Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1863-07-02

Stone River. General Polk rode along
the lines Of bis corps addressing the
regiments in person: -.
'.Iu his speech to the regiment tc
which I belonged he said; III you fud
any trouble in taking care Of prisoners,
and scish to dsp0ss Of chem IA any 9TH.
,sr sSey, I spiR not seold youi" This,
too. from the lips Of q Christian bish-
Cpl a minister OF the gospel OF peacel
While some were disposed to cheer the
remark, others exclaimed with astouish-
ment, "Who would have thought that
of General Polk!" This / heard, and
/ shall peEsr forget the chill of horror
that passed through my veins when it
was uttered. It had its effect on some
brutal minds, for I have heard more
than one, since that battle. boast Of
having despatched sounded Xankeesi
"If JEFF Davis can pass sentence Of
death on Northern General, and order
his execution if captured, ought net
President Lincoln to pass Ike SEN
tence on the piOus Bishop of Louis.
lana?
"In March last / saw at Chattanooga
some twelve hundred prisoners who
we're captured by Van Dorm near Frank
lin, Tennessee. They had all been de-
prived of their oyercoats, blankets, and
knapsacks by order Of General Bragg,
and when I saw them they had been
two days and one night crowded 10 mis-
cradle box-cars, with nothing to eatI-
A Major came up to me with a pen
Gil in his hand, which he wished me to
purchase, stating that he had no money
that he could use, and he was perish.
ing for something to eat. (There were
numbers OF women and boys around
them with pies to sell at fifty cents
apiece. I gave him fifty dollars for
his pencil, taking care to do it secretly.
and told him to distribute it among his
friends, and l then went TO the Com
mander OF the Post, and hurried him up
with his rations. wish l could say
this was an isolated case OF cruel treat
ment Of prisoners, but, so far as my
observation goes, it accords with the
general practice. -a ...
"One other fact will mention here,
which was told me by the Quartermas-
Ter who buried the dead at Murfreesbo-
70. Those who were killed in the bat
lie, and all who died of their wounds
fAtown before the army fell back. were
'oped OF all their clothing--officers
men-and buried entirely naked
k-a-.------- 49,. s--- b-y- "s-I-i I
;lothing.'"
; it necessary to pursue the subject
my further to show that the barbarities
charged upon the Union army BY the
ebels are the very disgusting and de-
'raved acts which they themselves have
committed? The Richmond Examiner
ays the deaf and dumb and blind have
lot escaped the demoniacal wrath OF
he Federal forces when it is known
hat on the Peninsula the inmates Of
institutions were fed with
federal rations, which were sent into
Williamsburg when that place was held
y the rebels. War is terrible enough,
God knows, in its mildest phases, and
ftentimes transforms men into brutes,
'ut the charge that regular system of
arbaric bostilities has at any time been
ndorsed by the Federal troops is un-
rue, and cannot be supported by any
eliable evidence. In our own State.
hen have been murdered, women out
aged, children and noncombatants
hamefully molested, private property
nd effects plundsred, hostages seized,
he records Of the court burned, and
very evidence Of demouiac spirit has
cen exhibited, while with the advance
{ the Union armies, as a rule, peace
as been restored, private property re-
pected, the laws enforced, and full Sc I
urity afforded to all who chose to sub I
lit themselves to the power of the Gov s
rnment. The contrast may be drawn t
ften, but it can never be viewed in an t
aspect as regards the con-
uct of the soldiers of the Union.