Fitzgerald enterprise. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1895-1912, 1904-12-15
ANDERSONVlLLE PRISON.
Correction in Regard to the Hanging OF
CAPTAIN Writ.

EDITOR Pass notice 10 the Recorder
letter from Mr.. w. A. Covingtou, of Moultrie, 10
the Telegraph anent the torture of Federal SOL
ders that were in prison at Andersonville, and
the hanging of Capt Wirtz at that place, which l
wish to correct.
In the first place Capt. Wirtz was not hanged
there but was execu4ed in the city of Washing
ton. l vas personally acquainted with Capt.
Writ from the time he took charge of the prls'
on under Capt. Pearson until he (Pearson) was
succeeded by General Winder, until the surren-
der, being daily with him while he was in COM
mand. Capt. Wirtz was the best man that could
have been selected for the position, though he
was boisterous and com manding, yet he was not
cruel He was always as kidd and humane to
them as he could be. Of course he had to talk
roughly to them; but what could have done
otherwise ia controlling from seventeen to TWEEN
ty thousand men.
He would threaten to hang or shoot some OF
them, but / never knew him to do violance to any
one, and was both on the inside and outside OF
the prison. AS an illustration I will relate one
or two incidents to show that he was the most
humane st the post.
There was regiment of about four hum
dred prisoners from Michigan-I believe-cap-
tured in West Virginia. They had been on the
road two days without food, and Capt. Wirtz had
them marched to place near the depot until he
could issue them rations before he placed them
in the stockade. He sent a courier, who was
paroled prisoner, to the commissionary with or.
ders for four hundred rations cooked and sent
at once. The cooks who were all payroled pris-
oners, were rather tardy about filling the order,
and he sent another courier. Still the rations
did not come. So he mounted his horse and
went himself and then the rations came; but not
until &c had cursed the whole post from General
Winder down.
When General Winder sent to take
command of the post he brought about five
thousand prisoners from Camp Winder, at Rich
mond, Va. Most of them were sick and Capt.
Writ took several hundred of them and carried
them below the prison where they could have
shade trees to protect them from the hot sun.
He paroled men to wait on them, and make them
as comfortable possible. I willsstate that
there we're very few deaths in the prison till
Camp Winder moved there.
Now as to the hanging of Capt. Wrtz. Out
Of the the thirty-four thousand prisoners con-
fined there they could not get any evidence
against Writ until they sent here and summon
ed Col. Ambrose Spencer before the court and
he swore that Writ stamped sick man to
death. Col. Spencer Yankee school teach
er before the war. and when Col. Cults battalion
was raised Spencer wanted 10 command it. When
Cults was elected to the command Spencer with
drew from them and tried to raise battalion,
but could not do it, as no one had any confidence
in him. He then turned traitor to the South
and did all he could to crush the Confederacy.
He established string of posts from here to
ST. Marks, Fla, so that when any prisoners es-
capped from Andersonville they would go to him
and he would send them to Adams station; from
there they were sent to place in Thomas
ty; from thence to ST. Marks where they would
run the blockade and get away; and this
kept up till the surrender of Andersonville.
All those parties that affiliated with him
well known to me- and in my history Of the An
Jacksonville prison | will give their names.
JOSEPH A. COBB.
In The Americas
Mrs Chadwick's SIS, 900 package of Sc
curities is said to be worth less than soc.
&&
With Estill, Howell and Wright in the race,
Bartlett Hall and Russell right anxious to get
in, the longest, winded, 1ivelest gubernatorial
contest in the history of the state is in immedi-
ate prospect
The Fitzgerald people have right to be
proud of their little niue-year old town.-Dar;en
Gazette.
Now Grub if you think its a LITTLE niue
vear-old come up and rubber neck around
hour and you'll change your mind
We have said it before, but we never tire of
eboruc-SOuth GeOrpia Is fOrtun3t re in hay.