Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1863-12-04

HSS ny Ms III AupEASonment ne mas heard OF tn
death OF four Of bis children; but, nOtwiGA
standing his terrible mdsFinga, be refuses .
purchase his liberty By taking the oath Of d
! legiance TO the Conisdsrate Government
These are by no means exceptsnabIe eases o
hardship, bus mention them because the
came Immediately under my own observAtlon
and because they ara as striking and suggss
tive as any could name.
There is nothing the Govarhment can d
for the relief Of these men, that will be mor
acceptable than to furnish them with store
eno fuei' for independent Of their suffering
nom the cold, perhaps not ono Of them hal
; even tasted a warm meal, or even a. much u
hot cup Of coffee since bis incarcsration.-
What they especially need also, ig a good sup
ply Of vegetables, slch Is onions. potatoes
&c., to guard against the acurvy. Clothing
also should be sent to them a. soon a. posui-
ble. Their condition may be greatly amalioE-
ated, and very many lives saved, il they are
promptly supplied with the articles named.
II STATEMENT OF SURGEONS.
/ The following ID the Official statement ure.
sented to the War Department by nine-hVe Of
our surgeons, just released from confnemens
"The committee appointed by q. 8. Army
and Navy Surgeons, recently imprisoned IN
Richmond, Va, to report paaG and present
condition and treatment Of the Union prison
ers now held at that place, submit the follOw-
ing facts, derived from personal observation
and the statements Of fellow prisoners in
whose veracity they have implicit confidence:
The officers, about 100 in all, and representing
nearly all grades of both branches Of the ser
vice, are confined in rooms Of Libby prison,
a building formerly occupied as warehouse.
Each room is 43 feet wide and 1O2 long, afford
ing to each prisoner but about 276 cubic feet
of air. The rooms have upholstered walls,
partitions and ceilingu. But few windows are
glazed, being either open TO the full sweep Of
the cold winds, or closed with boards or can.
vas, thus rendering the rooms dark and cheer
less. One Of the ROOMS is uSed exclusively as
q kitchen and dining room, while portions Of
others are necessarily devoted 70 the same
purposes, and but nine Hcantily furnished and
mediun-sized cook stoves are supplied. The
prison officers have to do their oWn cooking,
and the supply Of wood for this purpose is
often insufficient, and occasionally for half q
day mono at all ID sent. A privy and sink
render foul and disgusting one end Of each
room, p0lluting at times the air Of tho entire
apartments. None are permitted to leave
this building OF accumulated and accumula-
ting horrors, tilI sent to the hospital or happily
exchanged Enlisted men were confined in
Various places at the time the surgeons lsfS
Richmond. There were about 63O soldiers
held on Belle Island, in james river, near the
city, and about 1000 soldiers and $50 sailors
and marines in building similar TO, and in
the immediate vicinity Of the Libby buildings.
The condition Of the men Is about the same
as that of the officers in the Libby, only they
are in much worse crowded condition. OF
these the Island ia much the wcFss. Insum-
oient numbers Of tents are furnished, 70 pro-
tect them from cold and rain, and no blankets,
nor any ether bedding, have bean given them
them by the rebels. Only one surgeon 10
assigned to Belle Island, and he makes bus
one visit 4 day, during which he does not en-
ter the inclosure whore the men are kept, 10
zee those too sick to walk, but attends to
those only who are able to come to him
When the neglected are sent to the hospitals,
Il is often too late. None Of The pTivateI in
prison or about the Libby are furnished with
bedding Of any kind. A member Of the
COMMITTEES received letter from . man BE-
onginR to the same command, and confined
n the building opposite the Libby, worded
thus:
"DR. wEBB: viii you Try to get Us some
hing, either clothes or blankets, TO keep us
HarmH We have no fires in the buildings 10
warm us, have nothing either to lie on or COW
sr US, and suffer greatly from cOld."r
"In the Libby, stoves for heating; purposes
nave recently been put up il some Of the
.ooma, but no fuel Of any description has yet
been given to render them useful. Al one
lime the rations issued confisted Of about
hres-fourths Of . pound OF wheat bread, .
ourth Of pound Of fresh beef, two ounces
If beans, and small quantity Of vinegar and
Ialt for each prisoner. per day. subsequently,
he same quantity Of corn bread meal and rice
instead Of beans, wasissued in the same quan-
ity; or, in lieu Of beef and ries, two or three
mall potatoes; and quite often, more partio-
llarly within the past two weeks, absolutely
Sothing except the thFee-icurths Of pound Of
.crn bread has been issued to each prisoner 10
atisty the lgnAwings Of hunger for twenty
our hours. One-tsnth OF the Northern men
hing TO eat till o'clock p. III.
tSThe committee unanimously agree that
be rations furnished our prisoners by the Feb-
| authorities at Richmond are not sufficient
o prevent prisoners from suffering from hun
,er, and thus becoming debilitated and very
to disease Some OF the COMMITTEES
ave seen men brought from Bale Island
o the prison hospital, literally starving TO
cath. A y. 8. A. cficer Of high rank, Of
ndoubted veracity there, and now prisoner
u Libby. told q member Of ths company that
Vhie on visit TO Belle Island recently, where
e went By permission Of the rebels, the pEia-
,ners there followed him in crowds a. be
walked around the inclosure and cried to him
nth eager voices, Eve are hungry, send u
read, send us bread Were Il not for the
upplies received from home none Of those con-
ned in the Libby and other prissns would
scape the pangs of hunger. On arriving at
he prison the officers were searched, and in
ddiGion TO the articles contraband Of war
heir money and other valuAbles are taken from
1em. Few get all, some q great portion and
Tiers no1e Of their money returned, while no
ther articles are returned. All money ar
wing in letters and express packages for priG-
pers. from whatever source, Il taken and de-
osited with the rebel quaEtermasteR At Ri0h-
lond and the owner is permitted to draw Il
stated amounts 10 rebel paper, though they
low seven dollars in Coniedsrats currency
n one dollar in United States money.
Some Of the surgeons released yesterday, on
pplyfnE for money taken from them in vAri-
Is ways, but always with the promise that
released while any remained on deposit it
ould be returned IL kind, were cruelty told
lat the aforesaid quartormaseer had exehan-
lg.11 tl,;, ,,o,o,y ayd khav must knIga Oonfea-