The New York herald., 1867-04-09
CAPT. wial AND THE AN9easeMville PRISON.
Attempt TO Whl,ewash the Memory Of wirz
nv Ills Cougsel.

To rax Axra,c,y Pro-LE:-Iutending 70 leave the
Uped States for time feei 4 my duty before start
DEATH gave 10 my unfortunate client, Captain wlrz.
who was executed AZ Washington on the 10th day Of
cs ssoss mons.rus 81 c.mes With which hs
charged he received my word that, having fid 70
save him from felon's doom, would - long as
did that the more readily - was then already
perfectly convinced thai ne suffered vrongfulIy
Since that time his unfortunate children, both
here and IN Europe have Constantly implored me 10
wipe out the terrible stains which cover the name
OF their father Though times do not seem proptioos
mortal. viii, before entering upon perous voyage
perform my duty to those innocent orphans and also 70
will now give brief statement OF the causes which
led TO the arrest and execution Of CAPITA wirz In
April, 1885, President johnson issued proclamation
stating that from evidence In the possession OF the
''Bureau OF Military Justice. appeared that Jefferson
Davis was implicated 10 the ASSASSINATION OF Abraham
reward ana ON epa o. en'ss the
then fugitive OF President Of the Southern Con.
&c Ss sn has since
the suborner Conovcr Is under sentence In tho Jail
Of this city the two perurers whom he su6orned hay
by whom Conover was saborned has not yet been
brought to justice.
Davis either then already Of the character Of the
testimony of those witnesses not thinking their tss
mony quite sadicen. Q hang Jsn Davis expected ic
Union prisoners at Andersonville Orders issued
accordingly TO arrest subatsrn oicer, Captain Wrz,
included in the surrender OF General Johnston and
sides a foreigner by. birth On the IN q
prison :. washington, and from that time he
greater part Of Northern press busy engaged
me unfortunate man 10 ,hs eyes Q, ine Northern
sible for him TO obtain counsel. Even his countryman
the Swiss Consul General, publicly refused TO accept
doomed before he was heard, and the permission
TO be heard according TO law was denied him. To in
and TO nilame still mora the public mind, the trial took
place under the very dome OF the capitol OF the nation
over m bs one o.
formed, and the paroied prisoner of war, his wounds
still open aud SO feeble that he had to reciine during
the trial on sofa carried before the same How that
trial was conducted the whole world knows The enc
mics Of generosity and humanity believed 1t then 70 be
q sure thing to get at JEFF Davis
Therefore, the first charge that OF conspiracy be-
tween Wirz, Jefferson Davis. Seldom, Howell Cobb,
prisoners The tria lasted for three months but unfor
tunatey for the boodthirsy nsgators not particle OF
evidence was produced showing the existence Of such
conspiracy; vet Captain Wirz was found guilty Of that
charge' Having thus failed another effort was made.
On the night before the execution OF tho prisoner ee
gram sent TO the Northern press from this city stat
ing that wirz had made important disclosures to General
L. q. Baker, the we'll known detective implicanng Jef
Davis and that the confession would probably be given
70 the public On the same evening some parties came 70
the confessor OF Wirz, Rev. Father Boyle, ana also
high Cabinet officer wished to wrz that If he
would impcae Jefferson Davis With the atrocities com
m;ttsd at Andersonvilie his sentence would bss re.
muted He, the messenger or whoever bresence OF
qnested me TO inform WIrx of thIsr what had han
Father Boyle told wirz next P6uiety replied, 'Mr
hsde vn ne hs always told yon that do
not know anythinSs what was done at Anderson.
connection conn -Hsw anything Of him would not become
tran he likewise denied that he had made any state
ment whatever e General Baker Thus ended the at
alone shows what man he was. How many OF his do.
fsmers would have done the samef With his wounded
" sng the pSCr mounted two
died innocent.and 20 he did The 10th day Of Novem-
ber 1895, will indeed be black stain the pages Of
To wsaken the effect Of his declaration Of iunocence
and Of the noble manner In which wirz died, telegram
nine hundred miles on that day away om washnsson),
General l. G. Baker from poisoning her husbaudl Thus
on the same DAY when the unfortunate family lost their
sd asa 20 bcs saG % s
day branded the whole ~ an infamous lie; and since
then never heard Of 4 again though i emanased from
All those who were charged with having eonspirsd
with Captain wlrz have been released except JEFF
ehlOn Captain %lnSer wss l.s 90 oa Without trial. % .ns
no%y cSy a srsnv ons os them have Sss. do ,os
Captain wirz could not conspre alone. nobody viii now
in view Of that Important fact consider him guilty OF
As to charge No 2-io-wt murder IN violation Of the
laws and customs Of warI do not hesitate to declare
during Ss S de-
dered nor killed any Union prisoners With MS own hands
Or otherwise Az those Witnesses !ao0a, twelve 70
kill prisoner have sworn falsely, abundant proofs
OF that assertion being in existence. The
Of war; He would certainly have at least init mated to
knowledge OF the alleged murders with which no
was charged In most all cases the alleged
murdered men could be given, and whore IL done,
such persons could be identified The terrible scene
nd fbo nttp ipxa hQ maj
who killed certain Union prisoner which irritated the
prisoner much that he almost tainted, will still be
alone knows what the poor innocent prisoner must have
suffered at that moment That scene depicted and
illustrated In the Northern newspapers as IL Wrz had
broken down ON account OF hts guilt. Seldom has
mortal suffered more than that frendless and forsaken
Fearing lest this communication viii be too long will
merely speak OF the principal and most intelligent OF
those false witnesses who testified to individual murder
on the part OF Captain wrz. upon his testimony the,
Judge Advocate in his final argument laid partIGS
stress account or hts intelligence This wltpc.ncn
pared also pictures Of the alleged cruelty Of record
handed the Commission and arr scrtrn mus
copies OF which appeared at the nne vas es,a ae y
1aod pape,, ne srS,e that ,e %fssr having 80
srsndn.phsw q MARQUIS sch zeal be received re-
well testified and slk day OF Ocsoasr before ,he
commennaastHe com testimony was concluded he was
This occurred while Witnesses s. 81: for 11;s Ss
defence Duncan) arrested ID >pen ceart and pIaced
II rsoDw wss ns0rs rome NJ o the S
nicd in de Ia Baume doscrter from 10 seventh New
Baame, but Felix ooscr native Of ssxon They went
to secretary Harlan, aud he dismissed the hposter and
,mnortant witness the Wirz trial on the ss or NJ
vcmber eleven days after the execution h6Ssr vnc
Il acquainted with the Conover testimony,in conse
ouence OF which the President OF he United sates
falsely induced to place reward $ioo0W poa the
head OF an innocent man. will bo ftonshed nfhe above
disclosures OF the character OF testimony efors the
! Military Commissions 30 mucnPr charge IL lh
/ II from twelve 70 fifteen wnfsses cou % found
who were willing 70 testify 10 so fany acts murder on
the part Of wrz, there must ceriny havosen no lack
| or such who were willing 70 sYar 10 nfW onencea
such was the unnatural state OF pubic ml against the
| prisoner At that time that SUD men Ssrded thcm. !
selves, and were regarded, m hdces ay having test-
ned in the manner above descrqd ", On tne other
| hand the witnesses for the d9uss ~ I'M 'imidated,
| particularly after one Of them Mnsneea.csied
| But who Ii responsible for hsiphs,wvs wse that wore
lost at Andersonvilc and igJtsIed bns 4, sonsf That
question las been fulf thoss esory will tell
on whose heads ss & isptt iced Il Vas necaombs