The Placer herald., 1865-04-01
From the New York News.
The Ashes of Charleston.

sumo its fiercest bloodiest, deadIist phase. -
There is no longer any doubt as to the TEN.
per Of the South. In the ashes of the DOOM
ed city, the retiring footsteps of its proud
defenders traced their determination to con-
quer independence, whatever might be the
sacrifice o! comfort, property or life. Char
lesion was to the Carolinians what Moscow
was to the Russians. Far beyond its mate
rial value they reverenced it with their emo
tions Of pride and affection. L they had
obeyed their nclinatons, they would have
stood by the city to the last, spiIling their
IitebIood drop by drop in its defense But
the hour bad come for them TO sacrifice all
local prejudices, all pride, all passion, all
sentimenlality, all personal considerations to
the cause in which they bad embarked.--
They did not hesitate. The appeal was
made TO their moral courage, and it was
answered by a devotion like that which fired
the sacred city of the Muscovites and gave
to the invader blackened ruin for bis prize
and a desert for his land Of promise.
One journal in this city, the most fanati-
cal of its kind, has asserted it was cowardice
that induced the abandonment OF Charleston.
All men of intelligence know this to be false;
all just men will acknowledge it a SANDER,
and all who can appreciate true courage will
blush for shame that it was ever uttered. 1t
was the kind Of cowardice that impeIled the
Back Douglass to fling tie heart Of Bruce
into the center of the Saracen host, that for
its redemption his arm might be nerved to
victory. 1t was the kind Of cowardice that
caused Tell to aim his shaft at the head be
Il ~, -,
pronounce the doom Of death upon his son,
and the second Brutus TO slay his nearest
friend. Some such cowaldy instinct inducl
ed Fabius TO shun the enemy and Washing'
ton 10 follow bis example, even when the
failing spirits Of bis counlrym seemed TO
upbraid his cautious policy. 1t is, in fact,
the cowardice that tears to jeopardize a cause
by gratifying a personal vanity or ambition.
1t is moral courage; the loftiest and purest
that God has given to his creatures.
What man is there, who is not a fanatic
or simpeon, who believes that the North
ern people would burn their great cities and
destroy their property TO assist in subjuga-
ting the south. They would make every
needful sacrifice to resist invason; but for
conquest, only such as are forced uion them
hy the military power that conducts the war.
But at last the North begins to comprehend
the stern, unfatering and invincibIe purpose
of the foe. They understand at last the true
character of the war, and they know that it
means southern independence or extermina
ton.
Three years ago, or even a year ago, the
capture OF Charleston wonld have sci the
northern pulse in fever of excitement and
exuIalion. To-day, although the flags are
flying and cities and villages wear holiday
aspect, there is discernahle in the midst Of
strained enthusiasm and superficial rejoicing,
more reflective mood than has been appa
rent since the commencement Of hos,llties.
Our people have not lost all their sagacity
in the whirl OF excitement. They know that
.he southerns do not burn their cities and de-
stroy their property because of despair or
frenzl; or il it be madness there is a method
in it that is more dangerous to others than
themselves. The South has accepted great
humiliation as a prelude to great triumph.
The wonderful intellect that now controls
the military action of the confederacy has
prompted the sacrifice that even the North
beholds with wonder. Let US confess that
beneath the outward seeming of rejoicing,
there is bewilderment and foreboding, and
consciousness, that the fruit that we have SO
long reached for, and that at last, has fallen
of its own accord, into our hands, may turn
to ashes on our lips When American free
men 90 forth to battle with the flames Of
their homesleads lighting their way to victo
ry or death, dedicatlng their household gods
to destruction, and giving all their worldly
treasures as tribute to a political sentiment,
the word rebellion, as applied to them, loses
its significance, and history records them as
patriots, whether lhey'fa or win. Against
this indom,abIe will, this logged persevorl
arcc, this sublime devotion, it is in vain for
fleets and armies to contend The federal
administration may find in the ruins Of
Charleston the beginning of the sequel to
the late peace conference. They imposed
conditions that 20 free, brave people could
accept; and now as free brave people. the
sou,herners are concentrating their energies
for war to the utterance 1t has been said
that the rebellion was shell; the shell is
ours, and, while we hold the worthless frag-
menrs, its invulnerabe core, the great strong
heart, defes and battles us.
To one who truly conceves the meaning
of the change of policy that has been inau
gura,ed by the abandonment and destruction
OF Charleston, the shadow of coming battles
looks da, ker and more vast than ever before.
To one brain, we know how firm and true
to one intellect, we know how gifted with
martial attrlbutes-to one man, we know
how capable to plan, to strike. to thwar'; to
retrieve error or to take advantage of it, the
military fortunes of the South have been con-
hded. Free to act at his own voition, un-
trammeled by administrative interference.
trust ed, beloved and honored by soldier and
civilian, he has lost no time in using his die
tatorial power to remodel the whole system
of his warfare. The fall of Charleston is a
consequence less Of Shermans prowess than
| ot moss stra,arv Win oives a cas,,e looks