The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1897-04-08

believing that you will fpd that you are ex
polling from their homesa and firesides the wives
and children Of q brave people.
am. General, very respectfully. your obedi
ent servant, J.B. HOOP, General.
SHERMAN GETS BACK In FINE STYLE.
HEADq'Rs MILITARY DIVISION OF THE J
MISSISSIPPI. IN THE FIELD, ATLANTA,
GA. Sept. 10, 1864.
Gen. J. b. HOOP. commanding Army Of Ten
nessee, Confederate army.
GENERAL: / have the honor to acknowledge
the receipt of your letter of this date. at tn,
hands Of Messrs. Ball aud Crew, consenting K
the arrangements had proposed to facilitate
the removal south ofithe people of Atlanta
who prefer to 60 in that direction. l incloss
you copy Of my orders, (which will. l am sat
isiied. accomplish my purpose perfectly.
You style tho measure proposed "unprece
for parallel as an act Of "studied and ingeni
Gus cruelty" 1t is not unprecedented. for Gen
Johnston himself very wisely aud properly re.
moved the families all tho way from Dalton
down, and see no reason why Atlanta should
be excepted. Nor is it necessary to appeal te
the dark history of war, when recent aud mod
ern examples are SO handy. You yourself
burned dwellins.hou along your parapet
and have seen to-day so houses that you have
rendered urinhabitable because they stood IN
the way of your forts and men. You defended
Atlanta on limo so close to town that every
cannon-shot and many musket-shots from our
line Of investment that overshot their mark
went into the habitations of women and chill
dren. Gen. Hardee did tho same at J0nesbOrO,
aud Gen. Johnston did the same last Summer
at Jackson, Miss. l have not accused you of
hcartless cruelty, but merely instance these
cases OF very recent occurrence, and could go
on and enumerate hundreds of others, and
challenge any fair man to Judge which OF us
has tho heart of pity for the families o. a
brave people"
say that it is kindness to these families of
Atlanta to remove them now, ut once from
scenes that women and children should not be
exposed to. and tho "brave people" should
scorn to commit their wives and children 10
the rude barbarans who thus as you say, vio-
late the laws of war, as illustrated in the pages
OF its dark history.
In the name of common-sense, ask you not
to appeal to just God in such sacriiegiOus
manner. You who. in the midst of peace and
prosperity, have plunged Nation into war
dark and cruel war--who dared and badgered
MS to battle. insulted our flag, seized our
arsenais and forts that were left in the honor
able custody OF peaceful Ordnance Sergeant is,
seized and made prisoners of war" tho very
garrisons sent to protect your people against
negroes and indians, long before any overt act
was committed by the Ito you) hated Lincoln
Government; tried to force Kentucky aud Mis-
souri, into rebellion, spite of themselves; fasi
lied the vote of Louisiana; turned loose your
privatecrs to punder unarmed ships; expelled
Union families by the thousands burned their
houses. and declared, by an act of your Con-
gress, the confiscation of all debts due Northern
men for goods had and received Talk thus 20
the marines, but not to me, who have seen these
things, and who will this day make as much
sacrifice for the peace and honor of the South
as the best-born Southerner among you! If we
must be enemies, let US he men, and fight it
out as We propose to do, and not deal ia such
hypocrltical appeals to God and humanity.
God will judge us in due time, and he will
pronounce whether it be more human to fight
with town full of women and the families Of
bravo people at our back. or to remove them