How the Southerners Treat prisoners of war.
--As much has been published in the
Northern papers relative to the treatment received by the crew of the Star of the West, which is calculated to give a wrong impression, we copy the following statement from one of the crew to the New York Daily News:
‘
The account recently published in the papers of the capture of the Star of the West was correct, with the exception of the name of the
Captain — the true name is
Captain Hawes.
We were taken to
Galveston, Texas; from there to New Orleans, and here thirty-six men of the crew were taken off at
Algiers, and carried on a ferry boat to New Orleans; thence by railroad to Lake Ponchartrain; thence by first class steamboat
Southern Republic to
Montgomery, Ala. On both of these steamers we were not treated as prisoners of war, but as passengers — the officers receiving state-rooms and the crew were treated as when on board of their own ship.
On board the
Southern Republic, a Southern gentleman presented $12 to three of the crew, and the passengers of the boat also made up a purse of $33, which was handed to us, making $1 for each of the crew.
The passengers as well as the captains, on every occasion treated us with respect, and on many occasions we received liquors and tobacco.
On our arrival at
Montgomery we were escorted by the captain of the boat to the War Department, where we, on account of the pressure of their business, remained from 11½ A. M., until 5 o'clock, P. M., when $1,500 was appropriated to defray our traveling expenses home.
This money was handed over to the captain of the boat on which we started home.
Arriving on Saturday evening at
Mobile, we received $10 each to defray our expenses while there, and on Monday we received the balance of the money appropriated, which was abundantly sufficient to take us to our respective homes.
During the whole time we met with no injury whatever, but were kindly treated in every way, shape and manner.
At
Mobile, we were asked by the
Captain whether any of us wished to join the
Southern Navy, in which case they would be sent to New Orleans free, which offer none of us accepted, but departed for home in peace.
One of the two negroes belonging to our crew, and whose name is Waiter
Murray, confessed to his being a runaway slave and belonging to a man in
Baltimore.
They were both detained at
Montgomery, but I have no further knowledge of them.
I would also state that we were under no military escort from the time we left Lake Ponchartrain until we departed from
Mobile for home.
The very kind treatment of
Capt. Meers on his boat to and from
Montgomery, will or ought never to be forgotten by our crew, he having shown himself not only a good man, but a gentleman, in every sense of the word.
’
