The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1865-06-09
SHERMAN AND JOHNSTON
Testimony and Correspondence of
s '.ase 4" Gen. Sherman ,sa.@aaa
His Reasons for Negotiatien--The
" ,el History Of the Affafr. %1W q

HIS Reasons lOF NtSOsfdsAOA",l hV
3 @,ol History Of the AFFAIR. 5W d,
9 In addition to the report of Gen. SHERMAN,
has evidence before the Committee on the Con-
duet of the War is published. The following
is the Generals testimony in relation to. =, 70,
THE NEGOTIATIONS WITH JOHNSTON,
| met Gen. Johnston in person at house
| five miles from Durham Station. under nag
| of truce. After few preliminary remarks he
| said to me, since Lee had surrendered ms army
| at AppomatoX Court House, OF which ne mao
| lust been advised, he looked upon further OPP
| position by him as the greatest OF possibie
| crimes that he wanted 10 KNOW whether 4
| could make him any general CONCESSIONS
| ANYTHING by which lie could maintain his hold
| and control of his army and prevent its scat
| terine: ANYTHING TO satisfy the great yearnlng
| of the people: if So, he thought he could ar
! range terms satisfactory 10 both parties. He
| wanted TO embrace the CONDITION ana tate OF
| all the armies of the Southern Confederacy to
| the Rio Grande to make one JOB OF IT, as he
/ expressed it. ~ ~ W..sa 9 ~ ,n2
1 Iasked HIM what his powers were-whether
| he could command and control the fate OF the
| entire armies of the COnfedeTacy to the bio
| Grande He answered that he thought he
| could obtain the power. bit he did not possess
| it that moment; he did not know where MIR
| Davis was, but he thought ii | could give him
| the time he could find Dir. Bfeckinridge, whose
| orders would be obeyed everywhere. and he
| could pledge to me bis personal faith that
| VII ueyer he undertook to do would De DONE.
| 1 had had frequent correspondence with the
| late President OF the United States, with the
| Secretaryof War; with Gen. Halieck and win
| Gen Grant, and the general impression lett
| on nv mind was that if settlement could De
| made, consistent with the CONSTITUTION OIL tio
Hunted States the laws OF Congress and the
1 proclamation Of the President, they would not
| only be willing, bat pleased TO terminate the
| warb by one single stroke of the pen. %.
| i needed time to finish the railroad from the
| Neuse bridge up to Raleigh, and thought l
| could put! liz four or five days OF good time III
/ making repairs upon my road, even Ii iia1 TO
| send propositions to WashiDgton; / therefore
| consented to delay twcntY-foBr hours, 10 en-
| able him to procure what would satisfy me
| rs to his authority and ability as military
| man. to do what ne undertook TO dc. 4 there|
| fore consented 20 meet him the next day, th5
| 17th ~ IL room, aythe same place. J
| We did meet again; after general iDter1
| Change cf ccurtesies he remarked that he was
| then prepared To satisfy me that I've could fulfil
| the terms OF our conversation Ut the day be'
| fore. He then asked me what was willing 10
| Go: | told him ia the first place. could not
! deal with anybody except men recognized bg
I US as :" belIigerents," because a. military man
! could go heyoGd that TACT The Attorney Geit
| efal has siIce so decided, and any man OF COM
| mon sense so und tr5tCOd It before: thele was
10 difference upon that point o. TO the men anu
| officers accompanying the Confedera'e armies.
| | told him thar the President OF the United
| States by Il published proclamation, had cad
| bled every man in the Southern Confederate
| army of the rank OF colonel aud under, 10 pro-
| cure and obtain amnesty by simply taking the
F.Nl. I-srs ANsg n
| agreeiag to 60 10 his home and live il peace.
| The terms OF General Grant u General Lee ex-
| tended the slme principles to the officers, OF
! the rank OF Brigadier General and upward, in
| gliding the highest officer IN the Confederate
| army viz. General Lee the Cotnmanderin-
| Chief l was therefore willing TO pfocred
| with him upon the same principles rs
| Then conversation arose as TO what tol IN Of
| government they were to have in the South.
| We're tpe States to be discovered, aud were the
| people 10 be denied representation IN Con-
| l.ress? Were the people there to he--in the
! common language of the people of the South
| slaves to the people OF the North OF
| course said No; we desire that you shall re-
glin your position as citizens OF the United
States, free and equal to US in all respects, and
| with representation upon the condition of SUBJ
| mission to the lawful authority of the United
States, as defined by the constitution, the Unit
ed States courts aud the authority OF the Unit
ed States supported by those courts" He
then referred to me that General Breckenridge,
Major General in the Confederate army, was
near by, and, if l had no objection, he would
like to have him present. called his attention
to the fact that / had ON the day before ex-
| planned to him that any negotiations between
us must be confined to belligerents. He re-
| piled that he understood that perfectly.
But" said he, Breckenridge, whom you
do not know, save by public rumor, as Secre-
<onx Is No T., t. fact n Major GQnarat.
give you my word for that Have you any OBJ
| lection TO his being present as Major-Gener.
al?" ! replied, II have no objection to any
| military v.ficer you desire being present as a
part of your personal staff" myself had my
| own officers near me OF call.
Breckenridge came stranger to me, whom
I had never spoken to in my life, and he Joined
| in the conversation; while that conversation
was going on courier arrived and handed to
Gen. Johnston o package OF papers; he and
Breckenridge sat down and looked over them
| for some time and put them away in their
| pockets; what they were knew not, but one
Of them was q slip of paper, written, as Gen.
Johnston told me- by Mr. Reagan, Postmaster
General of the Southern Confectionery; they
seemed to talk about 1t soto roce, and finally
handed 1t TO me; glanced over 1t; it was
preceded by preamble and closed with few
| general remarks; rejected 1t at once.
We then discussed matters; talked about
slavery, talked about everything. There was
| . universal assent that slavery was as dead as
ANYTHING could be; that it was one of the issues
of the war long since determined; and even
| Cen. Johnston laughed at the folly of the Con-
| federate government In raising negro soldiers,
whereby they gave rs all the points OF the case.
| I tod them ihat slavery had been treated by Us
as 3 dead institution, first by one class of
men nom the initiation Of the war, and then
from the date Of the Emancipation Proclama.
don Of President Lincoln, and finally by the as
cent Of eli parties. A to reconstruction, told
them I ala not know what the views of the adj
ministration were. Mr.. Lincoln, up to that
| dime. IN letters and BY kilograms to me, en-
coursged me BY all the words which could be
used n general terms to believe, not only in
hie villineness, but In his desires that should
mako terms with civil authorities, governors
and legislatures, even Is far back as 1868 It
| then occurred to me that might write off
come general propositions, meaning little, or
meaning much, according to the construction
of parties-Whst I would term ''glittering gen,
| eralities land send them to Washington,
Which could do in four days. That would
enable the new President to give me clue to
| his policy in the important juncture which was
| chem mon rs, for the war was over; the high.
L.