190 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



wherever they could find them, for the express 

 purpose of preventing the Confederates from 

 furnishing clothes to their soldiers, and the 

 Federal prisoners of course shared this depriva- 

 tion of comfortable clothing. It was the war 

 policy of the Federal Government to make sup- 

 plies scarce. Dr. Jones in his testimony and 

 Father Hamilton in his testimony, which I will 

 not stop to read to the House, explained why 

 clothing was so scarce to Federal prisoners. 



" Now then, sir, whatever horrors existed at 

 Andersonville, not one of them could be attrib- 

 uted to a single act of legislation of the Con- 

 federate Government or to a single order of the 

 Confederate Government, but every horror of 

 Andersonville grew out of the necessities of the 

 occasion, which necessities were cast upon the 

 Confederacy by the war policy of the other 

 side. The gentleman from Maine said that no 

 Confederate prisoner was ever maltreated in the 

 North. And when my friend answered from 

 his seat, "A thousand witnesses to the contrary 

 in Georgia alone," the gentleman from Maine 

 joined issue, but as usual produced no testi- 

 mony in support of his issue. I think the gen- 

 tleman from Maine is to be excused. For ten 

 years unfortunately he and his have been revil- 

 ing the people who were not allowed to come 

 here to meet the reviling. Now, sir, we are 

 face to face, and when you make a charge you 

 must bring your proof. The time hns passed 

 when the country can accept the impudence of 

 assertion for the force of argument or reckless- 

 ness of statement for the truth of history. 



" Now, sir, I do not wish to unfold the chap- 

 ter on the other side. I am an American. I 

 honor my country, and my whole country, and 

 it could be no pleasure to me to bring forward 

 proof that any portion of my countrymen have 

 been guilty of willful murder or of cruel treat- 

 ment to poor, manacled prisoners. Nor will I 

 make any such charge. 



" Now I call the attention of gentlemen to 

 this fact, that the report of Mr. Stanton, the 

 Secretary of War you will believe him, will 

 you not? on the 19th of July, 1866 send to 

 the Library and get it exhibits the fact that 

 of the Federal prisoners in Confederate hands 

 during the war only 22,5Y6 died, while of the 

 Confederate prisoners in Federal hands 26,436 

 died. And Surgeon-General Barnes reports in 

 an official report I suppose you will believe 

 him that in round numbers the Confederate 

 prisoners in Federal hands amounted to 220,- 

 000, while the Federal prisoners in Confederate 

 hands amounted to 270,000. Out of the 270,- 

 000 in Confederate hands 22.000 died, while of 

 the 220,000 Confederates in Federal hands over 

 26,000 died. The ratio is this : More than 12 

 per cent, of the Confederates in Federal hands 

 died, and less than 9 per cent, of the Federals 

 in Confederate hands died. What is the logic 

 of these facts according to the gentleman from 

 Maine? 



"But the great question is behind. Every 

 American, North or South, must lament that 



our country has ever impeached its civilization 

 by such an exhibition of horrors on any side, 

 and I speak of these things with no degree of 

 pleasure. God knows if I could hide them 

 from the view of the world I would gladly do 

 it. But the great question is, at last, Who was 

 responsible for this state of things? And that 

 is really the only material question with which 

 statesmen now should deal. Sir, it is well 

 known that, when the war opened, at first the 

 authorities of the United States determined 

 that they would not exchange prisoners. The 

 first prisoners captured by the Federal forces 

 were the crew of the Savannah, and they were 

 put in chains and sentenced to be executed. 

 Jefferson Davis, hearing of this, communicated 

 through the lines, and the Confederates having 

 meanwhile also captured prisoners, he threat- 

 ened retaliation in case those men suffered, 

 and the sentences against the crew of the Sa- 

 vannah were not executed. Subsequently our 

 friends from this way I believe my friend be- 

 fore me from New York (Mr. Cox) was one 

 insisted that there should be a cartel for the 

 exchange of prisoners. In 1862 that cartel 

 was agreed upon. In substance and briefly it 

 was that there should be an exchange of man 

 for man and officer for officer, and whichever 

 held an excess at the time of exchange should 

 parole the excess. This worked very well un- 

 til 1863. 



"In 1863 this cartel was interrupted; the 

 Federal authorities refused to continue the ex- 

 change. Now commenced a history which the 

 world ought to know, and which I hope the 

 House will grant me the privilege of stating, 

 and I shall do it from official records. This, 

 I say frankly to the gentlemen on the other side, 

 was in truth one of the severest blows stricken 

 at the Confederacy, this refusal to exchange 

 prisoners in 1863 and continued through 1864. 

 The Confederates made every effort to renew 

 the cartel. Among other things on the 2d of 

 July, 1863, the Vice-President of the Confeder- 

 acy, the gentleman to whom the gentleman 

 from Maine (Mr. Elaine) alluded the other day 

 in so complimentary terms, Mr. Alexander H. 

 Stephens, was absolutely commissioned by Pres- 

 ident Davis to cross the lines and come to 

 Washington to consult with the Federal author- 

 ities, with a broad commission to agree upon 

 any cartel satisfactory to the other side for the 

 exchange of prisoners. Mr. Davis said to him, 

 ' Your mission is simply one of humanity, and 

 has no political aspect.' Mr. Stephens under- 

 took that work. What was the result? I wish 

 to be careful, and I will state this exactly cor- 

 rectly. Here is his letter : 



CONFEDERATE STATES STEAMER TOBPEDO, 



In James River, July 4, 1 863. 

 SIR: As military commissioner, 1 am the hearer 

 of a communication in writing from Jefferson Davis, 

 commander-in-chief of the land and naval forces of 

 the Confederate States, to Abraham Lincoln, com- 

 mandei-iri-ehief of the land and naval forces of the 

 United States. Honorable Robert Quid, Confederate 

 States agent of exchange, accompanies me as secre- 



