Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1885-07-23
The Confederate Archives.
A RECORD or BLOOD AND CRUELTY IN THE
BOOKS OF LIBBY PRISON.


{
and the nineteenth volume has just been IS
sued. When completed it is expected that
the number Of volumes will have reached
eighty, and these will comprise the full of
fetal records of the Confederate and Inior
armies during the late war. An average o
thirty men are kept busy copying manuscript
reading proofs AMI indexing from one year
end TO the other, and at the present rate i
is expected that they will publish five OF
I SIX volumes a year. 1t takes about a peck
Of manuscript to make one volume Of thu
official record. Each volume contains on an
average 1000 pages Of printed matter OF
about 5000 pages of closely written foolsoap
An ordinary foolscap page Of the record eats
I uu about POO words, so that a volume would
contain 100000 words. And the whole pub
/ LEGATION Will contain the immense amount o.
5000, 900 words. Estimating each fools
/ cap page IS covering one and one-hall
square feet Of space not large estimate
! ] ,hlRk-the manuscript used 10 complete
/ this history would cover 100000 square
/ feet Of space if il we're laid out with the
edges OF It's sheets touching one another N
{ close patchwork. And as an acre is less
+ than Il 200 square feet. It would cover more
/ than eight acres Of ground and leave paper
/ To spare.
/ The war department is so close in regard
/ 10 is dealings with the papers e the Con-
/ federacl that the newspaper men are not
| permitted to examine them. Yesterday, az
/ Ter going 10 half dozen different officials
/ was permitted TO enter the rooms in which
| the records Of The Contederacy are kept.
| The visit was wei. worth the trouble. Four
{ ,ts
/ ing are devoted 10 those Of the Confederate
archives which are classified. and there is an
equa. amount ID another room which have
not Vet been arranged. The walls Of these
rooms, where the most valuable archives are
kept are lined With hundred Of mahogany
envelope files. reaching from the floor 10
the ceiling, aud paperlHg- A. II were, almost
every part Of the walls. \ panel Of shelves
runs around the lower part OF the rooms,
and IN these stand out time-worn ledgers
AMI shabby blank books, OF all forms, shapes
and sizes. Some of them are dog-eared,
/ some are ta,tored; Al. are yellow with age
and roughcned by hard usage. These are
the account books Of the Confederate govern
ment. Which the army captured al Richmond.
These rooms contain, In fact the Conted-
crate government a. It existed from 1861 10
I>6j, ana here are the papers recording is
Galng> IN black and white. There on that
wal are the papers Of the Confederate de-
partment Of war. and IN them, II they would
permit yUu t. look. YOU might find the rec
or!> Of Jacob lhomp,on'> bruta! treason,
the cr4ellles which judah +. benjamin de-
signed for | n.un soldiers and thousands Of
autograph letters. perhaps, which tie wit
oUs w0ula not Ike now to have made public.
Over there. here the big ledgers lie crowd
Cd in under those hundreds o. file boxes.
are The papers Of the Confederate treasury.
In ,hose lie boxes are the records. which
nov save the Union government, mans
thousand dollars. Here are the vouchers
fer a.. Bill and purchases made. and many
d man who has sought to cam something
from the government. saving that he had
nothing to do w.ta TIE rebellion, has had the
llc thrown INTO h> teeth and the blood Of
saame brought - hi, check By showing him
HI own Signature in letters Of treason
among those papers
Among those Confederate record, are
some winch viii damn the Confederate gov
eramen; a. long b history exists 10 tell the
~,arl 1T .'. cruelty 10 the prisoners of the
NarA. S4ci. document lies before me a.
write Tins letter. /, is the no-pltl. record
of .fi,, rr->sr Lisa h-ga ia, hook TWO
i,,h.. So sr.,,., ,fr.e let long ami two
I4et vide. IT, ra.sri, NOW yellow with age,
bY, The ink j, a. Hack il. when i frs, flowed
from, rh. ,,sn ar5 i. SEEM. n stand mn
.t.,t.. .,r.,. sr,r,,af far ,ne reading If
,.-}tsnt - 7,,..'-. -. s.,,r,. qfr,u.f,v my
,,,.,, and rr-o,- T. rbl. hook mar, than
J. olo ,,,,,.,,,. A.. entered and the record
,brv. that ,bay, li.onl Of ibetu left the nos
..,.,. r,r So. ,r,,r Wboie n,.,es >to,, thai,
tA- r....,,.r. d,a3 O.. ,re same d,y If th.ir
.,,,r,. ..,o.. A...ri,sl and tho Ji.ea.es which
H.. r.r.rI,.5 ooi,,.,t. rb4,r name, ara those
.f E,..n,4r. It, d.s.s>e, which arose be-
( ,o,F t,sIi finn the ,,7r condition in
wbl,1 ,bey we're kent. i, !. twenty wears
and mr. ,,au, .i,,r.. tb-. hook vas rom
I plet.t t,. tame IAN never wash ava, mans
Gr5s,a. ...,,.r.f his f.4..w-o,en The Ink Of
raj. t... vlH be tho l-,rkes. b ;gh, nm the
Cont-4..r.... Government a. I,p., A. tt,t q,.,
,r,.n,..r,. .4,7 ,.ya, ,,i.tay, -. =. -
,,,e, b.r.. r...rl.l ,,..,f,, -,
If ham =, r44 -. - - So g.
,,.per,,io,. II
r.. f..s'.I.r1,a .-....,,.,. ...t &. also
r -. ~. -. / d., -. .
1t. aal il j. inaccessible Up the s.Eh,-,rer at
/ .hg affair, and have seen more fancy seas
ana g - an Z ltfT.