第36章

andthatsatellitesetdowntwolargeplates,uponeachofwhichwereacupofcoffee,ashredofmeat,twoboiledeggsandacoupleofrolls。

"Well,"saidAndrews,astheprocessionmovedaway,"Iwanttoknowwherethisthing\'sgoingtostop。Iamtryinghardtogetusedtowearingashirtwithoutanyliceinit,andtosittingdownonachair,andtosleepinginacleanbed,butwhenitcomestohavingmymealssenttomyroom,I\'mafraidI\'lldegenerateintoapamperedchildofluxury。Theyarereallypilingitontoostrong。Letussee,Mc。;howlong\'sitbeensinceweweresittingonthesandthereinFlorence,boilingourpintofmealinthatoldcan？"

"Itseemsmanyyears,Lale,"Isaid;"butforheaven\'ssakeletustrytoforgetitassoonaspossible。Wewillalwaysremembertoomuchofit。"

Andwedidtryhardtomakethemiserablerecollectionsfadeoutofourminds。Whenwewerestrippedonthebalconywethrewawayeveryvisibletokenthatcouldremindusofthehatefulexperiencewehadpassedthrough。Wedidnotretainascrapofpaperorarelictorecalltheunhappypast。Weloathedeverythingconnectedwithit。

Thedaysthatfollowedwereveryhappyones。ThePaymastercamearoundandpaiduseachtwomonths\'payandtwenty—fivecentsaday"rationmoney"foreverydaywehadbeeninprison。ThisgaveAndrewsandI

aboutonehundredandsixty—fivedollarsapiece——anabundanceofspendingmoney。UncleSamwasverykindandconsideratetohissoldiernephews,andtheHospitalauthoritiesneglectednothingthatwouldaddtoourcomfort。Thesuperbly—keptgroundsoftheNavalAcademywererenewingthefreshnessoftheirlovelinessunderthetenderwooingoftheadvancingSpring,andeverysteponesaunteredthroughthemwasanewdelight。Amagnificentbandgaveussweetmusicmorningandevening。

EverydispatchfromtheSouthtoldofthevictoriousprogressofourarms,andtherapidapproachofthecloseofthestruggle。Allwehadtodowastoenjoythegoodsthegodswereshoweringuponus,andwedidsowithappreciative,thankfulhearts。Afterawhileallabletotravelweregivenfurloughsofthirtydaystovisittheirhomes,withinstructionstoreportattheexpirationoftheirleavesofabsencetothecampsofrendezvousnearesttheirhomes,andweseparated,nearlyeverymangoinginadifferentdirection。

CHAPTERLXXXII。

CAPTAINWIRZTHEONLYONEOFTHEPRISON—KEEPERSPUNISHED——HISARREST,TRIALANDEXECUTION。

Ofallthosemoreorlessconcernedinthebarbaritiespracticeduponourprisoners,butone——CaptainHenryWirz——waspunished。TheTurners,atRichmond;LieutenantBoisseux,ofBelleIsle;MajorGee,ofSalisbury;

ColonelIversonandLieutenantBarrett,ofFlorence;andthemanybrutalmiscreantsaboutAndersonville,escapedscotfree。Whatbecameofthemnooneknows;theywereneverheardofafterthecloseofthewar。Theyhadsenseenoughtoretireintoobscurity,andstaythere,andthissavedtheirlives,foreachoneofthemhadmadedeadlyenemiesamongthosewhomtheyhadmaltreated,who,hadtheyknownwheretheywere,wouldhavewalkedeverystepofthewaythithertokillthem。

WhentheConfederacywenttopiecesinApril,1865,WirzwasstillatAndersonville。GeneralWilson,commandingourcavalryforces,andwhohadestablishedhisheadquartersatMacon,Ga。,learnedofthis,andsentoneofhisstaff——CaptainH。E。Noyes,oftheFourthRegularCavalry——

withasquad。ofmen,toarresthim。Thiswasdoneonthe7thofMay。

Wirzprotestedagainsthisarrest,claimingthathewasprotectedbythetermsofJohnson\'ssurrender,and,addressedthefollowinglettertoGeneralWilson:

ANDERSONVILLE,GA。,May7,1865。

GENERAL:——ItiswithgreatreluctancethatIaddressyoutheselines,beingfullyawarehowlittletimeisleftyoutoattendtosuchmattersasInowhavethehonortolaybeforeyou,andifIcouldseeanyotherwaytoaccomplishmyobjectIwouldnotintrudeuponyou。IamanativeofSwitzerland,andwasbeforethewaracitizenofLouisiana,andbyprofessionaphysician。Likehundredsandthousandsofothers,IwascarriedawaybythemaelstromofexcitementandjoinedtheSouthernarmy。

Iwasveryseverelywoundedatthebattleof"SevenPines,"nearRichmond,Va。,andhavenearlylosttheuseofmyrightarm。Unfitforfieldduty,IwasorderedtoreporttoBrevetMajorGeneralJohnH。

Winder,inchargeoftheFederalprisonersofwar,whoorderedmetotakechargeofaprisoninTuscaloosa,Ala。Myhealthfailingme,IappliedforafurloughandwenttoEurope,fromwhenceIreturnedinFebruary,1864。IwasthenorderedtoreporttothecommandantofthemilitaryprisonatAndersonville,Ga。,whoassignedmetothecommandoftheinterioroftheprison。ThedutiesIhadtoperformwerearduousandunpleasant,andIamsatisfiedthatnomancanorwilljustlyblamemeforthingsthathappenedhere,andwhichwerebeyondmypowertocontrol。

IdonotthinkthatIoughttobeheldresponsiblefortheshortnessofrations,fortheovercrowdedstateoftheprison,（whichwasofitselfaprolificsourceoffearfulmortality）,fortheinadequatesupplyofclothing,wantofshelter,etc。,etc。StillInowbeartheodium,andmenwhowereprisonershaveseemeddisposedtowreaktheirvengeanceuponmeforwhattheyhavesuffered——I,whowasonlythemedium,or,Imaybettersay,thetoolinthehandsofmysuperiors。Thisismycondition。

Iamamanwithafamily。IlostallmypropertywhentheFederalarmybesiegedVicksburg。Ihavenomoneyatpresenttogotoanyplace,and,evenifIhad,IknowofnoplacewhereIcango。Mylifeisindanger,andImostrespectfullyaskofyouhelpandrelief。Ifyouwillbesogenerousastogivemesomesortofasafeconduct,or,whatIshouldgreatlyprefer,aguardtoprotectmyselfandfamilyagainstviolence,Ishouldbethankfultoyou,andyoumayrestassuredthatyourprotectionwillnotbegiventoonewhoisunworthyofit。MyintentionistoreturnwithmyfamilytoEurope,assoonasIcanmakethearrangements。InthemeantimeIhavethehonorGeneral,toremain,veryrespectfully,yourobedientservant,Hy。WIRZ,CaptainC。S。A。

MajorGeneralT。H。WILSON,Commanding,Macon。Ga。

HewaskeptatMacon,underguard,untilMay20,whenCaptainNoyeswasorderedtotakehim,andthehospitalrecordsofAndersonville,toWashington。BetweenMaconandCincinnatithejourneywasaperfectgauntlet。

Ourmenwerestationedallalongtheroad,andamongthemeverywherewereex—prisoners,whorecognizedWirz,andmadesuchdeterminedeffortstokillhimthatitwasallthatCaptainNoyes,backedbyastrongguard,coulddotofrustratethem。AtChattanoogaandNashvillethestrugglebetweenhisguardsandhiswould—beslayers,wasquitesharp。

AtLouisville,NoyeshadWirzclean—shaved,anddressedinacompletesuitofblack,withabeaverhat,whichsoalteredhisappearancethatnoonerecognizedhimafterthat,andtherestofthejourneywasmadeunmolested。

TheauthoritiesatWashingtonorderedthathebetriedimmediately,byacourtmartialcomposedofGeneralsLewisWallace,Mott,Geary,L。Thomas,Fessenden,BraggandBaller,ColonelAllcock,andLieutenant—ColonelStibbs。ColonelChipmanwasJudgeAdvocate,andthetrialbeganAugust23。

Theprisonerwasarraignedonaformidablelistofchargesandspecifications,whichaccusedhimof"combining,confederating,andconspiringtogetherwithJohnH。Winder,RichardB。Winder,IsaiahII。

White,W。S。Winder,R。R。Stevensonandothersunknown,toinjurethehealthanddestroythelivesofsoldiersinthemilitaryserviceoftheUnitedStates,thereheld,andbeingprisonersofwarwithinthelinesoftheso—calledConfederateStates,andinthemilitaryprisonsthereof,totheendthatthearmiesoftheUnitedStatesmightbeweakenedandimpaired,inviolationofthelawsandcustomsofwar。"Themainfactsofthedenseover—crowding,thelackofsufficientshelter,thehideousmortalitywerecited,andtotheseaddedalonglistofspecificactsofbrutality,suchashuntingmendownwithhounds,tearingthemwithdogs,robbingthem,confiningtheminthestocks,cruellybeatingandmurderingthem,ofwhichWirzwaspersonallyguilty。

WhenthedefendantwascalledupontopleadheclaimedthathiscasewascoveredbythetermsofJohnston\'ssurrender,andfurthermore,thatthecountrynowbeingatpeace,hecouldnotbelawfullytriedbyacourt—

martial。Theseobjectionsbeingoverruled,heenteredapleaofnotguiltytoallthechargesandspecifications。Hehadtwolawyersforcounsel。

TheprosecutioncalledCaptainNoyesfirst,whodetailedthecircumstancesofWirz\'sarrest,anddeniedthathehadgivenanypromisesofprotection。

ThenextwitnesswasColonelGeorgeC。Gibbs,whocommandedthetroopsofthepostatAndersonville。HetestifiedthatWirzwasthecommandantoftheprison,andhadsoleauthorityunderWinderoveralltheprisoners;

thattherewasaDeadLinethere,andorderstoshootanyonewhocrossedit;thatdogswerekepttohuntdownescapingprisoners;thedogsweretheordinaryplantationdogs,mixtureofhoundandcur。

Dr。J。C。Bates,whowasaSurgeonofthePrisonHospital,（aRebel）,testifiedthattheconditionofthingsinhisdivisionwashorrible。

Nearlynakedmen,coveredwithlice,weredyingonallsides。Manywerelyinginthefilthysandandmud。

Hewentonanddescribedtheterribleconditionofmen——dyingfromscurvy,diarrhea,gangrenoussores,andlice。Hewantedtocarryinfreshvegetablesforthesick,butdidnotdare,theordersbeingverystrictagainstsuchthing。Hethoughttheprisonauthoritiesmighteasilyhavesentinenoughgreencorntohavestoppedthescurvy;themiasmaticeffluviafromtheprisonwasexceedinglyoffensiveandpoisonous,somuchsothatwhenthesurgeonsreceivedaslightscratchontheirpersons,theycarefullycovereditupwithcourtplaster,beforeventuringneartheprison。

AnumberofotherRebelSurgeonstestifiedtosubstantiallythesamefacts。SeveralresidentsofthatsectionoftheStatetestifiedtotheplentifulnessofthecropstherein1864。

Inadditiontothese,aboutonehundredandfiftyUnionprisonerswereexamined,whotestifiedtoallmannerofbarbaritieswhichhadcomeundertheirpersonalobservation。TheyhadallseenWirzshootmen,hadseenhimknocksickandcrippledmendownandstampuponthem,hadbeenrundownbyhimwithhounds,etc。Theirtestimonyoccupiesabouttwothousandpagesofmanuscript,andis,withoutdoubt,themost,terriblerecordofcrimeeverlaidtotheaccountofanyman。

ThetakingofthistestimonyoccupieduntilOctober18,whentheGovernmentdecidedtoclosethecase,asanyfurtherevidencewouldbesimplycumulative。

TheprisonerpresentedastatementinwhichhedeniedthattherehadbeenanaccompliceinaconspiracyofJohnH。Winderandothers,todestroythelivesofUnitedStatessoldiers;healsodeniedthattherehadbeensuchaconspiracy,butmadethepertinentinquirywhyhealone,ofallthosewhowerechargedwiththeconspiracy,wasbroughttotrial。HesaidthatWinderhasgonetothegreatjudgmentseat,toanswerforallhisthoughts,wordsanddeeds,andsurelyIamnottobeheldculpableforthem。GeneralHowellCobbhasreceivedthepardonofthePresidentoftheUnitedStates。"Hefurtherclaimedthattherewasnoprincipleoflawwhichwouldsanctiontheholdingofhim——ameresubordinate——

guilty,forsimplyobeying,asliterallyaspossible,theordersofhissuperiors。

Hedeniedallthespecificactsofcrueltyallegedagainsthim,suchasmaltreatingandkillingprisonerswithhisownhands。TheprisonerskilledforcrossingtheDeadLine,heclaimed,shouldnotbechargedagainsthim,sincetheyweresimplypunishedfortheviolationofaknownorderwhichformedpartofth

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