The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-07-28

Fort Danielson, W herein General GRANT
sent word to General BUcKNER that his
terms were unconditional surrender" is
typical. "The gallant BUcKNER," says
the historian, surrendered the remnant
OF the army on the ungenerous, unchival-
ric terms proposed by the victor" This,
it strikes us, might well be construed as
exhibiting some little "feeling" In the
matter. So also General b. Il. BUTLER
took formal possession (oi New Orleans)
May /, and by his outrsges upon de-
fenseless people secured for himself an
Immortality OF infamy'' And again,
referring to the emancipation proclama-
tion, it was "clearly unconstitutional.
his president LINooLN's) plea OF mill
tary necessity shallow pretext. The
final contamination OF the edict, by a
triumph OF force over justice and right
was as bold piece of wholesale robbery
as ever the conqueror inflicted upon tho
conquered"
SHERMAN's march to the sea was no
great snakes, according to this historian.
Well. very likely II was not. SHERMAN
himself found it far easier than he had
expected and the terrors of the campaign
had good deal of the bogey-man about
them. Historian JONES declares that
"as a military movement, this march of
sHERMAN's displayed neither especial
genius in planning, nor skill in execut-
ing. General LEE once said OF it: we
had nothing to oppose SHERMAN, and his
march thourgh Georgia was based simply
on mathematical calculation whether
his army could live on the country by
taking all the provisions the people had.'
For the rest, those VINO sing Marching
Through Georgia forget that the pillage
and burning of private houses and the
wanton outrages and insults heaped upon
old men, women and children along the
track OF that army were blot upon the
American name and upon the civiliza-
tion of the nineteenth century, and such
a blot as all lovers OF our country should
seek to commit to oblivion" It may be
recalled in this connection that while the
prisoners at Andersonville were starving
in the pen because, as this and other
pouthorn writers tell us, the South had
no food for its own soldiers, "sHER-
MANS bummers," found provision in
plenty IN the country traversed and they
lived high, as campaign fare goes.
Historian JONES, while depI oring the
ravages OF sHERMAN's army, glories, for
tho further edification OF southern youth,
in the destruction OF northern commerce
by that able freebooter Captain RAPHAEL
SEMMEs OF the Alabama. And he plainly
deprecates the unfairness OF Captain WIN
SLOW of the Kearsarge, when that gallant
man.o' -warsman went forth TO do battle
with the redoubtabIe SEMMEs, in sus-
peding heavy chains over the sides of
his ship which he concealed with planks,
so that the Kearsarge was practica Ily
made into an iron. clad imperyious to
the cannon shot of the Alabama. SO also
he evidently delights ia the work of the
confederate privateer Shenandoah which,
on one day performed the "most remak-
able exploit" of "bonding two whaling
vessels and sinking nine"-which as an
exploit OF naval warfare was chiefly re-
msrksble only from the fact OF the fnd-
ing OF so many unsrmed ships to sink
and capture all IN one day.
For tho rest, the writer excuses the
Fort Pillow massacre as best he may,
shows how tho Morrimac defeated the
Monitor instead OF, as is commonly under
stood, the Monitor defeating the Merri-
mac, expresses the. opinion that had
ALBERT SIDNEY JOHNSTON lived "the in
dependence OF the South would have been
esta ablished," tells us that "the South felt
that LINCoLN's death wns a calamity to
her, as she decidedly preferred him to his
successor" although this preference
could not have been felt at the time; and
declaring hat "we would not revive bitter
memories OF stormy past" devotos
page TO condemnation of tho methods OF
Federal generals in their conduct OF tho
war on southern territory, and has
word to say OF the treatment OF confeder-
atos in northern prisons by way Of
apology for Libby and Anuersonville,