The national Republican., 1862-08-14
Thursday, August II, 1852.
TURCHlN's CAsE-UNITED
STATES OFFICERB SUFFER- NE.
GROEs To BE HANGED FOR THEIR


aENEaAL TURCHlN's CAsE-UNITED
STATES OFFICERs SUFFER- NE
GROEs TO BE HANGED FOR THEIR
LOYALTY.
The cases multiply, Of the most horrible out
RACES perpetrated by officers in the United
States army upon loyal black men at the South,
the effect of these outrages, and in respect to
many Of these officers, the intent Of them, being |
TO aid and abet the rebellion.
We have referred already, and more than
once. to the conduct OF Gen. Williams, who |
commanded our forces opeiating against Vicks. |
burg, 10 relation to the negroes who had de-
serted rebel masters, come into our service,
and worked Tor US in digging the attempted
"cut off," which was to give new channel 10
the Mississippi. After he ceased to need their
labor, he abandoned the most Of them to the
alternative OF starvation, or OF returning 10
their masters and taking their chance of tor
t,ire or death. Some OF them he himself actn-
ally delivered up to the enemy.
We now have in the speech OF Gen. Turchn,
before the court martial ordered upon him by
Gen. Buell., the statement that several negroes,
who had given our army valuable information,
and there suffered death as The REGARD Of hsir
friendly offices to US They were repelled from
our lines, we suppose, by " Order No. 81 which
has controlled all our forces In the valley Of
the Mississippi. That order has not yet been
publicly repealed or modified, and we have no
doubt is enforced still by many officers. It
has, TO be sure, been rescinded by an act Of Con.
gress. but until the President, who is the Com.
mander in Chief, notifies that act 10 the army
by some order il will, in many instances. moi
b. observed.
Gen. Tnrchin was tried Tor alleged wrongs
oione 10 r,b,ts. What really made him obnox-
ious TO Gen. Buell., we imsgine, WAS his unwil.
IingnasS TO cooperate in the pro.slavery policy
OF that commander
Aportion Of General Turchin's speech, which
we snbjoin, shows plainly enough where the
shoe pinches:
81 was charged" said he, with taking and
keeping at my quarters q mulatto boy named
Joe, belonging to Mr.. Nasser, u resident Of
Athens. | proved by the witnsss that having
used him in scouting expeditions, and for OBJ.
tanning valuable information about the enemy,
gave him, in accordance with the orders Of
General Mitchell, protection inside OF our lines
General Mitche's policy with regard to negroes
sanctioned, probably, by higher authority,
consisted in using them for military purposes,
and giving them protection for valuable ser.
vicea. | consider this eminently proper. II
we had war with England, and sent an expedi
tion to attack that country, We would land oul
torcee in ireland, because we know that the
people Of Ireland hate their oppressors--
English-and would readily join us. For
similar reason, Garibaldi. before he moved OF
Naples, invaded Sicily. We invade the South
ern States where, with few exceptions. the whit,
population is against us, and from them We cal
get no information concerning the enemy. II
cur hearts, We know that our only friends her,
are the negroes; but, imbued with prejudices
we are ashamed manfully to acknowledge II
As matter Of necessity, we use negroes TO
our purposes they communicating with us
readily about their masters, and about the
movements OF the enemy; and, after thus put
the white population of the South, we basel
and meanly surrender them to their enemies.
"Our policy vacillates. One general gives
them temporary protection, promising then
freedom; another, superseding the first, driveI
them out of the lines, leaving them to the mercy
Of their owners, who, looking upon them a
their mortal enemies, hang them the fret con
venieut opportunity. When l retrested from
Tuscumbia ] heard, and have conclusive
reason to believe it true, that there were fou
or tive negroes hung on the following day, be.
cause they bad given US some very valuabl,
information. Humanity, for permitting thi
great wrong, cries out against us.
81 have everywhere in Missouri, in Ken
lucky, in Tennessee, and in Alabama. beer
hated by secessionists, and consider 1t my bes
recommendation as u loyal officer; but def.
any one to find single Union man, who ha
been in connection with me, that will make
complaint against me.
THE more lenient we are with secessionsu
the more insolent they become; and If we d
not prosecute this war with vigor, using all th
means that we can bring to bear against tn
enemy including the emancipation Of slave
the ruin Of this country Is inevitable"