The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1890-01-08
ADEFENCE OF THES0UTH
THE LAST ESSAYOF PRESIDENT
JEFFERSON DAVIS.

The Relative Mortality Among tn,
). Federal and Confederate Prisoners--
4 Crushing Answer TO rhe Charges o
Inhumani,y Preferred against tho
Soath.
From the Beiford Company.
One Of the last essays ir,-a III" pen
Of Jefferson Davis was on "AndelsoD>
vile and other War Prisons" 1t was
| written as5 summer for the North
American Review, but in consequence
oSwhat Mr.. Davis characterized as the
muilation OF his reply to Lord Wolse-
ley by the editor of the Review, he
| withdrew it from that periodical and
gave it to Belford's Magazine, III the
January member ot-which the first
part OF it appears. Il is a remarka-
Bile paper and will attract wide atten-
ton.
"Nca.ly a quarter OF century has
laps ed" writes Mr.. Davis, since war
between the States ceased. Has the
prejudice fed Oh the passion Of that
period ceases; with the physical strife?
Shall It descend form sire 10 son,
hardened by it's transmission? Orshall
| it be destroyed by the full develops
ment Of the truth, the exposure Of
the guilty and the vindication of the
innocent"
Believing, as Mr.. Davis withouca q
doubt did believe, that he, personally,
and the ConfederAcy rs Il community,
were not responsible for the needless
suferings and mortality of prisoners
at Andersonville, it is natural that he
should have writer. with earn estnesS
and warm th, even without nitiern ess
in defence of his own record and his
people. The facts that he produces
~ his paper divide themselves into
lss'iree groups: The first group are de-
signed to show, while no attempt is
made TO deny the existence Of great
and needless sutferings, yet that they
were not owing to any fault of the
Confederate authorities, and that, |
contrary to tie common belief at The |
North, neither the sutferirgs nor the |
mortality, among the Federal captur-
ed soldiers in Confederate prisons |
were 80 great as the sufterings and
mortality among confederate prisoners
in Federal prisons.
This last assertion will seem so as
founding 20 Northern readers that, |
unless fortified, the rest Of Mr.. Davis's
article will excite no attention. There
fore, although it is one of his last points |
in the order of presentation, we quote /
it first:
''It must be conceded that tins North
ern States are more generally healthy
than the Southern. Then, with equal
means and care in providing for the
prisoners. it follows that the rate of
mortality should have been as the
salu5rity of the country. 1t may be
presumed that all were ''on duty"
when captured, and the average Of
the wounded among the prisoners about
the same; therefore that all were in a
condition to be benefited by rest and
proper treatment in a favorable local
ity. What was the result? According
to the reports Of the United States
wsr department the relative num-
bers Of prisoners and death were In
round numbers:
United States prisoners held by the
Copfsderacy, 10000
United States 100000
United States prisoners died in Con
federate hands, $4,000
HonfoSorota Stotoc pricnnarS n led in
United States hands 26,OOO
"From this appears that the Confed-
crates, with an excess of so, 900 prison
ers, had 1000 fewer deaths. This
should not Gave been the case if the
means of providing for them had been
equal; but, in every material respect
in surgical instruments, and all which
free commerce contributes-the North
had greatly the advantage. Only one
element remains to account for the |
diffarence-care for the defer celess;
aud this, in the depths Of our destitus
ton, never ceased, as the world Will
appreciate whcnever impartial his
torv shall render the justice which
contemporary prejudice and passion
have deined."
/ MIR. Davis insists that the needless
suffering at Andersonville was caused
by the inhuman refusal ofthe Federal
G ,vernment to exchange prisoners,
and declaring medicines contraband |
of var, even after it knew that the !
Confederate Government was unpro-
vided with food enough or medicine to
care properly for the prisoners in its
hands. ''It was not starvation," he
writes. ':but acclimation, unsuitable |
diet and dependency which were
the potent agents of disease and
death"
He stops in his argument to defend
both General Winder and Major Wirz
from the charges Of cruelty to prison
ers, and tells this astonishing anec
dote about Wirz, on the testimony OF
Father Boyle among others:
Con the evening before the day OF
the execution OF Major Wirz a man
wished, on the part ofa Cabinet officer,
to inform me that Major Wirz would
be pardoned if he would implicate
Jefferson Davis in the cruelties at An-
dersonville. Upon my refusal to take
any action in the matter he went to
Mr.. Schade, counsel for Wirz, with the
same purpose and with like result.
When I asked Major WirZ the next
morning he told me that the same pro.
posItion mad been made to him and
had been rejected with scorn. The
M,ior was very indignant, aud said
that, while ne was innocent of the
charges for which he was about to suf.
fer death, he would not purchase his
liberty by perjury and crime, such as
: had been made the consideration OF
, his freedom"
Mr.. Schade confirms this ast,und.
ing statement.
+ Mr. Davis briefly reviews the differ.
ent and earnest efforts he made toe1-
! L.>.1 ,,;.o,or. o,S ovon IN parmit