A  few  moments  elapsed,  and  he  entered  the  building,
attended  by  the  staff,  in  full-dress  uniform.  Directing
one  of  them  to  clear  the  room  of  all  persons  excepting
the  Federal  officers,  he  took  a  position  in  the  centre  of
the  floor  and  announced  that  he  had  a  most  unpleasant
duty  to  perform.  He  then  read  the  following  order
from  the  Confederate  War  Department : —

"  C.  S.  War  Department,

"Richmond,  November  8,  1861.
"  Sir  : — You  are  hereby  instructed  to  choose  by  lot,
from  among  the  prisoners  of  war  of  the  highest  rank,
one  who  is  to  be  confined  in  a  cell  appropriated  to  con-
victed felons,  and  who  is  to  be  treated  in  all  respects
as  if  such  convict,  and  to  be  held  for  execution  in  the


102  PEISON-LIFE    AT    EICHMOND.
same  manner  as  may  be  adopted  by  the  enemy  for  the
execution  of  the  prisoner  of  war  Smith,  recently  con-
demned 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  confined  in  the
cells  reserved  for  prisoners  accused  of  infamous  crimes,
and  will  treat  them  as  such  so  long  as  the  enemy  shall
continue  so  to  treat  the  like  number  of  prisoners  of
war  captured  by  them  at  sea  and  now  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  heinous  a  crime.
