Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-10-01
SHERMAN GIVEN THE LIE
EX-PKESIDENT DAVIS FINALLY
FREES HIS MIND.

The Alleged Threat TO Turn Lees Army
AgSinst Aoy State Seeding From the
CoBfederacy Declared Malicious
Creation of the DisOrdered Brain of
OhiO's Crusty General.
BALTIMORE, Sept. 30.-The Sun to-mor-
row will print letter i've columns in
length from jefferson Davis in relation to
the long-standing controversy between
himself and Gen. w. T. Sherman. The
| letter begins as follows.
At various times and from many of my
! friends have been asked to furnish reply
| to Gt n. Sherman's so-called report to the war
! Department, whicn the United States Senate
| ordered printed as "EX. Doc. No. 80, Forty
| eighth Congress, Second Session" / have
! been compelled by many causes to postpone
! reply TO tine invitation. and have in some
TO undertake the labor. A con-
| tnuing sense of the great injustice done
! me before the people by the Senate in max
| ing the malicious assault of Gen. Sherman
| public document, and giving 10 his slander
the Importance which necessarily attaches to
an executive communication to the senate,
has recently caused the request for reply by
me to be pressed with very great earnestness.
For this reason | have decided to furnish
reply for publication in the sun.
OPPOSED TO THE WAR.
! The history of my public life gives evidence
| that did AL in my power to prevent the war,
! bDdJ ulO nOJDlDK To pr6ClplJaLS Jne COllslOn,
that did not seek the post of Chief EXecu-
tive, but advised my friends that preferred
| not to I'LL it. That history Gen. sherman may
| assail by his statements, but he cannot alter
| it's consistency. For al the acts OF my public
| life as President OF the Confederacy / am re-
| sponsible at the bar of history, and must ac-
cept her verdict, which shall do without the
| least apprehension that IL will be swayed
! from truth by the malicious falsehOods OF
| Gen. Sherman, even when stamped as an "Ex.
| Doc" by the United States Senate.
Mr.. Davis then recites the statement
made by Gen. Sherman before the gather
| ing of eX-Uuiou soldiers in 1885, that he
! (Sherman )had seen a letter from DAVIS
to United States Senator in which he
Davis said he would turn Lees army
against any State that might attempt to
secede from the Southern COntederacy."
! Mr.. Davis then quotes his letter TO the
st. Louis Republican denying the truth
| of Gen. Sherman's statement and the in
terviews had subsequently, by reporters
| with Gen. Sherman. to whom the latter
| said: "This is an affair between two gen
tlemen. / will take my time about 1t and
write to Mr.. Davis myself. We will sell
tie the matter between u.s." Mr.. Davis
continues:
SHERMAN FAILED TO WRITE.
1t is hardly necessary for me to say that
Gen. sherman did not write TO me, and we
have not settled the matter Iherwise thar - /
]
and himself as a slanderer. There the matter
would have rested so far as was concerned,
but when the w ar Department OF the United
States was m ade the custodian OF his slander,
and Republican Senators became its in
dorsers. ana the statements made at Frank
Bar Post were lifted into official i'm DortanCe,
it became duty allie TO myself ana the peo-
pie TO follow the slaa6ers with my denial, and
to eXDose allke its author and his Indorsers.
Mr.. Davis reviews the progress OF the
| controversy, recitng the denial of every
Senator from the Southern States that he
had received such letter as that spoken
of by Gen. Sherman, snd accusing Gen.
sherman first OF trying to substitute let
ter from Alexander II. Stephens to Her
schel Y. johnson for the alleged Davis
letter; then of representing that the Da-
Wis letter was lost, and finally of pretend
ing that he had seen the alleged letter at
Raleigh, n. c., and intimating that it was
addressed to Gov. Vance.
SENATOR vANCE's DENIAL.
Mr.. Davis quotes the published denial
Gov. Vance tbathe bad ever received such
a letter from HIM, and says:
My alleged Raleigh letter has never been
found. Gen. sherman says 1t was sent TO
Nashville. Savannah, Washing gtCn aud St.
Louis, and may have been finally burned in
Chicago. in the great fire Of 1871. But IN ali
its travele, no other person but Cen. Sherman
saw 1t. Not a single officer at any headquar-
y
fair minded man must, therefore, conclude
that Gen. sherman stated ut the Grand Army
Post willful and deliberate falsehoOd, az d
that his motive had It's inspiration in that
mean malice which has characterized his acts
and writings in other respects towards the
South. The so-calied "H,storic9l statement
Concerning the Public POicy OF The Executive
Department of the Confederate States" as
Gen. Sherman's letter to the War Department
is headed in that "EX. Doc"
opens with the following statement:
| I
which convinced me that even Mr.. Davis,
! President of the southern COnfedcracy. had
during the progress OF the war changed his
State-ri ght doctrines. and had thrca ened to
use force-even Lees army-should any State
of the COnfederacy attempt TO secede from
that government"
| Sherman is 'convinced' have no concern.
hut 1.-THE papers" in which he alleged that
"threatened" to use force against Statos OF
the Cnnfederacy ought to be tangible and pro-
ducible, and iu "a nisto; ical statement" the
senate ought to Rave demanded The proiuc-
ton OF proofs. and on failare 10 produce them
such "bistoriCal statement" already branded
with falsehood and unsupported by evidence,
ought to have been rejected.
PUT UP JOB.
With only wonder how 1t got be-
fore the ss,,sd sens,ted .t,,stnlsyica apparent
ment" had been seen by the Republican
SeAators. aud that thcy were not ignorant of
lis real character when toe Hawley resolu-
tiOn WAS under discussion IN the Senate
Those Senators then knew that cen. Sher-
man had, in h letter Of Jan, g. 1885. 10 the
Secretary of War. changed the issue between
us from one of veracitY to rambling. shut
fling discussion Of a conspiracy and Of
''consprators." in the winter Of ls6)-'6l, and
that which at Frank Blair Post NAV nave
been "a white lie," not Intended for nubica-
tiop, came before he senate as "a h stOrical
statement" bolstered win other faleehoods
equally without foundation. IL now sur
wives as an ''Ex. Doc" of picturesque pre-
varicatlon. / know nothing Of any "con-
spiracy' or "clnspirators." There was no
secrecy about any OF the political affairs
which led 20 the secession of $ atcs in 1901.
II was the opinion OF conference OF South
ern Senators in January, 1861, which Is intro
duced i'm this historical statement" az EVIL
dence OF conspiracy" that secession was the
| only remedy left TO the states; that every
effort to preserve the peace had failed, mainly
through the action of that portion of the Rs
! publican party which refused all propositions
| for an adjustment ade by those who sought
| in January, 1891, to Justify confidence, insure
peace and preserve the Union.
THE CONFERENCE.
In the same month in which that conference
| wac held served on the committee raised hy
the Senate to seek some possible mode Of
| queliug the excitement thar then existed
! That committee was composed OF the three
| political divisions OF the Senate, and IL WAS
| considered useless 10 report any measure
which did not receive the concurrence OF at
| least q majority ot each division. The Repub-
| Iican Copntora rejected every DTOpOEition That