New-York tribune., 1886-02-15
4 SAVAGE ATTACK OK SHERMAN.
OPINION or rHr ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF WAR
UNpER STANTON oN THE ABOVE CORRESPOND
rNCE-RrApY TO THROW TIE WHOLE sTAKhs


AWAY.
frora The So's Editorial Columns. FeJ. Il, 1886.
In these confidential communications made to the
fugitive aud trspHituk head OF tAe collapsed Con eder
acy 10y tghiuct officers WHO wrro the comrades oi ms
nigbt, have ,.tmouy OF supreme authenticity ana
value We nave, 80 to speak the dcathocd re'eatoh'
Of tue rebel Government.
the current history o. the closing act oi Tue iteDe3n
must be rc~uUch. ana mat the hidI Jul-es. Vi M ~,
people the conduct ana services of some OF tue chrf
actors yet he pronounced IL means mat the Sns-
pcctod incipIcy OF tho COnf'dcracy after l~e. sur
render more euicnt tnan uncondtional
surrender WAS an ihdispuiADIe Iaei, anu ti't nav
Tor oNactiug from General Johnston iucomparably
less than Grant required AZ AppOnhttO1
the F.drra Commander Ia North Carolina must he Il III
gUit either OF gro-, lnbeclliy or Cl 'cahHi.9ns p
trsya OF his Trust II means noi only General Johnston
bat Preside DAVIS AMI the attendant m,mO.ts Oh hS
cabinet far from being Ph-en ny Iue ttluAe 81 Ut
be catastrophe To the last moment 10 redeem an
uuble.t and hopeless CAUSE ahd came Nlthi Hi mil
breadth OF securing more ani tue ,upcf ~ snlpWleck
than ha ever been conceded IN the flush OF their sue.
cess Ii means that but for the ptoNidcnta presence III
great citizen at Nhshh-tuh' lIs h'uou mus. w nav Va .
lrt early All that great soldier had won Tor ~ ~
Richmond. and that the surpassug magnitude OF ths
couutys debt TO stanton Is at as' 10 be acAhO"leugeu
Inc rebellion in a word. known to its organizers
directors to bo at Its 's gasp ana WIN lne vuUH
OF uroN Mug they cIuug 20 he plank OF rescue ana
redemption held out TO them by sielinsh s,n'sop , o
Drath "t ,, 1:snsr,r- "brgntion To make the
most his ldysntagcs neither IN race OF lhtse "eIs
can IL any longer be pretended that he wOuid nave
ri.ked more 10y uncom prom sing treatment Of john
sion than had bszarded by his unhncing course
toward Lee. IL was pTepOserous Tor any hlou CV,h-
ander less after the rrostratOn OF the pnbc
foe AT AppoattoI than had been demanded there and
II was a rink Injustice to shcrmans veterans to as-
-, tbt thay cn2Id no mt OF with any gnerdOn short
OF their enenys unconditional surrender. 70 impose
such iigtul terms their General had Ony as tue ene
trnmp cnrd I'm his hand sherman was inspired by folly
or yalngoIiOus desire OF iOresaling tue Executive
ana nna aay In t Hed with his so dcIs at his back
would have been nvlnclDle Out ne Was ptpPotr ~
h, pacti,ed hands OF tho Confederate lticans The
convention made by him by with Johnston, but
Virtually as tue text shows with the Confederate Gov
rent bears memorable witLcss % the astutehess oI
thp uuep par and the Ulllginc~S ol tue Oihcr
II has, indeed, been questioned whether tue Union
General had ssgscity enough to see The gravity OF ms
conre.sons- whether, In other words, the man really
knew what lie was doing. But lie knew he was t.aus-
sendrg "a soldiers Office lie knew lie was usurphs luhc-
ons of tho civil power IIo knew ho had no business 10
treat with any but Johnston or with him uon any
other subject but the Surrender of tho rcue lOrce III
Nnrth Carolina. sherman knew thar he had no more
right than the meanest snter IN his camp to emb"rrass
and commit the Government at WASN'T gtOn ~ khoWlhk
these u ings aud OF snning with is eyes wide open nc
can only absolved upon the plea OF idiocy aud there
fore men felt then what more OF us must how
ackn0wcdco. that simple justice had been done nad
Grant used the discretionary power with wnch stanton
had ntrusted him. aud arrested sherman at te heu vi
his army. They the aere, mcnt with Sherman
ratified 10y the Government At WashngOn-and now lht
Lincoln vas no more, they had gool reason 10 eAtut
that civilians would truckle 10 the VIII OF euccessu
solder-woud leave the defeated rebels IN sDso,nte
control OF tue socedng states masters OF every Stato
Government OF every arsenal OF the militia Ot the TAX
levyipg and loan raising over They saw that won
leave them ready, when time should SorVe ana te thon
soldiers dlsbanded, Ia break second time tie Oath
which they had pronounced not binding and renew
IL conflict which was now more thhn ever drhohs,rapy
rrepressble All OF them also perceived, DO dOhOt,
what Judge Reagan with less caution hhl MS co"aRuos
dilatcs upon namely that the scheme OF
outlined IN the Sherman convention would Oier basis
for demanding either that the Federal Government
should recognize the rebel debt or should relieve tho
citizens OF seeding States fr0m sharing the burden OF
taxation needed TO defray tue cost OF placing Union
armies In the field.
But we have not yet touched upon the whole shame
which Sherman tried TO fasten his country NOT ohy
would his OF the rebel state Governments
In all their constitutional powers prove an lnsuperhOie
bar to the Thirteenth Amendment but blythe nith
his agreement lie expressly guaranteed he
southern shareholders in all the rights OF properly So
cured to them by the too indulgent Constitution o tue
United States and by the slave -budlng organic laws
OF tLer respective comm0nweaths No wonder that the
Cabinet advisers Of Nj. Davis dwell with junction. Oh tno
tmport OF Ills ucredible concession They were to
keep then after ALL those human chattes whose posses
io had long been bOth sides to be tho
fatal seed OF irremedable diso0rd They had managed
by their wd diplomacy annu the call to freedom
which Ii pcon had put forth and which Grant had coun
tersgned with victory. All that they deliberately saked
and loaf upuu tho east he recovered from
tho vanity or weakness OF meddesOme COMMUNICATING
Like the base udean threw pearl away
Richer than all lis tliOe."