Arkansas true Democrat., 1862-07-10
For the True Democrat. Maj-Genl Sterling Price.
!" Fiat justitio. rant cglum ',

der the caption ot VI Heroes on Paper, repiete
 with fotsehoods and nsrepresenfations. 1 have
 been for III re than twelve months faithfully en-
 deavoring to my country in this the hour of
 her national peril and nothing short of my sacred duty to her cause, could induce me even for one
 moment to heathe the sword and take the pen as
 the most effective weapon of defence But as both
 are highly effective in the proper sphere, deem 1 the latter more fitting the present occasion It IS
 the duty of every patriot on the tented field, at home and abroad
 bat violence, fraud and usurpation,
 To snatca the spoil from the oppressor's jaws,
 And keep his country as he found it-FRhE
 There have always been a certain class of men
 in the South, fauA: :tndsrs, who have done more to l cripple and alienate our people than any
 ten generals in the federal service. This class de
 serve, and ought from this time forward to receive special and m irked attention. Judging from the temper and tone of the article headed :" Heroes on 1 Paper" the writer evidently is member oi this class 1 shall in the outset disclaim any thing
 personal, far the subject matter of this artice | Is concerned, as have never, to the best ot my 1 knowIed e, caughtseven glimpse of the dstin- l gusbed geneiaiIssino of the goose quill, who at | temp cd to amuse himself by perpetiating such an l extr tyagant joke upon the reading public But
 deemlng such an undignifed and malignant attack
 up one of the greatest an most successful mill
 tary chefains of our revolutionary strugge, 1 highly inmcal to the interest of my country and l her cause, and the writer an enemy to both. rely
 ing upon the patriotism and judgment of all intel 1 ligent public, no apologies will be made, but simply
 a plain statement of facts for which the writer will
 hold himself responsible at any time and under all
 circumstances. This distinguished generassimo
 o the goose quill after introducing several Con- ] iederate generals in the drama merely as bind,
 under pretence of general application, singles out 1 Gen. Price as fit subject upon which to vent lis
 spleen, and goes to indulge his ire as follows:
 "In his (Price's) command in Missouri, he has 1 Io korb har 4 1 ing together;a lot of unorganized men, who, by i his not exercising proper control over them. de- | stroyed much property and laid waste many places l belonging to friends well as to our enemies. 1 This first allegation is false in toto. Gen. Price 1 neor kept any unorganized men together, nor per
 init ed the destruction of any property, private or
 public, ercept what the necessities of his army re- | quired. or the emergencies of circumstances de-
 handed. Gen. Prices army was thoroughly or 1 ganized in every department, but It's necessities were more peculiar than that of any other branch | of the Confederate force. Thrown together by
 the force of crcums ances. without transportation, quarrermaster. For commissary stores, no resources
 at command, no trains 10 furnish supplies; it would 1 have been passing StTan9e, II necessity had not l drawn largely the resources of the country,
 where such force to be maintained. It was
 not until after Gen. Prices brilliant retreat from
 Lexington, that the Southern Confederacy furnish
 ed any ad eouate supplies to meet the dire necessi
 
 river and a large portion of the southern part of i the State in the 70 session Of the enemy, it
 but natural to expect that Gen. Prc:s army, stand
 ing picket on the b,r Ter of Arkansas for more than | eight months, and having thrice traversed the 1 soutb- western portion of the State, would leave ! some marks of their necessIt es behind. But even l more, a relentless enemy--a dcspoiler, not from
 neees sitv but from ,hOce--with all the resources 1 of q great government at his command, had tray
 ersed the same ground, and occupied the same s0lt
 no less thin three times. It IS st1nder and Hbet
 upon truth, as it will appear upon the impartial
 pages of history, for any man to charge G en prce
 with permitting any depreciation upon the rights of
 private property without at the same time, order l inc just and ample compensation to be al'o ed- 1 There may have been trespass upon private pro
 Tefty by pei sons not connected with the army, bu'
 for such let the responsibility rest where belongs. l The second allegation is, that '' Though Gen. 1 Pfice d-pa ed great marching powers-we have
 not been able tp find military man that could de-
 monstrate the fact, that his heavy marches were
 founded in wisdom, or that hs battles res iited Tn i any partcular advantage to Our cause " Gen.
 Price certainly Is not res oRslbie for the iaGtAus
 of our gener lissno, his 'cIn of brains to com prehend a self evident proposition. His "oeer
 lpeaniag 20 mity,'' have been taxed to its it
 most limits to set up his ad Lment, in opposition to
 the unanimous verdict of the world, watching with
 breathless expedition, the course ot events. E en
 the enemy has accorded to Gen. Price the laurel Of
 more saccesses'' with less than any Con 1 federate general in the field. But record speaks | for itself. Where did he make a march not | founded in wisdpml Was there no wisdom in his 1 heavy m ,rches from Lexington to the b rder of l the State for the purpose of elfoient Canzation
 and drill before the bloody battle c Oak Hills? 1 Was there no wisdom in the heavy mlrChes to ! Lexington to reduce that ace tO secure arms, commssary and quartermaster stores, TOT which hs 1 army was actually suffer ng2 Wa there no wis l frOn1 I pcrtn4 .Q
 thousand men, in the presence of sO va~, an army, 1 of seventy five thousand men, of the most
 magnificent armt oi mode m times, threaten ng to ] cut 0 I his communication with the south and ' initiate bis gallant little force! Can it be pnssi- be that our distinguished gener ii~simo of fhe
 goo quill is SO SUI remedy okiorant as not to know ! that the journals Of the enemy, and even of Eu-
 rope, pronounced that retreat oi the most bril 1 llaut upon recod1 Is he so inercusabtl ignorant l as not to know, hat one of the 9ran'a ch4rycs
 against Gen. Fremont, which resulted in his being reheved of h command in the western departmeit {,
 was that Grn. Price aoth meaore handfat of Mis-
 souyicns escaped the cutches of his army? ! But again--was there no wisdom in Gen. Prce's retreat from Springfield, after having kept an enoT ] nous army at bay for months, when about 10 be | overwhe med by numerical numbers, to form l junction with other forces2 Is generalissimo qa rant that the battle of Elk Horn in 1t final | suits demonstrate beyond the shadow of doubt, the dire necessity of such upon the part of Gen. Price, dictated by motives of the most unqucs tonebLe wisdom and prudence, which no man, much
 less military man, could for one moment question: Does he doubt that there waswsdom in Gen. Prices heavy marches'' from the battle field of Elk Horn2 If so, is he aware of the fact that in q council of previously held, that the officers of Gen. McCulloch's and Mcintosh commands, sta ted that their troops were so demoratized by the
 fall of their gallant leaders, that they could not be relied to renew tn. attack? But certainly there
 was wisdom in Gen. Prices '' heavy marches" from the this field of carnage and death2 No in {: deed. It would have been mark of profound 7 wisdom to have remained, marched into the jaws of death and sacrificed the gallant few that were left? Candtdty-woud airs man with all these facts staring him in the face make himself so su- premely ridiculous, to intimate, that Gen. Prices '' heary marches" were Eot founded in wisdom? Certainly not. If the writer has adopted the theory that " ignorance is btss' he ought never to attempt to tascinate the public by the scintla
 tions ot his genius to enlg ghten them III regard to the ca abilities of distinguished men.
 But again-it is alleged that |" lis (Gen. Priee's) battes resulted ia any particular adcantage 10 our cquse.'' What a wonderful discovery the VT
 ter has made. Truly he may exc aim: Euro ka." l" Eureka!" The world was shrouded in darkness, and nerer would have been wiser, but for the sci
 tilations of his genus. It must be extremely mortifying to Gen. Price and his whole army, to learn that after twelve months of harIships, dur ing which time they foug seven battles and come off victorious in six, that according to the best f,r,hy .f thno fA lt-sitp .A fhav h,va