Union County star and Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1859-1864, 1863-12-18

Father, and redeemed by . common Lord
TO see such reduced to wasted aud bony
skeletons, BY Withholding from them the
'daily bread' for the production Of which
the Lord of heaven and earth sends bis
genial sunshine- and bic refreshing rains
Oh this was scene which, 10 this land
Of plenty, enriched BY the super-abundani
goodness Of God, l never expected to
witness. Such scenes did witness, only
to-day, in the hospitals =, this place-men,
from emsncipAted bodies breathing on,
their spirits into the hands Of God, whose
death has been literally wrought BY the
murdsrous process Of starvation An
unspsakabie satisfaction to me WAS to be
permitted, in company with the beloved
chaplain, to point number Of such dying
starvelings to the "Lamb of God that
taketh away the sins Of the world" In
every instance, when it was in the power
Of these poor men to speak, they have died,
the last lingering accents on their lips
consisting Of iuvocstions to Christ for the
re mission Of their sins, and in the suppli-
cation of blessings from the Almighty
Ruler Of the world on their beloved couu.
try. Very few, after their arrival here,
have been able to articulate. They could
only signify their wishes by looks and
signs! From the few who are able to
speak, il is . noteworthy fact that did
not hear solitary murmur of complaint
that they bad enlisted 10 the service OF
their country, Or that, BY the mysterious.
ness Of Providence, they had been doomed,
for such cause, to die even so ghastly
snd horrible death. With the Apostles
Of our Lord, these heroic men seem con.
tent, 10 the prosecution Of their noble
work, to endure even worse things than q
baptism Of blosd and . martyrdom of FIRE,
even horror not confronted by the Apos.
ties themselves, viz, starvation.
In my intercourse With these victims Of
barbarity, | was exceedingly anxious to
learn their own impression as to the cause
that underlies the action Of the Rebel
Government towards them. Accordingly,
directed to numbers the inquiry, "Whsth-
er the treatment they had received was
voluntary or compulsory" 1.-THE former,
it would, Of course, be the fault Of their
enemies; If the latter, their misfortune.
With one accord the answer Vas, that
their dreadful condition was mostly volun
tary-the result Of . system Of vanton aud
deliberate cruelty! The Richmond con-
spirators, our prisoners admit, are in
straits, and have it not in their power to
beatow upon them even . tolersble degree
Of care aud attention. But their condi.
tion is not so desperate that they might
not, If they wished, afford them at least %
much daily food - would serve to preserve
the holy partnership which the boun,iful
Creator hath Instituted between the soul
and body. Their own destitu,iou the
Rebels seize upon, not % . real aud truth.
ful Justification of their inbumauity, but
as a protect. Aud this they do. not in
sorrow, but in the intense mslieiousness of
disbolism itself!
l stood at the bed Of dying, loyal
youth from Tennessee. Ikneeled 10 pray.
er. He claimed to have made his pesce
with God, through faith in Jesus Christ.
10 the very article and hour Of death,
when oil purposes are honest and all
secrets are revealed, asked him: "Do
you think, my young brother, that the
men at Richmond have starved you to
death from choice, or we're they driven to
it from necessity 2" His answer was
"God yorgiue them i! they might haue done
better if they ,oished" The utssrauces Of
snosher we're: ~ know they could hare
giuen us more food than they did, from the
apsosnt they gdue to the guards. But they
Vished US to ssarve. One Of their leading
men said to me: 'LiJIy Prison and
Belle Island are our best Generals! they
are killing off more men than Bragg and
Lee ="
One other fact I learned, most discred-
liable to the authorities. Belle Island 10
a contracted patch Of ground, consisting
Of three or four acres, on which thousands
Of prisoners are crowded, With scarcely .
foot Of intervening space. The water they
are compelled to drink is 10 close proxin.
ity to the sinks, and, necessarily, polluted
and poisoned. This the prisoners are
compelled to drink, in very sight Of clear
md wholesome water, which il running in
Parental streams before their eyes. |
Their hsrdships are thus purposely sggrs.
rated aud under them an iron eonstitu.
ion mslts away - frost before summers
un. This, indeed, is the very refinement
# cruelty.
From another Of the dyiog men learn
ID the astounding fast, that, since the
oesreerasion Of our poor prisoners. at
in 10 solitary instance has .