The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1875-05-20
ELK COUNTY, PA,
THE BLACK FLAG.
Letter from Gen. &. IT. Bcpurc9ard Reia-
tive to the Treatment of Prisoners Dur
ing the War,

Letter from Gen. g. IT. Bcaurcgard Rcia-
tive to the Treatment Of Prisoners Dur
ing the War.
Gen. G.. u. Beauregard, formerly of
the Confederate army, has written a let
ter to the Governor of Tennessee, rela-
! tive to the question of hoisting the black
flag during the war. He says: After the
battle of the first Manassas, when it was
reported that the Federal government
refused to recognize Confederate prison
ers as "prisoners of war;" that Christian
hero and able soldier, General Thomas
j. (StonewalD jackson, and myself advo-
Gated that the Confederate government
should then proclaim a "war to the
knife" neither asking nor granting
quarter. We, moreover, thought that
the war would thereby come sooner to
an end, with less destruction, finally, of
life and property. We thought also that
such a mode of warfare would inspire
greater terror in the armed invaders of
our soil, and reduce greatly the number
of army followers, bummers, ETC., who
were ever the curse of all armed in
vasions.
Subsequently, when the Federals had
penetrated certain portions of the South,
and developed system of warfare in
their operations in Louisiana, Missis-
sippi and Virginia, and the inexcusable
burning of Atlanta and Columbia, and
the destructive march of General Sher-
man through Georgia and South Caro-
lima, whose track was marked by smoking
ruins and blackened chimneys; to the
suggestion of General Halleck to destroy
Charleston and sprinkle salt on its site
! @Io+ ~ ol lo,,1I
to which General Sherman replied that
no salt would be needed, as one of his
most reliable corps formed the right
wing of his army, and that it always did
its work thoroughly; to the devastating
march of General Sheridan through the
Shenandoah valley, relative to which he
reported to the general-in-ch of the
United States armies that ga crow flying
over the country would have to carry its
own rations;" but he did not say what
became of the old men, women and chill
dren who then lived in that fertile val
ley! With regard to the mortality of
prisoners ON both sides, the Washington
Union (radicaD of October, 1868, con-
tanned the following article: "In reply
to q resolution of the House of Repre-
sentatives calling upon the Secretary of
War for the number of prisoners of
either side held, and that died during
the war, he makes the following re-
port: Number of Union prisoners South,
260, $40; died, 22,596. Number of Con-
federate prisoners North, 100000; died,
&c. ,435. That is, two of the former out
of every twenty-five and two of the latter
out of every fifteen"
Comment is here unnecessary, in view
of the condition and resources of those
two sections of country, so diametrically
opposed to the one practiced by the Con
federates when they invaded Maryland
and Pennsylvania under their great COM
mander, General r. E. Lee. When 1
saw the emaciated forms and wretched
condition of our returned Southern pris-
oners l again advocated the hoisting of
the black flag, willing at any time to for
felt my life in the deadly struggle. Not.
withstanding these views, always treat
ed my prisoners with humanity and
proper consideration. I had the fortune
Of taking many thousands of then at
Manassas, Shiloh, Charleston, Drury's
Bluff, Bermuda Hundreds and Peters
burg, most of whom are, suppose, still
alive, and can and certainly would testify
to the fact.
After the fall of Fort Sumter, in April,
1861, granted to the garrison the same
considerate terms which L had offered
before the attack. Through my inter-
cession the Federal surgeons and minis
ters of the gospel taken at Manassas were
released, without exchange, by the Con
federate government. The day after
that battle one of the Federal officers,
whose friends L knew in New York, APP
piled to me for a small loan for himself
and friends, which 1 furnished at once
from my private funds. 1t was faithfully
returned.
Shortly after the battle of Shiloh 1
sent, under cartel, certain number of
able-bodied Federal prisoners to Gen
eral Halleck, who, several weeks after,
returned an equal number of GONZALES
cents from St. Louis to Fort Pillow.
The officer in command refused to re-
ceive them, because several of them We're
just from a smallpox hospital. Gen
eral Halleck failed afterward to make
good the exchange.
At Charleston 1 authorized Admiral
Dahlgren to send supplies of clothing,
etc., to the prisoners we had taken from
him. These supplies were scrupulously
issued to them.
At Bermuda Hundreds, in May, 1864,
when passing in front of large body
of Federal prisoners, who had gallantly
defended position which L considered
indispensable to us, took off my hat
to them, and they answered the saluta-
tion with cheers.
Terribly as L desired the effects of the
war to fall on all armed invaders of our
country, wanted exempted from them
the non-combatants-t is, the old
men, women and children, and wished
also that private property, not contra
band of war and not needed by the con-
tending armies in the field, should be
entirely protected from seizure or de-
struction. Such would have been my
course had 1 penetrated with an army
into Federal territory, unless it were in
strict retaliation for material departures
by the Federal forces from this civilized
mode of carrying on the war.
An old college professor used to say
hot hnx 1nl,x r.