Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-10-09
PRISONS.
SOMETHING OF THEIR MANAGE.
MENT NORTH AND SOUTH
Virtues and yices-Letter From DIR. John
A. Wyerh, Who Wrote tho Camp
Merton Article in the Century.
springfield, Mass, Republican,

your eultOrldl VI september OH -INcuti
Prisoners at Camp Norton emboldens me
to write you concerning the treatment of
prisoners during our late unhappy war. l
should deeply regret the result Of 4 discus
sion of this subject should it arouse ami
mosities or rekindle feelings Of bitterness.
After more than quarter of a century has
elapsed. the survivors or the partiSanS on
both sides in that terrible conflict should be
able-unblinded by passions natural to and
engendered in the tumult Of war, and un
biased by prejudice-calmly to discuss the
merits and dement's of either side of this
question.
That which we term civilized warfare is
really only semi-civilized. On either side
the lot OF the soldier was hard at best, and
the lot of the prisoner was still harder.
This is the history of all wars in all corfn-
tries, and ours was no exception. The
treatment of prisoners by both North and
South during our war was characterized
either by Indifference or neglect on the part
of those responsible for the welfare of the
helpless beings placed under their care,
amounting in many instances to criminality.
A careful study of the subject by any
reasonable and fair-minded being can lead
but to this conclusion.
1t so happens that the Southern side of
the prison question has never been made
Known to the Northern people. Though
good deal has been itten. it appeared in
Southern magazines orOther periodicals of
limited circulation, never finding its way to
the asses of the North. On the other
hand, the narratives of Union prisoners
have been widely diffused through the daily
papers, made the the texts of passionate
oratory by tins statesmen Of day, elabor-
ated by the illustrated journals and empha-
sized by the immense circulation and in
fuence of the Northern magazines. Until
the article on 'Johnson's Island" by Lieut..
Carpenter. and Camp Morton" appeared
n apt m " Onn 10 Of fha emf
ings of prisoners was known north of the
Mason and Dixon line. Little wonder then
that these articles attracted attention, Gre
ated surprise, aroused Indignation; and still
less wonder that those to whom this indig-
nation would direct itself rushed into the
daily papers and the magazines with col
umns of denals of the accuracy of my
statements, with explanations of this and
that, long lists of rations, atteSted by the
commissary, supplies furnished by the
quartermaster all certified to as correct;
comfortable quarters, warm fires, plenty of
blankets and beddings, etc,-and get the
men died in large numbers!
Facts are cold and unanswerable and dead
men do tell tales. The death rate at Camp
Morton was within seven-tenths OF / per
cent of that among all Union prisoners con-
fined in the Confederacy, and Camp Morton
was by no means the worst prison. At FL
MIRA n. y, cut of a total of II, l47 prison
ers, $3.50 died; that is PAS III every 1000.
These figures are from the United States
war records office. l have the report of
the chief surgeon of the prison hospital at
Andersonville, Ca, showing officially the
number of prisoners that died at Anderson
vile. the causes of death and q classified
list of all that died in stoclade and hospital
The total number Of prisoners received dur
ing its occupation was 1858; deaths H.
OIL ratio of mortality 2S3 in 1000. The
United States war records Office, however,
have revised these Andersonville figures,
giving the total confined as 40,62S, and the
deaths as IL, 40S, or 354 per 1000. Accepting
the revised statistics, the difference in NOR.
tally at Andersonville and Elmira is 10Ssfn
each 1000. The civilized world has heard
much of the horrors Of AnderSOnville; how
little it knows of Elmira and Camp Morton.
The death rate on either side cannot be ex-
planned away. These prison pens of North
and South must stand as blots on even the
darkest page of our history. May they help
to make war impossible!
Now in all fairness and candor what ex-
cuse can there be for SO frightful 4 DEATH
rate at Elmira? The North was rich in all
that should have contributed to the protec-
ton OF its prisoners. That they died by
wholesale is proof hold, that they did not
receive this humane treatment As to
AnderSonville. there is something of pallia-
ton. / believe the spirit of fairness in the
Northern people will appreciate and admit
it when the facts are known The South
was greatly in need of food, clothing ana
medical supplies. In 1864 its armies were
subsisting almost wholly on corn and corn
meal. The supply of meat was almost eX-
hausted. On October Is, 1864, S B.
French, major and commissary on subsist-
ence reports: I'VE have ON hand in the
Confederate states rations of meat to sub
sist SOC, 900 men for twenty-five days" On
August 2. 1864, DR.. White, the medical Off
Ger in charge at Andersonville, reports:
1.-The supplies of medicines have been en-
tirely exhausted. The ration issued to the
prisoners is the same as that issued to the
Confederate soldier in the field. The meal
is unbolted, and when baked is coarse and
unwholesome.' Even sleeves or means for
boiling the meal could not be had on account
of the strict blockade.
Judge Robert OulG, Confederate commits
sioner of exchange, in the statement pub
lished in the National Intelligencer in Au-
gust. 1865, says: 'In the summer Of 1864,
in consequence of certain information COM
municated 10 me by the surgeon-general of
the Confederate states as to the deficiency
of medicines, l offered to make purchases
of medicines from the United states author
tiles, to be used exclusively for the relief
of Federal prisoners offered to pay in
gold, cotton or tobacco. and agreed that
such medicines might be brought into the
Confederate lines by United Stated sur
geonS and dispensed by them. To this offer
never received any reply"
1t is matter of history that the Confed.
crates at this time were DESTROYS of an ex-
change of prisoners, and that the United
States authorities would not consent to ex-
change. The New York Tribune, edito
rally referring to the occurrence of 1864,
says: sin August the rebels offered to re-
new the exchange, man for man. Gen.
Grant then telegraphed the following i'm
portant order: 1T is hard on our men held
in Southern prisons not to exchange them.
but it is humanity to those left in the ranks
to fight our battles. If we commence a
system of exchange which liberates all
prisoners taken we will have to fight on
till the whole South is eXterminated If
we hold those caught, they amount to no
more than dead men,"
With no hope of exchange and without
supplies. and the death rate increasing, in
the summer of 1864 Commissioner Ould
further reports: Il did offer to deliver
from 10000 to 1900 of the sick and
wounded prisoners on the north side of the
Savannah river without requiring any
equivalent. Although this offer was made
in the summer Of 1864, transportation was
not sent to Savannah river until about the
middle or last of November, and then de-
livered as many as could be transported,
about 1900. About 5000 sick and wounded
(Confederatesl We're delivered to me. The
original rolls showed that some $500 had
started from Northern prisons and that