, 1865-02-03
REBEL ATROCITIES,
Testimony Of the Escaped Tribune
Correspondents.

testimony Oh the Escaped Tribune
| Correspondents.
E1enitsh Crneltics of the Rebel An
| Observation-Disclosures <taryaffnn nni
Murder Of Union Prisoners. '11'
WASHINGTON, jan. 30.
/ The following testimony WIS given to,da,
before tho Committee on the Conduct Of tht
Var By Albert D. Richardson:
TESTIMONY OF An- ALBERT D. R1cuARusoy.
am Tribune correspondent; wns Captured by
te rebels M May J, ls6a, a. midnight On hny bali
ths 1ivsr Opposite vckahur A.
to Salisbury. N. c., February j, 1861, ana Eep
there until December IS. 1864, when escaped
, F91 several ever months Salisbury va. the most e1du
inmates exercised in the open atr, were compara
hvely well fed and kindly treated. But eaE1y II
0etobef ten thousand regular prisoners Of war ar
Bcene Of cruelty aud horrors. 1t was deusely
crowd; 1auons were cnt down and Issued very
irreguIatly friend: outside could not even send
| In plate. OF food; the prisoners suffered con,
stantly and often intensely for want Of water,
The rebel authorities plsced all the PRISON hos.
| Eades and myself Our positions enabled u. to Oh.
| tain exact and minute information. Those wao
em-s aG ~ 'te w.. " o " tan prlson ration atwnya
more I;vsinns " thors,n a, irs4Men1Y one OF
no raions for tvcnty.four hours; sometimes they
henr. H. fa ,u,o bad q ao2a LOT
ase to twenty dollars rebel currency for a little
r fso, u Most pfisoae1a traded re buttons
1taa3har va os los poa Many, altheugA tho
sod coats tfoW the1r backs and ehocs from thcir
tctt YET was assured, on authority entirely
nrnr b nr}.on ,at as sas d en-
se found i cut H to oStaiG afnr tnat
nate asted he post camm,nant KITE. gnnoFa1
Gee Sha1 iye the nrtsancrs III yonn n Z
replied "No, God damn them give them, them quar- e
that corn md PORK are W very abunianffa Ia a.
gion about Salisbasy. "N'''' AL 'D' 80
For severn weeks !he prisoner. h,d 40 shelter
Wpre bafefootej, Not one In twenty haI eitne1
overcoat or blanket Many hundreds were With.
At last ono Sib1ey tent and one AZ tent ver. n
nished to each sdual Of one hundred. Win tbe
closest crowding these sheltered about one.iail
crcpt undcr buildings. Or shiyered i tsroggaS @ n
nights In the omen III. ppon the frozen. mnt5dy ~
enowy soil II lie rebefs at he Tine of tbeIr ran.
clothing and money, thcy wond have antIsrati IL,
tic from cold. It lie prison autnorities bad nar.
m.ttsd isw hundred 3! the@, eitaer upon paFeio
garrison ihc prisoners Would have glaaiy bait lii
Comfortable and annie barracks in one weak. M
the comman4ant would never, In densely wood.
by The wallr Of the prison, even fnrnish half tfe
fuel which was needed,
The hospitals were in a horrib1e conaition- Rv
the Goors they would cont.in ah6nt Nv hnndtrsd
inmates. They were aiwaya full to nrerloWin@
with thousands seeking admission in vain. In t6s
hundred and ity PATIENTS there WIS 10 ira wh"t.
eyer; the e:otae1s had small arcpiaces, but wsrc
einht the sick md 1yino men isv 7non III tbe coid
and usually naked door, for The scanty atra7 fuT.
min fos 10 use Te an,bnptina a1n1 ana tn q ves
single blanket. or 0uflt. or n1iiow. nr XII m
those eight wards: wa cond mt n,rocnrs sven ~,
reer e e 1eppnt OF hSner ag e1t they
'9ea da1s Hne IT, ae sd IN
collins, were loaded Into desti cart XIX nnn1,
each other ike iors Of wnn ami 80 2riyon put
Tic Te6el Wera T,a n1
ins condition ct the hospiaia bpt he 's salisbnry
oa eopp RdhGaa and ia1aess both aFesadea he
op November s;th many Of The nr;son.,s had
been without food ior iortyeieht onrs. Dsspe naa
few Of them III. WV nav ny 2 ,nsl M:dfa M pian,
a. another: let us break out nf tbis bnr,;hiss III
place" Some Of them wTested the @ gna. 11ss rom
yard Hlline two Who resisted and rronndins iee i
or Fix tithcrs otemnted to nar H., LILLE 4sa s,
the1 lad nether adeanata no2 nn, v o9s
tin3 Tct re thcv rnI aTaot hee, " q:
in ihe arrson VA trne nn tba, t5 5dn1a
nsares GneneI ,viti, 1rans ~ cs1to sas E lu
aispelred to tsir oSarters T Ftya 1nfss sna @ aey
thr hernnin thc .ftemnt ~ ero,1ad so1 ,1ga
nrispner to he seen in ih rarH ~ ntva n.!
ieFs were hnndred md ty xars Fo oMn ~ eas
Of The IN our 1eaty ,ere s lad I6eae Seen
minutes niier It was ended. tho r1ar.ls 1tnnn Tx
fence un each aide Of Us. viii e1fberats aj. t31ei
Into ihe tents upon helpless and innocent men.
Of ~ beb aKen daa IL r. n3t
many Of whom were ignorant 1f tuutii thew hard
The Ss;95s;,,. sqps; ,o,a.,,oo., ,nn,,... -, .....
ncn. here the re- VIVA M nrrtense thst tnoT sre
any prison regulations wers ye?v "Sts fre.
New nsptrv Was hna sot .. 81 me
runri who. fhe DIV hefo1e hod hcon rnay5t4
swearinc be would Lii k some ed damnsa Y5nRees YpiRGe
inanry n ernn n1aa o. ne o 4on
one of the hospjtais, was simIisriT mnrarrcd'
November 8, a chimney IN one Of ihe hosnitaIs
orders were irnmefatsiv Wv eiVen to lie rnara IN
let no one approach lie bufidtn- On the nrctcvt
that there might be another insnfTcctionI TYo
ho o,cq ma Merc haa not
their quarters, when saw q sentinel o. the fence
within twenty feet Of them, without chailene,nr
ne es Peee aar aa e md
standing Immediately beslde fhe ssntinel. vho ia
mist have acted under his direct orders, Deocm-
her ia, Moses Smith. Of m Narriani fcoinrci,
Infantry while atsnt,1nr hcaids ~ rn".to-s'
searching for fc1ops OF t,od from the sween;n|,,
of he cook house, was shot through tie. Read. ea
any pretense even nan n: nTrsffcntinr ~ NM.
isbtnr them. Dur iycs were neraI saf Z, ~, one
moment. Amy sentinel, at any hour I Of DAY t or or
orfnto any ronn Of n1tsnucrs hiac ~ y 1gisa
and he would not even be- taken oG lis post for il
Nsa,y e,eg Tsek ;ss ~ IN ,.H ssS Gang int he
ke nfcrci honnties. ni,rovs h. n3roni.aa nnnd
ciothInf, AMI ahnndnnt fcnd n netwccG ga5po gJ5ga
hundred and eighteen hundrcd Of onr men en:ist.
ed In tgo mo5ths. 1 Tas rcneatedlv osl.ad by
prisoners, sometimes with tedrs in their ewes.
What shall do? I don't want to starye to
death. an growing weaker dailyi II 1
stay Say here shall follow ny comsSdea to the hog,
can escape"
had charge of the f}othtng le1t by the dead.
II to to 5ne o
onets. but when l escaped there were fn!ly i've
hundred without shoe or stocking, and more
~ s Msn
I'D leii nothing whatever except 4 light cotton
The books Of ali the hospitals were Kept and The
persision. During tie two months between DC.
5 s vas about 7so The desths ped or hit
period was fully l500 or twenty per cent for the
whole. brought away the mines Of more than
twelve hundred Of the dead; some of the remain
der were never reported; the others could not
procure on the day Of my escape without exciting
suspicion., As the men grew more and more de-
bilitatcd the percentage Of dcaths increased. I
left about 600 remaining In the garrison Dccem-
ber Is. and they were then dying at tho average
rate Or twenty eight day, or thirteen per cent
month.
The simple truth Is that the rebel authorities
arc numbering our soldiers at Salisbury By cold
and hunger, while they might easily supply them
with food and fuel. They are doing this sJstemat-
lcay, and believe Killing them Intentionally,
for the purpose Of either forcing our Government
to IN exchange or forcing our prisoners into the