Intending to leave the United States, I feel it my duty
before I start to fulfill a promise which, a few hours before his death, I gave
to my unfortunate client, Captain Henry Wirz, who was executed at Washington on
the 10th of November 1865. Protesting up to the last moment his innocence of
those monstrous crimes with which he was charged, he received my word that,
having failed to save him from a felon's doom, I would as long as I lived do
everything in my power to clear his memory. I did that the more readily, as I
was then already convinced that he suffered wrongfully. Since that time his
unfortunate children, both here and in Europe, have constantly implored me to
wipe out the terrible stains which now cover the name of their father.
Though the times do not seem propitious for obtaining justice, yet,
considering that man is mortal, I will, before entering upon a perilous voyage,
perform my duty to those innocent orphans and also to myself. I will now give a
brief statement of the causes which led to the arrest and execution of Captain
Wirz.
In April 1865, President Johnson issued a proclamation stating that from
evidence in the possession of the Bureau of Military Justice it appeared that
Jefferson Davis was implicated in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and for
that reason the President offered one hundred thousand dollars for the capture
of the then fugitive ex-President of the Southern Confederacy. That testimony
has since been found to be entirely false and a mere fabrication, and the
suborner, Conover, is now under sentence in the jail in this city, the two
perjurers whom he suborned having turned state's evidence against him; whilst
the individual by whom Conover was suborned has not yet been brought to justice.
Certain high and influential enemies of Jefferson Davis, either then
already aware of the character of the testimony of those witnesses, or not
thinking their testimony quite sufficient to hang Mr. Davis, expected to find
the wanting material in the terrible mortality of Union prisoners at
Andersonville.
Orders were issued accordingly to arrest a subaltern officer, Captian
Wirz, a poor, friendless, and wounded prisoner of war (he being included in the
surrender of General Johnston) and besides, a foreigner by birth. On the ninth
of May. he was placed in the Old Capital prison at Washington, and from that
time the greater part of the Northern press was busily engaged in forming the
unfortunate man in the eyes of the Northern people into such a monster that it
became almost impossible to obtain counsel; even his countryman, the Swiss
Consul-General, publicly refused to accept money to defray the expenses of the
trial. He was doomed before he was heard, and even the permission to be heard
according to law was denied him,
To increase the excitement and give eclat to the proceeding and to
influence still more the public mind, the trial took place under the very dome
of the Capitol of the nation. A military commission, presided over by a despotic
general, was formed, and the paroled prisoner of war, his wounds still open, was
so feeble that he had to recline during the trial on a sofa. How that trial
was conducted the whole world knows!
The enemies of generosity and humanity believed it to be a sure thing to
get at Jefferson Davis, therefore the first charge was that of conspiracy
between Henry Wirz, Jefferson Davis, Howel Cobb, Richard B. Winder, R. R.
Stevenson, W. J. W. Kerr, and a number of others to kill the Union prisoners.
The trial lasted for three months; but fortunately for the blood-thirsty
instigators, not a particle of evidence was produced showing the existence of
such a conspiracy; yet Captain Wirz was found guilty of that charge!
Having thus failed, another effort was made. On the night before the
execution of the prisoner (November 9, 1865) a telegram was sent to the Northern
press from this city, stating that Wirz had made important disclosures to
General L. C. Baker, the well-known detective, implicating Jefferson Davis, and
that the confession would probably be given to the public. On the same evening
some parties came to the confession of Wirz, Rev. Father Boyle, and also to
me, one of them informing me that a high Cabinet official wished to assure
Wirz that if he would implicate Jefferson Davis with the atrocities committed at
Andersonville, his sentence would be commuted. The messenger requested me to
inform Wirz of this. In the presence of Father Boyle, I told Wirz next morning
what had happened.
The Captain simply and quietly replied, "Mr. Schade, you know that I
have always told you that I do not know anything about Jefferson Davis. He had
no connection with me as to what was done at Andersonville. If I knew anything
about him, I would not become a traitor against him or anybody else even to save
my life."
He likewise denied that he had ever made any statement to General Baker.
Thus ended the attempt to suborn Captain Wirz against Jefferson Davis. That
alone shows what a man he was. How many of his defamers would have done the
same? With his wounded arm in a sling, the poor paroled prisoner mounted the
scaffold two hours later. His last words were that he died innocent and so he
did.
The 10th of November, 1865, will indeed be a black stain upon the pages
of American history.
To weaken the effect of his declaration of innocence and of the noble
manner in which Wirz died, a telegram was manufactured here and sent North
stating that on the 27th of October, Mrs. Wirz (who actually on that day was
nine hundred miles from Washington) had been prevented by that Stantonian
deus ex machina, General L. C. Baker, from poisoning her husband.
Thus at the time when the unfortunate family lost their husband and father, a
cowardly and atrocious attempt was made to blacken their character also. On the
next day, I branded the whole as a lie, and since then I have never heard of it
again, though it emanated from a brigadier-general of the United States Army.
All those who were charged with having conspired with Captain Wirz have
since been released, except Jefferson Davis. Captain Winder was let off without
trial; and if any of the others have been tried, which I do not know, certainly
not one of them has been hanged. As Captain Wirz could not conspire alone,
nobody will now, in view of that important fact, consider him guilty of that
charge.
As to "murder in violation of the laws and customs of war," I do not
hestitate to assert that about one hundred and forty-five out of one hundred and
sixty witnesses that testified on both sides, declared during the trial that
Captain Wirz never murdered or killed any Union prisoners with his own hands or
otherwise.
Those witnesses, some twelve or fifteen, who testified that they saw
Wirz kill prisoners with his own hands or otherwise, swore falsely, abundant
proof of that assertion being in existence. The hands of Captain Henry Wirz are
clear of the blood of prisoners of war. He would certainly have at least
intimated to me a knowledge of the alleged murders with which he was charged. No
names of the alleged murdered men could be given, and when it was done no such
prisoner could be found or identified.
The terrible scene in court when he was confronted with one of the
witnesses, and the latter insisting that Wirz was the man who killed a certain
Union prisoner which irritated Wirz so much that he nearly fainted, will still
be remembered. That witness, Gray, swore falsely, and God alone knows what the
poor innocent prisoner must have suffered at that moment. The scene was depicted
and illustrated in the Northern newspapers as if Wirz had broken down on account
of his guilt. Seldom has a mortal man suffered more than that friendless and
forsaken man.
But who is responsible for the many lives that were lost at
Andersonville and in the Southern prisons? That question has not fully been
settled, but history will yet tell on whose heads the guilt for those sacrificed
hecatombs of human beings is to be placed. It was certainly not the fault of
poor Wirz, when in consequence of medicines being declared contraband of war by
the North, the Union prisoners died for the want of the same. How often have we
read during the war that ladies going South had been arrested and placed in the
Old Capitol Prison by the Union authorities, because quine and other medicine
had been found in their clothing! Our Navy prevented the ingress of medical
stores from the seaside and our troops repeatedly destroyed drug stores and even
the supplies of private physicians in the South. Thus the scarcity of
medicine became general all over the South.
That provisions in the South were scarce will astonish nobody, when it
is remembered how the war was carried on. General Sheridan boasted in his report
that in the Shenandoah Valley alone he burned more than two thousand barns
filled with wheat and corn and all the mills in the whole tract of country; that
he destroyed all factories and killed or drove off every animal, even poultry,
that could contribute to human sustenance. And these desolations were repeated
in different parts of the South, and so thoroughly that money had to be
appropriated to keep the people from starving. The destruction of railroads and
other means of transportation by which food could be supplied by abundant
districts to those without it increased the difficulties in giving sufficient
food to our prisoners.
The Confederate authorities, aware of their inability to maintain the
prisoners, informed the Northern agents of the great mortality, and urgently
requested that the prisoners should be exchanged, even without regard to the
surplus, which the Confederates had on the exchange roll from former exchanges
-- that is, man for man. But our War Department did not consent to an exchange.
They did not want to "exchange skeletons for healthy men."
Finally, when all hopes for exchange were gone, Colonel Ould, the
Confederate Commissioner of Exchange, offered early in August, 1864, to
deliver up all sick and wounded without requiring an equivalent in return,
and pledged that the number would amount to ten or fifteen thousand, and if it
did not, he would make up either number by adding well men. Although this offer
was made in August, the transportation was not sent for them until December,
although he urged that haste be made. During that very period most of the deaths
occurred. It might be well to inquire who these "skeletons" were that Secretary
of War Stanton did not want to exchange for healthy men.
A noble and brave soldier never permits his antagonist to be calumniated
and trampled upon after an honorable surrender. Besides, notwithstanding the
decision of the highest legal tribunal in the land that military commissions are
unconstitutional, and earnest and able protestations of President Johnson and
the results of military commissions, yet such military commissions are again
established by recent legislation of Congress all over the suffering and
starving South. History is just, and, as Mr. Lincoln used to say, "We cannot
escape history." Puritanical hypocrisy, self-adulation, and self-glorification
will not save the enemies of liberty from their just punishment.
Not even Christian burial of the remains of Captain Wirz has been
allowed by Secretary Stanton. They still lie side by side with those of another
and acknowledged victim of military commissions, the unfortunate Mrs. Surratt,
in the yard of the former jail of this city.
If anybody should desire to reply to this, I politely beg that it may be
done before the first of May next, as I shall leave the country -- but to return
in the fall. After that day letters will reach me in care of the American
Legation or Mr. Benedete Bobzani, Leipsig Street, No. 38, Berlin, Prussia.
Louis Schade
Attorney at Law
Washington, D.C.
April 4, 1867
This Article Was Extracted From:
The True Story of Andersonville Prison
James Madison Page
Lieutenant, Sixth Michigan Cavalry
former Andersonville inmate
Published in 1908
...........................................................................................
Sunshine and Straw Hats
On Saturday, May 16, 2009, the Georgia sun was shining. It was a perfect day for
straw hats and handkerchiefs. Members of the Georgia Division of the United
Daughters of the Confederacy conducted a service in Andersonville, Georgia.
Their program was entitled Centennial Observance and Re-Dedication of the
Captain Henry Wirz Monument.
The unfortunate Capt. Henry Wirz, a native of Switzerland, had studied medicine
in Europe. He volunteered for Confederate service and was deemed unfit for
active service after receiving a wound to the arm. Captain Wirz was given
command of the ill-fated Andersonville Prison. The victors executed him on
November 10, 1865, in Washington.
The UDC program began at 11 a.m. at the foot of the obelisk located in the
center of the little village of Andersonville. About 100 folks were in
attendance. The site of the former prison is across highway 49 and is maintained
by the National Parks Service. Taxpayers have been bled over the past eleven
years to bring that propaganda park up to speed.
Mrs. Sybil Willingham who is the UDC Second Vice President spearheaded the
memorial. Her speech concerned the history of the creation of the UDC monument.
The Granddame of Andersonville is Peggy Sheppard. She supervised things from her
golf cart. Peggy is to be commended for her untiring efforts over many years to
educate folks about the real history of the prison and Capt. Henry Wirz. I first
met Peggy when she spoke to the Louisville Civil Round Table on the subject of
the Andersonville Prison.
Col. Heinrich Wirz, a great grand nephew of Captain Wirz, traveled from
Switzerland to be present at this anniversary event. Daniel Schwab is the
brother-in-law of Colonel Wirz’s son. Daniel traveled with Colonel Wirz from
Switzerland as his aide-de-camp.
Over the years, Mr. and Mrs. James Gaston have graciously hosted Colonel Wirz
and others in their home at Americus, Georgia. James is the Past Commander of
the Alexander H. Stevens SCV Camp #78 and has worked on the Exoneration
Committee.
Cora Lee Wirz was the only American daughter of Capt. Henry Wirz. She married
J.S. Perrin and they lived and died in Natchez, Mississippi. Captain Wirz has
four great great grandsons living in Louisiana. They are the four Watkins
brothers. Robert and Perrin Watkins attended the ceremony and brought their
mother and Robert’s wife.
Mr. Ben Willingham, Chief of Staff MOS&B, gave an informative speech about the
life of Mr. L. M. Park. It seems that the young Park volunteered for Confederate
service in 1864 at the age of fifteen. He became a guard at the prison. Park was
in close contact with Captain Wirz after being selected to work as a prison
clerk. Following the execution of Captain Wirz in Washington, Park took it upon
himself to respond in writing to the vicious attacks published about the
character of Captain Wirz. Mr. L. M. Park also served as Chairman of the
Advisory Board during the construction of the monument.
Years after the War ended, the ladies of Georgia were sickened by the bigoted
signs left on the grounds of the former prison by hateful Yankees. The ladies
decided to develop a permanent memorial which would fully explain the dire
situation that existed for the Commander of the prison in 1864 when the South
was suffering all kinds of shortages.
At the UDC meeting of 1905 in Macon, Mrs. Louis G. Young of Savannah submitted a
resolution that a monument be erected to the memory of Henry Wirz in order to
vindicate him from the stain of judicial murder under false charges. The
resolutions read:
“Whereas, Captain Henry Wirz, Commandant of the Stockade Prison at Andersonville,
Ga., was judicially murdered under false charges of cruelty to prisoners; and
Whereas, After an interval of forty years these false charges are reiterated on
sign boards in public places, from the pulpit and on monuments; Therefore, be it
Resolved, That the United Daughters of the Confederacy in Georgia use their
influence to obtain the necessary funds to place a suitable memorial to Captain
Wirz in Andersonville, Ga., upon which a statement of facts shall be engraved in
enduring brass or marble, showing that the Federal Government was solely
responsible for the condition of affairs at Andersonville.
Be it further resolved, That as four Federal prisoners were permitted to go from
Andersonville to Washington to plead for an exchange of prisoners, and when
refused a hearing returned to prison, thus keeping their parole, a tribute to
their honor, be inscribed on said monument.”
The UDC members were able to agree upon a location and the design for the
monument, but they had to fight against much northern bigotry. The monument
dedication was held on May 12, 1909. Capt. Henry Wirz’s daughter, Cora Lee Wirz
Perrin, and his granddaughter, Mary Gladys Perrin were both present. Mary Gladys
did the unveiling.
At the Centennial Observance there was a lady dressed in a long white 19th
century style dress similar to the one her own grandmother was photographed
wearing at the original dedication. At the conclusion of the observance, both
Col. Heinrich Wirz and Mr. Ben Willingham each were presented with the Jefferson
Davis UDC Medal.
Peggy Sheppard had penned a poem entitled Ode to C.S.A. Captain Henry Wirz. This
is the first stanza: “Oh, Henry Wirz was damned, But Henry Wirz was a man. Could
have saved his life with a lie But he walked to the gallows with his head held
high.”
Captain Wirz undoubtedly could have preserved his own life if he had accepted
the proffered Yankee bribe and lied in order to implicate President Jefferson
Davis in the Lincoln assassination. He died because he would not lie. The memory
of honorable Capt. Henry Wirz will be preserved forever in our Valhalla of
Southern Patriots.
Nancy Hitt – 2009
hunleyhitt@earthlink.net