The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1865-05-29
Monday Morning, May 30, 1850.
Gen. Sherman and the War Dsvsrtmsut, :

Gen. Sherman and the War Department.
That Gen. W n. Sherman Is b brave, fear
less aud efficient officer no American citizen
will or can dispute. That he is a vigorous
and sharp writer, and wields . pen often as
keen as his sword, will be admitted by ALL
That he is true friend of his country anq
sincere patriot none are disposed to question,
but like thousands in the worlds history who
= have gone before him, be has revealed q weak
side, aud shown that he is at least human and
not angelic. -2ssss .sG gelG .gna iaeg
I In his late negotiations with the rebel Gen.
Johnston, It's charitable to believe he was
p oyerreached.o He committed the Government
to measures that would have been equivalent
to abandoniDg. all the advantages which We
had acquired over the rebels, and would in ef
feet have cancelled the whole question Of
treason as simply a political mistake and mol
crime, and given to men whose hands were
red with the blood OF our sons and brothers,
an opportunity to rule over the true Union
men Of the South with q rod OF iron.
u By that arrangemeut all the arms and pub
lie property in possession Of the rebel armies
were to be deposited in the several State Ar
senais of the rebel States; the President Of
the United States was to recognize the several
rebel State Governments on their officers TAX
ing the oath Of allegiance. and where con-
) hicting State governments had sprung up, as
in Virginia, the question OF Legitimacy 70 be
settled by the Supreme Court; the people Of
all the rebel States were to be guaranteed
their old political rights and franchise. and
their right Of person and property-thus cut
ting Of confiscatlon and emancipation and
the people--leaders and ALTO not be dis
turbed SO long az they would keep the peace
and engage in no further acts of rebellion
This, in brief, is what Gen. Sherman agreed
to, snd, SO far as he could, bound his Govern
.ment to-. II would have been equivalent to
general amnesty, and would have left JefY. Da-
Wis and Breckenridge as free from arrest for
treason and from punishment as the mostloy-
al man IN the land, and thus afford precedent
tor all future traitors and ambitious dema-
gogues who might attempt to overthrow the
government, saying to them that, in case Of
failure they would lose nothing, and when sat
iafied OF the frnitIessness Of rebellion and q
lighting against the authority or the land, they
( Could return to their former status, protected
~ law, and free from all danger. ata II,
Mr.. Stanton, with that quick, keen percep-
tion for which heis remarkable, saw through
the whole web which had been artfuiiy woven
for the protection and beheit Of rebels, and
ina few clearly-stated, succinct sentences. he
exhibited Its Objectionable features so clearly
and In so strong light that no one has, vel
risked bis reputation by coming to the defense
OF sherman's great piece OF diplomacy. The
proceeding of Gen. Sherman was unanimous-
ly disapproved by the President, Cabinet, and
General Grant, and for the following among
other reasons, drawn up by Mr.. Stanton him.
self: ss8v4a ss8
First. TWAS an exercise 81 authority mot
vested in Gen. Sherman. eI.4
Second Il was practical Acknowledgement
Of the rebel Government
a2oIhird. II undertook to, re-establish rebel
State governments that had been overthrowr
ct the sacrifice Of many thousand loyal lives
and immense treasure, and placed arms and
munitions of war, In hands Of rebels at their
respective capitals, which might be used as
soon as the armies Of the United States were
Glsbandeds and used 10 conquer and subdue loyal
= ''ssF1s' 5ssi7ru- -.,-,-s----x-s x7,g ~
ity 10 their respective States thew would he
enabled to re- establish slavery. z
,lStrMs It. putin dispute the existence OF
loyal state governments, and the new State of
West Virginia, which had been recognized by
every department Of the United States Govern
ment ID SCI srs N q s 5 ~ -. - y =
Seventh. Itpractically abolished confiscation
laws, and relieved rebels Of every decree. who
nau slaughtered our. people, from all pains and
penalties for their crimes. AZ gA - ''77g,.s11
Esghtds Itgave terms that had been deliber-
ately repeatedly and solemnly rejected by Presi
. dent Lincoln and better terms than the rebels
ton. stta9t = sAraR es,At 2 77s'sss'sS2Ssg
'ssl Gen, shermsn promptly obeyed orders,-
apparently without murmur,-to terminate
his armisticel with Johnston, whereupon tue
latter surrendered at once on the same terms
that had been given Lee, and the friends Of
the gallant General hoped his great mistake
was to be allowed to sleep, and that he, as
true soldier, promptly obeying the orders Of
his superiors, would soon hear the last of ii.
This might have been, and Sherman the sol
dter would have suffered no depreciation OF
reputation in the minds of our loyal people,
But he has chosen different course, and seen
fit to assail Secretary Stanton with violence
and viruIence which reveal more OF ready
command Of language than of a submissive.
soldierslike fpirit. The following letter, just
published, indicates the presence inhis breast
OF spirit III at ease; rae,q
VI CAMP NEAR ALEXANDRIA. VA.
May 10, 1865,
II, Col. VS.. B6wmGn--Dsar Sir: am lust
arrived. All my army win be in to-day. i
have been lost to the world in the woods for
some time; yet on arriving At the settlements
hnd have made quite a stir among the stay
at-homes, and that the most sinister motives
nave been ascribed to me. / have made fire.
quent official reports of my official action In
all public matters, and all of them have been
carefully suppressed, whilst the most ridicu-
lous nonsense has been industriously spread
abroad through all the Observation-Disclosures Of
teIegraphs and newspapers. Well, you know
what Importance / attach to such matters,
and that l have been too long fighting with
real rebels with muskets in their hands to be
scared by mere n0n-c0mbatants. no matter
how high their civil rank or station. Il is
amusing to observe how brave and firm some
men become when all danger is past. i have
noticed on fields of battle that brave men
never mutilate the dead or insult the captur-
put towards aud iaR9ards ALWAYS do. II
cannot now recall the aet, but Shakespeare re-
cords how poor Falsta6, the prince Of towards
and wits, rising from seigned death. stabbed
again and again the dead Percy. and carried
us oead carcass aloft in triumph to prove his
NOW that the rebellion in our land Is dead
.IU aaany talstans appear to brandish the
evidence OF their valor and seek to apnronri-
bo x>rsI1 -. - I.