Evening star., 1865-11-10

the prison and prison guard, and the offai aud
drainage of the cook house of said prison,
whereby the prisoners became greatly reduced
in their bodily strength and emaciated and in
Jured in their bodily health. their minds i'm
paired and their intellect broken: and many of
them, o-wit, about the lumber of ten thousand,
whose names are unknown, sickened aud died
by reason thereof, which he, the said Henry
WirZ, then and there well knew and intended:
and SO knowing and evilly intended, did re-
fuse and neglect TO provide proper lodgings,
food or nourishment for the sick, and necessary
medicine and medical attendance for restora-
ton Of their health, and did knowingly, will
fully and malIciously in furtherance of his
eVl designs. permit them TO languish and die
from want OF care and proper treatment. and
the said Henry WirZ, still pursuing his evil
purposes, did permit to remain in the said
prison, among the emaciated sick and Ian
gushing living, the bodies OF the dead until
they became corrupt and loathsome, and filled
the air with fetid and noxious exhalations, and
thereby greatly increased the unwholesome-
ness of the prison, insomuch that great num-
hers of said prisoners, whose names are un-
known, sickened and died by reason thereof.
And the said Henry Wirz, still pursuing his
wicked and cruel purpose, wholly disregard
ing the usages of civilized warfare, did, at the
time and place aforesaid, maliciously and will
fully subject the prisoners aforesaid to cruel,
unusual and infamous punishment upon
slight trivial and fictitious preences, by fasten-
ing large balls of iron to their feet and binding
numbers of the prisoners aforesaid closely to-
gether with large chains around their necks
and feet, so that they walked with the greatest
difficulty, and being so confined, were sub
jected TO the burning rays of the sun, often
without food or drink for hours and even DAYS,
from which said cruel treatment numbers,
whose names are unknown, sickened, tainted
and died. And he, the said WirZ, did further
cruelty treat and injure said prisoners by ma
liciously tying them up by their thumbs and
wllfully y confining them with an instrument OF
torture called sthe stocks, - thus depriying them
of the use of their limbs, ard forcing them 20
lie, set and stand for many hours without the
power OF changing position, and being with
out 1OOQ or drink. CODSpQupQcp of which
many, whose names are unknown, sickened
and died; and he, the said Wirz still wickedly
pursuing his evil purpose, did establish and
cause 10 be designated within the prison en-
closure containing said prisoners, a ssdead
line" being line around the inner face of the
stockade or wall enclosing said prison, and
about twenty feet distant from, and within
said stockade; and having so established said
dead line, which was in some places an imagi-
nary line, and in other places marked by inse-
cure and shifting strips of boards nailed upon
the top of small and insecure stakes or posts,
he, the said WirZ, instructed the prison guard
stationed around the top of said stockade, to
hre upon and kill any Of the prisoners afOre-
said who might fall upon, or pass over or un-
der, or across the said ''dead line" pursuant
TO which said orders and instructions
mallclously and needlessly given by said Wirz,
the said prison guard did fire upon and kill
number OF said prisoners. And the said WIrz
sun pursuing his evil purpose, did keep and
use ferociOus and bloodthirsty dogs, dangerous
to human life. to hunt down prisoners of war,
aforesaid, who made their escape from custody
cioUsly suffer, incite, and encourage the said
dogs TO seize, tear, mapgle, and MAIN, the bod
les and limbs Of said fugitive prisoners of war,
which the said beasts melted as aforesaid then
and there did, whereby a large number
Of said prisoners of war, who, during
thettime aforesaid made their escape and were
re-captured, died. And the said WirZ, still pur-
suing his wicked purpose, and still aiding in
carrying out said conspiracy, did cause to be
used Tor the pretended purpose of vaccination.
impure and poisonous vaccine matter which
said lInnnr6 and nOiSOnOnS VIA hon
and there, by the direction and order of said
Wlrz, maliciously cruelty and wickedly depos-
lted IN the arms of many of said prisoners, by
reason of which large numbers of them lost the
use of their arms, and many of them Were so
injured that they soon thereafter died: all of
which be, the said Henry Wirz, well knew and
maliciously intended, and IN aid of the then
existing rebellion against the United States,
with the view TO assist in weakening and i'm
pairing the armies of the United States. and in
turtherance OF the SAID conspiracy, and with
full knowledge, consent and conniyances of
his Co-Conspirators aforesaid, he, the said Wirz
then and there did.
OF Charge L, - Guilty,' after amending said
charge to read as follows 80 MaliciousIy, will
fully and traitorously, and in aid of the then
existing armed rebellion against the United
States of America, on or before the twenty
seventh day of March, A. ID. 1864, and on di-
verS other days between that day and the tenth
day of April, 1865, combining, confederating
and conspiring together with Jefferson Davis,
James A. Seddon, Howell Cobb, John II. VIM
der. Richard B. Winder, Isaiah III. White. W.
:. Winder, w. Shelby Reed, K. R. Stevenson,
5. Moore, = Kerr, late hospital steward al
Andersonyille, James Duncan, Wesley w.
Turner, Benjamin Harris, and others un-
known, TO injure the health and destroy the
lives OF soldiers in the military service of the
United States then held and being prisoners of
war within the lines of the so-called Confed-
crate States and in the military prisons thereof,
TO the end that the armies of the United States
might be weakened and impaired, in violation
of the laws and customs of war"
Disqualification first, 70 Charge IL, "Guilty,
fore the phrase, the ninth day of July"
f specialization second, to Charge IL,
OF Specification third, TO Charge III, "Guilty,
after striking out . June and inserting instead,
September"
OF Specification four, to Charge III, "Not
guilty"
OF Specification five, to Charge III, sliuilty,"
after striking out the phrase son the thirteenth
day and inserting instead, the phrase 'on or
about the twenty fifth day"
OF Specification six, to Charge III, ssGuiltyr
after striking out the word first and inserting
fifteenth, and also striking out the phrase 'on
'on or about the sixteenth day"
OF Specification seven, TO Charge Ii, "CIuil-
ty," after striking out the words twentieth and
inserting instead the word first, and also after
inserting son or about Immediately before the
phrase 'the twenty fifth day"
Of Specifications eight and nine, to Charge
IL, sc uilty.o
Of Specification ten, TO Charge IL, "Not Gull
ty." .'...
Disqualification eleven to Charge IL, .sGuilty.
after striking out the word first and inserting
instead the word sixth; after striking out also
the phrase incite and urge,' and the phrase
announcement and instigation,' and by ad-
ding the words stor about after the word son.
where 1t last occurs in the specification; and
also after striking out the phrase animals
called blood hounds and inserting the word
dogs; and also striking out the word sbIood-
hounds where it afterwards occurs and insert
the word dogs and also striking out the words
given by hm."'
OF Specification twelve, to Charge III,
'Guilty."
Disqualification thirteen, to Charge III, "Not
Guilty" I.t .i
OF the Second Charge, Guilty"
SENTENCE And the Commission does
therefore sentence him, the said Helsrs Wirs,
"to be hanged by the neck tlll he be dead, at
such time and place as the President of the
United States may direct. two-thirds of the |
members of the Court concurring herein"
1.-THE proceedings, findings, and sentences
in the foregoing case having been submitted TO |
the President of the United States, the follow
ing are his orders --r .-.
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
November 3, 1865.
The proceedings, findings, and sentence of |