The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-09-16
The American Navy.
ITS DISCIPLINE AND pUNIsHMENrs.

A somewhat remarkable article has appeared
in the Springfield Republican, purporting to be
written by IAN Eye Witness" on the system of
discipline and the nature Of the punishments in
use in our navy. This article contains several
rather startling assertions Of facts, which,
whether true or false, should be generally
known. and to this end they are here repro
duced.
The Eye Witness" for example, says:-"It
Will be found that there is an almest total ignor
ance, even among the best informed officers, as
to the ends OF discipline, and more especially as
to the best methods for securing it. 1t may be
asserted, without fear of contradiction, that
nowhere in the United States, not even on the
Southern plantations In those sunny days for
which our misguided brethren still sigh were
there ever more systematic cruelties practised
than on some OF our ships OF war during the last
FIVE years.
3 "The punishments constantly inflicted
during the war, in direct violation or evasion of
the Articles for the Better Government of the
Navy were numerous and severe, and some
officers, not cruel, thought of the days OF the
cat at the gangway, and wondered whether we
have improved in abandoning IL.
"a surgeon OF ship off Charleston had his
attention called, upon joining the ship, to the
case OF a boy made permanently i'll, apparently
by being kept for hours at a time on deck, with
thiity-two pound shot tied 10 each wrist, and
running moose around his neck, and fastened in
the rigging above, so that any motion to ease
himself from the lntolerable weight would end
in strangulation if persis ted in; this punishment
being ordered by his commanding officer.
The universal place OF imprison-
ment is the brig or 'sWeat-boX,' tor 1t is the
same thing with two names. 1t is room built
in the middle of the Derth deck, closed above
and below, without windows, and ventilated
only by a few halfinch auger holes in the door,
or the sides. Although it often cont aims four
men at once, it is rarely large enough to allow
full-groWn man to stretch out on the floor.
Yet here men pass their weary days and weeks,
being emitted to leave only for the calls of
nature, and then under the custody OF the
master-at arms.
"In the Fall of 1862, a medical officer on board
ship lying at the Portsmouth yard was called
at 10 O'Clock at night by the master alarms, who
informed him that a man in the brig wanted to
see him, and when the door opened he found
four men standing, sitting, and lying in space
OF four feet wide, two and one.half deep, and six
and one-half high. They all belonged to the
belgerent and offensive negro race. One was
sitting at the back of the cell with his hand
cuffed hands to his face, heart broken at the
disgrace that had betallen him, after years
, faithful service. The man whe had asked the
help of the doctor, had since fallen asleep on
the floor, and on attempting to awaken him, it
proved to be the merclful insensisility Of asphy-
xia that had so nearly rescued him from the rou-
tine Of naval discipline. Upon inquiry, it
proved that the executive officer had gone to
bed leaving orders for the liberation of these
men. So they were certain to be in all night
knock ON the door showed him to be enjoying
the sleep of innocence and peace, and an appeal
to the commander, who had only that day
reported tor duty, caused the prompt liberation
was discharged from the service by board of
medical survey for feigned anauross, and those
in his confidence have enjoyed the excellent
humor with which he described how he blum
dered against his doctor at midday and thus
secured his verdict. Tie sweat-box, on one of
the monitors, at least, was designedly placed
near the boilers, 80 that artificial heat could, at
pleasure, be added to the tortures OF confinement.
There was, in the early years of the war.
punishment beside which the brig was merciful
and kind. Let the reader imagine his hands
placed behind his back, the wrists securely
bound together, and then the other end of this
cord fastened TO q bolt in the deck overhead
with so little slack that the ends of the toes
just touch the berth deck; the shoulders are
! thrown forward, and when the least roll of the
ship takes place. the peor wretch loses his hold
| upon the deck and swings to and fro, the weight
OF the body striving to dislocate the arms from
| the shoulder blades. And these were not the
scum OF our great cities nor the habitually
degraded European sailors, neither was IL away
back in the times OF the Duke Alba and the
Inqusiton that these atrocious cruelties
we're pracised; but Worcester county farmers
sol g, who did not hear an order 10 come on
deck, were thus tortured IN 1862 One night
in the fall OF that year man was ordered to be
'trced up (for that was the name OF this helish
crime) for an hour, and when he told the officer
that he had no right to punish him in thrt way,
the order was changed TO punishment duringthe
pleasure of the officer; and in this case the m an
was forgotten, the officer went to bed, and his
victim hung from six o'clock TO ten. sud len
night call, In this awful autumn, took the sur
geon to his dlspensary on the berth deck, and as
the ship was rolling heavily, he steadied bimseli
against the side OF the ship, and waited until IA
sudden roll brought swinging body against
hun, and then he beard a groan. Tnsre were
three young men, for some small ofIense wear
ing away the darkness of that place, humping
against each other, with their faces so distorted
by agony that none of them were recognized
even on close inspection"