New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-04-17


1t will be remembered that the letter recently
published from General Sherman, concerning the
destruction of Columbia was addessed to Mr.. Benz.
Rawls, of Columbia. Below is letter from Mr..
Rawls, taken from the Columbia Phoenix Of the
4th instant, throwing the whole responsibility of
the destruction of that city upon General Sherman;
this, too, from a union man:
COLUMBIA, S. c., March 30, 1866.
To Major General W. t. Sherman, Z. s. Army:
Sr-Your letter of the Sth March, instant, is
before me, in which you, in positive terms deny
giving orders for the destruction by fire, of the
city of Columbia. have in my hand an affidavit,
made before one of the Associate Judges of Supe-
rior Provost Court First Sub District Western De-
partment, South Carolina in the words following :
ION the evening Of the 18th day of February, a
soldier at my gate said to me, Did you ever see
hell? told him no. Well said he, you wait
until night and you will hell for we intend to
| burn every damed house that there is in the
| town. Accordingly, about seven O'Clock, or a
| little after, saw the fire commence on the next
square from where live" "On the 18th day of
| February, 1865, soldier of General Sherman g
| army met me at my gate. He said that General
Sherman had given Them " furlough for thirtysix
| hours, to come into Columbia and to do as they
pleased in regard to firing and the destruction OF
the city,"
| But, sir, as regards the liability of the govern
/
| of their property. You were in command, and il
the loss occurred through either neglect or in
competency, it is immaterial to the suferer-he
| does not lose his right of redress by either.
| and it is not TO be presumed that the govern
ment would enrust a man with the command OF
! fifty or sixty thousand troops, and that he coult
not make them obey his orders-and there is the
greatest abundance of proof to be obtained here
that the soldiers under your command on the III
of February, 1865, threw fre-balls, fambeau ant
other fireworks into the houses, the bedrooms
and on the roofs. and prevented the fire engine:
| from stacking the fires, by cutting holes in thu
| leather hose to keep the water from flowing t.
the engines. You know the old law adage: Wha
you do by your agent you do by yourself" AS fO
the order of General Hampton causing the de
struction of this city it is Inconsistent with nature
and with reason to believe that he would try t,
destroy his own house and property. His orde
was to prevent property falling into the hands o
the enemy.
You, sir, presume, believe with me, that ou
forefathers, who framed our government, were
wise and good men. But as all men are born il
ignorance, and have to get wisdom by experience
they had not arrived at perfection nor did they
see the absurdity of the States Rights doctrine
and the doctrine of the Constitution being the su.
| preme law of the States at the same time. This
doctrine of State sovereignty was maintained with
great tenacity by a large portion of our leading
| politicians to the close of the late war. In 1882 il
ran so high as to cause South Carolina to pass an
ordinance nullifying an act of Congress. But, as
God would have it, we had in the chair of the
Federal government, at that time, master spirit
in the person of Andrew Jackson, who, by issuing
| to the State spirited and friendly proclamation
declared that all the forces and power at his com.
mand, in the United States, would be put in requi
sition to enforce obedience to the law. Would to
God similar proclamation had been issued by
Buchanan or Lincoln; for, without that obedience
the wheels of government must stop. But as there
is only very slight difference betW cen Jackson
| and johnson, hope there may be no more differ
ence in their success in restoring the reign of law
ord npAar 11pttn Ototo =
justice to both parties according to merit
:" Say ye to the righteous, it shall be well with
him, for he shall eat the fruit of his doing say ye
to the wicked it shall be ill with him, for the re
| ward of his hands shall be given him." This is
| Gods eternal, ilreversible decree and person
may as well say, can put my hand into the fire
and it shall not be burned, as to do evil and es
| cape punishment.
Sir, I rejoice that this bloody, unnatural un
calledfor war has ended, and settled the question
of State rights and State sovereignty, l hope for
ever; for know it has been source of discurd
ever since the formation of the government. and
| even before and at the time of its formation, b.
tween the Federal and Democratic parties NV
father, brothers and uncles fought, suffered and
| bled to achieve the independence of the United
States. l remember the angry discussions be.
tween the Wing and Tory parties. (as they were
then caled) and forwards, they were the Fed.
erals and Democrats.
When South Carolina passed the ordinance OF
secession in 1861, my poor heart trembled in my
breast with the apprehension of war; buta great
many of our people did firmly believe that the
United States government would not make war
| but would let the seeding States go in peace.
did have hope that we would in that way avoid
war, for, although was only child in the Revo
| luton had suffered enough to know some of the
| evils of war, besides the destruction of life. The
| thousands Of innocent and helpless women, chill.
| dren, aged and inotfensiye farmers, tradesmen
and, in fact, all classes of people it is enough ia
sicken the heart of any human who has senshity
And ha hnrr har cIph hat hrn,,
view in the affid dlvit quoted above is too bad I,
| the contemplation of any human much less of u, Y
christian people. To give furlough to fifty j
sixty thousand soldiers. to go into a city amor,
any protection, to do they pleased for thrry-siH
hours it is not any wonder that man would fee
ashamed to let the world know that he had done
so, unless he intended to either quit the country
or make the country quite him; Tar better il
would be, and more christianlike, t, go witt
| them, and keep them under command and SEE
that they did not only what was right, and not
intiict pain and punishment on the innocent
leat, in destroying the tares ye root out the
wheat Also"
Sir, | hope and believe there are in Congrc
men of feeling and good sense enough to do jus
tice, and who know that General Sherman was the
agent of the government, and if he did wrong tt
any loyal subject the government il responsible
for it. say, and | said last August in letter to
his excelency, Andrew Johnson: my own govern
meDt has destroyed my living by burning with
fire all my property which had acquired and lait
up for my support in old age, and left me without
the necessaries of fe and all that for no fault 0
mine and I now implore indemnity for my los
from that government which has taken my Ivln,
BENZ RAwLs.
STATIsT1cAL.-There are said to be in the Unite
States 22O3 900 farmers, 100 900 mechanics, 40 90
physicians, "a 900 lawyers, O,OOO teachers, 27 90
l nlc ma riuaa 6sb