“The prison was very horrible on account of the filthy condition of it,” Corbett testified. “The swamp was so offensive and the stench from it was so great that I wondered how every man there was not dead from it…I have seen men lying in a state of utter destitution, not able to help themselves, lying in their own filth.”

Corbett testified that medicine for the sick was scarce and men were dying frequently inside the stockade. He also recalled going without any rations for two days, “which caused the death of a great many.” Corbett spoke of an escape attempt he made while out on a work detail. He told of a guard showing some m ercy on him: “[The guard] said ‘[Wirz] told me to make the dogs tear you, but I have been a prisoner myself and I would not like to do that.’”

 

When asked about the deadline, Corbett said he knew of many men who were shot by crossing it. “The horrors of that place were so great that one man went over the line and refused to leave until he was shot dead.” He continued, “I myself had thoughts of going over that deadline to be shot in preference to living there.” While Corbett was able to give detailed first-hand accounts of the conditions of the prison, the testimonies he gave of guards shooting prisoners and Wirz giving malicious orders were all hearsay. He stated that he never personally witnessed Wirz perpetrating violence on a prisoner.