Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-02-28
SHERMAN'S DEFENSE
Against Gen. Frys's Charges That
He MaIIgnsd Grant.
The Objectionable Paragraph was
From a Private Letter
Which Sherman Did Not Mean FOL
the Public Eye.


} which was the basis of the controversy
With Gen. Frye, preceded By an address
which was intended to be delivered before
the LOYAL Legion at Cincinnati, but Gen
Sherman says that the sudden and unex
uected death of Gen. Hancock the evening
previous, changed the whole character oi
the proceedings.
To MJ Comrades and Friends:
Whilst seek retirement and peace the
newspapers take great liberties with me as
with every body else. They have publish.
ed that my family will soon leave St.
Louis because we are discontented, each
paper assigning its own separate reason
There is 70 secret about it. All my fam
ily connections and all who have q right to
be considered, understand the Gaze perfect
". Ever since the failure Of the Harrison
Wire Company at S.. Louis, which inVolv.
ed my son.ir-lsw, Capt. Fitch, and which
has resulted in the removal of his family to
Pittsburg, Pa, We have been
disturbed. Three of my children
and seven grandchildren are now sway
from home, and there remains to Us only
4 three of these The youngest son, nine
teen years old, on whom the family must
soon depend, will graduate at the st. Louis
Uuiversity in June, 1886; he wants to go
to Yale College, and We want him to re-
ceiye the best education possible. His
going to New Haven will probably result
in the few Of us left going to New York
to be near him. l shall, however, retain
all property l possess in St. Louis (not
much, to be sure, but all that ! have TO
leave the family when l am laid in Belle
fontaine cemetery. / Am perfectly content
with my neighbors and friends Of st, Louis
TO whom | am very much attached and
who have done all they possibly couli 10
make our stay with them agreeable.
THE FRYE MATTER
is equally simple when reviewed right
| Last summer etter Gen. Grants funeral,
which attended while travelling between
New York, St. Louis, Minnetonks and
Chicago, was collecting material for a
tribute of respect, |, as President, was re-
uuested to make to the memory of Gen.
! Grant, our frst commander, before the
Society OF the Army of Tennessee at our
meeting ct Chicago Of September 9th and
| 10Th. That address was copied by all the
journals Of the day and was the re-
suit of that correspondence. The
special question Of General Frye
/ in the December number Of the North
| American Review was not made from that
public address, but from one or two private
letters of inquiry addressed to Col Robert
! n. Scott, who had been on General Hal
lsck's stall and is now in charge OF the
war records at Washington of whom all
army officers made frequent inquiries for
scraps of information. Col. Scott is q
personal friend whom | have known since
boyhood, and his father before him, in San
Francisco. wrote to him with the same
confidence would to my own brother about
fanily rstters. keep no copies of such
letters, and writs EoIe hastily or csrlessly
and it was only January 29, two months
after that | obtained from Col. Scott q
oopy of the correspondence from which
Frye hsG made hia detached quotation.
This
CoRREsPoNDENCE
presents the whole story better than | can
state it anew. As soon as Gen. Frye 8
s-ticle appeared Gen. Grants friends
called my attention to it and my
is.ter, book or memory, returning no ex.
preston OF opinion so positive as that used,
naturally requested the editor to Gscer-
tain from Gen. Frye the source Of his
quotation, that / might explain or ascer-
tain who had revealed my private letters.
Gen. Frves answer was evasive, calling on
General Sherman to deny the words and
sentiment before he voSli sqbstantiate
hIs statement. again called on him and
appealed to the War Department all
without success, generally explaining
To correspondents that | thought it impos:
sible | could have used that particular
taru Of expression and believed General
Fry had malicious motive. | received
100 late notice By roundabout way from
a gentleman 10 Cincinnati that Fry was
cunniugly laying trap to catch me, and
il was not until January 20 that Col. Scott
himself Erst Segealed to me
TIE ACTUAL soUR6E
ofthe michieyous paragraph detached ano
used as q text for the sermon 1t was as
, clear q forgery as was ever petpetrated'
Taking nay letter to Col. Scott IN its integ
rity thoug ii msuitestlJ never meant toI
publication. l contend it is eninentlJ
consistent with my constant friendship fol
General Grant from Shiloh to the day We
deposited his remains in toe tomb at River
, side.
The date September 9th, 1885, is prior
. 10 the publication OF GTSnt'S Memoirs,
in which on page 3S5 the positively rec
. ords that his position at Corinth, June
: 1862, had become so unbearable" that h'
, had resolved to go to the rear and was dis
J suaded By Gen. Sherman, or quoting hi
, own words, II then obtained PerEaisslon t
: leave the depsrtmgat, but Gen. Sherman
{ happened to call on me as | was abou
) starting and urged me 80 strongly not y
j think Of gcirs that concluded to remain.
Gen. Sherman in his "Eenoirs" of lS7'
> states the fact with the further addition
, that he learned OF Gen. Gsaps sPurpose I,
90 back to St. Louis from Gen. Hallecl
{ himself and rode to Gen. Grants camp 70
/ the very purpose Of dissusdipg him iron
/. committing this fatsl mistake. Now it i
a matter of notoriety that from Februar
: to July, 1862,
{ GEN. GRANT WAS UNDER A CLOUD,
/ houuSsG By newspapers aud BY clique Z
8 officers, ofwhom Frye was one, until, ss b
himselfsays, his position became "unbeal
: able" And daring all that time Geners
q sherman was his steadfsst friend, and di
covered in him those pure, unsel6sh, maj
0 " qualities VLiSh eftsrWsrd yielded sue
= precious fruits 70 our eesutry AID pal
II kind Can it then be wondered at, aitC
l, tyenty-four years that Gen. Sherma
I. should be & littlo surprised that the habi
e nal EbelIer of Gen. Grant tsse his publ
volume ls4, the army under Buel
/ should attempt to assume the character
L n ~ hia ayDanaa