, 1862-05-05
THE CONDUCT OF The WAR.
GH0ULlSM OF THE REBELS.
THEIR ANTIQUITIES 10
OUR DEAD.

Revolving Barbarism Of Seces-
sionists In Their Camps
and at Home. |
The Joint Committee on the Conduct Of The prs-
sent Har beg Ieass respect {saty TO stsb1'it Be-
port, in paft, as .}ozzosrs:
On the first DAY Of April the Senate OF the |
United States adopted the folloTing zesolu- |
bon; which Was referred to the Committee On |
the Conduct Of the War:
Rfsolrsd, That the select COMMITTEES on the con-
duct Of the var be directed to collect the evidence
with regard to the b27harous treatment by the !
S. at q re ss,ns Esains % 9 9ee5s & sd
there; aid that the sad select committee also In
qnire into the fsct whether The 1ndian eavages |
~ sne If te @
States, and hoW such Eaffare has been conducted
By said garages
Ia pursuance Of the Instructions contained
in this resolution, your committee have the
honor to report that they examined 4 number
submitted
Mr. Nathaniel F. Parker, who was captured
at Falling Waters, Virginia, testified that he
IVES kept in close confinement, denied exer-
else, and, with number Of others, hnddcd
up in room; that their food, generally scant,
was always bad, and sometimes nauseous;
that the wounded had neither medical a.ten-
ton nor humane treatment, and that nnHy OF
these latter died from sheer neglect; that five
OF the prisoners we're shot By the sentries
the New York 1wenty-seveath regiment, snot
as be Eas passing his window on the the 8th
OF November, and t5at he died OF the wound
On the 18th. The perpetrator Of this foul
murder was subsequently promoted BY the
rebel government.
Dr + N Homiston cureoo ~ +ha 1++,,
New York or Brooklyn regiment, captured at
Bull Run, testified that when he solicited per-
mission to remain on the field and to attend to
wounded men, aOme OF whom were in help
water, he Tas brutally rrfused They offered
him neither Eater nor any thing in the shape Of
food. BE and bis companions stood in the
streets of Manassas, surrounded by threat
CHING and boisterous crowd, and we're after
wards thlust into IN old building, aud LETT.
without 5usteaance or covering, to sleep on
tic bare floor: l. 1as only when faint and
exhausted, in response to their earnest pcti-
ti0ns, they having been without food for TWEEN
ty-four hours, that some cold bacon was
grudgiDgly given to them. When, at last,
they were permitted to 60 to tue relief Of our
rounded, The secession surgeon would not al:
low them to perform operations, but entrusted
the wounded to his young assistants, "souae
Of them With no more knowledge Of what they
attempted to do than an apo:hecary's clerkn
And further, I" that these inexperienced sur
seons Performed operations upon our men in
shzolatey 15t gIs When Ss q he sas ss xsFf
asked Dr.. Darby to allow me to amputate the
leg uf Corporal Prescott, Of our regiment, and
said that the man must die If it we're not done,
be told NE that should be allowed to dc tt.h
While DR.. Homiston WAS waiting, he says
secessionist cane through the room and said,
:" they are operating upon one OF the Yankee j
! legs up stairs" II went up and fsund that
they had cut of Prescott's leg. The assist
ants were pulling on the 1lesh at each side, try
| ing to get flap enough to cover the bone.
| THY had sawed of tie bone without leaving
| any Of the flesh to form the flaps to cover it !;
| md with all the force they could use they
could not get flap enough to cover the bone.
! They Tere then obliged to saw of about IN
/ inch more OF the bone, and even then, when
they. came. to put iu the sutures {the
! stitches) they could not approximate the
| edges Within ltss than an inch and half ofeach
other; Of course, as soon as there Was any
swelling, the stitches tore out and the bone
| stuck through again. Dr. Swain tried after
| wards TO remedy it By performing another
! operation, hut Prescott had become so deoil-
i itat,d that he did not survive" Corporal
| Prescott Wa6 young man Of high position,
and lAd received a very liberal education.
I Tic 6a1ae witness describes the sufferings
Of The wounded after the battle as lnconcely.
ably horrible: with bad food, no covering, no
water: They we're lying upon the floor as
parice et IN IN thc house to enbe
| US to move among them" Deaf to all his
appeals, they continued to refuse water tc
/ these suffering men, and he Was only enabled
to procure it by setting cups under the Caves
| TO catch The rain that was falling, and in this
way be spent the night catching- the wa.c'
and conveying it to the wounded to drink.
As there was no light, he was obliged to craW
| On his hands aud knees to aToid Stopping on
their wounced lmbs; aud, he adds, il is noi
! wander that the next morning we fuaud thai
several had died during the night, Tux
young surgeons, who seemed to delight il
hacking aud hutcicring these brave defenders
Of our country'r hag5, were not, it would scem
pcrmitted to perform any opcrationa upor
the rebel wounded. "SJme OF our wounded, ,
! says this witness s'Were left lying upon tht
battlefield until Tuesday night and Wednesday
morning. When brought in, their wound:
we're completely alivo With l.rs:e deposited
there by the flies, having laid ont through al
the rain storm OF Monday. and the hot, sn1tr!
eurshlnc OF Tuesday, The dead Laid upot
| the field unbuHed for fVe days; and this in
| inent, but OF other rig lments. This wines:
tesliiics that tue rebel dead were carried OF
snd interr.d deccnuy. In answer 70 i Dues
ton whether the confcderates them selves
were not also destitute Of medicine, hu rcpliet
''they could not have been, for they took ul
received u0nt Of the attention from the sur
geops on the other side, (which" to u3o hi
t own langnsge, II should hare shown to then
had our position been reversed"
The testimony Of William F. Swain, assist
ant surgeon Of the l4th New York regiment
who Was taken prisoner at Sudley's church
confirms the statement Of Dr. Homiston, il
II gard to the brutal operations on Corpora
Prescott he also states that after lie hitnsel
had been removed 10 Richmond, when acAtc
Anr-+ -+r7S+, n Fnt .,*.. ~.
stntry outside called to him to take them 10
apu on Looking out Ac saw the sentry with hi
1nusket cockrd and poiutcd at him, and witt
drew In time 10 rave Lis LIFE He gives evj
depce Of the hearties5. careless, and crue
manner IN which the surgeons operated upo
our men. Previous to leaving for Richmond
and ten OF twelve days after TIE battlt. he 81,
Eome OF the Union soldiers unbuTicu on tn
ted, aud entirely naked. Walking aroun
we're great many women, gloasing over th
horrid sight.
| The case OF Dr. Ferguson, of one Of the Ne,
| York regiments, is mentioned by Dr. vain
) ''When getting into his ambulance to loo
after his own sounded. he was tired upon b
| tie rebels. When he told them who ne wv
| they Esid they would take parting shot (
bin, which they did, sounding hin il the le.
: I1e bad his boots On, ard hls apurs on b
| | would ca'ch in The tsi-board Of the am u,
r lance, causing him to sbrirk with agony.
5 AN officer rude up, and, placing. bis pistol
: his t. ad, tureatrutd TO snoot min, If he col
tlnued 10 s2Trsu. This was On Sunday, tt
, ! day Of the battle.
: One Of the nlnst impoFtan: witnesses vi
: Gent nj James B. Ricketts,, well known i
) | Washington aud throughout the cuuntr
: lately promoted for iis daring aud sclfs .ef
l 1icipg cs'ursgc. After having beea wounlt
in the bsitle of Bull run, he was captures
: n1d as he Lay helplrss Gu his back, u party
, rcbeis passing bin cried out, :. .kaock out II
hraiDs the ID faEkee' He met Geuer
). Bc'nr Earc, an old acqu,lutaucc, only &c
: his te1.1ur at the Uni'ed States Military Ac1
f tiny, where botn ~ere educ lied. He had m
t the ryhel General in the Snufh = number
q timer. By this head of the rebel army, on II
:, DAT after tue battle, he was told that his {Ge
: Eickte'B) treatment would depend upon ii
j. | Treatment extended 10 1he rebel priTatcef
Il His FIJI st LEN enanf, Ramsey, who Was kilie
= was stripped Of Every article of his closhiu
i, but his socks, and lefs naked on tue field.
}, testified thst thase uf our wounded WHO dit
!. i,' Richmond were buried Ia tae negro bur
d | hg-ground rmony the negroes, and ~e
Q put into tho earth In Tho most uufeelinE ma
j. rer. The statement Of other witnesses
ic to how the prisoners were trested ia fully G.,
f. titmtd by General Ricketts,. He himself, viii
ia | in prison, eubsis1ed mainly upon what
purchased with his own money, the mon
Brought to him by his own wife tsWe had
=. he says, t-what they called bacon eoup-so'
made Of boiled bacon, the bacon being lit
u rancid-which you could not possibly eat 8
+ that for 4 man who system was being dra
Is | ed by wound Is no diet at ALL" In reply
I fhcr hn had n~l 1vth ri