, or Soft Bread, Hard Bread, '. . . Corn Meal, . . . . 10 ozs. (in lieu of fresh beef.) . , 14 « 16 " 14 " (in lieu of Flour or Soft Bread.) .16 " (in lieu of Flour or Bread.) . 12Jlbs. ■ , to 100 I rations. J Beans or Peas, or. Rice, or Hominy, < 8 Soap, 4 " Vinegar, 3 qts. Salt, 3f lbs, Potatoes, 15 " Sugar and coffee, or tea, will be issued only to the sick and wounded, on the recommen- dation of the surgeon in charge, at the rate of twelve (12) pounds of sugar, five (5) pounds of ground or seven (7) pounds of green coffee, or one (1) pound of tea, to the one hundred rations. "This part of the ra- tion will be allowed only for every other day." The difference between the ration given and the ration issued continues to be sold, and the proceeds applied to the benefit of the prisoners, as before. The consequence is that the surplus fund for their use is larger. I refer to the circulars issued by the War Department, April 20th, 1864, and June 1st, 1864, as containing the regulations imder 58 which I am now acdngj hereto appended, marked " A " and " B." The bread, as now issued, is made one- fifth of corn meal and four-fifths of flour. This change was made at the request of the prisoners. 1 use the same quality of bread. GILBERT S. CLAKK, Captain and C. S. Yol. Sworn to and subscribed before me, June ilst, 1864. D. P. Bro-ww, Jr., United States Commissioner. « A." "Office OF CostjiissAmr-GESERAL of Peison- EES, Washington, April 20, 1804. " [ClKCTOAE.] " By authority of the "War Department, the following Regulations wUl be observed at all stations where prisoners of war and political or State prisoners are held. The regtilaticna will supersede those issued fi:om this office July'7, 1861 : I. The Commanding Officer at each sta- tion is held accountable for the discipline and good order of his command, and for the security of the prisoners, and will take such measures, with the means placed at his dis- posal, as wiU best secure these results. He will divide the prisoners into companies, and wUl cause written reports to be made to him of tfieir condition every morning, showing the changes made during the preceding twenty-four hours, giving the names of the "joined," "transferred," "deaths," &c. At the end of every month Commanders will send to the Commicsary-General of Prisoners a Return of Prisoners, giving names and details to explain " alterations." If roUs of '' joined " or " transferred " have been forwarded during the month, it will be sufficient to refer to them on the re- turn according to forms furnished. II. On the arrival of any prisopers at any station, a careful comparison of them with the rol's which accompany them will be made, and all errors on the rolls wiU be corrected. When no roll accompanies the prisoners, one will immediately be made out, containing all the information required, as correct as can be, from the statements of pi'isoners themselves. When the prisoners are citizens, the town, county and State from which they come will be given on the rolls under the headings : — Rank, Regiment, and Company. At stations where prisoners are received frequently, and in small parties, a list will be furnished every fifth day — the last one in the month may be for six days — of all prisoners r ceived during the preced- ing five days. Immediately on their arrival, prisoners will be required to give up all arms and weapons of every description, of which the Commanding Officer will require CEUELTIES OF REBEL AUTHOBITIES aa accurate list to be made. When pris- oners arefoJwarded for exchange, duplicate parole rolls, signed by the prisoners, will be sent with them, and an ordinary roll will be sent to the Commissary-General of Prison- ers. When they are transferred from one station to another, an ordinary roll will be sent with them, and a copy of it to the Com- missary-GenerJil of Prisoners. In all cases, the officer charged with conducting prison- ers will report to the officer under whose orders he acts, the execution of his service, furnishing a receipt for the prisoners deliv- ered, and accounting by name for those not delivered ; which report will be forwarded, without delay, to the Gommissary-General of Prisoners. III. The hospital will be under the int- mediate charge of the senior Medical Officer present, who will be held responsible to the Commanding Officer for its good order and the proper treatment of the sick. A fund for this hospital will be created as for othe* hospitals. It will be' kept separate from the fund of the hospital for the troops, and will be expended for the objects specified, and in the manner prescribed in paragraph 1212, Revised Regulations for the Army of 1863, except that the requisition of the Mediczd ■Officer in charge, and the bill of purchase, before payment, shall be approved by the. Commanding Officer. When this "fund" is sufficiently large, it may be expended also for shirts and drawers for the sick, the expense of washing clothes, articles for poli- cing purposes, and all articles and objects indispensably necessary to promote the sani- tary condition of the hospital. IV. Surgeons in charge of hospitals where there are prisoners of war will make to the Commissary- General of Prisoner^ through the Commanding Officer, semi- monthly reports of deaths, giving names, rank, regiment, and company ; date and place of capture ; date and cause of death ; place of interment, and No. of grave. Ef- fects of deceased prisoners will be taken possession of by the Commanding Officer, the money aiid valuables to be reported to this office (see note on blank reports), the clothing of any value to be given to such prisoners as require it. Money left by de- Ceased prisoners, or accruing from the sale of their efiects, will be placed in the Piison Fund. V. A fund to be called ''The Prison Fund," and to be applied in procuring such articles as may be necessary for the health and convenience of the prisoners, not ex- pressly provided for by General Army Re- gulations, 1863, will be made by withholding from their rations such parts thereof as can be conveniently dispensed with. The Ab- TO PRISONERS OB' WAR. 59 stract of Issues to Prisoners, and Statement of the Prison Fund, shall be made out, com- mencing with the month of May, 1864, in the same manner as is prescribed for the Abstract of Issues to Hospital and Statement of the Hospital Fund, (see paragraphs 1209, 1215, and 1246, and Form 5, Subsistence Department, Arhiy RegulatioCs, 1863),wilib such modifications in language as may be necessary. The ration for issUe to prisoners will be composed as follows, viz. : • Hard Bread, 14 oz. per one ration, or 18 oz. Soft Bread, one ra- tion. Corn Meal,. . 18 oz. per one ralaolii Beef, 14 " " " Bacon or Pork, 10 " " " Beans, 6 qts. per 100 men. Hominy or Bice, 8 lbs. " " Si^r, 14 " " " ]^. Coffee, 5 lbs. ground, or 7 , lbs. raw, per 100 men. Tea, 18 oz. per 100 men. Soap, 4 " " " Adamantine Candles, 5 candles per 100 men. Tallow Candles, 6 " " " Salt, 2 qts. " " Molasses, 1 qt. " " Potatoes, 30 lbs. " " When beans are issued, hominy or rice will not be. If at any time it should seem advisable to make any change in this scale, tlie circumstances wiU be reported to the Commissary-Generjfl of Prisoners for his con- sideration. VI. Disbursements to be charged against the Prison Fund will be made by the Com- missary of Subsistence, on the order of the Commanding Officer; and all such expendi- tures of funds will be accounted for by the Commissary, in the manner prescribed for the disbursements of the Hospital Fund. When in any month the items of expendi- tures on account of the Prison Fund cannot be conveniently entered on the Abstract of Issues to Prisoners, a list of the articles and quantities purchased, prices paid, statement of services rendered, &c., certified by the Commissary as correct, and approved by the Commanding Officer, lyiH accompany the Abstract. In such cases it will only be ne- cessary to enter on the Abstract of Issues the total amount of fimds thus expended. Vn. At the end of each calendar month, the Comqaanding Officer will' transmit to the Commissary-General of Prisoners a copy of the " Statement of the Prison Fund," as shown in the Abstract of Issues for that months with a copy of the list of expendi- tures specified in preceding paragraph, ac- companied by vouchers, and will endorse thereon, or convey in letter of transmittal, such remarks as the matter may seem to re- quire. VIII. The Prison Fund is a credit with the Subsistence Department, and at the re- quest of the Commissary-General of Prison- ers, may be transferred by the Commissary- General of Subsistence in manner prescribed by existing Regulations for the transfer of Hospital Fund. IX. With the Prison Fund may be pur-- chased such articles not provided for by re- gulations as may be necessary for the health and proper condition of the prisoners, such as table furniture, cooking utensils, articles for policing, straw, the means tor improving or enlarging the barracks or hospitals, &c. It will also be used to pay clerks, and other employees engaged in labors connected with prisoners. No barracks or other structures will be erected or enlarged, and no altera^ tions made, without first submitting a plan and estimate of the cost to the Commissary- General of Prisoners, to be laid before the Secretary of War for his approval ; and in no case will the services of clerks or of other employees be paid for without the sanction of the Commissary-General of Prisoners. Soldiers employed with such sanction "will be allowed 40 cents per day when employed as clerks, stewards, or mechanics ; 25 cents a day when employed as labore: s. ,X. It is made the duty of the Quarter master, or, when there is none, the Commis- sary, under the orders of the Commanding Officer^ to procurei all articles required for the prisoners, and to hire clerks or other em- ptoyees. Ail bills for service, or for articles purchased, will be certified by the Quarter- master, and will be paid by tbe Commiss^y on the order o£. the Commanding Officer, who is held responsible that all expenditures are for authorized purposes. XI. The Quartermaster will be held ac- countable for all property purchased with the Prison Fund, and he will make a return of it to the Commissary-General of Prisoners at the end of'each calendar month, which will show the articles on hand on the first day of the nlonth ; the articles purchased^ issued and expended during the month ; and the articles remaining on hand. The return will be supported by abstracts of the articles purchased, issued, and expended, certified by the Quartermaster, and approved by the Commanding Officer. XII. The Commanding Officer will cause requisitions to be made by his Quartermas- ter for such clothing as may be absolutely necessary for the prisoners, which requisition will be approved by him, after a careful in- 60 CKUELTIES OF REBEL AUTHOEITIES quiry as to the necessity, and submitted for the approval of the Commissary-General of Prisoners. The clothing will be issued by the Quartermaster to the prisoners, with the assistance and under the supervision of an officer detailed for the purpose, whose cer- tificate that the issue has been made in his presence will be the Quartermaster's voucher for the clothing issued. From the 30th of April to the 1st of October, neither drawers nor socks will be allowed, except to the sick. When army clothing is issued, buttons and trimmings will be taken off the coats, and the skirts will be cut so short that the pri- soners who wear them will not be mistaken for United States soldiers. Xin. The Sutler for the prisoners is entirely under the control of the Command- ing Officer, who will require him to furnish the prescribed articles, and at reasonable rates. For this privilege the Sutler will be taxed a small amount by the Commanding Officer, according to the amount of his trade, which tax will be placed in the hands of the Commissary to make part of the Prison Fund. XIV. All money in possession of prison- ers, or received^ by them, will be taken charge of by the Commanding Officer, who will give receipts for it to those to whom it belongs. Sales will be made to prisoners by the Sutler on orders on the Commanding Officer, which orders will be kept as vouch- ers in the settlement of the individual Accounts. > The Commanding Officer will procure proper books in which to keep an account of all moneys deposited in his hands, these accounts to be , always subject to in- spection by the Comnrissary-General of Prisoners, or other inspecting officer. When prisoners are transferred fro;Da the post, the moneys belonging to them, with a statement pi the amount due each, will be sent with them, to be turned over by the officer in charge to the officer to whom the prisoners are delivered, who will give receipts for the money. When prisoners are paroled, their money will be returned to them. XV. All articles sent by friends to prison- ers, if proper to be delivered, will be care- fully distributed as the donors may request ; such as are intended for the sick passing through the hands of the Surgeon, who will be responsible foy their proper use. Contri- butions must be received by an officer, who will be held responsible that they are deliv- ered to the person for whom they are in- tended. All uniform, clothing, boots, or equipments of any_ kind for military service, weapons of all kinds, and intoxicating li- quors, including malt liquors, are among the contraband articles. The material for outer clothing should be gray, or some daik mixed color, and of inferior quality. Any excess of clothing, over what is required for imme- diate use, is contraband. XVI. When prisoners are seriously ill, their nearest relatives, being loyal, may be permitted to make them short visits; but under no other circumstances will visitors be admitted without the authority of the Commissary-General of Prisoners. At those places where the guard is inside the enclo- sure, persons having official business to trans- act with the Commander or other officer will be admitted for such purposes, but will not be allowed to have any communication with the prisoners. XVII. Prisoners will be permitted to write and to receive letters, not to exceed one page of common letter paper each, pro- vided the matter is strictly of a private na- ture. Such letters must be examined by a reliable non-commissioned officer, appointed for that purpose by the Commanding Officer, before they are forwarded or delivered to the prisoners. XVIII. Prisoners who have been reported to the Commissary-General of Prisoners will not be paroled or released except by authori- ty of the Secretary of War. W. HOFFMAN, Col. 3d Infantry, Commissary-General of Prisoners. Official : W. T. Hart, 'Assistant Adjutant General. S. R. Ceaige sworn and examined : — I have been Quartermaster here since August, 1863. The amount of clothing is- sued to the prisoners from September 1st, 1863, to May 1st, 1864, by the Quarter- master's Department, will appear from the following statement prepared by me from the books : QUAKTEEMASTEE'S OFFICE, FOET DELAWARE, June 21st, 1SG4. Cap^. S. R. Craige, . A. Q. M. Volunteers. Statement of Clothing issued to Prisoners of War, from Sept. 1st, 1863, to May 1st, 1864:- 7175 Pairs Drawers ^Canton flannel), r 6260 Shirts (Flannel). 8807 Pairs Woolen Stockings. 1094 Jackets and Coats. 3840 Pairs Bootees. 1310 Pairs Trow^ers. 4378 Woolen Blankets. > 2680 Great Coats. The principal part of the clothingywas is- sued in October and November, 1863, and every prisoner not having an overcoat and blanket of his own was provided with one. AH that were in want of clothing received TO PRISONERS OF WAR. 61 The barracks were kept comfortable by- stoves ; no stint in fuel that I know of ; the attendants kept the fires up. Three hun- dred tons of coal provided by me, were con- sumed by the prisoners in the. winter and spring. This, in addition to wood used for baking, and to the coal supplied by Capt. Clark. I am satisfied the prisoners were as comfortable as' could be. S. R. CRAIGE, Captain and A. Q. K, Sworn to and subscribed before me, June 21st, 1864. D. P. Brown, Jr., United States Commissioner. Captain G. S. Clarke, recalled: — I have purchased and used for the prison- ers about one thousand tons of coal during the winter. ' I would say, in my judgment, that the barracks were sufficiently warm dm-ing the season requiring fires. I was Quartermaster here, as well as Commissary, until Captain Craige assumed the Quarter- master's Department. The desitute prisoners were supplied with Sufficient clothing during the time I acted as Quartermaster. GILBERT S. CLARK. Attest : ' D. P. Brown, Jr., United States Commissioner. Captain George W. Ahl, sworn and exam- ined : — My rank is Captain; Acting Assistant Adjutant-General for six months, and Commissary of Prisoners for about a year and a half. Q. Can you state whether the rations is- sued to prisoners at this post were actually given them in full ? A. To the best of my knowledge and be- lief they were. Q. Were the rations issued sufficient for their subsistence ? had they at any time saved any rations, and was there any waste of their rations at any time ? A. The rations issued to them were at all times sufficient for their subsistence; and sometimes greatly in excess of what they could eat. In policing their barracks some- time ago we tore up the lower bunk boards, under which we found about eight (8) bar- rels ^of bard bread and meat, which they had secreted there, because there was more than they could eat. At that time we had only about three thousaod prisoners here. . According to official monthly reports made to the Commissary-General of pnson- ers, there were at this post in July, 1863, 8,982 prisoners; of whom 111 died during the month. August, 1863, 8,822 prisoners, of whom 169 died. September, 1863, 6,490 " " 327 " October, 1863,2,987 " " 377 " November, 1863, 2,823 " " 156 " December, 1863,2,765 " " 82 " Jiuiuary, 1864,2,600 " " ' 78 " February, 1864,2,655 " " 42 " March, 1864,5,712 " " 62 " April, 1864,6,149 " " 74 " May, 1864,8,126 " " 62 " ToJune21, 1864, 8,536 » " 42 » The greater mortality during the summer and fall months of 1863, was attributable to the following causes: Small-pox; the majority of the prisoners not having been vaccinated before they came here, and those who were vaccinated had been vaccinated with impure matter ; at all events, the vac- cination resulted in breaking out over their body in sores ; and from the prostrated con- dition of the prisoners from Vicksburg, a great many of whom had to be canned, on their arrival here, from the boat to the hos- pital, and many of whom represented that they had been limited to half and quarter rations of an inferior quality during the siege of Vicksburg. Many died also from wounds received in different engagements. Many, when brought here, were suffering from chronio diarrhoea and other diseases. The general effect of our treatment of the prisoners at this post has resulted in great benefit to their physical condition. In ref- erence to vaccination, being desirous of ob- taining the true cause of its bad effects on their system, I inquired of them (the pris- oners) the cause of it; they stated that they had been vaccinated by their own men with impure matter. GEORGE W. AHL, Captain and A. A. A. G. and Commissary of Prisoners. Sworn to and subscribed before me, June 21st, 1864. D. P. Brown, Jr., U. S. Commissioner. Lieutenant A. G. Wolf, sworn and exam- ined : — I am a Lieutenant in charge of prisoners at Fort Delaware; have been here since 23d . September, 1862; have had charge of theprisoners about eight months. The ordfer is that the men shall be sent out every day for air. The barracks are then entirely cleansed out. At one time we turned the prisoners out, and found enough- of crackers to have paved the barracks two crackers deep, and they are an average of five hundred, feet. They had stowed and concealed them away in various places. As a general thing, when the barracks were cleaned out, there were always a number of rations, bread and meat, found stowed away. We have always found a quantity of blan- 62 CRUELTIES OF EEBEL AUTHORITIES kets and clothing stowed away under the floor during the winter season. We have allowed men two blankets apiece, and when they were delicate, three blankets and an OTerooat. They are allowed to bathe in the river twice a week. We have to take a guard to get some of them to go out to bathe. We issue a regular prisoner's ration of soap; we have found as much as ten pounds secret- ed in their haversacks. They had five stoves within five hundred feet during winter, and were warm enough in their barracks. There has never been an order to fire at any man looking out the windows, and no man has ever been fired at -for looking out; there have been five men shot ; three killed and two wounded here, since this has been a prison. One killed while in the river making his escape, about one hundred yards from the shore, at night ; one killed for at- tempting to climb over the fence towards the river ; one man was wounded — he died since — for committing a nuisance on the bank contrary to rule, and was ordered by the sentry to stop. He called the sentry " a Yankee son of a bitch," and would not stop. The ball wounded two men. The other one said that he deserved all he got. Another was killed accidentally, by the sen- try shooting at one who was committing a nuisance, and who would not obey the order. These orders are to prevent nuisances occur- ring in the barracks, which would be destruc- tive of health and cleanliness. Even with these rules, nuisances are not unfrequehtly committed. Special orders No. 157 are the same as those I refer to, and are as follow : SPECIAL ORDER No. 157. Headquarters, Fort Delaware, June 1, 1864. The officer of the Guard must read and explain these orders to each relief of his Guftrd regularly before having it posted. I. No sentinel must communicate with nor allow any person to communicate with any of the prisoners, nor permit any of the prisoners to go outside of the limits of their barracks, without the permission of the Commanding General or the officers in charge of the prisoners. II. It is the duty of the sentinel to pre- vent the prisoners from escapiny, or cutting, defacing, or in any way damaging any of the Government property, or from committing any " Nvkance " in or about their barracks, or from using any abusive or insolent lan- guage towards them, aad from apy .viola- tion of good order. Should the sentinel detect any prisoner in violating these instructions, he must order him three distinct times to halt ! and if the prisoner obeys the order, the sentinel must call for the Corporal of the Guard, and have the prisoner placed in arrest — but should the .prisoner fail to halt, when so or- dered, the sentinel must enforce his order by bayonet or ball. JII. The sentinels are required to exer- cise the utmost vigilance, and to exact from prisoners a strict compliance with these in- structions, and must always be duly impressed with the nature and extent of their respon- sibility. By command of Brig. Gen'l Schoepf. (Signed) GEO. W. AHL, Cap'ain and A. A. A. 6. They exist in all prisons. A. G. WOLF, Lieutenant and Commissary of Prisoners. Sworn to and subscribed before me, \ • June 21st, 1S61. ' D. P. Bkown, Jk., United States Commissioner. Surgeon H. R. Silliman, sworn and examr ined : — I have been in charge here as Surgeon-in- Cbarge of the books smce July, 1863. The condition of the prisoners, upon arriving here, was that generally of men suffering from over-e.xertion and bad diet; chronic diar- rhoea and scurvy prevalent among them; they improved very materially shortly after their arrival here. The sanitary conditions here were such as to be conducive to their health. Prisoners who arrived here from Vicksburg and the Mississippi Valley were 'laboring under mias- metic influences, under which a great num- ber of them died. From their condition, I should judge they had been on a diet of salt meat. Some of the men arrived here in a good condition of health. The men from Gettysburg were generally in good health, though they soon broke down, showing the effect of their violent exertions ; they rallied again under good food and good clothing. ^ The condition of the men brought here with- in the last few months, captured in Virginia, has been better than that of those brought here heretofore. A large number of the men had never been vaccinated, and many others imperfectly so. The scars were imperfect, in my judgment. They vaccinated them- selves in the barracks with pen-knives, after their arrival here, producing diseases of the blood and skin. In my experience, the pro- portion of the unvaccinated men, among the prisoners, is far greater than in our own army, for I have never known of an unvac- cinated man in our anny. TO PEISONERS OF WAR. 63 I consider the amount of food and clothing allowed to prisoners here, during the past winter, reasonably sufficient for the preserva- tion of life and health. I don't know of any man who has suffered from a want of food or clothing, and unable to pro;-ure them, on proper representations. I do know of one man who was brpu rags, washed, and after being supplied^ with clean linen, I>la6ed in clean and w6ll-aired beds. Full suits of clothing, consisting of coats, pants, drawers, shirts, shoes and stockings, were subsequently issued to them by the United States Quartermaster. To distin- guish them from our own soldiers, the buttons and six inches of the skirt of the coat were cot off. Those who remained during the cold weather were abundantly supplied^ with fuel and warm clothing, and none required med- ical or surgical treatment in consequence of exposure to the cold ; none were frozen to death. They were allowed to go fishing or clam- ming, as they pleased, when they first eamo, till several escaped, when a line of sentinels was placed around the island upon the beach, inside of which they enjoyed all the privileges allowed to the Federal patients in the hospital. None of the rebels were ever shot at, wounded. or killed in any way while upon the island. They receive medical and surgical treat- ment in all respects equal to that of Union soldiers. Nine-tenths of them were suffering from wounds. The mortality was not large, most of the deaths occurring from the severity of the wounds. They received the same ra- tions and diet as our own patients. The paper hereto attached, marked (A,)* formed the Diet Table during the time which the rebel prisoners were on the island. They had an apundanee of good drinking water, with ice, an unlimited supply for bathing, plenty of soap, towels, combs, &c., &c., for their own comfort and cleanliness. When the prisoners were removed, they were in excellent bodily condition, though many had not entirely recovered from their wounds; the majority of the prisoners left the island during the month of October, 1863. At one time there were about two thousand five hundred rebel prisoners upon the island. I have been upon the medical staff of this hospital since its opening, in May, 18G2, and it has been occupied by Union patients,, both prior and subsequent to its occupatbn by rebel prisoners. G. W. EDWARDS. Sworn to before me, Warren Webster, Assistant Surgeon U. S. A., in charge of Hospital.* De Camp General Hospital, David's Island, New York, June nth, 1864. We, the undersigned. Acting Assistant Surgeons U. S. A., employed in De Camp General Hospital, depose and say, that wo *The paper (A) here referred to, is the "Diet Tablb fob General Hospitals, Uniwd States Akmt." , TO PRISONERS OF WAR. have heard read the depositions of Augustus Van Corttandt and George W. Edwards, Acting Assistant Surgeons U. S. A., of this date, and from our personal knowledge and, actual experience confirm all that the said affidavits set forth as to the treatment of re- bels, sick and wounded, during their confine- ment in this hospital. We further depose that we have been members of the Medical Staff in this hospital, during and subsequent to its Occupation by the rebel prisoners. The ML'dical Staff numbered twenty-three Acting Assistant Surgeons, while the pris- oners were on t,he island. We would further depose that there were ample provisions of nurses ; one nurse to every ten patients in the hospitals ; and that the following provisions were made for the calls of nature : each pavilion was furnished with from two to four water-closets, and chairs and bed-pans were furnished for pa- tients unable to reach the w^ter-closet. The tents were furnished with bed-pans and chairs. Ample structures were made upon the beach for those able to walk. John Howe, M. D., Acting Assistant Surgeon, U. S. A., further deposes and says, tEat on or about the first day of August 1863, while attending his duties in Pavilion • 14, there was then and there present, the Rev. Brooks, Alabama Chaplain in the Confederate service, and prisoner of war, who addressed the rebel prisoners and said to them, " Well, boys, keep up your spirits, for you are getting a great deal better, treat- ment here than you would get at home." JOHN HOWE, M. D., Acting Assistant Surgeon, U. S. A. WILLIAM BADGER, f GEORGE BADGER, r A. N. BROCKWAY, WM. C. PRYER. Sworn to before me, Warren Webster, Assistant Surgeon U. S. A., in cliarge of Hospital. Deposition of the Rev. Robert Lowry, Chaplin, U. S. A., Minister of Protestant Episcopal Church, Diocese of New York, under Bishop Potter. Entqred upon my duties here Juljr 4, 1862, and have continued here until this time.- In my intercourse with the prisoners, I was guided systematically by the same rules with which I ASeistftot Surgeon U. 8, A., In charge, 1264. 66 CRUELTIES OF EEBEL ATJTHOEITIES JOHNSON'S ISLAND, NEAR SAN- DUSKY, OHIO. Testimony taken at Washington, D. C, June 3, 1864. ■ Co^rMISSIONBRS Pkesent,' — Mr.Wilkins, Dr. Wallace, Dr. Walden. Surgeon Chas. P. Wilson, examined: — I was Acting Assistant Surgeon, United States Army. I waa stationed at Johnson's Island, three miles from Sandusky, from the last week of October, 1863, to the last week of January, 1864. My duty was to attend to our men guarding the rebel prisoners, and also to attend at the Small-pox Hospital for rebel prisoners, and at the Post Hospital for our garrison ; my position enabled me to see the general condition and the general treat- ment of the prisoners. There could not be a more healthy or pleasant place, than this island. Kelly's Island, a pooular place of resort for pleasure and health, is about six miles from this,island, and no better for these objects. The buildings were good ; in good order ; they were new ; say two years old ; conven- ient and comfortable ; thejMnight have been better ventilated ; the buiwings were frame, and lined inside ; they had rows of bunks, as in barracks, in three tiers — just the same as our men have in most of our barracks. The rebel prisoners all had blankets, either their own or furnished by the United States Grovernment, and were generally furnished with clothing by the United States Govern- ment — pants, shoes, hats, blouses, and under- clothing and stockings, — until a short time before I left, then these were furnished to those only who actually needed them. I have several times seen of an afternoon boxes carted in, and these articles distributed ifrom the boxes among the prisoners, accord- in" to their wants. I was there in extremely cold weathei-, when the supplies were teamed on the ice from the main land to Johnson's Island, a distance of three miles ; the prisoners were provided against this severe weather by wood hauled every day for their use in stoves. I consider that the wood was sufficient for comfortable supply, except for, say two or possibly three days, when the teams were engaged in bringing lumher and, provisions for additional troops ; during these two or three days the supply of wood was scant, and was the subject of complaint. No prisoners were frost-bitten or came un- der medical treatment from cold and expos- ure, e.xoept some who attempted to escape. They all fared as well in this respect as our men do in barracks geaerall^. The sick men all had dcks filled with straw as beds; the hospital buijding for the rebels was lined and plastered. There was abundant supply of good water from the lake by pipes and pumps ; when the pipes froze they could go to the lake, under guard, and supply themselves, bringing it up m suitable vessels ; , they always had plentp^ of water to wash themselves and their clothes. The rations of the prisoners were the same as those furnished to our own soldiers accord- ing to regulations. The ^risciners did not consume all their ra^ tions, for I know that there was a large pris- on fund formed from the savings. During the hours of the day the prisoners were allowed to be in the open air as much as they pleased ; there was abundant room for them all to take as much exercise as they required for health ; they played games in the open air. The surgeon in charge treated the sick rebels as he treated our sick ; there was no difference at all, except when special articles of diet were sent to our men by their friends. Some four hundred and sixty rebel pri- vates were sent to some other prison in No- vember ; mosl^ of them had been on John- son's Island for some months ; when they leit, taking them as a whole, their physical condition was excellent. You could not have found the same num- ber of prisoners anywhere in better condi- tion. C. P, WILSON, Surgeon 13Stii Eegiment 0. N. G. Sworn and subscribed before me, at Washington, D. C, this 3d day of June, M. H. N. Kbndig, Notary Public. Depositions taken at Sandusky, Ohio. Majok T. WooDBRiDGE, M. D., Surgeon in charge, sworn and examined : ~ - Q. What has been and is now your posi- tion in the army of the United States ? A. I am Sargeon of the 128th Regiment O. "V. I, and Surgeon in charge of the De- pot for Prisoners of War on Johnson's Is- land, near Sandusky, Ohio. Q. How long have you held this position? A. Since the establishment of the prison. I came to the island in February, 1862. The first prisoners came in April,. 1862. I have had medical supervision of the prison from then until now. Q. What is your opinion of Johnson's Island as to health and salubrity ? A. I believe Johnson's Island to be as favorable to health as the climate of New- port or Saratoga in suouner, and as that of TO PRISONERS OF WAR. Cincinnati or JDaytpn in winter. The lati- tude is about 41^° S'orth, longitude 82° 42' West. Height of lake above tide^water five hundred and sixty-five fe?t. The island rests upon a beid of Devonian limestone, •vsrhich rises gradually from the shore to the centre, terminating in a ridge of limestone rock, thus affording complete natural drain- age. The water used is principally that of tjhe bay, which comes in fresh constantly from Lake Erie. Q. What diseases, if any, are peculiar to Johnston's Island or the neighboring islands in Lake Erie ? A. I know of no diseases peculiar to those islands or prevalent in them. Johnson's Jtsland is a small one, containing only about three hundred acres of land, and pi'evious to the establishment of the prison, if I am cor- rectly informed, was not inhabited by more than one family at a time ; but the Peninsu- la, with Kelley's Island and the Put-in-Bay Islands, have been inhabited for between thirty And forty years. I have conversed frequently with some of the oldest citizens of the peninsula an4 the islands, but have \ never heard them speak of any liability to diseases, but such as is common to other parts of Ohio. Q. Is there any truth in the assertion made by rebel authorities that residence on the island for a few months produces in a great number of prisoners dangerous and fatal pulmonary disorders ? A. Not the slightest. Q. What has been the rate of mortality among the prisoners ? A. In 1862 — from AjMril to December in- clusive — the number of deaths was thirty- seven. During the year 1863 measles and smallpox ■re^re brought into the prison by prisoners sent from Alton and other prisons, and many wounded at the battles of fjettj^- burg, augmenting our mortality list above what it would otherwise have reached. The number of deaths for 1863 was ninety-s^ven. This makes, from the time of the first arrival of prisoners in April, 1862, to January 1st, 1864, (twenty-one months,) a mortality list of one hundred and thirty-four, put of an aggregate of six thousand four hundred and ten, received into the prison in that time. As there were exchanges and removals, of prisoners, the number in prison never ex- ceeded twenty-seven hundred at any one time.* Many of the prisoners came here with health impaired, by bad diet, exposure, and often by wounds rejeived in battle. The bill of mortality owes little to the cli- mate of the post, when we consider that men * The average number of prieotiers for the entire of the year 1863 was eleven hundi-ed and fifteen. 67 in prison, away from home and fi-iends, are weighed down by anxieties and despondency, thus making the treatment of disease more difficult. Q. Please state the number of prisoners now at the post ? A. About two thousand three hundred and six.* Q. Please state the number of deaths dur- ing thfe past two months. A. In the month of May there were five deaths ; in the month of June only one. Q. What accommodations are provided for the care of the sick ? A. The hospital building is one hundred and twenty-six by thirty feet, with a trans- verse hall six and a half feet wide in the centre. There are four wards, each forty- eight by thirty feet. Ther^ are eighty beds in all, giving to each patient, when the wards are fuB, seven hundred and twenty cubic feet of atmospheric air. The dispen- sary is furnished with all the medicines and stimulants furnished to hospitals for our own soldiers, and more than double the quantity is used by prisoners than by the same num- ber of our troops. I have always had the assistance of competent Confederate sur- geons, who cheerfully aid by giving their time to this duty. When there are no com- missioned surgeons in prison, there are sur- . geons holding commissions in the line who do this duty. The cooking for the hospital is done by the most experienced and skilful cooks we can find in the prison. In addition to rations, the sick are fur- nished with flour, potatoes, corn-meal, milk, butter, eggs, chickens, tea, &c.^ &o. The bedding is amply sufficient to make each pa- tient comfortable. A pest-house is built outside the prison, to which all cases of smallpox, measles, or other contagions, are removed on first development. J. WOODBRIDGE, , Surgeon 128th 0. V. I, Subscribed in my presenpe and sworn to before me at Sandusky, Oliio, this 5th day of July, 1884. [seal.] Henkt C. Bush, Notary'Publio in and for Erie County, Ohio. SuKGKON EvEETMAN examined: — Q. What position do you now hold at De- pot Prisoners of War ? A. I act as chief medical officer of United States forces and military prison. Q. How long have you held that position ? A. Since the 17th of May, 1864. Q, What -is your opinion of the general * In May, 1864, there were two thousand one hi^n- drad arid tliirty-lbur, and in Jrine, a86i, two thou- sand -three huiadfed afld »ine. 68 CRUELTIES OF H BEL AtTHORITIES healthfulness and salubrity of Jolinson's Is- land? A.. The general condition of the troops and prisoners of war at this post has b- nian Institution. ' Q. Please state the latitude, longitude, and height above tide-water, of Kelley's Is- land ; its population, and the general char- acter of the island for salubrity. A. My place of observation is in latitude 41° 35' 44'' N., longitude 82^42' 32" W. The level of Lake Erie is 565 feet above tide- water, and the island may in some places rise fifty or sixty feet above the level of the lake ; but I think the mean height of the b- land^ would not vary much from twenty-five feet above the level of the lake. The popu- tion, in April last, was six hundred and fifty- one. As to the salubrity of the climate, the matter will be best determined by the statis- tics given in answer to the next question. Q. What has been 'the percentage of mortality, annually, on your island ? A. In answer to this question I give an abstract ft'om the records of the " Cemetery Associsttion." This association was organ- ized in May, 1853, since which time the whole number of interments has been 43 From this deduct, lost fi:om vessels and washed ashore, 4 Died in Nashville, from w'ds in battle, 1 — 5 Whole number of interments in 11 years, 38 To this add, died here and taken else- where for interment 5 ' Whole number of deaths in 11 years, 43 From diseases reported as follows ; — Killed by premature blast 1, drowned 2, S Old age 3, intemperance 1, dropsy 1, .' 5 Still-born and infants but a few days old, 8 Dysentery and summer complaint, . .9 Inflammation of bowels, . . . . ' . . S , Diseases affecting respiratory organs, . 5 Throat affection, age 76, age 50, ... 2 Fevers (one contracted in army hospital), 3 Childbirth 1, congestion of brain 1, . .2 Fits 1, not specified 2, 3- 43 TO PRISONERS OF WAR. 69 The average population of the island for this period of eleven years has been, as ap- pears by the returns of the township asses- sor, 428, which would give an annual mor- tality of 3.9 ; but if we deduct casualties 3, still-born and infants, which, although born alive, had not vitality enough fairly to com- mence the journey of life, 8 ; and one from disease contracted in hospital in iNashville, 1, it will reduce the number of deaths proper- ly chargeable to disease and old age to thir- ty-one, or an annual mortality of 2.82 in a population of 428. This would be an annual i mortality from all causes of one per cent., i and from disease, including old age, an annu- al mortality of less than seventy-three-hun- dredths of one per cent. (0.724.) , By comparing these results with the tables of mortality in different . sections of the coun- try, the salubrity of our climate and the immunity from the ordinary diseases of the country enjoyed by the inhabitants of this island as compared with other localities, may be easily deduced. Q. What is the distance of Kelley's from Johnson's Island, and is there any difference in the physical or sanitary peculiarities of the tvf o islands ? A. Johnson's Island is about seven miles nearly due south from Kelley's Island, and I am not aware of any natural causes which should make any difference in the salubrity of climate or sanitary condition of the two localities, unless the difference in the water between Sandusky Bay and the open lake (the latter being considered rather more free from impurities) might be considered a dif- ference, so far as it is used for culinary pur- poses or as a beverage. Q. Is there any undue tendency to pul- monary disorders among the inhabitants of these islands ? A. By reference to the answer to a pre- ceding question, it will be seen that the whole number of deaths from diseases affect- ing the respiratory organs in a period of eleven years,- and in a population averaging four hundred and twenty-eight, was but five, and of this number one was a transient per- son ; leaving but four cases in eleven years among those who could be properly ealled residents. Q. Has Johnson's Island ever had a bad repute for unhealthiness ? ' A. I have never heard Johnson's Island called unhealthy. Q. Have you ever known any very fatal diseases among the inhabitants of Lake Erie? A. The Asiatic cholera has passed through the lake region as an epidemic four times, I think, since it first made its appearance on this continent in 1832. I am not aware of any other very fatal diseases having prevailed in the lake region since my first acquaint- ance with it in 1830. , State op Ohio, > . , ■ Erie County, \ ' '• Before me, the subscriber, a Notary Pub- lic in and for the County of Erie and State of Ohio, personally came G. C. Huntington, who, being duly sworn by me according to law, deposes and says that fhe statements above made are compiled from official and other reUable data, and that they are true according to his kno-v(rledge and belief. GEO. a HUNTINGTON. Subscribed and sworn to before me, July 4th, A. D. 1864. [seal.] a. S Kelley, Kotary Public. EVIDENCE OF SOLDIEES OE THE EEBEL AEMY CONFINED AT UNITED STATES STATIONS. Testimony taken at Lincoln Hospital, Wash- ington, D. C, taken June 4, 1864. CoMMiasioNEES Present. —Dr. Wal- lace, Mr. Walden. W11.LIA.M H. Ferguson; 1 1th Mississippi infantry , twenty-six years old ; private in Confederate sevrice three years ; health good while in service and up to the time of my capture. Had walled tents sometimes, and aaams sometunes when in winter q'aarters. Aiwaya uaJ this kind of covering ex.-ept while in active service ; then we had no teuts or cabins, say from first of May tiU we go into winter quarters. We commonly carry one blanket. Could have more if we wanted it. Could take captured tents and carry and use them if we chose. We were comfortaljle as far as body clo- thing and blankets are concerned; when one coat or pants wears out we can get more from our own quartermasters. A day's ration is one and one-eighth pounds wheat Hour or one and one fourth pounds oorr meal : one and one-fourth pounds beef, fresh (could orenerally get fresh beef, driving cattle along with us), or half-pound bacon in piace of beef; we also drew during the first year of war, coffee, sugar, and rice ; second and third years had no coffee ; some- times we could get sugar and rice; since Christmas last we got coffee again. 70 We always had plenty to eat and some- times more, while not on campaign ; but on campaign, then we always had enough, but none to spare. Since our capture we get enough grub to keep H3 from hunger; we don't suffer; we have a full allowance ; we are as well treated as your own men. I was wounded in my right leg just above the ankle ; healing kindly now. Kindly treated by the officers and subordi- nates since our capture. I have not been, and never have seen any of our boys, robbed or otherwise ill-treated by the Union men ; I have seen and heard some occasional rough talk and swearing at us, but nothing more than that ; this was from a few of the privates ; not a general rule. We have had civil talk and argument as a common thing with the Union soldiers on the subject of the war. I was captured 5 th of May, 1864. Our food in' the Confederate army was of good quality. Our corn meal that we had was very good ; we had generally white, sometimes yellow meal ; it was bolted or sifted, and of fine grain. We never had grains of corn or bits of cob in our meal. WILLIAM H. FERGUSON, Company D, 11th Missitisippi Volunteers. I have been in the Confederate service two years and six months ; was captured on fifth of May, 1864. Was wounded through the right shoulder and chest. I am improv- ing in strength ; and I suppose 1 am gaining flesh now, though I am not as strong or fleshy as when 1 was captured. I have been present at the statements made by William H. Fergjison, 11th Missis- sippi Volunteers ; I have heard them all ; I substantiate their accuracy from my experi- ence and observation as to our condition in the service, though I was attached to a differ- ent corps of the army. W. O. QUARLES, Company H, 3d Alaljfima Begiment, Infkntry, Laekin a. Gkiffin, native of South Carolina ; home in Florida ; belong to 1st South Carolina rifles. The statement mad^ by William H. Fergu- son has been read and shown to me. It agrees with my observation and experience esicept as noted below. I have been in Confederate service nearly three years ; my health was always excellent while" in the ser- vice ; I was well and strong when wounded and captured; captured on 12th May, 1864. During the winter of 1862 and 1868, we CRUELTIES OF EEBEL AUTHORITIES had full rations of bread, but only half ra- tions of bacon for about three months. Oar corn meal was very finely ground/ but the huU was not sifted out. In a few isolated cases our captured men were directed to leave their knapsacks and haversacks behind them ; it was not a gene- ral thing at all. I never saw nor heard our men sworn at or cursed by the Union soldiers. L. A. GRIFFIN. I have seen and had read to me the state- ments made by William H. Ferguson. They are correct as proved by my own experience and observation generally. I hare been in the Confederate service three years; my health and strength while in the service was good during the third year ; better than before. We had coffee always, except during 1863, up to about Christmas. A Union lieutenant once damned me and told me I was not worthy of a place. 1 re- plied, " I hoped the Lord would forgive him and make him a better man." PLEASANT H. REESE, Company 1, 13th Georgia Eegiment, I have seen and had read to me the state- ments made by William H. Ferguson. They are correct as proved by my own experience and observation generally. I have been in the Confederate service two years ; my health was not very good till this last winter ; then it was tolerably good ; could do all my duties. Through last summer we did not draw coffee. JOSEPH F. DAVIDSON, Company A, 49th Georgia Regiment. ViBGiL Cakkoll, aged twenty-one ; ar- tillery, Virginia. Clothing always good and warm. Plenty of blankets and good shelter ; shel- ter tents. Plenty to eat. Rations — coffee, sugar, bacon, meal, occasionally fresh meat, pota- toes (Irish), rice, peas, wheat bread. ' Always enough ; much as we could con* sume ; this especially during the last three months. Clothing very plentiful. Fourth year in the army ; never suffered for food or clothing. VIRGIL CARROLL. I corroborate the above statement of Vir- gil Carroll. S. P. TWEDY, Company C, 11th Eegiment, Virginia. Joshua Barker, South Carolina, 4th Rifles. I corroborate the above statement of Virgil CaiToll. JOSHUA BARKER. ' TO PRISONERS OF WAR. 71 C. A. BowMAK, North Carolina 3 2d. I corroborate the above statement of Virgil Carroll. ' P A ti r\\xT-\j \ -kt C. A. BOWMAN. Carroll (DISTRICT OF Columbia, 1 , Connty of Washington, \ Personally appeared before me the within named William H. Ferguson, W. O. Quarles, L. A. Griffin, Pleasant H. Reese, Joseph F Davidson, "Virgil Carroll, S. P. Twody, Joshua Barker, C. A. Bowman, who, being severally sworn, say that the statements set forth by them are correct and true to the best of their knowledge and belief. Given under my hand and seal at Wash- ington, D.C., this fourth day of June, A. D. ,1864. M. H. N. Kendig, Notary Public. Testimony taken at Be Camp General Hos- pital, U. S. A., New York, June 17, 1864. Commissioner Present: — Mr. Wilkins. Deposition of A. B. Barkon, of Habersham county, Georgia, Co. K, 24th Georgia. I have served in the Confederate service two years and three days. I arrived at this hospital two days since, and depose as fol- lows: That ^ have served in Virginia, and was wounded at Cool Arbor. I the Confederate service we had no tents in the field, except shelter tents ; had one blanket and one oil-cloth, and lay on the ground. \ When wounded, bad on a good suit and a I was a farmer ; worked on my father's farm. I expected to be made a conscript, and volunteered in prefet-enee. ALBERT B. BARRON. S'worn to before me, Wareest Webster, Assistant Surgeon U. S. A., in charge of Hospital. Deposition of Wm. M. Farmer, native of Franklin county, Georgia, Company H, 24th Georgia Regiment. Business, a far- mer. I entered the service of the Confederate States in August, 1861 ; was wounded and taken prisoner at Cool Arbor. I had on, when wounded, a waistcoat, pants, drawers, shirt and boots, and not any- thing was taken away from me by my cap- tors. I have needed nothing since captured, hav- ing been supplied at the landing by the San- itary Commission. I have had plenty to eat ; no difference has been made since my cap^ ture between the wounded prisoners and the Federal wounded. Rations in our service were bacon, half pound, or half pound of beef; rice, coffee and sugar occasionally ; rations of bread were six hard biscuit a day, or half pound of meal, or half pound of flour a day. I have alwayS had food enough of this kind, and while in Virginia the same as elsewhere. In the Confederate service we had good tents in the winter, but on the march we had only blankets, and no shelter. I was in No. 4 General Hospital, Rich- chjijnge of clothes, but was not robbed, of ! ™ond, dtiring sixteen days, in May 1863; we money, ■ clothes, or anything which I had ' ' ' ' Ifrhen taken cafjtive. To-morrow being .the last day of the week, and the time for a regular supply of clcith- ing, I expect Clean clothes. Everything was in a proper state for my reception whea I arrived here. ' I have been in the Confederate hospitals in the field ; there were straw beds and a few sheets. Rations in our service were bacon, half pound, or one pound of beef; rice, coffee and sugar occasionally; rations of bread were six hard biscuit a day, or half pound of meal or flour a day. We had a plentiful supply of wood ; our people did not suffer from cold. We had medical attendance and medicines as we had need. The sick were treated kindly ; there was care as to our cleanliness; it was the best; soap, &c., was issued to us ; no want of salt. Since we were captured, we have been treated very well, just as well as your own boys all the time, and we have no fault to find. I was told 1 could not find it so. had there as much as we could eat, with good bedding and sheets as we have here. We were better off in the hospital than-in the field, as we had there coffee, sugar-and soft bread. I have had every comfort and attention since I have been here. The same in all re- spects as Union solders. WILLIAM M. FARMER. Sworn to before me, Warren Webster, Assistant Surgeon U. S. A., in charge of Hospital. Deposition of Daniel F. Prince, native of Columbus county, North Carolina, Com- pany H, 51st Regiment. I entered the Confederate service itf • March, 1862, and arrived here on the 15th of June last. I was wounded at the battle of Cool Arbor ; had some extra clothing in a bundle, which was cut loose by a Federal soldier at my request. I lay in a cross fire, and the Federal sol- diers dragged me out of the line of the fire into a ditch. I was treated mighty kliidly. 72 The Federals dressed my wounds, and carried me to White House Landing, and sent me immediately North with your own boys. In the Confederate service we always got one pound of beef or half a pound of bacon a day ; we had flour or corn bread alternate- ly, one pound of flour, or one and a quarter pounds of corn meal ; we had no tea or cof- fee ; we had salt, and a gill of peas or rice a day extra. We had three full suits of clothes a year, if needed ; if more, we drew them and had to pay for them ; we had blankets and oil- cloths. We had tents at stations, but no tents in the field. We had overcoats in cold weather made of wool. I have been supplied with everything I have wanted since I came here, and see no difference between my treatment and that of Union soldiers here in the hospital, his DANIEL F. ^ PRINCE, mark. Sworn to before me, Warren Webstek, Asstistant Surgeon U. S. A., in charge of Hos- pital. Deposition of Joseph Whichakd, Pitt Cc)unty, North Carolina, Company G, 8th Regiment, North Carolina. I entered the service in September, 1861, and have served in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and at last in Virginia, where I was wounded at Cool Arbor. I had on at the time, pants, shoes, a shirt, and a pair of drawers ; my clothes were cut ofi" by the surgeon in order to dress my wounds, and clean ones were afterwards sup- plied to me by Union men, both on board the boat and since I have been here. I have my jacket, and the rest of my property is on the litde stand at the head of my bed. A blanket was taken away from me when wounded, but another has been furnished. Rations, half a pound bacon, and ten hard biscuits, daily ; nothing else to eat ; no rice, peas, or corn meal. Was in the hospital at Wilmington, North Carolina, a year ago last May. The fare was tolerable. On a march, had an abundance, except &r a day or two, when it could not be got. Have had everything I want, or have asked for, since I have been here. J. WHICHARD. Sworn to before me, Waeren Webster, Assistant Surgeon U. S. A. la char°'e of Hospital. CKUELTIB8 OF REBEL AUTHORITIES Deposition of Michael Sutton, Sampson County, North Carolina, Company B, 61st Regiment. I have been nearly three years in the Confederate service; this is my second en- listment ; I might have been drafted if I had not re-enlisted. I served near Charlestown, South Carolina, and was wounded at Cool Arbor ; had some clothes on ; no clothes now except what was furnished me by Union men ; my own clothes were bloody and had to be thrown away. I have not been robbed of anything. Rations for four days, one pound of bacon, and eighteen ounces of corn meal ; same weight of flour, but rarely; had rice and pCcis, half pint of rice', and a short half pint of peas a day. Meal not always good, but lumpy and smelt bad, and then we were rather stinted for food. Since we have been 'round Richmond we have been short ; it was enough' to live upon " without enough." Been in hospital in Wilmington, North Carolina ; " fare awful hard ; " want of food; beds, &c., were clean. Treated well on board the vessel ; the same as Union soldiers ; kind and attentive here ; fared fine while I have been here ; 1 have not asked for anything but what I have got it. MICHAEL |><|^ SUTTON, mark. Sworn to before me, Wakren Webster, Assistant Surgeon U. S. A., in charge of hos- pital. Testimony taken at Fort Delaware, June 21s/, 1864. Commissioners Present. — Dr. Wal- lace, Judge Hare. George S. Roler sworn and examined: — I am from Virginia ; was in the artillery, Ewell's Corps; I am comfortable here; I haye just come here last evening ; came through Washington, from Spottsylvania Court House, where I was taken prisoner. Was kindly treated on the way up ; had been in the service (Confederate) three months when taken prisoner. We had plenty of rations fi-om Confederate Government ; they issued us meal, some flour, bacon, sugar, coffee and salt; got meat every, day, half pound bacon or a pound of beef; one and one-eighth pound of meal a day, which we made ourselves; plenty of coffee and sugar all the winter ; we did not suffer for want of food. Clothing plenty all winter ; that was the case of the other men as well as myself; we TO PRISONERS ,0F WAR. 7S all had two blankets — some more; none I think less than two. GEORGE S. ROLER. Sworn to and subscribed before me, June 21st, 1864. D. P. Brown, Jr., United States Commissioner. Henry Daniel, sworn and examined: — I have been in the Confederate service, infantry, Ewell's corps, for two years ; I came here yesterday ; taken prisonpr at Spottsyl- vania; am from Georgia. Had plenty to oat while in the Confederate serviL^e ; had half pound of bacon, one and one-eighth pounds of flour a day during the winter; in the spring, beef one pound a day ; provisions of good quality ; besides this had meal, Irish potatoes, peas, coffee, and sugar. Had clothes enough to keep warm ; two blankets, one overcoat; the army at large had^ them ; nothing to complain of in the way of food and clothing. HENRY >< DANIEL. mark. Sworn to and subscribed before me', June 21st, 1864. D. P. Brown, Jr., United States Commissioner. William Sharp, sworn and examined : — I have beenthree years in the Confederate service the 9th of next month, in Hill's corps ; I am from Georgia ; taken prisoner at Spottsylvania. Treatment was not so good part of the way coming up here ; they did not give us anything to eat but four crackers a day till we got to Belle Plain, to the boat ; after that we had plenty ; the guards that were with us across to Belle Plain did not get it either; the infantry guard that fetched us to Fredericks- burg had no more than we ; the cavalry brought us, I don't know how they fared. Rations last winter in the Confederate service pretty good ; got one and one-eighth pounds of flour, one-quarter pound of salt pork, when we got sugar and coffee; when we did not get sugar and coffee, had half a pound salt pork ; sometimes we drew corn meal and got a pound and a quarter of jt ; got some potatoes once and a while ; some beans occasionally, and some rice. Clothes were very good last winter; had one blanket to each man ; some had two blankets; had overcoats. Heard no complaints of want of food or clothing, being well clothed and fed. 1 was as fat as I ever was in my life,, when I was taken at Spottsylvania. We had tents and cabins built during the winter. his WILLIAM ^ SHARP. mark. Sworn to and subscribed before me, June 21st, 1864. D. P. Brown, Jr., United States Commissioner. J. S. Moore, sworn and examined : — I haye been in the Confederate service nearly three years. Taken prisoner near Spottsylvania Court House ; was treated tol- erably well on the way up here ; did not get quite enough to eat. Plenty to eat last winter and spring in the Confederate service ; got meal, flour, bar con, a quarter of a pound of bacon a day, and one and one-quarter pounds of meal, sometimes sugar apd coffee and potatoes ; did not get beans ; got no fresh meat last spring. vTas in Hill's corps. Had plenty of clothing; one blanket a piece ; overcoats ; some had two blankets. We could not carry more than one blanket a piece ; could have had more if we had chosen to carry them. Sometimes we threw them' away. I came from Mississippi. Sometimes drew flour, one pound,' instead of meal ; never got any more bacon than at first ; had plenty to eat all the time ; gene- rally had coffee on hand all the time ; used to have peas last fall ; was as well fed, with the exception of coffee, last winter as before. JOHN S. MOORE. Sworn to and subscribed before me, June 21st, 1864. D. P. Brown, Jr., United Statfs Commissioner. L. S. Crews, sworn and examined: — I entered the Confederate service last December. I was taken prisoner near Spottsylvania Court House ; came from Vir- ginia ; in Ewell's corps ; well treated coming up here ; got more than I could eat, for I was sick ; they all got plenty coming up here, as far as I know. Rations last winter in our own army were tolerable ; was on corii meal principally through the winter ; got one and one-quarter pound of corn meal a day, half pound of bacon ; sometimes molasses and potatoes ; some fish, some sugar and coffee ; drawed a little rice ; got no fresh meat ; had a little last December ; had enough food to satisfy hunger. The men were clothed tolerably well — all of the men had not blankets; some had thrown them away ; it was so with the over- coats. I was conscripted. his L. S. X CREWS, mark. 74 Swoin to and subscribed before me, June 21st, 1804. D. P. Brown, Jr., United States Commissioner. K. D. Benefield, sworn and examined : — Taken prisoner near Spottsylvania ; was well treated, as well as could be expected on my way up here. Got about enough to eat in the Confed- erate service — one and one-quarter pounds of meal, and one-quarter pound of bacon ; got some sugar, some potatoes, rice, and coffee; no beans or peas; some sugar; al- lowance of bacon the same all the time ; I don't recollect drawing any fresh meat ; got flour sometimes. Got tolerable plenty of clothes ; all had plenty of blankets ; some overcoats. CRUELTIES OF REBEL AUTHORITIES The men did not suffer, as I know- of, from cold ; have been in the service since Febru- ary, 1861. Was in- E well's corps. R. D. BENEFIELD, Cmjipany A, 37th Georgia. Sworn to and subscribed before me, June 21s't, 1864. D. P. Brown, Jr., United States Commissioner. I certify that the foregoing testimony*, taken at Fort Delaware, June 21st, 1864, was taken and reduced to writing by me, in the presence of the respective witnesses, and by them swoi;n to and. subscribed in my presence, at the time and in the manner set forth. D. P. BROWN, Jr., United States Commissioner. SUPPLEMENT. SUFFERINGS OF THE PRISONEES AT ANDERSONVILLE, 6A. — MEMORIAL FROM THE PRISONERS TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES— LETTER OF MAJOR- GENERAL BDTLEK, UNITED STATES COMMISSIONER OF EXCHANGE, TO COLONEL OULD, CONFEDERATE COMMISSIONER! Account of the sufferings of Union prisoners of war, at Camp Sumter^ Andersonmlle, Georgia. From the Sanitary Commission Bulletin. The following statement was drawn up for the Commission, and sworn to by the parties signing it. They were exchanged on the 16th of August, and with three others were appointed by their companions in prison as a deputation to see President Lin- coln in their behalf. Deposition of Private Tracy : — I am a private in the 82d New York Regi- ment of Volunteers, Company G. Was cap- tured with about eight hundred Federal troops, in front of Petersburg, on the 22d of June, 1864. We were kept at Petersburg two days, at Richmond, Belle Isle, three days, then conveyed by rail to Lynchburg. Marched seventy-five miles to Danville, thence by rail to Andersonville, Georgia. At Petersburg we were treated fairly, being under the guard of old soldiers of an Alar bama regiment ; at Richmond we came under the authority of the notorious and inhuman Major Turner, and the equally notorious Home Guard. Our ration was a pint of beans, four ounces of bread, and three ounces of moat, a day. Another batch of prisoners joining us, we left Richmond sixteen hundred strong. All blankets, haversacks, canteens, money, valuables of every kind, extra clothing, and in some cases the last shirt and drawers, had been pi-eviously taken from us. At Lynchburg we were placed under the Home Guard, officered by Major and Cap- tain Moffett. The march to Danville was a weary and painful one of five days, under a torrid sun, many of us falling helpless by the way, and soon filling the empty wagons of our train. On the first day we received a little meat, but the sum of our rations for the five days was thirteen crackers. During the six days by rail to Andersonville, meat was given us twice, and the daily ration was four crackers. On entering the Stockade Prison, w found it crowded with twenty-eight thou- sand of our fellow-soldiers. By crowded, I mean that it was difficult to move in any di- rection without jostling and being jostled. This prison is an open space, sloping on both sides, originally seventeen acres, now twen- ty-five acres, in the shape of a parallelogram, without trees or shelter of any kind. The soil is sand over a bottom of clay. The fence is made of upright trunks of trees, about twenty feet high, near the top of which are small platforms, whei-e the guards are stationed. Twenty feet inside and pai^ a'llel to the fence is a light railing, forming the " dead line," beyond which the projec- tion of a foot or finger is sure to bringthe deadly bullet of the sentinel. Through the ground, at nearly right-angled TO PEISONERS OF WAK. 75 PEISON AT ANDEESOK"VILLE, GEORGIA. TO PRISONERS OF WAR. with the longer sides, runs or rather creeps a stream through an artificial chanriel, vary- ing from five to six feet in width,, the water about ankle deep, and near the middle of the enclosure, spreading out into a swamp of about six acres, filled with refuse wood, stumps and debris of the camp. Before en- tering this enclosure, the stream, or more properly sewer, passes through the camp of the guards, receiving from this source, and others farther up, a large amount of the vilest material, even the contents of the sink. The water is of a dark color, and an ordinary glass would collect a thick sediment. This was our only drinking and cooking water. It was our custom to filter it as best we could, through our remnants' of haversacks, shirts and blouses. Wells had been dug, but the water either proved so productive of diarr- hcea, or so limited in quantity that they were of no general use. The cook-house was situated on the stream just outside the stock- ade, and its refuse of decaying ofial was thrown into the water, a greasy coating cov- ering much of the surface. To these was added the daily large amount of base matter from the camp itself. There was a system of policing, but the means was so limited, and so large a' number of the men was ren- dered irresolute and depressed by imprison- ment, that the work was very imperfectly done. One side of the swamp was naturally used as a sink, the men usually going out some distance into the water. Under the summer sun this place early became cor- ruption too vile for description, the men breeding disgusting life, so that the surface of the water moved as with a gentle breeze. The new-comers, on reaching this, would exclaim : " Is this hell ?" yet they soon would become callous, and inter unmoved the hor- rible rottenness. The rebel authorities never removed any filth. There was sel- dom any visitation by the officers, in charge. Two surgeons were at one time sent by Presl- 4ent Davis to inspect the camp, but a walk through a small section gave them all the information they -desired, and we never saw them again. The guards usually numbered about sixty- four — eight at each end, and twenty-four on a side. On the outside, within three hundred yards, were fortifications, on high ground, overlooking and perfectly command- ing us, mounting twenty-four twelve-pound Napoleon Parrotts. We were never per- mitted to go outside, except at times, in small squads, to gather our firewood.' During the building of the cook-house, a ^w, who were carpenters, were ordered out to assist. Our only shelter from the sun and rain and night dews was what we could makfe by stretching over us our coats or scraps of 77 blankets, which a few had, but generally there was no attempt by day or night to pro- tect ourselves. • The rations consisted of eight ounces of corn bread (the cob being ground with the kernel), and generally sour, two ounces of condemned pork, offensive in appearance and smell. Occasionally, about twice a week, two tablespoonfuls of rice, and in place of the pork the same amount (two tabls- spoonfuls) of molasses were given us about twice a month.* This ration was brought into camp about four o'clock, P. M., and thrown from the wagons to the ground, the men being arranged in divisions of two hun- dred and seventy, subdivided into squads of nineties and thirties. It was the custom to consume the whole ration at once, rather than save any for the next day. The distri- bution being often unequal some would lose the rations altogether. We were allowed no dish or cooking utensil of any kind. On opening the camp in the winter, the first two thousand prisoners were allowed skillets, one to fifty men, but these were soon taken away. To the best of my knowledge, in- formation and belief, our ration was in quality a starving one, it being either too foul to be touched or too raw to be digested. The cook-house went into operation about May 10th, prior to which we cooked our own rations. It did not prove at all adequate to the work, (Ihirty thousand is a large town,) so that a large proportion were still obhged to prepare their own food. In addition to the utter inability of many to do this, through debility and sickness, vre never had a supply of wood. I have often seen men with a little bag of meal in hand, gathered from several rations, starving to death for want of wood, and in desperation would mix the raw ma- terial with water and try to eat it. The clothing of the men was miserable in the extreme. Very few had shoes of any kind, not two thousand had coats and pants, and those were late comers. More than one- half wer« indecently exposed, and many, were naked. I The usual punishment was to place the men in the stocks, outside, near the Captain's quarters. If a man was missing at roll-call, the squad of ninety to which he belonged was deprived of the ration. The " dead-line " bullet, already referred to, spared no ofiend- * Oar regular army ration is : 'i jib. Pork or IJ lbs. Fresh Beef, 18 0Z8. Hard Bread, oi 20 ozB. Soft Bread or Flour, 1-10 lb. Coffee, 1-6 lb. Sugar, 1-10 lb. Rice, or 1-10 lb. Beans or Hominy. Vegetables— Fresh orl M^^er'' Irregularly. Yiaegar, J 7<8 er. One poor fellow, just from Sherman's armyj — his name was Bpberts — was trying ' to wash his face near the " dead-line " rail- ing, when he slipped on the clayey bottom, and fell witt his head just outside the fatal border. We shouted to him, but it was too late — " another guard would have a fur- lough," the men said. It was a common be- lief among our men, arising from statements made by the guard, that General Winder, in command, issued an order that any one of the guard who should shoot a Yankee out- side of the " dead-line " should have a month's furlough, but there probably was no truth in this. About two a day were thus shot, some being cases of suicide, brought on by mental depression or physical misery, the poor fellows Throwing themselves, or madly rushing outside the "line." The mental condition of a large portion of the men was melancholy, beginning in des- pondency and tending to a kind of stolid and idiotic indifference. Many spent much time in arousing and encouraging their fellows, but hundreds were l}'ing about motionless, or stalkinw vacantly to and fro, quite beyond any help which could be given them within their prison walls. These cases were fre- quent among those who had been imprisoned but a short time. There were those who were captured at the first Bull Run, July 1861, and had known Belle Isle from the first, yet had preserved their physical and mental health to a wonderful degree. Many were wise and resolute enough to keep themselves occupied — some ia cutting bone and wood ornaments, making their inives out of iron hoops — others in manufacturing ink from the rust from these same hoops, and with rude pens sketching or imitating bank notes, or any sample that would involve long and patient execution. Letters fi-om home very seldom reached us, and few had any means of writing. In the early summer, a large batch of lettera — five thousand we were told — arrived, hav- ing been accumulating somewhere for many months. These were brought into camp by an officer, under orders to cellect ten cents on each -^ of course most were returned, and we heard no more of them. One of my companions saw among them three from his parents, but he was unable to pay the charge. According to the rules of transmis- sion of letters over the lines, these letters must have already paid ten cents each to the rebel government. As far as we saw General Winder and Captain Wirtz, the former was kind alid considerate in his manners, the latter harsh, though not without kindly ^elings. It _i? a melancholy and mortifying fact, that some of our trials came from our own CRUELTIES OP EEBEL AUTHORITIES men. At Belle Isle and Andersonville there were among us a gang of desperate men, ready to prey on their fellows. Not only thefts and robberies, but even murders were committed. Affairs became so serious at Camp Sumter that an appeal was made to General Winder, who authorized an arrest and ti-ial by a criminal court. Eighty-ax were arrested, and six were hung, beside others who were severely punished. These proceedings effected a marked change for the better. Some few weeks before being released, I was ordered to act as clerk in the hospital. This consists simply of a few scattered trees and fly tents, and is in charge of Dr. White, an excellent and considerate man, with very limited means, but doing all in his power for his patients. He has twenty-five assistants, besides those detailed to examine for admitr tance to the hospital. This examination was made in a small stockade attached to the main one, to the inside door of which tie sick came or were broiight by their comrades, the number to be removed being limited. Lately, in consideration of the rapidly in- creasing sickness, it was extended to one hundred and fifty daily. That this was too small an allowance is shown by the fact that the deaths within our stockade were fi-oin thirty to forty a day. I have seen one hun-r dred and fifty bodies waiting passage to the " dead house," to be buried with those who died in hospital. The average of deaths through the earlier months was thirty a day, : at the time I left, the average was over one hundred and thirty, and one day the record showed one hundred and forty-six. The proportion of deaths from starvation, not including those consequent on the dis- eases originating in the character and limited quantity of food, such as diarrhoea, dysentery and scurvy, I cannot state ; but to the best of my knowledge, information and belief, there were scores every month. We could, at any time, point out many for whom such a fate was inevitable, as they lay or feebly walked, mere skeletons, whose emaciation exceeded the examples given in Leslie's Illustrated for June 18, 1864. For example : in some cases the inner edges of the two bones of the arms, between the elbow and the wrist, with the intermediate blood vessels, were plainly vis- ible when held toward the light. The ra- tion, in quantity, was perhaps barely suffi- cient to sustain life, and the cases of starva* tion Were generally those whose stomachs could not retain what had become entirely indigestible. For a*man, to find, on waiing, that his comrade by his side was dead, was an occur- rence too common to be noted. I have seen deatli in almost all the forms of the hospital TO PRISONERS OF WAR. and battle-field, but the daily scenes in Camp Sumter exceeded in the extremity of misery all my previous experience. The work of burial is performed by our own men, under guard and orders, twenty- five bodies being placed in a single pit, with- out head-boards, and the sad duty perform- ed with indecent haste. Sometimes our men were rewarded for this work with a few iticks of fire-wood, and I have known them io quarrel over a dead body for the/o5. Dr. White is able to give the patients a diet but little better than the prison rations — a little fiour .porridge, arrow-root, whis- key and wild or hog tomatoes. In the way of medicine, I saw nothing but, camphor, whis- key, and a decoction of some kind of bark — white oak, I think. He often expressed his regret that he had not more medicines. The limitation of military orders, under which the surgeon in charge was placed, is shown by the following occurrence: A sup- posed private, wounded in the thigh, was under treatment in the hospital, when it was discovered that he was a major of a colored regiment. The assistant-surgeon, under whose immediate charge he was, proceeded at once not only to remove him, but to kick him out, and he was returned to the stockade, to shift for himself as well as he could. Dr. White could not or did not attempt to re- store him. After entering on my duties at the hospi- tal, I was occasionally favored with double rations and some wild tomatoes. A few of our men succeeded, in spite of the closest examination of our cloths, in secreting some green-backs, and with those were able to buy useful articles at exorbitant prices : — a tea-cup of flour at one dollar; eggs, three to six dollars a dozen ; salt, four dollars a pound ; molasses, thirty dollars a gallon; nigger beans, a small, inferior article, (diet of the slaves and pigs, but highly relish- ed by us,) fifty cents a pint. These figures, paultiplied by ten, will give very nearly the price in Confederate currency. Though the country abounded in pine and oak, sticks were sold to us at various prices, according to size. Our men, especially the mechanics, were tempted with the offer of liberty and large wages to take the oath of allegiance to the Confederacy, but it was very rare that their patriotism, even under such a fiery trial, ever gave way. I carry this message from one of my companions to his mother: "My treat- ment here is killing me, mother, but I die cheerfully for my country.". Some attempts were made to escape, but wholly in vain, for, if the prison walls and guards were passed and the protecting woods reached, the aloodhownds were sure to find us out. 79 Tunneling was at once attempted on a large scale, but on the afternoon preceding the night fixed on for escape, an officer rode in and announced to us that the plot was discovered, and from our huge pen we could see on the hill above us the regiments just arriving to strengthen the guard. We had been betrayed. It wcis our belief that spies were kept in the camp", which could very easily be done. The number in camp when I left was nearly thirty-five thousand, and daily increas- ing. The number in hospital was about five thousand. I was exchalnged at Port Royal Ferry, August 16th. PEESCOTT TRACY, Eighty-sscond Begimeut, N. Y. V. City and County of New York, ss. H. C. HiGGiNSON and S. Noirot, being duly swoAi, say : That the above statement of Prescott Tracy, their fellow-prisoner, agrees with their own knowledge and expe- rience. - ' " H. C. HIGGINSON, Co. K, Nineteenth Illinois Vols. SILVESTER NOIROT, Co. B, Fifth New Jersey Vols. The Memorial qf the Union Prisoners con- fined at Andersonvilte, Ga., to the Presi- dent of the United States. ConfedEkate States Prison, CiiAKtESTON, S. C, August, 1864. To THE PeBSIDENT OI" THE UNITED States : The condition of the enlisted men belong- ing to the Union armies, now prisoners to the Confederate rebel forces, is such that it be- comes our duty, and the duty of every com- missioned ofiicer, to make known the facts in the case to the Government of the United States, and to use every honorable effort to secure a general exchange of prisoners, thereby relieving thousands of our comrades from the horror now surrounding them. For some time past there has been a con- centration of prisoners from all parts of the rebel territory to the State of Georgia — the commissioned ofiicers being confined at Ma- con, and the enlisted men at Andersonville. Recent movements of the Union armies un- der General Sherman have compelled the removal of prisoners to other points, and it is now understood that they will be removed to Savannah, Georgia, and Columbus and Charleston, South Carolina. But no change of this kind holds out any prospect of relief to our poor meii. Indeed, as the localities selected are far more unhealthy, there must be an increase rather than a diminution of suffering. Colonel Hill, provost marshal gen- eral, Confederate States army, at Atlanta, CRUELTIES lOF REBEL AUTHORITIES 80 stated to one of the undersigned that there were thirty-five thousand prisoners at Ander- sonville, and by all accounts from the United States soldiers who have been confined there the number is not overstated by him. These thirty-five thousand are confined in a field of some thirty acres, enclosed by a board fence, heavily guarded. About one-third have va- rious kinds of indiflferent shelter ; but up- wards of thirty thousand are wholly without shelter, or even shade of any kind, and are exposed to the storms and rains, which are of almost daily occurrence ; the cold dews of the night, and the more terrible effects of the sun striking with almosf tropical fierce- ness upon their unprotected heads. This mass of men jostle and" crowd each other up and down the limits of their enclosure, in storms or sun, and others lie down upon the pitiless earth at night with no othqr covering than the clothing upon their backs, few of them having even a blanket. Upon entering the prison every man is deliberately stripped of money and other property, and as no clothing or blankets are ever supplied to their prisoners by the reb^l authorities, the condition of the apparel of the soldiers, just from an active campaign, can be easily imagined. Thousands are without pants or coats, and hundreds 'without even a pair of drawers to cover their naked- ness. To these men, as indeed to all prisoners, there is issued three-quarters of a pound of bread or meal, and one-eighth of a pound of meat per day. This is the entire ration, and upon it the prisoner must live or die. The meal is oiten unsifted and sour, and the meat - such as in the North is consigned to the soap- maker. Such are the rations upon which Union soldiers are fed by the rebel authori- ties, and by which they are barely holding on to life. But to starvation, and exposure to sun and storm, add the sickness which prevails to a most alarming and terrible ex- tent. On an average, one hundred die daily. It is impossible that any Union sol- dier should know all the facts pertaining to this terrible mortality, as they are not parad- ed by the rebel authorities. Such statement as the following, made by , speaks eloquent testimony. Said he : " Of twelve of us who were captured, six died, four are in the hospital, and I never expect to see them again. There are but two of us left." In 1862, at Montgomery, Alabama, under far more favorable circumstances, the Erisoners being protected by sheds, from one undred and fifty to two hundred were sick from diarrhoea and chills, out of seven hun- dred. The same per centage would ^ve seven thousand sicK at Andersonville. It needs no comment, no efforts at word paint- ing, to make such a picture stand out boldly in most horrible colors. Nor is this all. Among the ill-fated of; the many who have suffered amputation in con- sequence of injuries received before capture, sent froBji rebel hospitals before their wounds were healed, there are eloquent witnesses of the barbarities of which they are victims. If to these facts is added this, that nothing more demoralizes soldiers and develops the evil passions of man than starvation, the terrible condition of Union prisoners at Anderson- ville can be readily imagined. They are fast losing hope, and becoming utterly reck- less of life. Numbers; crazed by their suffer- ings, wander about in a state of idiocy ; oth- ers deliberately cross the "dead line," and are remorselessly shot down. In behalf of these men we most earnestly appeal to the President of the United States. Few of them have been captured except in the front of battle, in the deadly encounter, and only when overpowered by numbers. They constitute as gallant a portion of our armies as carry our banners any where. If released, they would soon return to again do vigorous battle for our cause. We are told that the only obstacle in the way of ex- change is the status of enlisted negroes cap- tured from our armies, the United States claiming that the cartel covers all who serve under its flag, and the Confederate States refusing* to consider the colored soldiers,., heretofore slaves, as prisoners of war. We beg leave to suggest some facts bear- ing upon the question of exchange, which we would urge upon this consideratioli. Is it not consistent with the national honor, without waiving the claim that the negro soldiers shall be treated as prisoners of war, to effect an exchange of the white soldiers ? The two classes are treated differently by the enemy. The whites are confined in such prisons as Libby and AndersonviUe, starved and treated with a barbarism un- known to civilized nations. The blacks, on the contrary, are seldom imprisoned. They are distributed among the citizens, or em- ployed on government works. Under these circumstances they receive enough to eat, and are worked no harder than they have been accustomed to be. They are neither starved or killed off by the pestilence' in the dungeons of Richmond and Charleston. It is true they are again made slaves; but their slavery is freedom and happiness com- pared with the cru6l existence imposed upon our gallant men. They are not bereft of hope, as are the white soldiers, dying By piece-meal. Their chances of escape are tenfold greater than those of the white sol- diers, and their condition, in all its lights, is tolerable in c6mparison with that of the pria- TO PRISONERS, OF WAR. W81 oners of war now languishing in the dens and pons of Secession. While, therefore, believing ' the claims of our Government, in matters of exchange, to be just, we are profoundly impressed with the conviction that the circumstances of the two classes of soldiers are so widely differ- ent that the Government can honorably consent t0| an exchange, waiving^r a time the established principle justly claimed to be applicable in the case. Let thirty-five thousand suffering, starving, and enlisted men aid this appeal. By prompt and de- cided action, in their behalf, thirty-five thou- ^ sand heroes will be made happy. For the eighteen hundred commissioned officers now prisoners we urge nothing. Although desii> ous of returning to our duty, we can bear imprisonment with more fortitude if the en- listed men, whose sufferings we know to be intolerable, were restored to liberty and Hfe. Letter of Major-General Butler, United States Commissioner of Exchange, to Col. Ould, tlie Confederate Cormrjissioner. Headquarters Department op Virginia and North Carolina, In the Field, August — , 1864. Hon. Robert Ould, Commissioner of Exchange. Sir : — Your note to Major Mulford, As- sistant Agent of Exchange, under date of 10th Augult, has been referred to me. You therein state that Major Mulford has several times proposed " to exchange prison- ers respectively held by the two belligerents, officer for officer and man for man," and that " the offer has also been made by other officials having charge of matters connected with the exchange of prisoners," and that " this proposal has been heretofore declined by the Confederate authorities." That you now " consent to the above proposition, and agree to deliver to you (;Major Mulford) the prisoners held in captivity by the Conreder- ate authorities, provided you agree to de- liver an equal number of officers and men. As equal numbers are deUvered from time to time, they will be declared exchanged. This proposal is made with the understand- ino' -that the officers and men on both sides wfo have been longest in captivity will be first delivered, where it is practicable." From a slight ambiguity in your phraseol- ogy, but more, perhaps, from the antecedent action of your authorities, and because of your acceptance of it, I am in doubt whether you have stated the proposition with entire accuracy. -11,1,1, It is true, a proposition was made both by Major Mulford and by myself, as Agent of third series, living age. vol. XXVII. Exchange, to exchange all prisoneri taken by either belligerent party, man, officer for officer, of equal their equivalents. It was made by early as the first o^the winter of 1863-64," and has not been accepted. In May last I forwarded to you a i)ote, desiring to know whether the Confederate authorities intend- ed to treat colored soldiers of the United States army as prisoners of war. To that inquiry no answer has- yet been made. To avoid all possible misapprehension or mistake hereafter as to your offer now, will you now say whether you mean by " prisoners held in captivity," colored men, duly enrolled, and mustered into the service of the United States, who have been captured by the Con- federate forces ; and if your authorities are willing to exchange all soldiers so mustered into the United States army,i whether col- ored or otherwise, and the officers command- ing them, man for man, officer for officer ? At the interview which was held between yourself and the Agent of Exchange on, the part of the United States, at Fortress Mon- roe, in March last, you will do me the favor to remember the principal discussion turned upon this very point ; you, on behalf of the Confederate Government, claiming the right to hold all negroes, who had heretofore been slaves, and not eniancipated by their mas- ters, enrolled and mustered into the service of the United States, when captured by your forces, not as prisoners of war, but upon capture to be turned over to their supposed masters or claimants, whoever they might be, to be held by them as slaves. By the advertisements in your newspa- pers, calling upon masters to come forward and claim these men-so captured, I suppose that your authorities still adhere to that claim — that is to say, that whenever a col- ored soldier of the United States is captured by you, upon whom any claim can be made by any person residing within the States now in Insurrection, such soldier is not to be treated as a prisoner of war, but is to be turned over to .his suppbsed owner or claim- ant, and put at such labor or service as that owner or claimant may choose, and the offi- cers in command of such soldiers, in the lan- guage of a supposed act of the Confederate States, are to be turned over to the Govern- ors of States, upon requisitions, for the' pur- pose of being punished by the laws of such States, for acts done in war in the armies of the United States. You must be aware that there is still a proclamation by Jefferson Davis, claim- ing to be Chief Executive of the Cop- federate States, declaring in substance ths^t all officers of colored troops mustered into the service of the United States, were; not 1265. m li CRUELTIES OF REBEL AUTHORITIES 82 to be treated as prisoners of war, but were to be turned over for punishment to the Governors of States. I am reciting tbese public acts from piemory, and wilT be psfrdoned for not giv- ing the exact words, although I beliete I do not vary the substance and effect. These declarations on fhe part oif those whom you represent yet remain unrepeal- ed, unannulled, unrevoked, and mnSt, there- foire, be still supposed to be authoritative. By your acceptance of our propositioli, is the Oovermnent of the United States to understand that tlisse several claims, enactments, and proclaimed declarations are to be given up, set aside, i-evoked, and held Tfor nought by the Confederate authorities, and that you are ready and willing to ex- cliSnge man for man those colored soldiers bf the United States, duly mustered and feiiroUed as such, wTio have heretofore been claimed as slave's hy the Confederate States, is well as by white soldiers ? If this be so, and you are so willing to exchange these colored men claimed as fllaves, and you will so officially inform the Government of the United States, then, as I am instructed, a principal difficulty in effecting exchanges will be removed. ' As I informed yoti personally, in my judgment, it is neither . consistent with the policy, dignity, or honor of the United States, upon any consideration, to allow those who, by our laws solemnly enacted, are made soldiers of the Union, and who have been duly enlisted, enrolled and mus- tered as sucn soldiers, who have borne arms in behalf of this country, and who have been captured While fighting in vin- dication of the rights of that country, ndt to be treated as prisoners of war, and re- main unexchanged, and in the service of those who claim them as masters; and I cannot believe that the Government of tbe United States will ever be found to cott- sent to so gross a wrong. Pardbn me if I misunderstood you in supposing thait your accejftahce of our prop- osition &e3 not in good faith mean to In- clude all the soldiers o£ the Union, and that you still intend, if your acceptance is ^efed to, to hold the cdlbred soldiers of the Unibn toexchaflged, and at labor o'r service, be-" d^tise i atii infonnod that viery_ lately, al- most contemporaneously with this offer on your part to exichange prisoners, aBd wliieh seems to include cCll prisotiers of war, the Confederate authorities have made a dec-; laratioti tihat the negroes heretofore held to service by owners m the States of Del- aware, Mainland, and Missouri are to be treated as prisoners of war, when captured In arms in tue service of the United States. I Such declaration that a part of the col- ored soldiers of the United States were to be prisoners of war, would seem most strongly to imply that others were not to be so treated, or in other words, that the colored men from the insurre,etionary States are to be held to labor and returned to their masters, if captured by the Confed- erate forces while duly enrolled and mus- tered into, and actually in the armies of the United States. In the view which the Government of the United States takes of the claim made by you to the persons and services of these negroes, it is not to be supported upon any principle of national and munici- pal la'w. Looking upon these men only as property jipon your theory of property in them, we do not see how tins claim can be made, cer- tainly not how it can be yielded. It is be- lieved to be a well-settled rule of public in- ternational law, and a custom and part of the laws of war, that the capture of mova- ble property vests the title to that property in thecaptoi', and therefore where one bel- ligerent gets into full possession property belonging to the subjects or citizens of the other belligerent, the owner of that property is at once divested of his title, which rests in the belligerent Government capturing and holding such possession.' Upon this rule of international law aH civilized na- tions have acted, and by it both belligerents have dealt with all property, 'save slaves, taken from each other during the present war. If the Confederate forces capture a num- ber of horses from the United States, the animals are claimed to be, and, as we under- stand it, become the property of the Con- federate authorities. If the United States capture any mova- ble property in the rebellion, by our regula- tions and laws, in conformity with interna- tional law, and the laws of war, such prori- erty is tamed over to our Grovermnent as its j)roperty. Therefore, if we obtain posses- sion of that species xff property known to the laws of the insurrectiouary States as Haves, why should there be any doubt that that property, like any other, vests in the United States ? If the property in the slave does so vest, then the "jus disponendi," the right of dis- posing of that pr(^erty, vests in the United States. Now, the United States have disposed of the property which they have acquired by capture in slaves taken by them, by giving that right of property t» the man hinrselF, to the_ slave, i. e. by emancipating him and declaring ttim free forevet', so wat if v« TO PEISONEES OF WAE. 83 have not mistakea the/principles of iater- national law and the laws of war, we have no slaves in the armies of the United, Stkes, All are free men, being made so in such manner as we have chosen to dispose of our property in them which we acquired by cap- ture. _ Slaves being captured, by us, and the right of property in them thereby, yested in us, tha^ right of property has been iisposed of by us by manumittjbag them, as has always be6n the aaknowledged right of thle owner to do to his slave. The ma,nner in which we dispose of our property while it is in our possession certainly pannot b^ questioned by you. _ , Nor. is the case altered if the property is not actually captured in battle, bat comes either voluntarily or involuntarily from the belligerent owner into thc^ possession of the ofher belligerent. I take it no one would doubt the right of the United States to a drove of Confed- erate mules, or a herd of . Confederate cattle, which should wander or rush across the Confederate lines into the Unea of the United States army. So it, seenis to me, treating the negro as property merely, if that piece of property passes the Confeder- ate lines, and com,e3 into the lines of the United States, that property is as much lost to its owner in the Confederate Stajtes as would be the mule or ox, the property of the resident of the Confederate States, which should fall into our hands. ' If, therefore, the privilege of international law and the laws of war used in this discus- sion are correctly stated, then it would seem that the deduction logically flows therefrom, ip natural sequence, that the Confederate States can have no claim upon the negro soldiers captured by them from the armies of the United States, because of the former ownership of them by their citizens qr sub-' jects, and only claim such as result, under the laws of war, from their captor merely. Do the Confederate authorities claim the right to reduce to a state of slavery free men, prisoners of war captured by them ? tThis claim our fathers fought against under Ba'ifibridge and D^atur, when set up by the Barbary Powers on the northern shore of Africa, about the year 1800, and in 1864 their children will hardly yield it upon their owii soil. This point I will not pursue further,^ be- cause I understand you to repudiate the idea that you will reduce free men to slaves be- cause of capture in war, and that you base the claim of thie Confederate authorities to re-enslave our negro soldiers, when captured by you, upon the "jus post limini" or that principle of the law of nations which inhab- ilitates the formed owner with his property taken by an enemy, when suqh property is recovered by the forces of his own country. Or in other words, you claim that, by the laws of nations 9,nd of war, when property of the subject^ of one belligerent power, cap- tured by the forces, of the other belligerent, is recaptured by the armies of the former owner, then such property is to be restored to its prior possessor, as if it had never been captured, and therefore, under this principle, your authorities propose to restore to their masters the slaves, which heretofore belonged to them which you may capture from us. But this post liminary right under which you claim to act, as understood and defined by all writers on national law, is applicable simply to immovable property, and that, top, only after complete resubjugation of that, portion of the country in which the property 13 situated, upon wmph this right fastens itself. By the laws and customs of war, this right has never been applied to movable property. True it is, I believe, that the Romans at- tempted to apply it to the case of slaves, but for two thousand years no other nation has. attempted to set up this right as ground for treating slaves differently fronj other prop- erty. But the Biomans even refused to re-enslave men captured from opposing belligerents in a civil war, such as ours unhappily is. Consistently then with any principle of the ' law of nations, treating slaves as property merely, it would seem to be impossible for the Government of the United States to permit the negroes in their ranks to be re-enslaved when captured, or treated otherwise than as prisoners of war. I have forborne, sir, in this discussion, to argue the question upon any other or differ- ent ground of right than those adopted by your authorities in claiming the negro as property, because I understand that your fabric of opposition to the Grovernment of the United States has the right of property in man as its corner-stone. Of course it would not be profitable in settling a question of ex- change of prisoners of war to attempt to argue the question of abandonment of the very cor- ner-stone of their attempted political edific^. Therefore I have admitted all the considerar tions which should apply to the negro soldier as a man, and dealt with him upon the Con- federate theory of property only. I unite with you most cordially, sir, in de- siring a speedy settlement of all these quesr tions, in view of the great suffering endured by our prisoners in the hands of your author- ities, of which you so feelingly speak. Let me ask, in view of that buffering, why you have delayed eight months to ataswer a prop- 84 osition which by now accepting you admit to be right, just, and humane, allowing that sufifermg to continue so long ? One cannot help thinking, even at the risk of being deemed uncharitable, that the benevolent sympathies of the Confederate authorities have been lately stirred by the depleted con- dition of their armies, and a desire to get into , the field, to affect the present campaign, the hale, hearty, and well-fed prisoners held by the United States in exchange for the half- starved, sick, emaciated, and unserviceable soldier of the United States now languishing in your prisons. The events of this war, if we did nOt know it before, have taught us that it is not the Northern portion of the American people alone who know how to drive sharp bargains. The wrongs, indignities, and privations suffered by our soldiers would move me to jgonsent to anything to procure their ex- change, except to barter away the honor and faith of the Government of the United States, which has been so solemnly pledged to the colored soldiers in its ranks. Consistently with national faith and justice we cannot relinquish this position. With your authorities it is a question of property merely. It seems to address itself to you in this form. Will you suffer your soldier, cap- CEUELTIES OP BEBEL AUTHORITIES. tured in fighting your battles, to be in con- finenient for mouths rather than release him by giving for him that which you call a piece of property, and which we are willing to ac- cept as a man ? Xou certainly appear to place less value upon your soldier than you do upon your negro. I assure you, much as we of the North are accused of loving property, our citizens would have no difficulty in yielding up any piece of property they have iu ex- change for one of their brothers or sons lan- guishmg in your prisons. - Certainly there could be no doubt that they would do so were that piece of property less iu value than five thousand dollars in Confederate money, which is believed to be the price of an able-bodied negro in the insurrectionary States. Trustirig that I may receive such a reply to the questions propounded in this note, as will tend to a speedy resumption of the ne- gotiations in a full exchange of all prisoners, and a delivery of them to their respective authorities, I have the honor to be, Very Kespectfully, Your Obedient Servant, BENJAMIN F. BUTLER, Mi^or-General, and Commissioner of Exchange. ALEXANDER ^. STEPHENS AGAINST THE EEBELLION. 85 ALEXANDEE H. STEPHENS AGAINST THE EEBELLION. There is an almost official confession of the " folly, wickedness, and madness " of the Rebellion, in a speech made by the so-called Vice-President, Alexander H. Stephens, in Georgia, in January, 18G1, before it broke out, and made to prevent it. The whole speech has been often printed since. We have room only for a part. ^ " When we of the South demanded the slave-trade, or the importation of Africans for the cultivation of our lands, did they not yield the right for twenty years ? When we askpd a three-fifths representation in Con- gress for our slaves, was it not granted? When we asked and demanded the return of any fugitive from justice, or the recovery of those persons owing labor or allegiance, was it not incorporated in the Constitution, and again ratified and strengthened in the Fugitive Slave Larw of 1850 ? " But do you reply, that in many instances they have violated this compact, and have not been faithful to their engagements ? As individuals and local communities they may have done so, but not by the sanction of government ; for that has always been true to Southern interests. Again, gentlemen, look at another fact : When we have asked that more territory should be added, that wp might spread the institution of Slavery, have thej' not yielded to our demands in giving us Louisana, Florida, and Texas, out of which four States have been carved, and ample ter- ritory for four more to be added in due^time, if you, by this unwise and impolite act, do not destroy this hope, and perhaps by it lose all, and have your last slave wrenched from you by stern military rule, as South America and Mexico were; or by the vindictive de- cree of a universal emancipation, which may reasonably be expected to follow ? " But, again, gentlemen, what have we to gain by tljis proposed change of our relation to the general government ? We have al- ways had the control of it, and can yet, if we retnain in it, and are as united as we have been. We have had a majority of the Presidents chosen from the South, as well as the control and management of most of those chosen from the North. We have had sixty years of Southern Presidents to their twenty-four, thus controlling the Executive department. So of the judges of the Su- preme Court, we have had eighteen from the South, and but eleven from the North ; although nearly four-fifths of the judical business has arisen in the Free States, yet a majority of the Court has always been from the South. , This we have required, so as to guard against any interpretation of the Constitution unfavorable to us. In like manner we have been equally watchful to guard our interests in the Legislative brancli of government. In choosing^ the presiding Presidents (pro tern.) of the Senate, we have had twenty-four to their eleven. Speakers of the House, we have had twenty-three, and they twelve. While the majority of the Representatives, from their greater pop- ulation, have always been from the North, yet we have generally secured the Speak- er, because he, to a great extent, shapes and controls the legislation of the country. Nor have we had less control in every other department of the general government. At- torney-generals we have had fourteen, while the North have had but five. Foreign min- isters we have had eighty-six, and they but fifty four. While three-fourths of the busi- ness which demands diplomatic agents abroad ^s clearly from the Free States, from their greater commercial interests, yet we have had the principal embassies, so as to secure the world markets for our cottop, tobacco, and sugar, on the best possible terms. We have had a vast majority of the higher offices of both army and navy, while a larger proportion of the soldiers and sailors were drawn from the North. Equal- ly so of clerks, auditors, and comptrollers filling the Executive department; the rec- ords show for the last fifty years, that of the three thousand thus employed, we have had more than two-thirds of the same, while we have but one-third of the white popula- tion of the Republic. " Again, look at another item, and one, be assured, in which we have a great and vital interest ; it is that of revenue, or means of supporting government. From official doc- uments, we learn that a fraction over three- fourths of the revenue coUacted for the support of government has uniformly been raised from the North. " Leaving out of view, for the present, the countless millions of dollars you must ex- pend in a war with the North, with tens of thousands of your sons and l^rothers slain io 86 AlEXANDEE H. STEPHENS AGAINST THE EEBELLION. battle, and offered up as sacrifices upon the altar of your ambition, — and for what, we ask again ? Is it for the overthrow of the American government, established by [our common ancestry, cemented and built up by their sweat and blood, and founded on the broad principles of Right, Justice,, and Humanily? And, as such, I must declare here, as I have ofteil done before, and which has been repeated by the greatest and wisest of statesmen and patriots in this and other lands, that it is the best and freest govern- ment, the most equal in its rights, the most just in its decisions, the most lenient in its meas- ures, and the most' inspiring in its principles to elevate the race of men, that the sun of heaven ever shone upon. " Now, for you to attempt to overthrow such a government as this, under which we have lived for more than three-quarters of a century — in which we have gained our wealth, our standing as a nation, our domes- tic safety while the elements of peril are around us, with peace and tranquillity ac- companied with unbounded prosperity and rights unassailed — is the height of madness, folly,'and wickedness, to which I can neither lend my sanction nor my vote." i Office of Littell's Living Age, Boston. Thank God that some, who have read that part of this report which was copied into the Living Age" a fortnight ago, have submitted their minds to the accumulated proof of the horrible atrocity of the Kebellion, and the fiendish chaj-acter of its leaders, It is to be hoped that this exposure, so able and so complete, made in such a calm, clear, and Chris- tian spirit, will induce many to lay aside their life-long prejudice against any " interfer- ence with Southern institutions," — a pt^udice so rooted as to have lasted even after the sacred institution had openly made war against their country. Since the publication of the former part, a subscriber, remitting payment for another year, says, " I am sorry to see The Living Age hoist the Black Abolition Flag." Look again, dear sir, as the mist clears off; it is not Wact; it is " Bed, White and Blue;'' " 'Tis the Star-spangled Banner," the National Flag upheld by the President, by Congress, and by the nation. The People of the United States, in the election which has just taken place, have mani- fested not only their fixed purpose to sustain the Government and nation which our fathers planted, with the blessing of God, but also to uphold the present administration in its slowly-matured determination to root out the cause which has placed them in peril. The manner in which the war has been carried on by the rebels has been worthy of the object for which it was begun ; and it is difficult to believe that any patriotic or humane man can hereafter be found acting with their Northern and European sympathizers. Finally, lift the next leaf, and see some few proofs of the enormous wickedness which these Accessories after the fact have to sanction. COPIES PHOTOGRAPHS OF UNION SOLDIERS AFIEK TKEIB BETUBK fBOM \ IMPEISONMENT AT BELLE ISLE. Accurately copied from the Original Photographs taken at United States General Hospital, Division No. 1, Annapolis, Maryland, and now in the possession of the United States Sanitary Commission. 87 From the Inaepen4«nt. A." Stsr p»p«r " by th* i*f ilenrj Ward Beecbitr. LITTELL'S UVTNG AGE. BmO! the days of The Oentleman't Magor •»n«, and the pet Spectatori, Ramblera, Idleri and Adrenturera, what an advance haa been made ! There are more booki than eyer before, and as good ones ; the quarterUes are but books jointly composed by seTeral co-op- erating authors, and contain papers, often, which represent the ripe results of a whole lifetime's experience or reflection in CTery de- partment of learning. The monthlies, if less stately, are hardly less able ; and all this is without prejudice to the weekly and daily newspapers, which command some of the Best thinkers and writers in England and America. It was a happy thought, lo select from this wide range of matter the best articles in every department, and by bringing them together in a new work, to gire to the people at a yery moderate sum, the cream of a hundred differ •nt inaccessible and expensiye magazines and papers. But this Mr. Littell has done, and done ao well as to have deserred and earned for himself the thanks and esteem of all (rateful readers. Our readers haTe doubtless seen the stereoscopie boxes which contain from twenty-five to a hundred plates, which, rcTohing, come up in succession before the ©ye and present living pictures from every part of the world. This is just what Mr. Littell does for ua in literary matters. His Living Age is a stereoscopio series of the learned and literary doings of the world. It comes every week with a new set of pic- tures, reflecting every side of the writing world, scientific, philosophical, historic, didac- tie, critical, statistical, poetic ; narrative, bi- . ography, stories — in short, every thing except ■tupid goodness and smart immorality. Out of so wide a field to select with taste and good judgment, requires a talent, in its way, quite as rare as that which produces a brilliant article'. Every plodder cannot select wisely. It demands great industry, multifa- rious reading, a nicety of taste and tact, which are none the less praiseworthy because so few think to praise them. Beaders art an un- grateful set. They seldom think of their ob- ligations to those ,who prepare for them the endless treasure of the printed page. They seem to think that an author or compiler •hould be gra ^ftil and satisfied if tfaey only PUBLISHED EYERT SATURDAY For Eight BoUvisyur, nmitud ArMfJ^ t» tit fuiliAm, th* Livoie A« will b« paactaaUr tomtiti ttm buy and admire. But there it foi jiofalei natures a payment in coin less gross but more precious. If we were to express the sense of love and gratitude which we feel to the au- thors that have companied with us, first as teachers, and since as reverend companions, we should scarcely find words or space for the fulness of the ofiiering I We love to cherish a sense of unpayable obligation to great hearts. And there is no man who performs the humblest service in the realm of learning and literature, who has not a right to tb« honors and gratitude of benefactor. Mr. Littell is not pursuing a new or recent thing. As long ago as 1836 we became sub- scribers to the Museum, a work similar to The Living Age, published monthly at Phil- adelphia, This was the beginning of a sec- ond series. We know not when the first wie began. What a period between 1836 and 1859 1 And what a treasure is a consecutive series of volumes made up of the best matter which has appeared in that long period oi more than twenty years 1 Of The Living Age we have a complete set upon our shelves, and we find it universally popular and useful For invalids, on whose hands time hangs heavily, and whose capri- cious taste every day needs some new re- source, these bound volumes must be invalu- able. For those who resort to the country in summer, and wish an abundance of miscel- laneous reading ; for long voyages : for those who love to go back to other years and read of events which now are histories, but then were transpiring, we can cordially commend this unfailingly interesting series. Every year they grow more interesting, not only by th< progressive contents, but because as we^rc cede from past years, we find it delightful tk have the means of recalling them. Those who have full sets of The Edinburgh Review, The Quarterly-, and who can read the articles which were written upon the appearance of Byron's poems, Scott's, Crabbe's,the Waverley Novels, etc., know how deeply interesting that contemporaneous criticism becomes T/itn every year that lengthen! the period between us and it. But we must not trespass upon the space, further, h- this busy week. And we perform but a djty, while it is a pleasure, in saying that we congratulate him who hu, and pity him who has not, upon his shelve! the now almost little library — Littell's Limng Age. BT LITTELL. SON, & CO.. BOSTON.