The Washington herald., 1914-03-06
THE WAR DAY BY DAY
Fifty Years Ago.
March 1s6e Exchange Of Pso. which Had Been Suspended
Since December g. 1862 Was Once More Progress Mon
roe and ut City Point on the James River.
fwrit.en expressly for III. Herald,

On March g Gen Butler reported that
he had just received sixty-three Fed
erals officers and $50 Federal privates
and that he had then got the matter of
look for renewal of operations under
the provision Of the cartel was promis-
ing.
The full provisions of the cartel were
destined never to be observed, how
ever.
why System Failed.
To understand the cause underlying
the failure of q system Of exchange 1t
is necessary to know something Of the
conditions relating to exchanges.
The Confederates could not bring them
selves to exchange negroes for white
men. although they tried to subordinate
as much as possible this phase of the
subject.
One practice that had a strong bear
ing on the matter of exchange was the
custom Of both Vi to release prison.
ers on parole A soldier taken in battle
was allowed to return to his own people
on giving his word, or parole, that he
would not take up arms until properly
exchanged. Thus the term paroles"
represented SO many men who had been
physically freed, but were not free to
tight The holding Of the balance of
paroles was therefore an important
matter and one that bore directly ON
the temper of the negotiations in max
ing exchanges. The side holding the
balance was apt to be better content
than the other. Exchange Of paroles
was equivalent to exchange of prisoners.
The interruption of exchange in Decem-
ber, 1863, turned on paroles. After the
surrender of vicksburg and Port Hud-
son the paroled Confederates exceeded
the paroled Federals by many thous-
ands. In November, 1855, 5,57i Federal
privates were on parole to LIS Confed-
crate privates.
Judge Robert Ould, the Confederate
Commissioner, claimed the Federal au-
thorities wanted to restrict the exchanges
to men actually confined in prison. Such
an exchange would leave an excess of
q, 900 men in Federal hands. The Con-
federates believed that IL paroled these
men. in the desperate state Of the Con-
would be put to fighting.
Gen. butler . Factor.
Matters had come to a head when
Gen. b. F. Butler was named as agent
Of exchange at Fortress Monroe in De-
cember, 1865 Judge Ould declared he
could not recognize Gen. Butler as agent
for exchange, as that officer had been
declared an outlaw by proclamation by
fTeSluenl bdNlS lOE udhbiil5 q SIti@SH
Of New Orleans
Finding that a ban on Gen. Butler was
defeating their wish to get their men
back, the Confederate authorities entered
into a correspondence with him.
debating points at issue.
In February Gen. E. A. Hitchcock, Fed
eral Commissioner of Exchange, told the
Secretary of War that a conversation he
had held with Federal officers who had
escaped from Libby Prison through tun-
mel on February convinced him that II
was worth while to make an attempt to
resume the exchange.
On February - Secretary Stanton had
directed Gen. Butler to send a boat under
flag of truce to City Point with 800 Con-
federate officers and with an offer to ex
change them for a like number of Fed
eraI officers.
Out of this order grew the resumption |
1f the exchange with the trip OF
March T. |
These exchanges were followed by the !
,thers described, and the system Of
partial exchanges was followed until |
April IA, when Gen. Grant issued orders |
hat exchanges cease. He believed that |
he were to crush the Confederates ne |
,ould do it the more quickly II he did |
rot return to them men who could be I
Dut into the ranks Of their armies.
Tomorsow-The Red River Cam
fCopyri-ht leltD