Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1865-03-15
Z obedient sorv't,
W. I. SHERMAN,
Major General U. s. A.
HEADQUARTERS IN THE FIELD,
February 81.

feOruafy II,
Major General W. T. Sherman, q. S. A:
GENERAL:-Your communication of the
24th instant reached me to day. In it you
state that it has been officially reported that
your ioraging parties were murdered after
capture, and you go on to say that you had
ordered similar number Of prisoners in your
hands to be disposed of in like manuer-that
is to say, you have ordered a number of Con-
iederste soldiers to be murdered You char
acterize your order in proper terms For the
public voice, even in your own country, where
1t seldom dares to express itself in vindication
of truth, honor and justice, will agree with
you in pronouncing you guilty Of murder il
your order is carried out. Before discussing
this portion of your letter, beg to assure you
that for every soldier of mine murdered by
you, l shall execute at once two of yours,
giving, in all cases, preference to all officers
who may be in my hands In reference to the
statement you make regarding the death of
your foragers, have only to say that ! know
nothing of 1t; that no orders given by me au-
thorl2e the killing of prisoners after capture,
and that do not believe that my men killed
any OF yours, except under circumstances in
which it was perfectly legitimate and proper
that they should kill them. 1t is part of the
system Of the thieves whom you designate as
your ioragers to fire the dwellings, OF those cit
izens whom they have robbed To check this
inhuman system, which is justly execrated by
every civilized nation, | have directed my
men to shoot down all of your men who are
caught burning houses. This order shall re-
main in force as long az you disgrace the pro.
fession Of the army by allowing your men to
| destroy private dwellings,
| You say that | cannot OF course question
your right to forage on the country. IL is a
right as old as history / do not, sir question
this right, but there is right older even than
this, and one more inalienable-the right that
every man has to defend his home and 10
protect those who are dependent upon him,
and from my heart | wish that every man
and boy in my country, who can fire gun,
would shoot down, as he would wild beast,
the men who are deaolating their land, burn
ing their houses, and insulting their women.
Iou are particular in defining aud claiming
war rights May | ask IL you enumerate
among them the right TO fire upon a de-
fenseless city without notice; to burn thai
city 20 ths ground after il had been surren
dered by the authorities, who claimed, though
in vain that protection which Is always &c
corded in civilized warfare to non.combatants
to FIRE the dwelling houses of citizens aftei
robbing them, and to perpetrate even darker
crimes than these, crimes too black to bt
mentioned2
You have permitted, IL You have not or
dered, the commission Of these offensel
against humanity and the rules of war. Yor
fred into the city of Columbia without /
word Of warning, after lis surrender by th,
Mayor, who demanded protection to priyat,
property. YOu laid the whole city 10 ashes
leaving amid its ruins thousands Of old mer
and helpless women and children, who ar,
likely to perish Of starvation and exposure.
Your line Of march can be traced by th,
lnrid light of burning houses, and 10 NOR,
than one household there is an agony far NOR,