Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1864-09-08
An Exciting story of the War.
A GRAND NEGRO RESURRECTION sToPPgD BY
UNION OFFICERS.

RNVAg AA ans AN" btChI 1o"h
Tennessee:
One day as was sitting alone withGen.
Rosecrans, an aid handed him letter.
He opened it, ceased doing half a dozen
other things and became at once alb
sorbed in its contents. He re-read it
and handing it to me, he said "Read
that Tell me what you think of it,
/ read it. Its outside indicated that il
had come from 'over Jordan" and had
had 'a hard road to travel" but its in
side startled me. 1t was written in a
round, Impractical hand, and though
badly spelled, showed its author was
familiar with good Southern English.
Its date was May 18th, 1868, and it be-
gan thus;
General A plan has been adopted
for simultaneous movement or rising to
sever the rebel communications thro'-
out the whole South, which is now dis .
closed to some general in each military
department in the secesh states, in or
der that they may act in concert, and
thus insure US success.
The plan is for the blacks to
make concerted and simultaneous ris-
ing on the night of the lSt of August
next, over the whole states in rebellion.
To arm themselves with any and every
kind of weapon that may come to hand,
and commence operations by burning
all railroad and county bridges, tearing
up all railroad tracks and destroy
ing all telegraph wires-and when this
is done take to the woods, the swamps
or the mountains, whence they may
emerge, as occasion may offer, for pro-
visions or further depredations. No
blood is to be shed except in self defence.
"The corn will be in roasting ear about
the first of August and by foraging up
on the farms at night, we can subsist.-
Concerted movement at the time named
would be successful and the rebellion
be brought suddenly to an end"
The letter went on with some details
which / cannot repeat, and ended thus:
"The plan will be simultaneous over
the whole South, and yet few of all en-
gagged will know its whole extent
Please write Il and we may know you
are with us.
"Be assured General, that a copy of
| this has been sent to every military de-
partment in the rebel states, that the
| time Of the movement may thus be made
| general over the entire South"
l was re-reading the letter when the
general again said
"What do you think of it?"
at would end the rebellion. 1t taps
the great negro organization, of which |
speak in among the Pines, and coop
Grated with by our forces would certain
ly succeed, but-the South would run
with blood"
s:Innocent blood Women and chill
dren,"
sYes, women and children. If you
can let the blacks loose, they will rush
into carnage like horses into burning
barn. st Domingo will be multiplied
by million"
"But he says no blood is to be shed
except in self defense"
"He says so, and the leaders may
mean so, but they cannot restrain the
rabble. Every slave has some real or
fancied wrong, and he would take such
time to avenge it"
"Well, I must talk with Garfield.
Come; go with me"
We crossed the street to Garfield s
lodgings, and found him bolstered up in
bed, quite sick with a fever. The gen
eral sat down at the foot of his bed and
handed him the letter. Garfield read it
over carefully and theh, laying it down
said:
''It will never do, general. We don't
want to whip by such means. If the
slaves, of their own accord, rise and as
sert their original right to themselves
that will be their own affair but WI
can have no completely with them with
out outraging the moral sense of the civ
ilized world"
81 knew you'd say so but he speaks
of other department commanders-may
they not come into it 2"
eyes, they may, and that should b,
looked to. Send this letter To-, anC
let him head off the movement
1t was not thought prudent to intrus
the letter to the mails nor with the
railway, infested with guerrillas MOI
was it safe document to carry abou
the person. A short shrift and Ions
rope might have been the consequence,
of its being found on traveller. SO By
ripping open the top of my boot, stow
ed 1t snugly away in the lining, and tool
it north. On the 4th of June following
Garfield wrote me that he had lust hear
from the writer of the letter; and tha
five out of the nine department com
| manders had come into the project. an,
subsequently that another general ha,
also promised it his support
But | can say no more All the worlt
knows that the insurrection did no
take place. The outbreaks in Septem
Der among the blacks of Georgia and AL
: ALBANIA, were only parts of the plan, tn
, work of subordinate leaders, who, mad
dened at the miscarriagesof the gran,
q scheme, determined to carry out thei
own share Of the programme at all ha7
ards. 1t was a gigantic project, and tn
trains were all laid, the matches al
lighted, and two centuries of crue
! wrong were about to be avenged in
night, when white man said to ne
. gro, "You will slaughter friends an
|, enemies. You will wade knee deep
q innocent blood. God cannot be wit
: you in midnight massacre - A whit
man said that, and the uplifted tore
!. fell from the negro's hand, and sayin.
II will leave vengeance to God"
ont hoc oh 20 - 60 <<<;J L