Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1868-03-05
Che Lost Dispatch.

Complalnt has Deeli mace by some OF
I our North Carolina friends that the histo-
rians Of the war Virginians have not done
justice to their gallant State. We are
panied to see these statements, and surpri-
sed to hear that our State has produced
such u rare animal as historian at all IF
such, however, is the fact, if We have a
historian among US, we protest that the
feelings of Virginia shall not be inferred
/ FROM his pages when the hearts Of our PEG.
! pie are ready to answer for the State
1 These remarks are ma !e by way of IN
PRODUCTION to al brief review Of an article
| in the February number Of The Land
ace fore" in which Lieutenant General d.
! Fl. Hill discusses the statements made by
Mir. Il A. Pollard that the battle Of An
tietam was materially Influenced by the
| inpetuous temper OF General Hill, who it
is ALLEGED, Lee and his Lieutenants, Ma
hone left out I'm moment Of passion -
threw on the ground Copy Of the order
directing the movement CT the army from
| Frederick -
If it is to this charge that General Hill
addresses himself, aud here we pause to
/ to express our regret that this heroic man
we write the words advisedly has post
poned SO long a refutation OF the state
inent
He does it now, however, In very
complete manner. lie sits down aud
heats critical grl1dle, and sets the histo-
rian upon it with composure and address
that excites our admiration; but it is not
with the manner but the matter of this
vinoication thai we have to deal
III order to give Hill the benefit of bis
/ own statement, We quote from the article
III question. as follows:
First. The harsh epithets which he
applies to me are unworthy of the dignity
OF the historian, and prove a prejudiced
state Of mind.
Second 1T petulently threw down
this order, | deserved not merely to be
cashiered, but to be shot to death with
Ilnusketry. And it seems strange that Gen
eral Ice, who ought TO have known the
facts as well as Mr. L. A. Pollard, never
brought me to trial for it. lis still stran-
ger that .Mr. Davis, nearly year after the
alleged occurrence, promoted me to a
Internationally, and sent me to
command a corps at Chickamauga.
Third If Mr. u a. Pollard cannot
prove this statement by trustworthy eye
witnesses, who saw the petalent act Of
throwing down the dispatch, he could be
convicted Of slapder in any respectable
court Of justice in Christendom But there
IS not The shodoW Of truth I. THIS cAayae,
and he has therefore perpetrated u gross
and unprovoked SANDER.
General Mcclellan states that dis
patch Of General Lee, directed to lne, was
found near Frederick, Mary land and that
he gained most important information from
it, There can be no doubt, then, that
such dispatch is lost. But it ii, obvious
" unfair to assume chat a paper with my
name ON the envelope was necessarily
lost BY me III person. Might it not have
I been lost III General Lees own Office :?
Might it not have been dropped by his
courier in carrying it to NE AS the Ad-
jatant is the keeper of all orders, might,
it not have been lost by my Adjutant
| Who has the right to assume that the loss
was through my own carelessness Who,
/ without evidence can presume to charge
me with throwing it down in a tit Of pas
sion! | challenge Nh + A. Pollard
to produce :. single witness who saw the
/ az. las
! Tins extract, however, is incomplete,
and We only regret our inability to pro-
dtce the whole article, which is complete
vindication Of its author from the charge
to which he replies.
This, however, we have to say, that
North Carolina ought not should not,
must not allow the impression to 60 aboard
among her people that Virginia would
pluck one leaf from her glorious chaplet. -
God knows We have here between US his
tory enough for the Western hemisphere.
l-Aoyok Tirginian