Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1864-11-12
LATE sOUTMERN NEWS.
The Relief of our Prisoners---The
Chirography of Grant and Lee.

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Correspondence of The Savannah Republican,
RICHMOND, Monday, Oct. 81, 1864.
am glad to have it in my power to state
that, in view of the fact that large num-
ber of prisoners will probably be held in
captivity by both belligerents during the
coming winter, Judge Ould, Confederate
Commissioner of Exchange has proposed
to the Federal Secretary of War and Maj.
Mulford, the Assistant Commissioner on
the part of the United States, that each
Government shall have the privilege of for
warding for the use and comfort of such Of
its prisoners as are held by the other, all
necessary articles of food and clothing, and
that Gen. Grant has notified Gen. Lee OF
the acceptance of the proposition. The de-
tails of the agreement have not yet been
fixed, but it is understood that it will in
clude necessary clothing and blankets, and
rations of meat, bread, coffee, sugar, pickles,
vinegar and tobacco.
Such is the spirit of the entire correspon-
denee, which is highly honorable to all the
parties concerned in it. Gen. Grant sug-
ges,s that a commissioned officer of each
party be selected from among the prisoners
of war, whose duty it shall be to receive
and receipt for all articles sent for distribu-
ton, and who shall see that they are dis
tributed according to the wishes of chose
sending them; and to this suggestion Gen.
Lee gives his ready assent.
Upon consultation with Gen. Lawton, the
Ouartermaster-G General, it was ascertained
that clothing cannot be purchased in
Europe and delivered to our prisoners in
the North before the middle of January or
first of February next; and in that view, as
blankets are their first and greatest need,
Judge Ould has recommended to Mr.. Sed-
don, the Secretary OF War, the Immediate
purchase of thirty thousand pairs, to be
made in Northern city. He suggests also
that the Federal authorities be asked to al
low us to slip an amount of cotton from
wilmington, or some other port, sufficient
to make the purchase. Mr.. Seddon ap-
proves of the recommendation and sugges-
ton, and has authorized Judge Ould to pro-
ceed at once to their execution.
The correspondence between Gen. Lee
and Gen. Grant, is now before me, and
have been much struck by the handwriting
of these two ablest Generals the war has
brought forward on either side. Gen. Lees
handwriting is bold and rather stiff, his let
ters being large, round, and very distinct.
He bears heavily upon the pen-probably a
goose quill-and abbreviates many of his
words, as if writing were labor TO him.
The following is an exact transcript Of the
first sentence in his letter to Gen. Grant:
"GENERAL: have reed your letter of the
18th inst. accomp'g copies of letters from
Judge Ould COmm'r of Exchange of Pris'rs
on the part of the Cont'ate States & the
Honb'le Z. M. Stanton Sec'y of War and
Lt.-Col. Mulford Asst Comm'r of Exc. OF
the u. States"
He does not, as you perceive, punctuate
l. Sc hn
write out the word ''and," but invariably
uses the abbreviation "&." And yet he
pauses long enough to dot all his "i'sr and
cross all his "t's." All his letters are drawn
nearly straight up and down the paper; in
other words, they are like himself, round,
full, bold and upright, inclining neither to
the right nor the left, and standing firmly on
their base, as If they disdained all assistance.
They are so clear and precise, SO round and
weighty, and distinct, that each letter re-
minds one of solid common ball, and each
word of a cluster of grapeshot.
Gen. Grants handwriting, on the contra
nv, though not so bold and distinct, nor the
letters not so large and round and erect, Is,
nevertheless, very legible and very strik-
ing. 1t is full of energy and action, and
his letters all incline to the right, and fol-
low one after another, with little space
between them, as if they represented an
equal number of his brigades on rapid
march round Lees right. Among chiro-
graphers his hand would be called a run
ming hand. The words occupy much space
from left to right, and still they are very clear
and legible. Hepaysmore attention TO pune
tuation than Gen. Lee, abbreviates less, and
is equally careful of his is and t's. 1t may
be the work Of imagination, yet in reading
his letter cannot but picture the writer as
a restless, nervous, energetic man, full of
fire and action, always in motion and al
ways in hurry. .----