The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-04-30
A Voice from the conrederacy.

eral Beauregard, addressed to the Governor OF
1 Tennessee which will be read with curious
interest. Our readers will remember Gen
eral Beauregard as an eminent commander OF
the Southern forces during the war; He be-
bellion whose career began in blaze OF
glory and slowly ebbed away. The
war; which found him a famous
commander, left him a disappointed
and unsuccessful general. Like officers OF this
class he has spent good deal OF his time
since the war in explaining why it was that
his career did not justify his fame. This
letter is written to express his annoyance at
a charge that he was in favor OF extreme
measures, and that he carried out his feeling
by acts of cruelty to his prisoners, and
made an effort to introduce into the
contest an element of ferocity which we
hoped no longer bad place in our modern
civilization. We are surprised that man Of
the culture and dscernment of General Beau
regard would take the trouble at this date to
seriously controvert any of the ISLANDERS of the
war. The general belief is that the COM
manders of both armies, North and South,
were humane men that they did their ter
rlble work, as far as was possible, with cour-
tesy and humanity and frankness, and they
endeavored to alleviate, and not stimulate,
the horrors of their campaigns. General
Beauregard, in the beginning of the war, like
some other commanders, wrote a wild proc
lamaton or two but no one has remembered
it except as an evidence Of indiscreet fervor
which sober second thought would regret.
Our hope has been that every succeeding year
Of peace would eradicate these unpleasant
memories and preserve nothing Of the war
but the recollection of the yalor of the SOL
diers and the patriotism and courtesy of the
commanders on either side
General Beauregard informs US that after
the first battle Of Bull Run he, in company
with the illustrious Stonewall Jackson, was in
favor of campaign, no quarter to either side,
that the prisoners were all to be killed. His
reasons for this opinion are logical enough,
but we read them with pain and regret The
quoting of General jackson as an authority
will not relieve General Beauregard from the
criticism which his letter will inspire
I
was great commander, with some
of the highest qualities of generalship, and in
his death took with him reputation that proba-
bly, will survive that of any commander of the
rebellion. lie was peculiar, fanatical old
man. with the sternness of Cromwell, given
to strange moods, and now and then under
influences that his enemies regarded as in
sanity and his admirers as an excess or in
trinity OF genius. General jackson would have
conducted the war against the North as Crom-
well did his campaigns against the Irish. 1t
was his temper 70 have put garrison to the
sword, to have RACED every house. in Washing
ton City, for instance to the foundation, and
to have written, like Cromwell, that God had
given him "a browning mercy General
Beauregard is not man of this stamp. He
did not have Jackson's genius tor war, nor did
he ever show that fanatical belief in bis cause
which inspired the great Southern chieftian.
A man of the world, he had not lived like
Jackson most Of his life in the seclusion Of
country village, his time given to meditation
and prayer and a rapt contemplation Of the
Steiner phases OF Calvinism. But he was a
man Of society and Of wide mountaineering
North and South. For such a man to
seriously consider as proper war
prisoners who came into his hands is In
credible If he ever did 50 it was in his
anger. However much we might have con-
demned it then We must still more strongly
condemn 1t now, that in his cold moments OF
reflection and criticism he should avow his
belief that the policy was a just one.
General Beauregard's opinion is not
strengthened by what he says of the cam
paigns OF Sheridan and Sherman and
others We have no doubt many things
were done by General Sherman and
General Sheridan which could, and, per-
haps, should, have been avoided The desc
lation OF the Valley Of the Shenandoah was
hard measure but il had become neces-
sary by the fact that this valley was the base
Of the operations of the Southern armies, and
so long as it was undisturbed it enforced upon
the federal troops new campaign every year.
Therefore, the raveging Of the valley, which
| General Sheridan accomplished in obedience
to the orders OF General Grant, was a war meas
ure, to be regretted, Of course, as we regret all
war measures, but executed without resort to
any OF those harsh extremities of war which
| General Beauregard was willing TO invoke
| after the battle OF Bull Run. General Sheri-
dan shot no prisoners. refused no quarter,
confined himself simply 10 destroying re-
sources that might have strengthened another
hostile army and compelled several fresh
! battles. General Sherman's campaigns
! through the Carolinas, harsh as they
were, may have the same justification. II
4 was the purpose of these commanders To
/ shorten the war by depriving the South Of the
/ means Of continuing hostilities. This IS GER
tain,y war measure, what We have seen in
All countries under all captains but IL docs