American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1864-05-04
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How Shall We Retaliate?


How Shall We Retaliate?
1t appears to be agreed on all hands,
from the President down, that there ought
to be retaliation for the massacre at Fort
Pillow. The President has promised it,
and he keeps his promises well. In all
the newspapers and speeches in which the
demand for retaliation has been SO many
times repeated, we have seen nothing, how
ever, that indicates that single man has
vet settled i'll his own mind in what way
retaliation ought to be visited. President
Lincoln evidently felt this embarrassment
when he spoke so emphatically at Balti-
more, and we doubt whether he has yet
approached any nearer to solution of
the difficulty. A Chicagopapcr suggests
that it would be an easy thing to select
three or four hundred from the rebels con-
fined at Fort Douglas, and shoot them and
thus square the account. But 1T studi-
ously abstains from recommending that it
be done. The President suggested pret-
ty nearly the same thing, but instantly
pointed out the injustice of retaliating on
men who had no share in the outrage
The Government, however, seems to have
made provision, some time ago, for doing
this very thing, when it issued an order in
which it is declared: "Thc Government
of the United States will give the same
protection to all its soldiers, and if the en-
envy shall sell or enslaye any one because
of his color, the oflense shall be punished
by retaliation upon the enemy's prisoners
in our possession. 1t is therefore order
cd, that for every soldier of the United
States killed in violation of the laws OF
war, rebel soldier shall be executed. F"
This seems to cover the case complete
ly, for there can be no pretense that our
soldiers in Fort Pillow were not "killed in
violation of the laws of war" 1t would
appear, therefore, that the Government
has clear course, unless it shall now con
clude that its own order and policy cannot
or ought not to be enforced. That the
number of those "killed in violation of
the laws of war" is unexpectedly great,
does not alter the principle. 1t, on the
contrary, aggravates the offense.
But, does the country expect the Gov
ernment to live up to this order Do cool
men demand that it should 7? If they do
not, what do they propose? Although
President Lincoln is presumed to be equal
to the emergency we do not question that
he would be glad to know what men think
on the subject What says the pulpit
what says the statesman Are we to re-
serve the pains and penalties for Forests
barbarians, as we catch them, and IT we
do not catch them at all, as most likely we
will not-are we to permit the barbarity
to go unavenged? ? 1t is said that Grierson
has ''picked up" some of Forests men,
Has he hung them? If he has not, he
ought.
The n. Y. Post thinks that General
Washburne, who now commands in that
Department, should at once demand of the
rebels the surrender of the men engaged
in the massacre. To say nothing of the
difficulties in the way of making such a
demand-Forrest being far and getting
further away,-is it probable the men
would be given up, or that the demand
would prove anything but a senseless pro-
ceeding? The rebel commander might
say, perhaps, if you catch the men, as you
are at liberty to do, you may deal with
them as you like. There is little force in
the suggestion, and nothing in it that
promises the slightest approach to n sclu-
tion. But the very thing the Post depre-
catipgly suggests, as likely to ensue, after
all, seems to us the most complete, if not
the best. method for retaliation. 1t says !:
"There is danger, in the meantime, that
our soldiers, incensed at the cruelty and
bloodthirstiness of the enemy, will take
vengeance into their own hands, and re-
quite the murders of Fort Pillow, by spar
ing no lives hereafter in battle"
Whatever the Government does or fails
to do in the premises, to this complexion
it will come, and at no very remote period.
1t may shock the theology of some that it
should be so, but wherein is it worse than
would be the taking of, manforman, from
the rebel paisonersin our hands and shoot
inc them in cold blood The process
might not be so exact as to numbers, tho
as for that we can trustour soldiers to keep
the books.
The Boston Traveller, in discussing this
question. makes the distinction that ought
to be kept in view Had the Ft. Pill
low garrison been massacred after sur
rendering, then We might think Of march
ing out an equal number from one of our
prison camps, and shoot them before break