New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-04-26
WAR ACCORDING TO THE BULLETIN,

/
OF the absent minded? Wanderin,
about, absorbed in thought, a friend O
ours strayed into the Bulletin Office yester
day, and seated himself in the vacan
editorial chair. Too much abstracted a
the time to take due notice Of his error
hes soon felt the sense of some strange
transmogrifcation pervading his anatomy
1t seemed as though the inspiration of the
locality was absorbing his faculties and
bending him. from his usual clear headed
sense. A misty atmosphere descended
upon and enveloped him with ideas and
thoughts that were alien to his bette,
judgment. He saw objects through q
murAy cloud. Everything was discolored
and perverted. Sound was without har-
mony. Taste was perverted. How he
! came to a realization of all this after a
while he does not pretend to account for;
but suffice it to say that after time he
recovered from his stupefaction and i'm
mediately departed, unseen, as he sup
poses. by any enc. He remembers that
his mind wandered most of the time upon
the subject of General Sherman presence
IN New Orleans, and upon the weak
points in the Generals history in connec-
ton with the army. And he felt that
Sherman had not made war upon the
South as he would have done.
The strangest part of this narration is
that our friend found in his hands as he
left the Office curious document which
he had evidently written while in his
trance. 1t purports to be report, writ
ten to the War Department at Washing
ton, detailing the incidents of a days
journey on his ''march to the sea-" And
he offers it to us as q paper which the edi-
tor OF the Bulletin evidently dictated
through him as a spiritual medium.
Taken for all in all it was strange Incl
dent.
HEADaUAKrERs Army OF rak WEST,
Below Atlanta, February 10, 1865. :
To the Secretary Of War:
have the honor to report that reached
this place in safety, at half.past nine this
evening. Our march was greatly impeded
during the day by delays which Christian
soldier can not avoid. The enemy in some |
force appeared in front early in the morn
ing, but we refrained from firing upon them
because there was family mansion in the
way which might have been injured. HAY
ing moved up my column in such a way as
to avoid the building, we were about to
open fire upon the retreating rebels, when
it was discovered that some hay-stacks and
the barn were liable to destruction from
The shots, which necessitated another move
ment of the advance divisions. But for
ny desire to save the hay, we would doubt
ess have inflicted severe loss on the enc
n.y. Owing to these delays, the rebels sue
'eeded in escaping, but not until they had
yet fire to the hay and destroyed the barn
order to prevent our army from obtain
ng supplies. 1t will doubtless be reported
hat this act of vandalism was committed ,
y my troops, but such is not the case, as
ne quartermaster was at the time negotia-
ing with the owner of the premises for the
urchase of the hay and corn. 1t was a
'rtunate circumstance that the money had
OF been paid, as, in that case, the
'ss would have fallen upon the United
tates. 1t is only proper here to state that 1 I
nd some difficulty in supplying the wants l
the army owing to the difficulty in pro- g
lring gold and silver, as these contuma- 4
GUS excuse the harshness of the express
on) people decline to receive anything but
'ecie for their produce. Some of our sell
ers have even attempted to propitiate the a
items by offering the notes of the so-called q
nfederate government, but even this de- ii
ce has not succeeded, as the people refuse h
accept of the tender. 1t is almost GER ~
in that an important capture would have
suited if we had been allowed by laws of :
lristian war to open fire upon the enemy "
is morning, as large cavalry force had 10
en- detached to attack the rebels in the II
ar, and this force had already obtained a es
Dst favorable position at the time when &C
order to open fire was countermanded. o,
the attack was not commenced, the ST
mixing movement returned to camp with RI
striking blow. We have the satisfac. ~
n, or rather consolation. of knowing that ::
our forbearance the mansion was pre- o. %.
we'd to it's owners %
At another time the progress of the en-
force was arrested by the confusion that ~
'urred IN village through (which the -
ny had to march. The fugitive rebels r.
1 retreated through this community, and -
perpetrated some robberies upon the .au
'ple in the way of liquors, eatables and an
lltry. This created a vast amount of ret
lsternation, and the people were engaged HI
collecting their scattered cattle and of
utry at the very moment of our ap- d;e
ach. The column rested for two hours -
rider to afford ample opportunity to the A..
zens to collect their property. The de- ~. q
tment will at once understand that if WI
soldiers had marched directly through DO
village some accident might have hap the
ed by which a chicken or a turkey sit,
lid have been trodden under foot either on
he infantry or cavalry of the command.
there was nothing of
character to mar our just and lac
cause. Some complaint was made at pa
70 headquarters that the citizens used cep