Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1865-06-17
Cen. .,sherman,s Farewell order.

Gen. ssheFman's Farewell order.
SPECIAL. B1E1sp ORDERS no. rs.
HrADo'zs, M1DD1z DIv{l ION or THE Miss,
wAsHNo16x, Nay So 1865
The General Commanding announces
no theNArmies of the Tennessee and
oeoreia that the time has come for us
top0rt Our work is done and armed
lenemies no longer defy us. Some Of
iyou viii be retained in service until
fnrther orders. And now we are abont
to separate, to ningle with the civil
world. it becomes pleasing duty to re-
lcaH to mind The situation of national At.
fairs when, but little more than yeaf
ago, we were gathered about the twinipg
cliffs of Lockout Mountain, and all the
future was wrapped in doubt and un-
certainty. Three armies had come to-
tgether from distant fields with separate
histories, bound by one eau e-the union
of our country and the perpetnatlon OF
the government of our institutions. -
There is no need to recall to your memo
ries, uTunnell Hill, with ats Rocky. Face
Mountain, and Buzzard Roost Gap, with
\ the ,igE forts of Dalton sbehind.s We
were IN earnest, and paused not for
danger, but dashed through Snake Creek
Gap, and fell on Ressacca, then to the
Etowah, to Dallas, sKennesaw and the
heat of summer found us on the banks
oftheo Chattalloochee, far. from home
and dependent on a single road for sup
plies Again We were not to. be held
back by any obstacle, and crossed over
and fought four heavy battles for the
possession of the citadel of Atlanta.
/ That was the crisis of our history. A
doubt still clouded our future ;dbat we
solved the problem, and destroyed At
flanta, struck boldly across the State of
Georgia, secured all the main arteries
offlife to our enemy, and Christmas
found us at Savannah. Waiting there
only long enough to fill our wagons, we
again began a march, which, for peril,
labor ard results, awill compare with
any ever made with an organized, army.
THE foodsof the Savannah, the swamps
of the Combahee and Edisto, the high
hills and rocks OF, the. Santec, the flat
quagmires of the Pedee aud Cape Fear
rivers, were. all passed in midwinter,
with its floods and rains, IN the face of
an accommodating eremy and after the
battles of Averysboro and gBentonville
we once more came out Of the wider
mess to meet our friends at Goldsboro.
Even then, We paused only long enough
to get new clothing, to reload our wag-
ons, Ind again pushed on to Raleigh, and
beyond, until we met our enemy, suing
for peace instead of war, and offering
to submit to the injured laws of his and
our country.
AS long as that enemy was defiant,
nor mountains, nor rivers, nor swamps,
nor hunger, nor cold had checked us;
but when he who had fought us hard
and persistently offered submission,
your general thought it wrong toopursue
him further, and negotiations followed
which resulted, as you all know, in his
surrender How far the operations of
the army have contributed to the over
throw of the confederacy, to the peace,
which now dawns on us, must be. judg.
ed by others, not by MS. But that you
have done all that men could do has
been admitted by those in authority;
aud we have right tie Join In. the uni
versal Joy that fills our land because the
war is over and our government stands
indicated before the world by the joint
action of the volunteer armies of the
United States 1zustf9 i3lfts..sw
81 To such as remain In the military SER
vice, your General need only. remind
you that successes in the past are due to
hard work and discipline, and that the
same work and discipline are equally
important in the future. To such as go
home, he will only say, that our favored
country is SO grand, so extensive, so di-
yersifed in climate, soil and produc-
tions, that every man may surely find a
home and occupation suited to his
tastes and none Should yield to the
natural impotence sure to result from
our past life of excitement and adven-
ture. You will be invited to seek new
adventures abroad; but do not yield to
the temptation, for it will lead only to
death and disappointment. .asut
Your General now bids you all fare
we'll, with the full belief that, as in war
you have been good soldiers, so in peace
you will make good citizens: and if, un-
fortunately, new war should arise in our
country, Sherman's army viii be the
first to buckle on the old armor and
come forth to defend and maintain the
government of !, our inheritance and
choice. esoT
By order of ,,.;, w, J.. SHERMAN
Major General.
I i. M. DAYTON, ASST Adj. Gen.