Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1864-03-26
From the New York Independent,
Shall War Become Murder.
ny HORACE GREELEY.

nv HOkACE
War is at best sad, terrible necessity
1t is horrible in the abstract that men
shall be engaged in Wholesale human slangh
ter, and especially when the combattants
al at once fellow christians and fellow conn.
trymen. And civil war is peculiarly cal
culated to arouse passions aud excite enmi
ties that are moi salia'ed by the inevitable
carnage of the battle field. Unless grea,
care is taken, strife wherein a mans foes
are those If his own household tends TO
become II horrid round of reciprocal and
wholesale murders
FROM an early day, disposition to make
ours n merciless war, was evinced by the
Confederate leaders. The savage massacre
of Col Ellsworth, by jackson at Aexan.
dria. wns justf~d aud applauded all over
the Rehel South. Very soon thereafter,
when our army had hardly yet achieved a
fnorhold on The soil of Virginia, Beanre
gard issued proclamation, wherein he
charged them with every possible iend>h
deed and purpose Il is not possible that
his charges could have been true when
made; it is plsn that he mean, to have
hem believed, whether true or false And
from that day 10 this. the leading journals
and orncIes of the Confederacy have been
urging the policy aud necessity of raising
The black flag and giving no quarter
Nothing less than this will stop enlising
NJ the North, said Beauregard, iu a letter
written some eighteen months ago. Aud
he is but fair exempar aud exponent of
his class and clan No one can read the
Rebel urnuls and manfestoes without real
ziug that they are imbued with an intense.
ly passionate yet calculating malignity,
which says: Let us inaugura'e wholesale
bu,chery Of prisoners; the Yankees will be
create u general implncable hate between
North aud South which will render reun.
ion Impossible Such is the calculation
which has impeled to all the difficulties
which have arisen respecting the exchange
of prisoners
We take no credit to our side when we
say thar i; has always sought and s'riVen
TO have the struggle conducted in foil con-
formity with the humaoer laws of war; for
this is dictaded 10 us by III interest. We
strive for reunion, and OF course wish the
Sonrhrons 10 understand us better and es
reem MS more highly; the ConfederateS
fight for eternal separation, and thus find
their account in making the Southern peo
ple hate The Yuukees as universally and in
en>ely as possible.
Two hundred of The Rebel leaders iDcu
ding Lee, Beauregard, Johnston. Bragg,
Kitby Smith, PembertoB, and nearly every
-. ,hais arYoias aHu
ted at the expense of the Union and &C
ouired their knowledge of The art of war
IN is service. Many Of them deserted
hat service expressly to prefer their swords
10 the Slavehalders' Rebellion Several Of
hem hnd ot even he poor excuse OF being
Southern born; Pember,on, Kirby Smith,
and several Others. owe thei. appointment
10 West Point to the Free States. wherein
they were born and reared. II zoe car
exchange these as prisoners OF War. How
shall the Rebels refuse like treatment 10
sny whom we chose to arm and they chance
10 capture!
We cannot afford to admit that any
citizen of the United States owes para
mount allegience tn any other power; for
to do so is 10 admit our adver'aries' case
Ii they are TO hang their captives as
traitors 10 Virginia. North Carolina etc..
we shall have 10 hang ours as traitors to
the Union. Be eternal infamy he portion
OF whosoever constrains Us to do thisl
A. TO blacks. Go one has yet pretended
that any rule is known TO the law Of ma
tions or the laws Of War which justlfes
their treatment otherwise than rs Whites
are treated. If they are captured while
serving as soldiers, they must be treated
aud exchanged precisely as other soldiers
are; II when serving as spies, they may be
hupg--not as negroes. but as spies. The
guerrilla who shoots soldier from thickes