Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-04-19
9alIg appeal,
gao, our EVENING EDITION Or YESTERDAY. ]
DepOrtmeut Towards Prisoners.

DepOrtment Towards Prisoners.
From the Mobile News
Durinr the soiourn IN Mobile Of the captured
invaders of our country and slayers of our peO-
rle. Il was paintul-t0 remark that the curiosity
of many southern citizens got tine betterof their
sense of prOpriety, and that All oveT-sTeined
idea of courtesy and broken down the barriers
of cold and distant reserve which should be
maintained between the captured enemy and the
people against " HON they were taken In the act
of wagiug war Of wrong and cruelty We
saw persons as polite and assiduOus in their At
tentions TO captured officers as if they were hon
ored guests, instead of fellor who never spared
breath or pains in abusing them as rebels and
rsscals, and seeking their destruction, and who
still hold tie same opinions, but dare not eN-
press them.
We saw circles of citizsrs, with open mouths
and ears, gathered round glib -tongued fellows
in the detested uniform Of Lincoln, the insignia
of their bloody business f slaughter and suhju-
CATION, and deportug themselves with positively
deteTentisl mein as they drank IN all the stuff
which these Gagged hyenas of the North chose to
( pour out for their elifcau8n. Il was notifying
1t was disgusting. Common sense feeling
dictates that we should treat our captured enc
mics with the most distant hsuteur. 1t is as
UudignTted as il is improbable 70 hold other
Z 2
/ sarv. Certainly We cannot meet them as tnenCS
and we cannot meet them as enemies while they
ere prisoners We cannot have friendly inter
cour-e with them. and we cannot insult unsrmod
/ prisoners therefore let US have nothing to do
with them
Among the soldiers of the guard we remarked
/ an overstrained notion of the courtesy due from
them to the captive officers, many OF whom,
Gen Prentss among the number, were insOeut
canti0us, and Undignihed. Some OF these extra
polite soldiers of the South really seemed to bear
/ themselves as if places were reversed aud the
capiives were captoTs. In instance OF tins false
view of prlpTietes we cite the following Incl
dent:
A gentleman Of this city, native-born south
erner, was complimented with the card of a c0us-
10 whom he had never seer. captain Of an
Iowa regiment He declined 10 call on him
The prisoner was very desirOus Of seeing him,
and agsiu sent down one Of the Mobile soldiers
of the guard with verbal message req Nesting the
gentleman 70 come up and see him. Whereupon
the gentleman wrote the following upon a slip Of
paper:
s. To Captain --: You have called me "rebel,' -
have invaded my country 10 murder and plUudeT.
cannot take your hand.
SignedJ .
On being requested to deliver this document
our southern soldier drew himself Up and begged
to be excused; the gentleman was prisoner,
be did not wish to be concerned as the medium
# such inrerC. use, be u- 10 idea, etc, or he
would not have come on tie erTaud, ETC. etc.
This was the pUnctih3 Of courtesy strained 10 a
hish pOiut and though IN q manner honorobjs
to the young soldier, was misplaced in such
instance. We give /. as a specimen OF that de-
pertinent toward prisoners on which we reflect,
and which should be corrected. The enemy
treat their prisoners brutaiIy, and we should not
initiate them, but We also should not make lions
of them and depOrt ourselves with so drteren-
tial a courtesy, which puffs them up with con
ceit aud vanity and contempt for ourselves.