Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1867-08-09
From the National Intelligencer.
A COGENT AND EARNEST EPIsTLE.

recently received a letter from him. with
full PERMISSION rs will be seen, to print it,
We avail ourselves of that permission, not
| that there is much new Ill the letter, but
| because it is an earnest, Outspoken prOduc-
| ton from a man of honor and truthful
ness, that commands attention and respect
We are not less amazed than ashamed and
humiliated to see the gradual accessions of
| testimony establishing what we have hated
| to believe, and, therefore, could not for q
long period give full credence to, viz: that
the recommendations of furious fanatics for
naltreating rebel prisoners to countervail
the cruelties practiced at Andersonville,
&c, were put in full force and effect. On
this head we copy from letter of d war
correspondent of the New York Tribune,
who was a prisoner i'll the South. It is
Radical authority for what WIS charged,
that our own Government was responsible
for the wretchedness, suffering, and NOR
tality at Andorsonvilic. We quote as fol-
lows:
Lately Mr. Charles A. Dana, alluding, in
the journal of which he is the editor-in-
chief, to a statement in my recently pub
lished volume-'' Four Years in Secessia -
that Edwin M. Stanton is responsible for
the failure to exchange the thousands of
prisoners of war held in the South, avoid
ed the question at issue, and entered into
an elaborate explanation to show that the
twenty months detention in captivity of
my confrere, Mr.. Albert D. Richardson,
and myself was in no manner attributable
to the Secretary of War. Meth of the cor
respondents of the Tribune has ever n ade
any complaint, privately or publicly, Of his
long captivity; and [ should be deeply NOR
titled to suppose that any one would think
that, after we had escaped, we were so lack-
1C( n nd hI1,So Jf17o t<~
maunder or make accusations against an
officer of the Government from mere per-
sonal feeling, when tens of thousands of
captlves were perishing by systematic cru
city in the rebel prisons of the South.
''Mr. Dana, as have said, does not un-
dertake to meet the main and only impor-
tant question beyond the general and Incl
dental declaration that not one of all the pris-
oners in the South could make Mr.. Stanton
responsible for the tortures he suffered in
the South. This is simply not true as all
who had any acquaintance with the admin
istration of affairs in Washington during
two years previous to the close of the war
must, | should think, have been aware
"Mr. Richardson and myself spent nearly
week IN the National capital after our es-
cape, endeavoring to do all that was possi-
BILE for the release of the brave men in the
hands OF the enemy; and every one we met
there told the same story, that tie Secretary
Of lId7' e0as tie obstacle IN the aray Of the re-
sumption ott1e exchange.
"-u0reooe1, Gea. Butter, IN Ais speech at
LOtceN, Massachusetts,, stated positirely that lie
had been ordered by liY. Stanton to put for
a0ard tie negro question to complicate and pre-
cent the exchange. COL A B. Streight, of
Indianapolis, Indiana, fellow prisoner
with us IN the Libby, told Mr. Richard
son, after our return to freedom, that, in
an interview between the Secretary and
himself, the former declared to him tie Co..
e''1anaent could not afford to exchange able
bodied men for skeletons. Other officers and
civilians, whose names / cannot now re-
member, assured me that he had used to
them the same language in effect and
his policy and his determination until tue
clamors of the people compelled him to re-
tire from his barbarous position.
''Every one is aware that when the ex-
change did take place, not the slightest al
teratlon had Occur7 ed in the question, and
that orr prisoners might as ~eN hare been re-
Leasedt'CeIre or eighteen months before as at
the resumption of the cartel, arhich aCOmi
hare saced TO tie Republic ut least t1ceIre or
fifteen thousand heroic lives. That they were
not saved is due alone to 1h'. Edrin a.
St07aton'S peculiar policy and d0gged 0dstin0-
cy; AND AS 1 HAVE REMARKED BEFORE, He
Is UNQUEsTIoNABLg THE DIGGER OF THE UN.
NAMED GRAVES THAT CROWD THE VICINITY OF
EVERY SOUTHERN PRISON WITH HISTORIC AND
NEVER-TO- TO-BE-FORGOTTElS HORRORS.
Il regret the revival of this painful sub
ject, but the gratu;tous effort of Mr.. Dana
to relieve the secretary Of War from a re,
sponsibility he seems willing to bear, and
which merelyasa question of policy, indie
pendent of all considerations of humanity
must be regarded us of great weight, has
compelled me to vindicate myself from the
charge of making grave statements without
due consideration.
''Once for all, let me declare that have
never found fault with any one because l
was detained in prison, for [ am we'll aware
that that was matter in which no one but
myself, and possibly a few personal friends,
would feel any interest that my sole mo-
tive for impeaching the Secretary of War
was that the people of the loyal North might
k,ao,0 to wAona they tcere indebted.fo1 The col1-
bIooded and needless sacrifice Of their fathers
and brothers, their husbands and Uteir sons.
''JUNIUs HENRI BROWNE.
New York, August s, 1865"
We now subioin the letter of Mr.. Ould,
first above referred to
''RICHMoND, July Is, 1867.
''MY DEAR SIR Il have read there mark
able discussion in the House. Mr.. Ed
ridge is substantially right in what he said.
I offered early in August to deliver all the
sick and wounded prisoners we had with
out requiring equivalents for them. [
would have made the offer earlier, but for
the fact that some considerable time be-
fore had made an offer of exchange, man
for man, to which could get no response.
I waited for a response until early in Au-
gust, and failing to receive one I then
made the offer above named, at the same
time urging haste on the part of the United
States Government, as the mortality !
amongst the Federal prisoners was very
great. During the fall I again and again
urged haste, giving thesame reason. in
formed the Federal authorities that if they |
would send transportation for fifteen thou
sand men to the mouth of the Savannah |
river I would furnish that number of sick
and wounded, and that I would fill up any
deficiency with well prisoners. L did not
require corresponding delivery of our
prisoners, though [ expressed the desire !
that they might be sent. From early in
August we were not only ready, but anx-
L