The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1910-02-17
HOW GEN. HAMPTON
SCORED SHERMAN.
A Personal Letter from the
Great Cavalry Leader in
Reference to the Murder
ing" of Confederate Pris-
OnerS.

II iSOliCSpolaCul vi llS DdIIlDCIS
Herald contributes the following
letter from Gen. Wade Hampton
- Gen. Sherman while the latter
was camped in the vicinity of Riv-
ers' Bridge in Bambergy county,
which is of interest to the present
generation:
|, Headquarters-In the field, Feb.
9th, 1865.
Maj. Gen. w. T. Sherman, U.
S. Army:
General: Your communication
of the oath inst. reached me to-day.
In it you state that it has been of
ficially reported that your forag-
ing parties are murdered" after
capture. You go on to say that
you have ordered similar num-
Der of prisoners in our hands to
be disposed of in like manner"
that is to say you have ordered a
number of Confederate soldiers to
be murdered " You character
ize your order in proper terms, for
the public voice, even in your own
country, where it Seldom dares to
express itself in vindication of truth
honor or justice, will surely agree
with you in pronouncing you gull
ty of murder if your order is car
ried out. Before dismisSing this
portion of youl letter l beg to as
sure you that for every soldier of
mine murdered" by you, 1 shall
have executed at once two of yours,
giving in all cases preference to
all officers who may be in my
hands.
In reference to the statement
you make in regard to the death of
your foragers, | have only to say
know nothing of it. That no or
ders given by me authorize the
killing of prisoners after capture.
and that do not believe any of
my men killed any of yours, except
4. under circumstances in which it
was perfectly legitimate and prop
er that they should kill them. 1t
is part of the system Of the
thieves whom you designate as
your foragers to fire the dwellings
of those citizens whom they have
robbed. To check this inhuman
system, which is justly execrated
by every civilized nation, l have
directed my men to shoot down all
of your men who are caught burn
ing houses. This order shall re
main in force so long as you dis
grace the profession of arms by al
lowing your men to destroy pri-
vate dwellings.
You say cannot of course ques-
ton your rights to forage on the
country. 1t is a right as old as
history" / do not, sir, question
this right. But there is a right
older than this, and one more in
alienable-the right that every
man has to defend his home, and
to protect those dependent upon
him, and from my heart l wish
that every old man ard boy in my
Z country who can fire a gun would
f. shoot down, as he would a wild
oeaSt, the men who are destroy
ing their land, burning their homes
and insulting their women.
You are particular in defining
and claiming war rights" May
ask if you enumerate among
these the right to fire upon a de.
fenceless city without notice. to
burn that city to the ground after.
it had been surrender ed by The in
habitants who claimed, though nj
vain, that protection which is al
ways accorded in civilized war
fare to non-combatants, to fire the
houses of citizens after robbing
them, and to perpetuate even dark
er crimes than these, crimes too
black to be mentioned.
You have permitted, if you have
not ordered, the commission of
these offences against humanity
and the rules of war. You ired
into the city of Columbia without
a word of warning after its surren-
der ;by the mayor, who demanded
prSsaction to private property.
4laid the whole city in ashes,
ieR &ing amidst its ruins thousands
ofold men and helpless women
and children, who are likely to
perish of starvation and exposure.
Your ine Of march can be traced
b. the lurid light of burning hotis-
es, and in more than one house
hold there is now An aoonv fsr