The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1876-02-03


own Government meant to let them die
in prison for the sake of paltry pune
tilio, or few darkeys, who had rather be
in prison than at the front, they just died
like sheep, some cursing their own and
our Government in the same breath"
Reporter-Why we're they not housed?
"Well, we couldn't get tools and axes
to build houses. All the wagons were
running night and day hauling rations
and there weren't enough axes to cut
irewood. Besides, we were all the time
expecting removal either by exchanging
the prisoners or by taking them some.
where else. Once we started 10000 Of
them to the coast, offering to deliver
them-the sick without any equivalent
but their Government wouldn't take
them-made some excuse or other"
Reporter-Why not put the prisoners
to building houses7 y.
"We did that after Grants celebrated
telegram saying that it was better to keep
their men in prison than exchange the
rebels. We put three hundred men in
the woods, and when the war closed there
we're I. long rows of comfortable cabins
going up or finished. But the great lack
was axes--you know how scarce they
were. One day I got permission, and
rode over four counties, but could find
only thirteen axes, which I bought with
my own money, and I carried them to
Andersonville. Let me tell you another
thing. When first went there the peas
given the prisoners were threshed out on
the ground, negro-fashion, which left lit.
tie pieces of shells, wood, and sand in
the soup. goes to Maj. Wirz for fan
sitter. How can I get one?' says he.
Give me an order on the quartermaster.'
But that officer sent me to the commits.
sary. Il have nothing to do with it. said
the commissary. returned to Major
Wirz, who was about to stop the effort,
when said, Give me an order for one.
He gave the order, and the first sitter |
could find was pressed into. the service
put to tanning out the prisoners peas.
So you see how hard it was to get any
thing"
Reporter-Did many of the prisoners
escape?
"a few of them got away every week.
There was always two or three hundred
ofthem outside the pen on parole, cook
ing, working at trades, waiting on the Of
1fcers, &c.,; they could get into the
mountains in a single night, go up
through East Tennesse, and escape. Be.
sides, the guards were mostly old men
and boys-home guards, you know, who
.wern't very vigilant. Bloodhounds {?
That's all bosh. Pye read accounts Of
how we kept packs of bloodhounds shut
up and starved to make 'em chase pris-
oners. Now, some of the officers used to
hunt good deal, and there were four
common fox hounds, such as you can see
on any plantation and after the paroled
Yankees had poisoned several by giving
them pounded glass, the rest were shut
up in an old cabin for their own safety.
But all four of them couldn't kill a man
if they caught him. They were never
of any service catching runaways."
{ Reporter-Tell me of Wirz. Was he
cruel?
"That man will yet be better thought
of than when he was sacrificed to popular
fury. 1 think the Government made a
great mistake, to say the least, in mar
tyfizing him; for history will show that
he was not so black as painted. Major
Wirz was q course, uncultivated foreign
er, and when half drunk, as he was pref
ty often, he would curse and browbeat
the prisoners land guards too) when
things did not 60 to please him ; but
never did see him strike, kick, shoot,
or otherwise abuse prisoner. Indeed,
I never heard of any shooting at prison.
ers, except in one or two cases of delib-
crate crossing the dead line"
Reporter-Ah that dead line!
"That dead line was wise and benef-
:ial arrangement. There was one at
Point Lookout and at Fort Delaware in
she Federal prisons object being to
restrict the inmates from approaching
within certain distance of the guards.
At Andersonyille the dead line consisted
,f line of short stakes driven in the
ground twenty feet from the stockade.
Every prisoner knew what it was for. 1t
vas necessary, for if the $4,000 to 10000
prisoners were allowed to approach the
wall they would quickly overpower the
80 or 100 guards on duty. Occasionally
q man would grow so homesick and weary
of prison life as to walk over the line and
coolly dare the sentinel to kill him.
Such instances occur in all prisons.
II give you my word I never saw any
of our officers or men needless1y abusive
Of prisoners. When we first went there
with our minds full of the suferings of
our boys in the chilly Northern prisons,
we thought we should not care how bad
ly the Yankees were treated; but in
few weeks we came to regard them as fel-
low men, whom we must hold as prison
ers, but not numerically or inhumanly
maltreat."
Reporter-What sort of a man was
Gen. Winder?
can old granny. 1t is a mistake to
accuse him of cruelty of disposition; his
worst fault was keeping lot of Balti-
more Plugs constantly about him in va
rious positions-whom he allowed to
almost everything-himself in
cluded. Gen. D. a. Hill, who knew
Wlnder III the old army, says he was
noted for his kindness, which was regard
ed IS amounting to weakness. He was
the last man in the world for the place;
he loved his ease too we'll to give person
al inquiry into abuses; he was as incom-
petent as a baby in providing for an
emergency; and he left the practical de-
tails to his Plugs and his sons, who EN-.
ployed their time chiefly in drinking and
gambling. Winder, you know, was post
in Richmond before going
to Andersonville. At that time he was
much ceusured for letting anybody and
everybody pass through the lines. 1t
may be he divided the fees with the
Plugs who were then acting as detec-
tives, thus putting himselfin their power;
for certainly they had wonderful influ-
ence over him. / think it is in this par
ticular President Davis was to blame;
his obstinag in retaining Winder in
command at Andersonville after he must
have known of his unfitness. IN Y