The Daily empire. (Dayton, Ohio) 1865-1867, 1867-04-13
The Wirz Trial.

Fearing lest this communication VIII ne
too long, ] will merely speak of the prlnci-
pal and most intelligent Of those false wit
nesses who testified to individual murder
on the part OF Captain Wirz. Upon his
testimony the Judge Advocate tn his final
argument laid particular stress ON account
ofhis intelligence, This witness prepared
also pictures of the alleged cruelties of
WirZ, which were handed to the commits
sion and are now on record. copies of which
appeared at the time in Northern illustrat-
ed papers. lie swOre hat his name was
Felix de Ia Baume, and represented him
self as a Frenchman and Il grand nephew
of Marquis de Lafayette. Amer having so
well testified and shown so much zeal he
received n recommendation signed by the
members OF the commission. On the elcv-
enth day of October, before the taking of
the testimony was concluded, he was APP
pointed TO n clerkship In the Department
of the Interior. This occurred whilst one
of the witnesses for the defence duncan
was arrested in open court, and placed in
prison before he had testified. After the
execution of Capt. Wirz some Of TIE Ger
mans of Washington recognized In de Ia
Baume a deserteT from the 9TH New York
(Steuben) regiment. whose name was not
dc In Baume, but Felix Jeser, a native of
Saxony. They went to Secretary Harlan.
and he dismissed the imposter and import
ant witness In the Wirz trial on the 2lst of
November, eleven days after the execution.
Nobody who is acquainted with the Como
yer testimony, in consequence OF which the
President of the United States was falsely
induced to place a reward of 100000 upon
the head Of an innocent man, will be aston
ishcd ut the above disclosures of the char
acter of testimony before military commits
siOns. SO much for charge No. ii.
II from twelve to fifteen witnesses could
be found who were willing to testify to so
many acts of murder on the part of Nirz,
At H. -. 90 Ill -E
such who were willing to swear to minor
offences. such was the unnatural state Of
public mind against the. prisoner at that
time, that such men regarded themselves,
and were regarded rs heroes, after having
testified in the manner above described,
whilst, on the other hand, the witnesses for
the defence were intimidated, particularly
after one of them had been arrested.
Bat who is responsible for the many
lives that were lost at Andcrsonville, and
in the Southern prisons? That question
has not fully been settled, but history will
tell on whose heads the guilt for those sac
riticed hecatombs of human beings is to be
placed. It was certainly not the fault of
poor Captain Wirz, when, in consequence
of medicines having been declared contra
band of wal by the North, the Union pris-
oucrs died for the want of the same. How
often have we read during the war that
ladies, going South, had been arrested and
Pl".'u lltu w. 'I' N"PIloi I'N"l u! tle
Union authorities, because some quininc,
or other medicines, had been found con-
ccaled in their petticoats! Our navy pre-
vented the ingrcss of medical stores from
Nv " ",u uu' '.oHps iePT"''u!S ~
ot.olSu s.o!'s' ~" w w H"rP'Ir'
pllnatg ply slolaIs III ~ 9"uvn' mus;
~ eC"l'.Iy VI nntu'''uen uc,""Io Seunuii'
writes. September 6, 1864, from Anderson
Vile, (this letter Was produced by the Judge
huN1tatc III tne w ltI tIlai we nave
put niue more tlat the indigenous parks
dnu rools WlIn winch 10 tTG"t inc uulller-
GUS iorils OF utseasS 10 when our altehtlol
Is ualS J",cu' rui tne ttealnle,t %
Wouhus' ulcers &C. We nave llterallS hoth'
thS eAcePt Matgt; ou M"rus' Solle %
lhell' are WlIG Nun SahSrehe' aiH we are
coulpeilcu 10 oIuoul aruls aug loon quietiy
upon us rhN"Sesi not even haNlhS stlhiu'
lahts 10 support the system uiluer its ue'
pressing lnnuGlce' the article oeihS st
limited Ill supply IhaI II can ouly Oe ISSUED
lor cases uh9er tlG hnile;
ihat PROV is'ons III the 2ouIi were scare
WIN a1toIllsh mooou!' Mhei IL IelneIl
oeIeu nov Ine Mai Mas cdprieu on GENERA
oheIluah ouasIeu ~ liS oIlltial report llaI
III InI pnenNiuodl '1ilei hloie' ne ourHc'
IMo 'nouSam LII oHIns nlieu VIII Mncat an'
corn, anu an tne lhills III the Whole tract o
cOu,tly tHiI ne ucStIoS GU u l'cloI ies u
$50. - A.. IL. 49, Ill -.sl -
even 10 the poultry, tlat cPulH contribute
10 huilah sustehalcS; Anu those ucsola'
ions were r5t9atcu ia ulnereIl iparts o
the oOutn, anu thaI SO thoroughly tilaI las
mouth, TWO ears altcr tle emu ol Iiie war
congress hau 10 ppropirlate q million o
nollars, 70 save lne PeoplG0l Ihose region
from aGtual staTNatloh' me destruction o
Tallr1auS M 3Iher nlelhsol tTahSPortatloh
ny Whicn ioou coulu De suPp.leu ny aouh
ualt uIstlic!s 70 those WlIhoGI u, Increases
tue ulIlcullles Ill giving sullclehI 1904 u
our PrlsoIe[s;
Inc opnieuerate authorltles' aware Q
thelr lhaoillty 10 SUSTAIN thclr prisoner
INFORMED the Northerh agents OF tle grea
mortallty' anu urgently requested that IN
prisoners Shoulu De exchanged, even WIN
out regard TO the surplus whlch the CSl
ieuerates hau OIL the eNchahge rolls irol
former SXchahges, that Is; man lor MAJ
But our war department. ana notconsent
an exchange; Ihey ana not want To rex
GnahSe SKELETONS LOT healthy men,
flnaliy' wheh al hopes OF exchange wer
gone COloheI OuIu, tle confederate Con
missioner 0Hered, early III august lsof' |
deliver upml tne Federal SICK ana wounded
without requiring an equivalent IN return