Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1863-11-13
Treatment of Prisoners of War.

The Yankee papers, We mentioned yesIeruayi arc
loud and furious Just in their Remuneration Of the
Confederate authorities for alleged maltreament OF the
of war held in this cty. We have rephed as
far as we thought proper to their groundless com
.;ct. and sapderous charges the question not one
for argument with them and il makes but little onef
enee whether they are pleased or not with the
received BY these captves We advert to tina SUBJECT
this mcrnng for the purpose OF putting on record IN
perpetual memory evidence Of the character and con-
duot Of those who thus rail against the Confederate au
tborities Here Is narrative vouched for by It's ap-
Dsar,pce in a highly respectable journal, embracing
sDec6c,ons which il would have been easy to disprove
if they were false but which, though published some
months ago remain without difproof or even denhl
that We have ever seen heard Of Il Is the account
Of member Of Bragg's army, furnished to the Mem
nbs Appeal of his experience in the Yankee prison al
Alton, Illinois
the Alton pententiary was three or four years
AGO condemned by the State authorities as totally unnt
tor criminals even. Yet thlrteen huhureu oucers SUI
DIvates two hundred Of which had the small pox were
cor6nod in the basement, five feet beoS.the ground,
r,o,t amt off from daylight sunshine aad ar-stoEe
aoor covered with water tricklicg from the Eals on
either sds and mid as 1t WIS., the only provision
for Gre was small stove 10 eight men. Tia berths
other With rassase SO narrow ss barely 10 admit Of
one p.rsen plssng at tiale-and soon there was an
average of more than every other berth occupied by
some unfortunate Confederate with small-pox-and az
fast "a they died Others from st. LOUIS prisons supplied
tbar ulae,S During January the average OF deaths
cached for time eight and eventually thrteea per
d,y; and in February the mortality became SO great,
and burypP Oonfederates became such tax to the gov
erumsi It aud 30 lucrative TO the undertaken that tae
cOmmand9 OF the prisol advertised IN one OF the Al
ton papers: "PToposalj for burying the Conederates
will be-reccived and let to the lowest bidder ThR
same enterprising undertlker detected by ne oil
onr number who suspected him and privately marked
one of ihe collins in the work Of yankee swindlog
nv closing the coffin IN the dead ROOM, and on Arrv-
ing at the cemetery would dump the corpse into the
grave aud return the same collin for another SUBJECT
until nine had thus been buried and he Of course re-
ceiyng paw for moe cons when he had really supplied
INIT one Now, if believed you required IL, or that
Won doubted nv veraciIy could add the testimony OF
many rs respectable gentlemen as ve that the state
ments here made are plain aud truthful.
The quantity of raions supplied US was nsufceHtto
meet the requirements Of the we'll and altogether unit
for the sick Well med have seen it) would go to the
sSesppgs OF the prison dining room and gather up
scraps Of bread meat aud eat them with perfect
relish; and of the SICK those oil them that were iortu
nate enough to were supplied by their tefow
prisoners With rats which they killed and prepared with
their OEn hands
N, record of the dead was kept until Februuy. One
of the officers Of my ro5m wrote to Gene'al Curtis,
commanding at st. Louis, requesting that nasmuch as
the small pox wa raging to such an extent would he
not order that We might be sent to some other prison
His reply was, that ''under the circumstances he would
advise immediate vaccination" During the prevalence
OF smallpox besides pneumonia, erysipeia' and dptne'
ria the scoundres would propose TO release aay who
would take the OATH Believing il 10 be between the
oath and dslth they avacd themselves OF the devilsh
proposition; ard had most Of us, unter euch circum-
Stances been off rel the oath by the African or Va
hoon Government or any other hea'hep or ungedIy
Goyerlm.nt than the lifted States, we mig have
.wsllowed il TO escape n deasn which seemed inevitable
Presden. Davis may rely With ceriaeiy upon the true
allegiance of the who passed such an o.Geal.