The National tribune., 1906-04-19
capt. WIRE.

| OF Andersonyille, Is brought out by
letter from Col. W. NJ. Hammond t.
the Daughters of the Confederacy. Col
Hammond attempts to defend Wirz, bu
incidentally he makes a strong indict
ment against jefferson Davis and the
other Confederate leaders. Col. Ham
mond was ordered by Gen. BraxtoI
Bragg to go to Andersonville and make
thorough examination of the place
He had never before heard of the pris
on, and was wholly unprepared for the
condition of things that he found there
He spent three days at Andersonvill;
inspecting the several departments anj
giving special attention to the hospita
equipment and general sanitary ar
rangements of the prison. He reported
can be found in Volume VII, Series II
of the Official Records of the Unior
and Confederate Armies. This was only
preliminary report, however. and {
fuller report sent to Richmond was los
and has never been found. He chari'
tably says that probably this was inter.
cepted and destroyed by the Fedora
raiders around Richmond, a statemen
which will cause a smile of incredibly
on the faces of all Union soldiers. H;
says that as he approached Ander SON.
vile he heard at Macon and Other
points terrible stories of the condition
of things in the prison, and there was
much blame attached to Capt. Wirz, Sc
that he was interested in the man anG
studied him carefully. AS to the re-
suits of this study he says:
Maj. Wirz was, when 1 saw him. ap
parently 40 years of age; was born il
Zurich. Switzerland, and was trained
soldier; a little below medium height
slight of figure, and lean almost Il
emaciation, with thin dark hair anc
brown eyes. Direct in manner and ex
preston, and active and alert in move.
ment. he impressed me as one peculiar.
ly fitted for the details of military adj
ministration and control. His right arm
had been badly mutilated near the
wrist caused by the fragment of a shell
at an engagement near Baton Rouge
La, incapacitating him for active field
service. He was at my side during III!
visits to the sick and dying in the hos.
pital, and while passing among the
scarcely less Wretched inmates of the
stockade. AT night he went over the
prison records with me, explaining
minutely the needs and deficiencies o.
each department.; and when l was or
the point Of leaving Andersonville h;
implored me, with tears streaming from
his eyes, to urge upon the authorities
at Richmond the absolute necessity fol
more and better food for the prisoners
for medicine, tents and lumber, anC
declared that it would be infinitely bet
ter and more creditable to our Govern
ment and to our civilization that thou
sands of the suffering and dying mer
whom the fortunes of war had placed
in our hands should be released with
out the formally of an exchange oi
any equivalent Whatsoever, and recon-
mended that advise the authorities al
Richmond 10 send as many of the pris-
oners as could he furnished with trans
portation to Richmond or Savannah OF
such other point as might be selected
and there turn them over uncondition-
ally to the Federal authorities.
AT the time of my visit there were
2S,951 prisoners in the hospital tents
and in the stockade, mostly priyates and
non-commissioned officers-a disorgan-
lied and desperate mass of humanity
whose sufferinss had blotted out the
last yestige of respect for themselves
and of regard for their fellows; and a
Capt. Wirz passed with me unarmed
and unattended through this seethine
mass of misery and hopelessness, !
asked him if he felt no fear for his
personal safety at the hands of men
whose only possible feeling toward him
must be one of fiercest resentment. His
reply was: They iInOw that | am doing
my utmost TO mitigate their sufferiugs:
and, besides, the least appearance of
fear or hesitation on my part would be
quickly fatal to me- And so we passed
through every portion of the Crowdeo o
Stockade without receiving an unkind
expression or seeing a threatening ges-
ture. To me il seems incredible tha'
one guilty of the crueIties alleged
against him by his executiOncrs could
possibly have passed unharmed among
thousands of his victims. Surely, a most
significant refutation of the charge that
procured his condemnation, and have
been used to cover his memory with
obloquy."
Col. Hammond's statements about
Wirzs kind-heartedness and about his
passing freely, unarmed, among thou
sands Of prisoners, will not be accepted
for moment by anyone who was
actually there. Every one of the pris-
oners who happened To see Wirz in his
infrequent visits t. the prison and hos
pital will recall that he was almost in
yariably attended by guard, and that
he carried in his tclt and fastened to
him by leather strap one of the most
forrntdn hIe-lnnkinp raynIyfr,g thot yroc
ever made. II was so deadly and de-
structige i'll its look as TO be ludic Gus
to Old soldiers, who were familiar with
weapons of the approved make. 1t had
large cylinder with 10 barrels. anl
in the center was a musket barrel car
rying a full-sizcd ball to finish up the
victim after the 10 other barrels had
done their preliminary work. All will
also remember how prompt Wirz was
to draw this terrible-looking machine
and flourish it about with many oaths
and broken English eXecrations
If we admit that Wirz was the gentle
angel which Col. Hammond represents,
then the guilt upon the Confederate
authorities was terrible load. and this
appears clearly from Col. Hammond's
statement assto the fullness of the in
formation he furnished to Richmond
regarding the terrible destitution and
mortality among the prisoners at An
dersonville owing to the insufficient ra-
tions, the lack of shelter, of pure water
and other absolute necessities Of life.