The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1865-02-17
The Treatment of Union Prisoners,

able to us how our government at Wash
ington could allow the systematic, deter
mined murder of our prisoners in rebel
hands, and make no effective remonstrance
against it. For the last year at least the
whole North has known that Union sol
diers taken prisoners of war have been
premeditatedly starved, frozen and shot
down by the thousand, and that too many
times without pretext. Fortunately, even
at this late day, some men have escaped
"out of the jaws of death-out of the
gates of hell,'' who can move the people
Of the North, and we hope the government
too, to do justice to our brave but unfor-
tunate defenders. Mr. A. d. Richardson
and Mr.. j. r. Browne, both newspaper
correspondents, and both incarcerated in
seven different rebel prisons during peri.
cd of nearly two years have escaped, and
they are telling the same old story of rebel
atrocity, but in such forcible language that
it must convince the whole world that the
enormity Of the crime of the rebels in
this matter is without parallel in all his
tory.
The papers tell us that an exchange Of
prisoners is now agreed upon. Let it &C
forward with the greatest dispatch till
every Union man is relieved from the ten.
der mercies of those beings who have sci
themselves up as the " chivalry" and
gentlemen" of this continent. Hereafter
it will be understood that ''chivalry" con.
sists in starving Union man to death, OF
shooting down peaceable man in colo
blood. We give below the closing para
graphs of MIR. Richardson's letter in the
last independent:
GIN nothing is this barbarity more de-
veloped than in the treatment OF prise.
ners. In the Salisbury garrison, at mid
day, two of our soldiers, sitting peaceablyy
in their tent, were shot dead. Such oc.
currences were SO frequent, and Away:
unnoticed, that we caused special inquiry
about this to be made at headquarters
The answer was: 1.-The guard said ht
had got three niggers in range; and
knowing he would never have such ar
opportunity again, stepped off his post
and fired at them. Unfortunately, he
missed aim, and hit the wrong men,
This seemed to be regarded as a good jest
by some of the rebel officers. On anoth
er day, | saw Major Gee, the prison COM
nand;lnt, stand right beside a sentinel who
took deliberate aim and shot, without
challenging, two unotfending soldiers with
in twenty feet of him. That murder
must have been committed under the posi-.
tive order of the clmmandant.
What can we do with men who perpe-
trate such outrages, and practice the ten
fold grosSer cruelty of killing our priso-
ner. by hunger and cold! There is bu
one way to deal with them. If we dom
want to connive at numbering our OWL
soldiers. we must steanly rctaliate in kline
upon rebel officers; or have an immediat.
exchange. Mr. Stanton's we'll known the
orv, that we can't afford to exchange, be
cause many of our half-starved. emaciat
cd men, who have served out their time ii
the army. will never re-cnli>t, while every
returned rebel is remorselessly kept in tn,
ranks, has been in operation for a Ion:
time. DO we want it to cost us ten thon
sand more precious lives! The govern
ment is bound to compel good treatment o
our prisoners, by every consideration O
honor, humanity and decency."
1t is officially announced that genera
exchange is about to commence. Blu
with that announcement it is also state,
that the delivery must be very slow, OWN!
to the condition of Southern railroads.
There is something wrong about this. |
those prisoners were rebel soldiers, needed
in Virginia. every man of them would b
delivered in front of Gen. Grants line:
within fifteen or twenty days. Nobod,
in the whole world exulted over MIR. Lin
coins reelection more than we, in Sails
bury. When some of our fellow-prisOn
ers, hopeless and despairing, denounce'
our own authorities, we always insiste'
that we had no basis for a just and intel
; ligent opinion; that, in the absence o
knowledge, we were bound to suppose tn
government acting Justly and wisely. Blu
this is matter of life or death, in twent,
Southern prisons, in thousands and thou
sands of Northern homes Similar an
nouncements have been made before; ant
no result has followed them. We ma,
attribute it to undersigned procrastinatiol
or neglect; for who can believe that tn
secretary of war, the lieutenant general
or, above all, the President, would trih
with the loyal people, on a matter of sucl
paramount Importance When on
soldiers are dying at the rate of thirteel
per cent. a month, and being forced by
hunger and cold into the rebel army a
an equal ratio, it is no time for delay
1t is time for instant, radical etectire &C
ton"
BY reference to an article elsewhere
will be seen that Gen. Grant says he ha
effected an exchange of all prisoners. T'hi
- rood ,ou-c