Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1863-02-10

fal masonic temple, which was al honor to on
/ fraternity and an ornament to the city. The
private residences of DR.. Smith, Major Watt
/ Mr.. Vaughn, Mr. Crump, Mrs. J. D. Martin snG
! Mr.. Roberts, were burned, and many Others
were fred, but discovered in time to save them
All the fine buildings at the depot including ths
armory, were destroyed the female institute
was burned, and the Franklin female college
was set on FIRE three times, but only partially
burned machine shops and mills were alsU
/ destroyed. The churches were wantonly desc
Grated, the altars and pews cut up and used az
/ fuel the doors and windows liter backed into
pieces, aud the organ shiYered into atoms. The
few busiaess houses left stsnding were de-
molished in such a manner as to render them
uAtenansable.
One of the officers remarked to ne that the
country through which their army passed on
their retreat, for scope of twenty-five miles IN
width, was only wilderness waste; that they
had made "a clean sweep" Of everything neces-
sary to support life; they left not single horse
or mule and killed OF carried off the cattle of
every description they took sll the cOrn fod-
der and grain, destroyed the smiths and car
penters tools, carried off or burned the carriages,
wagons and vehicles of every description and,
after leaving plantations bare and desOlate,
either persuaded or forced the negroes to 60
with them. Nearly al the houses from the Tai
lshatchie to LsGTange were left hssp Of
smouldering ruins.
IT the result Of Gen. Van Dorn's raid only
half exceeded their estimate of the disaster
their army sustained from It's results, it would
have been a small sacrifice for SO much good
obtained if they had entirely destroyed the
country through which they passed. They ad-
nit that they had enough stores destroyed to
supply an army of one hundred thousand men
for six months, and which cost their govern
ment ten millions of dollars their eampsign
defeated their army demorslized and compelled
to make a rapid retreat to prevent starvation
and all this accomplished by few cavalry half
mounted and badly armed with old shotguns,
with scarcely the loss of a man. They alleged
that it was enough to exasperate the officers and
disorganizs their men, and that it would have
been better for them to have fought battle
and lost half their men than to have sustained
such an aglori0us defeat Hence their revenge
upen unai.- old men and defsnseless women
and children. As the result obtained is of so
much importance, and has rid us of the hated
presenes Of their vsndal boards for the present,
no true Southern man regrets the sacrifice. Il
has been productive of good in one respect:
such men as took tie oath, thinking 10 protect
their interest, found that It was no protection
for they shared the same fate as those who
did not take it, and by SO doing lost the respect
Of their enemies; for the provost marshal who
administered the oath to several hundred, re-
marked that be had more confidence IN the in
tegrity of a man who sternly refused the oath
than in one who willingly took it.
Do not suppose that l have too highly colsred
the description of our suffsrngs for l have
rather failed to fully represent it, for no one can
form = correct idea Of it save the unfortunate
ones who realized its horrors. HIS.