The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-02-27

I Ouf NOHnsinens Dr' Cs As Oorlnhns is
 COnversant of All the Facts in the
 Case-Letter Has Notable Bearing on
 Pending cOntrOyersy-Was at For
 tress Monroe During Entire Period of | Davis mprisonment-Davis sFared SumptuousIy'-Friends Permitted to Send Luxuries-ExceIIent Quarters No AndersonyiIIe Nor Libby Prison Treatment for Arch-Rebel.
 To Editor Of the Journal and Courier: In justice to a loyal defender of the
 flag, please publish the following facts:
 I was stationed at Fortress Monroe
 during the entire period of Davis im- prisonment; my position was that of hospital steward in the regular army;
 was with Dr. J. J. Craven, who was ap- pointed as his medical adviser, and who
 treated him professionally during his | Imprisonment, being about the only
 person who had daily access to his cell On the day of Davis arrival at the fort
 ress I was ordered to furnish the case
 mate which was to be his cell, if a large i room exactly like those occupied by our
 own officers could be called cell.' The landward side of the fortress had no
 mounted guns at the time, so the large
 casemates or rooms, being empty, were
 used as quarters by the regular army
 officers. The only difference between I that occupied by Davis and these off
 cers was that the opening or embrasure l through which cannon pointed outward
 where there were any had been pro-
 vided with iron grating, that the noted | prisoner might not escape. placed with my own hands good I iron hospital bedstead. new curled hair
 mattress, two of the f1uffiest of, new 1 flannel blankets, clean sheets, curled
 hair pillows and clean pillowcases that could be found; also bathtub, chair, table, mirror, candleStick and candles in fact, furnished the cell so that it was I as comfortable as any of the casemates
 used by the captains and lieutenants of artillery
 As President Davis was expected soon remained in the casemate until his l arrival; he was placed in the room, the
 door locked and one sentinel stationed l in the room with him, another on the
 parapet overhead to prevent communi-
 cation with him through the ventilating pipe which passed through the roof Cf the casemate. to the open air above; an other sentry paced back and forth on
 the bank of earth outside the moat. l One reason for all this care was to pre-
 vent any possibility of escape by the aid of outside friends, and also to pro- tect him from danger from any hot
 headed, overzealous Union soldier who might have fired upon him had he been permitted to appear at the window, for it must be remembered that thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers were
 passing through Fortress Monroe on their way to their different homes Some
 of them had been starved at Anderson vile and other prisons, and looked up- on him as responsible for the suffering and maltreatment, and would have shot
 him on sight.
 General Miles had orders to make his
 escape impossible, and he at the same time was protecting him from harm in this direction. And this phase of the question should not be lost sight of by those who have not thought of it. With the state of excitement which existed then after the assassination of l1r. Lin. coin, if he. had the parole of the fort, as
 he did afterWard, he would have never seen his family again.
 And if the classmates were good
 enough quarters for our regular army
 officers they were good enough for him
 surely. For the first few days MT. Da- wis was assigned to one of the regular army companies for his food and re- ceiYed each day just such food as the enlisted men of the company were hav- ing good substantial food and plenty
 of it. Dr. Craven visited him daily and after a few weeks wrote to the author- ities at Washington that If they wish ed to preserve his life until his trial should come off he must have better quarters, better clothing and better food" 5~ itt And he was soon removed to one of the fine buildings in the center of the fort, such as were occupied by the off, cers of higher rank. The sentinel in
 the room, being an annoyance to him, was removed. He was allowed two- hour walk upon the parapet of the fort, accompanied by General Miles and a
 squad of four soldiers as a guard. Or ders were then received from Washing ton to have him fed from Dr. Craven's table and as the doctor, who was med- ica1 director of the Army of the James, was a high liver. He had the best that the market afforded carried to his room every day by the doctors negro ser want, and can testify from personal observation that he "fared sumptuously every day" Besides all this, his friends in Baltimore and other southern cities were permitted to send him luxuries of every description, including the finest of wines and the most fragrant brand of cigars. <, All of these things and all correspond ence passed through my hands as pr. Craven's steward and chief clerk, and can speak from actual experience as to the flavor of the cigars, as Dr. Craven used to sample them and pass a few around His friends also sent him clothing, and he even had a pink silk quilted dressing gown and gold or silver mounted meerchaum pipe, which was said to be worth three hundred dn1larc xuIinb 1, Y,rasaptad +n nr