Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1876-02-26
Beauregard on Sherman.


le,,er Of inquiry that Gen. Sherman seeks to
establish one Of those violations of the rules of
civilized warfare which characterized his cam
pagn through Georgia and South Carolina by
the easilg-refuted slander to which you call my
atteutlon. namely, that in bis employment OF
Confederate prisoners during that campaign to
search for and dig up torpedoes he acted only
10 retaliation" for like employment Of Federal
prisoners by Confederate commanders-an as
sertiop reckless even for Gen. Sherman, whose
heedlessness OF what be writes aud speaks was
notorious before the appearance OF his Memoirs.
| myself can recall no OCCASION when tedersI
prisoners were or could naVe been employed as
alleged by that General, even had it been legtl-
mate and not shocking iDhumanity to do so;
that is to say, don't believe General Sherman
can specify, with date, aUy place that came into
the possession of the Coufederates during the
war, where torpedoes were planted, which they
had to remove either by resort to the use OF
Federal prisoners or any other means. There
certainly was never such place or occasion IN
the department which | commanded.
recollect distinctly, however, loaruing i'm
m.diaely after the fall of Savannah that Geu.
Sherman himself had put Confederate prison.
ers to this extraordinary use 10 his approach to
that city, as also after the capture of Fort Nc,
Allister, and thereupon made, through my
chief of staff, Colonel G. w. Brent, requisl-
ton on our Commissary OF Prisoners of War,
General Winder, for a detachment OF Federal
prisoners, to be employed 10 retaliation sn0uld
the occasion recur. / further rec)llect that
Gen. Winder answered that under his iustruc-
lions from the Confederate War Department
he could not comply; also, that lu his belief
prisoners could not rig ghtfully be SO employed.
That Gen. Sherman, as | had heard, at the
zine did so employ his prisoners stands OF re-
cord at page 1874, vol. 2, of his Memoirs:
On the S,h December, 1864 as rode
aloug touud the column turned out of the
malu road marching through the fields. Close
py one of the corners of the fence Was group
Of men standing around handsome young
officer whose foot had been blown TO pieces by
a torpedo plauted in the road; he told me that
he was riding along with the rest OF his br-
gade staff Of the Seventeenth Corps, when
torpedo, trvddeu oD by his horse, had eXplod-
ed, kiilug the horse aud literally blowing off
all the flesh from one Of his legs. saw the
terrible wound, aud made the full Inquiry toto
the facts There had been DO resistance at
that point, nothing to give warning OF the dan
ger: the rebels had planted inch shells 10 the
road, with friction matches to explode then
by being trodden ou. This was not war but
murder, aud 1t made me very angry. imme-
datcly ordered lot OF rebel prisoners to be
brought from the provost guard, with picks
and spades, and m,ade them march IN close or
der along the roau so as to explode or discover
aud dig them up. They begged hard, but L
reiterated the order, and could hardly help
laughing at their stepping so glngerly along
the road, where it was supposed sunken orpe-
does might explode at each step, but they
found 10 other until near Fort McAllister
Here we have his own confession that he
pushed mass of unarmed men, prisoners Of
war ahead Of his column to explode topedoes
whicn he appreheDdcd were placed 10 the ap-
;roactes to strongly fortified position, his
ABILITY to carry which be greatly doubted, as
may be aeen from his Memoirs.
lie does not there preteud that he acted 10
realattoo a. all, but because, tolsooth, he was
angry that one of bis officers had been badly
wounded by torpedo which bad been plauted
10 his path, without giving warning OF dan
ger" Surely his own narrative, vi b Its pain
tu. levlty, & ives as bad hue to the affair as
Gen. Sherman's worst enemies could wish.
1t remains to be said that he omitted meution
Of another instance of this unwarrantabe en-
plo!mcut of prisoners OF war. After Gen. Ha'
Zen, too Deceu Der l3, 1864 had handsomely
assaulted aud carried Fort McAllister, Gen.
Sherman, in person, ordered the Confederate
engineer officer Of the fort with sixteen men
c that garrison then prisoners OF war, to re-
move all the torpedoes 10 front ofthe tort which
might remain unexploded gallant soldiers, who
uuder their commander, Col. f. 9. Anderson,
had "ouly sucumbed as each man was lndlvld-
uatIy overpowered." (Geu. Hazen's official re-
pnrL) Col. Anderson, 10 his report says
b,,, ~
Vas performed without injury to any Que; but
II appearing to me an uDwarrantable, and In
proper treatment of prisoners OF war, | have
thought it right to refer to it in this re-
port
zen. Sherman might, with equal right, have
pushed body of prisoners 10 front OF an as
saultlng column to serve as as gablon roller.
tlS mauner Of relating the incident, which |
nave quoted in his own words is calculated to
give the impression that the use OF torpedoeS
Is something so abhorrent in regular warfare
that he could subj ,ct his unarmed prisoners to
the hazard OF exploding them and deserve
credit for the act-a strange obliquity 10 the
sencralin chief Of any army which has at the
present. moment special torpedo corps at
taehed to ii as an i'm portant defensive resource
10 fortified places-ln one who, moreover was
carefully taught at West Point how to plant
Tue equivalent Of torpedoes, as known to en-
Rlueer> OF that date, l. e., crows teet, trou de
IoGp, tougasses mines.
For my own part, from the day of the capt.
Giatou Of Fort Sumter iu 1861, when, in or
Der TO save brave soldier and his command
irom all unnecessary humiliation, allowed
Nialor Robert Anderson the same terms offer
sd before the attack, and to salute bis flag with
nifty guns and go forth With colors flying and
uFums beating taking off company and private
property, down to the close Of the war, | al
Ways favored and p1aciised the mot liberal
,F'atmeut of prisoners. AT the same time,
however, always urged the policy of rigid
and prompt retaliation, at all costs, for every
year lntraction Of the settled laws of war: for
history shows it to be the only etfectus met bod
VI VI, recalling an enemy from inhuman courses.
Washington never hesitated to apply this pain
iul remedy during our Revolutionary war.
Sn yours most truly, q. I. BEAUREGARD.