The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1881-06-21

surpassed by some Of those We received
in exchange ut Savannah. Why WIN
there this delay between the summer and
November In sending vessels for the
transportation Of sick and wounded, for
whom no equivalents were a6kedf Were
Federal prisoners left to suffer and SITTER
wards photographed TO aid in firing the
| popular heart Of the North?
| In the summer Of 1884, in consequence
| of certain information communicated to
our commissioner, Mr.. Ould, by the Sur-
geon- General of the Confederate States,
as to the deficiency of medicines, Mr.. Ould
offered to make purchases of medicines
from the United States authorities, to be
used exclusively for the relief Of the Union
prisoners. He offered to pay gold, cotton
| or tobacco for them, and even two or three
prices, if required At the same time he
gave assurance that the medicines would
be used exclusively for the treatment of
Union prisoners, and moreover agreed, on
the part of the Confederate States, il it
were insisted on, that such medicines
might Be brought into the Confederate
lines by the United States surgeons, and
dispensed by them. Incredible as it may
appear, it is, nevertheless, strictly true,
that no reply was ever received to this
offer.
One final effort was now made to OBJ
tain an exchange. This consisted in my
sending delegation from the prisoners at
Andersonville to plead their cause before
the authorities at Washington. It was of
no avail. President Lincoln refused to
see them, and they were made to under
stand that the interests of the government
of the United States required that they
should return to prison and remain there.
They carried back the sad tidings that
their government held out no hopes of
their release.
Sufficient facts have been presented to
satisfy every intelligent and candid mind
of our entire readiness to surrender for
exchange all the prisoners in our posses
sion, whenever the government of the
United States would honestly meet us for
that purpose. Al any hour perfect ar
rangements could have been made with Us
for the restoration to it of all its soldiers,
held as prisoners by us, if its authorities
on them must rest the criminality for the
sufferings of those prisoners.
In reply to the charge of cruelty to
prisoners, Mr.. Davis submits the most
crushing reply. This is all the more val
liable, since by the power of misrepresen-
tation, Andersonville and Libby have
come to be considered the synonyms of
of all that is horrible, while the northern
prisons have escaped the notoriety they
deserved SO much more richly.
Finally, to the bold allegations of i'll
treatment of prisoners on our side and hu-
name treatment and adequate supplies on
that of our opponents, it is only necessary
to offer two facts. First, the report of the
Secretary of War, e. Nj. Stanton, made
on July 10, 1866, shows that Of all the pris-
oners in our hands during the war only
22,576 died, while of the prisoners in our
opponents hands 26,246 died. Second,
the official report of Surgeou-General
Barnes, an officer of the United States
Government, states that in round numbers
the number of Confederate States pris-
oners in their hands amounted to 220, 900 !;
the number of United States prisoners in
our hands amounted to 100000. Thus,
out of the 100000 in our hands $4,000
died, while of the 100000 Of our soldiers
in their hands $4,000 died. Thus, more
than IL per cent of the prisoners in our
opponents hands died, and less than 9
per cent. of the prisoners in our hands
died.
When in this connection it is remem-
bered how much our resources were re-
duced, that our supply of medicines re-
quIred in summer diseases was exhausted,
and that Northern men when first residing
at the South must undergo acclimation,
and that these conditions in the Northern
States were the reverse In each particular,
the fact that greater mortality existed in
Northern than In Southern prisons, can
only be accounted for by the kinder treat
ment received in the latter, to present the
case in . sentence.
Than this no more complete vindication
of the South can be made. 1t shows the
earnest efforts on the part of our enlight-
ened and humane government to alleviate
suffering, to rescue from the torture Of
living death, and to restore to their re-
spective countries those unhappy men
who had experienced the ill-fortune to es-
cape destruction upon the battlefield
The Southern heart was not steeled against
the sentiments Of humanity, but those who
administered the Northern government
were unmoved at human woe and intent
on incommoding their adversary, even by
the sacrifice of their own patriotic and
brave soldiers. In all the annals Of his
tory no like picture is presented as the
turning away from the doors of the White
House of that deputation of soldiers who
came from Andersonville to plead for the
lives of the Northern prisoners. Not even
the slaughtered hecatomb of patriots
whom Grant 80 canselessly urged into .
useless sacrifce in the Wilderness cam
paign 10 comparable 70 the infamy Of this
transaction, which at once outrages ma
ture and stigmssizes mankind. The foul
blot viii remain forever upon the Ameri-
can name, illustrating that higher civili-
zstion Of which the Nerthern people are
90 wont TO boast.
REEDaMG PEAR TREEe.
In an address nj genealogical meeting
| a1 Rochester. Mr.. Barry aid that he had