Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-01-31
PERvERS|ON OF FACTS
Col. McEIroy Discusses Wirz
Monument incident.
WAS AT ANDERS0NvILLE
Describes the Horrors of the South
ern Prison Pen.
GREAT HARVEST OF DEATH
Veteran Gives Figures to Show Mis-
representations Proposed for the
Memorial to Jailer.
GREAT HARVEST OF DEATH

Col. John McE.lroy, who during the civil
war was an inmate of many Of the SOUTH
ern prisons. and a charter member OF An
Jacksonville. says he seriously objects to
the careless manner in which people VINO
do not understand figures handle them
War statistics. he says, have TO be conned
in connection with many groups of sta
tistcs. and fiat statement Of any figures
on prisoners of war can never be correct
unless it has been carefully deduced from
comparisons with other figures, in his
opinion
Speaking OF the historical Inaccuracies
in the Inscriptions on the Wirz monu-
n,ent, referred TO in The Star. Col. Noel
roy said:
Statistics Are False.
.rhe alleged statistics on the face o.
the monument are as ridiculously false as
are the allegations as to history. The
best information we have upon the matter
is the reply made July Is. 1865. by MAJ
Cen E. A Hitchcock. commissary gem
eral of prisoners. in response 10 resolu-
ton Of the House of Representatives CALI
ing for information as to the number OF
deaths In the prisons north and south
GEL, Hitchcock says: From the records
of this office il appears that 70. 436 deaths
have been reported among the rebel prls-
oners of war, and 22.5I6 Union soldiers
are reported as having died in southern
prisons. These numbers should be seen
in comparison with the number OF pris-
oners.. respectively. held nprth and south,
namely: In the north there were about
100000. while in the south there were
little more than half that number. name
~. about l26.952. as per reports received
Gen Hitchcock goes on to say that his
reports at that time as to the deaths Oh
Union soldiers in southern prisons were
VIGOROUSLY imperfect. 5 they had only
fairly good reports from Andersontilie
Salisbury. CahaDa and Danvilie. This did
not include some twelve or thirteen other
important prisons in the south, and he
alludes to one important instance where
the Christian commission found 6l5
graves OF Union soldiers, prisoners OF
war. of which the Office had no report
'As the United States government kept
careful accounts OF all the prisoners cap
tured. and the officers in charge can give
full account Of all except some 5000. the
report Of 1000 deaths Of Confederate
ton until today On the other hand. the
discovery OF graves of Union prisoners
has gone on continuously. until the last
report of the quartermaster general
shows that there are, In round numbers,
ZOO graves In three national cemeteries
alone, those Of Andersonville, Florence
and Salisbury. without counting those of
the thirteen other large graveyards near
considerable southern prisons. There IS,
therefore. every reason for the presump-
ton that fully 10000 Union soldiers died
while in Confederate hands. or immediate
~ after their delivery into our lines.
I'm all, the Union armies captured '29,-
963 Confedera ties, while the Confederates
captured l52.OlS Onion soldiers, SO that
even if the number of deaths was some
what near equal, the mortality among the
Union soldiers would be vastly greater
owing to their being less than half the
number.
Trouble Began Early. :.
Trouble over exchange of prisoners
began with the war The government
was embarrassed lest any recognition of
the Confederates as beliigerents might be
made the basis OF still further recognition
by the nations of Europe, particularly
England and France. thing of all others
to be most dreaded by ourselves. and one
that the Confederates eagerly hoped for
until the end of the war. Therefore In
most of the operations, especially in the
west. the matter of exchange was left to
the immediate commanders. but In the
east those taken at Bull Run and Balls
Bluff were kept in confinement.
I'm July. 1863. an agreement was ar
rived at between Gen. John A. Dix, on
our side, and the Confederate general, D.
II. Hill, upon the basis adopted between
the Americans and British in the war of
1917. Under this agreement the prison
ers taken on both sides We're to be de-
livered to their respective agents within
ten DAYS al Aikens Landing Va Or