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SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 
 OF WAR. 
 
 War Department, > 
 March 17th, 1862. J 
 
 Sir : In the report made to you at the commencement of 
 the present session, the following passage was contained : 
 
 " Negotiations with the enemy have recently been in pro- 
 gress for the exchange of prisoners. They are not yet en- 
 tirely completed, and to avoid further delay in submitting 
 this report, they will be presented in a separate communi- 
 cation." 
 
 The negotiations have now been concluded in a manner 
 little to be expected, and I present a narrative of the action 
 of this Department on the subject. 
 
 When Congress first determined to use private armed ves-- 
 sels for the public defence, the President of the United States 
 declared his purpose to treat our seamen on such vessels as 
 pirates. No apprehension was entertained of any attempt 
 to put this menace in execution. The putting to death of 
 prisoners of war is regarded as murder by all civilized na- 
 tions, and it was considered certain that the judgment of 
 mankind would suffice to deter the enemy from the commis- 
 sion of such a crime. When, however, some of our fellow 
 citizens were captured on privateers, they were treated 
 as felons, confined in the jails appropriated to criminals, 
 and one of them was capitally convicted for no other crime 
 than fighting at sea in the defence of his country. Lender 
 these circumstances, the following order was issued by the 
 Department : 
 
 Richmond, November 9, 1861. 
 Sir : You are hereby instructed to choose by lot from 
 among the prisoners of war of highest rank, one who is to 
 be confined in a cell appropriated to convicted felons, and 
 who is to be treated in all respects as if such convict, and 
 to be held for execution in the same manner as may be 
 adopted by the enemy for the execution of the prisoner of 
 
war, Smith, recently condemned to death in Philadelphia. 
 
 You will also select thirteen other prisoners of war, the 
 highest in rank of those captured by our forces, to be con- 
 fined in the cells reserved for prisoners accused of infamous 
 crimes, and av i 1 1 treat them as such so long ns the enemy 
 shall continue so to treat the like number of prisoners of 
 ■war captured by them at sea and now held for trial in New 
 York as pirates. 
 
 As these measures are intended to repress the infamous 
 attempt now made by the enemy to commit judicial murder 
 on prisoners of war, you will execute them strictly as the 
 mode best calculated to prevent the commission of so hein- 
 ous a crime. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 (Signed.) J. P. BENJAMIN, 
 
 Acting Secretary of War. 
 To Brigadier- General John II Winder, Richmond. 
 
 • 
 This prompt and necessary measure of retaliation produced 
 the desired effect. After some hesitancy, the enemy released 
 the privateersmen from confinement as felons, the convict was 
 liberated from his cell, and all the prisoners were placed 
 professedly on the same footing as other prisoners of war. 
 At the same time the new Secretary of War of the United 
 States made to this Government the novel proposal that two 
 of our enemies should be permitted to travel at pleasure 
 through our country, visiting the prisoners of war held by 
 us and ministering to their supposed wants. As it was not 
 deemed probable that this proposal was made with any ex- 
 pectation of its acceptance, the purpose really entertained 
 by the enemy was sought for, and from certain expressions 
 contained in the letter, the conclusion was reached that an 
 exchange of prisoners was intended. The letter of the IL 
 S. Secretary of War was accordingly treated as a proposi- 
 tion for exchange, and answered as such. 
 
 In this answer the enemy was informed that his proposi- 
 tion was " cordially welcomed" as being " in entire accord- 
 ance with the views always entertained by this Government." 
 My communication stated in precise language the basis of 
 the agreement for the exchange, " man for man and officer 
 for officer of equal grade, assimilating the grades of the 
 officers of the army and navy in accordance with established 
 usage when necessary, and agreeing upon equitable terms 
 for the number of men or officers of inferior grade, 
 
to be exchanged for any officer of higher grade, when 
 the occasion shall arise for such an exchange." Additional 
 proposals were contained in the same letter, and for a tho- 
 rough understanding of all that occurred, I have the honor 
 to annex copies of the correspondence, as follows : 
 
 A. — Letter of Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War 
 of the United States, dated 30th January, 1862, addressed 
 to Messrs. Ames and Fish, with instructions as to their pro- 
 posed mission. 
 
 B. Letter of 4th Feb., 1862, from Major-General Wool, 
 
 commanding at Fortress Monroe, to Major-General Huger, 
 commanding at Norfolk, enclosing copy of the instructions 
 above mentioned, asking for a safe conduct for the two com- 
 missioners, and tendering reciprocal right of visit to us. 
 
 C. — Letter of 6th February, 1862, from the undersigned 
 Secretary of War, addressed to Messrs. James A. Seddon 
 and Charles M. Conrad, Commissioners selected in behalf 
 of this Government, giving them instructions to meet Messrs. 
 Ames and Fish, and negotiate a general exchange of pris- 
 oners, with specific details of the basis for exchange. In 
 closing this letter the following remarks were made: 
 
 " I have said nothing on the subject of our privateers re- 
 cently treated as felons, because I have been gratified to 
 find from the statements of the public journals, that these 
 captives are henceforth to be treated as prisoners of war. 
 It is, however, so extremely unsafe to rely on newspaper 
 statements, that it will be well for you to request an official 
 assurance of this fact from Messrs. Ames and Fish, in order 
 that the prisoners held by U3 as hostages, be at once re- 
 lieved from their exceptional condition, and comprehended 
 in the general exchange." 
 
 D. — Form of a letter sent to Gen. Huger, to be by him 
 addressed to Gen. Wool, and which was dated at Norfolk on 
 the 9th February, and forwarded to its address. 
 
 E. — The answer of Gen. Wool to Gen. Huger, dated at 
 Fort Monroe on the 13th February, stating that he alone 
 " was clothed with full powers for the exchange of prison- 
 ers;" * * that he was " prepared to arrange for the restorat- 
 ion of all the prisoners to their homes on fair terms of 
 exchange, man for man and officer for officer of equal grade, 
 assimilating the grade of officers of the army and navy when 
 necessary, and agreeing upon equitable terms for the num- 
 ber of men or officers of inferior grade to be exchanged for 
 any of higher grade when the occasion shall arise." 
 
Also "that all the surplus prisoners on either side he dis- 
 charged on parole, with the agreement that any prisoners of 
 war, taken by the other party shall he returned in exchange 
 as fast as captured, and this system to be continued while 
 hostilities continue." 
 
 General Wool further gave assurance "that the prisoners 
 taken on board of vessels or otherwise in maritime conflict, 
 by the forces of the United States, have been put and are 
 now held only in military custody, and on the same footing 
 as other prisoners taken in arms." 
 
 Finally, General Wool declared himself ready to confer 
 for the purposes of arranging the exchange, either with Gen. 
 Huger, or with Messrs. Seddon and Conrad, or any other 
 person appearing for that purpose. 
 
 Before proceeding with my narrative, I beg to call your 
 special attention to the fact, that the letter of instruction to 
 Messrs. Seddon and Conrad, a copy of which was enclosed 
 to General Wool, contained the identical propositions just 
 quoted from his letter ; that our proposal to the enemy was 
 thus accepted in the fullest and most explicit manner ; and 
 I place prominently in view the further fact, that at the time 
 when the proposal was made by this Government that all 
 surplus prisoners held by either party should be delivered up 
 and allowed to go home till exchanged, and that this system 
 should continue in force during the war, the Confederate 
 States held in their possession a large surplus of prisoners 
 who were to be restored to the enemy under this stipulation. 
 
 The principles and terms for a general exchange of pris- 
 oners having been thus finally agreed on, there remained 
 nothing to be done but to settle the details of the time, place 
 and manner of its execution. For this purpose civil com- 
 missioners were not necessary, a military officer had been 
 properly selected by the enemy for executing mere military 
 details, and in accordance with their exam» le, Brigadier- 
 General Howell Cobb was selected to meet General Wool 
 and execute the contract: 
 
 F. — Letter of instructions, dated 18th February, to Gen. 
 Cobb, suggesting details of execution deemed fair and equal, 
 but adding, "any fair and equal rule will be satisfactory, 
 provided you can see your way clear as regards its practical 
 working. I desire only to impress on you the necessity of 
 extreme caution in avoiding any rule or any arrangement 
 which could possibly give rise to dispute or controversy in 
 its practical operation. Let the arrangement be equal ; and 
 
let it be simple, plain and clear. All else is left to your 
 discretion." 
 
 In the same letter General Cobb was told " that the assur- 
 ance contained in the letter of General Wool that our priva- 
 teers captured on the high seas will in the future be consid- 
 ered in the same light as prison :rs taken in arms on land, 
 and will be consequently exchanged like other prisoners, is 
 entirely satisfactory, and you are requested to inform Gen- 
 eral Wool that as soon as this assurance was received, or- 
 ders were issued placing the officers hitherto held as hostages 
 for these privateers on the same footing as all other prison- 
 ers, and they will at once be sent home on parole under the 
 proposed arrangements for exchange." 
 
 General Cobb proceeded on his mission, andarrang3d with 
 General Wool all the details of the exchange on the basis of 
 the agreement above stated. Two of the details suggested 
 in the instructions of this department to General Coob were 
 not accepted by General Wool. For one of the two he pro- 
 posed a substitute which was promptly accepted. For the 
 other, admitted by him to be worthy of approval, he offered 
 no substitute but asked time to obtain authority from his 
 Government, as he declared himself to be without instruc- 
 tions. This authority was not granted to him, whereupon 
 General Cobb waived his proposition, thus leaving complete 
 and perfect all the details requisite for the execution of the 
 previous contract. 
 
 But pending these arrangements our arms had been un- 
 fortunate ; the enemy had captured a number of prisoners 
 at Roanoke Island and Fort Donelson ; the condition of the 
 parties was reversed; the United States now held a surplus 
 of prisoners, and the execution of the agreement was for 
 the moment disadvantageous to them. Under these circum- 
 stances the Government of the United States did not hesi- 
 tate to violate an engagement universally considered to be 
 one of peculiar sanctity. General Wool, after writing on the 
 13th February, that he had "full powers," and after ag it o- 
 ing *< that all surplus prisoners on either side be discharged 
 on parole, with the agreement that any prisoners of war 
 taken by the other party shall be returned in exchange as 
 fast as captured, and this system to be continued while hos- 
 tilities continue," was compelled by his Government to write, 
 on the 27th of the same month, that "it is proper to say^ 
 that my powers are exclusively limited to the exchange of pris- 
 oners as presented to Major-General Huger, on the 13th 
 
February, 1862 ;" and then propose certain special ex- 
 changes of individual officers. 
 
 In the meantime, not distrusting for a moment that an en- 
 gagement of so sacred a character would be executed with 
 fidelity, the prisoners held by us as hostages for the safety 
 and proper treatment of the privateers were discharged from 
 close confinement and ordered to be sent home. Colonels 
 Lee, Cogswell and Wood, and Major Rsvere were sent to 
 their own country; the remaining hostages were brought on 
 parole from distant points to Richmond, on their way to be 
 delivered up, at the expense of this Government, and their 
 surrender was only suspended on receipt of intelligence from 
 General Cobb, that he saw reason to suspect bad faith on the 
 part of the enemy. While this prompt and loyal execution 
 of the agreement was in progress on the part of this gov- 
 ernment, the enemy was conveying the prisoners captured at 
 Fort Donelson to Chicago and other points most distant from 
 their homes, and was parading the officers who fell into their 
 power through the entire breadth of the land, from Western 
 Tennessee to Fort Warren in Boston Harbor, where they are 
 now incarcerated ; and up to the present moment not a single 
 officer taken at Fort Donelson, nor a single captive privateer 
 has been restored to his home, while the United States have 
 kept possession of the hostages given up in reliance on their 
 honor. The document G, herewith submitted, is the report 
 of General Cobb, containing a statement of his proceedings 
 and copies of his correspondence with General Wool, and the 
 document II contains the letter of General Wool, dated the 
 5th of the current month, from which it is apparent that 
 the Government of the United States adheres to the refusal 
 to perform its agreement 
 
 I make no comment on these proceedings further than to 
 remark that it seems scarcely possible that there should be 
 any further exchange of prisoners during the war. We can 
 parole no prisoners with any expectation of reciprocity ; and 
 can have no reliance on any promises that may be made, I 
 submit, however, that it is but bare justice to ourselves to 
 declare discharged such of our own citizens as are now sub- 
 ject to parole, and so to inform the enemy, and thereafter to 
 entertain no propositions on the subject of exchange of pris- 
 oners except on delivery of those held by the enemy and 
 proposed for exchange. 
 
 I am your obedient servant, 
 
 J. P. BENJAMIN, 
 To the President. Secretary of War, 
 
[Copy.] (A) 
 
 War Department, 
 
 'MENT, ) 
 
 January 30th, 1862. 5 
 To the Reverend Bishop Ames and the 
 
 Hon. Hamilton Fish : 
 
 Gents : Persons who have been in military service of the 
 United States as officers and soldiers, are now held as pris- 
 oners in the city of Richmond, Va., and in other places in 
 the South. Some of them are sick, some wounded, many 
 in a state of destitution, and all are objects of sympathy and 
 deep solicitude to this Government. You have been ap- 
 pointed to the humane and christian duty of visiting these 
 prisoners, in the places where they arc confined, and to re- 
 lieve their necessities, supply their wants, and provide for 
 their comfort, according to your discretion. You are also 
 requested to make or procure a list of all the prisoners so 
 held in captivity, designating their names, the time and 
 place where captured, the service to which they belonged, 
 their present state and condition, their wants and necessi- 
 ties, and all other particulars that may be interesting and 
 proper for their families to know, or useful to be known by 
 this Government for the purpose of effecting their exchange 
 or release. Your message being purely an errand of mercy, 
 this Government expects and desires that you should not 
 seek, obtain, or report information, or have communication 
 on any subject not immediately relating to its humane and 
 christian object. To enable you to supply immediate relief 
 
 to these prisoners, the sum of dollars is placed in 
 
 your hands with authority to draw at sight on the Assistant 
 Treasurer of the United States, at New York, for the fur- 
 ther sum of dollars, and a depot of clothing, medi- 
 cines, and other necessaries to be supplied upon your requi- 
 sition for the use of the prisoners, is established at Fortress 
 Monroe. You will proceed directly to Fortress Monroe 
 and communicate with Gen. John E. Wool, commanding 
 there, who is instructed to take such measures as may be 
 right and proper to procure you a safeguard and passage to 
 Richmond or other places, to enable you to perform the du- 
 ties of your appointment. You will conform to such police 
 regulations as may be prescribed for your visitation and re- 
 lief of the prisoners, and may give assurance that on like 
 
condition prisoners held by the United States may receive 
 visitation and relief. You will be accompanied by the pri- 
 soners now at Fortress Monroe, that have been heretofore 
 taken and held by the military force of the United States. 
 They will be unconditionally released and delivered up. In 
 case Gen. Wool shall not be able to procure for you a sat- 
 isfactory safeguard for your benevolent visitation, you will 
 return to Washington and report to this Department, and 
 if successful, a full and speedy report is requested. 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 (Signed.) EDWIN M. STANTON, 
 
 Secretary of War. 
 A true copy. 
 (Signed.) John E. Wool, 
 
 Major- General Commanding. 
 
[Copy.] (B) 
 
 Headquarters Department of Va., 
 Fortress Monroe, Va., Feb. 4th, 1862. 
 
 General: The Reverend Bishop Ames and the Hon. 
 Hamilton Fish have been appointed visitors by the Secre- 
 tary of War for the purpose of visiting and relieving the 
 prison 3rs belonging to the army of the United States, now 
 held as captives at Richmond and elsewhere in the {South, 
 and for other purposes, as indicated in the instructions to 
 the visitors, a copy of which is herewith enclosed. 
 
 These honorable gentlemen visitors propose to enter upon 
 their humane and merciful mission, if permitted to do so, 
 as soon as some 400 prisoners arrive from Fort Warren, of 
 which you have already received notice, under such restric- 
 tions as may not be incompatible with the execution of their 
 mission. If the permission is granted, they will accom- 
 pany the prisoners to Norfolk, anticipating that you will 
 previously transmit to me such safeguards as will secure 
 their protection and the execution of their merciful and im- 
 portant functions, with the assurance that whatever is grant- 
 ed to them will be extended to any visitors that you may 
 think proper to send to the United States, having the same 
 objects in view. 
 
 I am, very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 (Signed.) JNO. E. WOOL, 
 
 Major -General. 
 
 Major-General Ben J. Huger, 
 
 Commanding at Norfolk, Va. 
 
10 
 
 [Copy.] (C) 
 
 C. S. A., War Department 
 Richmond, Feb. 6th, 186 
 
 62. I 
 
 To Hon. James A. Seddon, and 
 
 Hon. Charles M. Conrad : 
 
 Gentlemen : I have received, through Gen. Huger, (to 
 whom communication was made by Gen. Wool, the enemy's 
 commander at Fortress Monroe,) the enclosed copy of a let- 
 ter addressed by the Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of 
 War of the United States, to the Rev. Bishop Ames and the 
 Hon. Hamilton Fish. 
 
 From this letter, you will perceive that the Government 
 of the United States has appointed the two last-named gen- 
 tlemen Commissioners, charged with the duty of visiting 
 and providing for the comfort of the prisoners of war taken 
 by us from the enemy, as well as of obtaining " all particu- 
 lars useful to be known by this Government, (the Govern- 
 ment of the U. S.,) for the purpose of effecting their ex- 
 change or release." 
 
 I cordially welcome this proposition, which, as you are 
 aware, is in entire accordance with the views always enter- 
 tained by this Government, and desire to meet the proposal 
 of the Secretary of War of the United States more than 
 half way. 
 
 I propose to render unnecessary that part of the mission 
 entrusted by him to the commissioners he has selected, 
 which relates to supplying the wants, and providing for the 
 comfort of the prisoners of war, by exchanging them all, 
 man for man. and grade for grade, on equal terms, and thus 
 restoring them to their country and their homes. 
 
 With this view, you have been selected as Commissioners, 
 to meet the two Commissioners sent by the enemy. Having 
 been assured, in advance, of your willingness to accept this 
 honorable and humane mission, I now communicate, for 
 your guidance, the following instructions : 
 
 First. You will proceed to Norfolk, and communicate with 
 Gen. Benjamin Huger, commanding there, who is instructed 
 to take such measures as may be right and proper to pro- 
 
cure you a safeguard and passage to Fortress Monroe, 
 where Messrs. Ames and Fish are now awaiting an answer 
 to their communication, with the view of acceding, at once, 
 to the proposition for exchange and [of] release of prisoners 
 of war on equal terms, thus sparing those gentlemen the 
 necessity of further travel in the accomplishment of their 
 humane purpose. 
 
 Second. If it shall be, for any reason, unacceptable to the 
 enemy, that you should hold your interview with Messrs. 
 Ames and Fish at Fortress Monroe, your communication 
 with them may take place on board of a cartel vessel, be- 
 tween the strongholds of the two nations, as is usual in such 
 cases between belligerent powers. 
 
 Third. You are empowered to agree with Messrs. Ames 
 and Fish, for a general exchange of prisoners of war, on 
 equal terms, man for man, and officer for officer of equal 
 grade; assimilating the grades of officers of the Army and 
 Navy, in accordance with established us. e neces- 
 
 sary, and agreeing upon equitable terms for the number of 
 men, or officers of inferior grade, to be exchanged for any 
 officer of higher grade, when the occasion shall arise for 
 such an exchange. 
 
 Fourth. If, upon the conclusion of such exchange, either 
 party shall remain possessed of prisoners of war for whom 
 the other can offer no exchange, the party remaining in 
 possession of prisoners shall grant to the other the permis- 
 sion to keep and maintain a Commissary General of prison- 
 ers within the country where the prisoners are kept, in ac- 
 cordance with the laws of war and international usage in 
 modern times. 
 
 Fifth. Or you may go even further, and agree (inasmuch 
 as it is believed that wo possess more prisoners of war than 
 the enemy,) that we will release all surplus prisoners on pa- 
 role, with the agreement that any prisoners of war, taken 
 from us by the enemy, shall be restored to us, in exchange, 
 as fast as captured, and that this system shall be continued 
 through the war, so that, on all occasions, either party hold- 
 ing prisoners shall so hold them, only on parole, till ex- 
 changed, the prisoners being allowed to remain in their own 
 country till the exchange is effected. 
 
 The foregoing instructions will fully satisfy you that we 
 do not intend to allow the enemy to go further than we are 
 ready to go, in the honorable effort to change the past sys- 
 tem on which this war has been conducted, and that we ear- 
 
12 
 
 nestly desire to mitigate its severity to the utmost extent 
 compatible "with our safety and the maintenance of our 
 rights. 
 
 I have said nothing on the subject of our privateers, re- 
 cently treated as felons, because I have been gratified to find, 
 from the statements of the public journals, that these cap- 
 tives are henceforth to be treated as prisoners of war. It 
 is, however, so extremely unsafe to rely on newspaper state- 
 ments, that it will be well for you to request an official assu- 
 rance of this fact, from Messrs. Ames and Fish, in order 
 that the prisoners held by us as hostages be at once relieved 
 from their exceptional condition, and comprehended in the 
 general exchange. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 (Signed,) J. P. BENJAMIN, 
 
 Secretary of War. 
 
13 
 
 [Copy.] (D) 
 
 Form of Letter to be written to General Wool. 
 
 General: I have communicated to my Government as 
 announced in my letter of 4th inst., your letter to me of 
 that date, with the copy of the instructions of the Secretary 
 of War of the United States, addressed to the Rev. Bishop 
 Ames and the Hon. Hamilton Fish. 
 
 I am happy to inform you that the proposition contained 
 in the letter of instructions is cordially welcomed, and that 
 in order more effectually to accomplish the humane purpose 
 so justly lauded by you, the Secretary of War of the Con- 
 federate States has appointed the Hon. James A. Seddon and 
 the Hon. Charles M. Conrad, Commissioners, to meet and 
 confer with Messrs. Ames and Fish, with instructions, a 
 copy of which is herewith enclosed. 
 
 These honorable gentlemen, Commissioners, propose to 
 spare Messrs. Ames and Fish the necessity of travel to Rich- 
 mond, and other places in the South, by agreeing at once to 
 the restoration of all the prisoners to their homes on fair 
 terms of equal exchange, and with that view to confer with 
 Messrs. Ames and Fish at Fortress Monroe, anticipating 
 that you will previously transmit to me such safeguard as 
 will secure their protection. If this, however, should not 
 be acceptable to you, I will accede to any arrangement you 
 may desire for the meeting of these four gentlemen on a 
 cartel vessel, as is usual between belligerent powers on such 
 occasions. 
 
 I am, very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant. 
 
 To be signed BENJAMIN HUGER, 
 
 Maj. Gen. Commanding. 
 
 To be addressed to 
 Maj. Gen. Wool, 
 
 Commanding Fortress Monroe. 
 
14 
 
 [Copy.] (E) 
 
 Headquarters Department of Virginia. 
 Fort Monroe, Va., 13th February, 1862. 
 
 General: 
 
 In reply to your communication of the 9th 
 inst., I am instructed to inform you that no authority was 
 conferred on the Hon. Messrs. Ames and Fish in regard to 
 the exchange of prisoners, or for any other purpose than 
 the simple one of providing for the comfort of prisoners if 
 allowed to do so. This having been declined, their mission 
 has terminated. 
 
 I am, however, instructed to inform you that I am alone 
 clothed with full powers for the purpose of arranging for 
 the exchange of prisoners. Being thus empowered, I am 
 rea n y to confer with you on the subject, or the Hon. Messrs. 
 Seddon and Conrad, or any other person appearing for that 
 purpose. I am prepared to arrange for the restoration of 
 all the prisoners to their homes on fair terms of exchange, 
 man for man, and officer for officer of equal grade, assimila- 
 ting the grade of officers of the army and navy when neces- 
 sary, and agreeing upon equitable terms for the number of 
 men or officers of inferior grade, to be exchang d for any 
 of higher grade when the occasion shall arise. That all the 
 surplus prisoners on either side be discharged on parole, 
 with the agreement that any prisoners of Avar taken by the 
 other party shall be returned in exchange as fast as captured, 
 and this system to be continued while hostilities continue. 
 
 I would further inform you, or any other person selected 
 for the purpose of making arrangements for the exchange of 
 prisoners, that the prisoners taken on board of vessels, or 
 otherwise in maritime conflict, by the forces of the United 
 States, have been put, and are now held only in military 
 custody, and on the same footing as the other prisoners 
 taken in arms. 
 
 In conclusion, I have only to remark that I am ready, at 
 any moment, to enter upon this important duty with no 
 
15 
 
 other view than a fair and honorable exchange of all prison- 
 ers, and to subserve the interests of humanity. 
 I am, very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 (Signed,) JOHN E. WOOL, 
 
 Major General. 
 Major General B. Huger, 
 
 Commanding at Norfolk, Va. 
 
 Headquarters Department of Norfolk, ) 
 Norfolk, Va., February 28. 1862. \ 
 Official, 
 
 (Signed,) BENJ. HUGER, Jr., 
 
 Capt. and A. A. General. 
 
16 
 
 [Copy.] (F.) 
 
 Confederate States of America, 
 Richmond, February 18, 1862. 
 
 Sir : You have been selected to perform the duty of ar- 
 ranging with General Wool the details necessary for carry- 
 ing out an exchange of prisoners with the enemy. For your 
 full comprehension of the matters entrusted to you, I en- 
 close herewith the following papers. 
 
 1. Copy of a letter addressed by me to Messrs. James A. 
 Seddon and diaries M. Conrad, under date of 6th instant, 
 of which letter a copy was forwarded to General Wool, 
 through General Huger now commanding at Norfolk. 
 
 2. Copy of the letter of General Wool to General Hu- 
 ger, under date of the 13th instant, informing the latter 
 that General Wool was alone clothed with full power for the 
 purpose of arranging for the exchange of prisoners. 
 
 In this letter you will perceive that General Wool accepts 
 substantially, and almost in words, the propositions sub- 
 mitted by me in the nature of instructions to Messrs. Sed- 
 don and Conrad, and declares " that he is ready to confer 
 with them, or any other person, appearing for that pur- 
 pose." 
 
 As there remain to be arranged only the necessary mili- 
 tary details for executing the purpose common to both par- 
 ties, it has not been deemed necessary to send Commission- 
 ers, and you are, as a Brigadier-General in our service, au- 
 thorized and instructed to proceed via Norfolk, and to con- 
 fer with General Wool on this subject, and to enter into 
 written stipulations with him for carrying out the proposed 
 exchange, on the principles involved in our proposals, and 
 the acceptance of them by the enemy. 
 
 For your guidance in the matter, I give the following 
 instructions : 
 
 1. That all prisoners delivered up on parole by either 
 party shall be so delivered on the frontier at the expense of 
 the captors, the prisoners to pay no part of the cost of their 
 delivery. 
 
 2. Each party to have the right of selecting such of its 
 own paroled citizens as it chooses to have released, against 
 an equal number of equal grade. Thus, for example : If 
 the enemy having one thousand of his citizens under parole 
 at heme, should have sent to us only five hundred of our 
 
17 
 
 citizens released on parole, the enemy would have the right 
 to select which of his own citizens he preferred to release 
 against the five hundred sent to us of equal grade ; and so, 
 if the numbers were reversed, we would have the like right. 
 
 3. I know of no rule generally established for equalizing 
 exchanges, where the persons are of unequal grades, or for 
 assimilating rank between officers of the Army and Navy. 
 Perhaps, as fair a guide as any other, is the relative pay 
 allowed by each service to its own officers and men. 
 
 Thus, for example : In our service the pay of a Lieuten- 
 ant-Colonel of Infantry is $ 1 70 a month ; that of a First 
 Lieutenant $90, and that of a Second Lieutenant §80. 
 If, then, we desire to get back a Lieutenant-Colonel, and 
 had no officer of like grade to offer, we would, under the 
 proposed rule, be compelled to give a First and Second 
 Lieutenant. This rule is merely suggested. It would work 
 equally, whether a good rule or not ; but any other fair and 
 equal rule would be acceptable. I furnish you a table of 
 the rates of pay in our service for your guide, in ease this 
 rule should be accepted by the enemy. 
 
 In giving you these instructions, it is by no means my 
 intention to confine you to a strict adoption of them. They 
 are an indication simply of what seems to be fair and equal. 
 Any fair and equal rule will be satisfactory, provided you 
 can see your way clear as regards its practical working. I 
 desire only to impress on you the necessity of extreme cau- 
 tion in avoiding any rule or any arrangement which could 
 possibly give rise to dispute or controversy in its practical 
 operation. Let the arrangement be equal, and let it be 
 simple, plain and clear. All else is left to your discretion. 
 
 In conclusion, I desire to say that the assurance con-, 
 tained in the letter of General Wool, that our privateers 
 captured on the high seas, will, in future, be considered in 
 the same light as prisoners taken in arms on land, and will 
 be consequently exchanged like other prisoners, is en- 
 tirely satisfactory, and you are requested to inform General 
 Wool that as soon as this assurance was received, orders 
 were at once issued placing the officers hitherto held as hos- 
 tages for these privateers, on the same footing as all other 
 prisoners, and they will be at once sent home on parole, un- 
 der the proposed arrangements for exchange. 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 (Signed.) J. P. BENJAMIN, 
 
 Secretary <f War. 
 
 Brig. Gen. Howell Cobb. 
 
18 
 
 (G) 
 
 Richmond, March 4th, 1862. 
 
 Hon. J. P. Benjamin, 
 
 Secretary of War. 
 
 Sir: In compliance with your letter of instructions of 
 the 18th February, I proceeded immediately to Norfolk, to 
 meet and confer with Major-General Wool, of the United 
 States Army, on the subject of the exchange of prisoners 
 ol war. 
 
 On the 23d February, I held my first interview with him, 
 and was gratified to find that there was no serious difference 
 of opinion between us. I submitted to General Wool a 
 memorandum as a basis for a cartel. A copy of that memo- 
 randum is enclosed, marked A. General Wool promptly 
 agreed to all the propositions, except two. In lieu of the 
 compensation basis of equivalents contained in the 4th item 
 of the memorandum, he proposed the cartel, of equivalents 
 adopted by Great Britain and the United States, in the war 
 of 1812, and I accepted it. 
 
 He also objected to the provision in the 5th item, which 
 requires each party to pay the expense of transporting their 
 prisoners to the frontier of the country of the prisoners. 
 The provision met his entire approval, but he did not feel 
 authorized, by his instructions, to incorporate it into the pro- 
 posed cartel, and, therefore, desired time to consult his Gov- 
 ernment on the subject. 
 
 The interview closed with the promise from General Wool, 
 that he would notify me as soon as he could hear from his 
 Government on that point. 
 
 On the 27th February, I received from him his letter of 
 that date — a copy of which I enclose, marked B — and the 
 next day endeavored to meet him again, but failed to do so. 
 Anticipating, from the language of his letter of the 27th, 
 that his Government had, under the altered state of things, 
 changed their instructions, I determined to put into writing 
 our future negotiation, and, with that view, prepared my let- 
 ter to him of the 28th — a copy of which is enclosed, marked 
 
 c. 
 
 On the first of March, I held my second interview with 
 him, in which I proposed to enter into a cartel, containing 
 the stipulations set forth in my letter to him of the 28th of 
 
19 
 
 February. He informed me that his Government would not 
 agree to the proposition, that each party should pay the 
 expense of transporting their prisoners to the frontier, and 
 I promptly waived it, thus leaving the cartel free from all 
 his objections, and just what General Wool had himself pro- 
 posed in his letter of the 13th February, to General Huger. 
 He then informed me that his Government had changed his 
 instructions, and he was only authorized to negotiate for the 
 exchange of prisoners to the extent of exhausting the num- 
 ber of the party holding the smallest number, and leaving 
 the surplus to be provided for by future negotiation. I 
 frankly stated to him that I could not consent to such an 
 arrangement. 
 
 To enable him to place before his Government the propo- 
 sition which I had submitted to him, and with a view of put- 
 ting on record the action of the two Governments on the 
 subject, I delivered to General Wool my letter to him of 
 February 28th, to which I had received no reply at the time 
 of leaving Norfolk, on the 3d. 
 
 The whole negotiation may be stated in a single paragraph. 
 At the time it was believed that our Government held the 
 largest number of prisoners, the United States proposed to 
 exchange all prisoners, and to place on parole, in their own 
 country, the surplus held by either party ; and our Govern- 
 ment agreed to the proposition. Before the agreement could 
 be reduced to writing and signed by the parties, the casual- 
 ties of war reversed this state of things, and gave the United 
 States the largest number of prisoners. With this change 
 of things the United States changed their policy, and delib- 
 erately abandoned their own proposition. 
 I am, very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 HOWELL COBB, 
 Brig. General, C. S. A. 
 
 (A) 
 
 1. Prisoners to be exchanged man for man, and officer 
 for officer. Officers of the army and navy to be assimilated 
 on a fair basis, and privateers to be placed upon the footing 
 of officers and men of the navy. 
 
 2. The surplus of prisoners held by either party to be re- 
 
20 
 
 turned to the country of the prisoners on their parole of 
 lienor not to take up arms again, until exchanged under 
 the provisions of this cartel. 
 
 3. Each party upon the discharge of prisoners of the 
 other party, is authorized to discharge an equal number of 
 their own officers or men from parole, furnishing at the time 
 to the other party a list of their prisoners discharged, and 
 of their own officers and men relieved from parole ; thus 
 enabling each party to relieve from parole such of their own 
 officers and men as the party may choose. The lists thus 
 mutually furnished will keep both parties advised of the 
 true condition of the exchange of prisoners. 
 
 4. Men and officers of a lower grade as well as of a differ- 
 ent service, may be exchanged for officers of a higher grade 
 and of a different service. To do this without embarrass- 
 ment, it is agreed that the basis of assimilation shall be the 
 compensation allowed by each party to their own officers 
 and men, and in case of privateers who receive no fixed 
 pay, to be put upon the compensation basis of officers and 
 men of the navy. 
 
 5. Prisoners to be dischaged or paroled within ten days 
 after their capture, and to be delivered on the frontier of 
 their own country free of expense to the prisoners, and at 
 the expense of the capturing party. 
 
 6. All prisoners now held by each party to be immedi- 
 ately discharged, and the party against whom the surplus 
 shall be found shall receive such surplus upon their parole. 
 Each party to furnish the other a list of those respectively 
 discharged by it, and the party against whom the surplus is 
 found, is to furnish a list of the prisoners placed on parole 
 under this cartel, thus furnishing the basis for future ex- 
 changes. 
 
 (B) 
 
 Headquarters Department of Va., > 
 Fort Monroe, Va., February 27th, 1862. \ 
 
 General : I am prepared again to confer with you on the 
 subject of the exchange of prisoners at such time and place 
 as you may please to designate. In the meantime it is pro- 
 per to say that my powers are exclusively limited to the ex- 
 change of prisoners, as presented to Major-Gcneral Huger, 
 the 13th February, 1862. 
 
 Until I may hear from you on the subject of our general 
 
21 
 
 negotiation, I propose for exchange the following officers 
 (for officers of equal rank) viz : Capt. K. Garrard, 5th 
 cavalry, (presented yesterday to Major-General Huger,) 
 Col. W. R. Lee, 20th Massachusetts; Col. M. Cogswell, 
 42d New York; Col. M. A. Wood, 14th New York ; "Major 
 P. J. Revere, 20th Massachusetts; Surgeon E. H. R. Re- 
 vere, 20th Massachusetts; Captain Henry Bowman, 15th 
 Massachusetts; T. J. Kepper, First California; G. W. 
 Rockwood, 15th Massachusetts; R. Williams, 12th Indiana; 
 Lieuts. C. F. Freeman, 1st Virginia; J. E. Green, 15th 
 Massachusetts; Wm. C. Harris, 1st California ; B.F.Han- 
 cock, 19th Indiana; C. B. Hall, 1st Virginia; B. B. Vas- 
 sal, 15th Massachusetts; G. H. Wallis, 42d New York. 
 I am, very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 JNO. E. WOOL, 
 
 Major- Gen oral. 
 General Howell Cobb, 
 
 Norfolk, Va. 
 
 (C.) 
 
 Norfolk, Va., ) 
 
 February 28th, 18G2. 5 
 
 General : I am in receipt of yours of the 27th instant, 
 and shall be pleased to confer with you to-day on the sub- 
 ject of the exchange of prisoners. In your letter you re- 
 mark, "it is proper to say that my (your) powers arc exclu- 
 sively limited to the exchange of prisoners, as presented to 
 Major-General Huger, the 13th February, 1862." By re- 
 ference to your letter of that date to General linger, 1 find 
 that you use the following language . "I am, however, in- 
 structed to inform you, that I am alone clothed with full 
 power for the purpose of arranging for the exchange of pris- 
 oners. Being thus empowered, 1 am ready to confer with 
 you on the subject, or the Honorable Messrs. Seddon and 
 Conrad, or any other persons appearing for that purpose. I 
 am prepared to arrange for the restoration of all the prison- 
 ers to their homes on fair terms of exchange, man for man, 
 and officer for officer of equal grade, assimilating the grade 
 of officers of the Army and Aavy, when necessary, and 
 agreeing upon equitable terms for the number of men or of- 
 ficers, of inferior grade to be exchanged for any of higher 
 grade when the occasion shall arrive. That all the surplus 
 
22 
 
 prisoners on either side be exchanged on parole with the 
 agreement, that any prisoners of Avar taken by the other 
 party shall be returned in exchange as fast as captured and 
 this system to be continued, while hostilities continue. 
 
 "I would further inform you or any other person selected 
 for the purpose of making arrangements for the exchange of 
 prisoners, that the prisoners taken on board of vessels, or 
 otherwise in maritime conflict by the forces of the United 
 States have been put, and are now held only in military cus- 
 tody and on the same footing, as other prisoners taken in 
 arms." 
 
 Your language is plain and explicit, and admits but of one 
 construction. It is a distinct proposition for an exchange 
 of all prisoners held by either party, including in terms our 
 privateers, upon a fair and equitable basis, and for the placing 
 upon parole in their own country, the surplus held by cither 
 party, "and this system to be continued while hostilities con- 
 tinue." 
 
 At the time this proposition was received and accepted by 
 my Government, it was believed that we held the largest 
 number of prisoners. It is proper, that I should also call 
 your attention to the fact that my Government immediately 
 upon the receipt of your letter, proceeded to discharge and 
 forward the prisoners held by it, including as I am informed 
 a portion, if not all of those held as hostages for our privateers. 
 
 Not doubting that your Government would carry out in 
 good faith the proposition submitted by yourself, these pris- 
 oners are being discharged and forwarded to your frontier, 
 and I was charged with the simple duty of reducing to form, 
 what had already been agreed upon in substance. In my 
 interview with you on the 23d inst., we discussed all the points 
 involved in the question of exchange, and I was pleased to find 
 that there was no difference of opinion between us, on any 
 important point. I submitted to you a memorandum I had 
 prepared on the subject, and you gave your entire approval 
 to all the propositions it contained, except two; the one fix- 
 ing the compensation of men and officers, as a basis of 
 equivalents for the exchange of men and officers of different 
 services, and in the case of officers of different grades. In 
 lieu of this, you submitted the cartel agreed upon by Great 
 Britain and the United States in the war of 1812, and I ac- 
 cepted it. 
 
 The other proposition, upon which you desired time to 
 consult your Government, provided for the transfer of pris- 
 
23 
 
 oners, free of expense, to the frontier of their own country. 
 It is due to you, however, to say that this proposition, so 
 fair and just, met your entire approval, and it was only be- 
 cause " you had no instructions on the point," that you 
 asked for further time. Upon all the other points you were 
 fully authorized to act, having received the sanction of your 
 Government for the propositions contained in your letter of 
 the 1 3th instant to Gen. Huger. 
 
 With a view of carrying out, in good faith, the exchange 
 of prisoners, upon the principles which have thus received 
 the sanction and approval of both Governments, I propose 
 to enter into a cartel with you, which shall contain the fol- 
 lowing stipulations: 
 
 Article \st. It is hereby agreed and stipulated, that all 
 prisoners of war, including those taken on private armed 
 vessels known as privateers, now held by either party, shall 
 be at once discharged, on the conditions and terms herein- 
 after set forth. 
 
 Article 2nd. The basis of exchange is, man for man, and 
 officer for officer, men and officers of lower grades to be ex- 
 changed for officers of a higher grade, and men and officers 
 of different services to be exchanged ; and for the purpose of 
 assimilating the position and rank of the men and officers of 
 the same, as well as different services, the following rule of 
 equivalents is adopted, to wit : 
 
 For General Commanding-in-Chief, or Admiral, 60 men. 
 For General, Lieutenant-General, or Vice Admiral, 40 •' 
 For Major-General, or Rear Admiral, 30 " 
 
 For Brigadier-General, or Commodore, with broad 
 
 pennant and Captain under him, 20 " 
 
 For Colonel, or Captain of a Line-of-Battle-Ship, 15 " 
 For Lieutenant-Colonel, or Captain of Frigate, 10 " 
 For Major, or Commander of a Sloop-of-War, 
 
 Bomb-Ketch, Fire-Ship or Packet, 8 " 
 
 For Captain, or Lieutenant or Master, 6 " 
 
 For Lieutenant, or Master's Mate, 4 " 
 
 For Sub-Lieutenant, or Ensign or Midshipman, 
 Warrant Officers, Masters of Merchant Ves- 
 sels, and Captains of Private Armed Vessels, 3 " 
 For Non-Commissioned Officers, or Lieutenants 
 and Masters of Private Armed Vessels, Mas- 
 ters of Merchant Vessels, and all petty officers 
 of ships of wan, 2 " 
 For Private Soldiers or Seamen, 1 " 
 
u 
 
 Article 3rd. All prisoners of war, described in Article 
 1st, hereafter taken, to be discharged within ten days after 
 
 their capture, and both the prisoners now held and those 
 hereafter taken, to be transported to the frontier of the line 
 of hostilities, at the expense of the capturing party. 
 
 Article 4th. Each party shall furnish to the other, within 
 sixty days, a full and complete list of the prisoners which 
 they have respectively discharged, and the party against 
 whom the surplus shall be found shall then furnish to the 
 other party a complete list of those placed upon parole, as 
 hereinafter provided for, which list will be the basis for fu- 
 ture exchanges. 
 
 Article 5th. The surplus of prisoners to be placed on their 
 parole of honor in their own country, not to take up arms 
 again during the war, until regularly exchanged, as pro- 
 vided for in this cartel; and this rule to be applied during 
 the war, as the surplus may from time to time be found 
 against the one or the other party. 
 
 Article tith. Prisoners, hereafter taken by the party 
 against whom the surplus exists, shall, within the time pre- 
 scribed, be discharged and delivered on the frontier, said 
 party furnishing, at the time, a list of such prisoners to the 
 other party ; and shall also furnish, as soon thereafter as 
 practicable, a list of their own prisoners, whom they relieve 
 from parole in exchange for the prisoners thus discharged, 
 and five days after such notice to the other party, such pris- 
 oners shall be relieved from their parole. Upon the receipt 
 of such notice, it shall be the duty of the party holding the 
 surplus, to strike from the list of men and officers on parole 
 the names of those thus relieved, and when prisoners are 
 taken by parties holding the surplus, they shall be discharged 
 and delivered in the same manner, and a similar list to be 
 furnished to the other party, and the names of the men and 
 officers to be added to the list of those on parole, and this 
 system to be continued to the end of the war. 
 
 Article 1th. All prisoners now being discharged are to be 
 considered on parole, but each party may relieve of their 
 men and officers, on such parole, to the extent of the pris- 
 oners discharged by it, on the basis herein specified. All 
 prisoners now on parole are included in this arrangement, 
 and their names are to be placed upon the list of discharged 
 prisoners hereinbefore provided for. 
 
 In reference to that portion of your letter in which you 
 propose certain prisoners for exchange, for officers of equal 
 
25 
 
 grade, I would remark, that, in the event a cartel is adopted, 
 carrying out in good faith what your Government has pro- 
 posed through you, and to which my Government has agreed, 
 there will be no necessity to discuss the cases submitted by 
 you. In any event I have no authority to consider the 
 question of individual exchanges. 
 
 It is proper that I should repeat, in this communication, 
 what I stated to you verbally in our interview of the 23d 
 instant, that the Secretary of War had directed me to say to 
 you, that the assurance contained in your letter of the 13th 
 instant to Gen. linger, that our privateers captured on the 
 high seas would, in the future, be considered in the same 
 light as prisoners taken in arms on land, and would, conse- 
 quently, be exchanged like other prisoners, was entirely 
 satisfactory; and I was also directed by him to inform you 
 that, as soon as this assurance was received, orders were 
 issued, placing the officers hitherto held as hostages, on the 
 same footing of all other prisoners, and that they would be 
 at once sent home on parole, under the proposed arrange- 
 ment for exchange. 
 
 I am, very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 HOWELL COBB, 
 Brigadier- General C. S. A. 
 
 Major-General John E. Wool, U. S. A. 
 
26 
 
 [Copy.] (H) 
 
 Headquarters Department of Virginia, > 
 Fortress Monroe, March 5, 1862. ] 
 
 General : I duly received your communication of the 
 L 2 -s 1 1 l ultimo, by Bag of truce, on the 1st instant. 
 
 In reply, it is unnecessary to repeat the proposals as pre- 
 sented on the 13th of February, 1862, to Major General B. 
 Huger for the exchange of prisoners. They are substan- 
 tially the same as presented on the 3d of February by the 
 Hon. J. P. Benjamin to the Hon. James A. Seddon and 
 Hon. Charles M. Conrad, to be presented to Bishop Ames 
 and the Hon. Hamilton Fish, as a basis for the exchange of 
 prisoners. 
 
 Messrs. Ames and Fish, having no authority to negotiate 
 the exchange of prisoners, were withdrawn from their con- 
 templated visit to the prisoners of the United States confined 
 in the Southern States, and the authority conferred on my- 
 self, as set forth in mine of the 13th of February to Major 
 General B. Huger. 
 
 On the 2.3d, in accordance with previous notice, you and 
 myself met for the purpose of arranging a cartel for the 
 exchange of prisoners. On comparing opinions, it did not 
 appear that there was any essential difference on any of 
 thp questions presented, except the following offered by you, 
 viz : " Prisoners to be discharged, or paroled, within ten 
 days after their capture, and to be delivered on the frontier 
 of their own country free of expense to the prisoners, and 
 at the expense of the capturing party." Although I assented 
 to the apparent fairness of simply paying the expenses of 
 transferring prisoners from one section of the country to 
 another, yet I would have objected to its phraseology in 
 some particulars. I, however, stated at the time that it was 
 not embraced in my instructions, and therefore I could not 
 entertain it without further directions. I informed you, as 
 I believed, it was usual to settle such questions at the close 
 of the war. I, however, suggested that we should arrange 
 the cartel, as there appeared but little or no difference be- 
 tween us on any other point presented, and leave the ques- 
 tion of expense for transporting of prisoners to future nego- 
 tiation or correspondence ; to this you did not assent, but 
 desired that it should be incorporated as part of the cartel. 
 
27 
 
 This I could not assent to without further instructions, and 
 consequently we adjourned to meet again as soon as they 
 were received. I have no doubt if you had not introduced 
 the proposition referred to, we would have had no difficulty 
 in arranging the cartel on the basis presented by the Hon. 
 J. P. Benjamin which corresponded with my own. 
 
 In regard to exchanges of prisoners, there has been on 
 my part every disposition to reciprocate any exchanges that 
 would lead to their amelioration or better their condition. 
 And I have every reason to believe that the Administration 
 of the country have been equally as anxious to relieve them 
 and to avoid any unnecessary severity. 
 
 In relation to those prisoners taken on board of vessels, 
 or others in maritime conflict, and some of whom were tried 
 as pirates, have been transferred from close confinement to 
 Fort Lafayette, where they have light and air and room for 
 exercise ; these will undoubtedly be exchanged as stated in 
 my letter of the 13th ult. to Major General Huger. 
 I am, General, 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 JOHN E. WOOL, 
 
 Major General, 
 Brigadier General H. Cobb, 
 
 Norfolk, Va. 
 
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