The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-10-27

~ oIes Oh the t.5 T. ~ IS 0I3EsoON
l5Garolina and was made TO fork out Lbs
I erall Officers over the rank OF captain
I, are not made to put heir plunde in the
estimate for general distribution. This
| IS very unfair, and for tina reason. IN
order to protect themselves. the subord-s
mate officers and privates keep everything
i back that they can carry about their
rersons-such as rings, earrings. breast
! pins, etc., etc.. Of which. If i live to get.
| home, / have a quart. L am not Joking.
/ have at least u quart OF jewelry for
You and all the girls, and some No.1
diamond pins and rings among them.
General Sherman has gold and silver
enough to start a bank. His share in
gold watches and chains alone ct Colun,-s
| ha was two hundred and seventy-ffve
but said 1 could not go into partf-
culars. AlI#the general officers and many
besides have valuabiess of every descrip-s
ton, down to ladies' pocket handker-s
chiefs. I have my share OF them. toe.
| I'VE took gold and silver enough from
the d---n rebels to have redeemed their
Internal currency twice over. 3 3 wish
all the jewelry this army has could be
! carried to the Old Bay State. 1t would
deck her out in glorious style; bit alas:
it will be scattered all over the North
and Middle States.
SHOCKING CONFESSION.
The damned niggers, as a general thing,
preferred to stay at t.c.ne, particularly
after they found out that We wanted
only. the able-bodied men; and, to tell
| the truth, the Youngest and best-looElng
women. Sometimes we took them off
| by way of rer:slyiIg influential secession
lists But the part of these we soon
| managed to iose-somctimes in crossing
rivers, sometimes in. other ways. l shall
write YOU again from Wilmington Colds
| boro Or some other place in North Caro-
lima. The order to march has arrived
and I must close hurriedly. Love to
grandmother md Aunt Charlotte. Take
care Of yourself and children. Don't show
this letter out of the family.
Your affectionate husband,
THOMAS ]. MYERS.
Lieutenant, etc
'P. S.: I will send this by the first
flag Of truce to be mailed, unless L have
an opportunity Of sending it to Hilton
Head. Tell Lottie [ am saving a pearl
bracelet ana earrings for her. But Lam
bert got the necklace and breast-pin OF
the same set. / am trying to trade him
out of them. These We're taken from
the Misses sJamison. daughters of the
Preside;st OF the South Carolina Secession
Convention. We found these on our trip
through Georgia.
ct. J. NJ
This letter is addressed to Mrs. Thos.
J. Myers. Boston, Mass.
! WE'LL vOJCHED FOR.
This letter was published in the South
ern Historical Society papers in March,
1854. About a year thereafter one Colo
mel Henry Stone, styling himself Late
Erevet Colonel e.. S. Volunteers a. a.
c., Army OF the Cumberland" realizing
the gravity Of the statements contained
in this letter and the disgrace these, II
uncontraG1cted, would bring on General
Sherman and his army, and especially
On the staff, of which he Colonel Store)
! was q member, wrote letter to the Rev.
J. VIM. Jones, D. D., the then editor OF
the Historical Society papers, IN which
he undertook to show that the Myers
letter was not written by any officer IL
General Sherman's army dhis letter
can be found in Vol. IS, S. Fl. S. papers,
page 1897. but was a. hoax The rea-
sons assigned by Colonel Stone were so
piausibly set forth that DR.. Jones, in his
anxiety to do justice even to Shermans
Burners after publishing Colonel
Stones letter. said editorially he was
frank to admit that Colonel Stone seems
to have made out his case against the
authenticity of this letter." II the mat
ter had rested here we would not have
thought OF using this letter in our report.
notwit hstandng the fact % that we think
the letter bears the impress of genuine
ness on its face; t2), that it is vouched
lOr by what Ut. ones LSfiiieu ieoDcA1-
sivle source and what the first paper
publishing it termed a distinguished
lady" who, it also stated, said that the
original was still preserved and coulG
be shown and substantiated'' 60, that
the. statements contained in Colonel
Stones letter are only his statements,
uncorrohorated and not vouched for by any
one or by any documentary evidence OF
any kind: and, being those of. an alleged
awe antitla6 weight
even in q court of justice; (D, that we
think the reasons assigned by Colonel
Stone for the -genuineneSs OF this
letter are for the most part not incon-
sistent with it's genuineness; and 90,
that some of his statements are. APP
+: parently inconsistent with some OF the
facts as they appear in the records we
have examined. He says that of the
ninety regiments of Sherman's army,
which might have passed on the march
near Camden, S. c., but single one-a
New Jersey regimen twas from the MID
die States Ali the rest We're from the
West A letter, he says, from the only
Thomas J. Myers ever in the army
would never contain such q phrase, re
ferring to the fact that Myers had said
this; stolen jcwelry, etc. would be scat
tered all OYER the North and Middle
States" Sherman'S statement of the
organization Of his army on this march
shows there were several regiments in
it from New York and Pennsylvania, be-
sides one from Maryland and one from
New Jersey. But we think this, ike
other reasons assigned by Colonel Stone
are Without merit.
But, as we have said, Notwithstanding
these things which seemingly dscredit
the reasons assigned by Colonel Stone for
the non-genuneness of the Myers letter,
we should not have used the latter in
this report, had not the substantial state
ments in it been confirmed, as we shall
now see. The Myers letter was first pub
lished on October %, 1882. On the 3ist of
July, 1865, Captain Z. j. Hale, Jr., OF
Fayetteville, n. c., who had been on
General James H. Lanes staff, and who
is vouched for by General Lane as IAN
elegant educated gentleman wrote to
General Lane, telling him of the destruc-
ton and devastation at his home. and In
that letter he makes this statement:
SHERMAN BUNIIERS.
You have doubtless heard Of Shec-
mans .bumnlers. The Yankees would
have You believe that they We're only the
struggling pillagers usually found in all
armies. Severa! letters written by Off
GERS OF Sher!naa's army. intercepted near
this town, give this the lie.
'.ifl some OF these letters We're descrip-