The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1875-06-30
BORE TALK FROM SHERMAN.
Giving oa-Eand Opinions About Other
Generals.
He TAKES PAINS, HOWEVER, TO ExcUL
PATE GRANT OF DRUNK

Wefi, sSa-QglFenerai Sherman, 9
am amused at how much is sal,
about my book by people who evi
IDENTIFY have not read it,. / am glat
the Beecher trial is on, if that re
lieves my little performance from {
part of its notoriety. I wrote tha
book as freely as L talk to you. !. It'll.
my opinion that prominent officer
of the war ought 10 set down withou
fear their remembrances of the con
test; for while there have been seye
raj histories, and some good ones
there never will be perfect history
of that conflict until its main actors
jot down their ideas. Now, / have
been an advocate Of publishing al
the material the Government has al
Washington, much of which has ner.
er been issued. There are numbers
of official reports of leading battles
which have never yet got out. ]
think General Sheridan, for example,
could well afford to write a book
He is a picturesque and good writer,
and his reports read first rate. Gen
eral Grants life and campaigns, writ
ten by Badeau, have fallen sort of
still-born, because the author was too
particular, and wanted to be official
or nothing. 4 hadno intention when
1 wrote my book Of being Unjust or
harsh, but / can not blame myself
for anything I have said, because I
do confess to feeling and seeing vi
wildly"
General, don't you apprehend that
after all the best history of the war
will be that of the Count de ParisT''
u THINK 1T very probable" said
Sherman. "He has taken up the sub
ject with more breadth and fore.
thought than any body else. But
these fragmentary attacks On me for
something or other, or nothing in
particular, are only half considered.
For instance, Iehave a letter from
Montgomery Blair, backing down on
his card, Now, I'll ten you what /
think about the Blairs. Frank is a.
bold, chivalrous fellow, but the rest
of them are q peculiarly selfish race.
montgomery is very selfish. / do
not propose in treating such people
to be very fine. Now, there is Joe
Hooker. He was always an envious
man. He was brave, handsome SOL
dier, but he was short here"
The General tapped his brains sig
niicahtly and continued:
sWhen I can be an author and
write a book for the use of the coun4I
try, Ishould be unjust to my readers
i'll did not put down just what |
think about Hooker %
s"Generaa, was not Don Carlos Blu
ell a soldier of ability
Decidedly" said Sherman, she
was good disciplinarian and had
very good knowledge Of his art. He
belonged, however, to that class of
Generals who evaded bloodshed,
thinking that display of force would
be as efficient as the use oft. He
Always came slowly into action; he
would sit in his tent sometimes I'M
the rear Of q portion of his army en-
gagged, and there was no particularI
elan about him. I regard Buell. as
the Mcclellan of the West-the man
Of whom most was expected, who had
;he most sympathy, and who still
failed to produce results HFs zi1
General, was Buell. slower than
rhomasr" s..,, F
"Much slower" said Sherman;-
was deliberate, but he meant
battle when he came up. Buell. was
he hardest and most tantalizingI
nan to move into action that I ever
Jaw. "He came on the field at Shi-
oh in echelon. It was a beautiful
and only a master of the
srt can perform it,with success. He
,egan to tell me about how many
nen he saw back on the river skulk-
ng; but I told him: General, there
IRE no soldiers in the world who could
lave behaved better than these men .
'ut here did. We probably have IF /;
cen or eighteen thousand men still !
IN the battlefield who have never
90 3a a.at -.ttab Fqt i
"Well, General, to what do you at !
ribute Buell's discontinue and in.
'estigation by Court Of Inquiry"
"Welb SIR" said Sherman, aGrant .
md myself received most abuse after ,
Shiloh, and Buell. was corresponding !
y advanced. He commanded the !
'enter Of the army at Corinth and on !
ward. Brapp marched straight for St,