THE CONFEDERATES HAD SUFFICIENT SUPPLIES.

601 others flooded with filthy water; exposed to frost and heat; to the bullets of brutal guards used in wanton sport; beaten, bruised and cursed; driven to madness and idiocy; starved into skeletons; and, worse than all, tortured by the false declaration, made only to lacerate, that their Government had forsaken them, thus leaving them no other hope for relief from misery, than death. To nearly fourteen thousand sufferers, that everlasting relief came. The graves of twelve thousand nine hundred and twenty of the victims tell the dreadful tale. Of these only about four hundred and fifty are unknown.' It was pleaded, in extenuation, that the Confederates had not the means for feeding the Union prisoners, and that the lack of food for them was. caused by its great scarcity. The Committee of the Sanitary Commission say that, after collecting all testimony possible to be obtained, "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 every thing which would keep them in the best condition of mind and body, for the hard and desperate service in which they were engaged. They knew nothing of famine or freezing. Their wounded and sick were never neglected. So do the few details of fact that could be extracted, without suspicion of their object, from the soldiers of the Southern army, confirm 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 the military establishments, but they chose to exclude them from the position always assigned to such, and in no respect to treat them like men taken in honorable warfare. Their commonest soldier was never compelled, by hunger, to eat the disgusting rations furnished at the Libby to United States officers. Their most exposed encampment, however temporary, never beheld the scenes of suffering which occurred daily and nightly among United States soldiers in the encampment on Belle Isle. The excuse and explanation are swept away. There is nothing now between the Northern people and the dreadful reality."

To this conclusion of the Committee may be added the fact, mentioned on page 414, that throughout Georgia, the State in which the Andersonville prisoner-pen was situated, and where starvation was most rife, General Sherman found a superabundance of food.

It was pleaded that the Conspirators and military officers nearest to them, were ignorant of the cruelties inflicted by these subordinates. And General Robert E. Lee,-"a greatly over-rated military leader-a man of routinecold, undemonstrative, ambitious, the pet of the Virginians because he was a member of one of their 'first families'-without the moral courage to take the responsibility-so popular with the army that he might have ended the war any time after the capture of Atlanta," as one of the most success

1 Dorrance Atwater, of Connecticut, was a prisoner at Andersonville, and, in June, 1864, was detailed as clerk in the Confederate Surgeon's office, to keep the daily record of deaths. While there, he secretly copied the entire list of the dead, which he furnished to the Government after his release. In the cemetery, not far from the prisoner-pen, and which contained fifteen acres, a stick was placed at the head of each grave, on which was inscribed the name of the occupant, his rank, regiment, and company, and the date and cause of his death. By this means Miss Barton, and Government officers sent for the purpose, were enabled to identify the graves of nearly every dead soldier there. Mr. Atwater accompanied Miss Barton on her visit to the Andersonville prisoner-pen.

602

SUPPRESSION OF A REPORT ON CRUELTIES.

ful of the Confederate military leaders said to the writer,-Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, never a hundred miles from Richmond after the autumn of 1863, and in constant personal communication with that city, the place of his family residence, actually de

• Feb. 17, 1866.

clared, before the Joint Committee on Reconstruction, that he was not aware of any bad treatment suffered by Union prisonerswas not aware that any of them died of cold and starvation-that no report was ever made to him of the sad condition of Union prisoners anywhere that he never knew who was in command at Andersonville, Salisbury, and other prisoner-pens, until after the war; and that he "knew nothing in the world" of the alleged cruelties about which complaints had been made.'

If General Lee spoke truly, he exhibited one of the most remarkable cases on record of ignorance of facts which it was his business to know as commander of a Department in which it was charged that these atrocities had been committed. He might have known, what the public records of the Confederate "Government," now in Washington City, show, that so early as September, 1862, the fact of cruelties toward Union prisoners was so well known to all the world, that the Conspirators felt the necessity of official action, and that Augustus R. Wright, chairman of a committee of the

⚫ Sept. 22,

1862.

"House of Representatives" made a report on the prisons at Richmond confining Union captives, to George W. Randolph, then "Secretary of War," in which report it was said that the state of things was "terrible beyond description;" that "the committee could not stay in the room over a few seconds;" that a change must be made, and that "the committee makes the report to the Secretary of War, and not to the House, because in the latter case, it would be printed, and, for the honor of the nation, such things must be kept secret." He might have known that, on the ninth of December, 1863, Henry S. Foote offered a resolution in the Confederate "House of Representatives," for the appointment of a committee of inquiry concerning the alleged ill-treatment of Union prisoners, and that in the course of his remarks, he admitted the charges to be true, by saying, alluding to Commissary-General Northrup: "This man has placed our Government in the attitude charged by the enemy, and has attempted to starve the prisoners in our hands!" Foote then read testimony which, he said, was on record in Ould's office, to prove that the charge was true; and he declared that Northrup had actually said, in an elaborate report to the Secretary of War, that "for the subsistence of a human Yankee carcass a vegetable diet was the most proper that could be adopted."

1 See the Report of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction, page 135.

Lee might

2 Foote's humane resolution was voted down, and no investigation was allowed, at that time. In the spring of 1865, a committee published a report, in which they admitted the mining of Libby Prison, and, by implication, the charges of cruelty and starvation, but tried to give excuses for the deeds. Foote, in a letter written from Montreal, after the appearance of that report, commented upon it severely, and declared that a "Government officer of respectability" told him "that a systematic scheme was on foot for subjecting these unfortunate men to starvation." He further declared that Northrup's fiendish proposition was "indorsed by Seddon, the Secretary of War," who said, substantially, in that indorsement, that "the time had arrived for retaliation upon the prisoners of war of the enemy" In that letter Foote proved, (1) That the starving of Union prisoners was known to the Confederate authorities; (2) That the rebel Commissary General proposed it; (3) That the rebel Secretary of War approved and indorsed it; (4) That Robert Ould, rebel Commissioner of Exchange, knew it; and (5) That the rebel House of Representatives knew of it, and endeavored to prevent an investigation. Foote said the proofs were in the War Department, which was afterward burned.

LEE'S REMARKABLE FORGETFULNESS.

603 have remembered that a committee of the Christian Commission,' in 1864, appeared before his lines, and sought access to the prisoners in Richmond and on Belle Isle, to afford them relief, with the understanding that a similar commission would be allowed to go to the prisons of Confederate captives, and that they were not allowed to pass, because the authorities at Richmond dared not let the outside world know, from competent witnesses, the horrible truths such a visit would have discovered. He might have read, all through the year 1864, in the Northern papers, which he received almost daily, the grave charges concerning the treatment of prisoners at Richmond, and also the report of the Committee of the United States Sanitary Commission, published seven months before the end of the war. And any day, while visiting his family in his elegant brick mansion on Franklin Street,3 he might have stepped out upon its upper gallery on the south, and with his field-glass, looked into the ghastly faces of the starved, blistered, freezing captives on Belle Isle; or he might have walked down Cary Street, for the space of eight minutes, and looked into Libby Prison to satisfy himself whether a committee of the "Confederate Congress," had told the truth or not. He seems not to have considered such inquiries proper to be imposed upon him as a department commander, as general-in-chief, as a man, or as a Christian. His remarkable ignorance concerning the matter, was equaled only by the treachery of his memory, which did not allow him to recollect whether he ever took an oath of allegiance to the "Southern Confederacy.”

What General Lee was so ignorant of, the Confederate authorities, and everybody else were familiar with, as ample testimony shows. When the starvation plan had accomplished its work, and in all the Confederate prisons, the Union captives were generally no better for service than dead men—an army of forty thousand skeletons-Ould, the rebel Commissioner, proposed to General Butler," a resumption of an exchange, man for man. The Conspirators knew how well their men had been fed in Northern prisons, and how strong and effective they were for service,' and they

4

• Aug. 10, 1864.

1 This committee consisted of George H. Stuart, Chairman of the Christian Commission, Bishops McIlvaine, Janes, and Lee; William Adams, D.D., and Norman White, of New York, and Horatio Gates Jones, of Philadelphia.

2 The reply to the application, that came from Richmond, was, "It is not expedient at present." See page 535.

4 See page 423, volume I.

"As regards myself, I never had any control over the prisoners, except those that were captured on the field of battle. These, it was my business to send to Richmond, to the proper officer, who was then the provostmarshal-general. In regard to their disposition afterward, I had no control. I never gave an order about it. It was entirely in the hands of the War Department."-Lee's testimony before the Joint Committee on Reconstruction. See Report, page 135.

"Question. You say that you do not recollect having sworn allegiance and fidelity to the Confederate Government?"

"Answer. I do not recollect it, nor do I know that it was ever required. I was regularly commissioned in the army of the Confederate States, but I really do not recollect that that oath was required. If it was required, I have no doubt I took it; or if it had been required, I would have taken it."-Lee's testimony before the Joint Committee on Reconstruction. See Report, page 134.

7 It was within the province of the Committee of the United States Sanitary Commission to ascertain the condition of the Confederate prisoners in the hands of the Government. This they did, and reported uniform good treatment, ample shelter, and abundant and wholesome food everywhere. The Conspirators, to parry the terrible charge against them, made a counter-charge of great cruelties which their prisoners experienced, and this brought from Lord Wharncliffe, the President of the British "Southern Independence Association" (see page 45), a proposition to send to the "suffering prisoners in the North, £17,000 in gold," which had been collected for the purpose, from British sympathizers with the rebels. These meddlers were informed by Secretary Seward, that there were no prisoners in the hands of the Government suffering for any thing but the privileges of liberty to fight the Government.

Another member of the British aristocracy, Sir Henry de Hoghton, who, it is said, invested more than $1,700,000

604

THE DEATH OF PRISONERS.

were now willing and anxious, in order to secure the advantages which their cruelty for a year had given them, to have their hale soldiers back. That such was the relative condition of the respective prisoners-Union skeletons and Confederate men in full vigor-Ould exultingly declared, in a letter to General Winder, from City Point, where exchange had been resumed, in which he said: "The arrangement I have made, works largely in our favor. We get rid of a set of miserable wretches, and receive some of the best material I ever saw."

On account of this state of things, General Grant hesitated to resume exchange. Finally, at the middle of autumn, arrangements for special exchanges were made, and Lieutenant-Colonel Mulford went with vessels to Savannah, after about 12,000 Union prisoners from Andersonville and elsewhere. They were brought to Annapolis, in Maryland, and in them the writer saw the horrible workings of the barbarity of the Conspirators.2

The records of the War Department show that, during the struggle, 220,000 Confederate soldiers were captured, of whom 26,436 died of wounds or diseases, during their captivity, while of 126,940 Union soldiers captured, nearly 22,576 died while prisoners. This shows that of the Union prisoners, 17.6 per cent. died in the hands of the Confederates, while only a little more than 11 per cent. of the Confederate prisoners died in the hands of the Government.3

The arrangements of the Government for the care of its sick and wounded soldiers, were extensive and complete. When the war closed there were no less than two hundred and four General Hospitals, fully equipped, with a

in Confederate bonds, sent to Secretary Seward, what purported to be a petition from the people of the United Kingdom, to the people of the United States, entreating the latter, "in the name of humanity," to end the war by acknowledging the independence of the Confederacy. Sir Henry's "humanity" seems to have been inspired by his desire to save his money. He was one of the most active of the members of the "Southern Independence Association."

Aug. 18, 1864.

1 General Grant said in a letter to General Butler: "It is hard on our men held in Southern prisons not to exchange them, but it is humanity to those left in the ranks to fight our battles. Every man released, on parole or otherwise, becomes an active soldier against us at once, either directly or indirectly. If we commence a system of exchange which liberates all prisoners taken, we will have to fight on until the whole South is exterminated. If we hold those caught, they amount to no more than dead men. At this particular time, to release all rebel prisoners North would insure Sherman's defeat, and would compromise our safety here."

In his letter to Commissioner Ould, in reply to the proposition to resume exchange, General Butler, alluding to the fact that the Conspirators, after delaying eight months to consider a proposition (which, by thus accepting, they acknowledged to be right), and thereby produced great suffering, said, significantly-"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 condition of their armies, and a desire to get into the field, 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."

2 The writer, under the kind direction of Dr. Vanderkieft, the Post Surgeon, visited the tents and hospital wards at Annapolis, containing some of these prisoners, soon after their arrival. They were then somewhat recruited by wholesome food, and a sea voyage, but exhibited a sight most shocking. The testimony of all with whom the author conversed, was corroborative of the statements made in this chapter. Many died at Annapolis. In the little chapel, there were from two to fifteen coffins each day, with the remains of the dead who received the honors of religious funeral rites. We followed a procession from that little chapel out to the soldiers' cemetery, where the graves already numbered thousands. That cemetery was in sight of the old State-House, wherein Washington resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental armies, when the independence of his country was achieved. These soldiers died in defense of the great Republic, the offspring of that independence.

3 Facts found here and there, bearing upon this subject, seem to show that these figures concerning Union prisoners are too low, and that their number during the war was about 185,000, and the number of deaths, in captivity, about 37.000. The mortality among negro soldiers, under every circumstance, was greater than among the white soldiers. The records show, that of 180,000 negro soldiers, 29,298 died, or nearly one in six. Under the title of "Roll of Honor," the Quartermaster-General has published a series of little volumes, containing the names, as far as they could be ascertained, of all the soldiers buried in the National and other cemeteries in all parts of the Republic.

GENERAL HOSPITALS.

605

capacity of one hundred and thirty-six thousand eight hundred and ninety-four beds. Besides these, there were numerous temporary and flying hospitals, the former in camps and on vessels, and the latter on battle-fields. Of these general sanitary establishments, one of the most perfect in all its arrange

ments and management, visited by the writer, was the Jarvis Hospital, on the verge of the city of Baltimore, situated upon high ground, overlooking the town and harbor, and blessed with salubrious air. It occupied the mansion, and about four acres of ground attached to it, which belonged to George Stuart, an enemy of the Republic, who was a general officer in the Confederate army. The Government took possession of the property, and used it until the close of the war. The hospital was arranged upon the general plan of all others, but had some advantages which to others were denied. It had a capacity for fifteen hundred beds, and was never lacking in force, for the Union women of Baltimore made it their special charge.'

1 In this picture, Stuart's mansion is seen at the right hand corner, in the foreground. In the distance beyond, a portion of the city, and to the left of the point of the flag is seen Federal Hill, which General Butler took possession of at the beginning of the war; and to the right is Fell's Point, projecting toward Chesapeake Bay, on the extremity of which is Fort McHenry. See page 308.

2 The following notes, made by the writer on the occasion of a visit to the Jarvis Hospital, early in December, 1864, will give the reader a general idea of the workings of those vast sanitary establishments during the

war.

"The Medical Director is Doctor De Witt C. Peters, and has under his control 8 medical assistants; 1 cadet; 1 chaplain; a tieutenant of the guard, or military assistant; 5 stewards; 1 chief ward-master, with 3 or 4 assistants, who has the charge of all the masculine nurses, who average in number 1 to every 20 men; a chief matron, who has charge of all the feminine nurses; 1 chief laundress, who has charge of all the laundry women, about 30 in number; and 3 chief feminine cooks, in charge of all the cooks (colored), who number about 40. There are about 180 nurses of both sexes in the establishment, and now there are 1,300 patients.

"With this number of patients and employees, there is consumed monthly, in the hospital, over 3,000 pounds of butter; 1,400 gallons of milk; 2,500 dozen eggs; 22,000 pounds of beef; 4,200 pounds of bread; 9,000 pounds of potatoes; 2,500 pounds of beets; 2,500 pounds of turnips; and about 120 gallons of sirup. Of pork, beans, rice, coffee, sugar, &c., they have full rations. In the laundry about 20,000 pieces are washed each week. Last month (November, 1864), there were issued at the hospital, 1,150 suits of military clothing for the destitute. "There is a safe kept, in which money and other valuables belonging to the patients are held. Their clotning, arms, and accouterments are received and taken care of by the check system, the same as on railways or at hotels. These are kept in a dry and well ventilated room.