The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1885-01-28
TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR.
General Shrri:,nn's Attempt 70 ISriu-
gle Out OF 4 Falls .l,ood

Shcrman's letter TO the Secretary Of
War, consequent upon the Davis denial,
has been given to the press, and is as
follows:
WAsiISGToS, ID. c., january 6. 1885.
Hon. Robert II. Lincoln, Secretary Of
War, Washington, ID. c., Sir-l beg to
submit for your consideration and dis
posal this paper, to be filed with the
war records which may aid others in
search Of truth. Recently, at st. Louis,
Mo-, my present residence, I was invited
to assist in de,licating new hall for the
use Of Frank p. Blair Post No. Of the
Grand Army Of the Republic, composed
exclusively Of Union soldiers, their wives
and chilircn-a family affair. in no sense
apublic meeting. The exercises consisted
OF short speeches, intcrspcrsed with
army songs. ! was one among many
speakers and my remarks were purely
cNtcmporc, without manuscript or notes
of any kind. My recollection Of what
did say is sabout this: congratulated the
members Of the post on having secured
so good hall in so convenient neigh
hOrhoOd; in the interest manifested by
so full an attendance that it was good
for old soldiers to meet and interchange
the memories and traditions Of n war in
which they had borne an honorable part
that historical memoirs and stories were
hcinG pnblishcd; that the Government
was making progress i'll the publication
Of the official reports aud correspondence
Union and Confederate; that. never
thcless, all these fell short of the whole
truth; that each mans memory retained
things Of still greater interest to lis (the
survivors), and that ] myself had seen
and expressed much that had never been.
and would probably never be, published,
illustrating the assertion by what oc-
CURED in Louisiana prior to February 24,
1861. when left Ike State; Of letters and
papers captured throughout the war; that
had seen papers which convinced me
that even MIR. Davis, the President or the
Southern Conicaeracy, had during the
progress OF the war changed his States
rights doctrines an;i had threatened to
nsc forcc-cvcu Lees ariny-si,ruld any
State Of the Com:rt;cracy a;,rm?t to
SccGdr from that Government, etc.
cnNrEoEEES: AROUSED.
| had no thought or expectation that
these remarks would be published at
all, much less in n garhlrd form to occa-
sion discussion and iil-fecling; vet
shrink from no just responsibility for
every word uttered, at any time. Two
OF the st. Louis morning papers did pub
l:sh reports of that meeting, including
"my $pctch,' much condensed, and, as
usual, much improved by Che intelligent
reporters. who, ignoring the Context,
laid particular stress on "the letter Of
President Davis to the Governor of
State, now Senator, whose name was
not given" Mr.. Davis. from his home
at Beauvoir, has quoted these reports,
and in a card addressed to the ST. Louis
Hcpnblicon has pronounced my asscr-
ton false and me slandcrcr He has
never addressed ne to inquire how
much Of truth was contained in the quo
tations, nor has any friend Of his done
so. Many others have, end l have
answered them frankly, always dis
countcnancing discussion in newspapers
The world hce.ls but little what | think
Of Mr.. Davis or he Of me: but all do
want to know the "truth and nothing
but the truth"
THE SOUTHERN CONSPIRACY.
have said thousand times. and now
nay again, there was conspiracy
throughout the Southern States in the
winter Of lS60-l; that l myself was
approached hya member OF the Knights
Of the Golden Circle; that the head of
that conspiracy was in Washington; that
its object was to destroy our Govern
mcnt and raise n plutocracy at the South
| cannot state the proposition better
than John G. Nicolay has already done
in his admirable work, THE Outbreak
of Rebellion," the first Of the Scribncr
series, and that the cause permeatcd the
navy is demonstrated by Admiral
Ammen in his contribution to the same
series. entitled "Thc Atlantic Coast"
both using the plain words Conspiracy
and "conspirators."
For the nature and kind Of government
in Richmond 1866 ] refer the student
to DR.. Draper's third volume, pages 443
and 449. Civil War in America" and,
as for the conspiracy itself, to "McPhcr-
sons History Of the Rebellion" last
edition, pages 391 and 392.
But it is my own personal experience
to which propose in the main to limit
myself; not to one single disjointed