Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1881-06-16

: ment is untrue, and, though in any contrt
versy to which Gen. Hampton may be pal
ty, no corroborative evidence is necessary
substantiate his assertion Of fact comm
within his personal observation, hundreds {
unimpeschable witnesses have testified tha
the burning of Columbia was the deliberat
act of the Federal soldiery, and that it va
} certainly permitted if not ordered by III
commanding general.
And again:
! Were this the only instance of such bal
; barity perpetrated by Gen. Shermau's army
; his effort to escape the responsibility Nigh
, be moro successful, because more plausible
but when the eulogists of bis exploits not
exultingly that "wide.spreading columns o
smoke rose wherever the army went" whel
it is incontrovertibly true that the line of hi
march could be traced by the burning dwell
ing houses and by the wall of women ant
children pitilessly left to die from starvation
and exposure in the depth Of winter, his ple'
Of mot guilty" in the case of the city Of Col
umbia cannot free him from the reprobatiol
which outraged humanity must attach to al
act of cruelty which only finds parallel il
the barbarous excuses of Wallensteins arm,
in the Thirty Years War, and which, ever
at that period of the worlds civilization, sui
lied the fame Of that otherwise great soldier
THE SURRENDER OF LEE.
One of the most interesting features O
the book is what Mr.. Davis says of the vari
Gus peace movements. 1t has been charged
that Gen. Lee told Mr.. Davis early in 1861
that it was impossible for the Confederacy
to maintain itself, and the President has beer
blamed for continuing the war after this time
On tbs point Mr.. Davis says:
.-ee had never contemplated surrender
He had long before, in language similar tc
that employed by Washington during the
Revolution, expressed to me the belief thai
in the mountains Of Virginia he could carry
on the war for twenty years, and in direct
ing his march toward Lynchburg it may well
be that as an alternative he hoped to reach
those mountains, and with the advantage
which the topography would give yet to battle
the hosts which were following him.
And further:
In the early part of March, 1865, as well
as my memory can tx the date, Gen. Lee
held with me long and free conference. He
stated that the circumstances had forced on
him the conclusion that the evacuation OF
Petersburg was but question of time. He
had early and fully appreciated the embar
rassment which would result from losing the
workshops and foundry at Richmond, which
had been our maiu reliance for the manufac.
ture and repair of arms as we'll as the prepa'
ration of ammunition. The Importance Of
Richmond in this regard was, however, then
less than it had been by the facilities which
gusta, Selma, Fayetteville and some smaller
establishments, also by the progress which
was being made for large srmory at Macon,
Ga. To my inquiry whether it would not be
better to anticipate the necessity by with.
drawing at once, he said that his artillery and
draught horses were too weak for the roads in
their then condition, and that he would have
to wait until they became 6rmer. Then nat.
urally followed the consideration Of the line
of retreat. The paper was forwarded to Gen.
Lee and returned by him with an unfavora'
BILE criticism, and the conclusion that, if we
had to retreat, it should be in a southwardly
direction toward the country from which we
were drawing supplies, and from which a
large portion of our forces had been derived.
In this conversation the same general view
was more specifically stated and made to ap-
ply to the then condition of affairs. The pro-
gramme was to retire to Danville, at which
place supplies should be collected and a juno.
ton made with the troops under Gen. j. E.
Johnston, the combined force to be hurled
upon Sherman in North Carolina, with the
hope of crushing his army before Grant could
reach him.
As to the manner in which the determina-
ton to surrender was reached Mr.. Davis
writes:
On the evening of the 9th Gen. Lee de-
cided, after conference with his corps com.
manders, that he would advance the next
morning beyond Appomattox Courthouse,
and if the force reported to be there should
prove to be only Sheridan's cavalry, to dis:
perse it and continue the march toward
Lynchburg; but if infantry should be found
in large force, the attempt to break through
it was not to be made, and the correspondence
which Gen. Grant had initiated on the pre-.
vious day should be reopened by flag, with
propositions for an interview to arrange the
terms of capitulation. Gordon, whose corps
formed the rear guard from Petersburg, and
who had fought daily for the protection Of
the trains, had now been transferred to the
front. On the next morning, before day.
light, Lee sent COL Venable, one of his staff,
to Gordon, commanding the advance, to learn
his opinion as to the chances Of successful
attack, to which Gordon replied: my old
corps is reduced to frazzle, and, unless am
supported by Longstreet heavily, | do not
think We can do anything more" When
Col. Venabe returned with his answer TO
Gen. Lee, he said "Then there is nothing left
me but to 60 and see Gen. Grant"
COULD THE WAR CONTINUE?
After the surrender of Gen. Lees army,
Mr.. Davis had no thought that the war was
over. On this point he says:
had telegraphed to Gen. Johnston from
Danville the report that Lee had surrender
ed, and on arriving at Greensboro condition
ally requesting him to meet me there, where
Gen. Beauregard at the time had bis head
quarters, my object being to confer with both
of them in regard to our present condition
and future operations. Though was fully
sensible of the gravity Of our position, serious
ly affected as it was by the evacuation of the
capital, the surrender of the Army of North
ern Virginia and the consequent discour.
agement which these events would produce, l
did not think we should despair. We still
had effective armies in the field, and q vast
extent of rich and productive territory both
east and west of the Mississippi, whose citizens
had evinced no disposition to surrender. Am
pie supplies had been collected in the rail.