You will I have no doubt readily concede that a soldier would find himself in a very awkward predicament should he be taken prisoner a second time and found not to have been properly exchanged. Some such cases have it is said actually occurred. By kindly condescending to reply to the foregoing queries, you will greatly oblige, Yours, very respectfully, JAMES PRALD, Hospital Department, Eighty-second New York Volunteers, GENERAL ORDERS, WAR DEPT., ADJT. GENERAL'S OFFICE, No. 95. Washington, August 5, 1862. The following orders are promulgated for the information of all concerned: WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, July 31, 1862. I. Ordered, That the Hon. L. C. Turner, of New York, be and he is hereby appointed associate judge-advocate for the army around Washington. That all cases of state prisoners and also cases of military arrests in the District of Columbia and the adjacent counties of Virginia are specially assigned to him for investigation and determination. The military governor of the District of Columbia and the provost-marshal of Washington will make report to him of cases wherein the action of a judge-advocate may be required. By order of the Secretary of War: * EDWIN M. STANTON, E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General. MADISON, WIS., August 5, 1862. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War: Is Dr. J. M. Lewis, surgeon of Second Wisconsin, captured at Bull Run, released from his parole by exchange? I ask that if he is discharged he be granted a furlough for thirty days. I do not yet receive reply as to Colonel Maloney, of our Thirteenth Regiment, nor as to Mr. Hood's appointment as commissioner for recruiting. I am anxiously waiting these replies. Major-General HALLECK: E. SALOMON, Governor of Wisconsin. INDIANAPOLIS, IND., August 5, 1862. A number of the rebel prisoners in camp here desire to volunteer into our Army instead of being exchanged. I am in favor of accepting them, believing they can be trusted and it will have a good effect. O. P. MORTON. OFFICE COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS, General C. P. BUCKINGHAM, Asst. Adjt. Gen., War Department, Washington, D. C. GENERAL: I have forwarded to the Department a great many petitions of prisoners, civil and military, for parole and release, some being very good cases indeed and others having little merit, but all alike, the good and the bad together, are buried under the mass of papers on the Assistant Secretary's table, whose more important engagements do not allow him time to attend to these matters. It will save much time and a great deal of labor if these questions can be placed in my hands under such restrictions as the Secretary may think proper. Whatever policy it may be desirable to follow in this matter I will endeavor to carry out strictly, and certainly I will endeavor not to err on the side of too much clemency. There are a number of men in confinement who ought to be released, some who should never have been apprehended, but all share the fate of the guilty without hope of release. I have many applications from prisoners to be exempt from exchange. Some wish to remain in the loyal States by taking the oath of allegiance, others ask to be released on parole with various conditions, all are desirous by some means to avoid further service in the rebel army. I have forwarded many of these petitions, but they are not answered. It would relieve the Department if I could be informed as to the course which will be pursued in such cases. I have received no instructions in relation to the exchange of prisoners in the West and I do not know whether it is to take place or not. Many things relating to their better security and arrangement for their better care are waiting on this question. If the exchange is carried out I recommend that the three political prisoners at Fort Mackinac be transferred to the Sandusky depot. It is attended with a very heavy expense to keep them there and if they remain there supplies for the winter for the company which guards them must be sent. The services of the company will be of more value in the field. After the exchange the depot at Sandusky will probably accommodate all the prisoners who will be held in the West, and I recommend they all be ordered there. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. HOFFMAN, Colonel Third Infantry, Commissary-General of Prisoners. OFFICE COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS, Col. C. W. B. ALLISON, Detroit, Mich., August 5, 1862. Commanding Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio. COLONEL: Doctor Lupton cannot be paroled because paroles are granted only in cases of extreme illness, and he cannot be released on the ground of his being a physician because it is only medical officers captured while serving in their official capacity who are to be discharged under General Orders, No. 60. Please say to John J. Vincent, a prisoner of war at Camp Chase, in reply to his letter addressed to General Wright, that the parole granted to him by the provost-marshal of General Shields' command is no longer in force. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. HOFFMAN, Colonel Third Infantry, Commissary-General of Prisoners. OFFICE COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS, S. E. CHURCH, Esq., Albion, N. Y. Detroit, Mich., August 5, 1862. DEAR SIR: Your letter of the 4th is received and in reply I beg to say that the Government does not investigate the charges preferred against persons arrested for disloyalty. Where arrests are made under mistakes or on false accusations the person arrested or his friends for him must establish his innocence to secure his release. In the case of Mr. Cole it will be necessary to furnish all the facts in writing and these I will lay before the War Department where only can his release be granted. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. HOFFMAN, Colonel Third Infantry, Commissary-General of Prisoners. CAMP PAROLE, Annapolis, Md., August 5, 1862. Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON. SIR: The order which was recently published by the War Department requiring that. all paroled prisoners belonging to the New England and Middle States should report at once at the Camp of Instruction at Annapolis, Md., has been complied with by a large number from these sections, and they are now anxiously waiting the further action of Government, and are desirous of learning as quickly as possible what disposition is to be made of paroled prisoners generally. At the time this order was issued it was supposed that every necessary preparation had been made for the proper accommodations of all who should report at this camp, and accordingly many left home with such an impression, and came here expecting to find a state of affairs different from those now existing in reality. It is deemed advisable, sir, to call your serious attention to the highly important fact that there are now a great many here who have not yet entirely recovered from the effects of the hardships which were suffered while in Southern prisons, and who will prove only a burden to the Government if continued in the service, while there are a great many also whose constitutions have become completely undermined and who are now no longer capable of enduring the privations incident to the life of a soldier. All such have a right to demand their unconditional release, and it is asked in common humanity that a more thorough and faithful examination than that which was recently made may be instituted for the purpose, and that all thus unqualified may be at once mustered out of the service. In conclusion, sir, allow us to say that it is the earnest wish of all paroled prisoners that they might either be exchanged at once so that they can join their respective regiments, or else that they may be discharged from the service altogether, thus affording them the opportunity of re-enlisting whenever an exchange shall be made, so as to render it practicable for them to do so. The undersigned have been authorized by the members of the regiments with which they are connected to forward this communication to the Secretary of the War Department in behalf of all paroled prisoners assembled at this station: John H. Cunningham, Ninth Maine, Charles C. Drew, Third Maine, representing paroled prisoners from Maine; Robert F. Wallin, Seventy-first Pennsylvania, Charles Brandt, representing Pennsylvania; George W. Bliss, Fourteenth New York State Militia, Brooklyn, John O'Brien, New York, representing New York; David C. Bradford, sergeant, New Jersey volunteers, Cornelius A. Lowe, New Jersey volunteers, representing New Jersey; John R. Fisher, Henry A. Page, representing Connecticut regiments; G. W. Fay, John Hogan, representing Vermont; J. L. Fitts, Charles J. Kelly, representing New Hampshire; Joshua W. Brown, William J. Crossley, representing Rhode Island; Charles T. Carroll, James E. Selly, representing Maryland; Samuel E. Hodgkins, William Duffie, representing Massachusetts volunteers. Any response to this communication will be forwarded to William Duffie, Second Massachusetts, company of paroled prisoners, Annapolis, Md. NAVY DEPARTMENT, Washington, August 6, 1862. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War. SIR: In connection with the general exchange of prisoners now being made I have the honor to state that there are at present confined in forts of the United States (Fort Lafayette chiefly) many pilots and seamen who were captured on board vessels seized for violating the blockade. It is through the experience and skill of these men that vessels succeed in running into and out of the blockaded ports, and it is of great importance that they should not be released and again engage in their profession. I therefore respectfully request that should it be in contemplation to exchange any of them before doing so this Department may be consulted on the subject. I am, respectfully, your obedient servant, GIDEON WELLES. HEADQUARTERS, Huntsville, August 6, 1862. General THOMAS, Commanding First Division, Decherd: Send the guerrillas to Camp Chase when you have proof that they are such. JAMES B. FRY. OFFICE COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS, General D. S. STANLEY, Detroit, Mich., August 6, 1862. Army of the Ohio, Camp on Clear Creek. GENERAL: Your favor of the 24th ultimo in relation to the release of your brother, a prisoner of war at Fort Delaware, has been received and in reply I have to inform you that all the prisoners at Fort Delaware were [recently] ordered from the fort to a point on James River to be exchanged. About the time of their departure, a week ago, I noticed in the papers a statement that 400 or 500 had been released on their taking the oath of allegiance and your brother may have been among the number. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. HOFFMAN, Colonel Third Infantry, Commissary-General of Prisoners. OFFICE COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS, Lieut. Col. MARTIN BURKE, Third Regiment, U. S. Artillery, Comdg. Fort Lafayette, N. Y. COLONEL: Will you please furnish me with a list of the political prisoners in confinement at Fort Lafayette on the 31st ultimo, and I will be obliged to you if you will at the end of each month furnish me a report showing the number of prisoners present, with the changes that have taken place during the month, giving the names of those joined, released, &c. I inclose General Orders,* Nos. 67 and 32, which you may not have seen. Political as well as military prisoners are under my charge. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. HOFFMAN, Colonel Third Infantry, Commissary General of Prisoners. OFFICE COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF PRISONERS, Col. J. H. TUCKER, Commanding Camp Douglas, Chicago, Ill. COLONEL: Your letter of August 4, with a copy of your letter to the Secretary of War reporting the arrest of Dr. L. D. Boone, is received. Your action in the case is in my judgment manifestly proper and I have no doubt it will be approved by the Secretary of War. It will probably lead to your receiving instructions for your guidance in all like cases. It is plain that all persons who interfere in any way to endanger the safety of the prisoners under your charge or to disturb the good order of the camp render themselves amenable to arrest and punishment. The particular mode must be pointed out by the War Department. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. HOFFMAN, Colonel Third Infantry, Commissary-General of Prisoners. HEADQUARTERS, Camp Douglas, Chicago, August 6, 1862. Col. WILLIAM HOFFMAN, Commissary-General of Prisoners, Detroit, Mich. COLONEL: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of July 31 in which I am directed to prepare a roll of all prisoners in * Omitted here; see p. 30, this Vol., and p. 417, Vol. III, this Series. |
