The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1864-03-10
MILITARY NECESSITY.
Holding Fort Goodrich Under Diffi.
cnltica.

e. Editors Gate Again | feel like tall
Ing to the good people who take the G AT
tbs no longer contraband to tell you tn,
: General Sherman is on the rampage i
Mississippi. and all who know the ma
10 know that everything has TO give way /
military necessity with him. Some tim
previous TO the cath ult. he came dow
> the river, took ''plate of hasty SOUP
with Gen. Mcpherson at vicksburr. an
returned to Memphis. But the fat ha,
! gone forth. and accordingly all the post
along the river below White river wer,
evacuated and to show you in some fain
manner the amount of distress and con
sternation produced by this system o.
evacuation, | will give you the best de-
scrption | can Of things as they were and
are at this place.
On the cath day of January General
Hawkins-pcace to his memory, for be
never broke the peace of rebel babe in
his life. so far as l know-began to pull
up stakes. and By Thursday, the 2sth the
last company had evacuated the Fort
Ia the meantime the poor people, who not
one year ago were taken from their homes.
tossed homeless from landing to landing.
forced to remain for weeks, and in some
cases months. in the open air without any
covering except such as God Almighty
vouchsafed TO them contracting disease
until two-6fths of their number were
carried off by death during the summer,
and many more are cripples for life from
rheumatic complaints resulting from ex-
posure. Yet they murmured not, as
body, though occasionally one might be
heard to "murmur for the flesh pots of
Egypt" All this suffering had been
borne with patience, because at the end
of this gauntlet of misery was inscribed,
to their vivid imaginations, PERFECT LIB
ERTr Aud Gods inspiration must have
buoyed their souls up in order to give the |
lie to the croaking syoophants, both North
and South, who were constantly repeating
that "the negro did not desire liberty,
was not capable of enjoying or apprecia-
ting it," for | fear few whites would have
come out of this ordeal as well as they
did
But their sufferings did not suffice an
other purifying trial must be forced upon
them, by the abandonment Of them, to
whom the Governments protection had
been pledged, to care for themselves, and
that in the presence, as it were, of Guam
trell's cut-throat gang, who have ever
since their frs: arrival in our rear, been
permitted by our forces to prowl where
they pleased. numbering, robbing, burn
ing and destroying, without even a scout
to look after them. For ten DAYS thou
sands of the poor unfortunate freedmens
wives, children and infrm relatives. we're
crowded together in little fort. Not
ration had been left by the Government
officials, and there were at least a hum
ired cases of smallpox 10 differen, stages
'f the disease, and not grain of medi-
cine. DIR. Littlefeld, of whom Mr.. Yeat-
nan speaks SO highly in his report, even
eft his lnGrmary farm without ration 6
or the poor sick negroes; and it was re-
ported that some of the abandoned sick /
actually died on their beds where he had
eft them to languish without any aid I
whatever. Whether this is all true or
lot, l cannot say; but of one thing | am
'ertain, and that is that this whole bust
less has been done with the least possible a
are for consequences to the true Union a
'eople in the neighborhood, and with un- :
nitigated cruelty to the poor, con6ding a
Viyes, daughters. and other dependent
elatives of the black soldier. who was C
old when he enlisted that it was to pro- t
ect his own family. r
The lessees, more fortunate than the
egroes, took "the first boat" and follow
ng the example set by the Government y
eft them to fare as they might. There Z
7as, however, one exception. One les
ee, who after all hope Of remaining here :
0 make crop had fled, moved his pro-
isions into the fort, organized a guard
ut Of the men that were at hand. BARI =
AIDED, rationed the needy, and did all 10
is power to regulate. matters, bat you :
ad IS well attempt to regulate pandemo-
lum as for one man to control and bring
nder regulations 5000 ignorant negroes.
'llth began at once to eviron the fort. Q,
he open air is not pleasant bedroom, !
ven in Louisiana. in January, and in ad- t
ltion to the small i-pox, many other forms 8
f disease began to appear, and at this =,
me there is not one in hundred Of those :, \
emaining in the Fort that are epioyipp 10