, 1865-02-07
How Gen. Butler was Stopped In TIfa
Exchange OF Prisoners.
Especial Correspondents Of the II. Y. Tribune.l

Especial Correspondence OF the n. T. Trtbune-1
WAeu1Naros, Jan. q, 1865.
Gen. Butler, on taking command of the De.
partmeut Of Eastern Virginin aud North Car
olina, found that The important business and
sacred duty Of exchanging prisoners had flll-
en- on our side, first, into Wrang1e about an
alleged false count, and after Into personal
quarrel, tremendously maintained with pen
and ink He succeeded In getting the bust
ness thus fooled with transferred to himself,
aud Immediately went to work to exchange
the thousands Of Union soldiers languishing
and dying in the rebel slaughter pens. Com
missioner 0uld WIS able and crafty, and In
possession OF the advantages Of position. But
to all who knew Buffers tact, patience. sa-
gaclty and ,persnssIvsness, i t. was not Won
denly into long and friendly conference In
side Of Fortress Monroe. between the rebel
agent and the "Beast" that had been out
lawed By the rebel Government. at this con-
ference the Jam Of difficulties in which Mere
dith on our side and the Richmond authori
changes, was disentangled and set free.
Butler put the exchanges In motion-silent
az to his purpose about the negro, makfngno
obstructive point Of the negro, but mex
orable as death in his determination about
our black soldiers, prisoners Of Wal, and n
vas his plan to exchange white soldiers for
white soldiers. officer for officer, civilian
for civilian, till he had got the last
OF our White Unionists out OF tie jaws
OF tho Southern death, and the gates Of
the rebel hell. We held IL round numbeEs
these, LOCO say, were black. Generally they
had been handed over to their former owners
by the Confederate Government, and were at
labor as sIaycs, or had been sold1t public
auction, or were at work under guard and
with ball and cllatn, constructing rebel fortf-
- T,,v.s 11r%1 10 H.
ciared al the time to some Of his friends, when
the exchange had drawn out al our white
prisoners, and Commissioner 0uld should say:
'sWhat shall we do about the balance Of our
men in your ~Ehnds"' to reply: II will ey-
change black men against white men, TIL =
course, would have refused. It wns Bntler's
purpose then to demand this exchange.
It Tas bis purpose to force 1t. II Quld.
under the instructions Of JEFF. Davis
Government, had determlnedly declined to
exchange the Ieyoes ,or had lodged their ex
BY ee9 HAM Il as
they we're all over the South, 1t was Buffers
reso1utc purpose to transport all the remain
ing rebel prisoners In the United States to
Illinois, and to set them to hard labor ID dig
gtng the Illinois Ship Canal to connect the
Atlantic with the Mississippi. -,
This just, this humane. this faithful, this
wise policy, which would have saved the lives
of o0,,00o Of the brayest and best men In the
Northeyn and Western States, dead now Of
sta1yalion and heart-breaking- policy |
which was the right ofthe black race, our
d1ty to the white race, and the sacred policy |
Of our cause WAS broken of, was forbidden, |
VI SUPP rcssedI
On somebody OF other, In civil OF military
unaer this GoyernmeQt, rests ne
horrible responsibility Of determining that 1t
was cheaper and better to let our g, 900 p,is,
oncrs rot, freeze, starve and die, than to let
out &, Coo rebel prisoners, whom, In our dis-
gustinely mawkish philanthropy, we we're
md pampe1ing Uncomfortable bar.
racks, to go back'fnto the rebel armies, and
6ght us ever again.