St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1876-01-28
The Secret of Andersonville

1t is unfortunate that III amnesty bill
Wl> the occasion of the mention of
AndcI>ouNillc iii Congress, but there
are hundreds of thousands of citizens.
holding no anger against the South.
who are nevertheless willing that the
two OF three hundred X-Conte,lcrateS
whose disabilities have not vet been re-
moved should wait Il little longer if
thereby those who suffered at and
through AndcrSomVille may know who
was responsible for the villainy perpe-
tratcd there. The question is not in
any Sen>c Il political one. farther than
that the guilty person or persons de
serve no political rights. 1t is not Il
question with which the ability of the
South to provide food and medicines
had anything to do. If we admit ar
valid every EXCUSE which the south
claims on account of her poverty, and
admit, also. that the policy ot the
United States government had some
thing to do with the long STAY aud sub
Scuucnt iuin of our soldiers in south
erm prisons. the principal questions re-
main Vet unanswered. Why waS it
that in II country where land was plcn-
" men were often crowded into the
Andcr>nmNillc pen until the surface
room per individual wis only that al
lowed for IL grave! WHY were all the
Trees bushes and other means ot shade
and shelter carefully removed from the
pen Why. in il land almost entirely
covered with wood. WAS tircW ood >caIccr
among the prisoners than il Is among
the poorest hrggLIS i'll New \ ork City !!
Why. when there were thousands ot
available localities where pure water
could Ice procured. did the inmates of
this pli>om-pcn have to drink water
tiom II stream which first rose in Il
marsh. then received house drainage.
and that at Il military camp. with the
Slop> and outhouSc drainage of ii cook
house where ten thousand ratiohS wen,
prepared Why was il that although
burial parties and squads of wood
choppers (inr the cook hou>C>) could
L" out under guard. no amount of
pleading >uiliccd i" gam permission I"
90 ont for logs or even hruSh-WOud with
which to form some Sort of shelter from
sun and storm These abuses. from
which most OF the unnecessary deaths
. resulted. could have been IrmcdIc! uI
prevented without the expenditure ot
an extra penny. Southern leaders we've
not ignorant of thciI existence. toI
representatives to the Confederate Con
/ gIc>N officially protested against them,
as did also inspecting and medical utii
GERS oi the Southern ;tImN. There can
/ h, no possible doubt that the abuses tu
which We alludr existed 10y design
/ there is large loom tnr doubt whether
any considerable body "t men could
] /
/ licudi>h design. jefferson Davis may
not ht the guilty cause. and if he i in
uoccnt Mr.. Blaine has done him the
/ greatest inquiry ever inflicted upon ana
/ American bat until the Nillaiur~ to
/ which We have alluded are distinctly
/ traced to some one. il i but natural thai
/ suspicion should tall upon those high
/ executive officers who were invested,
/ 10y the CouicdclIcN. with powers pr;ic-
/ tirallN Unlimited and dr>potIc.
The fear that the dI>cGI>>iou of this
subject will create bad feeling between
the North and the South has II" puS>ihl,
grounds. OF the SuuthcrucTS who SAN
Andrr>ouvillc and lis prisoners, there
ac hundreds good CoutrdtratcS cNcrN
one who alc :S indignant over til,
| hlutalitics pl;IctIccd there as amy North
rrn man, unrelated To amy of the Suf-
lcrcrS. can hc. OF the survivors o
AudcrsumNillc, there III" many. perhaps
thousands, ho can and do acknoW lcdg,
gratefully the kimdncSSes which they
received at the hands of Southcrncr,
whom they met en- rOHtr. The Scnti-
mcmt OF the Northern army, :ls Il body
Is that the Southcrncrs of real bravery
has he allied virtues of hospitality and
maHly S> >mpathy. The evidence. from
whatever quarter, relieves the Southern
1cople from even suspicion of partici-
patton in the prison outrageS, and re-
duces the whole question to that of tn,
discovery of criminal, or at most {;
small clique of criminals. whose act,
have deprived them of the sympathy
even of those for whose apparent bene,
fit they wrought their cruelty Chris