The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1872-02-22

ter were returned to Union Chapter, No. 8, ano
Zerubbabel Chapter, No. H., for the use o.
their regalia, and to the Grand Lodge of South
Carolina for the use of the Lodge Room du
| ring the present Conyocation. .,r
The Grand Chapter was then closed in due
and ancient form, until the next annual CON
| vocation, which viii be held in the, city 0.
Charleston on the Tuesday after, the second
Monday in February, 1879. ,,s.4a,i. ..l,q
a Strange Story About the Battle Of Sharps'
,..- ma. BURG ;i- s7u.;,,,- =, ..3
Mr.. IA. o. Bacon, of Macon, Ga, writes to
the Telegraph and Messenger, as follows:
Your issue of the 7th instant contains an ex-
tract from the Richmond DispoGtoh, in which 9
correspondent of that paper gives the outline
of a strange story" in connection with the
battle of Sharpsburg. The facts of this story
have been in my possession for several years
past, and as the matter has finally gotten into
print, furnish you the following. details as
they came to my knowledge, Aside from Its
being remarkable coincidence, it is not unim:
portant as piece Of the history OF an eVentful
period:
/ had frequently heard that on the day sue
ceeding the battle of Sharpsburg in 1862, COM
munications passed between General Lee and
General Mcclellan, the object of which was to
secure truce for ninety days with O view to
the final cessation of hostilities; that they
nearly had an interview upon the subject, and
that General Howell Cobb, at that time an Of
fcer in Lees army, was very active in the effort
to secure this result. It had been for q long
time my intention to question General Cobb
about the matter, but I had never done 30 before
June, 1868, when upon the cars between GIN
cinnati and New. York, formed the acquaint.
ance of q lawyer from the, former place named
Kew. I am not certain in my, recollection
about his name, but it was either Key or some
name very similar to it. He was prominent
man In Ohio, and had been, since the war, sew
eral times the Democratic candidate for Judge
of the Supreme Court Of the State. In conyer-
sati6n with him he informed me that he was,
during the years Of 1861 and 1862, the conf
dental staff officer of General Mcclellan: l
embraced the opportunity to inquire of him 2
concerning the truth of this rumor which had
heard. He replied that no communication had
passed between Lee and Mcclellan upon the
subject of truce, for he certainly would have
known it if there had. He stated, however
that on the day after the battle of Sharpsburg,
very strong effort was made BY. number o.. OF
prominent officers of the Federal army to in
duce General Mcclellan to address to General
Lee a proposition to declare q truce prepara-
tory to peace, which they urged the people
wanted and would have if offered an opportu-
nity to secure 1t, General Mcclellan himself
sympathized with the object: but said that while
under other circumstances he would favor the
movement aud assist in forwarding it, he knew
that thet It would be useless for him 70 attempt
e for the reason that, be, was then, and had
been for eight months, previous, the subject Of
the most uiiwarrantabie prosecutions at The
hands of the. administration that If he should
declare the truce it would be repudiated by
President Lincoln, who would take .ad:.-htage
of the action to ruin him officially and disgrace
him before the people, Ny informant added
that the causes Of MI. Lincoln's dislike OF
General Mcclellan were. two. Even at that
early day, MI. Lincoln had his eye upon the
second term, aud very soon after he placed Nc
Cellan in command of the army Of the Poto-
mac, he discovered that McC Clellan's popularity
would make him a dangerous rival in the aztec,
tiens of the people Again Mcclellan refused
to conduct thewar otherwise than in civilized
manner as he understood it, His campaigns
weredirected against the armed foe-not against
non-combatants, and not for purposes OF piiiage
and plunder. He'refused to carry the torch as
the companion of the sword, and would not
wage war against the property of the country.
During the last few days Gen. Cobb spent in
Macon, just previous to his death, without T. re-
| Iatinp to him what had been told by McClel-
lan's staff officer, / took occasion to ask him
about the Sharpsburg truce. He also stated
that no communication passed between the
two Generals upon the subject Of the truce, but
that there was an effort made in the Confede-
rate army to open such negotiation. Tho fol-
lowing ia brief statement of the facts which
he related to ME in detail On the day after
| the hattie. Gen. Howell Cobb, Gen. I. r. r.
Cobb, and several other prominent officers OF
the Confederate army, had conversation con-
cerninp the war, its character, probable dura-
tion result, etc. The conclusion at which they
arrived was, that from the evidences of earnest
determination which each section had given
during the eighteen months of the war, they
were Convinced that unless ended by diploma
Gv its only termination could be found in the
ptter ruin and exhaustion of one section or the
other. They then agreed that that very day
was the time to bring about settlement. The
last battle had terminated terrible campaign
in which each army had shown great courage
and proves. Those two armies then lay. con-
fronting each other from the opposite sides OF
the battlefield upon which neither could claim
to have achieved victory. 1t was rs near
drawn battle as would again be fought during
the war; If the armies declared truce OF nine.
ty days the people of each section, who by that
time had como fully to realize the difficulties Of
the tasks they had undertaken, would refuse to
allow hostilities to be resumed. Impressed
with the strength of these views, they deter
mined to submit them to General Lee They
at once secured an interview with him. When
they entered his Office General Lee had in his
hand letter from General Mcclellan, relative
to the return of the horse of the Federal Gen
cral Kearney, who had been killed few days
before at the battle of Chantilly. Genera
Cobb laid their views upon the subject of the
truce before Gen. Lee, and urged their desire
J as strongly as the circumstances would permit