Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1863-09-04
8g 0eleqtaph..
-Afternoon Report.
Gen. Gilmore's Reply in Answer
to Beauregard's Communication.

Gen. Gilmore's Reply in Answer
to Beauregard's Communication.
WAsHN0ToN, September 2-The follow
ing is Gen. Gilmore's reply in brief, a
notice of which has been published in the
rebel papers, to Gen. Beauregard's COM
municatiou, already printed at length:
Department of the South, Headquarters IN
the Field, Morris Island, Saturday, August
%, 8 P. M.-SIR: have the honor to ac-
knowledge the receipt of your eOmmuni-
cation OF this date, complaining that our
batteries had opened upon the city of
Charleston and thrown a number of heavy
rife shells into the city, the inhabitants of
which, of course, were asleep and unaware
of my letter to you demanding the surFen-
der of Fort Sumter and Morris Island, and
threatening in default thereof to open fire
upon Charleston, was delivered near Fort
Wagner at l1:l5 A. NJ, of the 21st inst,
and should have reached your headquar-
tiers in time to have permitted your reply
TO reach me within the limited space named,
four hours. The fact that you were absent
from headquarters at the time of its arrival
may be regarded as an unfortunate cir
cumstance for the city of Charleston, but
it is one for which l clearly am n0t're-
sponsible. This letter bore date at my
headquarters, aud was officially delivered
by an officer of my staff. The inadVertant
neglect of my signature doubtless affords
grounds for special pleading, but it is not
the argument of a commander sOlicitous
only for the safety of sleeping women and
children and unarmed men.
Your threats of retaliation for acts of
mine which yOu do not allege to be in viO-
Iation of the usages Of civilized warfare,
except as regards TO the length of time al
10vua1 ao nnfiRa nf nv iUtaOfi0n ara na9a.
ed without comment. will however call
your attention to the first established
princi Pile that the commander of place
attacked, yet not invested, having his ave-
nues of escape open and practicable, has
no right to q notice of an intention of bonn
bardment other than that which is given
by the threatening attitude of his adver-
sary. Even had not this letter been written,
the city of Charleston has had, according
to your own computation, forty days mo-
tice of her danger. During that time my
attack upon her defences has steadily pro-
crossed, The ultimate object of that at
tack has at no time been doubtful. If
under the circumstance the life of a single
non-combatant is exposed to peril by the
bombardment of the city, the responsible
ty rests with those who have first failed to
remove the non-combatants or to secure
the safety of the city after having control
of all its approaches for period of nearly
two years and half in the presence Of q
threatening force, and who afterwards re-
fused to accept the terms upon which the
bombardmentmight have been postponed.
From various sources official aud other.
mise, l have been led to believe that most
of the women and children of Charleston,
were long since removed from that city,
but upon your assurance that the city is
still full Of them, shall suspend the bonn
bardment until IL o'clock Tomorrow even
lag, thus giving You two days from this
time to have received my communication
of the 2lst instant.
Very respectfully, your ob't. ser'vt.
[Signed.l Q. A. GILMORE,
Brigadier General Commanding.
To Gen BEAURBGARD, Commanding Con-
federate forces.
CGGrlestOu, S. c., August sO.-The Span
ish and British Consuls respectfully adj
dressed Gen. Gilmore on behalf of the SUBJ
jects of their countries in Charleston, and
he cheerfully suspended the bonn bardment
for twenty-four hours, to give them time to
leave the city, nothing being farther from
his wish than 70 endauger their lives and
property.