The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1876-03-15
NEW ORLEANS. Fob. Is. 1876

with Tofbedbes.
NEW ORLEANS, Fob. Is, 1876.
NU DeW Sir-I regret to int
from your lettor of inquiry THAT
dcncral Sherman seeks to establish
one of those violations of tho rules
of civilized warfare which charac
tcrized his campaign through
Georgia and South Carolina by the
easily rofutod slander to- which
you call my attention, namely : that
IN his employment Of Confederate
prisoners, during that campaign,
TO search for and dig up torpedoes,
ne acted "only in retaliation" for
liko employment of Federal prison.
ers by Confedcratn colnlaandcrs-
an assertion reckless even for
Gonoral Sherman, whose heotuess.
moss Of what he writes and speaks
was notorious before tho appearance
Of his Memoirs.
l myself can recall no occasion
when Federal prisoners were or
could have been employed as al
legged by the General, oven had it
boon legitimate md not shocking
lnhumanlty to do SO That is TO say,
/ don't believe Goncral Sherman
can specify, with dnte, atty place
that came into tho possession
of the Confcdcratos during tho war
where torpcdoos were planted,
which they had to remove either by
resort to the use Of Federal prison
ers or by any othor means. Thore
certainly was never such a. place or
occasion in the department which l |
L reco'lcct distinctly, however,,
learning Immediately after the fall |
Of Savannah that Gou. Sherman
himself hnd put Confederate prisot.
ers to this extraordinary use in his
approach to that city, aa nlso after
the capture Of Fort NlcAllister, and
th"r"npon made, through my
chief of staff, II. q. W. Brent, a
requisit,on on our Commissury of
Prisoners Of War. Gen. Winder, for
d"fachnlcnt of Federal prisoners,
to bo employed III retaliation should
yhe OCCASION occur. 1 further
rcrollect that Ucli. Windor atswer
,d tint under his Instructions from
the Cpiifollorate War Department.
nc could not comply also, that in
his i'elief prisoners, could not right
fully be 50 employed. &C.
That Con. Sherman, ~ I had
heard ut tho timo, did SO employ
his prisoners, stands, of record on
page 191, vol. 2, of his Memoirs:
"On the Sth Doccmbcr, 1868, M
rode along I found the column
turned ont OF the main road, march,
ing through the fields. Chose nv
ono of the corners Nf Che f,'G"n was /,
. group of men standing around IL
young officer whose foot
had been blown to pieces by Il
torpedo planted in tho road no
told me that he was riding along
with the rest of his brigade staff Of
the Seventeenth Corps, when n
troddon on by his horsc,
hal exploded, killing tho horne and
literally blowing off all tho flesh
from ono Of hia legs. l. saw the
terrible wound and mado full in
quirics into tho facts. There hal |
been no resistance ut That point,
nothing to givo warning OF tho
'angor thu rebels bad planted
S inch shells in tho road, with |
friction matches TO explode tllom by
being troddcn on. This was not
var, but mlrdor, a,ll it. made mo
worry angry. I Immediately ordorcd
Il lot OF rebel prisoners to be
brought from tho provost guard,
with picks and spades, and madc
thcW mmch IN close ortlcr along
tho road SO rs TO expi0dc or discover
and dig them up. They begged
hard, but L roitoratol tho order,
and could hardly holp laughing at
thoir stepping so ginGorly along
tho road, where it was supposed
sl'nkon torpcdoos 'night explode Mt
oach step, but they found no othor
until hear Fort McAllistor."
Horo wo hayc his own confession
That no pushed mass of unarmod
mon, prisoners OF war, ahoad of his
column, to explode torpcdoos which
ho approhondcd were placed in tho
approaches to n strongly fortified
position, his ability to carry which
ho greatly doubtod, as may DO soon
from his Memoirs.
He does not there protond that
no acted in retaliation at all, but bo-
cause. forsooth, no was angry that
ono Of his olIiccra had boon badly
wounded by a torpedo which had
been placed IN his path, "without
giving warning Of danger" Surely
his own narrative with it's painful
loyity, gives as bad n huo to tho af-
fair rs Gen. Sherman worst che
iuica could wish.
1t remains to bc said that ho
omitted mention OF another instance
Of this understandable employment
Of prisoners of war. After Con
Hazcn (on Doc. 13, 1874, } had hand,
somcly assaulted and carried Fort
McAllistcr, Gen. Shcrman, in por-
son, ordered the Confederate on.
gincor officer Of the fort, with six