Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-07-13
GEN. sHRRMANs SPEECH.
A Fourth Of July Grafton from Gen.
sherman.

Gen Sherman was present, at Salem, Il
linois, on she Fourth Of July, and made e
brief speech, from which We take the fol-
lowing extract:
THE STRATEGY OF THE WAR.
I believe, as a general rule, there was a
full understanding among the Generals of
the army. But We often had to be very
| careful lest information of our intentions
should get abroad, and it would result in
your loss, the enemy being at once pre-
pared. If had informed youin advance
that l was going, for instance, to do a
certain thing, as q matter of course our
enemy would provide against il, and many
Of you who are now alive might not be
here. Now it was our desire the desire
| OF every officer, every general officer, to
accomplish a certain thing for you, and
to restore you back healthy to your fami-
lies. We did not like to see bloodshed,
but we were determined to produce re-
suits, and now what were those results2
To make every man, woman, and child in
the South feel that if they dared rebel
against the flag of their country they
must die.or submit. Immense enthusi-
asm.
That was the problem which we had to
solve. As long as they met us man TO
man and face to face, we went at them
directly in front. [Laughter.1 Bnt when
they tried to play the game of drawing Us
on further and further, and compelling US
to leave gsrrisons here and guards there,
absorbing our main strength, intending to
whip the remainder, it became necessary
for US by intellect to defeat that scheme of
theirs. We therefore had to make them
believe that we we're going to do one thing,
and go and do another. Laughter.
Now, % all may remember that when
we had taken Atlanta fairly and openly,
it looked as though our army would be
strung out on a line o. six or seven hun
dred miles, and the hesd of the column
would be but a few divisions and bri-
gades. We were strung out from Nash
vile clear down to Atlanta. Had 1 then
gone on stringing out our forces, what
danger would there not have been of
their attacking the little head of the col
umn and of crushing it2 You, soldiers,
are Generals enough TO see that. There
fore, l resolved in q moment to stop the
game of guarding their cities, and to de-
stroy their cities. CSensation.
Now, my friends, I know that, all the
world over, there are parties that de-
nounce me as being inhumar. T.aThat's
SOL lHCan't see it'll l appeal to you
70 say fl have not always been kind and
considerate to you. lHThat's so." 1 care
not what they say. That's right."1 1
care not what they say, but 1 say that it
ceased to be our duty to guard their cities
any longer, and had gone on stringing
out our columns, little by little, little BY
little, some Of your Illinois regiments
would never have got back home, and you
would have been crushed. Therefore l
let go the whole country; took one army
myself, and gave my friend George 81.
Thomas one, and we whaled them both.
LGreat applause-1
Therefore, if Atlanta were destroyed,
and Columbia and Savannah, and alI the
cities of the South had been destroyed, 1
say it would have been right because it
was necessary to produce the results in
view. 1t did produce the result, and now,
ladies, you see your young friends return
ed to you, wives see their husbands, and
all are reunited here in this handsome
grove in Illinois, and God knows 1 hope
you may never go forth again but if you
are called forth l know you will respond
quicker than you did before, if possible.
lCheers.
FUTURE PROSPECTS OF THE NATION.
As to the future, / assure you l have
been al over that part of the country
which is assigned to me, and 1 have never
yet during any part of my history seen
the country looking SC prosperous, the
grain growing so luxuriently, and the
people so contented and happy, the table
so bountifully spread and all this, too,
out on the plains of Kansas where, six
years ago, it required an escort of three
hundred men to guard an officer sent to
pay off a garrison. Now 1 can go, and
anybody can go with a single horse away
out to the limits of Kansas, or even to
Colorado, withoutan escort, and that, too,
at the close of a long and terrible war.
So that l say that we are progressing TO
the end we have in view, and that whesh-
er the politicians, whether the statesmen,
l will call them, the judges and lawyers,
viii adopt a policy TO produce the desired
result, l don't know and don't much care,
because it will be done anyhow. TLaugh-
ter and cheers. 1 say if the farmers,
mechanics and business men will 90 on
and attend to their own business, the peo-
pie Of Missouri viii do the same, Iowa
the same, and so it will be all over the
Western and Northern country, and the
politicians will be compelled to adapt
their policy to this end, and that is the
true end, namely the great prosperity of
u country.
Therefore, it is unnecessary to even al
lnde to the position in which the national |
affairs are placed, for 1 do not pretend /
to comprehend or understand them. 1t |
is not my task; but it is my task to see
that the forces placed at my disposal to
put down opposition to the laws quick |
y and forever, do their duty. 1Cheers.
Whenever the United States Marshal |
comes to me and tells me that his power
is resisted, and he has not sufficient force
to execute the laws, if / have soldiers 1
viii goto his assistance and see that the
are enforced. And, my friends, |
if that rule is carried out in
the land-if the laws of Congress are
70 be enforced wherever this flag aoats-t
then IN truth are we a nstion to all intents
and purposes at home and abroad.