Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1864-03-21
Shall WarBecome n1uIder,


It is horrible in the abslrac ct that men shall
be engaged In Wholesale human slaughter,
and especially when the comba,auts are al
once fellow Christians and fellow country.
men. Aud n civil war is peculiarly calcu-
lated to arouse passions and excite enmi-
ties tnat are not satiated by the inevitable
carnage of the battle field. Unless great
care is taken, II strife wherein ga mans foes
are those of his Uwn household" tends TO
become horrid round of reciprocal and
wholesale murderS.
From au early day, disposition to make
ours merciless war was evinced by the
Confederate leaders. The savage massacre
oi Col Ellsworth, by Jackson at AlexaudriA,
was justified and applauded all over the
rebel South. Very soon thereafter, when
our army had hardly yet achieved a foot.
hold on the sGd OF Virginia, Beauregard
issued proclamation. wherein he cbarged d
them With every possible feudish deed aud
purpose. II Is NOT possible that his charges
gould have 6een1 tine when-made; il is
pili1 thar BE tnes IS hhSe thsd, {5ejtSve,l
~hs+kSs- ts1as7 o,5iell 4ATfii fsel,Hthar da Y
TO this, the leading iouruAls aud oracles Of
the Contederacy have been urging the poll
cy and necessity Of raising the black Gag
and giving no quarter. Nothing less than
this will stop eulistiug nj the North, said
Beauregard, in IA letter written some eigh.
teen months ago. And be is but a fair ex-
emPlar and exponent Of his class and clan.
No one eau read the rebel journals and
mnnifestoes without realizing that they are
imbu|d with All intensely passionate vet
calculating maliguity, which says: "Let
us iuaugurate wholesale bulchery of
prisoners; the Yankees will be completed
to retaliate; aud this will sOou create a
general imPlacabls bate between North
and South, which will render reunion iu.
possible" Such is the calculation which
has impeiled to all the difficulties which
have arisen respecting the exchange OF
prisoners.
We take no credit to our side when we
soy that II has always sought aud striven
to have the struggle conducted in full cOu
tormity with the hunAuer laws of war; for
this is dictated to US by self interest. we
strive for re union, and of course wish the
SouthrOns to understand US better and es.
TEEN US more highly the Coufederates
Eight Tor eternal separation, and thus find
their account in making the Southern peo-
pie hate the fGukecs' as universally and
intensely as possible.
Two hundred Of the Rebel leaders, in
cludiug Ice, Beauregari, JJhustou, Bragg.
Kirby Smith, PembettOn, and nearly every
officer of note in their armies, were eduSa.
ted at the expense OF the Uaiou and 40.
qnired their knowledge cf the art OF war
in its service. Many of them deserted
that service expressly to prefer their
swords to Shareholders Several of them
bad not even the poor excuse of having
been Southern bora; Pembertou, Kirby
Smith, and sevGral more, owe their an.
poiutIDent to West Point to the Free States.
wherein they were born aud reared Ii
Ise eau treat and exchange these a. rrjsou
ers Of war, how shall The ReUeIs refuse
like treatment to auy whom we choose to
arm and they chHuce To capture?
We cannot afford to admit that any ri;i-
zen of the United States owes II paramount
allegiance 10 any other power; for 10 do
so is 10 admit onr ndvcrsAries' case. IL
they are to hang their c4pIives ns traitors
TO Virginia, Nar.h Carolina, rtc., we shall
have TO hang Ours n ! traitors TO the Union.
Be eternal infamy the portion OF Whosoev.
er constraiu US to do THE!
as to the blacks, no Que has yet pre.
tended that any rule is known to the Law
OF Nations or the laws war which justities
their treatment Otherwise than as whites
are treated. II they are captured while
serving as soldiers, they must be treated
90. exchanged precisely aS ether soldiers
arei IL when serving as spies. they may be
huug-not as negroes, but as spies. The
guerrilla who shoots a soldier from a
thicket, and, il caught, prcIeuds to be q
peaceful farmer or hunter, has forfeited
his life by the laws OF war; but his color
goes for nothing. He may be shot on sight,
though his skin be- whittier than the marble
of Carrara.
Our government has always been ready
to exchange all prisoners tuken in open,
honorable warfare, rank for rank, man for
man, no matter where born. 1t has ear
uestly sought to have such exchanges ms
rapid aud thorough as possible.
Up to this hour, the rebels have never
exchanged Que Of our black soldiers. We
know that several hundreds Of them have
been captured; We have proof that some
OF these were murdered by their captors
the rest, we hope, are still 5iu the hands o
the foe. Are they liable 10 be Slaughtered
whenever the Rreh-rebel shall maks III,
i nr l. J. - l. 4