Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1865-08-16

ulatlons, under 70 moral CT restraints
influences IF the remnant who wer
finally allowed to pass out Of this militia,
Golgotha were not wild Beasts, rlMashed
befcilcd devils, no thanks arc to be gi1er
10 Henry Wirz for lack Of efforts to pro
duce such contamination.
When it rained, as it does in that eli.
mate almost continually during The spring
and fall months, the soil within the enclos.
urc was one mass of loblolly, soft mud,
at least fifteen inches IN depth, through
which stalked and staggered the gaunt,
half clad wretches thus confined. Tie
stencil from the prison could be perceiped
for t,co miles, and farmers hrag ii the
neighborhood began to fear for the heaith
Of their families. alt y.ar
As consequence of This, the hospi
tals-facetious was Wirtz in his horrible
humani.y-were crowded to repletion
with the emaciated, starved and DIS
eased men who we're trundlsd itto them
The hospitals were constructed Of logs,
urhewed, the interstices untitled and open
admitted the rain, without floors, cots,
hunks OF blankets, filthy and fetid with
the fostering, putrid bodies Of the sick,
the dying and the dead. Words fail, Ian
guaEe is impotent t, describe one Of these
dens Of disease and death. l once mus
TERED The courage, impelled by the earn
est eutreaties Of q northern friend, to
enter ono of them, to visit one who was
tenderly reared, and walked in the best
ranks Of Connecticut sbciety. l believed
] had seen besote this, wha, I deemed
to be human wretchednesa in its worst
forms. I thought that I could nerve
myself to witness mortal agony and
wretehedness, aud desr;tutiod, as I lad
heard i: described, xithott blanckiig, or
trembling, but if the condensed horrors
of 3 hundred "tlack holes" had been
brought before my mind to prepare me
for the ordeal, they would have failed to
realize the facts as I saw them face to
face.
/ csrrot, n 1 daily paper, read b. in
rocence aud virtue, detail what met nv
sight on the occasion l refer to. l will
not polite any page, save the records of
the court thst must t.y the culpfit for
the crime Of torture by disease and filth,
with the details of that caravausary Of
horrible, intentional slaughter For fear
that some may think have exaggerated,
an episode here will perhaps dispel such
illusion. Convinced BY the horrible fact
that vas disgusting stencil in his nos
trils, Gen. Winder, then Commissary
General of Prison, but having his Head
quarters at Andersonyillc, was forced by
aecency not humanity, for this he himself
asserted, to ask the all of the Presiding
Elder Of the Methodist Church of the cir
cult to adopt some :nears TO alleviate the
miseries and soothc the 'gretchedness Of
tie poor inmates Of that Andersouyille
hospital. This gentleman invoked the
cooperation Of the women of Sumter
county, who responded with clothing and
necessaries oni5, f6r those alone we're al
lowed, to the amount Of four wagon loads.
Upon the day appointed, four ladies', accom-
panied BY their husbands, vent to the
prison, and sought from the Provost Mar
shall pass to take their benefactiOns to
the sick prisoners. Il 'cos refused uM
a curse The party proceeded to Win.
der's Headquarters, where Henry Wirtz
was in company With The General. The
denand FOR pass was tepsatsd. Tn.
derstand the ladies we're present, end the
reasons given why the party were there,
in accordance with Winder's special re-
quest. To their astonishment they were
met with this reply;
Cd d-n you, nave you all turn.
ed Yankees here?
mo, General" responded the spokes-
man Of the party, 81 am not, as you
know, nor are any here present; We have
coifte as you requested US, through the
Rev. Mr.. D, to bring the necessary
stticles for the Federal hospitals, and ask
a pass for the purpose of delivering
them"
'Is's c Id iie I never gave per.
mission for anything of the kind' Be off
with you, all Of you!'
As if this fearless display of MARTA!
vaio+ aud gentlemanly bearing YVES not
sufficient, Henry Tirr sss.ysd to and
eclipsed his Generals profanity and iude-