The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1876-01-20
A letter from General Jubal a. Early
To The Editors Of The DiSpdlc

letter from General Jubal A. Early.
To The Editors Of the Dispatch:
rpr,rNrnr OF FEDERAL PRls 1NERs IN CoSFEDE-
PATE pR1s0Ns-GESERAL JOHN II. WlNDER.
Now that the subject Of the treatment o,
nrsoners of war on both sides during the
ialn war has been r. 0pened, it has occurred to
mo that it would not be inappropriate 10 90
IN ac, Of simple Justice to an officer and gen.
,Ieman whose conduct and character have
heen eros sly misrepresented, and upon whose
memory vas! deal Of unjust obloquy has
been cast. VIZ r.
same months ago Captain w. S. Winder,
The sos Of General John II. Winder, sent TO
mc. with a request for my advice as to its
nnh,icatiou. a letter from tue late Colonel
George W. Brent, Of Alexandria, who was
for some time connected with the Army OF
Tennessee (Confederate) as Assistant AdJu.
tant and Inspector General, and was with
General Beaurvgard in the South ia the Win
ter of 1SG4-'G5 and short time before the
opening Of the late debate in Congress on
the amnesty bill Captain Winder sent me
also letter from the Hon. James 4. Seldom,
written to him in December last. de feels a
very natural and laudable desire to yiGd;cate
the memory Of his father, who died short
time before the surrender Of the Confederate
armies, and therefore had no opportunity of
defending himself against tie charges that
have been made against him since the close
of the war. In order to relieve Captain
Winder, who WIS for time my comrade and
friend in exile, of the embarrassment he la
bors under in regard to appearing in print
in defence Of his father, / take the RESPONSE
bility Of publishing both the letters referred
to while the public attention is directed to
the subject of which they treat. The fact
stated by Colonel Brent is very pregnant
one to prove that General Winder was not
actua.ed by the feudish spirit attributed to
him by many northern men; for if Sherman
in fact proved himself to be in a small way
the precursor Of the dynamite experimental.
list by planting torpedoes and shells on the
Atlanta and West Point railroad, thus leopard
ing the lives Of the unotfending negroes who
might Re employed to repair il, and perhaps
the lives Of ipnocent women and children
travelling over the read, it would probably
baye been justiflbe act to employ some
of the Federal prisoners to prevent the
mischief designed by their own friends !;
and the fact that General Winder refused to
obey the call upon him for prisoners to be
employed in that way shows how scEupu-
lous he was in the observance Of the rules Of
war and humanity, and that he was incapa.
bic Of the acts Of barbarity imputed TO him
by his accusers.
The letter of the Hon. James A. Seldom is
strong and convincing vlndicatlon oil Gene.
raj Winder's character as humane and hon.
orable man. That the bigoted and prelu.
diced on the other side shall affect to disbe-
lieye and disregard the statements of both
Colonel Brent and Mr.. Seldom is to be eX'
pccted but candid men of all sides must
concede that the letter of Colonel Brent,
written at q time when not only be could
have no motive for nisstating the fact to
which he refers, but when his statement
might by some be thought to be prejudiclal
to the officer on whose staff he occupied @
prominent position, bears on its face the
evidence Of the truth of what he says; and
the character of Mr.. Seldom will command
for his statement the credence of all fair
minded men.
Without intending to enter into the dis
cussion of the treatment Of prisoners on
either side, for it SO happened that during
the whole war saw neither the inside nor
the outside of any prison for the custody OF
prisoners of war, Confederate or Federal, /
may be permitted to refer to specimen of
the kind of testimony that was taken before
the commission that tried poor Wirz, or Mrs.
Surratt and others, I forget which, for the
inquiry in both cases assumed very wide
range, to prove barbarity at the Anderson
vile prison. Boston Corbett, who shot
Wilkes Booth, was introduced as witness,
and among other things he sWore that, being
confined at Apdersonyille as prisoner OF
war, he and one or more other prisoners
made their escape; that bloodhounds, kept
for the purpose OF hunting down escaped
prisoners, were put on their tracks that he
took refuge in thicket of brush. God,
where he lay down, and that one Of the
bloodhounds got so near as to rub its nose
against bis nose. When asked if the hound
discovered him, and if SO how it was that
it did him no harm, he replied, very cooly,
that the hound did not notice him, and he
made his escape, and he supposed it was be.
cause be served the same Lord that Daniel
served when he was cast into the den OF
| lions!
| will also reproduce, with few comments
thereon, an order issued by the War Depart
ment at Washington on the Sd of July, 1863,
while the battle of Gettysburg was being
fought, by which it was declared that all pa
roles not given at certain places specified in
the cartel of July, 1852, or by mutual agree
ment between the commanders OF two op.
posing armies, would be dsregarded, and
the persons giving them would be returned
to duty without exchange. 1 republish the
order now because, so far as have seen, it
has not been referred to by those who have
undertaken to Yindicate the Confederate
Government on the question of the treat
ment of prisoners of war. It Is very mani.
coct hot hot pria
pose of embarrassing General Lees army
with the guarding and feeding of the prison
ers, amounting to several thousand, then in
our hands; and in consequence Of the order,
information of which reached us Immediately,
| General Lee sent flag of truce to Meade on
the 4th of July, after the close of the battle,
| with proposition to exchange prisoners.
The latter declined the proposition, al
| legipg a want of authority to make the ex-
| change, or, from bis own views Of policy, he
positively declined TO entertain the PROPOSE
| ton; I am BOT certain which.
According to the laws of war in the earii.
est ages captive in war forfeited bis life.
Subsequently, in the cause Of humanity, the
penalty Of death was commuied to slavery
for life; aud this continued to be a'law Of
war for more than one half Of the Christian
era, Notwithstanding it has been so often
said that slavery disappeared in Europe be-.
fore the spirit of Christianity; in fact, it was
the vast number Of captives in war reduced
to slavery from among the Sclayi or Sclavo-
mans, in the eighth century, under that bull
wark of the Church, Charlemagne, that
caused the distinctive and modern appella.
ton of "slayes" to be applied to all those
held to involuntary servitude. In the age
of chiyairy. when knights.errant, and more
especially the Crusaders, wanted money more
than they did slaves, they sold their slaves
tn il freedom, and the practice of releasing