The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1906-08-30
!. dJaprain wiz o Mnrcyr.

are making an effort to collect the
necessary funds for erecting q monu-
ment to the memory of Captain Wirz,
who sugerei a vicarious martydom,
being made a scapegoat for the poy-
erty of the Confederacy due to the
Federal blockade, the Boston Evening
Trans cript under the heading "a Mis-
taken Memorial" INDUCES editorially.
in the following mistakeo ayraignment
OF the dead. 1t does not, it says, wish
to 60 into the horrors of Anderson
vile for which Wirz was guilty, but
thinks it sufficient to state that "the
first prisoners were brought to Ander-
sonville Feb. Is, 1864; the war ended
| in April, 1855; yet the national ceme-
tary tat Andersonville contains the
bodies of nearly $4,000 Union soldiers
who succumbed to starvation or neg
lect while prisoners of war there.
To set opposite these graves statue
| of Wirz will provoke Indignation
which we hope will not be limited to
| the North. The Grand Army have
sent protest to the United Confed-
crate Veterans against the Wirz mon
ument project. We hope the Confed-
crate veterans will see the worse than
unwisdom of honoring Wirz as a
martyr" and throw their influence
against any movement having that
object in vieW."
The Transcript is cheeky. II Captain
Wirz is.not a martyr we would like to
know what he is. What are the facts
in the case? During the war the total
number of Federal prisoners cap
tured by the Confederates was 100000
as shown by the official records at
Washington. The whole number OF
confederate prisoners captured by the
Federals was 100000, according to the
same authority. 1t will be seen that
the Confederates captured $4,000
more prisoners than the Federals. The
number of Federals who died in, Con-
federates prisons was 22,576 and the
number of Confederates who died in
Federal prisons was26, ,436. So it ap-
pears from the official records that
more than twelve per cent of the Con-
federate prisoners in, Federal prisons
died and less than nine per cent Of the
Federal prisoners in Confederate pris-
ons died The Transcript says l4,OCO
Union soldiers died of starvation" at
Andersonville- -"starvationi. or ne
glect." This is knowingly untrue
They died OF inadequate food and lack
Of medicament, just as Confederate
soldiers were dying in the ranks FROM
the same causes, due to the Federal
blockade and the extremely limited
resources of the Southern Confederacy
the latter years of the war.
Moreover, the Confederate govern
menu negotiated an exchange of
thousands of Andersonville prisoners
AM marched to the coast, where they
found no ships toreceive them, it hav-
ing been decided that Grants policy
of wearing out" the Confederacy by
ceasing to make exchanges was tie
only feasible one and the poor feeble
forsaken prisoners Of the North lifted
up their voices and cursed the inhuna-
anity Of the government for which
they had fought. Gen. q. S. Grant,
on August sent the following telegram
| to Gen. B. F. Butler: son the sub
ject of exchange, however, I differ
with Gen. Hitchcock. It Is hard on
our men held in Southern prisons not
to release them but it is humanity to
those left in our ranks to fight our
battles, To commence a system ex-
change now which iberates all pris-
oners taken we will have to fight un-
til the whole South is exterminated.
If we had those already caught they
amount to no more than dead men. At
this particular time, to release all rebel
prisoners would insure Sherman's de-
feat and compromise our safety here"
There was no exchange and therefore
Gen. Grant, and not Capt. Wirz, was
responsible for the suffering Of FEEDER
al soldiers in Confederate prisons.
appeals to Negroes.