Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-01-10

letter and this reply, were written af
ter my military career had closed, and
not at the time when the Democratic
press of Kentucky was loudest in it's
denunciation of my official conduct.
They were written by men who were
fully conversant with all the facts,
both before and after they had been
distorted by the rebel haters.
It is to be regretted that in pass
ing sentence upon me, as an officer
to whom the execution of orders
for the suppression of the guer-
rillas was entrusted, you failed to
include in your denunciation. the
guerrillas themselves.
Have you ever heard how Perry's
band murdered, Mr.. Kalbfus, in
Bardstown Turnpike, while he was
protecting his wife from insult, and
how the incensed neigh
borhood arose and pursued
then until Mr. Roberts, county sur
veyor, was killed? Hundreds of
such crimes were committed by the
guerilla bands who roamed over the
State. You refer to men whose acts
put them Beyond the pale of civil
lied warfare, in twilight of barbar-
ism or worse in the domain of actual
crime" Would it have been an act Of
this character to hunt down Berry's
band and hung every one its men,
bers? If your district was dotted
over with graves it was for such acts
as these. AS I informed you in my
previous letter, not man was put to
death by my order, without first
having been tried and convicted
by regularly court martial. Acts
which place perpetrators Beyond
the pale of civilization warfare in
twilight of barbarism OF. worse in the
actual crime were the very acts
which it became my duty to punish !;
that I was too lenient and allowed
many to secure pardon upon the
promise of future amendment, 1 adj
NIT; that 1 was frequently
censured for this is true. At time
when the Kentucky Legislature had
no power to command me, I ap-
peared voluntarily before the COM
mittee appointed by the senate, and
all the charges to which you now re-
fer were fully investigated, and upon
che advice of Hon. Asa G. P. Glover,
Of the Senate, the investigation was
abandoned by the lower house.
In conclusion, allow me to suggest,
that there were acts attempted by
adherents to your cause who, like
those to whose death you SO pa
thetically allude, never risked their
lives in battle which not only put
the perpetrators "beyond the pale
of civilized warfare, in the twilight
of barbarism, OK worse, in the do
main of actual crime" which so far
surpasses those above mentioned
as to provoke the inquiry, whether
they were not concerted by the
prince of darkness himself. I al
Jude, sir, to the attempted introduc-
ton of clothing infected with yellow
fever into Northern cities during the
war. 1 do not know by whom this
crime against civilization was at
tempted, but proofs Of the
attempt are ample, and while
vexing your righteous SOU
about the barbarous treatment Of
thieves and cutthroats In Kentucky
it might be well to allow some por-
ton of your indignation to find vent
against this diabolical attempt tC
murder innocent women and child
rem. Respectfully,
S. 6. BURBRIDGE.
Appended are number of tele-
grams and letters, among others 6
telegram from Gen. Sherman, dated
Big Shanty, Ga, June IA, 1864, IL
which Gen. Burbridge is instructed
; to hunt down every guerilla and rob
bers in Kentucky; letter writer
on the 2lst of the same month by
Gen. Sherman, urging at length thai
summary measures must be adopted
in dealing with guerillas, and let
ter from Secretary Stanton, writer
from Washington in 1864, authoriz-
ing Gen. Burbridge to seize all he
can lay his hands on, and to turr
over to the quartermaster's depart
ment all he cannot use.
WASHINGTON, d. c., 1964.-Gen.
, Burbridge, Lexington, Kentucky
, / hear that you have arrested
my relative, Mrs. Helm, and released
her on her showing letter from me
/ If it contains anything that that al
lows her to talk or act treason, dis
regard it and treat her as you dc
other rebels
Signed. A. LINCOLN.
, Then follow letters from General
Schofeld, under date of Washing
ton, June IA, 1864, and from Pres
, ident Lincoln and Secretary Staun
ton, on the same day, congratulating
General Burbridge on hi
| victory over Morgan. Numerous
other letters, including one from
Montgomery Blair and one from
Salmon p Chase, are submitted
and they endorse General Burbridge's
1 manner of discharging his military
, duties in Kentucky. The statement
concludes with letters from Rober
J. Breckenridge, w. G. Goodloe
James S. Peed, T. S. Bell, Judge
Advocate General Holt, W. r
Kinney, c. F. Burnam, J. F. Rob
ison, d. Al. Key and others, all O.
; which tend to show that in The
| ODiniOn of their writer Genera