New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1866-03-14

shocked at the sight They were ready 10 sam every
thing that we lad thought or They dld not tink
however, that Mr. Davis knew anything about IT. bui
you would have supposed, TO have beard them taik h
old Gen. WInder was answerable for every crime anc
Dhumanity ever committed In the Confederacy ana ~
fortunately dead and harm could be done &c
him They control everything there. There was every
reason why of them should tell me the truth, and
there was a strong personal reason why they should
falsify me- and l took IL so. They were as saw,
"makinC friends of the mammon Of unrightc0usness'
read at once what their standing was and what thei!
fears were SO have no idea that got any truthful
expressions from white people there
o Did Won examine the prison ground at Anderson.
ville' A. did, very thoroughly every men OF ground
used. ,
O. OF course you found i'll diffcut to discover any
trace of the barbarities pracced theref " VI course
there were no prisoners then but the appearance
of the whole ground sufficient evidence, consider
ing the number Of prisoners who had been mere a"
Der Of could be kept within the Enclosure wlthou'
the most intense suffering.
O. Was the Enclosure standing when you were ttere'
A. Yes Sir; it is stockade formed OF pine trees =
feet long and from foot to foot and halt through
five six feet in the ground close together and
pointed at the top
% to 81 acres more less IL had been much less 81
one time; it originally only ii acres; but they
found it impossible, prisoners were constantly sehi
there TO keep them in that space and the sockade Wa
increased by the size that they called % had
measured while was there, and made it some - OF
20 acres.
Q. Do you know how many prisoners they had there
al any one time during the Wari a. From 3d. 600 10
$1,000.
O. How was the Enclosure provided with wateri A.
SLOW small sluggish stream runs through nearly Tue
of III the ground unbroken woods when they
commenced 10 neose il; two round bills are close 10
gether and between them runs little brook formed o.
springs for the whole land there Is sprlngy, ana
wherever two hills meet anywhere in that country, u
brook between hem little stream like that ran
between these two hills; as saw 1t IN the summer one
could almost have walked through with common hlgh
shoes without wettng the feet; STILL with rain it rose
very rapidly this stream ran through from west 10
cast and at the head OF IT, just outside oil the stocka1e
they placed the cook house and bakehousc FOR tn
prisoners for the guards and for all every inquiry
from both these houses thrown out. washed directly
| into the stream. and went Immediately into the
stockade and that all the water the prisoners had
10 use saw grease and refuse matter still adhering 70
the OF the grass which grew upon the BANKS
which had run down and lodged there the tme tnls
was some months AFTER and can judge from that wat
il must have BEEN
O. You say the current was sluggish, slow A. Very
slow
o. Was tue ground along the immediate banks Of
that stream muddy and loose. hardt A. IL is the
red clay which is so chan geabe IN It's nhtuiei was
very hard in dry weather almost rock, but still
the least rain softened It; It became son. slippery,
deep, and washed and quilted to almost any depth.
q. Wasthat the character Of the soil IN all the lot
} A. Yes Sir.
O. What continuance had there been there for tie
protection Of the prisoners from the rain the sun and
The stormsi A. There few sheds with simply
q covering over the tops, bat no sides on the top OF
either hill but have been told by prisoners that At
first there were none OF them and that the last rye
erected few weeks before the stockade was aba'
doned: may almost say that there was no proteo'
lion; some Of the men had blankets and some OF them
had the little shelter tent they put these together as
well as they could. and gathered under themi there
was other protection.
+ o Were there no other means OF procuring water
for the prisoners except from these springs, A. Yes
Sir; Sweet Water Creek, which is ID feet vide and
feet deep within pstoshot Of what was the olG
hospital.
q. How near to the inclosurei A. The old hospital
just outside OF tue Enclosure, at the south END o.
the stockade
F, O. Dbl yOu understand whether the prisoners were
or were not allowed TO procure water from Sweet
Water Greek A. Oh they could not nave procured IT,
\ O. DO you know whether they were permitted, a.
They not permitted 10 go outside OF the stocsade
o. Why did not their keepers allow them to procure
fresh water on Sweet Water Creek A. That l.
matter about which | am not informed; i can Only
speak of the probabilities 1t is probable that the oc
hospital may have had such arrangement, but the
prisoners within the stockade should think could not
nave mad
o. Were the prisoners IN any way, either by them
selves or keepers supplied with water from Sweet
Wafer Greek or from any other soureef A. Ihat Is
question which cannot answer and must not attempt
bui | can send to you person who Goes KNOW VIC
prisoner all the time, and who can answer the
question.
ure, A. There was one grave marked one spot o.
earth against which there was board which showed
that a buried there's that was All that saw
! O. Where were the dead buried, 4. They were
buried from three % four hundred yards IRON the stocA
ade in a piece OF ground which had formerly been al
o. Describe as well as you can the mode of their
burial, A. They were buried in trenches from 100 &c
10 feet in length.
o. How deep were the trenches A. We could rot
see as no trench was opened while were there but
/ supposed they sufficiently deep for the comfort
and safety of the persons who were about there iof
there were 1900 Rebel guards there; presume the
bodies buried sufficiently deep for practical puF-
poses
was probably the number Of prisoners who died
there ard were buried 4. There are II 800 near Or
| can estimate it, whose graves arc marked in some
way and know Of no others: we have no traces 81
any more; they lack a few OF 1900 and we have ne
1 knowledge of there being any more there.
! o. Was the monster Winder there during the whole
time until the stockade taken possession ofby the
Union troops, A. l cannot say al what time be lett
they pointed ont quarters 10 me which tney sau nae
been his residence.
q. Were the dead buried in any other place except
the old church yard A. Only such as died OF SINAI
pox; half mile from there they had small pox hos
pital and burying ground ., -. ,
! Q. Part of your mission there was to identity the
| deads a. Yes.
O. How did you identify them A. There was
numbered board placed At the heads OF the men as they
lay in the trenches.
o. Simply numbered A. Yes Sir; the trench was
dug continuously, and the carried out from
the hospital paper pinned the breast Of each
specifying his name, company and regiment, space wac
only allowed for the body the arms being land over IL
the body was laid in the paper was taken OF ailc
placed IN the hands OF man whose buslnes u was &c
receive and keep IL carefully putting In Its rcgua
order after the that before never changing
its position and until all were laid in for the day
and covered up; then he went with the papers to The
Young who kept the death register and laid then
down face downwards in which order they were regis
tered in the book and numbered; then the board was
numbered corresponding with those numbers and they
were placed in regular order in the cemetery.
q. So that the Identification would depend upon the
accuracy of the correspondence between the nuntei
given to the clerk and the number on the board at the