Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-09-06
for review add fnal- actIon OF -the Genera

for review and final action Of the General
in Chief. 1t has been my desire and aim
in measures provided for the government
fof Carolina, to devise and execute them
with as much humanity and forbearance-
| win even say With as much magnanimity
AS was consistent with a proper discharge
of the duties prescribed for me by Congress.
None of the measures I have adopted have
ever. SO far as l know, been disapproyed
nv the government With the War De-
partlhent. in all that has been done ia this
military district, the records Of my office
show perfect accord. Nosbine '1as been
done ofwhich full information has not been
given 70 proper authority, aud nothing has
been done which has not always been con-
ceded as proper subject to review the mod
ifcation or revocation by competent au-
thority, and nothing of all that has been
done officially TO eensure any official sug-
gestion requiring the modification of any
order. and nothing which at first may have
seemed questionably has failed TO receive
official approval. After full explanation
ofcireurnstances which led to this measure.
The statement is strictly true as far as the
existence Of this district is concerned, and
NAV. be extended 10 the period of time
during which L, have exercised command
in Carolina, with perhaps single exceP-
ton of the following instance in 1866, with
view to conform the penal Code of the
Rebel territory committed to my COM
mand to the Dictates of humanity
as well as to prevent the wholesale dis
reimbursement Of loyal blacks and whites
attempted by certain political managers.
l prohibited the punishment of whipping
as penalty, but this order was suppressed
by the Executive. a vsi 6 q
Gen Siekles concludes as follows The
work of reconstruction In the Carolinas
has all been done quietly, without the ex-
ercise of force. 1t is known that the forces
here viii be used if necessary. | do not
hesitate TO give you my deliberate conYie-
ton. that if other agencies had been en-
pIoyed in the work Of reconstruction, they
would have failed, and that failure wonld
have involved resort to military force,
not to preserve order, but to suppress vio-
lenee, and blood so shed would have cried
out to the people upon whose soil it had
fallen, and when l consider how wide a
chasm has been spanned, and how much of
a seemingly hopeless task has been
achieved, how little remains to be done to
secure all that dreadful war was waged
to accomplish, how near is approach to
a returned union. When | realize to my
self that all of this is to be put to a great
peril and hazard BY measures which threat
en- to impair the authority and lessen the
means of those upon whose success our fail
ure depends, have only to express, in a
most respectful manner, my establishment
and regret that done, and having per-
formed further, the duty of presenting full
ly in this report the facts and considera-
tons bearing upon the important questions
at issue, shall faithfully obey any order
you may give me.
Very respectfully, your cb't. sy't.,
DANIEL Z. SICKLEs.
Major General .. S. Grant, Commander
in-Chief United States Army, Washington.