The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1876-03-11
: Beauregard on Sherman.
New ORLEANS, Feb. Is, 1876.
My DEAR Sir: | re9ret to find

MY DEAR SIR: | regret to find
from your letter Of inquiry that
Gen. Sherman seeks to establish
one of those violations of the rules
Of civilized warfare which char
acterized his campaign through
Georgia and South Carolina by the
easily reputed SANDER to which
you call my attention, namely.
that in bis employment of Conted-
crate prisoners during that CAM
paisn to search for and dig up tor
pcdoes, he acted " only in rctalia-
tion" for like employment Of Fed
cral prisoners by Confederate com-
manders--an assertion reckless
even for Gen. Sherman, whose
hcedlessness of what he writes
and speaks was notorious before
the appearance OF his Memoirs.
myself can recall no occasion
when Federal prisoners were or
could have been employed as alIeg-
dby that General even had it
been legitimate and not a shocking
inhumanity to do so; that is to say
idont beielve Gen. Sherman can
specify with date, and place that
game into thc-possession of the
Confcderatcs during the war where
torpcdocs were planted, which
they had to remove either by re-
sort to the use of Federal prison.
ers or any other means. There
certainly was never such a place
Or occasion in the department
which l commanded.
recollect distinctly, however,
learning Immediately after the fall
of Savannah that General Sherman
himself had put Confederate pris-
oncrs to this extraordinary use III
his approach to that city, as also
after the capture Of Fort McAllis.
ter, and l there upon made,
through my chief of staff, Col. G.
W. Brent, q requisition on our
Comlnissary Of Prisoners Of War
Gen. Winder, for a detachment ol
Federal prisoners, TO be employed
in retaliation should the occasion
occur. Ifnrthcr recollectthat Gen,
Windcr answered that under his
Instructions from the Confederate
War Department he could not
comply; also, that IN his bclicl
Tprisoners could not rightiully be
SO employed.
That Gen. Sherman, as l had
heard, at the time did so employ
his prisoners stands Of record al
page 1884, vol. 2 of his Memoirs:
"On the 8th Dcccmbcr, 1864 ,a'
Irode along / found the column
turned out Of the main roat
marching through The fields. Close
by ono Of the corners OF the fence
was group OF uncn standing
around d handsome young officer
whose foot had been blown t,
pieces by a torpedo planted in. th'
road; hc told me that he was ridin,
along with the rest of his brigaa,
staff of the Seventeenth Corps
| when q torpedo, trodden on BY hi
horse, had exploded, killing I'll,
horse aud litterally blowing off al
the flesh from one OF his legs
IL saw the terrible wound, an,
made full inquiry into the facts
There had been no resistance a
that point, nothing to give warn
ing of the danger: the rebels ha'
planted S-inch shells i'll the roa'
with friction matches to cxplod
them BY being trodden OH. Thi
was not war, but murder, and !
made inc very angry. | immedi
atcly ordered q LOT of rebel prison
crs to be brought from the pro
vost guard, with picks and spades
and made them marchin close ordo
along the road SO us to eAplod
/ or discover and dig them ~
: , They begged hard, but | reiterate
the order, and could hardly hpl
laughing at their stepping so gina
gcrly along the road, where 1t va
: supposed sunken torpedoes nigh
,, explode at each step. but the,
found no other until near Fol
| McAllistcr."
|, Here we have his own confessio
/, that he pushed a mass OF unarma
) men, prisoners of war, ahead I
. his column to explode torpedot
which he apprehended were place
Z IN the approaches to n strongl
fortified position, his ability I
carry which he greatly doubted,
may be seen from his Memoirs.
lie docs not there pretend th'
: he acted III retaliation at all. b,
because, forsooth, he was angl
that ono Of his officers had bee
badly wounlcd by a torpedo " hie