The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-12-25
LIFE IN RICHMOND PRISON.
Colonel John F. Mines Story of the Con-
federatcs and Their Prisoners of War.

| fedcratcs and Their Prisoners OF War.
Last evening an address was delivered
at Tammany Hall by Colonel John F
Mines, of Utica, on ''The Southern Con
federacy and Its Prisoners of War;" A
large audience was present, and mani
tested its interest by close attention ant
frequent applause. The speaker sale
that fourteen years had elapsed since the
men in butternut under Lee and the boys
in blue under Grant had literally turned
their swords into pruning hooks and be-
taken themselves to the arts of peace
''This week." said the lecturer, "a Fed.
eral official of this city who once plotted
to abduct Democratic President has
spoken, in behalf of the stalwart gospel
at New Orleans, and no one has offered
him the crown of martyrdom. Tonight
| speak here in behalf of justice to the
South and no man objects. There can
be no better proof that peace has really
returned to the land. Only the politi.
cians-the men who stayed at home when
their country in vain called for volun-
teers and had to put up with a draft
still persist in fighting the battle of hate
But the men who did their fighting on
the field mean TO have peace and will
have it. Heretofore large portion OF
the Radical orators methods of firing the
Northern heart lay in the plea Of So
called barbarities on the part of the Con-
federates to their prisoners of war.
Whenever a Southern Congressman rises
in his seat to speak in behalf of his con-
stituents, the cry of rebel brigadier' is
raised, and when street fight occurs in
Vicksburg or New Orleans there is a cry
of 'barbarities' and an echo of Anderson
Vile That one word 'Andersonville'
has been as effective as was the sweet
word 'Mesopotamia,' when it fell from
the lips of Whitfield, the preacher. The
key to Confederate treatment of the Fed
eral prisoners was found in the fact that
they had very little for themselves and
gave the best they had to their prisoners.
While the Northern officer in the Rich
mond prison had his bakers bread three
times day and his meat twice day, the
Confederate sentinel had only his corn
cake and molasses, varied by little meat
occasionally. If the Northern officer in
his quarters felt the rude blasts of winter,
his sentinel, clad in thin homespun, shiv-
cred like leaf as the keen wind swept
through his slight rags, and held out
skeleton hands to the fire. Their blan-
kets were taken from their beds at home,
worn by use, and some of the officers car
ried little roll of carpet in lieu of other
covering. This was the spirit of the
South. The officer of our guard, Geor-
gian, once exhibited to the speaker with
pardonable pride sword he had put to-
gether from blade, with sheep
skin scabbard and handle of Southern
oak. The men were terribly in earnest
and ready to make any and all sacrifices.
They expected their prisoners to do the
same, and thought it no wrong that a
prisoner should 60 without the dainties
they could not afford. The hospital SER
vice was reasonably well performed.
Quininc and some 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
prise uer's hospital than in those of the
service. This know from frequent Wis
its to the hospitals. Such visits were fire.
quently allowed by the Confederates, and
in one case permission was given to at
tend funeral of one of the more distin-
guished of the Federal prisoners"
In regard to General Winder, of Balti-
more, who had charge of the Federals,
Colonel Mines said that he was the best
abused man in the Southern Confederacy,
and had least deserved it. Unfortunate.
ly for himself, General Winder died Just
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 in his intercourse
with them. In the speakers case he had
literally obeyed the Scripture injunction,
eff thine enemy hunger, feed him." for
on his release he had furnished him with
money to pay for breakfast at Petersburg.
Many other similar acts of kindness ought
long ago to have redeemed his memory
from reproach.
At this point the speaker went into de-
tails of life in a Confederate prison, de-
picting graphically the daily occupations
and amusements of the men, quoting
from the songs Of the day and the speeches
of the men, and giving a gloomy descrip-
ton of the nightly meetings of the ia
nous Richmond Prison Association, of
which he was sergeant-at-arms. Except
for the perpetual longing for release, he
admitted that their festive nights were
full of "real, rollicking, roaring. fun,"
and that the prisoners gave their guar
diaus annoyance 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
looked so sweet as there. But beyond
the fact that they were confined in close
quarters, there was nothing to Justify the
stalwart assertion that Federal prisoners
were treated with barbarity by the Con-
federates. "This," said the lecturer, lis
the truth of history as borne out by
my experience and the testimony of my
companions in misfortune. After the
lapse of these many years Of peace, it is
time that the truth of history should be
spoken on this point"
But some man would ask, "What of
Andersonville?" The speaker said he
did not know personally about it, except
that the mortality among the Confed-,
crate prisoners at Elmira was proportion
ately 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 excessive
mortality at Andersonville. Yet there
might have been fault on both sides. A
gentleman in the audience had in his
possession copy of an official commune
cation from the chaplain of one of our
own prisons at the West, in which he
spoke of having begun IA system of re-
taliation" for reported crueltes at Ander-
sonville. Over such conduct we could
only throw the mantle of forgiveness,