The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1879-12-18

Their blankets were taken from their
beds at home, worn by use, and some Of
the officers carried little roll Of carpet
in lieu of other covering. This was the
spirit of the South. The officer of our
guard, Georgian, once exhibited to the
speaker, with pardonabe pride, a sword
he had put together from scythe blade,
with sheepskin sCabbard end handle Of
Southern oak. The men were terribly
in earnest, and ready to make any and
all sacrifices. They expected their pris-
oners to do the same, and thought it no
wrong that prisoner should 90 without
the dainties they could not afford. The
hospital service was reasonably well per.
formed. Quinine and other medicines
were worth their weight in gold at times,
and surgeons had to work as best they
could. THE mortality was never greater
in the prisoners hospital than in those
Of the service. This know from fire.
quent visits to the hospitals. Such vis-
its were frequently allowed by the Con-
federates, and in one case permission
was given to attend funeral of one of
the more distinguished Federal officers"
In regard to Gen. Winder of Balti-
more, who had charge of the Federals,
Colonel Mines said that he was the best
abused man in the Southern Confeder-
acy, and had least deserved it, Unfortu.
nately for himself, Gen. Winder died as
the war closed, and he thus became a
convenient scapegoat for ISLANDERS. The
dead man could not reply. But even at
this late day the speaker desired to do
justice to brave soldier and humane
man. He was bluff in manner and quick
of speech, but he had been just to our
men and courteous and kind to them.
In the rpeaker's case he had literally
obeyed the Scripture injunction "If
thine enemy hunger, feed him." for on
his release he had furnished him money
to pay for his breakfast at Petersburg
Many other similar acts of kindness
ought long ago to have redeemed his life |
from reproach.
At this point the speaker went into
details of life in a Confederate prison.
depicting graphically the daily oCcupa.
tions and amusements of the men, quot |
ing from the songs of the day and spec
Ches of the men, and givinga gloomy ac-
count Of the nightly meetings Of the fa-
nous Richmond Prison Association, of
which be was sergeant alarms. Ex-
Cept for the perpetual longing for release |
he admitted that their nights were full |
of real, rollicking roaring fun, and that
the prisoners gave their guardians an
noyance enough to justify much more |
restraint than was inflicted. But though |
there seems to be much romance in the |
retrospect, there was none in the reality |
Restraint was the great sorrow. They |
wanted to get out. Liberty never look.
ed 80 sweet as there. But beyond the |
fact that they were confined in close
quarters, there was nothiDgto justify the
stalwart assertion, that Federal prisoners
were treated with barbarity by the Con-
federates. This" said the lecturer, sis
the truth of history, as borne out by my
experience, and the testimony of my as
sociates in misfortune. After the lapse
of these many years of peace, it is time
that the truth Of history should be spo.
ken on this point"
But some man would ask, "What of
Andersonville2" The speaker said he
did not know personally about it, except |
that the mortality among the Confeder
ate prisoners at EImira was proportion
ally greater than at Andersonville. In
order, therefore, to defend the North
from the charge of neglect and cruelty
to its prisoners, he must deny any ex-
Cessive mortality at Andersonville. Yet |
there might have been fault on both
sides. A gentleman in the audience had |
in his possession a copy of an official
communication from the chaplain of one
of our own prisons at the West, in which
he spoke of having begun "a system of
retaliation" for reported cruelties at An
dersonville. Over such conduct we only
could throw the mantle of forgiveness.
As for the South, the entire weight of
testimony went to show that they did
what they could for the Northern meu
whom the fortunes of war had placed in
their charge.
The speaker closed with an earnest
plea for justice to the South, without re-
gard to past prejudices, ard for the vim.
dication Of the truth. The gospel of hate
has had its day, and must give place to
the gospel of fraternity. The hum of
that gathered in the full bar
vest at the South, and the shrek Of the
that distributed it to the
waiting States, spoke of the dawn of
new day, wherein the mission of the
stalwart disturber of unity would forever
vanish. NJ Y World, 9Th,
FERg WRR RRA SAA