Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-04-27
BEAUREGARD'S RECORD.
His Treatment Of Federal Prisoners
During the War.
Frank Sherman and His RaneOrOus
Utteranees PEt to SeOrn.
Fresh and Interesting Correspondence
With Gov. Porter.

| "A-SA IAAD lAN1LAOAA VI AAHAlAAAe5 CA-OOAAACAl
rates to participate in the national reunion
there was under consideration. The lette
is in response to one from Gov. Porter L
Gen. Beauregard on the subject and wa.
received by the Governor yesterday:
NEW ORLEANS, LA, April %, 1870
Dear Sir: Your favor Of the 18th inst. ha,
been received, enclosing the form Of an in
vitatiOn adopted by a general meeting q
the soldiers, sailors and citizens Of Chicago
to be sent s'to all who recognize the Ameri
can flag as an emblem Of nationality undi
vided and indiUiSible, to attend a grand re.
union Of all the soldiers and sailors of the
United States, TO be held at Chicago MAY
L, 1S and IA, 1875, and inquiring how
much truth there is in the remarks Of q
certain Gen. Frank Sherman, who objected
to the invitation being extended 10 me, as
she was not in favor Of extending an invi-
tatiOn to a man who had said he was in
favor of shooting all prisoners taken under
the American flag" had hoped that the
passions and enmities OccasiOned by the
late war we're replaced by kindlier feelings,
but it seems that there are hearts still ran
corous enough to be even anxious to again
stir into flame the dying embers Of the
war.
| In this section Of our country such ex-
hibitiOns Of animOsity are confined 10
those who, during the war, were farthest
from the enemy, gathering up the spOils in
the wake Of the cOntending armies. Is
not this Gen. Frank Sherman one Of those
| despicable characters?
Not from any regard for such windy de-
| clamatiOn, nor for the man mean enough
to sink to such base pandering TO popular
passion, but out Of respect 10 myself and
to that cause whose high and holy purpose
history will some day vindicate, l will
very briefly and frankly state the position
1 took in regard to the conduct Of the late
civil war, as concerned Federal prisoners.
After the battle Of the first Manassas,
when it was reported that the Federal Gov
eminent refused to recognize Confederate
prisoners as 'sprisOners Of war" that Chris
tian hero and able sCldie-, Gen. ThOs. j.
(StOneWall) jackson and myself advocated
that the Confederate Government should
then proclaim a "War to the knife" neither
asking nor granting quarter. WemoreOyer
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 in
spire greater terror in the armed invaders
Of our soil and reduce greatly the number
of army followers, bummers, etc, who are
ever the curse of all armed invasions.
Subsequently, when the Federals had
penetrated certain portions Of the South
and developed a system Of warfare so diamet-
rically opposed to the one praCticed by the
COnfederates, when they invaded Maryland
and Pennsylvania under the great COM
mander Gen. X. Z. Lee, and l saw the
emaciated forms and Wretched condition of
our returned Southern prisoners, 1 again ad-
vOeated the hosting of the black flag, will
ing at any time to forfeit my life in the
deadly struggle.
Notwithstanding these views l always
treated my prisoners with humanity and
proper consideration. had the fortune Of
taking many thousands Of them at Manas-
sas, Shiloh, Charleston, Drury's Bluff, !
Bermuda Hundreds and Petersburg, most |
Of whom are still alive suppose, 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 had offered be- |
fore the attack.
Through my intercessiOn, the Federal |
surgeons and ministers Of the Gospel, !
taken at Manassas, were released without |
by the Confederate Government. |
The day after that battle one Of the Federal |
officers (whOse friends / know in New /
York; applied to me for small loan for
himself and friends, which I furnished at
once from my private funds. 1t was faith
fully returned.
Shortly after the battle Of Shiloh, sent,
under a cartel, a certain number Of able
bodied Federal prisoners to Gen. Halleck,
who, several weeks after, returned an equal
number Of cOnUGleSceHtS from st. Louis to
Fort PiilOlC; the officer in command there
refused to receive them, because several Of
hem were just from a smallpox hospital.
Gen. Halleck failed afterWard to make
gOOd the exchange.
At Charleston l authorized Admiral
Dahlgreen to send supplies of clothing, etc.
% the prisoners we had taken from him:
hose supplies were scrupulOusly issued to
hem.
At Bermuda Hundreds, in May, 1864,
when passing in front Of a large body Of
Federal prisoners, who had calamity de-
ended position which L considered indis-
,ensable to US, took Off my hat to them
md they answered this salutatiOn with
.heers.
Terribly as l desired the effects of the
var to fall on all armed Invaders of our
country, wanted exempted from them the |
that is the old men, |
women and children, and wished also that |
,rivate property, not cOntraband of war and
lot needed by the cOntending armies in |
he field, should be entirely protected from |
eiZure or destruction. Such would have J
,een my course had / penetrated with an |
rmy into Federal territory, unless il were
n strict retaliation for material departures
y the Federal forces from this civilized
node of carrying on the war.
Inthestatement made above relativetO the
ystem of warfare adopted by the Federals,
opposed to that practiced by ]
he CODfederates, l had reference to their s
peTatiOns in Louisiana, Mississippi and I
Tirginia, and the ineXCusable burning of c
atlanta and Columbia, and the destructive {
march Of Gen. Sherman through Georgia 7
nd South Carolina, whose track was I
marked by smoking ruins and blackened
to the suggestion of Gen. Hal
eek TO destroy Charleston and sprinkle f
alt on the site, that not even grass should C
row thereon, to which Gen. 5. replied that S
o salt would be needed, as one of his /
lost reliable corps formed the right wing C
his army, and that it always did its b
'Ork thoroughly; TO the devastating march 4
Gen. Sheridan through the Shenandoah C
alley, relative to which he reported to the $
-eneral-in-Chief Of the United States /
rmies, that "a crow flying over the eOun- (
J would have to carry its own rations;;" s
ut he did not say what became Of the old G
len, women and children, who then lived O
! that fertile valley!
With regard to the mortality Of prisoners
q both sides the Washington Union (Rad- =
al, Of October 1868, contained the fol- :
wing article:
"In reply to a resolution Of the House of .
representatives. calling upon the Secretary 4
War for the number of prisoners of },
ther side held and that died during the ,
ar, be makes the following reports Num- !,
er Of Union prisoners South, 260,94O; 4
led 2, ,596; number o. Confederate prison. =
5 North 100000; died 26,435." =
That is, Of the former out Of every p, =
I'd 2 Of the latter out Of every 10. Com =
ent is here unnecessary in view Of the r
,nditiOn and resources Of those two sec :,
ons Of country. | remain, dear sir, yours 4
Ost truly, G.. I. BEAUREGARD. (
o His Excellency Gov. Jas. D. Porter, \
Nashville, Tenn. {
AMATEUR pedestrianism still RACES in i
ew York. Mr.. James Gordon Benefits =
me from Fifth avenue and FOrtieth street | E
Jerome Park was one hour, fOFty-six 4,