The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-01-09
from Representative Blackburn to General
Burbridge is furnished for publication:
LEXINGTON, Dec. 81, 1881

LEXINGTON, Dec. 81, 1881
Gen. s. @. Br5ridge..
SR:-Your note of recent date, with an
enclosure from one Owsley, directed to
you, was handed me by the assistant door
keeper of the House of Representatives on
the day of adjournment of Congress, to-wit:
the 21st inst. In your communication you
complain of the reopening of the wounds
of war and charging you with having dot
ted my district over with the graves of
men whom you had murdered during the
war, and seek to apologize for your action
of that period. This is substantially the
contents of your letter. / would have
replied earlier had not been leaving the
city as soon as | was well enough to do so.
I am thus forced to reply by mail. wish
| you to understand, sir, that | have never
sought to reopen the issues of the war,
nor have | ever at any time spoken un-
| kindly of any officer of the United States
army unless his acts put him beyond the
| pale of civilized warfare in the twilight of
| barbarism, nor will consent to employ
harsh language or severe criticism
toward my opponents in that struggle,
save under circumstances stated. But,
sir, after careful consideration allow me to
| say that in spite of your special plea that a
number of distinguished gentlemen, whom
| you name, approved your conduct who, In
so doing, must have acted without full
knowledge of the facts, whenever circum
stances require, or l might be called upon
| to speak in regard thereto, my statements
shall be consistent with truth and those
heretofore made by me.
j. G. BLACKBURN.
WASHINGTON. Jan. S.-The following is
| an abstract of the letter from Gen. Bur-
bridge to Representative Blackburn:
WASHINGTON, Jan. 9th, 1862.-You
make the point that the distinguished gen
| tlemen who approved my conduct must
have acted without full knowledge of
the facts. The deeds which done receiv-
| ed the hearty approval of all Union men,
and which in corresponding ratio pro-
voked the wrath of rebels in Kentucky in
1854 were not.done in a corner. They
were planned IN strict accordance with or
lders from Secretary Stanton and General
Sherman. The letters were written after
my military career had closed, and at
| time when the Democratic press of Ken
lucky was loudest in denunciating my Off
cial conduct 1t is to be regretted that in
condemning me as an officer directed to
suppress guerrillas, you fail to include in
your denunciation the guerrillas them
selves. Permit me to suggest that there
were acts attempted by adherents to your
Il
so pathetically allude never risked their
lives in battle which not only put the per-
petrators beyond the pale OF civilized war
| fare of barbarism which so far surpasses
| those mentioned, as to provoke the in
quiry whether they were not concerted by
| the prince of darkness himself. L allude
1 to the attempted introduction of clothing
infected with yellow fever into the north
ern cities during the war. do not know
| by whom the crime was attempted, but
proofs of the attempt are ample. Instruc-
| tons from Gen. Sherman, dated June,
| 1864, are published, directing Gen. Bur-
bridge to proceed vigorously against the
guerrillas, and letter from Secretary
| Stanton, authorized Burbridge to seize all
he can Law hands on.
/ The following is also given:
WASHINGTON, d. c.. 1864.
General Burbridge, Lexington, KY:
! 1 hear that you arrested my relative,
! Mrs Holm, and released her on her show
| ing you letter from me. Ii it contains
anything that allows her to talk or act
treason, disregard it and treat her as You
other rebels.
/ (Signed) A. Lincoln.
Then follows letter from General Scho-
field, dated June, 1864, and from President
Lincoln and Secretary Stanton, congratu-
latirg General Burbridge on the victory
over Morgan; Numerous other letters, in
cluding one from Montgomery Blair and
Solomon p Chase, endorsing Burbridge,s
conduct The statement concludes with
letters from Robert J. Breckenridge, W. G.
! Goodloe, James T. Speed, T. S. Ball.
Judge advocate General Holt and others
/, tended to show that in the opinion of these
writers General Burbridge's record ha:
been worthy of commendation in all re