[Richmond, May 1, 1863]
House of Representatives of the Confederate States.
The conclusion of the undersigned therefore is that in view of the great and delicate responsibility devolved upon the keeper of such a prison, embracing among its inmates the most lawless and desperate characters, while it may be much regretted that such modes of punishment were used he is yet not prepared to recommend Captain Alexander's dismissal. The undersigned thinks the infliction of corporeal punishment as administered by Captain Alexander was illegal and improper; that the puuishing by exposing prisoners to the weather was improper and unwarranted, and that the order to shoot at those at the window was also unjustifiable. But inasmuch as it is not known that any serious consequences have resulted from any of these acts, and inasmuch as they appear to have been resorted to by Captaiu Alexander not from any wantonness or cruelty but from a desire to maintain proper discipline and perhaps from an erroneous conception of his rights and powers as keeper of such a prison, the undersigned recommends that no further action be taken by the House.
There is one other fact in connection with this prison which should be remarked upon but for which Captain Alexander from the testimony does not seem to be responsible. It is that persons are sometimes arrested and incarcerated there for days and weeks and sometimes for months without being either brought to trial or even having charges preferred against them; sometimes confined simply under virtue of orders of superior officers "till called for." It is true this evil does not seem to exist to any groat extent but it is an infringement of personal liberty and the exercise of unauthorized power which should meet no encouragement and which should be abolished.
Respectfully submitted.
W. D. SIMPSON,
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Second minority report on the management of Castle Thunder.
Hon. Thomas S. Booock,
Speaker of the House of Representatires: [Confederate States of America]
The undersigned, a member of the. special committee appointed under certain resolutions of the House of Representatives directing the committee to investigate the treatment of prisoners confined in the prison known as Castle Thunder, in the city of Richmond, and make report to the House thereon, begs leave to submit the following minority report:
The first resolution of the series adopted instructs the committee to inquire and report "What punishment it' any in violation of law has been inflicted upon prisoners confined in Castle Thunder, the kind and character of punishment inflicted by the officers of that prison?'' It was proven by witnesses brought before the committee that punishment of the most degrading and cruel character had been inflicted at various times by order of the officer in charge of this prison upon the prisoners confined therein. Some ten or twelve prisoners, all, with the exception of two, Confederate soldiers, were by order of Brig. Gen. J. H. Winder punished by lashes on the bare back. The offenses charged to have been committed by them in violation of the prison rules were fighting and stealing. The charges were preferred by their associates in the prison and the persons selected for punishment were chosen with the permission of the officers by the general vote of all the prisoners. In other words the parties making the charge and acting as witnesses sat as jurymen upon the case instituted by themselves and assessed the punishment. This novel and original method of enforcing the discipline of a prison invented by the officer having control of Castle Thunder deserves in my opinion the severest censure at the hands of Congress.
It was also in evidence before the committee that in the month of November one hundred or more of the prisoners were sent out into the back yard of the prison and kept there exposed to snow, rain and sleet, many of them having insufficient covering and comparatively unprotected against the weather. This punishment was inflicted by order of Captain Alexander to force from the prisoners a confession of who amongst them had been guilty of placing son:e powder in a canteen.
It was also proven before the committee that upon various occasions prisoners were punished by bucking, handcuffing and tying to a post with their arms stretched as tightly as possible and kept in this position for hours.
Witnesses also testified that Captain Alexander had during extremely cold weather refused fire to the prisoners and they were compelled to rely upon their own ingenuity and their precarious resources inside of the prison to supply fuel.
All the punishment inflicted except that by whipping was by order of Captain Alexander. Upon one occasion a sentinel discharged his gun at a prisoner in one of the windows and the splinters from the frame of the window wounded another prisoner.
Upon the facts elicited by the examination before the committee the undersigned is of the deliberate opinion that the punishments inflicted in Castle Thunder have been not only degrading and cruel but barbarous and inhuman. It is no excuse for the officers who are guilty of this conduct that Castle Thunder is a military prison and its inmates frequently of desperate character. The object of establishing and maintaining such an institution is the protection of society by the confinement of persons dangerous to its peace. To effect this object it is not necessary that men should be subjected to lashes, exposed to the inclemency of a severe climate, kept huddled together without fire and put to the rack by having their muscles corded to extreme tension for hours together. Firmness and promptness are very different from torture and inhumanity. The fact that a man is confined in a military prison under charges of even the gravest character is no justification for the officer who responsible alone for his safe-keeping anticipates the functions of a court and punishes the prisoner in advance of a trial.
The second resolution adopted by the House is as follows: "How many prisoners have been killed, by whom and the circumstances under which they were killed?"
It was proved beyond any doubt before the committee that upon one occasion a deranged prisoner whilst running up the steps into the main building of the prison was shot by the sentinel and killed. Another prisoner was shot on the balcony by one of the guard and killed after he had begged the sentinel not to shoot. Under the circumstances attending both these cases the undersigned can regard them in no other light than as deliberate and willful murders. The unprotected and defenseless condition of a prisoner, confined and disarmed, no matter what his moral character, should appeal strongly to the sympathy of any man with proper sensibility, and to deprive him of life whilst in the condition of a prisoner can only be justified by the most extreme danger of the prisoner's escape. In neither of these cases did such danger exist. One of the victims was insane, the other had abandoned any attempt to escape and was asking for mercy when killed. There was no evidence before the committee that the sentinels perpetrating these outrages had been punished by the officers in charge of the prison.
From the foregoing specific instances and from the general tenor of the evidence adduced before the committee the undersigned is of opinion that Brigadier-General Winder and Captain Alexander, who have had the superintendence of Castle Thunder, have shown a want of judgment and humanity in the management of that prison deserving not only the censure of Congress but prompt removal from the position they have abused. Not only were the charges of cruelty and injustice sustained against Alexander by the evidence before the committee but it was also shown that he had been partial in his treatment of the prisoners under his charge and that some of his subordinates had imitated his example. It is but just to state that Mr. Riggs, an officer of the prison, is entitled to praise instead of censure for the course pursued by him, a course the more commendable as it is so remarkable an exception to the cruelty practiced by his superiors.
Captain Alexander and his friends and attorney were present at the examination of witnesses and put such questions to the witnesses as they thought proper.
[This report, dated May 1,1863, is unsigned but indorsed " Herbert."]
One of the Committee
O.R. Series II Vol. V Page 924
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David Upton