Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1866-03-01

1t will, doubtless, be powerful auxiliary iu
the work of kiudlng love for their late eue.
mics in the bosoms of those youthful Ysu.
KEGS who learn from it's pages what stu
pid set of fools their heroic countrymen
conquered in 1865. And what gush Of
gratitude should thrill the Southern heart
at the contemplation of the affection which
was so lavish of blood and treasure, for the
sole object of preventing erring brethren
from injuring themselves by their owu stu
pidity!
This is the version offered to the world
By the North, and it will probably be re
ceived as truth We cannot prevent it,
and therefore must learn indifference to
the opinions of the world; perhaps, if we
had learned this lesson in the early days Of
the'Gonfederacy, our section would be bet
ter off now But though the world accept
the story of our enemies, shall We endorse
it? Shalt we teach the sons of sires who
fell at Manassas or Chicamaugs, in defence
of the starry cross, that their fathers were
ungrateful fools and knaVes, who took up
arms from total want of sense and princ.
pie, and serpent like stupg the hand that
protected them? Let US hope that. though
bowed to the earth by her calamity, the
South has not yet sunk SO low.
As might be expected from such mis-.
representation of its origin, the narrative
Of the events occurring during the war is a
studied effort to detract from the military
glory of the Coufederaey
. The fact that the srebels" were almost
invariably outuumbered BY the ''upiouists, "
in the proportions of at least two to one, is
carefully suppressed. An uniformed read
er would gather the impression that the
struggle was between equal forces, and the
final issue the result of superior prowess on
the part CT the victors. Yankee losses are
under.ststed, and their successes painted in
the brightest coloring they can besr-some,
times, indeed, the paint is laid on too thick.
ly to deceive even the most superficial read,
er. On the contrary, Confederate victories
are under rated, and Confederate losses aud
numbers (when giveu) exaggerated
You have already noticed the account of
the seven days fights around Richmond,
where an army of 100000 men is rep.
resented as having been skillfully exsrica.
ted from perilous position with the slight
loss of $4,000, while, the numbers of the
foe who had surrounded this mighty host is
left to conjecture. These victories of
worldwide celebrity are thus turned into
abortive efforts to prevent the execution of
a brilliant papeuvre
Sherman's vandal march through de-
fenceless country is described in glowing
language, as move of such amazing bold.
ness, that the world almost held its breath
in awe at the super, human daring of the
hero who yentured upon it But the crown.
ing glory of this wondrous march-the
chivalric sack of Columbia-is strangely
omitted Perhaps Mr.. Goodrich never
heard of this little incident iu Sbermau's
victorious career, or perhaps he thought the
flames of the city surrendered to the prom
ised protection of his hero, would spoil the
picture. But the probabilities are that this
deed of noble daring aoiH live in history,
although denied place there by this ve-
racious historian.
The battle of Franklin, in which six
Confederate Generals were slain and six
wounded, is also blotted from the record as
of too little Importance to mention. The
army of Tennessee is represented as stag
gering against Nashville in sheer despair,
and then melting away before the first COL
lision with Thomas, who, as all the world
knows, was driven from Franklin to Nash
Vile in the widest confusion, and was af.
terwards so heavily reinforced as to enable
him to turn the tide of war in bis favor by
the mere force of numbers The author
says this army was 80 thoroughly dispersed
that it never again took the field, and vir.
tually was then and there disbsnded -
What a pity he was not at Bentonsville,
where this scattered army, in some mysteri.
Gus manner, was able to drive the heroes of
the "grand march" three miles. A cor.
rection of all the falsehoods in this book
would swell the communication to vol
ume, as any one will see, who takes the
trouble to examine it.
But let him be man of cool blood, who
essays to read this defamation of all he ever
held sacred in the cause whose downfall is
here related by an ungenerous foe. 1t might
have been supposed to be glory enough for
any nation to have overcome so gallant an
antagonist as the Confederacy proved itself
in every hour of its existence, without
STOPPING to detraction; for the greater the
vauquished, the more glorious the victor.
But if this book be rejected as unreliable,
what shall take-its place? Let it remain
vacant. It is too soon for the history of the
war to be written. The smoke of the con-
test has scarcely rolled away, and no mortal
eye is strong enough to pierce the cloud Of
conflicting evidence and detect the truth,
surrounded as it is by fslsehood When
the mists of passion and prejudice have been
dispelled by the rays of returning reason, a
true and impartial history may be produced
But until that time has. come, if it ever
comes, the story of the struggle should not
be taught from books, but learned out o.
school.
The actors in its momentous scenes can
be found in every nook and corner of the