The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-09-09
A Talk with Gen. Sherman.

One of the Massachusetts State agents
sent to Georgia to obtain colored recruits,
thus describes recent interview with Gen.
SHERMAN:
l told the General my Grand he had
passed me and was inside the tent, and
was halt turned round when I spoke to
him. He is square built man of medium
height, with head of average size, lank
face, Roman nose, good but not command
ing forehead, and an eye like a hawk
dark gray in color, quick glancing, restless,
showing fire there, but indicating also an
irritable temper and unsympathetic ma
ture. That is the first impression the
leader of our armies of the West made on
me.
He was dressed in plain blue pants and
vest; his hat and coat both were off he
had one boot and one slipper on also
an unbleached linen shirt and blue wooden
socks.
His eye showed that he was not in one
of his best humOrs, as he broke the 81
lence with
"Milledgeville's good place. Savan-
nah's another"
he spoke few more sharp shooting
sentences Of that sort, when explained
the object of my visit to him. He came
out and sat down in chair in the piazza,
and asked me to be seated.
he said that he had repeatedly written
to the Secretary of War that there were
no able-bodied men in this country who
were not either in this army or the other;
that every niger in the department was
needed for commissary and quartermaster
work, and for building forts, or as pio-
neers; he would agree, he said, to eat ev-
cry niger l could recruit without salt;
when there were enough recruiting agents
down here be would organize them into
regiment-he had no doubt they were
loyal men-and put them in the front to
fight the enemy. The rebels had swept
every able-bodied niger before them, and
taken them down into the corn-growing
regions of Georgia. He did not believe
they would be found in Atlanta.
When asked whether he would forbid
the agents to operate within q certain dis.
lance from the front, he replied that he
had nothing to say in the matter. No! l
was here by higher Authority than his
that of Congress; but he seemed -decid-
edly to believe Che never believed any,
thing otherwise than decidedly that all
the agents would get their labor for their
pains, and only eat his rations, which he
does not like.
He got over his sharpshOoter style be-
fore we finished, for / am not apt to be
overawed by the powers that be, and he
saw it clear enough, and adopted a cores
ponding style.
This was just about this hour @ P. ny,
exactly seven days ago last Saturday. He
took up Louisville Journal and read it.
Bending forward in his low chair, rest
ing bis right hand on his knee, nervously
manipulating with his forefnger and thumb
his chin and moustache (both like his hair,
reddish and short-cropped), and with the
latter end of cigar in his mouth, he read
as if hastily criticising, but rose every few
minutes and went out, listening anxiously
toward the extreme right of the army for
the sound of musketry. Cannonading,
sharpshooting and laundering were going
on simultaneously.
he called out an officer to know wheth-
er ne thought the sound from that quar-
ter was mesketry or low thunder
1t was thunder. There ought to have
been musketry heard; for already for two
days the generals to the right had had Or
ders to move and seize the railroad: but
they were 91arreling about the precedence
instead, while the rebels were building RE
tle pits and breastw0rks which would cost
US hundreds of lives to carry. I knew
what the Generals anxious listening with
his hand at his ear meant, and aid not
wonder that he was somewhat croes.
left after staying about half an hour.