Wirz, Henry (1823?-1865) to Richard B. Winder
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC07271.01 Author/Creator: Wirz, Henry (1823?-1865) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Autograph note Date: circa July 1865 Pagination: 1 p. : docket ; 11 x 16.2 cm. Order a Copy
Wirz seeks information to implicate "the authorities at Richmond" on conditions at Andersonville, suggesting that he is being prosecuted so that "the big men, such as Cooper Seddon, Jeff Davis" can be prosecuted. Indicates that providing such information "I think it will save me, at any rate you." Passed to Winder's nearby prison cell, with Winder's unsigned autograph reply in pencil: "I knew of nothing except the reports from the prison, the reports of inspecting officers & newspaper statements." Written on scrap of lined paper.
Captain Henry Wirz was the commandant of Andersonville Prison; he was tried and executed for war crimes in 1865.
Major Richard Bayly Winder served as Quartermaster throughout the Civil War. He was a cousin of Gen. John H. Winder and was implicated in the mistreatment of prisoners at Andersonville Prison.
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