DOCUMENTS. Question. Is not that one of the symptoms attendant upon starvation, that men are likely to become deranged or idiotic? Answer. Yes, sir; more like derangement than what we call idiocy. By Mr. Gooch: Question. Can those men whose arms you bared and held up to us-mere skeletons, nothing but skin and bone-can those men recover? Answer. They may; we think that some of But we them are in an improving condition. have to be extremely cautious how we feed them. If we give them a little excess of food under these circumstances, they would be almost certain to be seriously and injuriously affected by it. Question. It is your opinion, you have stated, that these men have been reduced to this condition by want of food? them was to the effect, that when captured, and before they got to Richmond, they would generally be robbed of their clothing, their good United States uniforms, even to their shoes and hats taken from them, and if any thing was given to them in place of them, they would receive only old worn-out confederate clothing. Sometimes they were sent to Belle Isle with nothing on but old pants and shirts. They generally had their money taken from them, often with the promise of its return, but that promise was never fulfilled. They were placed on Belle Isle, as I have said, some with nothing on but pants and shirts, some with blouses, but they were seldom allowed to have an overcoat or a blanket. There they remained for weeks, some of them for six or eight weeks, without any tents or any kind of covering. Question. What time of the year was this? Answer. All along from September down to There they remained for weeks December, as a general thing, through the latter part of the fall. without any tents, without blankets, and in many instances without coats, exposed to the rain and snow, and all kinds of inclement weather. And Answer. It is; want of food and exposure are where some of them had tents, they were old That has produced diar- worn-out army tents, full of holes and rents, so the original causes. rhoea and other diseases as a natural consequence, that they are very poor shelters indeed from the I have been told by several of them and they have aided the original cause and re- storms. duced them to their present condition. I should that several times, upon getting up in the morn like the country and the Government to knowing, they would find six or eight of their number the facts about these men; I do not think they frozen to death. There are men here now who can realize it until the facts are made known to have had their toes frozen off there. They have them. I think the rebels have determined upon said that they have been compelled to get up the policy of starving their prisoners, just as during the night and walk rapidly back and forth much as the murders at Fort Pillow were a part to keep from dying from the cold. of their policy. Rev. J. T. Van Burkalow, sworn and examined. By the Chairman: Question. What is your connection with this hospital? Question. What do they say in regard to the food furnished them? Answer. They represent that as being very little in quantity, and of the very poorest qual ity, being but a small piece of corn-bread, about three inches square, made of meal ground very coarsely-some of them suppose made of corn and cobs all ground up together-and that bread was baked and cut up and sent to them in such a manner that a great deal of it would be crumbAnswer. I have been connected with the hos-led off and lost. Sometimes they would get a pital in that capacity ever since the twentieth of October, 1862. Answer. I am the chaplain of the hospital. Question. How long have you been acting in that capacity? very small piece of meat, but that meat very Question. What has been your opportunity of knowing the condition of our returned prisoners? Answer. I have mingled with them and ad-rice-water ministered unto them ever since they have been rice in it. here, night and day. I have written, I suppose, something like a hundred letters for them to their relatives and friends since they arrived here. Question. Have you attended them when they were dying? Answer. Yes, sir. Question. And conversed with them about their condition, and the manner in which they have been brought to that condition? Answer. Yes, sir; I have. Question. Please tell us what you have ascertained from them? Answer. The general story I have gotten from - Question. You have heard their statements separately? Answer. Yes, sir. Question. Do they all agree in the same general statement as to their treatment? Answer. Yes, sir; they do. Question. How were they clothed when they arrived here? Answer. They were clothed very poorly indeed, with old worn-out filthy garments, full of vermin. Question. What was their condition and appearance as to health when they arrived here? Answer. They looked like living skeletonsthat is about the best description I can give of them very weak and emaciated. Question. Have you ever seen men at any time or place so emaciated as these are so entirely destitute of flesh? Answer. I think I have a few times, but very rarely; I have known men to become very emaciated by being for weeks affected with chronic diarrhoea, or something of that kind. But the chronic diarrhoea, and liver diseases, and lung affections, which those men now have, I understand to have been superinduced by the treatment to which they have been subjected; their cruel and merciless treatment and exposure to inclement weather without any shelter or sufficient clothing or food, reducing them literally to a state of starvation. Question. Could any of them walk when they arrived here? Answer. I think there was but one who could make out to walk; the rest we had to carry into the hospitals on stretchers. By Mr. Odell: service? Have they ever expressed any regret that they entered our army? Answer. As a general thing, they have not. In fact, I have heard but one express a different sentiment. He was a mere youth, not more than sixteen or seventeen years of age now. His feet were badly frozen. He remarked that he had regretted, even long before he got to Richmond, that he entered the service. But I have heard a number of them declare that if they were so fortunate as to recover their health and strength, they should be glad to return to the service, and still fight for their country, Question. They then bear their misfortunes bravely and patriotically? Answer. Yes, sir, they do. Question. And without complaining of their Government? Answer. Yes, sir, without complaining of their fate, except so far as to blame their merciless enemies. Doc. 3. Question. Did these men make these state- ATTACK ON THE DEFENCES OF MOBILE. ments in their dying condition? Answer. Yes, sir. By the Chairman : Question. Were the persons who made these statements conscious of approaching dissolution? Answer. Yes, sir; I know of no particular cases where they spoke of these things when they were right on the borders of death; but they made them before, when they were aware of their condition. Question. So that you have no reason to doubt that they told the exact truth, or intended to do so? Answer. None whatever. There has been such a unanimity of testimony on that point, that I cannot entertain the shadow of a doubt. Question. And their statements were corroborated by their appearance? Answer. Yes, sir. REPORT OF REAR-ADMIRAL FARRAGUT. FLAG-SHIP HARTFORD, Mobile BAY, Aug. 5, 1864. SIR: I have the honor to report to the Department that this morning I entered Mobile Bay, passing between Forts Morgan and Gaines, and encountering the rebel ram Tennessee and gunboats of the enemy, namely, Selma, Morgan, and Gaines. The attacking fleet was under way by fortyfive minutes past five A.M., in the following order: The Brooklyn, with the Octorara on her port side; Hartford, with the Metacomet; Richmond, with the Port Royal; Lackawanna, with the Seminole; Monongahela, with the Tecumseh ; Ossipee, with the Itasca, and the Oneida with the Galena. As we On the starboard of the fleet was the proper position of the monitors or iron-clads. The wind was light from the south-west, and the sky cloudy, with very little sun. Fort Morgan opened upon us at ten minutes past seven o'clock, and soon after this the action became lively. steamed up the main ship channel, there was some difficulty ahead, and the Hartford passed on ahead of the Brooklyn. At forty minutes past seven the monitor Tecumseh was struck by a torpedo and sunk, going down very rapidly, and carrying down with her all the officers and crew, with the exception of the pilot and eight or ten men, who were saved by a boat that I sent from the Metacomet, which was alongside of me. The Hartford had passed the forts before eight o'clock, and finding myself raked by the rebel gunboats, I ordered the Metacomet to cast off and go in pursuit of them, one of which Selma-she succeeded in capturing. the All the vessels had passed the forts by halfpast eight, but the rebel ram Tennessee was still apparently uninjured in our rear. I will send a detailed despatch by the first opportunity. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Admiral Commanding W. G. B. Squadron. To Hon. GIDEON WELLES, Secretary of the Navy. List of killed and wounded on board U. S. S. Hartford in the action with the rebel Fort Morgan and fleet, August fifth, 1864: Signal was at once made to all the fleet to turn again and attack the ram, not only with guns, but with orders to run her down at full speed. The Monongahela was the first that struck her, and though she may have injured her badly, yet she did not succeed in disabling her. The Lackawanna also struck her, but ineffectually. The flag-ship gave her a severe shock with her bow, and as she passed poured her whole port broadside into her of solid nine-inch shot and thirteen pounds of powder, at a distance of not more than Killed - David Morrow, quarter-gunner; Wm. twelve feet. The iron-clads were closing upon Osgood, ordinary seaman; Thos. Baine, ordinary her, and the Hartford and the rest of the fleet seaman; Benjamin Harper, seaman; Wm. Clark, were bearing down upon her, when, at ten A. M., boy; Charles Schaffer, seaman; Frank Stillwell, she surrendered. The rest of the rebel fleet-nurse; George Walker, landsman; John C. Scott, namely, the Morgan and Gaines-succeeded in ordinary seaman; Thomas Wilde, ordinary seagetting back under the protection of Fort Morgan. man; Wm. Smith, boy; Wm. Andrews, captain This terminated the action of the day. after-guard; Frederick Munsell, captain afterAdmiral Buchanan sent me his sword, being guard; Lewis McLane, landsman; Peter Duncan, himself badly wounded with a compound fracture landsman; Smith, fireman; Thomas Baines, of the leg, which it is supposed will have to be fireman; Thomas Stanton, fireman; Cannel, amputated. fireman. Total, nineteen. Having had many of my own men wounded, Wounded-Lieutenant Adams, slightly; Acting and the surgeon of the Tennessee being very de- Third Assistant-Engineer McEwan, amputation sirous to have Admiral Buchanan removed to the arm; Acting Master's Mate R. P. Herrick, slighthospital, I sent a flag of truce to the command-ly; Acting Ensign W. H. Heginbotham, severely, ing officer of Fort Morgan, Brigadier-General Richard L. Page, to say that if he would allow the wounded of the fleet, as well as their own, to be taken to Pensacola, where they can be better cared for than here, I would send out one of our vessels, provided she would be permitted to return, bringing back nothing she did not take out. General Page consented, and the Metacomet was despatched. The list of casualties on our part, as far as ascertained, is as follows: Flag-ship Hartford-Nineteen killed, twentythree wounded. Brooklyn-Nine killed, twenty-two wounded. Metacomet-One killed, two wounded. In all, forty-one killed and eighty-eight wounded. On the rebel ram Tennessee were captured twenty officers and about one hundred and seventy men. The following is a list of the officers: Admiral F. Buchanan; Commander Joseph D. Johnson; Lieutenants Wm. D. Bradford, A. P. Wharton, E. J. McDennert; Masters J. R. De Moley, H. W. Perron; Fleet-Surgeon R. C. Bowles; Engineers G. D. Leneng, J. O'Connell, John Hays, O. Benson, W. B. Patterson; Paymaster's Clerk, J. H. Conen; Master's Mates W. A. Forrest, Beebe, and R. M. Carter; Boatswain, John McCudie; Gunner, H. S. Smith. On the Selma were taken ninety officers and men. Of the officers I have only heard the names of two, namely, Commander Peter U. Murphy, and Lieutenant J. H. Comstock. The latter was killed. (since dead ;) Wilder Venner, landsman, leg; CONGRATULATORY LETTER TO REAR-ADMIRAL FAR- NAVY DEPARTMENT, Again it is my pleasure and my duty to congratulate you and your brave associates on an achievement unequalled in our service by any other commander, and only surpassed by that unparalleled naval triumph of the squadron under your command in the spring of 1862, when, proceeding up the Mississippi, you passed Forts Jackson and St. Philip, and, overcoming all obstructions, captured New-Orleans, and restored unobstructed navigation to the commercial emporium of the great central valley of the Union. The Bay of Mobile was not only fortified and guarded by forts and batteries on shore, and by submerged obstructions, but the rebels had also collected there a formidable fleet, commanded by their highest naval officer-a former captain in the Union navy-who, false to the government and the Union, had deserted his country in the hour of peril, and levelled his guns against the flag which it was his duty to have defended. The possession of Mobile Bay, which you have acquired, will close the illicit traffic which has been carried on by running the blockade in that part of the Gulf, and gives point and value to the success you have achieved. Great results in war are seldom obtained without great risks, and it was not expected that the possession of the harbor of Mobile would be secured without disaster. The loss of the gallant Craven and his brave companions, with the Tecumseh, (a vessel that was invulnerable to the guns of Fort Morgan,) by a concealed torpedo, was a casualty against which no human foresight could guard. While the nation awards cheerful honors to the living, she will ever hold in grateful remembrance the memory of the gallant and lamented dead, who perilled their lives for their country and died in her cause. To you and the brave officers and sailors of your squadron, who participated in this great achievement, the Department tenders its thanks, and those of the Government and country. Very respectfully, etc., GIDEON WELLES, Secretary of the Navy. Rear-Admiral DAVID G. FARRAGUT, Commanding West Gulf Blockading Squadron, Mobile Bay. SURRENDER OF FORT POWELL. FLAG-SHIP HARTFORD, WEST GULF BLOCKADING SIR: I have the honor to inform the Department that Fort Powell was evacuated on the night of the fifth instant. The rebels blew up much of the fort, but we took all of the guns, and those of the best quality, a list of which will be forwarded. We took some covered barges also from Fort Powell and Cedar Point, which do us good service as a work-shop. The Fleet Engineer and Fleet Paymaster came in the Stockdale, with iron, etc., for the repairs of our vessel. On the afternoon of the sixth, the Chickasaw went down and shelled Fort Gaines, and on the morning of the seventh I received a communication from Colonel Anderson, commanding the Fort, offering to surrender to the fleet, asking the best conditions. I immediately sent for General Granger, and in the evening had Colonel Anderson and Major Browne on board, and the agreement was signed by all parties. At seven A.M., August eighth, Fleet Captain Drayton, on the part of the navy, and Colonel Myer, on the part of the army, proceeded to the Fort to carry out the stipulations of the agreement, and at forty-five minutes past nine, the Fort surrendered, and the Stars and Stripes were hoisted on the staff amid the cheers of the fleet. LETTER FROM COLONEL ANDERSON TO REAR-ADMIRAL HEADQUARTERS, FORT GAINES, August 7, 1864. To Admiral Farragut, Commanding Naval Feeling my inability to maintain my present position longer than you may see fit to open upon me with the fleet, and feeling also the uselessness of entailing upon ourselves further destruction of life, I have the honor to propose the surrender of Fort Gaines, its garrison, stores, etc. I trust to your magnanimity for obtaining honorable terms, which I respectfully request that you will transmit to me, and allow me sufficient time to consider them and return an answer. This communication will be handed to you by Major W. R. Browne. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, C. D. ANDERSON, Colonel Commanding. JOINT LETTER FROM REAR-ADMIRAL FARRAGUT AND MAJOR-GENERAL GRANGER TO COLONEL ANDERSON. FLAG-SHIP HARTFORD, MOBILE BAY, August 7, 1864. SIR: In accordance with the proposal made in your letter of this morning for the surrender of Fort Gaines, I have to say that, after communicating with General Granger, in command of our forces on Dauphin Island, the only offers we can make are First. The unconditional surrender of yourself and the garrison of Fort Gaines, with all of the public property within its limits. Second. The treatment which is in conformity with the custom of the most civilized nations toward prisoners of war. Third. Private property, with the exception of arms, will be respected. This communication will be handed you by Fleet Captain P. Drayton, and Colonel Myer of the U. S. army, who fully understand the views of General Granger and myself. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, G. GRANGER, Colonel C. D. ANDERSON, Commanding Fort Gaines. ATTACK ON THE DEFENCES OF MOBILE-DETAILED U. S. FLAG-SHIP HARTFORD, MOBILE BAY, Aug. 12, 1864. SIR: I had the honor to forward to the Department, on the evening of the fifth instant, a report of my entrée into Mobile Bay on the morning of that day, and which, though brief, contained all the principal facts of the attack. Notwithstanding the loss of life, particularly DOCUMENTS. cumseh, Commander T. A. M. Craven; the Manhattan, Commander I. W. A. Nicholson; the Winnebago, Commander T. H. Stevens; and the Chickasaw, Lieutenant Commander G. H. Perkins-were already inside the bar, and had been ordered to take up their positions on the starboard side of the wooden ships, or between them and Fort Morgan, for the double purpose of keeping down the fire from the water-battery and the parapet guns of the fort, as well as to attack the ram Tennessee as soon as the Fort was passed. on this ship, and the terrible disaster to the mander George Brown; Oneida, Commander Tecumseh, the result of the fight was a glorious I. R. M. Mullany, with the Galena, Lieutenant victory, and I have reason to feel proud of the Commander C. II. Wells. The iron-clads-Teofficers, seamen, and marines of the squadron under my command, for it has never fallen to the lot of an officer to be thus situated and thus sustained. Regular discipline will bring men to any amount of endurance, but there is a natural fear of hidden dangers, particularly when so awfully destructive of human life as the torpedo, which requires more than discipline to overcome. Preliminary to a report of the action of the fifth, I desire to call the attention of the Department to the previous steps taken in consultation On the with Generals Canby and Granger. eighth of July I had an interview with these officers on board the Hartford, on the subject of an attack upon Forts Morgan and Gaines, at which it was agreed that General Canby would send all the troops he could spare to cooperate with the fleet. Circumstances soon obliged General Canby to inform me that he could not despatch a sufficient number to invest both forts, and in reply I suggested that Gaines should be the first invested, engaging to have a force in the sound ready to protect the landing of the army on Dauphin Island in the rear of that fort, and I assigned Lieutenant Commander De Krafft, of the Conemaugh, to that duty. On the first instant General Granger visited me again on the Hartford. In the mean time the Tecumseh had arrived at Pensacola, and Captain Craven had informed me that he would be ready in four days for any service. We therefore fixed upon the fourth of August as the day for the landing of the troops and my entrance into the bay; but owing to delays mentioned in Captain Jenkins's communication to me, the Tecumseh was not ready. General Granger, however, to my mortification, was up to time, and the troops actually landed on Dauphin Island. As subsequent events proved, the delay turned to our advantage, as the rebels were busily engaged during the fourth in throwing troops and supplies into Fort Gaines, all of which were captured a few days afterward. The Tecumseh arrived on the evening of the fourth, and every thing being propitious, I proceeded to the attack on the following morning. It was only at the urgent request of the Captains and commanding officers that I yielded to the Brooklyn being the leading ship of the line, as she had four chase-guns and an ingenious arrangement for picking up torpedoes, and because, in their judgment, the flag-ship ought not to be too much exposed. This I believe to be an error; for apart from the fact that exposure is one of the penalties of rank in the navy, it will always be the aim of the enemy to destroy the flag-ship, and, as will appear in the sequel, such attempt was very persistently made, but Providence did not permit it to be successful. The attacking fleet steamed steadily up the main ship-channel, the Tecumseh firing the first shot at forty-seven minutes past six o'clock. At six minutes past seven the Fort opened upon us, and was replied to by a gun from the Brooklyn, and immediately after the action became general. It was soon apparent that there was some diffiThe Brooklyn, for some cause culty ahead. which I did not then clearly understand, but which has since been explained by Captain Alden in his report, arrested the advance of the whole fleet, while, at the same time, the guns of the Fort were playing with great effect upon that vessel and the Hartford. A moment after I saw the Tecumseh struck by a torpedo, disappear almost instantaneously beneath the waves, carrying with I determined at once, as I had originally her her gallant commander and nearly all her intended, to take the lead, and after ordering the Metacomet to send a boat to save, if possible, any of the perishing crew, I dashed ahead with the Hartford, and the ships followed on, their officers believing that they were going to a noble death with their commander-in-chief. crew. I steamed through between the buoys, where the torpedoes were supposed to have been sunk. These buoys had been previously examined by my Flag-Lieutenant, I. Crittenden Watson, in several nightly reconnoissances. Though he had not been able to discover the sunken torpedoes, yet we had been assured by refugees, deserters, and others, of their existence, but, believing that from their having been some time in the water, they were probably innocuous, I determined to take the chance of their explosion. As mentioned in my previous despatch, the vessels outside the bar, which were designed to participate in the engagement, were all under way by forty minutes past five in the morning, in the following order, two abreast, and lashed together: Brooklyn, Captain James Alden, with the Octorara, Lieutenant Commander C. H. Green, on the port side; Hartford, Captain Percival Drayton, with the Metacomet, Lieutenant Commander I. E. Jouett; Richmond, Captain T. A. Jenkins, with the Port Royal, Lieutenant Commander B. Gherardi; Lackawanna, Captain J. B. Marchand, with the Seminole, Commander E. Donaldson; Monongahela, Commander J. H. From the moment I turned to the north-westStrong, with the Kennebec, Lieutenant Commander W. P. McCann; Ossipee, Commander ward, to clear the middle ground, we were enW. E. Le Roy, with the Itasca, Lieutenant Com-abled to keep such a broadside fire upon the bat |