Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1877-06-20
ANNALS OF THE WAR.
CHAPTERS OF uNwRIrTEN HISTORY THE
EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS.
; A,-ysklua

ing the war for the exchange of nris.
oners and itisa subject that with which
he NAV bo nresumed N be mos, fam;l
iar He argues bv facts and conclu.
s;ons 70 nrovo ,hattbo Eederol ou,bor.
tics vere oono,ly rosnons;hle with ,ho
Confsdoro,os ,o, tho s,tfsr;,cs NJ TN.
ion soldiers in the Soptbern nr,sons
In tho coo,se of b;s refn,at;on ot some
Of tbe chorces brouobt agoins, tho
Copfederates. he saws.
at would be a curious matter 10
trace the history Of the notices of az.
chanoo which ZACH s;do issred d,r;no
tho nrocress of tho war I wish had
tho snaco N do 80 can onlv no,;ce
one calumnv Of many in this connoc.
tion. Gen. Hi,cbcoclx charges ,bo,
made n declaration of excbanoe with
n v;ow ,o ,hecom;n, ho,,los or ch;oLo
mop,a and cha,,anoo,o and ,ho,
many Of the nrisoners narolod bv Gen
Grant and Can ponLs =, v;oLshrro
and Port Hudson. participated in said
battles without having been duly ex.
changed. II would be diflieult ia
crowd more uptrutbs in one sentence
The declaration of oxcbanoe IN which
Gen. Hitchcock refers was fairlv. hon.
estly and properlv made The cartel
by its EXPRESS terms rave me autberi.
tv To make Il 7 had in NV nossesson
at the time more valid paroles of Fed.
eral officers and men than were an
equivalent for the exchange which |
then declared. Moreover. between
that declaration of exchange and the
preceding one I had delivered at CITY
Point, then the agreed point of delivery,
some ten or twelve thousand Federal
prisoners The declaration was not
onlv EXPRESSLY authorized bv the car.
tel, but was in the strictest accordance
with the common practice of the Fed.
eral aren't of exchange. Reside no,
one of the officers or men declared ia
he exchanged at that ,;me was in the
battles to which Gen. Hitchcock refers
though if they had been. they would
have been there rigbtfullv.
II has been freonentlv stated as an
excnse for tho refusal of ,be Federal
authorities to delivcr all nrisoners n,
wor held bv tbem tboti !, had boon
dome when tbev had tho surnlus ,he
excess wonld have been mt in the
field bv the confaderstos This IL
another of Generol Uitcbcock,s imnu.
tations. Nothing could bo moro nm.
,yue eitbar no 10 ;nton,ior ~, Gao,
There was No moro reason for sncb a
stigma than there was for n similar
cberoe aea;ns, tho uni,.d sto,os yhon
,be sxoess oe nr;sonor. wos ho,a b.,
the Confederatcs yot tho fsar that
sncb a conrse mich, ho n,rsrod d;d
not res,roin tho confsdora,o or,hor;
ties from delivering all nrisonors in
,ho;r b.nds vhon ,hov hoId 40 ovooss
and that ,oo af,er tbev yoro ;nformod
of General Scbencls's general order
1t was the practice of NV office %
make n careful comnutation Of naroles
and deliveries and on that basis to de.
clare exchanges In no one instance
from the beginning of the war to its
close was any declaration of exchange
made which was not lust in every
particular, and fully warranted by the
facts. In no one case did | ever dis.
charge Confederates from their parole
until | had offered valid eouivalents 10
,ho rrn;,od s,o,os
Aoor dol,vor;oo ,voro hroi,or off
a;a ~, aha.do. LoLo.a a., H..
,.o,,d ho ro,,nn - ,ho, c,.,r.a.
oe ,ho oor,oI From Tho, ,;uo bon,
a. ~. o,o. a., omooua a,d ,,a,,
sho,,d ho rolo.sod ,ho ovooss on ono
..,
- A. .,;l;. 20 ~ ...,,
~ ao,ou,;ro1 h., ,ho -, o.a...,
- a. Ir.,,oa e,.,o. ,,,a,. ,o,o.,.,o.,
ooooua;n,,o a.,oa Tho cdnc,aouo,'
~ -
- :. ~ -. -, H..
,anrna who.oror - 49,,
49,. A.. p.a..,.
r.. ,.......,.,' ~
M. =. AZ. IT., .~aa.o.a -. 80,
,,.;,s,;e.hlo zoo o.,,od, a1a..,,o.a =,
-
AT length | was forced into the con.
yiction that the persons who had the
control of the matter did NOT desire
exchanges or mutual deliveries of nris
oners on anv terms-tbat thew he.
Loved that sncb deliveries were unw;s,
in a military point of yiew-tba,
they had come to the conclusion ,ba,
a soldier was more valuable to III,
Confederacy than he was to the United
States. | do not mean bv that to an,
that thew or anvbodv else tbougb,
a., C..,.a.u.,. ..,1,.
o. hro,or ,hon Irn;on so,d;or hn,