The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1872-11-22
Gen. shernaa,s idea OF War.

E. A. Pollard, author of numerou.
works upon the late war, thus writes in
Appleton's journal of Gen. Sherman,i
war maxim: sss .,3s5}ialRSs)
"War is cIuelty.n-Gen. She,maa. n
For this pregnant and fearful SEN
tence Gen. Sherman stands credited,
the expression occurring in letter
which he wrote to Southern acquaint
ancs shortly after the fall of Atlanta,
deploring the war, and the necessity
which made him appear to many old
friends in the South an instrument of
vengeance. He could not help that !;
he was sensitive to the opinions Of his
Southern friends but what appeared in
him As unnecessary severity was the de-
mand Of his duty or vocation, for, dis.
guise it as you may, and draw all sorts
OF artificial distinctions, after all, "war
is cruelty" This was the sense of the
letter. The words above have been ee-
verely quoted against Gen. Sherman as
dark and ferocious sentiment, and
they furnished text for much South
ern defamation But it would be hard
to impeach Their truth. This brief SEN
tence il, indeed, interesting as suggest.
ing the curious question how tho public
can support clamor against the mere
destruction of property in a war, and yet
approve and appl, ,ud its worst cruelty
in the destruction Of life. Why should
It be terrible and atrocious to burn
dwelling houses and tolay waste growing
crops of grain, and yet quite legitimate
TO NOW down human beings, and to
knead the soil with the flesh and blood
of slaughtered men7 Can there be any
greater cruelty than the taking of hu.
man life and sending unprepared souls
into eternity? Is mot hemi. ide the
chief of crimes and Of terroIs? How
idle and inconsistent, then, to accuse
war Of the lesser offenses of ravage and
waste, when its supreme cruelty goes
and applauded? This ques.
tion has never been answered; it is
difficult to answer it, and it is not alto
gether casuistical.
1t is remarkable that all the great
masters of war have besn thoroughly
imbued with the spirit OF Gen. Sher.
mans maxim, to the effect that war,
being cruelty, is to be the best dis
patched by making that cruelty as in
tense and brief as possible. Even
Stonewall Jackson, who had at the bot
tom OF his character true military
ferocity, was for accumulating all the
terror and destruction he could as the
true fashion of war. He even recon-:
mended "the black flag," las Gov. Litch.
en- tsstified). He was fond Of saying
that "war meant killing people," and
once, when one of his officers regretted
that certain Yankees had been killed
while displaying great bravery, and
lasfssaa tss gloomy C command @ n ei1 replied
" Kill them all; don't want them to
be brave" Was this war? Who will
accuse Stonewall jackson of "cruelty"
beyond the needs Of his profession?
This is not the place for an essay on the
of war. But it may be suggest
I'd, in connection with the words of
zen. Sherman, that much Of the South
srn outcry about "at-ocities' in the
war was an exaggeration and an affecta-
lion that deserves even now sonnet ling
Of reproach for its foolish persistence.
7. War is cruelty" and it is not known
hat our past war was any more cruel
han others that have lately affiicted
he world, or that its real sum of sor.
'ow and losses was at sll peculiar, or
n any way different from that of all
yars