Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-12-27
SHERIDAN,S DEFENSE.

Gen Sheridans report, dated Fifth
Avenue Hotel New York, Nov. 2lst,
1867" not having been received by Gen.
Grant in time to be embodied in his an
uual report, has just been published.
We extract as follows respecting his ad-
ministration and removal from the fifth,
military district:
Assuming command of the fifth military
district on the 18th day of March, 1867, L
found upon examining the law that / was
required to protect all persons in their
rights of person and property to suppress
instruction. disorder and violence, and to
punish, or cause to be punished, all dis
turbers of the public peace and criminals"
"To accomplish this purpose, and to re.
organize these two States as loyal to the
government, had small military force
and the authority vested in me by the law
| found, upon a close examination of the
existing civil governments Of those two
States, that nearly every civil tunctionary,
from the Governor down, had been soldiers
or aiders and abettors in the rebellion, and
that in nearly all cases they had been
elected on Confederate grounds, and solely
for services rendered in their attempts to
destroy the general government found,
also, that they were nearly all disfranchised
by the law, and were substantially aliens.
Ii was a difficult situation in which to be
placed. rendered still more 90 by the APP
parently open sympathy of the President
with the functionaries above alluded 10.
I make this remark, not "a a charge, but
simply as an explanation.
IL would have taken years for military
commissions to have tried those cases of
violations of the law alone that would have
occurred in exact registration Of the legal
voters of the States. There was only one
sensible course TO pursue, and that was to
remove every civil officer who did not faith
fully execute the law, or who put any i'm
pediment in the way of its e1ecution-and
this course was adopted. In pursuance of
the same, decided TO use the authority
vested in me as leniently as possible; to
almost allow myself TO be forced TO the
wall b. open overt acts before action was
taken and in every order issued the cause
Of removal was specified had no desire
to Cypress, and did not Cypress. l only
wished to give security TO all good citizens,
and did so; and insecurity to all Office
holders who failed to carry ont the law, or
who put impediments in the way Of recon
struction,
have been charged By the highest AL
thority in the nation with being tyrannical
and partisan, and am not afraid to say,
when such charges are made against me,
that / feel in my heart they are untruth-
ful. In all my dealings with the people OF
Louisiana and Texas was governed by
honor, justice and truth no political in
huences or interests were allowed 10 control
nv actions. / carried out the law with
satisfaction TO all except those whom it
disfranehised, and a set Of dishonest pc
litical tricksters whom ! had previously
denounced, and who sought to make use Of
the law 10 obtain place and position; and
the whole system of reconstruction vas
faithfully and successfully pushed forward
10 near Its completion, with energy and
economy, until the LIST Of September, 1867,
when received General Orders No. 81,