Prison Life in the Old Capitol and Reminiscences of the Civil War

OLD CAPITOL PRISON, WASHINGTON, D. C.
AND REMINISCENCES OF THE CIVIL WAR
BY JAMES J. WILLIAMSON Author of “Mosby’s Rangers”
Illustrations by B. F. WILLIAMSON
WEST ORANGE, N. J. 1911
Copyright, 1911 BY JAMES J. WILLIAMSON
It is not my intention in my prison diary to discuss the constitutional or legal question of arbitrary arrests and imprisonment of non-combatants, but to present to my readers a picture of the daily routine of prison life as I saw it, together with incidents related to me by fellow-prisoners.
Conditions in the Old Capitol differed in many respects from the prison camps. Prisoners in the Old Capitol were mostly civilians, except where soldiers (either prisoners of war or men charged with offenses), were brought in and kept until they could be sent to places designated; or prisoners from other prisons held over until they could be shipped South for exchange.
In the itinerary of our journey from Parole Camp to Upperville I have given little details which to some may seem trivial and unworthy of note, but I give them to show existing conditions in sections of the Confederacy through which we passed.
I do not feel that I am straying from the subject of this narrative of prison experience in appending some facts concerning the treatment of prisoners of war. It is only by laying before the people a frank and faithful statement that we can overcome prejudice and hostile feeling, and bring about that hearty reunion which is earnestly desired by all who have the peace and prosperity of the country at heart.
I have before me a report of a sermon from the New York Press , May, 1909, in which a minister of the Gospel (?) residing within the limits of Greater New York speaks of “ the infamous Captain Wirz ”—“ a murderer .” It is charitable to attribute such language from the lips of a minister to ignorance rather than malice. Yet, while persons are found who entertain and publicly express such sentiments, I cannot be open to the charge of desiring to awaken and perpetuate bitter memories if I seek to place on record the true history of Major Wirz, to refute the falsehoods and misrepresentations which have crept into history and are still believed by some.