The Cleveland leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1865-1865, 1865-08-26


In consequence of my profession exempted
, from the Confederate service. 1 had NJ
sympathy with, or wish to go into, If.
did not vote or do anything to bring on
the war. The witness considered himself
q Union man. Seeing that Governor
Browne was resolved to bring all males
between fourteen and sixty years of age
into the State militia, he became Surgeon
to keep out of the State trenches. He
took an oath TO the Confederscy; it was
fUreNd upon him at the point of the bsyo-
net, and being under duress st the time he
did not think it was now binding
upon him, requisitions were made on Dr..
Clayton, for medicsl-suPplies, and not
on Capt Wirz. I never heard of any
blame being attached 10 the prisoner about
badness of rstions, nor his name men,
toned in that connection. Capt. Wirz
had always treated witness kindly; and he
never saw him use any harsh means on
confined soldiers. Had several wells on
the outside of the prison. Witness did
not think they were supplied with water
from same source prisoners Were-latter
drank supplies from stream running
through prison. He judged, the,stresm, of
itself, was not unhealthy; but lower part
might have been from drainage Of camp.
Andersonville was merely railroad sta
tion until the war commenced when rail-
shsnties were put up.
The witness was asked if he had any
opinion that there was q conspiracy there
to cause the death of Union prisoners.
Judge Advocate Chapman objected to
the question. It might IS we'll be
asked whether the witness believed the
prisoner guilty. Itwss of no consequence.
Mr.. Baker replied that the question wss
Of sufficient importance to cause an obiec-
ton from the learned gentleman.
q The court decided not to sustain the OBJ
lection.
witness was then asked whether he
knew of any persons who by their con-
duct, conspired to murder, or otherwise
cause the death of Union prisoners?
He replied he had never been so i'm
pressed he had always objected to the in
efficiency and character of the rstions; the
shaEtnass -all>----~~--~s
having been furnished by the Southern
Confederscy; further supplies could not
be furnished except by going to the coun-
try and none of the officers had right 70
80 foraSfaSi thS sure5sen- -a~-y" * 80
best they could and frequently complained
to the Surgeon General about the INSULT
-aia2t means furnished.
By the UUuIS The supnIies were re-
ceived from the North Fl fom the Sanitary
Commission, and he saw some of the pris-
oners wearing clothes which had been fur
nished.
DR.. A. W. Burrows, being sworn, GER
titled that he had served IS q physician to
the 9th Massachusetts, and was taken
prisoner at Plymouth, and finally found
n dyIda
psroled by Capt. Wirz and placed in
charge of two wards of hospital. He re-
manned there six months, till 9sh of Octo-
Der, when he made his escape, since which
time he had practised at home. When he
went to Andersenville there were 600
or 700 prisoners, lying on the eground They
limbs and gsngrene, scurvy and chronic
disrrbea. Nine-tenths of the pstie Mt 81
were lying on the ground while others had
say, when any prisoner escaped or attempt
damned Yankee for such attempts. Pris
oners were punished either in stocks or
chain gang. A stock consisted of frame |
work six feet high, with boards shut TO-
gether with room for q mans neck. Men |
but the most of them merely touched the |
ground with their toes, and the chain gang |
was sometimes composed of six men snd |
sometimes eighteen, who were hsndcufsd |
and chains passed around their necks, and |
and to these chains q thirty-two |
pound ball was always fastened. |
The gang would be held together one or
two weeks, the men meantime being ex- |
Al foI Rod Hha l
effect of weakening and reducing them |
he had no doubt of the fact that some died |
in consequence. Another kind of punish |
ment was putting the feet in stocks, the |
feet beidg elevated and the other parts of |
the body lying on the ground Witness
never got from DR.. White what he asked; |
sntiscorbutis were much needed but not |
supplied; he proposed, but the authorities |
refused, to allow him to take men and cut |
wood which could have been provided 81 8 |
short distance. Hounds were kept in the |
hospital to get the trail of escaped prison !
ers who, when caught, were brought back |
and put in the stocks; witness knew Of q
case where q man, under such circum-
stances Wss .mangled by the dogs but re-
covered.
Another case came under his observs-
tion; 1t was in August or September, 1864,
when Union prisoner was wounded by
one of his hounds, he died indirectly from
the bite, but directly from gangrene. He
had seen Capt Wirz on horseback with
the hounds, but Turner seemed to have
the direction of them. He had heard
Wirz order Sergeant Smith to start the
hounds, IS somebody had got away. Very
large sores had resulted from vaccination
the matter used was poisonous, and many
deaths and amputations resulted. Rstions
when he went there were small, two ounces
of bacon, small potatoe and 8 piece OF
corn bread, two snd half inches square
no coffee, tes, sugar or -four. Some
times there wss little rice soup
with q gallon of rice in thirty
gallons OF water In July they
got few vegetsbles-not a spoonful
day. The morals of the prisoners were
corrupted by cruel treatment. Men would
steal from each other, something TO eat,
and would work among the filth even for
potstoe psrings, or anything else. A man
In his ward wss shot by 8 Confederate
soldier and wounded in the thigh, and the
limb was amputsted, and he died the next
day. When q raid was expected from
Fitzpatrick, witness heard Capt. WiTz give
an order to'fre upon the prisoners if they
huddled together. There were from $3.50
to &c, 900 prisoners there at the time, and,
IN the month of August, IS appeared
from an official report, nearly 5000 died
on removal of prisoners from Anderson
vile. One of these fell back, when Wit
ness saw Csps. WHz knock the man down
and stamp upon him. This was in Sep
tember, 1854. Wirz had a revolver in his
hand, but witness did not know that he
used it to knock down the prisoner.
At quarter TO four o'clock the court
adjourned until tomorrow.