Idaho semi-weekly world. (Idaho City, Boise County, Idaho Territory) 1867-1868, 1868-06-24
geuti : aa,eeklv aYorld.
rrnEnaL WAR PRISONS.

ADrll Contains ola Ca WY N--.t-7T 49,
ment of Confederate prisoners of war
in Northern prisons during the war,
from which we extract the following.
Much AS we have heard of the hor
rors of war, says the Reuaew, we have
as vet formed no adequate conception
Of the vindictive malignity with which
the South was prosecuted, or of the in
humanitics perpetrated by officers of
the Federal army, under countenance
and instructions from the Federal Gov
crnment.
In every large prison at the North
cruelty was Systematically .pracuced
tor the purpose of forcing prisoners to
take the oath of allegiance to the Fed
cral Government, or. in case OF their
refusal, of embedding their health TO
such an extent as TO render them unfit
for military service on their return TO
the South The treatment of some OF
the prisoners was SO severe that when
they were taken from the cells the blood
eushed from their ears .......
Sometimes prisoners, thlnly clad,
were removed long distances from one
prison to another in the coolest wealth
or. Noprovisions were taken for them,
and benevolent people along the route
were forbidden to give them either food
or clothing On such occasions large
numbers Of the wretched sufferers died
in the ears. But they gained a happy
:clcasc. No one can read the accounts
Of the treatment of Southern prisoners
inmost of the large prisons at the North
without feeling that those who died
soonest were the most favored.
vt Camp Douglas, on Lake Michigan,
during an intensity cold spell in the
winter of 1862, when iciclcs hung from
The roof Of the prison within two inches
i the stove pipe and the breath froze
On. the boards OF the prisoners. SIX blan-
kets were issued for the winter. Few
II those detailed to bring III fuel return
ii without being frost-hittcn, many
were brought back insensiblc or i'll u
helpless condition. Some had their
arms frozen stiff around the wood and
could not open them. The food was
very scanty, aid rats and dogs We're
eaten whenever they could be procured.
Men, says one prisoner, talk OF the hor-
r0rs of Anda.Sonvillc: IF those who
now sleep on the shores OF Lake Mich;-
gan could tell the story Of their suffer
,ngs, Andcrsonvilc would appear as .
paradise in comparison"
in one instance, when negro guard
lad shot into a crowd Of over two hun
,ired Southern prisoners. at Point Look
cat. without provocation. killing and
svunding five men, tie officers Of the
day. in presence Of the prisoners, told
him when his ammunition gave out t.
ct him know. and he would furnish
more. Men were frozen to death by
icing forced to sleep on the ground
with only one blanket and no fire. The
rations were Just enough to keep soul
and body together "Thc fendish bru-
t4lity practiced by the Fifth Massachu-
sets Cavalry ON the deienseless untor-
tunatcs at this post can never he for
GOTTEN or forgiven Il was a prison
cr Cor eight long months" says one man,
and the suffering | witnessed during
taat time | never before had any con.
ccption Of | am told by those who
experienced the fortunes of Fort Della.
ware, that they were still worse
Tying up the thumbs was a punish.
mcnt practiced daily at Fort Delaware
for the slightest infraction OF prison
rules. Men were frequently tied up i'll
Ills way for two and three hours at a
time. At eight o'clock every morning,
one small piece Of mixed corn and wheat
bread, and about an ounce OF salt, were
issued to each prisoner. The same
quantity was issued at 2 o'clock, with
the addition of pint of filthy soup
This was all they had. A poor boy
from Charlottesville, Virginia, was shot
dead for throwing water from a cup
out Of window Of the barracks. One
stove was all that was allowed about
Ten thousand men, in the coolest win
ter months. A Lieutenant, for very
slight offcase, was ordered by Gen.
Schoepf to have his hands manaclcd be-
hind his back, and to be hung up by
his elbows. He was kept hanging un-
I'll he tainted from nxcruciatiuor. agony.