USA > Texas > The Confederate capital and Hood's Texas brigade > Part 23
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32
208
THE CONFEDERATE CAPITAL
cabin, and have offered it to Lieutenant-Colonel Winkler, of the 4th Texas, for himself and lady, and if they accept it, we will have a more pleasant time. I am hauling forage from near Port Royal. Have all negro teamsters, and a few disabled men to go along.
"January 8 .- We are getting along after the same old fashion. camped near Richmond. I go to the city very seldom. Our boys are all well. Attended service at brigade chapel this morn- ing. Colonel Baylor is spending the night with us. Colonel Winkler and lady are quite comfortable in their cabin home, near our quarters. Have learned to play chess, and enjoy it very much.
"Senator Oldham and General Baylor will visit us on Satur- day, and stay until Monday."
With regard to the consolidation of brigades, Captain W. T. Hill, of the 5th Texas, furnishes this item:
"During the winter of 1865, while in camp north of the James river, the following committee was appointed by General Lee to carry out his plans of consolidating the weaker brigades in his army:
"Lieutenant-Colonel C. M. Winkler, commanding 4th Texas. "Colonel R. C. Taylor, commanding 3d Arkansas.
"Captain W. T. Hill, commanding 5th Texas.
"Said committee met as was directed, and proceeded to organ- ize by electing Colonel C. M. Winkler chairman, and Captain W. T. Hill secretary. After organizing, Colonel Taylor was taken sick, and never had another meeting with the committee, who continued their work faithfully. By instructions sent the com- mittee, the commissioned officers who were rejected were allowed thirty days to join other commands of their own selection. Col- onel Winkler examined officers on Book I, of Hardee's Tactics, Captain Hill on Book 2, which covers battalion drill."
Major W. H. Martin, 4th Texas, gives a verbal statement in explanation of these orders not being executed. He says while examination of officers was progressing, according to instruc. tions, the men became very uneasy about the matter, heid a meeting, and after passing resolutions of continued fealty to the cause in which engaged, they sent for him, and asked that he should go in person to President Davis," bearing their protes: against consolidation. He went, laid the matter before the Pres-
*General Lee being present, said, "Mr. President, before you pass upon that request, I want to say I never ordered that brigade to hold a place, that they did not hold it. "
Mr. Davis said: "Major Martin, as long as there is a mian to carry that battle flag, you shall remain a brigade."
209
AND HOOD'S TEXAS BRIGADE.
ident, who gave him the welcome assurance that he would con- fer with General Lee, and in memory of all they had endured and suffered they should be permitted to maintain the same or- ganization as before.
Of course this was very gratifying, and gave general satisfac- tion, amid cheers for their war chief, General Lee, and their President, Jefferson Davis.
On September 29th, when the Texas brigade was ordered from the Phillips House to the relief of Fort Harrison, the withdrawal of troops left one of the roads to Richmond entirely undefended. General Gary, of South Carolina, commanding the cavalry to the extreme left of General Lee's line, and also left of the Texas brigade, took in the situation at a glance, and hastily ordered that the large columbiads commanding the road at the inner line of the Richmond fortifications, should be turned loose, though manned by only a handful of soldiers. A most furious cannon- ading was the result. The Federals, deceived by the vigorous firing, supposing there was a large force in position, made no advance, but devoted their attention to the demonstration nearer the river.
Late in the evening the officer in charge of the artillery de- fenses around the city severely reprimanded the men at the re- doubt, for needlessly wasting ammunition without orders. Being informed that it was by order of General Gary, and that officer riding up at that time, he asked by what authority be was inter- fering with the artillery on the Richmond defenses.
"By my own authority, sir!"' exclaimed the brave cavalryman. "You were not watching your own defenses. The troops were withdrawn beyond, and if the Federals had only known the sit- uation, they could have marched into Richmond without firing a gun. I had those guns fired to prevent a surprise, and will do it again under like circumstances."
The colonel became very angry, and complained he would not be spoken to so disrespectfully, if General Gary was not his su- perior in rank.
Jumping from his horse, the impulsive South Carolinian di- vested himself of coat and vest, exclaiming: "Now, sir! I have laid aside the insignia of my rank. If you have any grievance to settle, I am ready for you on your own footing." This was de- clined, an apology was made, and each went his separate way.
While speaking of the incident to members of the Texas bri- gade, who lay next his command all winter, he said it was one of the pleasures of his life to administer such a rebuke, and sup- posed the gentleman would never again try to bring him to task abont military punctilios, when everything depended upon prompt action.
210
THE CONFEDERATE CAPITAL
Colonel J. W. Dancy, a Texas politician too old for military service, visited the Texans in Bragg's army, came on to Vir- ginia and to the Richmond lines, on a tour of inspection of the Texas brigade.
They were all very glad to see a friend so recently from their State, welcomed him heartily, and gave him full liberty in camp to go and come as he pleased.
After remaining among the Texas boys, as he called them, he became very much at home, but being of an investigating turn of mind, one day ventured to ramble around, and fell into Gen- eral Gary's cavalry camp.
No one there knew him, and being dressed in citizen's clotli- ing, wearing a stove-pipe hat, he attracted much attention and excited curiosity. The men began the usual Confederate saluta- tions: "Come out of that bat! Where did you get them store clothes?" (Such exclamations were common with the troops toward citizens. ) The old gentleman became very much an- noyed when the sentinel took him to General Gary as a suspi- cions character, perhaps a spy of the enemy.
General Gary demanded his passport. He had none, and gave a very confused account of his business in camp, "to inspect the Confederate works," when he got impatient, and exclaimed: "Who are you, anyhow?"
"The Honorable J. W. Dancy, of Texas."
"And who in the deal is that?" said the general.
Sending him under guard to the Texas brigade, with his com- pliments, and the request for them to keep stragglers in their own camp, he was soon safe back with his friends.
He was very much mortified at what he termed General Gary's rudeness; said he had visited dozens of soldiers' camps, but Gen- eral Gary was undoubtedly the roughest man "he had ever come across."
The officers of the brigade sympathized with his offended dig- nity, but knew Confederate commanders were compelled to be too vigilant to accept anybody's verbal excuse against army reg- ulations.
We have frequently had occasion, in this narrative of facts, to revert to one great subject of disagreement between the two con- tending belligerents-the exchange of prisoners.
The care and subsistence of so many useless dependents in the South, where destruction had followed the track of large armies, depriving all classes of even the necessaries of life, became a very serious matter to the Confederate authorities; besides the anx- iety for the fate of those held in Northern prisons.
211
AND HOOD'S TEXAS BRIGADE.
Commissioner Ould says: "About the last of March. 1854. I had several conferences with General B. F. Butler, then agent of exchange at Fortress Monroe, in relation to the difficulties at- tending the exchange of prisoners, and we reached what we thought a tolerably satisfactory basis. The day that I left there. General Grant arrived. General Butler says be communicated to him the state of the negotiations, and most emphatic verbal directions were received from the lieutenant-geberal not to take any step by which another able-bodied man should be exchanged until further orders from him; and that on Aptil 30, 1864. he received a telegram from General Grant to 'receive all the sick and wounded the Confederate authorities may send you. but send no more in exchange.' Unless my recollection falls me. General Butler also, in an address to his constituents, substantially de- clared that he was directed, in his management of the question of exchange with the Confederate authorities, to put the matter offensively, for the purpose of preventing an exchange."
In October, General Lee addressed a letter to General Grant, saying:
"With a view of alleviating the sufferings of our soldiers. I have the honor to propose an exchange of the prisoners of war belonging to the armies operating in Virginia, man for man, or upon the basis established by the cartel."
General Grant replied: "I could not, of a right, accept your proposition further than to exchange those prisoners captured within the last three days, and who have not yet been delivered to the commanding-general of prisoners. Among those lost by the armies operating against Richmond, were a number of col- ored troops. Before further negotiations are had upon the sub- ject, I would ask if you propose delivering these men the same as white soldiers."
Next day General Lee replied: "In my proposition of the Ist instant, to exchange prisoners of war belonging to the armies operating in Virginia, I intended to include all captured soldiers of the United States, of whatever nation and color, under my control. Deserters from our service, and nestes belonging to our citizens, are not considered subjects of exchange, and were not included in my proposition. If there are any such among those stated by you to have been captured around Richmond, they cannot be returned."
General Grant finally answered, Oct. 20: "I shall always regret the necessity of retaliating for wrong doze our soldiers, but regard it my duty to protect all persons. received into the army of the United States, regardless of color or nationality; then acknowledged soldiers of the government are captured,
212
THE CONFEDERATE CAPITAL
they must be treated as prisoners of war, or such treatment as they receive inflicted upon an equal number of prisoners beid by ns."
General Grant said in a dispatch to General Butler, in August, IS64: "On the subject of exchange, however, I differ from General Hitchcock. It is hard on our men held in Southern prisons, not to exchange them, but it is humanity to those left in the ranks to fight our battles. Every man released on parole, or otherwise, becomes an active soldier against us at once, either directly or indirectly. If we commence a system of exchange, which liberates all prisoners taken, we will have to fight on un- til the whole South is exterminated. If we hold those caught, they amount to no more than dead men. At this particular time to release all rebel prisoners in the North would insure Sherman's defeat, and would compromise our safety here."
During the summer, as no satisfactory exchange could be effected, the offer was made to the United States government to receive their sick and wounded, "with a statement of the mor- tality among the prisoners at Andersonville." The transporta- tion was not furnished until November, when the special request was made to send the worst cases. Some of these were sent away, and on reaching Annapolis, their photographs were taken as specimen prisoners, and a burst of indignation followed at the North, at the treatment of Federal prisoners.
During the summer of 1864, the Confederate Commissioner of Exchange, offered to make purchase of medicines from the United States authorities, to be used exclusively for the relief of Union prisoners. He offered to pay gold, cotton or tobacco for them, and two prices, if required. At the same time, he gave assurance that the medicines would be used exclusively for the treatment of Northern prisoners; and, moreover, agreed, on be- half of the Confederate States, if it were insisted upon, that such medicines, might be brought into the Confederate lines by United States surgeons, and dispensed by them. Incredible as it may appear, it is nevertheless, strictly true, that no reply was ever received to this offer .*
Afterwards a delegation of prisoners was sent by President Davis to plead their canse at Washington. President Lincoln refused to see them. "They were made to understand that the interests of the government required that they should return to prison and remain there. They carried back the sad tidings that their government held out no hope of their release."
General Butler, in his report before the Committee on Con-
* Davis' Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government.
213
AND HOOD'S TEXAS BRIGADE.
duct of the War, concludes his observations as follows: will be observed that the rebels had exchanged all the nava! colored prisoners, so that the negro question no longer impeded the exchange of prisoners; in fact. if we had demanded the ex- change of all,-man for man, officer for officer, they would have done it. I have felt it my duty to give an account with this par- ticular carefulness of my participation in the business of ex- change of prisoners,-the order under which I acted, and the negotiations, which comprises a faithful narration of all that was done, -- so that all may become a matter of history. The great importance of the questions; the fearful responsibility for the many thousands of lives which, by the refusal to exchange, were sacrificed by the most cruel forms of death, from cold, star- vation, and pestilence of the prison-pens of Raleigh and Ander- sonville, being more than all the British soldiers killed in the wars of Napoleon; the anxiety of fathers, brothers, mothers, sisters, wives, to know the exigency which caused this terrible, and perhaps, as it may have seemed to them, useless and unsec- essary destruction of those dear to them, by horrible deaths, each and all, have compelled me to this exposition, so that it may be seen that those lives were spent as a part of the sys- tem of attack upon the rebellion, devised by the wisdom of the general-in-chief of the armies, to destroy it by depletion, depes i- ing upon our superior numbers to win the victory at last. The loyal mourners will, doubtless, derive solace from this fact, and appreciate all the more highly the genius which conceived the plan, and the success won at so great a cost."
The Southern soldiers held in Northern prisons, were suffer- ing for want of clothing. President Davis made application "for permission to send cotton to Liverpool, and therewith purchase the supplies which were necessary." The request was granted, but only on condition that the cotton should be sent to New York and the supplies bought there. This was done by our agent, General Beale. The suffering of our men in Northern prisons, caused the application.
When General Lee was charged by the Republican press with being responsible for alleged cruel treatment of prisoners, he quietly said: "I court the most searching investigation into this matter."
Before the Reconstruction Committee, after hostilities had ceased, he testified:
Questioned by Mr. Howard .- "I wish to inquire whether you had any knowledge of cruelties practiced towards the Union prisoners at Libby prison, and on Belle Isle?"
Answer .- "I never knew that any cruelty was practiced, and
214
THE CONFEDERATE CAPITAL
I have no reason to believe it was practiced. I can believe, and have reason to believe, that privations may have been experi- enced by the prisoners, because I known that provision and shelter could not be provided for them."
"It has frequently been asserted that the Confederate soldiers feel more kindly toward the government of the United States than any other people in the South. What is your obsevation on this point?"
Answer .- "From the Confederate soldiers I have heard no other opinion. They looked upon the war as a necessary evil, and went through it. I have seen them relieve the wants of Federal soldiers on the field. The orders were that the whole field should be treated alike. Parties were sent out to take the Federal wounded as well as the Confederate, and the surgeons were told to treat the one as they did the other. These orders given by me were respected on every field.
"I made several efforts to exchange prisoners, after the cartel was suspended. I do not know, to this day, which side took the initiative. I know there were constantly complaints on both sides. I merely know it from public rumors. I offered to Gen- eral Grant, around Richmond, that we should ourselves exchange all the prisoners in our hands. There was a communication from the Christian Commission, I think, which reached me at Petersburg, and made application to me for a passport to visit all the prisoners in the South. My letter to them, I suppose they have. I told them I had not that authority, that it could only be obtained from the War Department at Richmond, but that neither they nor I could relieve the sufferings of the prisoners; that the only thing to be done for them was to exchange them; and, to show that I would do whatever was in my power, I offered to send to City Point all the prisoners in Virginia and North Caro- lina, over which my command extended, provided they returned an equal number of men, man for man. I reported this to the War Department, and received for answer, that they would place at my command all the prisoners at the South, if this proposition was accepted. I heard nothing more on the sub- ject."
Extract of letter from General Lee to Dr. Charles Carter, Phil- adelphia, Pa .:
"Sufficient information has been officially published, I think, to show that whatever sufferings the Federal prisoners at the South underwent, were incident to their position as prisoners, and produced by the destitute condition of the country arising from the operations of war. The laws of the Confederate Cou- gress, and the orders of the War Department, directed that the
215
AND HOOD'S TEXAS BRIGADE.
rations furnished prisoners of war should be the same in quan- tity and quality as those furnished enlisted men in the army of the Confederacy, and that the hospitals for prisoners should be placed on the same footing as other Confederate States hospitals in all respects. It was the desire of the Confederate authorities to effect a continuous and speedy exchange of prisoners of war, for it was their true policy to do so, as their retention was not only a calamity to them, but a heavy expenditure of their scanty means of subsistence, and a privation of the services of the vet- eran army. Mr. Fisher or Bishop Wilmer has confounded my offers for the exchange of prisoners, with those made by Mr. Ould, the Commissioner of the Confederate States. It was he that offered, when all hopes of effecting the exchange had ceased, to deliver all the Federal sick and wounded, to the amount of fifteen thousand, without any equivalent, provided transporta- tion was furnished.
"Previously, I offered to General Grant to send into his lines all the prisoners within my department, which then embraced Virginia and North Carolina, provided he would return me man for man; and when I informed the Confederate authorities of my proposition, I was told that if it was accepted, they would place all the prisoners at the South at my disposal. I offered, subse- quently, to the Committee of the United States Sanitary Com- mission, who visited Petersburg for the purpose of ameliorating the condition of their prisoners, to do the same. But my propo- sition was not accepted. R. E. LEE."
"The report of Secretary of War E. M. Stanton, made in July, 1866, shows that of all the prisoners in our hands during the war, 22,576 died; while of the prisoners in our opponent's hands, 26,246 died."
The report of Surgeon-General Barnes, an officer of the United States government, shows that the number of Confederate pris- oners in their hands were 220,000, the number of United States prisoners in our hands, 270,000. More than twelve per cent. of their prisoners died, and less than nine per cent. of prisoners in our hands died.
President Davis says: "When it is remembered how much our resources were reduced, that our supply of medicines, re- quired in summer diseases, was exhausted, and that Northern men, when first residing in the South, must undergo acclimna- tion, the fact that greater mortality existed in Northern than in Southern prisons can only be accounted for by the kindly treat- ment received in the latter. We did the best we could."
Late in the year 1864, an arrangement was concluded between Generals Lee and Grant that, without releasing either govern-
216
THE CONFEDERATE CAPITAL
ment from the obligation of providing due provisions for its captives, each should have the right of furnishing to its own prisoners, in the possession of the other, under the direction of officials among them, to be paroled for the purpose, such addi- tional supplies as were deemed expedient to send.
General Grant, having been given the power of exchanging prisoners, immediately declared a general exchange. What pres- sure was brought to bear on him, to secure this end be had so long opposed, will perhaps never be known.
Sherman and Sheridan were both victorious, and it was now plainly visible to him that it was only a question of time, and the limit to the powers of endurance with General Lee's army, and to throw, at this late day, an army of returned prisoners into the South, would now only hasten the collapse of the Confed- eracy, whose men were now reduced to the verge of starvation. The returned prisoners came, therefore, only in time to witness the closing catastrophe of the spring of 1865. -X- X
After General Grant had failed to rout General Lee upon so many fields of battle, the people of the North. during the sum- mer of 1864, raised on every side propositions of peace, and the newspapers, before clamorous for a vigorous prosecution of the war, were now earnestly in favor of taking definite steps to secure peace.
From the New York Tribune: "We feel certain that two- thirds of the American people, on either side of the dividing line, anxiously, absorbingly desire peace, and are ready to make all needful sacrifices to insure it. Then why shall it be long with- held ? Let us know, as soon as may be, the most that the rebel chiefs will do to secure peace; let us know what is the ultimatum on our side. We have no sympathy with the shuddering dread that our government may, by listening to propositions from the rebels, virtually acknowledge their independence. Etiquette is the disease of little minds; great souls are never troubled with it."
Washington Constitutional Union: "The cry for peace is rung into our ears from every section of the country from all divisions and parties. Even the fanatics have cooled down, in measure, from their fury for blood, have lost the vampire instincts; and horrified at the tales of slaughter they read, and shocked at the sights of hospital suffering and of the maimed ant crippled crawling about our streets, they even wish the termination of strife, which unprocreative of benefit to either party, even to the ยท medius terminus, the negro, is crushing the vital and social exist- ence of both. Physical calamity constantly displayed before their
217
AND HOOD'S TEXAS BRIGADE.
vision, and high prices crushing out the means of comfortable subsistence, has at length softened the heart of the hardened abolitionist into a lurking yearning for the cessation of arms."
From Chicago Times: "The necessity for peace upon honor- able terms is too imperative to permit its sacrifice to a blind, un- selfish, or corrupt partnership. The alternatives now presented to the nation, are peace with honor, and war with dishonor; peace with preservation of life, and war with its extended and murderous conflicts; peace with national and individual solvency, and war with national and individual bankruptcy."
From the World: "The new President to be nominated in Chicago, and elected in November, must be a man ready and willing to meet any and every overture for peace, a man who shall represent truly the dignity and power of the nation, and who will not be unwilling even to tender an armistice, suggest- ing a national convention of all the States."
From the New York News: "The peace Democracy are will- ing to trust to the good sense and patriotism of the people for the realization of a definite peace, as the sequel of an armistice and national convention."
These indications of popular sentiment were eagerly seized by the Southern people, as glimmers of hope, which were only an ignus fatuus to mislead.
As all formal attempts to negotiate with the government at Washington had been rejected, recourse was bad to diplomacy.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.