andersonville-第106部分

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guilty；　for　simply　obeying；　as　literally　as　possible；　the　orders　of　his
superiors。

He　denied　all　the　specific　acts　of　cruelty　alleged　against　him；　such　as
maltreating　and　killing　prisoners　with　his　own　hands。　　The　prisoners
killed　for　crossing　the　Dead　Line；　he　claimed；　should　not　be　charged
against　him；　since　they　were　simply　punished　for　the　violation　of　a　known
order　which　formed　part　of　the　discipline；　he　believed；　of　all　military
prisons。　　The　statement　that　soldiers　were　given　a　furlough　for　killing　a
Yankee　prisoner；　was　declared　to　be　〃a　mere　idle；　absurd　camp　rumor。〃
As　to　the　lack　of　shelter；　room　and　rations　for　so　many　prisoners；
he　claimed　that　the　sole　responsibility　rested　upon　the　Confederate
Government。　　There　never　were　but　two　prisoners　whipped　by　his　order；
and　these　were　for　sufficient　cause。　　He　asked　the　Court　to　consider
favorably　two　important　items　in　his　defense：　first；　that　he　had　of　his
own　accord　taken　the　drummer　boys　from　the　Stockade；　and　placed　them
where　they　could　get　purer　air　and　better　food。　　Second；　that　no　property
taken　from　prisoners　was　retained　by　him；　but　was　turned　over　to　the
Prison　Quartermaster。

The　Court；　after　due　deliberation；　declared　the　prisoner　guilty　on　all
the　charges　and　specifications　save　two　unimportant　ones；　and　sentenced
him　to　be　hanged　by　the　neck　until　dead；　at　such　time　and　place　as　the
President　of　the　United　States　should　direct。

November　3　　President　Johnson　approved　of　the　sentence；　and　ordered　Major
General　C。　C。　Augur　to　carry　the　same　into　effect　on　Friday；　November　10；
which　was　done。　　The　prisoner　made　frantic　appeals　against　the　sentence；
he　wrote　imploring　letters　to　President　Johnson；　and　lying　ones　to　the
New　York　News；　a　Rebel　paper。　　It　is　said　that　his　wife　attempted　to
convey　poison　to　him；　that　he　might　commit　suicide　and　avoid　the　ignomy
of　being　hanged。　　When　all　hope　was　gone　he　nerved　himself　up　to　meet　his
fate；　and　died；　as　thousands　of　other　scoundrels　have；　with　calmness。
His　body　was　buried　in　the　grounds　of　the　Old　Capitol　Prison；　alongside
of　that　of　Azterodt；　one　of　the　accomplices　in　the　assassination　of
President　Lincoln。




CHAPTER　LXXXIII。

THE　RESPONSIBILITYWHO　WAS　TO　BLAME　FOR　ALL　THE　MISERYAN　EXAMINATION
OF　THE　FLIMSY　EXCUSES　MADE　FOR　THE　REBELSONE　DOCUMENT　THAT　CONVICTS
THEMWHAT　IS　DESIRED。

I　have　endeavored　to　tell　the　foregoing　story　as　calmly；　as
dispassionately；　as　free　from　vituperation　and　prejudice　as　possible。
How　well　I　have　succeeded　the　reader　must　judge。　　How　difficult　this
moderation　has　been　at　times　only　those　know　who；　like　myself；　have　seen；
from　day　to　day；　the　treason…sharpened　fangs　of　Starvation　and　Disease
gnaw　nearer　and　nearer　to　the　hearts　of　well…beloved　friends　and
comrades。　　Of　the　sixty…three　of　my　company　comrades　who　entered　prison
with　me；　but　eleven；　or　at　most　thirteen；　emerged　alive；　and　several　of
these　have　since　died　from　the　effects　of　what　they　suffered。　　The
mortality　in　the　other　companies　of　our　battalion　was　equally　great；
as　it　was　also　with　the　prisoners　generally。　　Not　less　than　twenty…five
thousand　gallant；　noble…hearted　boys　died　around　me　between　the　dates　of
my　capture　and　release。　　Nobler　men　than　they　never　died　for　any　cause。
For　the　most　part　they　were　simple…minded；　honest…hearted　boys；　the
sterling　products　of　our　Northern　home…life；　and　Northern　Common　Schools；
and　that　grand　stalwart　Northern　blood；　the　yeoman　blood　of　sturdy　middle
class　freementhe　blood　of　the　race　which　has　conquered　on　every　field
since　the　Roman　Empire　went　down　under　its　sinewy　blows。　　They　prated
little　of　honor；　and　knew　nothing　of　〃chivalry〃　except　in　its　repulsive
travesty　in　the　South。　　As　citizens　at　home；　no　honest　labor　had　been
regarded　by　them　as　too　humble　to　be　followed　with　manly　pride　in　its
success；　as　soldiers　in　the　field；　they　did　their　duty　with　a　calm
defiance　of　danger　and　death；　that　the　world　has　not　seen　equaled　in　the
six　thousand　years　that　men　have　followed　the　trade　of　war。　　In　the
prison　their　conduct　was　marked　by　the　same　unostentatious　but
unflinching　heroism。　　Death　stared　them　in　the　face　constantly。　　They
could　read　their　own　fate　in　that　of　the　loathsome；　unburied　dead　all
around　them。　　Insolent　enemies　mocked　their　sufferings；　and　sneered　at
their　devotion　to　a　Government　which　they　asserted　had　abandoned　them；
but　the　simple　faith；　the　ingrained　honesty　of　these　plain…mannered；
plain…spoken　boys　rose　superior　to　every　trial。　　Brutus；　the　noblest
Roman　of　them　all；　says　in　his　grandest　flight：

　　　　　　　　　　Set　honor　in　one　eye　and　death　in　the　other；
　　　　　　　　　　And　I　will　look　on　both　indifferently。

They　did　not　say　this：　they　did　it。　　They　never　questioned　their　duty；　no
repinings；　no　murmurings　against　their　Government　escaped　their　lips；
they　took　the　dread　fortunes　brought　to　them　as　calmly；　as　unshrinkingly
as　they　had　those　in　the　field；　they　quailed　not；　nor　wavered　in　their
faith　before　the　worst　the　Rebels　could　do。　　The　finest　epitaph　ever
inscribed　above　a　soldier's　grave　was　that　graven　on　the　stone　which
marked　the　resting…place　of　the　deathless　three　hundred　who　fell　at
Thermopylae：

　　　　　　　　　　Go；　stranger；　to　Lacedaemon；
　　　　　　　　　　And　tell　Sparta　that　we　lie　here　in　obedience　to　her　laws。

They　who　lie　in　the　shallow　graves　of　Andersonville；　Belle　Isle；　Florence
and　Salisbury；　lie　there　in　obedience　to　the　precepts　and　maxims
inculcated　into　their　minds　in　the　churches　and　Common　Schools　of　the
North；　precepts　which　impressed　upon　them　the　duty　of　manliness　and　honor
in　all　the　relations　and　exigencies　of　life；　not　the　〃chivalric〃　prate　of
their　enemies；　but　the　calm　steadfastness　which　endureth　to　the　end。　　The
highest　tribute　that　can　be　paid　them　is　to　say　they　did　full　credit　to
their　teachings；　and　they　died　as　every　American　should　when　duty　bids
him。　　No　richer　heritage　was　ever　bequeathed　to　posterity。

It　was　in　the　year　1864；　and　the　first　three　months　of　1865　that　these
twenty…five　thousand　youths　mere　cruelly　and　needlessly　done　to　death。
In　these　fatal　fifteen　months　more　young　men　than　to…day　form　the　pride；
the　hope；　and　the　vigor　of　any　one　of　our　leading　Cities；　more　than　at
the　beginning　of　the　war　were　found　in　either　of　several　States　in　the
Nation；　were　sent　to　their　graves；　〃unknelled；　uncoffined；　and　unknown；〃
victims　of　the　most　barbarous　and　unnecessary　cruelty　recorded　since　the
Dark　Ages。　　Barbarous；　because　the　wit　of　man　has　not　yet　devised　a　more
savage　method　of　destroying　fellow…beings　than　by　exposure　and
starvation；　unnecessary；　because　the　destruction　of　these　had　not；　and
could　not　have　the　slightest　effect　upon　the　result　of　the　struggle。
The　Rebel　leaders　have　acknowledged　that　they　knew　the　fate　of　the
Confederacy　was　sealed　when　the　campaign　of　1864　opened　with　the　North
displaying　an　unflinching　determination　to　prosecute　the　war　to　a
successful　conclusion。　　All　that　they　could　hope　for　after　that　was　some
fortuitous　accident；　or　unexpected　foreign　recognition　that　would　give
them　peace　with　victory。　　The　prisoners　were　non…important　factors　in　the
military　problem。　　Had　they　all　been　turned　loose　as　soon　as　captured；
their　efforts　would　not　have　hastened　the　Confederacy's　fate　a　single
day。

As　to　the　responsibility　for　this　monstrous　cataclysm　of　human　misery　and
death：　　That　the　great　mass　of　the　Southern　people　approved　of　these
outrages；　or　even　knew　of　them；　I　do　not；　for　an　instant；　believe。　　They
are　as　little　capable　of　countenancing　such　a　thing　as　any　people　in　the
world。　　But　the　crowning　blemish　of　Southern　society　has　ever　been　the
dumb　acquiescence　of　the　many　respectable；　well…disposed；　right…thinking
people　in　the　acts　of　the　turbulent　and　unscrupulous　few。　　From　this
direful　spring　has　flowed　an　Iliad　of　unnumbered　woes；　not　only　to　that
section　but　to　our　common　country。　　It　was　this　that　kept　the　South
vibrating　between　patriotism　and　treason　during　the　revolution；　so　that
it　cost　more　lives　and　treasure　to　maintain　the　struggle　there　than　in
all　the　rest　of　the　country。　　It　was　this　that　threatened　the
dismemberment　of　the　Union　in　1832。　　It　was　this　that　aggravated　and
envenomed　every　wrong　growing　out　of　Slavery；　that　outraged　liberty；
debauched　citizenship；　plundered　the　mails；　gagged　the　press；　stiffled
speech；　made　opinion　a　crime；　polluted　the　free　soil　of　God　with　the
unwilling　step　of　the　bondman；　and　at　last　crowned　three…quarters　of　a
century　of　this　unparalleled　iniquity　by　dragging　eleven　millions　of
people　into　a　war　from　which　their　souls　revolted；　and　against　which　they
had　declared　by　overwhelming　majorities　in　every　State　except　South
Carolina；　where　the　people　had　no　voice。　　It　may　puzzle　some　to
understand　how　a　relatively　small　band　of　political　desperados　in　each
State　could　accomplish　such　a　momentous　wrong；　that　they　did　do　it；　no
one　conversant　with　our　history　will　deny；　and　that　theyinsignificant
as　they　were　in　numbers；　in　abilities；　in　character；　in　everything　save
capacity　and　indomitable　energy　in　mischiefcould　achieve　such　gigantic
wrongs　in　direct　opposition　to　the　better　sense　of　their　communities　is　a
fearful　demonstration　of　the　defects　of　the　constitution　of　Southern
society。

Men　capable　of　doing　all　that　the　Secession　leaders　were　guilty　ofboth
before　and　during　the　warwere　quite　capable　of　revengefully　destroying
twenty…five　thousand　of　their　enemies　by　the　most　hideous　means　at　their
command。　　That　they　did　so　set　about　destroying　their　enemies；　wilfully；
maliciously；　and　with　malice　prepense　and　aforethought；　is　susceptible　of
proof　as　conclusive　as　that　which　in　a　criminal　court　sends　murderers　to
the　gallows。

Let　us　examine　some　of　these　proofs：

1。　　The　terrible　mortality　at　Andersonville　and　elsewhere　was　a　matter　of
as　much　notoriety　throughout　the　Southern　Confederacy　as　the　military
operations　of　Lee　and　Johnson。　　No　intelligent　manmuch　less　the　Rebel
leaderswas　ignorant　of　it　nor　of　its　calamitous　proportions。

2。　　Had　the　Rebel　leaders　within　a　reasonable　time　after　this　matter
became　notorious　made　some　show　of　inquiring　into　and　alleviating　the
deadly　misery；　there　might