The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1875-07-25
The STANDARD" on Sherman.


The STANDARD" on Sherman.
AN ENGLISH OPINION OF THE GENERAL OF
THE ARMY.
The London Standard prints three
#column review of General Sherman's "Me
Emoirs," which have been published in
ENGLAND, in the course of which it says:
The writer's who in this country have
|espoused the Federal cause have labored to
keep out of sight the Northern violations
|systematic and deliberate-of all the laws
of war the Wholesale pillage of private
property, without q shadow of pretense
Of military need the wanton ravage of
vast and fertile regions; the destruction of
public archives, of libraries, of colleges
and of thousands of defenseless dwellings
O retur J, in fact, to the methods of war (ill
usage of women excepted) practiced by
lilly. We know of none who would ven
ture to defend these as acts of legitimate
warfare, and among the chiefs of the Fede-
raj armies few were more guilty in this res
pect than General w. T. Sherman. We
cannot say that our perusal of the work has
raised our estimate of the writer. There Is
a display of personal vanity, of anxiety to
claim the utmost possible credit, and to
throw the blame of all failure on others, a
petulant spirit of animosity against rivals
gard to passages creditable neither to the
General nor to his superiors, and a childish
|Ampatience of popular clamor which appear
30 US little consonsnt with the simple self
respect of the soldier. No one could imag-
ne the Duke of Wellington or General Lee
Vriting as Sherman writes-no one has
Peen anything of the kind from the pen of
|pfacers who have real grounds of complaint
from Mcclellan, who first created an
|Army out of the mob of United States Vol
nnteers, or Halleck,- who maiht Iiued, re-
|cruite d, and enlarged that army till it be-
game the irresistible weapon which won
|tor Grant and Sherman triumphs as easy as
Ethose Of Achilles in his impepetrabIe armor,
Tor Of the heroes of fairy legend with charm
led swords and shoes of swlfIness.
THE SECRET OF WESTERN SUCCESS.
General Sherman had the misfortune at
| Bull: Run to share in the signal rout of the
Union army. He does his best for the re-
|putation of his countrymen by maintaining
THAT if they had not run away the Souther-
ners would-an by pothesis which is as lit
Il tie supported by the history of that battle
las by the subsequent facts of the war. He
returned to the West, and for the remainder
of the war shared the fortunes of the West
ern army, which, having the least excellent
of the Southern troops and leaders in it's
front, and being recruited from among the
hardy population of the agricultural North
west, was able to achieve much more than
the invaders of Virginia, and really did far
more to determine the issue of the war.
General Sherman rose steadily in military
authority and in favor with the Govern
menu, and played a prominent part in the
campaigns which wrested from the Con-
leoerates the command of the Mississippi
ana determined the result of the entire con-
tese. There can be little dosbt that even
atter the fall of Fort Donelson the triumph
VI tue invaders wac due to an accident
nau General A. 8. Johnston not been
Moanoed at Shiloh, or, being wounded,
nae ne mad his wound at once attended to,
anu 30 saved his life aud his control over
lug my, Grant would have been annihi-
s:1eu, and all that had been won up to that
time would have been lost in week. The
a OS' OF the Federal forces was complete,
thO.- nau tne Confederate chief pressed on,
TIy husG nave surrendered or dispersed.
1ue transfer of command was fatal and
tSa e Jay new Federal army appeared on
SaSo neIu ana defeated the worn out Con-
Cones =, On this al on other occasions,
sovarn. sherman aDxiously endeavols to
AL a. the forces opposed to him. The
IA ~, mat nt when they gave ST aovited bat
M ~ aSonfederates were rarely more than
AZ ~ Two when they were forced to bat
ana !:ney were often one to three or four,
leSvinnn Ssalerman's later campaigns, after
NM Se Atlanta, he had seldom or never
Ana ourth of his own numbers in front.
aloN. az a we shall see, it was to numbers
mat he owed his success.
SHERMAN AS A TrLLY.
snh I've next period, while Sherman occupied
sAoSJnate but independent commando,
sn;o;t ed him opportunity of showing the
| on az IN which he was determined to carry
idessn e struggle and illustrated Northern
onir al Ht the laws of civilized war. Not
evc,v ai9 he, like other Federal chiefs, seize
evsrSSttiDg that could be useful to his army
T SS destroy everything that could be SER
Of coSne 70 the enemy, but he made a poiat
NOnhecatlpg and DESTROYING nrIHata rrnr.