The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-03-24
Dark Memories of
 Old AndersonUille

Seeing these emaciated prisoners on their return, the North cried out for vengeance. and vengeance was theirs. Deep was the revenge they took! From the day of our hmanity gift, the 're- taliation measures" produced shock ing death rate.
 The death rate at Camp Douglass. Illinois, was 1888: at Alton, H.. 2o.s; Camp Battle. Illinois, 1e.6; Rock Island. H., 77.4; Elmira. ". r., 32.6. At John sons Island it was awful. A prisoner would hunt all day for a rat, and would feign sickness to get dose of castor oil. and during the day would let a drop of the oil fall in a piece of bread to prevent starvation. What e fatal gift to us was that 13,000 who were released to go home! We sought relief for Federal prisoners; relief was refused ours. The ingratitude of the North for that gift of sick men. Death producing retaliatory measures put upon our men--because the 13,000 enla- ciated did not look like strong, well men. That fatal gifti
 John I. Van Allen, of Watkins. Schuyler County, N. T.. acting for the people of Baltimore. visited Elmira pfison for the purpose of distributing blankets, clothing, medicines, etc. He found our prisoners nearly naked. Tne commander stated that he could not allow any relief as The War Depart ment rendered him helpless The War Department was telegraphed to for the poor privilege of alleviating the con dition of the prisoners MT. Van AL len in his letter to the good samaritans of Baltimore, says: '.rhe brutal Stan- ton was memorable. and refused all en- treaties"
 A United States medical officer, on duty at E1mira, writing to the New York World, tells q sad story of con- ditions, and among otoher things said: Smallpox cases were crowded in such a manner that it was an impossibility for the surgeon to treat his patients individually. They actually lay so ad- jacent that the simple movement of one of them would cause his neighbor to cry out fin agony and pain" Concluding his letter, the medical officer says: And hundreds of sick. who could in no wise obtain medical aid, died 'un- kneiled, uncofaned' and unknown - Yet the death rate at Elmira, was small compared to Rock Island, III.
 Rock Island has a history within itself. No space now for it. Jefferson Davis, Abraham Lincoln and Robert B Lee ars connected with it's history. Being far removed, isolated and very secure. it was chosen as military prison in the fall of 1863 for Confed- crate prisoners. The climate inhospita- ble, cold winds, merciless blasts. Here our men .froze to death. The death rate was TIA. and three times as great as at Andersonville.
 But 1t is almost forgotten in the South that we also offered gift of well" prisoners. It was understood that vessels son the coast of Florida would take the Andersonville prisoners. They were, accordingly, marched by short stages to the coast. The captains and commanders refused to accept the gift, saying they had no orders to take them. And we had to march those poor fellows back to Andersonville, and they died like sheep along the way back too Respondent to live. Here stanton refused the ''well"-yet when they received the sick they "retal iated'' because they were the sick and not we'll. Spurned Alexander H. Ste phen's mission. rejected the mission of the Federal prisoners who pleaded for relief, refused the we'll in Florida and forced them back to prison, yea grew ferocious and persecuted vilely our prisoners on account of the ema- ciated appearance of the 1s.o00 sick sent as a gift for humanity's sake! Truth is stronger than fiction. The gift" was their own men, not Tro- Jdh hOISC DCdEAl8 S4OCh6-
 When MT. Stephens had failed in his humane mission for exchange and for purchase of medicines and secure doc tors and hospital supplies for the Fed era1 captives. and Robert Ould had failed in all his efforts, then Gen. Lee himself undertook to do something with the military commanders in the field. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler was in charge of the prison department, and he fha ma fAar n Gan Grant appdovingly, and Gen. Grant thus re- piled:
 ''C1ty Point. August 13. 1Ss4.-To Gen. Butler: On the subject of ex- change differ from Gen. Hitchcock. It is hard on our men held in South ern prisons not to exchange them, but every man of theirs released becomes an active soldier against us, directly or indirectly. If We begin system of exchange to liberate all prisoners we will have to fight until the whole South is exterminated. If we hold those caught they amount to no more than dead men. To exchange prisoners would insure Sherman's defeat and compromise our safety"
 What an unconscious tribute Gen. Grant pays to those old veterans lin- gering in Northern prisons! Grant. magnanimous at Appromattox, shows the iron heart here.
 MT. Stanton's official deport made on July 19, 1866. shows that Federal prisoners died, 22,246, while Confed- crate prisoners died 26,576. The sur Reon General of the United States re- ported the Federal prisoners held by us were 270.000; the Confederate pris- 1 oners held North. 220.000. This tells the pathetic story of that fatal gift l of 13,0O0 sick, sent home to get well! | No sick were given in return. But they died, bound hand and foot, In retail | tory'' shackles. Oh, that fatal gift | of I3,o00 sick! After that gift. it was as if sentence of death were passed upon all our prisoners
 | Reference has been made to march ing the well prisoners to Florida and the refusal of the gun-boats to accept | them.
 But there was a second march tc Florida. In the winter of 1865 orders came from Gen. Howell Cobb to take the Andersonvi1le prisoners to Jack
 sonville, then in possession of thu
 Federals. Capt John c. Rutherford
 the lamented Macon lawyer, haG
 charge. The prisoners were marched
 in sight of Jacksonville and the orde
 given: "Go to your own, whether the,
 receive you or not" and our soldier
 withdrew, and thus closed Anderson
 vile, except Lieut. Easterlin of Compan
 B. Third Georgia Reserves, was place
 in charge of the sick and feeble a
 Andersonville, and was there when tn
 surrender came.
 That fatal gift" and Stanton's con | HA teEnfaIIa Fg0TtnA