The Portland daily press., 1864-03-26

accept the rebel policy of "no quarterp Or
the occasion speak of, a black sergeant was
surrounded and called upon to surrender
his reply was "No quarterl l choose to die
In battle and not by the halter" and he killed
several of his assailants, before he fell him.
sell, covered with wounds.
have myself seen blacks placed in most
trying positions in battle, and once had them
In my own command, in front of an attacking
column, carrying timber for crossing a ditch
ana no veteran troops could behave better
and no position could be imagined where
more courage would be required. The rebels
nave boasted that they could put armed
Diacks to flight, simply with the flourish OF
the whip; but they have already learned that
the emancipated slave is man, and that in
this war, he is stimulated to brave deeds by
every noble consideration that can animate
the heart.
When left home more than two years ago,
there was good deal of speculation in regard
10 negro soldiers, but the prevailing sentiment
seemed to be that they would not be practi-
caily useful, and ought not to be permitted to
help us fight our battles. l rejoice now at the
change In public sentiment which l perceive
exists here. If we had commenced this war
with such public sentiment as we have now,
we should have triumphed long ago. The
administration, in the prosecution of this war,
has been constantly embarrassed by divisions
among our own people, and by perverse
public sentiment at the North in relation to
the whole question of slavery. A large party
| existed here whose sympathies were supposed
to be in favor of slavery and against emanci-
patton, and against any effort to preserve the
| Union and the Government. The rebels were
| greatly encouraged to perseverance by this
fact, while our administration was necessarily
embarrassed by it. Violent was the opposi-
ton to any measure looking at emancipation
and the enlistment of negro soldiers. But
publlc opinion has been greatly changed, until
at present, the numbers are few who oppose
the 1ormer measure or object to the latter.
In two short years, how wonderful the
change!
AT present the rebels are looking anxiously
| at movements in the North in relation to the
next Presidential election. Their hope is,
that some other man than Mr.. Lincoln may
be nominated and elected to the Presidency.
Inc election OF any other person they will re-
| gard as sure indication that the loyal North
| tires OF the war, and means to change its pol
| icy In relation to it. The leaders of the re-
bellion have now no other hope of success
than this, and their hope is that those may
come into power who will say to them, "Er-
ring sisters, depart in peacen The officers in
Libby Prison who had abundant opportunities
to see the feeling Of the rebels on this SUBJ
lect, were anxious that the loyal men of the
North should perceive the danger of lending
any encouragement to it. No man has a
greater respect than myself for Mr.. Chase
ana Mr.. Fremont, nor more entire con-
viction OF their loyalty-and their ability to
conduct the affairs of the country with honor
to themselves and to the advantage of the
nation-but for this time, l should regard the
nomination of any other person than Mr.
Lincoln, as public misfortune.
My conviction is, that the ensuing cam
palgn, II active, earnest and successful will
be the last Preparations are in progress to
this end, and | am confident that the rebel
lion cannot Withstand or survive the onset.
Its finances are utterly ruined; its credit en-
tirely exhausted, at home and abroad its
leaders despair OF success: the masses of the
people, weary and exhausted by war, desire
peace on any terms Its armies are unpaid and
underied, and the conscripts of which they
are entirely composed, have no heart in the
struggle, since in any event they have moth
ing 10 nope or to gain-whie they and their
families are the greatest sufferers by it. The
people everywhere in the South are suffering
extremely for want of every comfort and even
Tor the common necessaries OF lfe-and they
know that it is only through peace that they
can escape from their perils and distresses.
have often been asked at the South, by
civilians as well as officers of high rank, when
thought the war would end? My reply has
been NATURALIZATION one party or the other
shall be thoroughly exhausted: and that they
could judde as well as |, which party that
would probably be. The North has twenty
one millions OF people, the South has between
three and four millions of whites within the
rebel lines; the North has a great and con-
stantly increasing navy, the South has none
at all-fhe North has an nnhounded credit
the South has exhausted any that it ever had
the North is contending for its national ex-
istence, the South for the power to extend
and perpetuate human slayery-an enterprise
In which no nation sympathises with it
while all civilized peoples everywhere abhor
it. 1t is impossible that God can look with
favor upon such an undertaking.
The rations supplied by the rebels to the
Union officers at Richmond, are unfit for hu-
man food, and incapable of sustaining life in
healthy condition. They consist only of a
small quantity of bread made of corn meal,
unsifted and manufactured in the worst
manner, and about half gill of rice two or
three times week. Occasionally, a single
medium sized potatoe, or three or four small
ones are given to each man, and three or
four times, a small turnip has been given to
each. And this is all. For time, supplies
sent by friends to the officers were honestly
and promptly delivered to them, but r some
weeks before l left Richmond, this was not
done, and there were accumulated there more
than four thousand boxes sent to officers which
mad been detained from them. These boxes
are now Systematically plundered by the Off
cials OF their most valuable contents especially
OF clothing. Union officers are subjected to
the most humiliating treatment by the prison
officials.
The Sanitary Commission sent to my care
great quantities of comforts and luxuries for
the use of the officers. A small quantity of
these were delivered, but the greater part of
them was retained by the rebel officials for
their own use and for sale. In our purchases
we found many articles of these Sanitary
goods, stolen by the officials and sold to us at
enormous prices.
The rations furnished to the prvates, con-
sisted entirely Of corn bread of miserable
quality, and insufficient quantity, which pro-
duees arrangement in the digestive organs
and death. The soldiers are slowly wasting
away and die of sheer starvation and cold.
Two of them sent off from Richmond at the
same time with myself, died of exhaustion
before reaching Annapolis.
These poor creatures were reduced to such
state OF extreme suffering that many of
them were demented. They could not tell
the name OF their Colonel or the number of
their regiment. One of them had become
perfectly idiotic from long protracted suffer-
ing; many of them having slept all winter in
the open air, with no shelter, and without
overcoats or blankets. They were all supplied
at the commencement of the winter with
both, sent them by the u. S. government, but
they were compelled to sell them, in many in
stances, to procure the means of subsistence,
their rations not being sufficient to support
them in state of health