Trial of Captain Henry Wirz, the Prison Keeper. Sacramento, Calif.: Published by the Author, 1911

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Chipman, N. P. The Tragedy of Andersonville: Trial of Captain Henry Wirz, The Prison Keeper. Sacramento, Calif.: Published by the author, 1911.

CHAPTER I. Motive Shown for the Publication of the Evidence Taken at the Trial of Wirz Charges Made by Jefferson Davis in 1890 — The Revival of these Accusations by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, in 1905, that Wirz Was "Judicially Murdered" and Died a Martyr after Conviction upon Charges of Which He was Innocent — Erection of Monument to Wirz in 1909 at Andersonville — False and Misleading Inscriptions on the Monument — Protest of the Grand Army of the Republic — Proceedings at National Encampment in 1906 at Minneapolis — Important Feature of Trial — Exposure of Confederate Policy and Its Guilty Participation in Crime — More Union Soldiers Died at Andersonville Than Killed in Action in Combined Battles of Second Bull Run, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and the Wilderness. Pages 11-18. CHAPTER II Jefferson Davis and Andersonville — His Published Article Briefly Outlined and Its Specific Charges Noted and Examined— Some Gross Misstatements Corrected — His Accusations Revived and Reasserted by the United Daughters of the Confederacy by Inscriptions on the Wirz Monument — Issues of Wirz's Defenders and Confederacy Clearly Defined — Charge Refuted That Federal Government Responsible for Deaths. Pages 19-26. CHAPTER III. Some Hitherto Unpublished Facts — Organization of the Court — The Charges and Specifications — Special Pleas Interposed. — Jurisdiction of the Court — Once in Jeopardy — Right of Parole Claimed — Argument — Pleas Overruled — Facts as to Wirz's Arrest — Wirz Pleads Not Guilty — Rules of Procedure — Circumstances of Wirz's Arrest — Wirz's Military Status — His Place of Burial — The True Significance of the Trial. Pages 27-50. CHAPTER IV. Location of Andersonville Prison — Description of the Prison Pen — Wirz Assigned to Its Command — Early Condition of the Prisoners Deplorable — Official Reports of Rebel Officers — Injunction to Abate Prison as a Nuisance Because of Noxious Odors — Upon Whom Rested Responsibility of — Origin of Dead Line — Rebel Authorities at Richmond Informed — Mortality Increased — In One Month 2,993 Died. Pages 51-64. CHAPTER V. Condition of the Prison Continued — Sufferings of Prisoners Depicted — Report of Colonel D. T. Chandler — Report of Dr. Joseph Jones — Causes of Sickness and Death Shown — Responsibility Fixed — Confederate Authorities at Richmond Had Full Knowledge — Colonel Chandler's Testimony — Testimony of Dr. Jones — Six Square Feet to the Man — Barely Room to Comfortably Lie Down — Inadequate Police Control — Prisoners Try, Condemn, and Hang Six of Their Number — Prisoners Murdered by Their Fellow-Prisoners for Their Clothing and Food — The Bodies of the Dead Mutilated — Reports by Surgeon Stevenson, Surgeon White, and Surgeon Thornburg — Dr. .lones's Report Graphic Description of Prison and Hospital — Causes of Death and Unparalleled Suffering. Pages 65-110. CHAPTER VI. Conditions at the Prison (continued)— Reports and Testimony of Surgeons on Duty at the Prison, Namely: Dr. Amos Thornburg; Dr. F. T. Castleu; Dr. G. S. Hopkins; Dr. G. LeB. Rice;

Dr. John C. Bates; Dr. R. G. Roy; Dr. B. J. Head — Testimony of Dr. William Balser, Who Had Occasion to Treat a Large Number of Prisoners from Andersonville on Their Way to Freedom from Prison Life — They were Living Skeletons — Seventy-five Per Cent of Dead Might Have Been Saved by Proper Care — Actual Square Feet to Man 27 or 3 by 9 Feet. Pages 111-142. CHAPTER VII. Conditions at Andersonville Continued — Testimony of Rev. Father Hamilton — No Shelter from Sun or Storms — Father Hamilton Crawled into Burrows to Administer Last Sacrament to Dying — Prisoners Covered with Vermin — Testimony of Citizens Living in the South — Publicity of the Suffering of Prisoners — Supplies Were Obtainable and Sufficient to Have Sustained the Prisoners — Prisoners Might Have Been Sheltered — The Prison Might Have Been Enlarged — Means of Transportation Available — Supplies Sent by Sanitary Commission. Page 143-162. CHAPTER VIII. Testimony of Union Soldiers, Prisoners at Andersonville — Their Descriptions of the Horrors of That Prison Pen — Personal Experiences — Men Fight for Room to Lie Down — Private Property Taken from Them — Testimony of Major- General J. H. Wilson and Colonel George Welling of the U. S. Army on Condition of Prison at Close of the War — Simple Remedies Pointed Out — General Wilson Concludes that There was Sinister Design in the Location and Its Restricted Area — Goldwin Smith's Opinion of Treatment of Prisoners on Both Sides —General Sherman Found Supplies Abundant in Georgia in 1864. Pages 163-191. CHAPTER IX. Conditions at Prison (continued) — Testimony of Father Hamilton and Other Witnesses Called for the Defense — Horrors of the Prison Pen Confirmed — Witnesses for Defense Corroborate Testimony of the Prosecution in Many Essential Particulars — Diary of Rev. Father Clavereul — Father Clavereul's Account a Most Pathetic Picture of Human Suffering. Pages 192-239. CHAPTER X. Treatment of Prisoners (continued) — Cruel and Inhuman Punishments Inflicted — Balls and Chains Used as Means of Punishment — Prisoners Confined in the Stocks and Left Exposed to the Weather — The "Dead-Line" and Its Attendant Perils — Ferocious Dogs Used to Hunt Down Escaping Prisoners — Prisoners Torn and Mutilated by These Dogs — Prisoners Die from Effects — Impure and Deadly Vaccine Matter Used for Vaccination of the Prisoners. Causing Many Horrible Deaths — Wirz Boasts of His Service to the Rebellion in Slaying Prisoners — Revolting Manner of Handling and Burying the Dead — Testimony of Rebel Witnesses Confirms Testimony of Wirz's Cruelty to Prisoners — Report on Prisons by United States Sanitary Commission and Committee of House of Representatives. Pages 240-300. CHAPTER XI. Testimony of Witnesses for Defense upon the Specifications of Acts of Cruelty and of Murder in Violation of the Laws of War — Man Shot on Dead Line — Hunted Down by Dogs — Put in Stocks and Chain Gang — Wirz Kicked and Abused Prisoners — Very Profane — High Temper — Carried Pistol — Threatened to Use It — Some Acts of Kindness Shown — Witnesses Never Heard of His Killing or Treating a Prisoner Cruelly — Negative Testimony. Pages 301-332. CHAPTER XII. Testimony of Witnesses to the Charge of Murder — Prisoners Shot by Wirz — Prisoners Shot by His Order — Prisoners Killed by the Dogs — Many Instances of Wirz's Brutality — Men Killed by Being Shot in Stocks and Chain Gang. Pages 333-353.

CHAPTER XIII. Resume of the Foregoing Chapters — Some Comment upon and Deductions from the Evidence — Mortuary Statistics — Johnson's Island and Andersonville Compared — Table of Deaths by Months — Number of Dead at Andersonville, 13,171 — Deaths in Twenty-five Federal Prisons in 1864 Compared with Andersonville — Stockade and Its Terrors Described — Condition of Prisoners Known at Richmond — Hospital and Prison Co-ordinated to Destroy Life — The Conspiracy — Charge of Murder — Photograph of Johnson's Island Prison — Statement of Soldiers on Duty There and at Fort Delaware Prison. Pages 354-385. CHAPTER XIV. Some Interesting Facts as to the Preparation of the Case for Trial — Personnel of the Court. — Proceedings at Close of the Trial — Jurisdiction of the Court Discussed — The Law and Facts as to Conspiracy Stated — Review of the Record by the Judge Advocate-General — Approval of the Sentence by the President — Execution of the Sentence — Law of Nations Systematically Violated — Conditions Surrounding Prisoners Who Were Witnesses — Burial of Wirz's Body. Pages 386-437. CHAPTER XV. The Cartel Suspended — Exchanging of Prisoners Interrupted — Causes Therefor — Violation of Cartel by Rebels — Right to Exchange Denied to Negro Soldiers and Their Officers — When Captured Treated as Felons — Sufferings of Prisoners Due to Treatment They Received, not Because Cartel Was Suspended — Rebel Commissioner Robert Ould, Maneuvering to Get Excess of Prisoners Held by Federals and Use Them at Critical Period of War — Action of Our Government Fully Vindicated — Report of General Hitchcock, Federal Commissioner of Exchange, Covering Entire Subject — Letter of General Grant, Part of Which is Inscribed on the Wirz. Monument — Interview with Colonel John McElroy, a Prisoner at Andersonville — The Evolution of Slaves to the Status of United States Soldiers — Some Interesting Facts About the Negro as a Soldier. Pages 438-473. CHAPTER XVI. Andersonville Cemetery Made Beautiful — Expedition in Spring of 1865 to Provide for Its Permanent Care — Report of Captain Jas. M. Moore, U. S. A. — Important and Interesting Report of Clara Barton, Founder of the Red Cross Society, to the American People — Report of Dorence Atwater, Who Kept the Death' Register, to the Relatives of the Martyred Dead — Interesting Letter of Superintendent of Cemetery — Inscriptions on State Monuments — Patriotic Work Done by Woman's Relief Corps at Prison Park — A Parting Word with the Reader by the Author — Bill Pending in Congress to Appropriate Money by Government to Erect Monument to Confederate Navy — Discussion in United States Senate — Views Expressed in Public Press — Dangerous Step for Government to Thus Give Official Sanction to Rebellion and Treason. Pages 474-521.