The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1868-09-18
surpassed at Savannah.

/ transit to about three thousand. The
4 mortality amongst those who were de-
livered alive during the following
/ three months was equally frightful.
But why was there this delay he
/ tween the summer and November in
sending transportation for sick and
! wounded, for whom no equivalents
were asked? Were Union prisoners
made TO suffer in order to aid the pho
tographs ''in firing the popular heart
! OF the North ~
".
/ In the summer of 1861. in c0nse-
/ quence of certain information commu-
nicated to me by the Surgeon General
/ Of the Confederate States as to the de-
! ficiency of medicines, offer to make
/ purchases ofmedicineS from the United
/ States authorities, to be used exclusive
/ ly for the relief of Federal prisoners.
/ offered to pay gold, cotton, or tobac-
/ co for them, and even two or three
/ prices, if required. At the same time
! [ gave assurances that the medicines
would be used exclusively in the treat
4 ment Of Federal prisoners ; and more
! over agreed, on behalf of the COnfeder-
| ate States, if it was insisted on, that
such medicines might be brought into
! the Confederate lines by the United
/ States surgeons, and dispensed by
! them. To this offer [ never received
/ any reply. Incredible is this appears,
! it is strictly true.
V.
/ General John +. MulfOrd is PERSONAL
/ ly cogniZant Of the truth of the most, if
! not all the facts which have narrated.
! He was connected with the cartel from
| its date to the close OF the war. During
/ a portion of the time he was Assistant
/ Agent of Exchange on the part of the
/ United States. | always found him to
| bean hon0rableand truthful gentleman.
/ While he discharged his duties with
| great fidelity to his own Government,
he was kind and 1 might almost say,
tender to confederate prisoners. With
| that portion of the correspondence with
! which his name is connected, he is, of
course, familiar. He is equally so with
| the delivery made at Savannah, and its
attending circumstances, and with the
offer | made as TO the purchase of medi-
| cines for the Federal sick and wounded.
appeal TO him for the truth of what
have written. There are other Federal
colorbOrati0ns to portions Of my state
/ ments. They are found in the report
of Major General B. T. Butler to the
Committee on the Conduct of the War
About the last of March, 1864, ! had
several conferences with General Butler
at Fortress Monroe in relation TO the
difficulties attending the exchange of
prisoners, and we reached what we
both thought a tolerably satisfactory
| basis
The day that l left there General
Grant arrived. General Butler says he
communicated to him the state of the
negotiations, and "mOSt emphatic YER
bal directions were received from the
Lieutenant General not to take any
step by which another abie-bOdled man
should be exchanged until further or
ders from him - and that on April 80,
1864, he received telegram from Gen
erai Grant, "tO receive all the sick and
wounded the Confederate authorities
may send you but send no more in eX-
change" Unless my recollection fails
me, General Butler also, in an address
to his constituents, substantially de-
clared that he was directed in his man
agement of the question Of exchange
with the Confederate authorities, TO
put the matter Extensively, for the pur-
pose of preventing an exchange.
IB ldtt- " tiItII L nay Z StdNGt al Z E1Al
so we'll known to the officers connected
with the Confederate bureau of EX-
change.
At one time thought an excellent OPP
pOrtunity was afforded of bringing
some Of them to the attention Of the
country. | was named by poor WirZ
as a witness in his behalf. The sum-
mons was issued by Chipman, the
Trrg1rra Il of N{iIi+ary- ('rr-t
/ Obeyed the summons, and was in at
tendance upon the Court for some ten
days. The investigation had taken
wide range as to the conduct of the
Confederate and Federal Governments
in the matter of the treatment Of prisO-
neTs, and | thought the time had come
when I could put before the world
these humane offers Of the Confederate
authorities, and the manner in which
they had been treated. ! so expressed
myself more than once-perhaps too
publicly. But il was a vain thought.
Early in the morning of the day on
which [ expected to give my testimO-
ny, | received a note from ChipDlan,
the Judge Advocate, requiring me to
surrender my subpoena. | refused, as
ii was my protection in Washington.
Without ii the doors of the Old Capt.
tOl might have opened and closed upon
me. | engaged, however, to appear
before the court and did 50 the same
morning. | still refused to surrender
my subpoena, and theTeupon the Judge
Advocate endorsed on it these words:
"Ihe within subpoena Is hereby reVO-
voked the person named is dischar-
gcd from further attendance" l have
got the curious document before me
now, signed with the name of \. i.
Chipman, Colonel" &c. / intend
to keep it, if | can, as the evidence Of
the first case IN any court, Of any sort,
when a witness who was summoned
for the defence was dismissed byHe pros
ecution. | FASTENED to depart, conf
dent that Richmond was a safer place
for me than the metropolis.
Some time ago a committee was ap-
pointed by the House of Representa-
tives to investigate the treatment of
Union prisoners in Southern prisons.
After the appointment of The commit
tee-IOn. Mr.. ShankS, of Indiana, be-
ing its chairman wrote to the Hon.
Charles A. Elridge and the Hon. Mr..
Mungen the latter a member OF the
committee some of the facts herein de-
tailed Both of these gentlemen made
an effort to extend the authority of the
committee, so that it might inquire in
to the treatment Of prisoners North as
well as South, and especially that it
might inquire into the truth Of the
matter which | had alleged AL these
attempts were frustrated by the Radi
cal majority, although several of the
party voted to extend the inquiry. As
several thousand dollars Of the money
of the people have been spent by
this committee, will not they demand
that the investigation shall be thor
ough and impartial? The House of
Representatives have declined the in
quiry; let the people take it up.