GEORGE GILBERT, WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, July 3, 1862. Justice of the Peace, Watertown, Jefferson County, N. Y.: Information has reached this Department that you have committed into custody on a charge of false imprisonment Lieut. William R. Parsons, on duty as a military officer in your county. Advise this Department at once of the name of the party alleged to have been falsely imprisoned and of the circumstances which led to such alleged action on the part of Lieutenant Parsons. By order of the Secretary of War: C. P. WOLCOTT, Assistant Secretary of War. CORINTH, July 3, 1862. Major-General GRANT, Memphis: Deliver to enemy's line all your prisoners (not officers), except those guilty of treating barbarously our men, on parole not to serve until exchanged. H. W. HALLECK, IN VICINITY OF BATTLE-FIELD OF JULY 1, Brigadier-General STUART, Commanding, C. S. Army. SIR: It is proper for me to state to you that while the U. S Army was retreating during the night of the 1st of July it became known to me that a hospital depot containing over a hundred men too severely wounded to follow the army would be left without any care whatever. I chose to remain with them to do what I could for them, and the following enlisted men (most of whom had been connected with the hospital department before) volunteered to remain with me and throw themselves upon the magnanimity of the Government of the Confederate States: C. B. McGrath, Company H, Sixty-first Pennsylvania Volunteers; S. O'Grady, Company H, Sixty-seventh New York Volunteers; Charles Thompson, Company B, Twenty-third Pennsylvania Volunteers; George H. Kinsley, Company C, Sixty-seventh New York Volunteers; John C. Perkins, Company G, Sixty-seventh New York; John E. Banford, Company B, Sixty-first Pennsylvania Volunteers; George C. Hill, Company F, Ninety-eighth New York Volunteers; Corpl. H. Holliday, Company F, Ninety-eighth New York Volunteers; John Campbell, Company E, Twenty-sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers; Joshua Kendall, Company D, Nineteenth Massachusetts. All but the first three of these and the fifth, making four in all, were taken from me yesterday as prisoners of war. We are without food, and if attendants and food are not sent to us we must starve. Respectfully, yours, DAVID PRINCE, Brigade Surgeon, U. S. Volunteers. OFFICE COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS, C. A. ARTHUR, Inspector-General, New York City:* I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Colonel Third Infantry, Commissary-General of Prisoners. QUARTERMASTER-GENERAL'S OFFICE, General L. THOMAS, Adjutant-General U. S. Army. SIR: The report* of Colonel Hoffman, commissary-general of pris oners, "relative to the accommodation of prisoners at Fort Delaware" referred from your office to the Quartermaster-General on the 24th ultimo, is respectfully returned herewith. Colonel Crosman, deputy quartermaster-general, Philadelphia, has been directed to carry out the suggestions of Colonel Hoffman so far as the Quartermaster's Department is concerned. By order: Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Col. D. D. TOMPKINS, Assistant Quartermaster-General, New York. JULY 3, 1862. COLONEL: You will please cause the suggestions contained in a letter from Colonel Hoffman, commissary-general of prisoners, to the Secretary of War, referred through the Adjutant-General's Office to the Quartermaster-General, as embraced in the inclosed extract therefrom, to be carried out. By order: E. S. SIBLEY, Brevet Colonel, U. S. Army, Deputy Quartermaster-General. [Inclosure.] Extract from a letter of Col. William Hoffman, dated New York City, June 17, 1862, to the Secretary of War: Governor's Island is better adapted for the reception of prisoners than any place in the interior and I would respectfully suggest that sheds for the accommodation of 5,000 be erected there immediately. The cost of transportation thence to an * Omitted here; see Hoffman to Stanton, June 15, with indorsements, p. 23. inland camp would go far toward covering the expense of the buildings. I would respectfully suggest also that bunks be put in Castle William for the accommodation of prisoners confined there. By this means more can be provided for there and good police and health will be promoted. Of course they would be so arranged as to be easily removed. QUARTERMASTER-GENERAL'S Office, Lieut. Col. GEORGE H. CROSMAN, Deputy Quartermaster-General. COLONEL: Inclosed is a copy of a report* to the Secretary of War relative to the accommodations of prisoners at Fort Delaware, referred to this office through the Adjutant-General U. S. Army. You will carry out the suggestions of Colonel Hoffman, commissary-general of prisoners, contained in this report, as far as the Quartermaster's Department is concerned. By order: E. S. SIBLEY, Brevet Colonel, U. S. Army, Deputy Quartermaster. General. Col. W. HOFFMAN, QUARTERMASTER GENERAL'S OFFICE, Commissary-General of Prisoners, Detroit, Mich. COLONEL: The following is a copy of a telegram this day sent you, viz: Telegram of this date received. We have more than enough irregular clothing fit only for prisoners. By order: Very respectfully, your obedient servant, E. S. SIBLEY, Brevet Colonel, U. S. Army, Deputy Quartermaster-General. HEADQUARTERS, Fort Delaware, Del., July 3, 1862. Col. WILLIAM HOFFMAN, Commissary-General of Prisoners, Detroit, Mich. COLONEL: The necessity for clothing begins to be pressing; therefore I would suggest that the following be furnished for future distribution: 1,000 blouses (or any substitute), 500 blankets, 1,000 shirts, 500 shoes (pairs), 300 caps (or any substitute), 1,000 pants. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, A. A. GIBSON, Captain, Second Artillery, Commanding. Col. James A. Mulligan's charges against First Lieut. Patrick Higgins, of the Twenty-third Regiment Illinois Volunteers. JUDGE-ADVOCATE'S OFFICE, Washington, July 3, 1862. The fact alleged is agreeing for money to aid two prisoners of war to escape. It is here charged, first, as violation of the fifty-sixth article * Omitted here; see Hoffman to Stanton, June 15, with indorsements, p. 23. Treason as of war, and second, as treasonable conduct and aid and comfort to the enemy. The second is not laid under any article of war. such of either sort is not cognizable by a court-martial. The fifty-sixth article of war is: Whosoever shall relieve the enemy with money, victuals or ammunition, or shall knowingly harbor or protect an enemy, &c. This act is none of these. Had the accused in fact aided the escape it might according to the circumstances be an act of harboring and protecting an enemy. The next matter of this kind within the purview of the articles of war is the holding correspondence with or giving intelligence to the enemy. Fifty-seventh article. This conspiring to aid a prisoner's escape is not that. And the offense is not I think one of the enumerated offenses, but falls as a breach of discipline under the ninety-ninth article and as a disgraceful violation of duty under the eighty-third. I should therefore charge: First, violation of duty to the prejudice of good order and military discipline; specification, in concerting and conspiring to aid the escape of -, prisoner of war; and second, conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman; specification, in entering into a corrupt and disgraceful plot to aid for money the escape prisoner of war, at Respectfully submitted. of on , J. F. LEE, Judge-Advocate. PRISON NO. 3, MESS No. 1, Camp Chase, near Columbus, Ohio, July 3, 1862. Hon. HORACE MAYNARD. DEAR SIR: I am a prisoner at Camp Chase, Ohio, and I feel myself a loyal man, if I could have hope [helped] myself, but I am here and wish to let you know that I was not persuaded into it, but actually driven in, as all the violators of the Confederacy were, or hung, or imprisoned. I as well as many other Union men of East Tennessee joined a company of Union home guard, gotten up by J. S. Lamb, in the Fourth District of Knox County, Tenn. I drilled with them and expressed my honest sentiments for the Union and Constitution, and for Andrew Johnson, Horace Maynard, [William G.] Brownlow and T. A. R. Nelson. I have the pleasure to announce to you that I voted for the Union three times and would have done so again and again had I had the opportunity; but, alas, we have been overrun by a military despotism that prevailed in East Tennessee for over twelve months; but after the August election had done all that I could at the ballot box for the Union, and J. S. Lamb and some others saw it plain by Governor Harris' and Zollicoffer's proclamation that we were bound to be oppressed. They gathered all they could and made an effort to cross Cumberland Mountains to Kentucky to join the U. S. Army, but we were defeated by the secesh soldiers and several prisoners taken. I got back home and kept myself hid for some time, and though all was over, I was surrounded and noti fied that those who were engaged in trying to get to the U. S. Army would be hunted up, and if they refused to go into service would be "sent up"-a phrase to mean shooting, hanging, or imprisonment, for they said that they would join the Union Army. I therefore consented to go into a company of sappers and miners, as I was informed it was to work and not to fight, with the intention if I had any chance to escape and get to the Union Army; and four of us boys of the same company had entered into a secret covenant, as soon as we were sure that the Union forces were near enough we would go to them and leave Mr. Secesh. Our names are as follows: J. S. Lamb, Calvin Garrett, William Martin, and myself, Joel B. Crawford. We were taken before we knew they were so near. I send this to you and I wish you as my friend to do the best you can for me. I am willing to take any oath that the War Department may require. I am, respectfully, yours, JOEL B. CRAWFORD. I know most of the above statements to be true, as Crawford is a neighbor of mine. J. S. LAMB. FROM PRISON No. 3, MESS No. 1, Camp Chase, near Columbus, Ohio, July 3, 1862. Hon. HORACE MAYNARD, Washington, D. C.: We, the undersigned, wish to give you as full account of the cause as possible of our being prisoners in Camp Chase, as we were Union men, as J. S. Lamb has already referred to us as his "Union fellowsufferers in East Tennessee," by the secesh military despotism that reigned for some time in our country. We know you and our fathers were your warm supporters as well as Union lovers, and so would we have done the same, but William Martin was too young to vote. I did myself, Calvin Garrett. I know you are acquainted with our fathers, Reuben Garrett and Jonathan Martin, that live (Garrett) on the top of Copper Ridge and Martin at the foot of the same, Union County, Tenn., on the road leading from Knoxville to Maynardville, Tenn. We were with Joseph S. Lamb when he started to cross Cumberland Mountains to join the U. S. Army, but as J. S. Lamb has already informed you we were stopped by the secesh army and defeated, but we made the second attempt and again found we could not go through. We got home and were about to be taken. We scouted in the ridges for some time. We were informed that if we would give ourselves up and agree to go into the service we would not be hurt. As we saw no other prospect, by their giving us our choice of company and some time to choose, we agreed to it and put off the time as long as we could and finding no possible way to get out of it we concluded to go into a company of sappers and miners, as we were informed that that company was to work and not to fight. We had concluded to enter that company, and if any possible chance offered, if the Federal Army got close to us, we would desert and go to the Union Army. Four of us boys had entered into that covenant secretly ourselves. The names are Calvin Garrett, William Martin, Joseph S. Lamb and Joel B. Crawford. We would not wish you to publish this to the world, for if we are safely discharged from here our secesh neighbors would kill us secretly. The prisoners, some of them that are here, have threatened, particularly if an exchange takes place, that J. S. Lamb and Martin are to go up, Martin for conducting the Union boys to camp where Lamb was waiting on the sick when I (Garrett) was taken, and for telling them that there were two horses and some Union boys who would be glad to go with them, and J. S. Lamb for going and getting the powder and giving it to them in order as he said to defeat the secesh pursuit; and none of us four ever wish, as you and the War Department may judge, to be exchanged. |