Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1865-02-14

t9auTed, the returning tfuce-DOdt5 were lOhutu
lown with boxes sent to Rebel prisoners from
sheir friends IN the South, and our own express
lines crowded with supplies from their sympa-
,hizels in the North. And | can only regard
the recent announcement that we may send
private boxes 10 friends and relatives in the
south az cruel de!uson. One b0S ~ tx 0r
ten may reach its destination but the rest will
supply othcers and hangets'on IN Richmond, aud
thieves along the Southern railroads generally
with ooh o and sugar al no e7perse what ytr,
anltss the leopard has changed his spos since
ne 18Th OF December.
Ihee .s proposition before Congress to
llac, tho Rebes We hold under tho charge Of
.nturned prisoners from the south. " Returned
prisoners means any body. There must be at
least htiy thousand OF chem in our military scr
nee Men isht Dc selected from them to
command our mill airy prlsons, wno would
.reit che inmates with even more lenlty than ia
now. * end.d to them. Iheu We should get
he credit, both abroad and from the Rebtls,
| i Ieta,atiug, wi hout any real retaliation.
| Or officers might be selected who would be gull
y Of the same undiscrmlnatlng crutltles that
| are now practced upon our own sOidlefs-
would starve, and ireezo, and shoot IN cold
bllod That would be precisely one Of the
| really lnhuman and unchrsuan things which
No cannot afford TO do.
! have witnessed during the war good many
scenes which have thrilled my heart bot since
tbat day when | heard the bells in Mobile ring
! ublantly. and the cannon thunder forth the
| Dy Of Treason at the fall Of Sump,er, the best
| ,hine have seen was 10 the West, upon steam
boas conveying the wounded from the field Of
Shiloh ~ northern hospitals. Their long cab
ns we're crowded with cots, where Rebel aud
Union soldiers were lying side BY side, receiving
the same comforts and the same mlnlsiratlons.
| The ladies Of Cincinnati, Chicago and st Louis,
with untrlng patience, were washing WOUNDS,
c3mbing matted locks, cooling ieyeret bfow5,
| filing the places Of absent mothers aud slstefs,
even to their words Of sympathy and kindness.
| They performed the most grateful and the most
repulsye duties Of the hospital t0r friend and
Zoe alike They forgot thai the Rebels were
enemies. and remembered lbat they were suffer
ers How gl0rIou-ly II c}ntrts'ej with the
treatment received BY our prisoner IN the south.
lshst fair day,
When pss,s sit' smiug on our hills once more
what shsll we look back to with more pleasure
than to the lab1rs Of those blessed women |
have DO ears that we can tieat our prisoners
On specaly the private todleTs-iso
kindly have no fears that It will do any
harm even 10 investigate the condition OF our
military prisons, to correct abuses ard punish
cruotes, If any exist And there seems to be
scme law Of nature By which cotrup, and cruel
men often graytate into positions Of authority
q bout prisons the world over;
But where s the remedy We seek believe
there sro two, aud only two adequate ones.
The first is an immediate general exchaDge-n0i
an exchange az the usual rate oil ohelal buel-
ness, which Will leave halt OF our prisoners 10
iie before j, reaches them-but one which shall
return to US all the Salisbury sufferers within
two weeks and every prisoner in the South
within a month.
The other il an immed ate special retaliation,
not upon the rebel private soldiers. They be-
long to the middle and poorer classes OF the
South who were never specially hostile 20 Us
who are falling cd, more and more rapidly,
from the support OF the war; who are our only
sure and u rlstworihy peaCemskeIs. Retain
tion upon them would be unayailng as well as
undeservld. The Richmond authorities care
nothing for them, except as they represent mus
kets, and often treat them almos, as bsrsMously
a. they DO our prisoners.
The Rebel officers are our effective material
Hurt them aud Redmond shrleks Almost e
a man, they belong to tina, class which brought
on The war, which controls the war, and which
in epic Of ell the wnl.e-wlnged messengers be-
tween Bangor and Oregon, will continue The
WAT, Just az long as they can keep any consld'
erAbe armies IN the field. Submission, t0l
them. means extermlnatlon-no as men bu
as the controlling ponucal and social Power o.
be South. They will fight now just as earnest
ly as eyer-uot with their old, confident eIpec
tation Of early and complete success, but with q
dogged, desperate, Micawber.llke hope that, a
In tue past, 50 10 the future, st the hour O
their EXTREMIST need, something will turn up II
their favor Let our Government, tot example
be able TO say to JED Davis " We have ee
lecIed from your officers 10 our hands the equiv
alent, US established by tue cartel, for our pri
vA,es whom yUu hold IA salisbury. We ar
slvlug thyia, ss nearly Us possible, the sam
food, the sans clJtnlug, the same fuel, and Ia,
s,me sheuec We snail continue 10 do M
unui you furnish US satisfactory evidence tha
you are giying TO our soldl,rs, as lar as you
resources VIII permit, the tTealment due L
prisoners Oi war
Wnl tn.s r,mcdy the eyill There are Is
precedsnts when may throw some light upon II
"
Flynn or tx cluou, our uoyerument did no
protest or threaten, but quietly ordered tn
, mandant at Fortress Monroe, the momeu
ho should lean that they hao carried out tn
P menace, to execute LIE and Windtr % tia
SUMNER morning ut daylight, when we leatne
of this acuon, one uproarlous and sponnneou
; shout OF delight went up IRON the inmates c
LIBBY Prison We were satisfied that the
n harp A hut nt hnaIs n Nj
. yer AM Flynn, aud they never did.
: One day last Summer the Richmond author
. ties received letter running in this wise
]. e. Learning that you have placed certain negu
d soldiers OF the United States at work on YOU
;, tortdcations under ERE, hereby inform you
d what " That protest against it," M
i q" That propose to appoint commissioners
l. adjust it, No. " That we will ratalia
: unless you stop III - No, Bat " heret
l. inform you that hdr, placed an equal numb'
J. of your officers ut w0TK on my iorhhcauoi
e under fire, and shall keep them there TILL 20
P. extend to the negro soldiers the treatment DIT
y to prisoners ul war. And have the honor
Is be, sir, your obedent servant, Benjamin } Bu
III tier, Mai Gen. Commanding. Before th
N days sun went down IN Richmond the negro
Al were put back in Libby Prison, with the 9th
n prisoners OF war and they never were plac
70 IN the notifications alterward,
e would not speak dogmatically upon Il
=, subject. know that there are emoarra,smer
III a tending it and that no mans ipse dirit c
IS, afford certain solution OF the problem. B
e there s no time for delay. Our Salisbury prise
TO ers die at the rate Of IL per cent mouth. Tn
ID. enlist in the Rebel army--driyen there by hu
Ter ger and cold-at an equal rate. Aside IRON
nd considerations OF humanity, as portion OF 0
be military poyer they are heinz extiupuiphed