The National tribune., 1882-11-23
The Young Orderly of Monster Wirz
at AnderSOnVille.
MORE PLANS OF ESCAPE.
Scurvy Makes It's Dreaded
Appearance.
GContinucd rom last tCeek.l

! better means of guarding them. line Of rifle
/ pits was accordingly dug around the stockad
/ for the infantry, and at intervals were PLACED
piles of hand grenades for use in case of an out
/ break. A strong fort was also thrown up jus
/ above the southwest corner Of the stockade anC
mounted with eleven pieces of cannon in sucl
/ q way as to rake the stockade diagonally. A
the uoctheast corner Of the stockade TIVE
/ howitzers were mounted, and the same number
st the southeast corner while a smaller fort 0
( five guns was CONSTRUCTED at the northwcs
/ corner, the garrison being so disposed that {
single round could not fail to produce fearfu
havoc among the prisoners in the event of al
uprising.
About the time OF which l write some two
thousand prisoners from Buffers command ar
rived at Audcrsonville. They had been cap
/ tured on the 10th of May at Bermuda Hundred
The rebels hated Butler intensely, and they
vented their spleen upon the prisoners. They
werostrippad, before etheradmission to livestock
ade, of every article Of clothing and equipment
! and ali the cooking utensils in their possession
All Chat they were allowed to retain was theiI
shirt aud psntaloous. and many Of them entered
| the prison barefootod and bareheaded. Once
inside, they were assigned TO the worst location
that could be found for them, namely, on the
edge Of the swamp at the eastern side Of the
prison, where the sinks had been dug, and al
the filth from the upper part of the pen would
Aowe down upon them. They were without
shelter Of any kind; millions of maggot- file.
swarmed upon them, and they were compelled
to endure stencil that was strong enough tt
knock healthy man down. 1t must have
seemed to the poor fellows as if they had en-
tered the very gates Of hell.
shall never forget the day that they ar.
rived The insults and taunts TO which they
were subjected made il evident to me that no
mercy would be shown them The news that
they belonged 10 the hated Buffers command
seemed to have spread like widfre among the
guards, and every man of them was prepared
to contribute his share to the persecution.
FoRLoRE HOPES
Considering the effective character of the
new forrihcatious that had been erected around
the stockade, there appeared to be little chance
now OF q successful uprising among the prison .
ers but there were still some among US who were
sauguiue enough to believe that the attempt
would be worth making. and plot was shortly
after concocted for this purpose. TO insure
secrecy a regular society was organized, and
each member who was admitted to it was re-
quired to take q solemn oath not TO divulge its
plans None, indeed, were admitted to mem
beIship except those in whom long acquaint-
auce warranted confidence.
The plan adopted was to dig large tunnel
under The stCckade and undermine the timbers
TO such an extent that they could be thrown
down whenever the signal should be given, ard a
gap Of from twelve to fifteen feet made thereby,
through which the men could rush out, capture
the guns OF the fort, and turn them upon the
rebels. The work was begun, and when 1t had
progressed some time it became evident that the
plan feasible. As had happened repeatedly
before, however, there was traitor i'll the camp
who conveyed to Wirz full information as to
what was going on. The result was that Wirz
ordered the rlng-leader in chains, and, summon
ing the sergeants Of detachmeuts outside, mott
fed them that he was fully acquainted with all
the details OF the plot, and was prepared to de-
feat IL. he endeayored also to impress them with
the fact that if an outbreak occurred it would
sacrifice the lives Of all within the stockade. As
8 further warning, he had the following notice
posted on the gates:
NOTICE
Not wishing to shed the blood of hundreds
not connected with those who ooncocted a mad
plan 10 force the stockade, and make il this way
their escape, l hereby warn the leaders and
those who formed themselves into a band 10
carry out this plan, that 1 am in possession of
all The facts, and have made my dispositions
accordingly, SO as to Illustrate it, No choice
VIII be left me but to open with grape and can
lister on the stockade, and what elect this would
have III this densely crowded place need not be
told. Ii. WIRZ.
MAY 25, 1864"
WIHZ BADLY FRIGHTENED.
Although Wirz boasted that he was fully pre-
pared b suppress an outbreak, it was plain to
ue that ne was badly frightened The simple
fact that such a plan had been organized, and,
but Tor the trcachcry Of one OF the prisoners,
might have been carried into effect, was cal
culated 10 disquiet him. He was well aware
Of the esteem il which he was held by the pris-
oners, and knew that he could expect no mercy
at their hands if they ever got him in their
clutches. Had he opened fire on the stockade
with his artillery, hundreds would undoubtedly
have been slain at the first volley, but the men
were SO desperate, that l am equally sure they
would have followed up the advance and car
Fied the gates III spite of the artillery. Indeed,
their only safety after that would have been in
forcing hand to-hand encounter with the
rebels, for, had they remained within the
siOckade, they would have been moved down
by the cannon until not a man was left.
One day, not long after this Wirz and VIM
der concluded to ascertain, by actual expert
mci &, how long it would take to get the troops
in position in the case Of an outbreak gun
was accordingly loaded with shell at the head
quarters fort, and Wirz took up his position
where he could see the effect which its dis
charge would have on the prisoners. At the
command to fire, the gunner responded prompt
~, and fuse smell shot shrel1ing across the
prison enclosure and burst in the woods beyond.
Il was answered Immediately by defiant yell
from thousands OF throats. Doubtless the prison
ers thought that the long dreaded massacre was
At hand. The shot, however, was intended to
serve AS a signal, and at the report the troops
cane rushing up o. a double-quick, each rcgi-
nc4t taking its place in the rihc-pits by the
plies OF hand grenades. l could not but think.
would inevitably attend any attempt on the
part Of the prisoners TO carry the gates by as
sault / was in the fort myself at the time of
5his experiment, and it was plain that Wirz
yV4s vtl0v mpcb 0ratitpd nv ia. ,vav u I,ic, fla,