the amnesty and the equally nameless guilt of the future averted by the parole, allowing a censorious world to impute any wrong it may please as being covered by the cloaks of amnesty and parole and to which imputation my acceptance of them would give quasi admission and certainly would leave upon me the color of guilt and without power or opportunity to vindicate myself against such imputation. The spies and they whose liberation is incompatible with public safety may probably have opportunity for perfect self-vindication while those favored with amnesty and parole will stand forever shaded by those clouds. It would seem to be an exquisite aggravation of the original wrong which the order of release admits and purports to repair or remedy. The wrong done was illegal incacrceration without charge. The remedy now proposed is to confess that wrong was done, and to receive amnesty therefor to acknowledge intention of future wrong and then give a prole to forego such intention. The condition in a Northern State of a man accepting amnesty and giving parole would be a confession of guilt bearing in its train intoleerable consequences.

For these reasons and many others which naturally present themselves and would be stated if necessary, the urdersigned trusts that the Secretary of War will find it consistent with his duty to reinstate the undersigne dat home to his original position before arrest. If there be any charge of crime against me I am ready to meet it. If there be none I trust the Secretary will see that to impose conditions on me as the price of my liberation is to aggravate the wrong which will then stand confessed. It might be simple justice alike to the Administration as to prisoners to have the ifnroemrs who mislead the Departments exposed to view and to just punishment.

I have the honor to be, your obedient servant,

W. H. WINDER.

FORT WARREN, March 15, 1862.

Honorable SIMON CAMERON.

SIR: It was by order from you through a telegraphic dispatch that I was taken from Philadelphia to Fort Lafayette and placed in confinement there from whence I was transferred to this fort in which I am confined, still ignorant of the cause which induced you to issue that order.

The object of my writing this letter is to obtain from you information at whose instance and upon what representations you were influenced to the issue of the order for my confinement in Lafayette. I believe I do not err in supposing the order could not have been of your own motion but was upon statement of party or pa not and whom you supposed would not willingly mislead you. And I trust that my reliance on your readiness to afford me the information will not prove delusive. I feel myself entitled to this consideration at your hands and I am unwilling to doubt your inclination to accord it to me.

I am, sir, very truly, your obedient servant,

W. H. WINDER.

WASHINGTON, March 21, 1862.

Major General JOHN A. DIX, U. S. Army.

GENERAL: I beg very respectfully to submit to the Commission charged with thec subject the inclosed statement* by my borther, William

---------------

*See Winder to Secretary of War, February 22, 1862.

---------------