The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1884-04-10
terms his reason for declining to grant an

Il
On the subject of,exchange. however, differ
from General Hitchcock 1t is hard men
held in Southern prisons not to exchange them,
but it is humanity to those left in the ranks to fight
our battles. Every man released parole, or
otherwise, becomes active soldier against at
once, either directly indirectly. If we COM
mence a system OF exchange which liberates all
prisoners taken. will have to fight on till the
whole South is exterminated. If we hold those
caught they amount to no than dead men.
AT this particular time to release all rebel prisoners
North would insure General Sherman's defeat, and
would compromise safety here.
General Butler, in his report, was even
more apologize He said:
The anxiety Of fathers brothers, sisters, mothers.
wives, TO know the exigency which caused this
terrible, ana perhaps 1t may have seemed to
them useless and unnecessary destruction of those
dear to them by horrible deaths, each and all have
compelled me to this exposition, so that it may be
seen that those lives were spent as part of the
system of attack upon the rebellion, devised by the
wisdom of the of the armies to de-
stroy it by depletion. depending upon our superior
numbers TO win the victory at last"
At first the Government made the refusal
of the Confederates to include colorcd pris-
oners in the terms of the cartel a pretext
for lis action, but Generl Butler testified
before the Committee on the Conduct of the
War that if all it had demanded regarding
The exchange Of colored prisoners had been
conceded he should have raised other OBJ
jections to prevent exchange. That Presi-
dent Lincoln was also thoroughly committed
to this policy, much as he deplored its neces-
sity, and uniformly sustained General Grant
III It's execution, is evident from his letter
to that officer, dated at the Executive Man
sion, October s. 1854 It is as follows:
Iinelose you copy of a correspondence in regard
to contemplated exchange of naval prisoners
through your lines. and not very distant from your
headquarters. 1t only TO the knowledge of
the War Department and myself yesterday, and it
gives rs some uneasiness. i therefore send it to
You, with the statement that as the numbers to be
exchanged under it are small, and so much has
already been done to effect the exchange, hope
you may find it convenient to let it go forward
under the general supervision of General Butler,
and particularly in reference to the points he holds
vital in exchanges. Still you at liberty to ar
rest the whole operation if in your judgment, the
public good requires.
liz IS clear, We think, from this CORE
spondence, that, while nothing can justify
the vindictiye and cruel policy pursued
by the Confederate authorities it is our
own Government which is directly re-
sponsible for the unusual sufferings which
this forced extension of the period of inn
prisonment entailed upon our ex-prisoners,
and that the latter have an equitable claim
to special and specific compensation. If it
IS true that by depriying them of the bene-
fits of exchange the Government was en-
abied to prevent the depleted ranks of the
enemy from being recruited, and to finally
put down the rebellion through the exhaust
ion of the Confederate resources, it is GER
tainly no more than just that it should spe-
cially requite the men upon whom the sac
ri1ice was imposed