The Cleveland leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1865-1865, 1865-09-06
THE wIRZ TRIAL

1
!: prisoner to -Andersonville about the 2sE
OF May, 1864, and confined. The previou
evidence as to the crowded and filthy con
4 oltlon Of the stocksde, suffering of prison
ers, coarse, dirty and insufficient food, sc.
was repeated. On one day of last year b,
counted l54 dead men in the stockade
Ane witness mentioned the case of an in
sane soldier who wandered up and down
oy tne stream, refusing to wear clothes
ana VINO had not sense enough to know
tnat ne must cook his rstions. He ended
DIS lie BY suicide. Another prisoner des.
Eoyeo his life by hanging after declaring
tnst ne would rather die than remain IN
the stockade. When the witness was taken
to. Andersonville there were Al men in the
company with him, AMI % of them had
died, most of them in that prison. he said
slx men were shot at different times two
OF whom he knew died afterwards. One
OF whom was shot because he put his arms
too lar out over the dead line while dipping
water out of stream, when the sentinel
hred.1 Another happened to get slightly
beyond the line when the sentinel fired at
him, but missing, hit another man lying in
a tent. Witness mentioned the circIm.
stances attending the shooting of other
imeh for crossing she dead limo. Gs did not,
however, see or hear Captain Wirz give
orders for the shooting.
AYincent Harrison, Of the "a New York
Regiment who was q prisoner at Ander-
sonville, having been conveyed there in
March, 1864, testified that while at Capt.
Wirz's headquarters, he heard Wirz give
orders TO have men put in the chain gang,
and irons placed around their feet, and also
order the guard TO shoot with his gun the
first man who should cross the dead line.
Wirz also threatened TO shoot Any man
who would not promptly fall into line.
Witness said he had seen marks on the
bodies of men bitten by dogs, and describ.
ed the sufterings of $50 men who had been
vaccinsted with poisonous matter.
On cross-exsminstion witness said some
of the men ia the chain gang had previous
ly attempted to escape.
Edward L. Kellogg, 2Oth New York
Cavalry, said four men were shot for cross
ing the dead line. Bucking was quite a
common occurrence. Witness was bueked |
six hours because he had failed to report q |
man who had escaped. Another person |
was bueked at the same time. Bucking |
consists in first tying the wrists together
and then fastening the arms over the |
knees. -
Gross examined by the defense. Henev-
or saw man bucked in the United States
army, although ne had heard of such things
being done.
The reason why he was bucked was that
he did not comply with the rule for report.
ing those who attempted to escape.
Joseph r Achuf, of the 24th Ohio. a
prisoner at AndersonVille, testified that
having gone out with q rebel guard he
jumped on the rebels back while the two
prisoners who accompanied him took away
his gun. He hearing the degs in chase, he
and his two comrades scattered. The
Witness ran into a swamp, and soon
Jaw five hounds and seven rebels
on horseback. The hounds were not
AIKEN off him for fifteen minutes, during
which time he had to fight them with his
lists, he had nothing upon him but pair
" psntsloons made of two rebel meal
scks. He still carried the marks of the
biting on his legs. The horn was blown
vas taken before Captain Wirz who Or
lered him to be put in the stocks. He
vas exposed to the sun, and was thus pun
shed for thirty six hours, and during that
ime had only two drinks out of the muddy
Z
bis lp o treatment he was told to "dry
The witness after being taken out of the
ccf1Hid MS "gdKissG; S4fL uiB ginRs- qasstnq
d by an iron bar eighteen inches long.
'he legs of the witness were sore and the
curvy fell into them. He was twenty
hree days in irons by order of Capt. Wirz. !
t was pretended That the irons were re-
moved by order of rebel surgeon, when
be fact was they were afraid of Sherman,
aving white flag hanging out all the
me. This was in July. When q squad
Shermsn's men were brought In they
lere stripped of everything except psnta-
oons and shirts. Even their buttons we're {
pIit open, WiTz saying he had heard of /
loney sometimes being slowed in buttons. =,
he men were sent into the prison stock
de. Wirz said they were raiders and J
ught to bs hung. They belonged to {
toneman's cavalry. Wirz struck Mich +
ysn boy over the head with his revolver,
he result of which was that the boy died
( fits. The witness said he saw the man 9
allied Chickamauga killed. The men had 8
ick named him 1mutton.head," and he 4
elonged in Illinois, and was silly. He
ad lost leg. TIE boys having plagued 4,
i'm, ne applied to Wirz to go on parole. :
ViIz cursed him and threatened to blow
is brains out. The man was at the time I
Yithin the dead line. Wirz ordered the
usrd to blow his brains out. The guard
red, the shot striking the nan in the left
de. The victim was carried out and I
led. Witness saw Wirz lay out the dead c
ne in April, 1864, and heard him give
rders at that time if any man crossed tina J,
ne to shoot him. The first night he went
ito the stockade was on the 18th of
Iarch, 1864 Saw Wirz kicking poor c
zeleton around there, and heard Wirz
urse him. He named four officers
rho also witnessed the same cruel }
ccurrence. The squad of ninety men l
. which the witness was attached, and be-
lg in tolerAble good physical condition he {
0uld stand up in the line pretty well, but Z
theirs could not. Wirz said he would not
i've them anything to eat for forty-eight Q
ours and he kept his word. On the Sd,
th and 9th of July our rstions were cut s
Il through the stocksde because some had =
scsped. We numbered at that time 81, 600.
On the 18th of July there was great
rowd, st the gate, of men trying TO get Z
ut with the sick. Only one could get out I
t time. There were at that place two
yards between the dead line and the
tockade. Captain Wirz gave orders that
any one stepped over the dead line to
low him through. The guard said he
odld not keep the crowd from enoroach-
ng on the line. The sentinel at tina time ;
lad his gun at the stomach of 3 fine look
ng Prussisn. He was ordered TO fire and
hot the man dead. Whenever q man
vas wounded and carried to the hospital
le would never come back. George White
If Germantown, Pa, belonging to the Ma
inc Corps, after being wounded was carried
1T to the hospital The young man re-
luested him 10 tell his mother thst he was
not afraid to die. Subsequently he saw
Whites dead body at what was called the
lead house. Wirz was in company with
.wo guards- The witness asked him if he
could not take lock of Whites hair.
tNo," said Wirz, ''if you do I'll blow your
damned brains OUT About one hundred
snd fifty prisoners were down at the creek
bathing. A woman on an eminence was
plainly observed by US to nod and
wave her handkerchief to Q sentinel who
fred and shot one of them in the head.
The sentinel for this obtained fuFlough
for thirty days, so Ee had been informed
BY Georgia soldier. Tne witness describ-
cd the character of the suffsrings of the
,oriaoners He applIed to Wirz to have |