, 1865-08-29
FROM WASHINGTON,
The Trial Of Henry Wcrz, the
Anders0nyil1e Jail0r.
THE COURT, THE COUNSEL, AND
THE PRISONER,


THE COURT, THE COUNSEL, AM
THE PRISONER.
How Wezz Became the Fierd He Was
From Onr Own Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Aug. ..
The sun shoac upon no man TO-DAY
more abject md piti.blc than Hcnry Werz
lntc Captain in tho rebel amy, and Con,
uandant of the Andersonvil1e Military Prison
His counsel have limited that his irksome con
hnoncut was breaking down q constitution
already weakened ly disease; but within .
month he will pray-hc will long, let us say
for such creatures as ae Is never pray-he vii
long for even the irksomcness of Ills c}pse
confinement To be p1isoncd within stone
walls Is not so bad as to ne prisoned within
loath5ng cyes-as this s3ullcs wretch will
soon learn.
The case OF Ibis tnan is mnch more iruIar.
tant than II was at first supposed II would be
Happen to know that It was originally In
tended to try him before commission con
sisting Of one Brisndlcr General, two Grerc,
Btisadicr Gencrals, two Coloncls, md twe
Lieutenant ColoncB or Majors, will, sinclt
Judge Advocate. That he is brought before
commission of much higher rank is due
mainly to the press. The authorities were
surprised at the general and almost universal
Interest manifested III the matter. rs eyinced
not only by the number Of letters received,
hut also By the manner fn Which 1t was dis.
cusscd even in the beet papers of the country;
and 1t was therefore 1udged-Ie, us say wise
", too-bcst 10 give him court equal In rank
and character to any knowu in our history.
1t Is R1so true That The case grew rapidly Us
soon rs 1t calnc to IN investigation and, Aor-
rificd and sickcned as the land has been dur.
Ing the last year md half with tales Of An
dereonyile suffering and misery, / assure you
and am not unmind!ut Of the dreadful i'm
port Of my words-1 assure you the half Ads
tsot get tce1 fo;d.
Henry Wcrz is Swiss by birth, md has an
tln1nfstaEable foreign cir mad manner. In the
early part Of the war he did duty Mt kfch-
Mnnd. where liz Was simply known as 4 low
bred and vulgar creature, who had no ESQ.,
cation wiz tue so-callsd gentlemen OF go
ciety, Or Of the army Afterwards 10 went to
Europe on secret service business for the rrbcl
Stcte Department. What that business was Is
not definitely known, but some facts point ia
the conclusion thai il was In connection with
enc Of Bcnja1nin's schemes for raising troops
among tho pcnsaniry of Poland, Germany,
and other central States Of Europe. After
Lis return to this country, Wcrz was for
time OIL dctachcd service ia New Orleans, In
tic early part Of 1864, within four or flye
noat1le after the establishment Of the Andcr-
eonyilc prison, he turned up as command
ant Of that fnstitution-a fit tool for the he'll
1ish spirit OF the N1nders, who were his imu1n-
diatcly superior officers.
Ncrz Is mnn apparently abort forty-two
Or forty ty-three years Of age, five feet nine
inches in height, and weighing not far from
one hundred and thirty-Gvc pounds He Ia
somewhat round-shouldercd, and never walks
or stands In an erect posture, so that he mp
pears scarcely taller than men who measure
but fire feet six or seven inches. There is no
elasticity or springincss IN his step, but be
sanlhcs along as If stunning observation; and
he sometimes looks out from under the brim
OF his old silk Int as II he feared the crowd
through which he passes to and from the
place Of confinement. It gives one pride In
a. he can 70 back and forth without suffer.
Ing any insult. He wearsta cheap black cloth
coat which Is always battoncd, an old dark
vest, nnd reddish brown pants OF some ribbed
or barred stuff. His shoes nre such as are
called here office slippers slovenliness md
general untidiness seem natural to him, though
he is not specially repulsiyc on that score.
Ills hands are long, lony and f1eshless. lie
is mnch given to using the right with the first
Two fingers extended and the last two and the
thumb SLUT into the pa1m-giving him Eort
Of piim and precise air that no other nantes
tation of character he has yet made seems to
justify. The general angularity Of the man
may be due to confinement without sexcrclse,
or may be lis natural condition but tue
brown and lcathcry character Of his skin Is
clearly enough its normal condition, md
makes Ills fncc noticeable On this account Il
for no other. Hc wears full whiskcr mud
cut to about half IN inch In
length, and 60 trained as to conceal tie con-
4 IT, Ia r. :.
color. Ills head is long and narzow-high
orer the cars, wanting in the upper forehead,
deficient behind, and full about the
ears. He begins to bc bald in
frunt. His lace Is thin, angular and 1cshlcss
high and nnrrnw in tic forehead, full over
the eyes and hollow in the checks, with up
lifted eyebrows, small and shnrp nose, and
ktcn brown foreign eyes.
The man attrncts In spite OF himself
Meeting him carelessly on the street, one
would set him down Us a tinker Of watches and
man without mental capacity but of
skill. Moreover cen take you In
to the rooms Of the Coast Survey, and mitch
you Lis mir and manner and some Of his pecu.
liaflties Of action, among tho ensrayers en-.
when he would naturally bo stirred
By some feeling, and you would say
he worshippet1 the violin md was In
the orchestra Of theatre, where
lie played with passionate se1fabsorption.
Willie there is nothing pleasant or
that lie could, Of lis own choice, initiate the
system of cruelty be 60 louE and so lnerci-
Iessly practiced there. There Is no evidence
of good md worthy manhood about him, and
lic might be q great rascal Of choice; but
If he did ii would be in low
and snealing style. Tie iufamy
Il IT, Las azn achsEed s oefs efsnot ke be wholly
without conscience and untroub]ed with re.
morse. Given one or two conditions, and he
would shoot man with as little feeling rs
dog. ] doubt not lie Was ambitious Of tho
ccod will and the fellowship Of the Winders-
'athcr, son ard nephew, who were Ills superb
{, ors at the post They are of the class called
wretch who thought 1t m honor to Associate
with such fellows. They taught him that dcv-
ili6hness would be his best Recommendation.
He had no scruples to oycrcome-he could be
cruel rs easily as he could bc humane. To be
a man wonld not pay-to be a ficnd Of hell
would rny libcrally. II wonld pay in the cog
IN promised promotion, in advancement IN the
esteem Of the upper classes, in recognition
even At Richmond. So he chose to make him
sell IN incarnation OF cruelty, disdain, 1nur-
der. lie had no special love for the so-cAl1ed
Contedcracy. There Is nothing about him
Lo sLON Lnal Nue llEeu InuIuer Us
some men have. lie wns simply the ready,
supple, coarse, constituencies tool Of slavery.
II lie wasn't "nigger-tlrircr before the war
it was because no one saw his capacity for
that internal business. Thank God the day Is
done in which such as lie can crack the whip
over the shoulders Of men and women-done
in which such rs lie can locali=e hell on the
Garth!
The military commission before whom Terz
Is to be tried, Is of higher rank than even that
before which the asssssins were tried. It
one Major General, Lew Wallace,
President; three 1reyct Major Generals, Ger
sl,om Mott, John ". Gcary md Adjt. Gen
Lorenzo Thomas; two Bragadier Generals,
E.nncls Fesscnden and E. L. Bragg; one
breyct BHgadier General, John F. Ballier,
Colonel Of the 9sth Pennsylvania Volunteers;
onc brcvet Colonel, Thomas Al1cocl, of the
ltl New York Artillery; and one
[Ieutenant Colonel, J. H. Stibbs, of
Lha 18th Iowa. Col. N. F. Chipnan
oc the regular army, and Of st.. Louis, Is
Judge Advocate, With Major A. A Hosmer,
If Judge Hollis bureau, and Of Nassachu-
,ctts, as Assistant.
The trial began, and did not begin, on Mon
lay. Monday evening and Tuesday morning
Judge Holt that there were such
In the initiatory proceedings as
5tfn1a ad $hn wort- cf NanSor opd pecesst.