Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 30.djvu/94

 86 Southern Historical Society Papers.

to our Government that we gained in the count of 20,000 exchanged, about 7,000 men. I had almost equally good success in the ex- change declared on November nth, 1862. If an open rupture should now occur, in the execution of the cartel, we are well pre- pared for it. I am endeavoring to get away from the Confederate prisons all our officers captured previously to the date of the message of Jeff. Davis (the i2th instant), with what success I shall know early next week."

(See Series II, Vol. V., Reb. Rec., Serial 118, p. 181.)

This transaction, of which we find Colonel Ludlow thus boasting to his superior, will surely be sufficient to establish his reputation for shrewdness as a trader, or exchanger. So flagrant had been the violations of the cartel and the abuses committed by the Federals in pretending to carry it out (some of which are confessed, as we have just seen, by Colonel Ludlow), that on January iyth, 1863, Judge Ould wrote Colonel Ludlow, complaining in the strongest terms, and stating that if he (Colonel Ludlow) had any Confederate officer in his possession, or on parole, he would be exchanged for his equivalent. But that beyond that, he would not, and could not, parole commissioned officers then in his possession, but would con- tinue to parole non-commissioned officers and privates. He said:

" This course has been forced on the Confederate Government, not only by the refusal of the authorities of the United States to respond to the repeated applications of this Government in relation to the execution of Munford, but by their persistence in retaining Confed- erate officers who were entitled to parole and exchange."

He said:

"You have now, of captures that are by no means recent, many officers of the Confederate service, who are retained in your military prisons East and West. Applications have been made for the release of same without success, and others have been kept in confinement so long as to justify the conclusion that you refuse both to parole and exchange." Id., pp. 186-7.

Judge Ould then called Colonel Ludlow' s attention to several in- stances of these abuses and mistakes, and asked that they be corrected. In his letter of January 25th, 1863, he says:

" If any injustice has been done to you by our agreement, about reducing officers to privates, or in any other subject matter, I will promptly redress it." * * " There must be many officers in your