ment Virginia Volunteers, is exchanged for Capt. Charles J. Whiting, of the Fifth U. S. Cavalry. Will you please inform General Lee. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JOHN A. DIX, Major-General. General M. C. MEIGS: FORT MONROE, July 28, 1862. The Atlantic, Merrimac and Coatzacoalcos leave to-day for Fort Delaware. Each can carry and cook for 1,000 men. If Captain Gibson gets rid of 3,000 prisoners he ought to be able to spare a company for each vessel. I cannot spare a man. I have not men enough for guard and police duty. Captain Gibson will of course receive the necessary orders from Washington. JOHN A. DIX, HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF, Madam Dubois having disobeyed the order of the assistant military commandant to deliver up the keys of the school-house on the corner of Robertson and Bienville streets she will be confined on Ship Island until further orders. BENJ. F. BUTLER, Major-General, Commanding. HEADQUARTERS, Fort Monroe, Va., July 28, 1862. Capt. C. W. THOMAS, Assistant Quartermaster, U. S. Army: Pursuant to instructions received from the Quartermaster-General the major-general commanding directs that you cause the steamers. Atlantic, Capt. D. S. Babcock; Merrimac, Capt. F. A. Sampson; Coatzacoalcos, Capt. Jefferson Many, to proceed without delay to Fort Delaware, Del., there to report to Captain Gibson, Second Artillery, commanding at that post, for the purpose of receiving such prisoners of war as he may place on board and to return with such prisoners to this post, reporting their arrival to the major-general commanding. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, D. T. VAN BUREN, Assistant Adjutant-General. OFFICE COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS, General E. L. VIELE, Commanding, Norfolk, Va. SIR: The Secretary of War directs that Dr. W. H. Newell, a prisoner of war, be unconditionally discharged under General Orders, No. 60, current series. As the doctor was paroled by you it is proper that this order should pass through your hands. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. HOFFMAN, Colonel Third Infantry, Commissary-General of Prisoners. General L. THOMAS, Adjutant-General: BOSTON, July 28, 1862. Prisoners of war leave Thursday morning. Shall send Flag-Officer Barron, Commander Mitchell and all Navy prisoners. Shall send also two lieutenants of the Navy, De Bree and Glassell, unless otherwise ordered. Some eight or nine prisoners say they will be hung if they go South. Some have taken the oath of allegiance. Further orders. Col. WILLIAM HOFFMAN, J. DIMICK, Colonel, Commanding. COLUMBUS, OHIO, July 28, 1862. Third Infantry, U. S. Army, Commissary-General of Prisoners. COLONEL: I have the honor to submit to you the following report upon the condition of matters connected with the prison camp of Camp Chase at this place upon my arrival here and at the present time: I am glad to be able to inform you that the written instructions contained in my letter to the commanding officer here directing certain improvements in the prisons and other departments connected with them, and which have already been submitted to your approval in a previous report, have in most cases been put in force by the commanding officer, and this too previous to my arrival. As a consequence a marked change is observed in the health, cleanliness, police and comfort of the prisoners and decidedly for the better. The quartermaster has already completed a very complete grading of all of the prisons thereby securing a complete drainage. They will soon be provided with complete privies, those in prison No. 3 being finished and the others in a fair way toward fitting them for use. The quarters are nearly all thoroughly whitewashed, and this together with the free use of lime in connection with the changes referred to render the atmosphere of the prisons comparatively pure. The prisoners in No. 3 do all of their cooking by the six Farmer's boilers and twelve stoves, two to each mess, to enable them to bake their corn-meal and prepare in various ways a few small articles of the ration. The method adopted by them is that generally followed in the Army of boiling their rations and making soup. Fresh beef is issued five times a week. I have directed that rice or beans shall be issued daily to the prisoners, one in lieu of the other when hominy is not issued; when, however, hominy is issued neither beans nor rice for that day, the object being to give them one and only one of these articles of food at the same time, or forming a part of the same ration. This is somewhat less than the allowance at present given under the recent commissary regulation to exist during this war, there being allowed under it a full ration of either two, as beans and rice, beans and hominy, rice and hominy. But I believe that it was more than enough for men taking little or no exercise, and more particularly as of most of the food a considerable portion daily finding its way to the slop tubs. I have directed that hominy be issued in the proportion of two-sevenths and beans or rice five-sevenths, and corn-meal in place of bread or flour five times per week. The prisoners are quite successful in the use of the boilers, and there is no doubt but that their cost would soon be replaced by the immense saving of fuel over stoves. The use of milk by the prisoners has been allowed by permitting the sutlers to sell it. The camps are thoroughly policed twice each day (or rather the prisons) in the manner detailed to be done in my first report to you. All accumulations of every kind are removed from within or about the quarters, and but for your telegram from Washington the buildings would all be soon raised and platforms constructed in front of them. As it is the boards will be sawed off whenever they project below the floors to admit as free a circulation of air as possible under them. And generally all the means for improving the condition of the prisons directed by me to be put in force by the officer commanding the camp and stated in my first report to you have been put in successful and constant operation under my own supervision, with the exception of those parts or points already referred to you and not meeting with your approval, as the planking of the large camp drain, and in accordance with your instructions I shall continue them so far as no expenditure is involved, in accordance with your telegram from Washington. I have required Captain Walker, the post commissary, to live at Camp Chase and to personally attend to all issues and duties of his position and to make out and submit to me for your inspection at the end of this month an abstract of the daily savings of rations for the prisoners' fund. Instructions have been received here from the Commissary-General's Office in Washington (in reply to a letter which I directed to be addressed to him upon the quantity of rations to be furnished by the contractors) which require a great improvement in the quality of the ration over that at present furnished. I shall see that this is done and that the post commissary who has been going quite at large remains at the camp and does his duty. The commanding officer has informed me that he has been at the camp but three days for the past two weeks and has been absent without permission threefourths of the time. I will forward to you in a day or two as soon as I can possibly collect the items a strong case against the capability of this gentleman, if not a more serious charge, which I respectfully request that you will forward to the Commissary-General at Washington if it appears to you worthy of that notice. The quartermaster here informs me that he has not sufficient funds to pay Mr. Aiken at present unless he takes 6 per cent. U. S. bonds. This Mr. Aiken is unwilling to do. I shall direct the quartermaster to make a special estimate to cover this debt if you approve of this course. All the necessary books required by me have been furnished by him for the prison records, and I am now having the entries made in them in the proper forms and in a uniform, regular manner which will hereafter be pursued so as to conform as much as possible to the forms used in the office of the commissary-general of prisoners, and such as will in the simplest manner furnish all necessary data. Some considerable number of communications to the State authorities, as the Governor, quartermaster-general and others, from prisoners have been up to the present time sent from the prisons sealed and without previous examination simply because addressed to these functionaries. They have been forwarded under the prisoner's seal. I have directed that all communications from prisoners of whatsoever nature and to whomsoever addressed go unsealed to the commanding officer first, in order that Articles I and X be strictly enforced of the regulations from your office, and that nothing improper in matter or manner be permitted to go from the prisons. I have done this to prevent the obviously mischievous effects of ex parte representation by prisoners to people outside not officially concerned. The prisons will at present accommodate 1,800; 2,000 could be crowded in. At present there are about 1,600 prisoners. I have the 20 R R-SERIES II, VOL IV honor to inclose for your approval requisitions* for prisoners' clothing. The quartermaster at this place has on hand a sufficient supply. I inclose seven certificates for parole and discharge. These include several particular cases made out at my request of perfectly harmless prisoners. Two have lost their arms, two are insane and several are idiotic. The prisoners are greatly in want of clothing. I inclose the application* for release by reason of a former parole of a prisoner of the name of Vincent. The case has been referred to me, as you will observe, or I should not trouble you with it at present at least. In reply to your letter of the 15th instant, in which you wish to know how many prisoners were on parole in the city of Columbus when I arrived here and how many are on parole now, I inclose a statement* comprehending these points. I have informed Governor Tod of your request that all prisoners in this city be returned to Camp Chase except the two who fear violence by reason of their communications. As yet he has not complied with your request. With the highest regard, I am, colonel, your obedient servant, H. M. LAZELLE, Capt., Eighth Infty., Assistant Commissary-General of Prisoners QUARTERMASTER'S DEPARTMENT, U. S. ARMY, Col. WILLIAM HOFFMAN, Commissary-General of Prisoners, Detroit, Mich. COLONEL: Inclosed please find a bill for Cincinnati Commercial furnished prisoners of war by order of Colonel Rose, commandant at camp. I did not think that the account was an allowable one, although I am of the opinion that the paper man should be paid. This expenditure has been stopped, as it should be, but this bill stands, and I not feeling authorized to approve it most respectfully refer it to headquarters. I am, colonel, most respectfully, your obedient servant, Assistant Quartermaster, U. S. Ármy. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, July 29, 1862. Major-General DIX: Adjutant-General Thomas will take the prisoners to be exchanged from Fort Delaware, stopping at Fortress Monroe. He will consult with you respecting the course to be taken with the prisoners referred to in your telegram. EDWIN M. STANTON, WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, July 29, 1862. Adjt. Gen. L. THOMAS, U. S. Army. GENERAL: In exchanging prisoners I beg to direct your attention specially to the following classes: 1. The Texas troops captured by Van Dorn and others. 2. Telegraphic operators, of whom several are held as prisoners. 3. Hospital assistants and private persons who were in attendance upon the sick and wounded in hospitals, among whom are Felix Brunot, esq., of Pittsburg, and his assistants, taken at Savage [Station] Hospital. We released a great number of surgeons unconditionally recently under the assurance that such persons should not be held as prisoners. 4. Persons who decline to be exchanged, citizens of Northern States, aliens who wish to remain in the North, &c. In respect to these you will observe such directions as may be given by the General-in-Chief. Yours, truly, EDWIN M. STANTON. P. S. Arrange in making up your first exchange to leave behind the fourth class if there be enough of the others to be exchanged for all of our troops held as prisoners. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, July 29, 1862. Governor WILLIAM A. BUCKINGHAM, Norwich, Conn.: Why should men of such comparative insignificance as Colonel K. be rigorously dealt with when the conspicuous personage named in your letter of the 18th instant has as stated therein so little influence that you do not think it advisable to take any further notice of him? Colonel K. was doubtless encouraged by his example and it is neither just nor wise to seize small criminals while large ones are permitted to do the same acts with impunity. Besides the colonel's offense seems much less flagrant than that of the other. By order of the Secretary of War: C. P. WOLCOTT, Assistant Secretary of War. ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, Col. J. DIMICK, U. S. Army, Fort Warren, Boston: The eight or nine prisoners referred to and those who have taken the oath of allegiance will not be sent to Fort Monroe. Parole Major Granbury, of Texas, that he may attend his wife while having a surgical operation performed at Baltimore, then to report to General Wool, in Baltimore. Modify Colonel Kane's parole so as to read as follows: Not to commit any hostile or injurious act against the Government of the United States by word or deed, nor to communicate in any form with any person on the subject of politics or the war. By order: L. THOMAS, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, Colonel DIMICK, U. S. Army, Fort Warren, Boston: Henry Myers will be embarked with the prisoners of war and General Dix informed before the transport reaches Fort Monroe if he is to be exchanged. E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General. *Not found. |