Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1866-10-11

in advocating the election of the
Democratic candidate.
He has choseE 70 say that am
responsible.for the starvation of our
prisoners at Bell Isle and Anderson
vile, by refusing to exchange SOL
diers because the rebels did not rec
ognize the negroes in cur service as
regular soldiers.
don't propose to criticise any
body or to say who was right or who
was wrong, but / propose to state
the exact facts because it has been
widely charged against me that in
order to rescuethe negro soldiers, 1
preferred that $4,000 of our men
should starve rather than agree thst
the negro should not pe exchanged.
Whatever 1 might haye thought it
best to have done, l am, only here to-
day to say that I did not do it. The
duties of Commissioner of Exchange
were put in my hands, / made an
arrangement TO have an exchange
etfected-man for man, officer for
officer / communicated my plan to
Gen. Straight, of Indiana, who is
here to-day, and who had then just
escaped from Libby. / told him
how l proposed 70 get our negro
soldiers out of rebel kapas.
We had 10000 or thereabout Of
their prisoners. They had $4,000 ef
ours, or thereabout. 1 don't give
the exact numbers, as I quote from
memory; but these are the approx
mate numbers.
proposed to go on aui exchange
with the rebels, man for msns officer
for officer. until l got 10000 of our
men, and then | would still have had
10000 of theirs left in my hands
[ [Applause. 1 made this arrange
ment with the Confederate Commits
sioner This was on the 1st of
April, before we commenced to
move on that compaign Of 1864,
from the Rapidan to the James,
around Richmond. At that time the
Lieutenant General visited my head
quarters. and told him what had
done. He gave me certain verbal
directions. What they were l shall
not say, because lave his instruc-
tions in writing. But l sent my
proposition for exchange TO the Gov
ernment of the United States. 1t
was referred to the Lieutenant Gen
eral. He ordered me not to give
the Confederates another man in ex-
change.
photographed back to him in these
words:
"Your orders shall be obeyed, but
I assume you do not mean to inter
fere with the exchange of the sick
and wounded?"
He replied: Take all the sick
and wounded you can get; but don't
give them another man."
You can see that, even with sick
and wounded men, this system
would soon cause all exchanges to
stop.
1t did stop. 1t stopped right
there, in April, 1864. and was not
resumed until August, 1864, when
Mr.. Ould, the rebel Commissioner,
again wrote me: Eve will exchange
man for man, officer for officer" and
saying nothing about colored troops.
l laid this dispatch before the
Lieutenant General. His answer, in
writing, was, substantially: IF you
give the rebels the 80, 600 men whom
We hold, it will insure the defeat of
Gen. Sherman and endanger our
safety here around Richmond l
wrote On argument, Extensively put,
to the Confederate Commissioners,
so that they should stop all further
offers of exchange.
say nothing about the policy of
this course; l offer no criticism of it
whatever; 1 say only whether it be a
good or a bad policy, it was not
mine, and that my part in it was
wholly in obedience I'd orders from
my superior officer, the Lieutenant
General.