, 1875-06-27
BHERMAN'S MAECH TO TEE SEA.

The studied and persistent attempt which
is made by some journals, nided and abetted
by certain military officers and consequent
upon the appearance Of Gen sHEHMAK's
"Memoirs," to strip from that nlustrious
General the 1aure1s he earned by his famous
and decisive march from Atlanta to the sea.
is not only N oct Of hagrant injustice, but
one that deserves rebuke. Cincinnati and
Washington seam to be the centres Of tllis
effort to despoil Gan- SHzR,zAN, for the ben-
eft Of Gen GRANT, who desires nothing Of
the kind Gen GRAFT planned great cam-
paigns, he fought great battles, and he won
great victories, and Congress rewarded him
with the command Of the army, and the pao-
pie have since rewarded him with the Presi-
deny. He does not ask OF expect more
Does not this latest attempt to despo1 and
beittle a brother officer Of hia richly earned
lnurels SAVIOR Of malicious envy upon thn part
Of professed friends Of Gen GRAar's7 UD-
doubtedly the idea ct the march to the aes~
coast from Atlanta occurred to Gen GRANT,
and it is not ut all unreasonable to suppose
thai it occurred also to President LINCOLN,
Secretary STANTON, and Gen HA1IEcK, and
was discussed BY them But this is not the
question at all What people want to know
now, and what history viii decide in future,
is, who, when the time was ripe for it,
ulanued and made tho march from Atlanta to
the sea.
The record Of those stirring days shows
clearly enough that The credit belongs to Cen
SHERMAN and to no one else. When Gen-
SHznMAr moved from Chattanooga aouth, he
forced Gen. JoHssros, one df the ablest Of
the Confederate Generals,-in many respects
abler than Gen LEE himself, before him,
drove him out Of his intrenchments and for
tifcations, defeated him over and over again,
and, although leaving his base Of supplies
farther and farther away, and continually
forcing JoHysro,f nearer his, SO pounded and
weakened him and ieopardized the Confed-
crate Cause that JOHNSTON was relieved by
Jur DAVIS, and The command Of the
army YVES given to Hoop, the latter
havlng the reputation Of being IN aggres-
sive, fighting General The change did not
affect Gen. SuEnMAs's plans nor interrupt his
forward movement. The fighting General Of
the Confedetates met with bloody defeats
around the walls Of Atlanta He Was driven
out and forced up into the northwest with
EHERMAH following him. Hoop supposed
that SHERM4x was going back into Tennessee,
and commenced tearing up the railroads to
Chattanooga but this was farthest from
Gen. SHER,1Aas intentions. He saw that the
tine had come to brenk the shell Of the Con-
fede1acy, and show that It was hollow. He
obtained permission from Gen. GRANT to
make his march to the sea without waiting
for ord.rs to do it. The President and Gen
GR4Nr may have been discussing it in their
councils, but Gen. SHERMAN had finished dis
cusaions, and was ready for action
His plans were all deeply nRtu1ed,
and when tho permission came he
ect them in motion. He detailed Gen
THOMAS to take care Of HOOP, and detached
sufficient Of his forces to accomplish this end,
and then started upon his wonderful 800
mile march. Victory led the way and defeat
and ruin followed in his stepa. The severast
obstacles opposed TO him By the Confederates
ne1tsd away liks snov. No opposition was
sufficient to interrupt the progress Of the vic
torious army. His march through Georgio
1as Ike the mower through the grass. Every
thing before him went down, city after city
yielded to him without question, and every
village and town that witnessed the resistteas
march Of this army contributed subsistence
to il. Savannah, with its powerful defenses,
fell; Columbia, the Capital Of South Carolina,
vas burned. Still On strobe the reizt1ess
SHERMAN and his Western host Would
be march directly to Augusta or Charleston,
argued ths Confederate Generals, and, while
thy were discussing plans Of concentration,
he had struck in between the two, aud hope
1essly divided them, and Charleston was
evacnatsd, and all its forttesaes, guns, aud
va< material captured Still On went the VIC
tutiaza army, md did not halt until It hAd
sasnhkd H1aai9t, AAaf within 10s5Hk1f,h tEana