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Henry WIRZ
Real name:
Heinrich Hartmann Wirz
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics: Wirz
was one of two men tried, convicted and executed for war crimes
during the Civil War
Number of victims: 11 +
Date of murders: 1864 - 1865
Date of arrest: May 1865
Date of birth:
November
1822
Victims profile: Union
prisoners of war
Victims profile: Disease
and malnutrition -
Shooting
Location: Andersonville, Georgia, USA
Status: Found guilty of conspiracy and
of 11 counts of
murder. Executed by
hanging in
Washington, D.C.,
on November 10, 1865
Heinrich Hartmann Wirz
better known as Henry Wirz (November 25, 1823 –
November 10, 1865) was a Confederate officer tried and executed in the
aftermath of the American Civil War for conspiracy and murder relating
to his command of Camp Sumter, the Confederate prisoner of war camp near
Andersonville, Georgia.
Medical career
and family
Born in Zürich, Switzerland, Wirz attended the
University of Zurich but there is no evidence he obtained a degree. Wirz
practiced medicine for a time before he emigrated to the U.S. in 1849,
when many Forty-Eighters were fleeing the failed Revolutions of 1848 in
the German states and elsewhere, or the Swiss Sonderbund war. Wirz, who
had married in 1845 and had two children, was imprisoned briefly in the
late 1840s for unknown reasons.
He established a medical practice in Kentucky where
he married a Methodist widow named Wolfe. Along with her two daughters
they moved to Louisiana. In 1855 his wife gave birth to their daughter
Cora. By 1861, Wirz had a successful medical practice.
Civil war
When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Wirz claimed to
have enlisted as a private in Company A, Fourth-Battalion, Louisiana
Volunteers of the Confederate States Army. It is rumored that he took
part in the Battle of Seven Pines in May 1862, during which he was
supposedly severely wounded by a minie ball and lost the use of his
right arm. No official record exists to give credence to any involvement
in that or any other military affair before he become director of
Andersonville.
Wirz allegedly then served on detached duty as a
prison guard in Alabama, then transferred to help guard Federal
prisoners incarcerated at Richmond, Virginia. Because of his injury,
Wirz was assigned to the staff of General John H. Winder, who was in
charge of Confederate prisoner of war camps.
In February 1864, the Confederate government
established Camp Sumter, a large military prison in Georgia near the
small railroad depot of Anderson (as it was called then), to house Union
prisoners of war. In March, Wirz took command of Camp Sumter where he
remained for over a year.
Though wooden barracks were originally
planned, the Confederates incarcerated the prisoners in a vast,
rectangular, open-air stockade originally encompassing sixteen and a
half acres, which had been intended as only a temporary prison pending
exchanges of prisoners with the North. The prisoners themselves gave
this place the name Andersonville.
The prison suffered an extreme lack of
food, tools and medical supplies, severe overcrowding, poor sanitary
conditions and a lack of potable water. At its peak in August 1864, the
camp held approximately 32,000 Union prisoners, making it the fifth
largest city in the Confederacy. The monthly mortality rate from disease
and malnutrition reached 3,000. Around 45,000 prisoners were
incarcerated during the camp's 14-month existence, of whom 13,000 (28%)
died.
Trial and execution
Wirz was arrested in May 1865, by a contingent of
federal cavalry and taken by rail to Washington, D.C., where the federal
government intended to place him on trial for conspiring to impair the
lives of Union prisoners of war.
A military tribunal was convened with Major General
Lew Wallace presiding. The other members of the commission were Gershom
Mott, John W. Geary, Lorenzo Thomas, Francis Fessenden, Edward S. Bragg,
John F. Ballier, T. Allcock, John H. Stibbs. Norton P. Chipman served as
prosecutor.
In July 1865, the trial convened in the Capitol
building and lasted for two months, dominating the front pages of
newspapers across the United States. The court heard the testimony of
former inmates, ex-Confederate officers and even nearby residents of
Andersonville. Most the evidence was hearsay, but there was one witness
whose testimony was particularly damning. His name was Felix de la Baume,
and he claimed to be a descendant of the heroic Lafayette. He was able
to name a victim killed directly by Wirz. This eyewitness was a skilled
orator and his story was so compelling, that he was given a written
commendation signed by all the members of the commission for his part in
the trial. He was also rewarded a position in the department of the
Interior while the trial was still in progress. Finally, in early
November, the commission announced that it had found Wirz guilty of
conspiracy as charged, along with 11 of 13 counts of murder. He was
sentenced to death.
In a letter to President Andrew
Johnson, Wirz asked for clemency, but the letter went unanswered. The
night before his execution, Louis Schade (an attorney working on behalf
of Wirz) was told 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. Schade repeated the
offer to Wirz and was told, "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." Wirz was hanged at One First Street,
Northeast, Washington, D.C., the present-day site of the Supreme Court
of the United States. His neck did not break from the fall, however, and
the crowd watched as he writhed and slowly suffocated. He was later
buried in the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington, D.C. He was survived
by his wife and one daughter.
Eleven days after the execution of
Wirz, it was revealed that the star witness from the trial had perjured
himself. He was not Felix de la Baume from France, but Felix Oeser, born
in Saxony, Prussia. He was actually a deserter from the 7th New York
Volunteers. With his real identity revealed, he quickly disappeared.
Henry Wirz was one of two men tried, convicted and
executed for war crimes during the Civil War (the other being
Confederate guerrilla Champ Ferguson). His conviction remains
controversial today.
Residents of the town of Andersonville annually march
to a Wirz memorial, along with supporters of a congressional pardon for
Wirz.
Some writers have said that Wirz was unfairly tried
and convicted because the South had low food rations and there was a
Northern blockade of all medicines, both of which were out of Wirz's
control. The controversial trial, one of the nation's first war crimes
tribunals, created enduring moral and legal notions and established the
precedent that certain wartime behavior is unacceptable, regardless if
committed under the orders of superiors or on one's own. In a 1980 study,
the historian Morgan D. Peoples refers to Wirz as a "scapegoat".
Depictions
Wirz's trial was depicted in the 1970 television film
The Andersonville Trial, directed by George C. Scott who had
appeared in the Broadway play by Saul Levitt upon which it was based. It
featured Richard Basehart as Wirz and William Shatner as chief
government prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Norton P. Chipman. The film
centered upon the question of whether Wirz should have been condemned
for following orders, in a parallel with the then-current controversy
over the My Lai Massacre during the Vietnam War. In TNT's 1996 film,
Andersonville, Jan Triska played Wirz.
Wikipedia.org
Henry Wirz
(November 1822 – November 10, 1865) was the only Confederate soldier
executed in the aftermath of the American Civil War for war crimes.
Wirz was born in Zurich, Switzerland,
immigrating to the United States in the late 1840s. He worked throughout
New England as a self-taught water-cure specialist. Moving for a short
period to Kentucky, he finally settled in Louisiana.
Civil War
When the American Civil War broke out
in 1861, Wirz enlisted in the Confederate States Army as a private in
the 4th Louisiana Infantry. He served on detached duty as a prison guard
in Alabama before being transferred to help guard Federal prisoners
incarcerated at Richmond, Virginia.
In February 1864, the Confederate
government established a large military prison, Camp Sumter, near the
small railroad depot of Andersonville, Georgia, to house Union prisoners
of war.
Though wooden barracks were originally planned, the Confederates
incarcerated the prisoners in a vast, rectangular, open-air stockade
originally encompassing sixteen and a half acres. Wirz officially
commanded the stockade's interior.
The prison was characterized by a
lack of trained and adequately equipped prison guards; a gross lack of
food, tools and medical supplies; severe overcrowding; poor sanitary
conditions; and a lack of potable water. At its most overcrowded, in
August 1864, the camp held approximately thirty-two thousand Union
prisoners and the monthly mortality rate from disease and malnutrition
reached three thousand.
Wirz did not try to alleviate the situation
unlike many men in similar situations both North and South; on the
contrary, abuses by guards ordered by Wirz, purposeful denying of parts
of the already slim food supply abounded. Around forty-five thousand
prisoners were incarcerated during the camp's fourteen-month existence,
of whom thirteen thousand – twenty-eight percent – died.
Trial and execution
After the end of hostilities, Wirz
was arrested by a contingent of federal cavalry and taken by rail to
Washington, D.C., where the federal government intended to place him on
trial for conspiring to impair the lives of Union prisoners of war.
In July 1865, the trial convened in
the Capitol building and lasted two months, dominating the front pages
of newspapers across the United States. The court heard the testimony of
former inmates, ex-Confederate officers and even nearby residents of
Andersonville. Finally, in early November, the commission announced that
it had found Wirz guilty of conspiracy as charged and of eleven of
thirteen counts of murder. He was sentenced to death.
In a letter to President Andrew
Johnson, Wirz asked for mercy, but the letter went unanswered. Mounting
the scaffold on the morning of November 10, 1865, Wirz asserted that he
was being hanged for following orders. He was executed on the same site
where the Lincoln conspirators met their own fate just several months
before, within clear sight of the newly-built dome of the U.S. Capitol.
Wirz was eventually buried in the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington,
D.C. He was survived by his wife and one daughter.
Legacy
Wirz's trial was legally significant
for two reasons. Firstly, Wirz was one of only two men tried and
executed for war crimes during the Civil War. More significantly,
however, Wirz's trial was the first war crimes trial in modern history
and served as a direct historical precedent for the Nuremberg War Crimes
Tribunal after World War II.
Popular culture
Wirz's
trial was depicted in the 1970 televison film The Andersonville
Trial, directed by George C. Scott, featuring Richard Basehart
as Wirz and William Shatner as chief government prosecutor
Lieutenant Colonel N.P. Chipman. The film's central message--whether
Wirz should have been condemned for following orders--paralleled the
then-current controversy over the My Lai Massacre during the Vietnam
War. (It should be noted that Wirz never received orders to abuse
Union POWs but his clear and premeditated abuses happened
nonetheless.)
References
Frank Harper,
Andersonville: The Trial of Captain Henry Wirz, MA Thesis,
University of Northern Colorado, 1986.
Ovid Futch, History of
Andersonville Prison, Gainesville: University of Florida Press,
1968.
Henry WIRZ
Henry Wirz was born in
Zurich, Switzerland in 1822. After graduating from the University of
Zurich he obtained medical degrees from Paris and Berlin. Wirz emigrated
to the United States in 1849 and established a medical practice in
Kentucky. After marrying he moved to Louisiana.
On the outbreak of the
American Civil War he joined the Confederate Army. A sergeant in the
Louisiana Volunteers, Wirz was badly wounded at the battle at Fair Oaks
(May, 1862) and lost the use of his right arm. Unable to continue in
active service, Wirz became a clerk at Libby Prison in Richmond. His
commanding officer, Brigadier General John Henry Winder, was impressed
by Wirz and he was soon promoted to the rank of major.
Wirz spoke fluent English,
German and Dutch, and on the advice of General John Henry Winder,
President Jefferson Davis decided to send him on a secret mission to
England and France.
When Wirz returned to
America he rejoined General John Henry Winder, who was now in charge of
all Union Army prisoners east of the Mississippi. During the summer of
1863 an agreement under which Union and Confederate captives were
exchanged, came to an end. There was now a rapid increase in the number
of prisoners and so it was decided to build Andersonville Prison in
Georgia. In April, 1864 Winder appointed Wirz as commandant of this new
prison camp.
By August, 1864, there
were 32,000 Union Army prisoners in Andersonville. The Confederate
authorities did not provide enough food for the prison and men began to
die of starvation. The water became polluted and disease was a constant
problem. Of the 49,485 prisoners who entered the camp, nearly 13,000
died from disease and malnutrition.
When the Union Army
arrived in Andersonville in May, 1865, photographs of the prisoners were
taken and the following month they appeared in Harper's Weekly.
The photographs caused considerable anger and calls were made for the
people responsible to be punished for these crimes. It was eventually
decided to charge General Robert Lee, James Seddon, the Secretary of
War, and several other Confederate generals and politicians with
"conspiring to injure the health and destroy the lives of United States
soldiers held as prisoners by the Confederate States".
In August, 1865 President
Andrew Johnson ordered that the charges against the Confederate generals
and politicians should be dropped. However, he did give his approval for
Wirz to be charged with "wanton cruelty". Wirz appeared before a
military commission headed by Major General Lew Wallace on 21st August,
1865. During the trial a letter from Wirz was presented that showed that
he had complained to his superiors about the shortage of food being
provided for the prisoners. However, former inmates at Andersonville
testified that Wirz inspected the prison every day and often warned that
if any man escaped he would "starve every damn Yankee for it." When Wirz
fell ill during the trial Wallace forced to attend and was brought into
court on a stretcher.
Wirz was found guilty on
6th November and sentenced to death. He was taken to Washington to be
executed in the same yard where those involved in the assassination of
Abraham Lincoln had died. Alexander Gardner, the famous photographer,
was invited to record the event.
The execution took place
on the 10th November. The gallows were surrounded by Union Army soldiers
who throughout the procedure chanted "Wirz, remember, Andersonville."
Accompanied by a Catholic priest, Wirz refused to make a last minute
confession, claiming he was not guilty of committing any crime.
Major Russell read the
death warrant and then told Wirz he "deplored this duty."Wirz replied
that: "I know what orders are, Major. And I am being hanged for obeying
them."
After a black hood was
placed over his head, and the noose adjusted, a spring was touched and
the trap door opened. However, the drop failed to break his neck and it
took him two minutes to die. During this time the soldiers continued to
chant: "Wirz, remember, Andersonville."
I was brought back to
Andersonville prison and taken to Wirz's quarters. I was ordered by him
to be put in the stocks, where I remained for four days, with my feet
placed in a block and another lever placed over my legs, with my arms
thrown back, and a chain running across my arms. I remained four days
there in the sun; that was my punishment for trying to get away from the
prison. At the same time a young man was placed in the stocks--the third
man from me. He died there. He was a little sick when he went in, and he
died there. I do not know his name; if I heard it, I have forgotten it.
I am certain he died. The Negroes took him out of the stocks after he
was dead, threw him into the wagon, and hauled him away.
Wirz shot a young fellow named William Stewart, a private belonging to
the 9th Minnesota Infantry. He and I went out of the stockade with a
dead body, and after laying the dead body in the dead-house Captain Wirz
rode up to us and asked by what authority we were out there or what we
were doing there. Stewart said we were there by proper authority. Wirz
said no more, but drew a revolver and shot the man. After he was killed
the guard took from the body about twenty or thirty dollars, and Wirz
took the money from the guard and rode off, telling the guard to take me
to prison.
I saw the cripple they
called "Chickamauga" shot; he was shot at the south gate. He was in the
habit of going off, I believe, to the outside of the gate to talk to
officers and the guard, and he wanted to go off this day for something
or other. I believe that he was afraid of some of our own men. He went
inside the dead-line and asked to be let out. The refused to let him
out, and he refused to go outside the dead-line. Captain Wirz came in on
his horse and told the man to go outside the dead-line, and went off.
After Captain Wirz rode out of the gate the man went inside the
dead-line, and Captain Wirz ordered the guard to shoot him, and he shot
him. The man lost his right leg, I believe, just above the knee. They
called him "Chickamauga." I think he belonged to the Western army and
was captured at Chickamauga. I think that was in May. I will not be
certain as to the time.
I saw other men shot while
I was there. I do not know their names. They were Federal prisoners. The
first man I saw shot was shortly after the dead-line was established. I
think it was in May. He was shot near the brook, on the east side of the
stockade. At that time there was no railing; there was simply posts
struck along where they were going to put the dead-line, and this man,
in crossing, simply stepped inside one of the posts, and the sentry shot
him. He failed to kill him, but wounded him. I don't know his name. I
saw a man shot at the brook; he had just come in. He belonged to some
regiment in Grant's army. I think this was about the first part of July
or the latter part of June. He had just come in and knew nothing about
the dead-line. There was no railing across the brook, and nothing to
show that there was any such thing as a dead-line there. He came into
the stockade, and after he had been shown his place where he was to
sleep he went along to the brook to get some water. It was very dark,
and a number of men were there, and he went above the rest so as to get
better water. He went beyond the dead-line, and two men fired at him and
both hit him. He was killed and fell right into the brook. I do not know
the man's name. I saw other men shot. I do not know exactly how many. I
saw several. It was a common occurrence.
I never heard of Captain
Wirz shooting, kicking, or beating a Federal prisoner while I was at
Andersonville. I swear positively to that; I saw him pushing prisoners
into the ranks, but not that they could be hurt. He would take them by
the arm and push them into the ranks and say " God damn it! Couldn't you
stay in the ranks where you were put?" He would not push them in
violently - a gentle push. He was violent in these moments, cursing and
swearing, as he always was with us, but he seemed harder than he was. I
never saw him take any one by the throat, but by the shoulder or arm.
Not with both hands; with one hand. I don't know which hand. I have seen
him often go up the line of prisoners; I have seen him counting them,
and I never saw him with his pistol in his hand on any of these
occasions; it was his custom; he had his pistol in his belt. I saw him
in the stockade while I was there; I saw him once at the south gate and
once on horseback with Lieutenant Colonel Persons, and I saw him once in
the stockade while I was outside. I saw him riding among the prisoners
only once after I was taken out. On none of those occasions I never saw
him carry a pistol except always in his belt. I swear positively that I
never heard of Captain Wirz kicking or shooting a prisoner, nor in any
way maltreating him except as I have .
When a man who had been
ordered to wear a ball and chain complained that he was sick, a doctor
was sent for, and if he found that it was so, the ball and chain would
be taken off and the man would be sent to the hospital if necessary;
also, when new squads of prisoners came in, and there were men among
them who claimed to be sick, the doctor who was officer of the day was
sent for, and he had to see if the men were really sick or not; the they
were they were sent to the hospital. I recollect also that once there
was a man amongst them who told me he was a hospital steward in our
army; I spoke to Captain Wirz about it, and the man was immediately sent
to the hospital as a steward; he was paroled and was not sent into the
stockade at all. Some of the hospital attendants serenaded Captain Wirz
and Dr. Stevenson, and I understood Dr. White too.
The effect of scurvy upon
the systems of the men as it developed itself there was the next thing
to rottenness. Their limbs would become drawn up. It would manifest
itself constitutionally. It would draw them up. They would go on
crutches sideways, or crawl upon their hands and knees or on their
haunches and feet as well as they could. Some could not eat unless it
was something that needed no mastication. Sometimes they would be
furnished beef tea or boiled rice, or such things as that would be given
them, but not to the extent which I would like to see. In some cases
they could not eat corn bread; their teeth would be loose and their gums
all bleeding. I have known cases of that kind. I do not speak of it as a
general thing. They would ask me to interest myself and get them
something which they could swallow without subjecting them to so much
pain in mastication. It seemed to me I did express my professional
opinion that men died because they could not eat the rations they got.
I cannot state what
proportion of the men in whose cases it became necessary to amputate
from gangrenous wounds, and also to reamputate from the same cause,
recovered. Never having charged my mind on the subject, and not
expecting to be called upon in such a capacity, I cannot give an
approximate opinion which I would deem reliable. In 1864, amputations
from that cause occurred very frequently indeed; during the short time
in 1865 that I was there, amputations were not frequent.
The prisoners in the stockade and the hospital were not very well
protected from the rain; only by their own meager means, their blankets,
holes in the earth, and such things. In the spring of 1865, when I was
in the stockade, I saw a shed thirty feet wide and sixty feet long - the
sick principally were in that. They were in about the same condition as
those in the hospital. As to the prisoners generally, their only means
of shelter from the sun and rain were their blankets, if they carried
any along with them. I regarded that lack of shelter as a source of
disease.
Rice, peas, and potatoes
were the common issue from the Confederate government; but as to
turnips, carrots, tomatoes, and cabbage, of that class of vegetables, I
never saw any. There was no green corn issued. Western Georgia is
generally considered a pretty good corn-growing country. Green corn
could have been used as an anti-scorbutic and as and antidote. A
vegetable diet, so far as it contains any alterative or medical
qualities, serves as an anti-scorbutic.
The ration issued to the
patients in the hospital was corn meal, beef, bacon - pork occasionally
but not much of it; at times, green corn, peas, rice, salt, sugar, and
potatoes. I enumerate those as the varieties served out. Potatoes were
not a constant ration; at times they were sent in, perhaps a week or two
weeks at a time, and then they would drop off. The daily rations was
less from the time I went there in September, through October, November,
and December, than it was from January till March 26th, the time I left.
I never made a calculation as to the number of rations intended for each
man; I was never called to do that. So far as I saw, I believe I would
feel safe in saying that, while there might have been less, the amount
was not over twenty ounces for twenty-four hours
Captain Wirz planted a
range of flags inside the stockade, and gave the order, just inside the
gate, "that if a crowd of two hundred (that was the number) should
gather in any one spot beyond those flags and near the gate, he would
fire grape and canister into them. I think that the number of men shot
during my imprisonment ranged from twenty-five to forty. I do not know
that I can give any of their names. I did know them at the time, because
they had tented right around me, or messed with me, but their names have
slipped my mind. Two of them belonged to the 40th New York Regiment.
Those two men were shot just after I got there, in the latter part of
June, 1864.
I saw the sentry raise his
gun. I shouted to the man. I and several of the rest gave the alarm, but
it was to late. Both of these men did not die; one was shot through the
arm; the other died; he was shot in the right breast. I did not see
Captain Wirz present at the time. I did not hear any orders given to the
sentinels, or any words from the sentinels when they fired; nothing more
than they often said that it was done by orders from the commandant of
the camp, and that they were to receive so many days furlough for every
Yankee devil they killed. Those twenty-five or forty men were shot from
the middle of June, 1864, until the 1st of September. There were men
shot every month. I cannot say that I ever saw Captain Wirz present when
any of these men were shot. The majority of those whom I saw shot were
killed outright; expired in a few moments.
THE COURT
MARTIAL OF HENRY WIRZ
GENERAL COURT MARTIAL ORDERS No. 607.
WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, Washington, November 6, 1865.
I. Before a military commission which convened at Washington, D.C.,
August 23, 1865, pursuant to paragraph 3, Special Orders, No. 453, dated
August 23, 1865, and paragraph 13, Special Orders, No. 524, dated
October 2, 1865, War Department, Adjutant-General's Office, Washington,
and of which Maj. Gen. Lewis Wallace, U.S. Volunteers, is president, was
arraigned and tried Henry Wirz.
Charges and Specifications
CHARGE I:
Maliciously, willfully, and traitorously, and in aid of the then
existing armed rebellion against the United States of America, on or
before the let day of March, A.D. 1864, and on divers other days between
that day and the 10th day of April, 1865, combining, confederating, and
conspiring, together with John H. Winder, Richard B. Winder, Joseph
[Isaiah H.] White, W. S. Winder, R. R. Stevenson, and others unknown, to
injure the health and destroy the lives of soldiers in the military
service of the United States, then held and being prisoners of war
within the lines of the so-called Confederate States, and in the
military prisons thereof, to the end that the armies of the United
States might be weakened and impaired, in violation of the laws and
customs of war.
Specification.--Inthis, that he, the said Henry Wirz, did combine, confederate, and
conspire with them, the said John H. Winder, Richard B. Winder, Joseph
[Isaiah H.] White, W. S. Winder, R. R. Stevenson, and others whose names
are unknown, citizens of the United States aforesaid, and who were then
engaged in armed rebellion against the United States, maliciously,
traitorously, and in violation of the laws of war, to impair and injure
the health and to destroy the lives--by subjecting to torture and great
suffering; by confining in unhealthy and uuwholesome quarters; by
exposing to the inclemency of winter and to the dews and burning sun of
summer; by compelling the use of impure water; and by furnishing
insufficient and unwholesome food--of large numbers of Federal
prisoners, to wit, the number of 30,000 soldiers in the military service
of the United States of America, held as prisoners of war at
Andersonville, in the State of Georgia, within the lines of the
so-called Confederate States, on or before the 1st day of March, A.D.
1864, and at divers times between that day and the 10th day of April,
A.D. 1865, to the end that the armies of the United States might be
weakened and impaired and the insurgents engaged in armed rebellion
against the United States might be aided and comforted. And he, the said
Henry Wirz, an officer in the military service of the so-called
Confederate States, being then and there commandant of a military prison
at Andersonville, in the State of Georgia, located, by authority of the
so-called Confederate States, for the confinement of prisoners of war,
and, as such commandant, fully clothed with authority, and in duty bound
to treat, care, and provide for such prisoners held as aforesaid as were
or might be placed in his custody according to the law of war, did, in
furtherance of such combination, confederation, and conspiracy, and
incited thereunto by them, the said John H. Winder, Richard B. Winder,
Joseph [Isaiah H.] White, W. S. Winder, R. R. Stevenson, and others
whose names are unknown, maliciously, wickedly, and traitorously confine
a large number of such prisoners of war, soldiers in the military
service of the United States, to the amount of 30,000 men, in unhealthy
and unwholesome quarters, in a close and small area of ground wholly
inadequate to their wants and destructive to their health, which he well
knew and intended; and, while there so confined during the time
aforesaid, did, in furtherance of his evil design, and in aid of the
said conspiracy, willfully and maliciously neglect to furnish tents,
barracks, or other shelter sufficient for their protection from the
inclemency of winter and the dews and burning sun of summer; and with
such evil intent did take, and cause to be taken, from them their
clothing, blankets, camp equipage, and other property of which they were
possessed at the time of being placed in his custody; and, with like
malice and evil intent, did refuse to furnish, or cause to be furnished,
food either of a quality or quantity sufficient to preserve health and
sustain life; and did refuse and neglect to furnish wood sufficient for
cooking in summer and to keep the said prisoners warm in winter; and did
compel the said prisoners to subsist upon unwholesome food, and that in
limited quantities entirely inadequate to sustain health, which he well
knew; and did compel the said prisoners to use unwholesome water,
reeking with the filth and garbage of the prison and prison guard, and
the offal and drainage of the cookhouse of said prison, whereby the
prisoners became greatly reduced in their bodily strength, and emaciated
and injured in their bodily health; their minds impaired and their
intellects broken; and many of them, to wit, the number of 10,000, whose
names are unknown, sickened and died by reason thereof, which he, the
said Henry Wirz, then and there well knew and intended; and, so knowing
and evilly intending, did refuse and neglect to provide proper lodgings,
food, or nourishment for the sick, and necessary medicine and medical
attendance for the restoration of their health; and did knowingly,
willfully, and maliciously, in furtherance of his evil designs, permit
them to languish and die from want of care and proper treatment. And the
said Henry Wirz, still pursuing his evil purpose, did permit to remain
in the said prison, among the emaciated sick and languishing living, the
bodies of the dead, until they became corrupt and loathsome and filled
the air with fetid and noxious exhalations, and thereby greatly
increased the unwholesomeness of the prison, insomuch that great numbers
of said prisoners, to wit, the number of 1,000. whose names are unknown,
sickened and died by reason thereof. And the said Henry Wirz, still
pursuing his wicked and cruel purpose, wholly disregarding the usages of
civilized warfare, did, at the time and place aforesaid, maliciously and
willfully subject the prisoners aforesaid to cruel, unusual, and
infamous punishment upon slight, trivial, and fictitious pretenses, by
fastening large balls of iron to their feet, and binding large numbers
of the prisoners aforesaid closely together with large chains around
their necks and feet, so that they walked with the greatest
difficulty--and, being so confined, were subjected to the burning rays
of the sun, often without food or drink for hours, and even days--from
which said cruel treatment large numbers, to wit, the number of 100,
whose names are unknown, sickened, fainted, and died. And he, the said
Wirz, did further cruelly treat and injure said prisoners by maliciously
confining them within an instrument of torture called the "stocks," thus
depriving them of the use of their limbs, and forcing them to lie, sit,
and stand for many hours without the power of changing position, and
being without food or drink, in consequence of which many, to wit, the
number of thirty, whose names are unknown, sickened and died. And he,
the said Wirz, still wickedly pursuing his evil purpose, did establish
and cause to be designated within the prison inclosure containing said
prisoners, a "dead-line," being a line around the inner face of the
stockade or wall inclosing said prison, and about twenty feet distant
from and within said stockade; and having so established said dead-line,
which was in many places an imaginary line, and in many other places
marked by insecure and shifting strips of boards nailed upon the top of
small and insecure stakes or posts, he, the said Wirz, instructed the
prison.guard stationed around the top of said stockade to fire upon and
kill any of the prisoners aforesaid who might touch, fall upon, pass
over or under or across the said "dead-line." Pursuant to which said
orders and instructions, maliciously and needlessly given by said Wirz,
the said prison guard did fire upon and kill a large number of said
prisoners, to wit, the number of about 300. And the said Wirz, still
pursuing his evil purpose, did keep and use ferocious and bloodthirsty
beasts, dangerous to human life, called bloodhounds, to hunt down
prisoners of war aforesaid who made their escape from his custody, and
did then and there willfully and maliciously suffer, incite, and
encourage the said beasts to seize, tear, mangle, and maim the bodies
and limbs of said fugitive prisoners of war, which the said beasts,
incited as aforesaid, then and there did, whereby a large number of said
prisoners of war, who, during the time aforesaid, made their escape and
were recaptured, and were, by the said beasts then and there cruelly and
inhumanly injured, insomuch that many of said prisoners, to wit, the
number of about fifty died. And the said Wirz, still pursuing his wicked
purpose, and still aiding in carrying out said conspiracy, did use and
cause to be used, for the pretended purposes of vaccination, impure and
poisonous vaccine matter, which said impure and poisonous matter was
then and there, by the direction and order of said Wirz, maliciously,
cruelly, and wickedly deposited in the arms of many of said prisoners,
by reason of which large numbers of them, to wit, 100, lost the use of
their arms, and many of them, to wit, about the number of 200, were so
injured that they soon thereafter died. All of which he, the said Henry
Wirz, well knew and maliciously intended, and in aid of the then
existing rebellion against the United States, with the view to assist in
weakening and impairing the armies of the United States, and in
furtherance of the said conspiracy and with the full knowledge, consent,
and connivance of his co-conspirators aforesaid, he, the said Wirz, then
and there did.
CHARGE 2:
Murder, in violation of the laws and customs of war.
Specification 1.--In
this, that the said Henry Wirz, an officer in the military service of
the so-called Confederate States of America, at Andersonville, in the
State of Georgia, on or about the 8th day of July, A.D. 1864, then and
there being commandant of a prison there located, by the authority of
the said so-called Confederate States, for the confinement of prisoners
of war taken and held as such from the armies of the United States of
America, while acting as said commandant, feloniously, willfully, and of
his malice aforethought, did make an assault, and he, the said Henry
Wirz, a certain pistol called a revolver then and there loaded and
charged with gunpowder and bullets, which said pistol the said Henry
Wirz in his hand then and there had and held to, against, and upon a
soldier belonging to the Army of the United States, in his, the said
Henry Wirz's, custody, as a prisoner of war, whose name is unknown, then
and there feloniously, and of his malice aforethought, did shoot and
discharge, inflicting upon the body of the soldier aforesaid a mortal
wound with the pistol aforesaid, in consequence of which said mortal
wound, murderously inflicted by the said Henry Wirz, the said soldier
thereafter, to wit, on the 9th day of July, A.D. 1864, died. <ar121_787>
Specification 2.--In
this, that the said Henry Wirz, an officer in the military service of
the so-called Confederate States of America, at Andersonville, in the
State of Georgia, on or about the 20th day of September, A.D. 1864, then
and there being commandant of a prison there located, by the authority
of the said so-called Confederate States, for the confinement of
prisoners of war taken and held as such from the armies of the United
States of America, while acting as said commandant, feloniously,
willfully, and of his malice aforethought, did jump upon, stamp, kick,
bruise, and otherwise injure with the heels of his boots, a soldier
belonging to the Army of the United States, in his, the said Henry
Wirz's, custody as a prisoner of war, whose name is unknown, of which
said stamping, kicking, and bruising, maliciously done and inflicted by
the said Wirz, he, the said soldier, soon thereafter, to wit, on the
20th day of September, A. D. 1864, died.
Specification 3.--In
this, that the said Henry Wirz, an officer in the military service of
the so-called Confederate States of America, at Andersonville, in the
State of Georgia, on or about the 13th day of June, A. D. 1864, then and
there being commandant of a prison there located, by the authority of
the said so-called Confederate States, for the confinement of prisoners
of war, taken and held as such from the armies of the United States of
America, while acting as said commandant, feloniously, and of his malice
aforethought, did make an assault, and he, the said Henry Wirz, a
certain pistol called a revolver then and there loaded and charged with
gunpowder and bullets, which said pistol the said Henry Wirz, in his
hand then and there had and held to, against, and upon a soldier
belonging to the Army of the United States, in his, the said Henry
Wirz's, custody as a prisoner of war, whose name is unknown, then and
there feloniously, and of his malice aforethought, did shoot and
discharge, inflicting upon the body of the soldier aforesaid a mortal
wound with the pistol aforesaid, in consequence of which said mortal
wound, murderously inflicted by the said Henry Wirz, the said soldier
immediately, to wit, on the day aforesaid, died.
Specification 4.--In
this, that the said Henry Wirz, an officer in the military service of
the so-called Confederate States of America, at Andersonville, in the
State of Georgia, on or about the 30th day of May, A.D. 1864, then and
there being commandant of a prison there located, by the authority of
the said so-called Confederate States, for the confinement of prisoners
of war, taken and held as such from the armies of the United States of
America, while acting as said commandant, feloniously, and of his malice
aforethought, did make an assault, and he, the said Henry Wirz, a
certain pistol called a revolver then and there loaded and charged with
gunpowder and bullets, which said pistol the said Henry Wirz in his hand
then and there had and held to, against, and upon a soldier belonging to
the Army of the United States, in his, the said Henry Wirz's, custody as
a prisoner of war, whose name is unknown, then and there feloniously,
and of his malice aforethought, did shoot and discharge, inflicting upon
the body of the soldier aforesaid a mortal wound with the pistol
aforesaid, in consequence of which said mortal wound, murderously
inflicted by the said Henry Wirz, the said soldier, on the 30th day of
May, A.D. 1864, died.
Specification 5.--In
this, that the said Henry Wirz, an officer in the military service of
the so-called Confederate States of America, at Andersonville, in the
State of Georgia, on or about the 20th day of August, A.D. 1864, then
and there being commandant of a prison there located, by the authority
of the said so-called Confederate States, for the confinement of
prisoners of war, taken and held as such from the armies of the United
States of America, while acting as said commandant, feloniously, and of
his malice aforethought, did confine and bind with an instrument of
torture called "the stocks," a soldier belonging to the Army of the
United States, in his, the said Henry Wirz's, custody as a prisoner of
war, whose name is unknown, in consequence of which such cruel
treatment, maliciously and murderously inflicted as aforesaid, he, the
said soldier, soon thereafter, to wit, on the 30th day of August, A. D.
1864, died.
Specification 6.--In
this, that the said Henry Wirz, an officer in the military service of
the so-called Confederate States of America, at Andersonville, in the
State of Georgia, on or about the 1st day of February, 1865, then and
there being commandant of a prison there located, by the authority of
the said so-called Confederate States, for the confinement of prisoners
of war, taken and held as such from the armies of the United States of
America, while acting as said commandant, felonious]y, and of his malice
aforethought, did confine and bind within an instrument of torture
called "the stocks," a soldier belonging to the Army of the United
States, in his, the said Henry Wirz's, custody as a prisoner of war,
whose name is unknown, in consequence of which said cruel treatment,
maliciously and murderously inflicted as aforesaid, he, the said
soldier, soon thereafter, to wit, on the 6th day of February, A.D. 1865,
died.
Specification 7.--In
this, that the said Henry Wirz, an officer in the military service of
the so-called Confederate States of America, at Andersonville, in the
State of Georgia, on or about the 20th day of July, A.D. 1864, then and
there being commandant of a prison there located, by the authority of
the said so-called Confederate States, for the confinement of prisoners
of war, taken and held as such from the armies of the United States of
America, while acting as said commandant, feloniously, and of his malice
aforethought, did fasten and chain together several persons, soldiers,
belonging to the Army of the United States, in his, the said Henry
Wirz's, custody as prisoners of war, whose names are unknown, binding
the necks and feet of said prisoners closely together, and compelling
them to carry great burdens, to wit, large iron balls chained to their
feet, so that, in consequence of the said cruel treatment inflicted upon
them by the said Henry Wirz as aforesaid, one of said soldiers, a
prisoner of war as aforesaid, whose name is unknown, on the 25th day of
July, A.D. 1864, died.
Specification 8.--In
this, that the said Henry Wirz, an officer in the military service of
the so-called Confederate States of America, at Andersonville, in the
State of Georgia, on or about the 15th day of May, A.D. 1864, then and
there being commandant of a prison there located, by the authority of
the said so-called Confederate States, for the confinement of prisoners
of war, taken and held as such from the armies of the United States of
America, while acting as said commandant, feloniously, willfully, and of
his malice aforethought, did order a rebel soldier, whose name is
unknown, then on duty as a sentinel or guard to the prison of which said
Henry Wirz was commandant as aforesaid, to fire upon a soldier belonging
to the Army of the United States, in his, the said Henry Wirz's, custody
as a prisoner of war, whose name is unknown; and in pursuance of said
order, so as aforesaid maliciously and murderously given as aforesaid,
he, the said rebel soldier, did, with a musket loaded with gunpowder and
bullet, then and there fire at the said soldier so as aforesaid held as
a prisoner of war, inflicting upon him a mortal wound with the musket
aforesaid, of which he, the said prisoner, soon thereafter, to wit, on
the day aforesaid, died.
Specification 9.--In
this, that the said Henry Wirz, an officer in the military service of
the so-called Confederate States of America, at Andersonville, in the
State of Georgia, on or about the 1st day of July, A.D. 1864, then and
there being commandant of a prison there located, by the authority of
the said so-called Confederate States, for the confinement of prisoners
of war, taken and held as such from the armies of the United States of
America, while acting as said commandant, feloniously, and of his malice
aforethought, did order a rebel soldier, whose name is unknown, then on
duty as a sentinel or guard to the prison of which said Wirz was
commandant as aforesaid, to fire upon a soldier belonging to the Army of
the United States, in his, the said Henry Wirz's, custody as a prisoner
of war, whose name is unknown; and in pursuance of said order, so as
aforesaid maliciously and murderously given as aforesaid, he, the said
rebel soldier, did, with a musket loaded with gunpowder and bullet, then
and there fire at the said soldier so as aforesaid held as a prisoner of
war, inflicting upon him a mortal wound with the said musket, of which
he, the said prisoner, soon thereafter, to wit, on the day aforesaid,
died.
Specification 10.--In
this, that the said Henry Wirz, an officer in the military service of
the so-called Confederate States of America, at Andersonville, in the
State of Georgia, on or about the 20th day of August, A.D. 1864, then
and there being commandant of a prison there located, by the authority
of the said so-called Confederate States, for the confinement of
prisoners of war, taken and held as such from the armies of the United
States of America, while acting as said commandant, feloniously, and of
his malice aforethought, did order a rebel soldier, whose name is
unknown, then on duty as a sentinel or guard to the prison of which said
Wirz was commandant as aforesaid, to fire upon a soldier belonging to
the Army of the United States, in his, the said Henry Wirz's, custody as
a prisoner of war, whose name is unknown; and in pursuance of said
order, so as aforesaid maliciously and murderously given as aforesaid,
he, the said rebel soldier, did, with a musket loaded with gunpowder and
bullet, then and there fire at the said soldier so as aforesaid held as
a prisoner of war, inflicting upon him a mortal wound with the said
musket, of which he, the said prisoner, soon thereafter, to wit, on the
day aforesaid, died.
Specification 11.--In
this, that the said Henry Wirz, an officer in the military service of
the so-called Confederate States of America, at Andersonville, in the
State of Georgia, on or about the 1st day of July, A.D. 1864, then and
there being commandant of a prison there located, by, the authority of
the said so-called Confederate States, for the confinement of prisoners
of war, taken and held as such from the armies of the United States of
America, while acting as said commandant, feloniously, and of his malice
aforethought, did cause, incite, and urge certain ferocious and
bloodthirsty animals, called bloodhounds, to pursue, attack, wound, and
tear in pieces a soldier belonging to the Army of the United States, in
his, the said Henry Wirz's, custody as a prisoner of war, whose name is
unknown; and in consequence thereof the said bloodhounds did then and
there, with the knowledge, encourage-merit, and instigation of him, the
said Wirz, maliciously and murderously given by him, attack and mortally
wound the said soldier, in consequence of which said mortal wound he,
the said prisoner, soon thereafter, to wit, on the 6th day of July, A.
D. 1864, died.
Specification 12.--In
this, that the said Henry Wirz, an officer in the military service of
the so-called Confederate States of America, at Andersonville, in the
State of Georgia, on or about the 27th day of July, A. D. 1864, then and
there being commandant of a prison there located, by the authority of
the said so-called Confederate States, for the confinement of prisoners
of war, taken and held as such from the armies of the United States of
America, while acting as said commandant, feloniously, and of his malice
aforethought, did order a rebel soldier, whose name is unknown, then on
duty as a sentinel or guard to the prison of which said Wirz was
commandant as aforesaid, to fire upon a soldier belonging to the Army of
the United States, in his, the said Henry Wirz's, custody as a prisoner
of war, whose name is unknown; and in pursuance of said order, so as
aforesaid maliciously and murderously given as aforesaid, he, the said
rebel soldier, did, with a musket 1oaded with gunpowder and bullet, then
and there fire at the said soldier so as aforesaid held as a prisoner of
war, inflicting upon him a mortal wound with the said musket of which
said mortal wound he, the said prisoner, soon thereafter, to wit, on the
day aforesaid, died.
Specification 13.--In
this, that the said Henry Wirz, an officer in the military service of
the so-called Confederate States of America, at Andersonville, in the
State of Georgia, on or about the 3d day of August, 1864, then and there
being commandant of a prison there located, by the authority of the said
so-called Confederate States, for the confinement of prisoners of war,
taken and held as such from the armies of the United States of America,
while acting as said commandant, feloniously, and of his malice
aforethought, did make an assault upon a soldier belonging to the Army
of the United States, in his, the said Henry Wirz's, custody as a
prisoner of war, whose name is unknown, and with a pistol called a
revolver, then and there held in the hands of the said Wirz, did beat
and bruise said soldier upon the head, shoulders, and breast, inflicting
thereby mortal wounds, from which said beating and bruising aforesaid,
and mortal wounds caused thereby, the said soldier soon thereafter, to
wit, on the 4th day of August, A.D. 1864, died.
To which
charges and specifications the accused, Henry Wirz, pleaded not guilty.
FINDING OF
THE COURT
The court,
having maturely considered the evidence adduced, finds the accused,
Henry Wirz, as follows:
Charge
I.
Of the
specification, guilty, after amending said specification to read as
follows:
In this, that he, the
said Henry Wirz, did combine, confederate, and conspire with them, the
said Jefferson Davis, James A. Seddon, Howell Cobb, John H. Winder,
Richard B. Winder, Isaiah H. White, W. S. Winder, W. Shelby Reed, R. R.
Stevenson, S. P. Moore, [W. J. W.] Kerr (late hospital steward at
Andersonville), James W. Duncan. Wesley W. Turner, Benjamin Harris, and
others whose names are unknown, citizens of the United States aforesaid,
and who were then engaged in armed rebellion against the United States,
maliciously, traitorously, and in violation of the laws of war, to
impair and injure the health and to destroy the lives--by subjecting to
torture and great suffering; by confining in unhealthy and unwholesome
quarters; by exposing to the inclemency of winter and to the dews and
burning sun of summer; by compelling the use of impure water, and by
furnishing insufficient and unwholesome food--of large numbers of
Federal prisoners, to wit, the number of about 45,000 soldiers in the
military service of the United States of America, held as prisoners of
war at Andersonville, in the State of Georgia, within the lines of the
so-called Confederate States, on or before the 27th day of March, A.D.
1864, and at divers times between that day and the 10th day of April,
A.D. 1865, to the end that the armies of the United States might be
weakened and impaired, and the insurgents engaged in armed rebellion
against the United States might be aided and comforted. And he, the said
Henry Wirz, an officer in the military service of the so-called
Confederate States, being then and there commandant of a military prison
at Andersonville, in the State of Georgia, located by authority of the
so-called Confederate States for the confinement of prisoners of war,
and as such commandant, fully clothed with authority, and in duty bound
to treat, care, and provide for such prisoners, held as aforesaid, as
were or might be placed in his custody, according to the law of war,
did, in furtherance of such combination, confederation, and conspiracy,
maliciously, wickedly, and traitorously confine a large number of
prisoners of war, soldiers in the military service of the United States,
to the number of about 45,000 men, in unhealthy and unwholesome
quarters, in a close and small area of ground wholly inadequate to their
wants and destructive to their health, which he well knew and intended;
and, while there so confined during the time aforesaid, did, in
furtherance of his evil design, and in aid of the said conspiracy,
willfully and maliciously neglect to furnish tents, barracks, or other
shelter sufficient for their protection from the inclemency of winter
and the dews and burning sun of summer; and with such evil intent did
take, and cause to be taken, from them, their clothing, blankets, camp
equipage, and other property of which they were possessed at the time of
being placed in his custody; and, with like malice and evil intent, did
refuse to furnish, or cause to be furnished, food either of a quality or
quantity sufficient to preserve health and sustain life; and did refuse
and neglect to furnish wood sufficient for cooking in summer and to keep
the said prisoners warm in winter; and did compel the said prisoners to
subsist upon unwholesome food, and that in limited quantities, entirely
inadequate to sustain health, which he well knew; and did compel the
said prisoners to use unwholesome water, reeking with the filth and
garbage of the prison and prison guard and the offal and drainage of the
cook-house of said prison, whereby the prisoners became greatly reduced
in their bodily strength, and emaciated and injured in their bodily
health; their minds impaired and their intellects broken; and many of
them, to wit, about the number of 10,000, whose names are unknown,
sickened and died by reason thereof, which he, the said Henry Wirz, then
and there well knew and intended; and, so knowing and evilly intending,
did refuse and neglect to provide proper lodgings, food, or nourishment
for the sick, and necessary medicine and medical attendance for the
restoration of their health; and did knowingly, willfully, and
maliciously, in furtherance of his evil designs, permit them to languish
and die from want of care and proper treatment. And the said Henry Wirz,
still pursuing his evil purposes, did permit to remain in the said
prison among the emaciated sick and languishing living, the bodies of
the dead until they became corrupt and loathsome, and filled the air
with fetid and noxious exhalations, and thereby greatly increased the
unwholesomeness of the prison, insomuch that great numbers of said
prisoners, whose names are unknown, sickened and died by reason thereof.
And the said Henry Wirz, still pursuing his wicked and cruel purpose,
wholly disregarding the usages of civilized warfare, did, at the time
and place aforesaid, maliciously and willfully subject the prisoners
aforesaid to cruel, unusual, and infamous punishment, upon slight
trivial, and fictitious pretenses, by fastening large balls of iron to
their feet, and binding numbers of the prisoners aforesaid closely
together with large chains around their necks and feet, so that they
walked with the greatest difficulty, and being so confined were
subjected to the burning rays of the sun, often without food or drink
for hours, and even days, from which said cruel treatment numbers, whose
names are unknown, sickened, fainted, and died. And he, the said Wirz,
did further cruelly treat and injure said prisoners by maliciously tying
them up by the thumbs, and willfully confining them within an instrument
of torture called "the stocks," thus depriving them of the use of their
limbs, and forcing them to lie, sit, and stand for many hours without
the power of changing position, and being without food or drink, in
consequence of which many, whose names are unknown, sickened and died.
And he, the said Wirz, still wickedly pursuing his evil purpose, did
establish, and cause to be designated within the prison inclosure
containing said prisoners, a "dead-line," being a line around the inner
face of the stockade or wall inclosing said prison, and about twenty
feet distant from and within said stockade; and having so established
said dead-line, which was in some places an imaginary line, and in other
places marked by insecure and shifting strips of boards, nailed upon the
top of small and insecure stakes or posts, he, the said Wirz, instructed
the prison guard stationed around the top of said stockade to fire upon
and kill any of the prisoners aforesaid who might fall upon, pass over
or under or across the said dead-line; pursuant to which said orders and
instructions, maliciously and needlessly given by said Wirz, the said
prison guard did fire upon and kill a number of said prisoners. And the
said Wirz, still pursuing his evil purpose, did keep and use ferocious
and bloodthirsty dogs, dangerous to human life, to hunt down prisoners
of war aforesaid who made their escape from his custody; and did then
and there willfully and maliciously suffer, incite, and encourage the
said dogs to seize, tear, mangle, and maim the bodies and limbs of said
fugitive prisoners of war, which the said dogs, incited as aforesaid,
then and there did, whereby a number of said prisoners of war, who,
during the time aforesaid, made their escape and were recaptured, died.
And the said Wirz, still pursuing his wicked purpose, and still aiding
in carrying out said conspiracy, did cause to be used for the pretended
purposes of vaccination, impure and poisonous vaccine matter, which said
impure and poisonous matter was then and there, by the direction and
order of said Wirz, maliciously, cruelly, and wickedly deposited in the
arms of many of said prisoners, by reason of which large numbers of them
lost the use of their arms, and many of them were so injured that they
soon thereafter died. All of which he, the said Henry Wirz, well knew
and maliciously intended, and in aid of the then existing rebellion
against the United States, with a view to assist in weakening and
impairing the armies of the United States, and in furtherance of the
said conspiracy, and with the full knowledge, consent, and connivance of
his co-conspirators aforesaid, he, the said Wirz, then and there did,
Of the charge, guilty,
after amending said charge to read as follows:
Maliciously, willfully, and traitorously, and in aid of the then
existing armed rebellion against the United States of America, on or
before the 27th day of March, A.D. 1864, and on divers other days
between that day and the 10th day of April, A.D. 1865, combining,
confederating, and conspiring, together with Jefferson Davis, James A.
Seddon, Howell Cobb, John H. Winder, Richard B. Winder, Isaiah H. White,
W. S. Winder, W. Shelby Reed, R.R. Stevenson, S. P. Moore, [W. J. W.]
Kerr (late hospital steward at Andersonville), James W. Duncan, Wesley
W. Turner, Benjamin Harris, and others unknown, to injure the health and
destroy the lives of soldiers in the military service of the United
States, then held and being prisoners of war within the lines of the
so-called Confederate States, and in the military prisons thereof, to
the end that the armies of the United States might be weakened and
impaired, in violation of the laws and customs of war.
Charge
II.
Of the
first specification, guilty, adding the words "or about" immediately
before the phrase "the 9th day of July."
Of the second
specification, guilty.
Of the third
specification, guilty, after striking out "June" and inserting instead
"September."
Of the fourth
specification, not guilty.
Of the 5th specification,
guilty, after striking out the phrase "on the 30th day" and inserting
instead the phrase "on or about the 25th day."
Of the sixth
specification, guilty, after striking out the word "1st" and inserting
"15th," and also striking out the phrase "on the 6th day" and inserting
instead the phrase "on or about the 16th day.
Of the seventh
specification, guilty, after striking out the word "20th" and inserting
instead the word "1st," and also after inserting "or about" immediately
before the phrase "the 25th day."
Of the eighth
specification, guilty.
Of the ninth
specification, guilty.
Of the tenth
specification, not guilty.
Of the eleventh
specification, guilty, after striking out the word "1st" and inserting
instead the word "6th;" after striking out also the phrase "incite and
urge" and the phrase "encouragement and instigation" and by adding the
words "or about" after the word "on," where it occurs in the
specification; and also after striking out the phrase "animals called
bloodhounds" and inserting the word "dogs;" and also striking out the
word "bloodhounds" where it afterward occurs and insert the word "dogs;"
and also striking out the words "given by him."
Of the twelfth
specification, guilty.
Of the thirteenth
specification, not guilty.
Of the
charge, guilty.
SENTENCE.
And the court
does therefore sentence him, Henry Wirz, to be hanged by the neck till
he be dead at such time and place as the President of the United States
may direct, two-thirds of the members of the court concurring herein.
And the court also finds the prisoner, Henry Wirz, guilty
of having caused the death, in manner as alleged in specification 11, to
charge 2, by means of dogs, of three prisoners of war in his custody,
and soldiers of the United States, one occurring on or about the 15th
day of May, 1864; another occurring on or about the 11th day of July,
1864; another occurring on or about the 1st day of September, 1864; but
which finding, as here expressed, has not and did not enter into the
sentence of the court as before given.
II. The proceedings, finding, and sentence in the foregoing case having
been submitted to the President of the United States, the following are
his orders:
EXECUTIVE
MANSION, November 3, 1865.
The proceedings,
finding, and sentence of the court in the within case are approved, and
it is ordered that the sentence be carried into execution by the officer
commanding the Department of Washington on Friday the 10th day of
November, 1865, between the hours of 6 o'clock a.m. and 12 o'clock noon.
ANDREW JOHNSON, President.
III. Maj. Gen. C. C. Augur, commanding the Department of Washington, is
commanded to cause the foregoing sentence, in the case of Henry Wirz, to
be duly executed, in accordance with the President's order.
IV. The military commission of which Maj. Gen. Lewis Wallace, U.S.
Volunteers, is president is hereby dissolved.
By command of the President of the United States:
E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General.
