The Norfolk post. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 1865-1866, 1865-08-31
Jl1e Nartolk gost.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 81, 1865.
THE WIRZ TRIAL.
MORE EVIDENCE OF CRUELTY
The Prisoners Counsel Retire.

and taking S150in gold and $3.50 in green |
backs, and breastpin and ring, which |
were never returned. He saw Wirz kill |
Il weak prisoner, by shooting him with |
n revolver, merely because he asked to |
go out to take IL little fresh air. The
witness, for demonstrating against this |
act of cruelty, was fastened with ball |
and chain, but got loose and made his |
escape.
Robert II. Kellogg had seen hundreds
of prisoners come in, who had been rob-
bed of blankets before entering the stock
ade; when the new stockade was built, |
the prisoners, about thirteen thousand |
in number, We're told that if they did not |
pass through the opening (about ten feet |
i'm diameter) in one hour anda half they |
would lose their blankets.
Boston Corbett, sworn-Witness was |
captured near Centreville, Virginia, and |
was taken to Andersonville in July,
1861 on arriving at Andersonville the |
witness was verythirsty, and asked fora
drink of water; the man replied that he
did not dare to give it after entering the
stockade witness found nine men of his
own company in two months six of the
nine died and before leaving twelve
out of fourteen of the party died the
dead line was a slight made railing
witness should judge about twelve or
fifteen feet from the stockade where the
stream ran through the fence the rail-
ing was broken down and witness saw a
number of men shot there who were
crowded over in getting water the hor-
rors of the prison were SO great that one
man deliberately crossed the dead line
4 for the purpose of being shot, and was
| killed; witness thought he would do the
|! same thing; a number of other men
were shot by the guards in the stockade;
the prison was very horrible on account
| of the filth the stencil from the swamp
| was so terrible that il was a source of
! wonder in the prison that they did not
all die; the swamp was in some places
living mass of maggots and putrefaction
TO the depth of foot the men were
living abOut in a state ofutter destitutiou,
unable to help themselves, and with
their sores filled with maggots one man
died from lice, which covered him
| like garment the Sergeant of de-
iaehment received a double ration,
| hit that was insufficient; the only
! medicine witness ever got was called
| vinegar, made from iron water and sour
| meal. the sick, who were carried outside
of the prison, were laid in a row inside
of railing just outside the stockade,
| where the surgeons picked out one or
two from the twenty or thirty sick from
! each squad; some of the men who car
ried ont the dead were allowed to bring
| in wood. which they sold to the other
! prisoners: the water that ran through
4 the stockade was generally extremely
| filthy, though sometimes clear; there
were a great many away from the stream
| who could not get to it, and a great
| many died by the side of it; the suffer
inside of the prison was not allowed to
sell food to the prisoners, except onions,
and some such things; small onions sold
at from twenty-five to fifty cents apiece
hounds were Kept for hunting the pris-
oners who escaped; in October, 1864,
witness escaped and secreted himself !;
heard the man in pursuit OF him, and
afterwards heard the dogs, which soon
found him, and stayed yelping by him
till the men came up; the captors treat.
ed witness kindly, and said that the old
captain (Wirzj had told them to make
III e dogs tear him when they got back
tn the prison, Captain WIZ asked the
conto, why he had not made the dogs
FOO v,it,, ess the captor, who had been
, s'risnnn, ,',imself, and wished to favor
witness. rep,. ed that he reck,oned the
- Ia i,,irt !, i'm enough, and the wit
30 I n.,u cont hao. to the st0cllade.
Tbe honr Of ono !, aving arrived, the
Court took a reeess fin two o'clock, !.
Upon the reassembline Of the Court,
witness resumed-Saw n ID - Il
cases of scurvy; witness suffer. dnI| -
from iG; the feet swelled up, the IL CT
the ankles contracted, aud the tha
grew over the gums and roof Of -
mouth; in October three hundred ne
were taken from the stockade To WORK
ON a building outside the prison; had
the same number been permitted TO 90
out after timber they would soon have
secured enough to build shelter for all
the prisoners the sick We're kept in an |
open shed, and were fed with beans and
molasses; the dead sometimes Were so |
numerous that if they were piled up like
cord wood, they would make several |
cords; witness suffered great deal from |
hunger.
Cross-examined by Mr.. Baker-Wit- |
ness did not know the name OF the |
sutjer; the sutlership was under the
charge of Union prisoners; the suit /
Ter was allowed to go outside for goods,
and brought them in wagon witness
saw maggots in food that was given
him; saw them in sores and in the mire,
11lUil anu SWdthpS Siouiiu W tilc SGfttlIli |
witness did not know the name of the |
man who was with the dogs that recap
tured him while witness was being re-
moved from the ears to the stockade in
the night he heard a man fall behind
him and Capt. Virus voice abusing
some one also heard the sound of blows.
s. ID. Brown, swOrn-Was captured at
Plymouth, \. G., and reached Ander-
on the 18th of August, 1861
while in the prison witness went up to
the gate to send letter to his mother
while at the gate one-legged soldier
came up to the gate and asked the sentry
to send for Captain Wirz the sentry
called the Captain, who came up the
cripple asked Captain Wirz for permis-
sion to go out; Captain WirZ turned to
the sentry and said, "Shoot the d--n one
legged Yankee devil :" the sentry fired,
blowing off the mans lower jaw, and |
killing him; the sentry was taken down |
from the platform, where he was on |
duty, and, report said, got thirty days |
THROUGH witness saw hounds there, |
and also saw a man who had attempted
to escape, and who had been torn by the |
dogs; frequently saw Capt. Wirz riding |
around with the dogs, looking after pris-
oners who might have escaped; witness
ras robbed of his watch and S175 when
he was put in the prison the prisoners
were deprived of food from the lst to the