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captive negro soldiers as prisoners of war. In many instances no quarter was given them in battle or afterward; and the black flag was carried against the white officers commanding them, of whom several were hung without even the form of a trial.
With such a high hand did the Conspirators exercise their horrid rule at that time, and so utterly perfidious was their conduct in the matter of paroled prisoners, as in the case of Grant's captives at Vicksburg and Banks's at Port Hudson, already mentioned,1 that justice interposed between humanity and policy, and demanded a cessation of all exchanges until the Conspirators should act in accordance with the common usages of civilized nations.
When in August, 1863, General Merideth, who had succeeded Colonel Ludlow as Commissioner, demanded that negro troops and their officers should be treated as other prisoners of war and exchanged, Robert Ould replied, “We will die in the last ditch before giving up the right to send slaves back to slavery.”
2 And the Richmond Enquirer, speaking the sentiments of the Conspirators, said, on the 24th of August, 1863: “This day Mr. Commissioner Ould meets for the first time the new Federal Commissioner, a certain General Merideth, to confer upon the terms of the cartel, and endeavor to settle the principles of exchange for the future.
It is scarcely possible to hope that any conclusion satisfactory to both sides can be arrived at in this conference.
The Federal Government has planted itself insolently upon the demand that our runaway negroes, when taken in arms against their masters, shall be treated as prisoners of war, and shall be exchanged against white men. Confederates have borne and forborne much to mitigate the atrocities of war; but this is a thing which the temper of the country cannot endure.
Our Government has issued an order as to the treatment of revolted negroes when captured.
Certain captured negroes, under that order, have been imprisoned at Charleston to await the disposition of the State Government.”
1 See page 131.
2 Letter of General S. A. Merideth, Ludlow's successor as Commissioner, to the editor of the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, August 25, 1868. General Merideth in his official communication to Robert Ould, the Confederate Commissioner, on the 29th of October, 1863, said, in relation to the interruption of the exchange of prisoners: “The history of this matter, as I understand it, is briefly this: While my predecessor, on duty at this place, was here, in discharge of the duties now committed to me, you at one time made a declaration of exchango embracing no great number of prisoners of war, not in accordance with the requirements of the cartel and you invited Colonel Ludlow, my predecessor, to make a corresponding declaration of equivalents. Such a declaration was made by Colonel Ludlow, doubtless without anticipating the magnitude of the evil which appears now as the result of that departure from the cartel first inaugurated by yourself. Subsequently to my coming on duty here, the events of the war threw upon your hands a large body of paroled officers and men (over 30,000) captured by General Grant at Vicksburg. and not long afterward some 6,000 or more captured by General Banks at Port Hudson. Suddenly, and without any proper conference or understanding with me, and but a few days prier to the important events at Chickamauga, as if for the express purpose of increasing the force of General Bragg against General Rosecrans, you gave me notice that, on the next day after the date of that notice, you would declare exchanged a large portion of the troops which had been captured by General Grant.”
Further, in relation to the conduct of the Confederates, in this matter, General Merideth says, in his letter of the 25th of August; 1868: “Another cause of the suspension of the cartel was its constant violation by the rebels, in making illegal declarations of exchange, for the purpose of putting men into the field, and there is no doubt, whatever, that all prisoners paroled by the United States authorities were immediately returned to active duty in the rebel army. Many officers and men captured at Vicksburg were in the battle of Chickamauga. [See page 131.] Thus the rebels were making use of our well-conducted prisons as recruiting depots for their army. Another insuperable obstacle to returning exchanges, was in the matter of paroles. Mr. Ould had some 18,000 or 20,000 which he claimed as valid. Most, if not all of these paroles were taken by guerrillas, bushwhackers, and detached commands in the West. No possession was ever had, no delivery was ever made, and no rolls were ever furnished. On the capture of.a town by a rebel cavalry raid, the command remained long enough to take the parole of unarmed citizens there, and then decamped, leaving the paroled men behind, and forwarding the paroles to Richmond. And the rebels had the assurance to require the United. States Government to exchange prisoners legitimately captured in battle for such paroles as these.”
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