Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1862-05-15

The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the
| present Var beg leave respectfully TO SUI
NIT Report, IN pant. as tolirs::
! On the first day Of April the Senate Of
the United States adopted the following
resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on the Conduct of the War:
Resoired. That the select committee on
the conduct Of the war be directed to
collect the evidence with regard to the
barberous treatment by the rebels. at Man.
sssas. Of the remains of officers and SOL
diers Of the United States killed in battle
there; and that the said select committee
also inquire into the fact whether the In
dian savages have been employed by the
rebels. in their military service. against
the government of the United States, and
how such warfa,s has been conducted by
said savages.
| In pursuance OF the instructions con-
tanned in this resolution, your committee
have the honor 20 report that they exam
ined a number Of witnesses, whose testi-
,nony is herewith submitted.
Mr.. Nathaniel +. Parker. who was cap
turcd at Falling Waters. Virginia. testified
that he was kept in close confinement.
denied exercise. and with a number OF
others, huddled up in loom; that their
food. generally scant. was always bad. and
sometimes nauseous; that the wounded
had neither me.lical attention nor humane
treatment. and that many of these latter
diel from sheer neglect; that FIVE Of the
prisoners were sho, by the sentIies outside.
and that he saw one man. Tibbitts. of the
New York twenty seventh regiment shot
as he was passing his window on the 9Th
of November. and that he died Of the
wound on the 18th The porpetrator ol
this foul murder was subsequently promo
ted by the rebel government.
DIR. j. NJ. Homiston. surgeon OF the
l4th New York. or Biooblyn regiment,
captured at Bull Run. testified that when
he solicited permission to remain on the
field and to attend to wounded men. some
Of whom were in q helpless and painful
condition and suffering for water. he was
brutally refused. They offered him neither
water nor anything in the shape Of food.
He and his companions stood in the streets
Of Manassas. surrounded by threatening
and boisierous crowd. and were afterwards
thrust into an om building. and left. with.
out snstenance or covering. to sleep on the
bare floor. 1t was only when faint and
exhausted. in response 10 their earnest pc
titions. they having been without food foI
twenty -four hours. that some cold bscor
was grugingly given to them. When. a
last. they were permitted to go to the re
lief Of our wounded. the secession surgeon,
would not allow them to perform opera
tions. but entrusted the wounded to hii
young assistants "some Of them with nC
more knowledge Of what they attempted
to do than an apothecary's clerk" And
further. that ''these inexperienced surgeon.
performed operations upon our men in q
most horrible manner; some OF them wer,
absolutely frighrful." When" he adds
81 asked DIR. Darby to allow me to ampu
tate the leg of Corporal Prescott Of ou
regiment. and said that the man must di,
II it were not done, he told me that
should lie allowed to 10 it." While DIR
HomiSton was waiting. he says . sece.
sionist came through the room and said
''they are operating upon one Of the Yam
KEGS legs up stairs" Il went up AM
found that they had cut off Prescott's leg
The assistants were pulling the flesh q
each side. trying to get flap enough to GOV
er the bone. They had sawed of the bon,
without leaving any Of the flesh to form
{ the flaps to cover il; and with all the forc
they could use they could not get fla,
|, enough to cover the bone. They wcr
then obliged ito saw of about an incl
more Of the bone. and even then, whel
they come to put in the sutures. 9TH
stitches they could not approximate tn
edges within less than an inch and hall
OF each other; of course as soon as thcr
; was any swelling, the stitches tore out an,
the bone stuck through again. DR.. Swain
tried afterwards to remedy il by perform
ing another operation, but Prescott hat
Iecoms so debilitated that he did not sur
vive-" Corporal Prescott was . yoanl
man Of high position. and had received
very liberal education
The same witness describes the suffer
ings Of the wounded after the battle ss in
conceivably horrible: with bad food. n
covering. no water. They were lying up
on the floor as thickly as they could b
laid There was not particle of ligh
IN the house to enable us to move among
! them" Deaf to all his appeals. they con
tinued to refuse water to these suffering
men. and he was enabled to procure it b,
setting cups under the caves to catch tn
rain that was falling. and in this way h
snent the p;oht catching tha water an,