The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1876-02-18
HISTORICAL PAPERS.
THE ExCHANG BsOF-PRIso CUES.
TION-A VALUABLE DOCUMENT
TIE SOUTH DEFENDED.

The Southern Historical Society Papers
are proving decided success. The press all
through the South teens with complimentary
notices, and their subscription list is daily
increasing. The February No. will be cut
next week. It will contain Commodore
Maury's Vindication of Virginia and the
South-the last MS. the great scientist ever
wrote; General E. P. Alexander's sketch
of LoDgstreet's Corps at Seven-Days' Bit
ties; Carlton McCarthy's "Camp-Fires of
the Boys in Gray; A Letter from General
j. E. Johnston; General FiiZ. Lees Eulogy
on "Jeb." Stuart; Letter from Captain
Catesby Jones; General Brept's Account Of
the Capture of the Indianola; and other arti.
cles of interest and value.
The March No. will contain a full discus.
sion of the treatment and exchange.of-pris-
oners question. 1t will make and establish
by off :ial documents the following points !:
| l. The Confederate authorities al,oays Or
dered the kind treatment of prisoners of
war, and if there were individual cases Of
cruel treatment it was in violation of positive
orders.
g. The orders were to give prisoners the
same rations that our own soldiers received,
and if rations were scarce and of inferior
quality 1t was through no fault Of the Con-
federacy.
| 8. The prison hospitals were put on the
same footing precisely as the hospitals for our
own men, and if there was unusual suffering
caused by want Of medicine and hospital
stores it arose from the fact that the Federal
authorities declared these "contraband Of
war;" and refused to accept the Confederate
offer to allow Federal surgeons to come to
| the prisons with supplies Of medicines and
stores.
| 4. The prisons were established with re-
ference to healthfulness Of locality, and the
great mortality among the prisoners arose
| from eDidemicS and chronic diseases which
our surgeons had not the means Of prevent
| ing or arresting.
a strong proof Of this will be given in off,
cial figures, which show that as large @
proportion of the Confederate guard at IN
dersonuille died as Of The prisoners them
sclueS.
| ). The above reasons cannot be assigned
for the cruel treatment which Confederates
! received IL northern prisons. TIE order
/ books on that side are filed with yindictive
orders. Though in O land flowing with
plenty. our poor fellows in prison were fam
! ished with hunger, and would have coDsid
cred half the rations served Federal soldiers
bouutiful indeed. Their prson-hospitals
| were very far from being on the same foot
/ ing with the hospitals for their own soldiers,
and our men died by thousands from causes
which the Federal authorities could have
prevented.
6. But the rea! cause OF the suffering on
both sides was the stoppsge Of the exchange
of prisoners. and for this the Federal du-
thorities alone were responsible. The Con.
tfederates kept the cartel in good faith. 1t was
broken on the other side.
| The Confederates were anxious to ex-
change man for man. It was the settled pol
lev on the other side not to exchange prison.
ers. The Confederates offered to exchange
sick and wounded. This was refused. ln
August, 1864, We offered to send home all the
Federal sick and wounded Dt:aH:out eguaraient.
,, The offer vas not accepted until the lV:!o",
| ing December, ard it was during that perlod
that the greatest mortality occurred: Inc
Federal authorities stood by ani coidly SUI
fered their soldiers in our prisons 10 aie 10
order that they might 81 hre tne hoitneiu
heart" with stories Of "rebel oarp~~iIIles." !"
7. But the charge OF cruelty made against the
Confederate leaders is triumphantly reluted
by such facts as these The official reports
Of Secretary Stanton and Surgeon. General
Barnes show that fifty per cent. more Con-
federates perished in northern prisons than
of Federals in southern prisons. And though
the most persistent efforts were made TO get
up a case against President Davis, General
Lee, and others (even to the extent of offer
ing poor Wirz reprieve if he would impll.
cate them), they were not able to secure tes'
timohy upon which even Holt and his mill
tary court dared to go into the trial.
The Secretary (Rev. j. William jones' has
been for some time at work compiling data
on these points, and earnestly requests oil
persons having facts or figures bearing on
any branch of the subject to send them to
him at once.
The "papers" will be Invaluable to al
who desire to Know the truth in reference
to our great struggle, and those proposing to
subscribe should de SO at once, in order te
get full set for binding.