The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1906-05-23
Keep the Record Stratah+.

Keep the Record Straight.
4 short tire ago the Connecticut
# ex-Union Prisoners OF
W adopted resolution protesting
against the proposition TO build a mon
ume Mt to Capt. Wirz, the commandant
during the war Of the prison at An
dersonville, Ca, where thousand Fed
eral soldiers were confnt d. The prop
osition to build the monument oligl-
mated with the Georgia Daughters Of
the Confederacy. The Connecticut
ex-prisoners protests against the per
petuating or thus honoring the name
OF one than whom history fails to
record "a more maligant fend;" and
declares that sat this time, when the
bitter memories of the past have been
softened by the lapse of years, it can
be productive of no good to our united
country to endeavor to drag from OBJ
livion the name Of the blacklist and
most Infamous character in history.
and thus to attempt to rebuild Sec
tional lines between the North and
South, as this project, if carried into
effect, would most surely accomp-
lish."
AS the News and Courier says it does
not matter to Capt: Wirz whether q
monument Is erected tohis memory or
not. 1t would rot add anything to
his glory or take anything away from
his reputation. He has been cruelty
misre presented and be paid the penal
ty of his life at a time of great popu-
lar madness for his faithful discharge
Of duty. He is called malignant
fend.n a murderer" and "1he black
est and most infamous character IN
history" and monument must not
be erected in his honor. But a mon
ument has teen built to General Sher-
man, the man who did not only mis-
treat prisoners, but made relentless
war upon defenceless women and chill
dreD.
Thirty yeas ago Ben Hill, Of Geor-
gia, made speech in the United
States Senate at Washington, in
which he reviewed the unhappy his
tory of Andersonville and placed the
blane for the terrible sufferings OF the
Federal prisoners there precisely
where it belonged, upon the Federal
authorities at Washington. The
Federal Government made medicine
contraband of war-"l am not aware,
said Mr.. Hill. "tbat any other nation
on tie earth did such thing before
not even the Duke of Alva, sir"
When "the Confederate Governme ut
unable to produce medicine, according
to it's right under the laws Of nations
it undertook to run the blockade and
its ships were captured and its med
icines taken.
When it was suspected that the
women Of the North "would caIry
ouinine and other medicines Of that
sort so much needed by the Federal
prisorers..in the South. Fedora officers
were charged to capture the women
and examine their petticoats, to keep
them from carving medicines to Con
federate soldiers and to Federal priso
ners, and they were imprisoned" !" The
Federal Government made clothing
contraband of war, and refused to ex-
change prisoners with the Confederacy
on the ground that the exchanged
Confederates would only strengthen
the forces Of the enemy in the field.
The fact is the Federal authorities.
abandoned their soldiers who had fal-
len into Confederate hands to their
fate and hanged Wirz because Of their
own c, uelty to their own people.
Ia spite of their heartless d. sertion
of their soldiers who were in Confed-
crate prisons, the facts show that
there was less morality among the
Fedora prisoners in Confederate hands
than there was among the Confeder-
rates who were confined in Northren q
prisons. In the report of Mr.. Edwin
NJ. Stanton, the Secretary Of War un.
der Mr.. Lincoln, made on the 10th OF
July, 1866, he showed that OF the Fed.
eral prisoners in Confederate hands
during the war only 22,576 died, while
of the Confederate prisoners in Fed
eral hands 26, ,436 died. In round num-
bers. according to the report of Sur
geon General Barns, there were 220,-
600 Confederate prisoners in Federal
hands and 27o, 900 Federal prisoners in
Confederate h1nds $4,000 died, while
Of the 22o, 900 Confederates in Federal
hands over 26, 900 died. The ratio is
this. More than u per cent Of the
Confederates in Federal hands died,
and less than per cent OF the Fed
erals =, Confederate hands ded' This
saye The News and Courier, is the
record and it condemns the North ut
terly and forever. But the war is over
and we must let it go. If anybody
wants to build a monument to Capt.
Wirz, let him build it. 1t will do no
harm.
Government Maps.
It may not be known to some OF