The New York herald., 1865-03-15
The Concentration Before Richmond.
THE RRBKLs ANTICIPATING THE FAILURE or GRANTS
ANACONDA TACTICS.

THE REBELS ANTICIPATING THE ALLURE or GRANTS
ANACONDA TACTICS.
From the Richmond Examiner, March 1871
All thought Of peace is for tho presentto Gederal
Sherman expression" disposed Of and already
be most active ono While Sherman is stll struggling
northward though under considerable difncultios 70
sonabe TO conclude that the business Of our community
u nothing but until that present peril is disposed
Of And II now seoms likely to be 50 In manner
tolorably satisfactory. We cannot indulge the enemy
with any minute information concerning the evcnts
which passing In North and South Carolina but
telligence already published ocaly 10 enough show
that the Army OF Tennessee has felt the wholesome
fuence and strong mpulsion Of their fsvorite leader
lately roinstated LIN n command wide and, in III pEo.
the Yankee army operating before Richmond and Peters
burg; and General Grant who depended usual, upon
nothing but fold his hands and wait II is the story Of
last spring repeated In May Of last year. Butler had
Hunter in the west General Grant entsrtains no doubt
thai he would have entered Richmond In triumph about
nine months ago 20 now u he fails again TO take pos
himself for that operation he can still eey u because
Sherman failed 70 up because Sheridan failed 70
There are two cheering and encouraging features in
the situation u present One 10 the prompttuds and
lioeraty with which the fhrmu. c.s eor.ag for,eerd
DO assured that their contributions would really 20 10
the soldiers and not Be wasted and squandeTed by post
70 pour in the wealth Of their agricultural pro pro-
ducs with fun hnada Some ,yery noble examples
have been given Of this patriotic befAlity the memory
Of which shall not b lost in ths future Il wilIcoms
substantially In aid Of the regular operations Of the Com
mssary Department and make certain that a least the
army Of General Loo shall be starved out Of Virginia
Another good and wholesome feature that Of
general ocers tired Of that bullying system Of the
enemy, which the Confederate government has hitherto
weakly borne wh-of treating Confederate prison
srs q a crimnas and feons under the prstsnce o
their raidng maraude when the latter have been shot
down in the act OF committing ousrages unauthorized
isters II I wholesome lesson to the ruinsn Sherman %
upon this matter. Sherman has been encouraged by
@ and not oDS
but burning and destroying houses and outaging help
less people At his pleasure he seem: 70 have almost
show Of reasonthst our government had abandoned al
claim the rights Of begerents and all privileges IN
der the laws Of war and had accepted for Itself and for
long as possible the day OF lawful rstrbution for
our our crimes as but no more more pfesuSmins to sxer
would pretend to retalate belligerents, upon
the sheriff and the pose eomttafus General
Sherman writes to him, with his usual afectation Of
superiority, that he understands twenty OF his
'foragers' have been murdered" and that he has
dsposed OF in like manner" Hampton stcrnly replies
by reminding him that there is such thing the law OF
mand have habtuaily violated that law by Caring ths
dwellings Of those citizens whom they have robbed"-
that accordingly he General Hampton) has ordered
employed as Il they were wild beasts; and
that In the meantime he holds nfty six Of sher-
mans men as hostages for those Tnom SHERMAN had
dated February "a and the reply on the 27h. General
Sherman at that time said, ~ hold about thousand
prisoners captured In various ways, and can stand
long you" The prisoners captured in various ways
Of incnde such -c0mbatant Confederaes as
he has thought proper TO arrest and he thus signifies his
intention to murder those peaceful citizens dragged
from their own hearths in retaliation for the execution
Of his thievish orasers caught burning houses Thus
- that he apA 10
other Since the dato OF the letters, indeed. our
forces have captured about two thousand federal
means to make the balance even by picking up num-
ber Of old mon, or even women, and making them
Hampton's murders ITO the extent OF life for
life There would be nothing In this; for the
Yankee wyld in North Carolina hid the brutality 10 ar
rest ladies' and put them In irons, and notify General
Pickett that he would rsalIate upon them whatever
chose TO call his enlisted soldiers This Ii q most re-
voting and horrible kind OF contest TO enter upon; ;
but II General Sherman chooses 70 provoke II, there
is possibility OF eyading II with safety, and
General Hampton, at least is apparently not the
sake of humanity he must go through with the repulsvs
and hideous task and that the real barbarian he who
makes pretext Of humanity to avoid that duty and
leaves his soldiers and his fellow citizens TO be
executed rs felens with impunity
There also 10 believe that other commanding
officers In the Confederate service tired Of the old
system Of enduring every outrage 10 their "for the
sake Of humanity" and that we are about TO the
Yankees taught new lesson In tho art Of war whereof
tney ttanu very mum IN uceas CueImhu eNpres-
sion, III car stand Il M long you,n indicates
precisely the whole philosophy Of the theory and
practice Of retaliation II Of two bslngercnts COM
the system Of outrage unjustaed by the laws OF
aud the other s afraid 70 retaate stops short Of
full and sufficient retribuon then the gerent who
stand the longest must be left master Of the stua
tion at last.
From this better understanding Of the real dictates or
humanity, and from the excellent spirit shown by our
citizens throughout the land In sharing their produce
with those brave SOLDIER yho are their sole safeguard
both for property and for e good may be drawn
for the campaign on which we now enter.