Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1867-04-19

mt
Torturers Of snc Prisoners at Anderson
| xjI,.-Prcpo.aI of the Confederate AH-
fI,ortttes {. Surrender them "itho"t
Equivalent, s>t., sc.
WASHINGTON, ID. c., April Z, 1867.
To tie Editors ofHto Wig:
Please publish the enclosed advance
proof in yUur valuable paper.
With the highest regards,
Your most oh Strvt,
LOUIS SCHADE,
Attorney nj Law.
r. Mv Aucric,l> People,:
Intending 10 leave the United States for
some time, [ feel it luy duty, before | start,
to fulfill in part u promise winch, Il few
hours before his death, l gave to my I'LL
Fortunate client, Captain NlrZ, who Was
; executed 1t Washington, Oh the l0tl day
Of November, 1860. Protesting up to the
last lnumCnt his innocence OF those mon
struus crinlct with which he wits charged,
he received my word. that, having failed
to save: him from IL ielon's doom, would,
Al long as | lived, ITO everything Ill 1iy
power 10 clear his memory. | did that the
more rcadil<, IT'S | Was then already per
fectlv convinced that he suffered wrong
fuIlv Since that time his unfortunate
children, both here aud III Europe, have
/ constantly nlplorcd me to wipe out the
! terrible stains which now cover the name
of their father. Though times do not scom
! propitious for obtaining full Justice, yet,
considering that nlal. IS mortal, Will, be-
fore entering upon pefilous voyage, per-
form my duty to those innocent orphans
and also to myself
I will now give Il brief statement of the
causes which led to the arrest and cXecu-
ton OF Captain WirZ. In April, 1863,
| President Johnson issued proclamation
stating that, from evidence in the posses
sion OF the - Bureau OF Military Justice .
it appeared that Jefferson Davis was i'm
plicated in the assassination of Abraham
! Lincoln, and for that reason the President
offered a reward OF 500, 900 on the capture
OF the then fugitive eX-Prcsident Of The
Southern Confederacy. That testimony
has since been found to be entirely false
and mere fabrication, and the suborner
! Conover is now under sentence i'll the jail
OF this city, the two periurers, whom he
sIbOrned, having turned States evidence
against him, whilst the individual, by whom
Conover was suboIned, has not yet been
brought to Justice.
Certain high and influential enemies of
Jefferson Davis, either then already aware
Of the character Of the testimony Of those
witnesses, or not thinking their testimony
quite sufficient to hang Jefferson Davis,
expected to find the wanting material i'll
the terrible mortality of Union prisoners,
at AndersonVille. Orders were issued ac
cordingly to arrest q subaltern officer, Cap
tain Wirz, IL poor, friendless, and wounded
prisoner of wal, (he being included i'll the
surrender of General Johnston,) and be-
sides a foreigner by birth. On the 9TH OF
May lie was placed in the Old Capitol Pris-
! l,ot% !,
greater part of the Northern press was
busiIy engaged in forming the unfortunate
man in the eyes of the Northern people
into such monster that it became almost
impossible for him to obtain COUNSEL
Even his countryman, the Swiss Consul
General, publicly refused to accept money
to dcfray the expenses of the trial He was
doomed before he was Aeard-and oven
the permission to be heard according to
law was denied him. To increase the On
element and give eclat to the proceeding,
and to intlame still more the public mind,
the trial took place under the very dome Of
the Capitol of the nation. \ military COM
mission, presided over by one Of the most
arbitrary and dospotic generals i'll the
country, was formed, and the paroled pris-
oncr of war, his wounds still open, and SO
feeble that he had to recline during the
trial on a sofa, carried before the same
How that trial was conducted, the whole
world knows. The enemies of generosity
and humanity believed it then to be Il sure
thing to get at jeff. Davis.
! Therefore, the first charge was that Of
conspiracy between Wirz, Jefferson Davis,
Seldom, Howell Cobb, r. Is. Winder, and
a number of others, to kill the Union pris-
oners. The trial lasted for three months,
but unfortunately for the blood thirsty in
stigators not a particle Of eyidcnce was pro-
duced showing the existence of such u
conspiracy vet Captain Wirz was found
guilty of that charge! Having thus failed
another effort was made On the night be-
fore the execution Of the prisoner It tele
gram WAS sent to the Northern press from
this city, stating that Wirz had made i'm
portant disclosures to General L. {. Baker,
the we'll known detective, duplicating JET
ferson Davis, and that the confession would
probably be given to the public. On the
samo evening some parties came to the
, confessor Of Wirz, Rev. Father Boyle, and
also to me, one Of them informing mo that
Il high Cabinet officer wished to assure
Wirz that ii he would implicate Jefferson
Davis with the atrocities committed at An
! CorsonYiile, his sentence would be cOmmu-
ted. He, the messenger, OF who ever he
vas, requested me to inform Nirz OF this.
In presence Of Father Boyle [ told Wirz,
next morning, what had happened, The
Captain simply and quietly replied Mr..
Schade, you know that [ have always told
you that | do not know anything about
jefferson Davis. He had 40 connection
with me as to what was done at Anderson
vile. If | know anything of him would
not become traitor against him or any
body else, cyon to save my life He like
wise denied that he had made ally state
mcnt whatever to General Baker. Thus
ended tho attempt to suborn Captain Wirz
against Jefferson Davis. That alone shows
what o man he was. How many of his de-
famers would have done the same With
his wounded arm in sling tho poor pa
rolled prisoner mounted, two hours later,
the scaffold. His last words were that he
died innocent-and SO he did. The 10th
day of November, 1866, will indeed be a
black stain on the pages of American his
tory.
TO weaken the effect of his declaration
of innocence, and of the noble manner in
which Wirz died, telegram was manu-
featured here and sent North, stating that
on the 9th day of October, Mrs Wirz,
(who actually was 900 miles on that day