Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1864-10-22
sHERHDAN's CAMPAIGN I'm
THE sHENANDO AH VALLEY.


A correspondent gives the following par
ticulars Of Sheridan's campaign
/ have received two accounts OF the man.
ner in which General Grants orders ITO make
Of the Valley a barren waste" was executed
One Of them is from an officer Of the army
Both accounts agree in all essential partieu.
lars aud think | may safely Gay that for
real devlish malignity aud cold-blooded brutal
ity, the execution OF this order surpasses all
the cruelty OF Batler, aud, in all save one par
ticular, equals even the Rtrocity Of Turchin
What do the readers Of the World think Of
the wanion burning Of tWentyseVen hundred
barns, filed with wheat, and more than eighty
mills for grinding wheat aud corn This was
done by soldiers Of The UnioR, with the
Union flag waving over them. But they did
more than that The flames from tho burn.
ing bsrns communicated, in many instances,
to dwelling bousea contiguous, and houses
aud barns alike, in few hours, with ali their
contents, we're reduced to mass Of smoud-
ering ruins. The kind hearted soldiers, in
some cases, wishing to extinguish the
flames Of these burning houses, but there
we're other barns to be fired, and they we're
hurried away. But ths worst remains to be
told. The burning Of these houses was acci.
dental, although the burning Of the contiguous
barns was intentional But there is one dis.
trict where three hundred aud eighty-sevsn
dwellings houses were burned with all their
eontents, by the express order of General
Sheridan. This work was done with dslibeF-
Atior aud ithout any other than the briefest
warning to the inmates All appeals for mercy
we're ia vain Tottsring age ond feeble nfan-
cy, delicate ladies, and women in that state
which would find pity even the eyes OF a saw.
age, were compelled to rush out Of their hou-
ses, aud then TO witness their homes consum'
ed before their eyes by devouring flames Re-
member that the barns aud grsnaries Of these
unfortunate people had been destroyed, and
all their prov sions carried away. They we're
now driven from their homes, their houses
burned over their heads, their furniture their
clothing, aud all that they had in the world
destroyed, and left TO perish in the cold incle-
ment nights What pen can describe the hor-
rors Of these scenss2 With 9 refinement Of
mslignity worthy of tho evil one himself, not
only the seed for next year, but even the
farming implements themselves we're burned
up
General Sheridan says he burned all the
houses within an srsa Of Eve miles, because
one Of his officers was murdered there. !
would like to see the murderer hung, and all OF
!
which at the worst was only one of the casual
tiles of war upon the hundreds of innocent
women and children, and to render homeless
many innocent families, is an act that is not
worthy ofa General, and that will do the
Union cause no good.
General Grant ordered that The whole Val
ley be rendered barren waste, 10 order that
it might never again become the avenue
through which rebel armies could march to
the North. The destruction has been accom-
plished but it will fail to effect that end -
When.the time comes for a rebel army to
march through the Valley to Winchester,
MartinsburR Harpsr's Ferry or Wlliamsport
whether this fall or next Summer, they will
do it, and they will find abundant supplies
All that General Grant has accomplished by
this order to lay waste the valley and to burn
all the barns and farming utensils therein, ia
to render homeless, and to doom to starvs
ton, thousands of people, chiefly women and
children, as innocent as infants Of all compile
ity with the rebellion
HOW Mr. LINCOLN PROPOSES TO RESTORE THE
UNION.
The peopls Of Virginia are not more united
or determined in their resolution to achieve
their independence, than the people of Geor
gia, or Alabama, or Mississippi, or Of any
other Southern State, IS VirginaiO to be brought
. back into the Union by war conducted in thai
mannsrH Is that the kind Of war which s lC
restore all the Southern States to the Union
! think these are pertinent questions, in view
Of General Sheridan's rscent operations
R@-General the Office seekers who get
nothing gets what is good for him, and exact
ly what he is good for.