GENERAL SHERMAN'S COLONIZATION SCHEME

GENERAL SHERMAN'S COLONIZATION SCHEME

Washington Evening Star

His Comment on Men and Measures in August, 1862.

Copied from the "Washington Evening Star":

United States Commissioner A. J. Williams, of Cleveland, Ohio, a member of the Loyal Legion, recently gave out for publication the following letter written by Gen. Sherman to his brother, Senator John Sherman, in 1862.

MEMPHIS, TENN., Aug. 13, 1862.

My dear brother: I have not written to you for so long that I suppose you think I have dropped the correspondence. For six weeks I was marching along the road from Corinth to Memphis, mending roads, building bridges, and all sorts of work. At last I got here and found the city contributing gold' arms, powder, salt and everything the enemy wanted. It was a smart trick on their part thus to give up Memphis that the desire of gain to our Northern merchants should supply them with the things needed in war.

I stopped this at once and declared gold, silver, treasury notes and salt as much contraband of war, as powder. I have one man under sentence of death for smuggling arms across the lines, and hope Mr. Lincoln will approve it. But the mercenary spirit of our people is too much and my orders are reversed and I am ordered to encourage the trade in cotton, and all orders prohibiting gold, silver and notes to be paid for it are annulled by orders from Washington. Grant promptly ratified my order, and all military men here saw at once that gold spent for cotton went to the purchase of arms and munitions of war. But what are the lives of our soldiers to the profits of the merchants?

After a whole year of bungling, the country has at last discovered that we want more men. All knew it last fall as well as now; but it was not popular. Now 1,300,000 men are required when 700,000 was deemed absurd before. It will take time to work up these raw recruits and they will reach us in October, when we should be in Jackson, Meridian and Vicksburg. Still, I must not growl. I have purposely put back, and have no right to criticize, save that I am glad the papers have at last found out we are at war and have a formidable enemy to combat.

Of course I approve the confiscation act, and would be willing to revolutionize the government so as to amend that article of the Constitution which forbids the forfeiture of land to the heirs. My full belief is, we must colonize the country de novo, beginning with Kentucky and Tennessee, and should remove 4,000,000 of our people at once south of the Ohio River, taking the farms and plantations of the Rebels. I deplore the war as much as ever, but if the thing has to be done, let the means be adequate.

Don't expect to overrun such a country or subdue such a people in one, two or five years. It is the task of half a century. Although our army is thus far South it cannot stir from our garrisons. Our men are killed and captured within sight of our lines.

I have two divisions here—mine and Hurlbut's— about 13,000 men; I am building a strong fort, and think this is to be one of the depots and bases of operations for future movements.

The loss of Halleck is almost fatal; we have no one to replace him. Instead of having one head we have live or six, all independent of each other.

I expect our enemy will mass their troops and fall upon our detachments before new reinforcements come. I cannot learn that there are any large bodies of men near us here.

There are detachments at Holly Springs and Senatobia, the present terminal of the railroads from the South, and all the people of the country are armed as guerrillas. Curtis is at Helena, eighty miles south, and Grant at Corinth. Bragg's Army from Tripoli has moved to Chattanooga and proposes to march on to Nashville, Lexington and Cincinnati. They will have about 75,000 men. Buell is near Huntsville with about 30,000, and I suppose detachments of the new levies can be put in Kentucky from Ohio and Indiana in time.

The weather is very hot and Bragg can't move his forces very fast; but I fear he will give trouble. My own opinion is we ought not to venture too much into the interior until the river is safely in our possession, when we could land at any point and strike inland. To attempt to hold all the South would demand an army too large even to think of.

We must colonize and settle as we go South, for in Missouri there is as much strife as ever.

Enemies must be killed or transported to some other country.

Your affectionate brother,

W. T. SHERMAN

License to burn and plunder was the order of the day

THE LETTER from Union Lieutnant Thomas J. Myers: Feb 26, 1865 of the Morrill Tariff


"Camp near Camden, S. C.

My dear wife--I have no time for particulars. We have had a glorious time in this State. Unrestricted license to burn and plunder was the order of the day. The chivalry [meaning the Honourable & Chivalrous people of the South] have been stripped of most of their valuables. Gold watches, silver pitchers, cups, spoons, forks, &c., are as common in camp as blackberries.

The terms of plunder are as follows: Each company is required to exhibit the results of its operations at any given place--one-fifth and first choice falls to the share of the commander-in-chief and staff; one-fifth to the corps commanders and staff; one-fifth to field officers of regiments, and two-fifths to the company.

Officers are not allowed to join these expeditions without disguising themselves as privates. One of our corps commanders borrowed a suit of rough clothes from one of my men, and was successful in this place. He got a large quantity of silver (among other things an old-time milk pitcher) and a very fine gold watch from a Mrs DeSaussure, at this place. DeSaussure was one of the F. F. V.s of South Carolina, and was made to fork over liberally.. Officers over the rank of Captain are not made to put their plunder in the estimate for general distribution. This is very unfair, and for that reason, in order to protect themselves, subordinate officers and privates keep back every thing that they can carry about their persons, such as rings, earrings, breast pins, &c., of which, if I ever get home, I have about a quart. I am not joking--I have at least a quart of jewelry for you and all the girls, and some No. 1 diamond rings and pins among them.

General Sherman has silver and gold enough to start a bank. His share in gold watches alone at Columbia was two hundred and seventy-five. But I said I could not go into particulars. All the general officers and many besides had valuables of every description, down to embroidered ladies' pocket handkerchiefs. I have my share of them, too. We took gold and silver enough from the damned rebels to have redeemed their infernal currency twice over. This, (the currency), whenever we came across it, we burned, as we considered it utterly worthless.

I wish all the jewelry this army has could be carried to the "Old Bay State". It would deck her out in glorious style; but, alas! it will be scattered all over the North and Middle States. The damned niggers, as a general rule, prefer to stay at home, particularly after they found out that we only wanted the able-bodied men, (and to tell the truth, the youngest and best-looking women). Sometimes we took off whole families and plantations of niggers, by way of repaying secessionists. But the useless part of them we soon manage to lose; [one very effective was to "shoot at their bobbing heads as they swam rivers" after the army units crossed over], sometimes in crossing rivers, sometimes in other ways.

I shall write to you again from Wilmington, Goldsboro', or some other place in North Carolina. The order to march has arrived, and I must close hurriedly. Love to grandmother and aunt Charlotte. Take care of yourself and children. Don't show this letter out of the family.

Your affectionate husband, Thomas J Myers, Lieut.,

P.S. I will send this by the first flag of truce to be mailed, unless I have an opportunity of sending it at Hilton Head. Tell Sallie I am saving a pearl bracelet and ear-rings for her; but Lambert got the necklace and breast pin of the same set. I am trying to trade him out of them. These were taken from the Misses Jamison, daughters of the President of the South Carolina Secession Convention. We found these on our trip through Georgia."

Yankee Atrocities Against Blacks

Article was taken verbatim from 'The South Was Right' from the authors, Donald and Ronald Kennedy.

The criminal, terrorist activities of the United States military during the War for Southern Independence produced massive suffering that was endured by both the black and the white civilian population. In this section we will focus on examples of the suffering endured by black Southerners. The majority of these accounts come directly from the federal government's own official records. It should be noted that, while the official records contain some of the many accounts of atrocities committed by the Northern troops, it is by no means a complete collection. It was not the intent of the Yankee officers who completed these reports to document their crimes. Also, even if an officer wanted to report such crimes, it is very unlikely that his subordinates were eager to include their confessions in their reports. Therefore the official records could not possibly contain the whole story of our people's sufferings.

Late in the war, the Federal authorities admitted that the influence of the United States army upon the black Southern population had produced an undesirable effect.52 Sarah Debro, a ninety year-old former slave, gave this account in 1937: "I waz hungry most of de time an' had to keep fightin' off dem Yankee mens. Dem Yankees was mean folks."53

The following is a small sample of the atrocities committed by Northern troops against black Southerners during the War of Northern Aggression.

Northern Missouri: On August 13, 1861, Secretary of War Simon Cameron received a letter containing information about United States military forces "committing rapes on the negroes."54

Athens, Alabama: The court-martial record of Lincoln's buddy Turchin dated May 2, 1862, contains information about an attempt to commit "an indecent outrage" on a servant girl. It also notes that a part of the brigade, "quarter[ed] in the negro huts for weeks, debauching the females."55

Woodville, Alabama: The activities of the Third Ohio Cavalry in August of 1862 included this entry: "negro women are debauched." 56

Memphis, Tennessee: The Yankee soldiers had been fed a steady diet of lies about so-called slave breeding plantations and the familiarity of Southern male slave owners with their female slaves. The reality of a black race with high moral standards was incomprehensible to the Yankee invader. Therefore the Yankee ordered much of his conduct to match his preconceived notions of the accepted social relationships down South. This can be seen in this report from Memphis on April 7, 1864: "The [white] cavalry broke en masse in the camps of the colored women and are committing all sorts of outrage."57 General Rufus A. Saxton sent a report to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton on December 30, 1864, in which he described the attitude of the Yankee soldiers: "I found the prejudice of color and race here in full force, and the general feeling of the army of occupation was unfriendly to the blacks. It was manifested in various forms of personal insult and abuse, in depredations on their plantations, stealing and destroying their crops and domestic animals, and robbing them of their money.... The women were held as the legitimate prey of lust...."59

Bayou Grande Cailou, Louisiana: The Sixteenth Indiana Mounted Infantry sent invaders into a civilian area which resulted in the following account: "Mr. Pelton . . . reported that a soldier had shot and killed a little girl and had fired at a negro man on his plantation. I . . . proceeded to the place, where I found a mulatto girl, about twelve or thirteen years old, lying dead in a field. I learned from the negro man . . . that the girl had been shot by a drunken soldier, who had first fired at one of the men ... [who] had witnessed the killing...."59 On November 20, Gen. Robert A. Cameron reported, "I heard by rumor ... one of [Capt. Columbus Moore's] men had attempted to rape a mulatto girl and had shot and killed her for resisting."60

Augusta, Georgia: "The colored citizens wander around at all hours of the night, and many in consequence have been robbed and abused by scoundrels dressed as United States soldiers.... The conduct of the Fourth Iowa Cavalry . . . was such as reflects disgrace on both officers and men.... Firing so as to cause a colored woman to lose her arm; likewise committing robberies."61

Covington, Tennessee:Late in 1862, a campaign was conducted in the vicinity of Covington that produced the following official report: ". . . some of the men [of the Second Illinois Cavalry] behaved more like brigands than soldiers. They robbed an old negro man....

Robertsville, South Carolina: The Yankee did not distinguish between white or black Southerner nor between free black or slave when he released the dogs of war upon our Southern homeland. On January 31, 1865, the following report was issued: "The indiscriminate pillage of houses is disgraceful.... houses in this vicinity, of free negroes even, have been stripped . . . shocking to humanity."63

Hilton Head, South Carolina: Politically correct Yankee propagandists masquerading as historians are quick to boast of the large numbers of Southern blacks who fought for the North during the war. They are also quick to dismiss the contribution to the Confederate war effort made by black Southerners, giving the excuse that Southern blacks were forced to serve the Confederacy. Little attention has been given to the forced conscription of blacks into the service of the United States during the War for Southern Independence. On May 12, 1862, the following report was sent to the United States Secretary of the Treasury concerning the forced induction of black Southerners: "This has been a sad day on these islands.... Some 500 men were ... carried to Hilton Head.... The negroes were sad.... Sometimes whole plantations, learning what was going on, ran off to the woods for refuge. Others, with no means of escape, submitted passively.... This mode of [conscription] is repugnant."64 The next day's report included this comment: "The colored people became suspicious of the presence of the companies of soldiers.... They [the blacks] were taken from the fields without being allowed to go to their houses even to get a jacket.... On some plantations the wailing and screaming were loud and the women threw themselves in despair on the ground. On some plantations the people took to the woods and were hunted up by the soldiers...." 5 A letter about this incident written to the Federal agent stated, "This conscription, . . . has created a suspicion that the Government has not the interest in the negroes that it has professed, and many of them sighed yesterday for the 'old fetters' as being better than the new liberty."66 Old fetters of slavery better than the new liberty of Yankee dominion-what a sad commentary. No wonder Northern propagandists work so hard to keep these facts from becoming public knowledge.

Nashville, Tennessee: "Officers in command of colored troops are in constant habit of pressing all able-bodied slaves into the military service of the United States."67 Notice the complaint is that officers are in "constant habit," not just given to an occasional infraction.

Augusta, Georgia: "The colored citizens wander around at all hours of the night, and many in consequence have been robbed and abused by scoundrels dressed as United States soldiers.... The conduct of the Fourth Iowa Cavalry . . . was such as reflects disgrace on both officers and men.... Firing so as to cause a colored woman to lose her arm; likewise committing robberies."61

Covington, Tennessee:Late in 1862, a campaign was conducted in the vicinity of Covington that produced the following official report: ". . . some of the men [of the Second Illinois Cavalry] behaved more like brigands than soldiers. They robbed an old negro man....

Robertsville, South Carolina: The Yankee did not distinguish between white or black Southerner nor between free black or slave when he released the dogs of war upon our Southern homeland. On January 31, 1865, the following report was issued: "The indiscriminate pillage of houses is disgraceful.... houses in this vicinity, of free negroes even, have been stripped . . . shocking to humanity."63

Hilton Head, South Carolina: Politically correct Yankee propagandists masquerading as historians are quick to boast of the large numbers of Southern blacks who fought for the North during the war. They are also quick to dismiss the contribution to the Confederate war effort made by black Southerners, giving the excuse that Southern blacks were forced to serve the Confederacy. Little attention has been given to the forced conscription of blacks into the service of the United States during the War for Southern Independence. On May 12, 1862, the following report was sent to the United States Secretary of the Treasury concerning the forced induction of black Southerners: "This has been a sad day on these islands.... Some 500 men were ... carried to Hilton Head.... The negroes were sad.... Sometimes whole plantations, learning what was going on, ran off to the woods for refuge. Others, with no means of escape, submitted passively.... This mode of [conscription] is repugnant."64 The next day's report included this comment: "The colored people became suspicious of the presence of the companies of soldiers.... They [the blacks] were taken from the fields without being allowed to go to their houses even to get a jacket.... On some plantations the wailing and screaming were loud and the women threw themselves in despair on the ground. On some plantations the people took to the woods and were hunted up by the soldiers...." 5 A letter about this incident written to the Federal agent stated, "This conscription, . . . has created a suspicion that the Government has not the interest in the negroes that it has professed, and many of them sighed yesterday for the 'old fetters' as being better than the new liberty."66 Old fetters of slavery better than the new liberty of Yankee dominion-what a sad commentary. No wonder Northern propagandists work so hard to keep these facts from becoming public knowledge.

Nashville, Tennessee: "Officers in command of colored troops are in constant habit of pressing all able-bodied slaves into the military service of the United States."67 Notice the complaint is that officers are in "constant habit," not just given to an occasional infraction.

Huntsville, Alabama: General Ulysses Grant received a communiqué on February 26, 1864, informing him that, "A major of colored troops is here with his party capturing negroes, with or without their consent.... They are being conscripted."68 Notice that the term used is "capturing negroes," not enlisting or drafting them.

New Bern, North Carolina: On September 1, 1864, Gen. Innis N. Palmer reported to Gen. Benjamin F. Butler about the difficulty he was having convincing Southern blacks to help in the fight for their liberation. He stated: "The negroes will not go voluntarily, so I am obliged to force them.... The matter of collecting the colored men for laborers has been one of some difficulty but I hope to send up a respectable force.... They will not go willingly.... They must be forced to go.... this may be considered a harsh measure, but . . . we must not stop at trifles"69 What is it called when someone forces another human being to labor against his will-sounds like slavery to us but the Yankees called it "trifles."

Beaulort, South Carolina: General Rufus A. Saxton made the following report to Secretary of War Stanton on December 30 1864: "The recruiting [of former slaves] went on slowly, when the major-general commanding ordered an indiscriminate conscription of every able-bodied colored man in the department. . . . The order spread universal confusion and terror. The negroes fled to the woods and swamps.... They were hunted.... Men have been seized and forced to enlist who had large families.... Three boys, one only fourteen years of age, were seized in a field where they were at work and sent to a regiment . . . without the knowledge of their parents...."70 What happened to the bleeding-heart Abolitionist, crying about black families being broken up and sold to different masters and about children being forcefully separated from their parents? Evidently, such high moral standards were not allowed to stand in the way of the expanding Yankee empire!

Louisville, Kentucky: Major General Innis N. Palmer on February 27, 1865, issued General Order Number 5 confirming the generally accepted theory of the laws pertaining to the enlistment of civilians for military services in an occupied country:

"Officers charged with recruiting colored troops are informed that the use of force or menaces to compel the enlistment of colored men is both unlawful and disgraceful."71

Fort Jackson, Louisiana: On December 9, 1863, a United States officer at Fort Jackson became angry with two black drummers and fell upon them, beating them with a mule whip. The black soldiers were forced to stand in formation and watch as the white officer mercilessly flogged the young drummers. When the formation was dismissed, the black men, all Union soldiers, rushed the fort's armory, seized their weapons, and with cries of "kill all the damn yankees" began to fire their weapons into the air. Two companies of black Union soldiers joined in and a general revolt against Yankee racial bigotry was underway. With great effort, the white officers persuaded the black solders to end their revolt and return to their quarters.72

Craney Island, Virginia: Both black and white Southerners were needlessly subjected to the terror of starvation by terrorist acts of United States troops. From Virginia we find one of many examples of the sufferings borne by black Southerners: ". . . the colored people . . . have been forced to remain all night on the wharf without shelter and without food; . . . one has died, and . . . others are suffering with disease, and . . . your men have turned them out of their houses, which they have built themselves, and have robbed some of them of their money and personal effects."73 This communiqué was sent on November 26, 1862. Some Yankee apologists have claimed that the horror against civilians occurred only after many years of bitter war- though we are curious to know how many years of war are necessary to justify any amount of cruel and inhumane conduct against innocent civilians?

Bisland, Louisiana: During the invasion of Cajun Louisiana, the Yankee targeted slaves as part of the loot to be acquired. "Contraband" was a term used to denote slaves enticed or forced away from their masters' plantations. These poor people very often would end up serving in the Federal army or working on a government plantation. When the Confederate forces recaptured the area around Bisland, Louisiana, they discovered the pathetic condition in which these former slaves were forced to live while enjoying the charity of the United States government. One account states that two thousand of these people perished as a result of following, or being forced to follow, the Federal army in retreat. In view of the shallow graves in which many had been hastily placed, the comment was made, "They have found their freedom." The horror of a local sugar house has been described by at least two separate eyewitnesses who were either Confederate soldiers or masters searching for their former slaves. The small house was filled with dead or dying Negroes. Some were "being eaten by worms before life was extinct." The roads "were lined with Negroes half starved, almost destitute of clothing, sick and unable to help themselves; the only question of the poor wretches, who had been two months experiencing Federal sympathy and charity, was the inquiry if their master was coming after them." The Federal army, in spite of its abundance, did not provide for these people. When their fellow Southerners discovered short on every necessity. With their fellow Southerners discovering their plight, the Confederate army, short on every necessity, assigned transportation and such food and medicine as it had at its disposal to the salvation of these poor, suffering people. Let it be remembered that it was the compassion of their fellow Southerners and the assistance of the Confederate army that saved the lives of these black Southerners.74

The Yankee myth that the North fought the war because of its belief in human brotherhood and its love for the black race has once again been proven to be a lie.

Article was taken verbatim from 'The South Was Right' from the authors, Donald and Ronald Kennedy.

The War the Women Lived

Mrs. Mary S. Mallard in Her Journal [1864, Liberty County, Georgia]

“Monday, December 19th. Squads of Yankees came all day, so that the servants scarcely had a moment to do anything for us out of the house. The women, finding it unsafe for them to be out of the house at all, would run in and conceal themselves in our dwelling. The few remaining chickens and some sheep were killed. These men were so outrageous at the Negro houses that the Negro men were obliged to stay at their houses for the protection of their wives; and in some instances, they rescued them from the hands of these infamous creatures.

Tuesday, December 20th. A squad of Yankees came soon after breakfast. Hearing there was one yoke of oxen left, they rode into the pasture and drove them up…needing a chain…they went to the well and took it from the well bucket. Mother went out and entreated them not to take it from the well, as it was our means of getting water. They replied: “You have no right to have even wood or water,” and immediately took it away.

Wednesday, December 21st. 10 A.M. Six of Kilpatrick’s cavalry rode up, one of them mounted on Mrs. Mallard’s valuable gray named Jim. They looked into the dairy and empty smokehouse, every lock having been broken and doors wide open day and night. They searched the servants’ houses; then the thundered at the door of the dwelling. Mother opened it, when one of them presented a pistol to her breast and demanded why she dared keep her house closed, and that “he be damned if he would not come into it.”

She replied, “I prefer to keep my house closed because we are a helpless and defenseless family of women and children.” He replied, “I’ll be damned if I don’t just take what I want. Some of the men got wine here, and we must have some.” She told them her house had been four times searched in every part, and everything taken from it. And recognizing one who had been of the party that had robbed us, she said: “You know my meal and everything has been taken.”

He said, “We left you a sack of meal and that rice.”

Mother said, “You left us some rice; but out of twelve bushels of meal you poured out a quart or so upon the floor---as you said, to keep us from starving.”

Upon one occasion one of the men as he sat on the bench in the piazza had his coat buttoned top and bottom, and inside we could plainly see a long row of stolen breast jewelry---gallant trophies, won from defenseless women and children at the South to adorn the persons of their mothers, wives, sisters, and friends in Yankeeland!”

(The War the Women Lived, Walter Sullivan, J.S. Sanders & Company, 1995, pp. 238-239)

Why many fought....Well deserved revenge!

Confederate sniper Capt. Jack Hinson
Jack Hinson never planned to become a deadly sniper. A prosperous and influential Kentucky plantation owner in the 1850s, Hinson was devoted to raising his growing family and working his land. Yet by 1865, Hinson had likely killed more than one hundred men and had single-handedly taken down an armed Union transport in his one-man war against Grant's army and navy. By the end of the Civil War, the Union had committed infantry and cavalry from nine regiments and a specially equipped amphibious task force of marines to capture Hinson, who was by that time nearly sixty years old. They never caught him. Since then, the story of Jack Hinson has evaded astute historians, and until now, he has remained invisible in the history of sniper warfare.

John S. "Old Jack" Hinson watched the start of the Civil War with impartial disinterest. A friend of Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate officers alike, Hinson was opposed to secession, focused instead on his personal affairs. After a unit of Union occupation troops moved in on his land and summarily captured, executed, and placed the decapitated heads of his sons on his gateposts, however, Hinson abandoned his quiet life for one of revenge.
Acts done by the damn yankees made many Southron fight!

Why Southron disdain sherman and his yankees!

Sherman's March Through The South

U.S. General William Tecumseh Sherman's march through the South, notably, through Georgia and South Carolina, may qualify as the most hideous of all military assaults against a civilian population in modern history. The list of recorded accounts of events that Sherman was wholly responsible for would be entirely too long to attempt to cover in this post. But, several examples from the Official Records of Sherman's actions will surely leave you convinced that Sherman detested the Southern people.

Brigadier General Edward M. McCook, First Cavalry Division of Cavalry Corps, at Calhoun, Georgia, on October 30, 1864, reported to Sherman, "My men killed some of those fellows two or three days since, and I had their houses burned....I will carry out your instructions thoroughly and leave the country east of the road uninhabitable."

Sherman, on November 11, 1864, telegraphed Halleck, "Last night we burned all foundries, mills, and shops of every kind in Rome, and tomorrow I leave Kingston with the rear guard for Atlanta, which I propose to dispose of in a similar manner, and to start on the 16th on the projected grand raid.....Tomorrow our wires will be broken, and this is probably my last dispatch."

In Kingston, Georgia, Sherman wrote to U.S. Major General Philip H. Sheridan, "I am satisfied...that the problem of this war consists in the awful fact that the present class of men who rule the South must be killed outright rather than in the conquest of territory, so that hard, bull-dog fighting, and a great deal of it, yet remains to be done....Therefore, I shall expect you on any and all occasions to make bloody results."

Captain Orlando M. Poe, chief engineer, Military Division of the Mississippi, reported: "The court-house in Sandersonville (Georgia), a very substantial brick building, was burned by order of General Sherman, because the enemy had made use of it's portico from which to fire upon our troops."

Sherman, in Milledgeville, Georgia, issued Special Order no. 127, "In case of...destruction (of bridges) by the enemy,...the commanding officer...on the spot will deal harshly with the inhabitants nearby....Should the enemy burn forage and corn on our route, houses, barns, and cotton-gins must also be burned to keep them company."

General Howard reported to Sherman, "We have found the country full of provisions and forage....Quite a number of private dwellings...have been destroyed by fire...; also, many instances of the most inexcusable and wanton acts, such as the breaking open of trunks, taking of silver pate, etc."

Sherman reported to Grant, "The whole United States...would rejoice to have this army turned loose on South Carolina to devastate that State, in the manner we have done in Georgia."

On December 22 in Savannah, Georgia, Sherman advised Grant, "We are in possession of Savannah and all it's forts....I could go on and smash South Carolina all to pieces." On December 24 Sherman wrote Halleck, "The truth is the whole army is burning with an insatiable desire to wreak vengeance upon South Carolina."

When Sherman had reached Savannah he was ordered to board ship and sail to Virginia to join Grant outside Virginia. Sherman rebelled in rage. He pledged, "I'm going to march to Richmond...and when I go through South Carolina it will be one of the most horrible things in the history of the world. The devil himself couldn't restrain my men in that state." General William T. Sherman also issued the following military order at Big Shanty, Georgia (presently Kennesaw) on June 23, 1864: "If torpedoes (mines) are found in the possession of an enemy to our rear, you may cause them to be put on the ground and tested by a wagon load of prisoners, or if need be a citizen implicated in their use. In like manner, if a torpedo is suspected on any part of the road, order the point to be tested by a carload of prisoners, or by citizens implicated, drawn by a long rope."

General Sherman also wrote to U.S. Brig. Gen. John Eugene Smith at Allatoona, Georgia, on July 14, 1864: "If you entertain a bare suspicion against any family, send it to the North. Any loafer or suspicious person seen at any time should be imprisoned and sent off. If guerrillas trouble the road or wires they should be shot without mercy."

General Sherman also wrote to U.S. Brig. Gen. Louis Douglass Watkins at Calhoun, Georgia, on Oct. 29, 1864: "Can you not send over to Fairmount and Adairsville, burn 10 or 12 houses of known secessionists, kill a few at random and let them know it will be repeated every time a train is fired upon from Resaca to Kingston."

And, finally, Gen. Sherman writing to U.S. Maj. George H. Thomas on Nov. 1, 1864: "I propose...to sally forth and make a hole in Georgia that will be hard to mend."

Sherman's march through the South will be remembered by generations still yet to come. Sherman himself estimated that the damage done by his troops in Georgia totaled $100,000,000. His statement on the destruction done to Georgia; "This may seem a hard species of warfare, but it brings the sad realities of war home." The ultimate attempt at total genocide by the U.S. troops under Sherman would have to be the multiple cases of troops sowing salt into the soil of an area in which they were about to leave. Thus, leaving the entire area unfit to grow any crops in the near future.

References: "The South Was Right" by James R. Kennedy and Walter D. Kennedy, Chapter 4. "Truths of History" by Mildred L. Rutherford, Chapter 10. The Lost Cause" by Edward A. Pollard, Chapter 37. "The Story of the Confederate States" by Joseph T. Derry, Part 3, Section 3, Chapter 3 & 4. "The Story of the Confederacy" by Robert S. Henry, Chapter 24, 26, 27. Also 53 pages of documentation (available upon request) found in: O.R.--SERIES I--VOLUME XXXIX/2 [S# 79] UNION CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS IN KENTUCKY, SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA, TENNESSEE, MISSISSIPPI, ALABAMA, AND NORTH GEORGIA (THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN EXCEPTED), FROM OCTOBER 1, 1864, TO NOVEMBER 13, 1864.--#21 O.R.--SERIES I--VOLUME XXXIX/2 [S# 79] UNION CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS IN KENTUCKY, SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA, TENNESSEE, MISSISSIPPI, ALABAMA, AND NORTH GEORGIA (THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN EXCEPTED), FROM OCTOBER 1, 1864, TO NOVEMBER 13, 1864.--#30 O.R.--SERIES I--VOLUME XLIII/1 [S# 91] UNION CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING SPECIALLY TO OPERATIONS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA, WEST VIRGINIA, MARYLAND, AND PENNSYLVANIA, SEPTEMBER 1, 1864, TO DECEMBER 31, 1864.--#23 O.R.--SERIES I--VOLUME XLIV [S# 92] NOVEMBER 15-DECEMBER 21, 1864.--The Savannah (Georgia) Campaign. No. 4.--Reports of Capt. Orlando M. Poe, Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army, Chief Engineer. O.R.--SERIES I--VOLUME XLIV [S# 92]. UNION CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS IN SOUTH CAROLINA, GEORGIA, AND FLORIDA, FROM NOVEMBER 14 TO DECEMBER 31, 1864.--#4 SPECIAL FIELD ORDERS No. 127. O.R.--SERIES I--VOLUME XLIV [S# 92] NOVEMBER 15-DECEMBER 21, 1864.--The Savannah (Georgia) Campaign. No. 7.--Report of Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard, U. S. Army, commanding Army of the Tennessee. O.R.--SERIES I--VOLUME XLIV [S# 92] UNION CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS IN SOUTH CAROLINA, GEORGIA, AND FLORIDA, FROM NOVEMBER 14 TO DECEMBER 31, 1864.--#12 O.R.--SERIES I--VOLUME XLIV [S# 92] UNION CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS IN SOUTH CAROLINA, GEORGIA, AND FLORIDA, FROM NOVEMBER 14 TO DECEMBER 31, 1864.--#11 O.R.--SERIES I--VOLUME XLIV [S# 92] NOVEMBER 15-DECEMBER 21, 1864.--The Savannah (Georgia) Campaign. No. 1.--Reports of Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, U. S. Army, commanding Military Division of the Mississippi. O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME XV [S# 21] Union Correspondence, Orders, And Returns Relating To Operations In West Florida, Southern Alabama, Southern Mississippi, And Louisiana From May 12, 1862, To May 14, 1863: And In Texas, New Mexico, And Arizona From September 20, 1862, To May 14, 1863.--#2 O.R.--SERIES I--VOLUME XLIV [S# 92] UNION CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS IN SOUTH CAROLINA, GEORGIA, AND FLORIDA, FROM NOVEMBER 14 TO DECEMBER 31, 1864.--#14 O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME XXXVIII/4 [S# 75] UNION CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS IN THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN, FROM MAY 1, 1864, TO JUNE 30, 1864.--#24 O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME XXXVIII/5 [S# 76] UNION CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS IN THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN, FROM JULY 1, 1864, TO SEPTEMBER 8, 1864.--#6 O.R.--SERIES I--VOLUME XXXIX/2 [S# 79] UNION CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS IN KENTUCKY, SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA, TENNESSEE, MISSISSIPPI O.R.--SERIES I--VOLUME XXXIX/2 [S# 79] UNION CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS IN KENTUCKY, SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA, TENNESSEE, MISSISSIPPI, ALABAMA, AND NORTH GEORGIA (THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN EXCEPTED), FROM OCTOBER 1, 1864, TO NOVEMBER 13, 1864.--#20 O.R.--SERIES I--VOLUME XXXIX/2 [S# 79] UNION CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS IN KENTUCKY, SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA, TENNESSEE, MISSISSIPPI, ALABAMA, AND NORTH GEORGIA (THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN EXCEPTED), FROM OCTOBER 1, 1864, TO NOVEMBER 13, 1864.--#15 O.R.--SERIES I--VOLUME XLIV [S# 92] NOVEMBER 15-DECEMBER 21, 1864.--The Savannah (Georgia) Campaign. No. 1.--Reports of Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, U. S. Army, commanding Military Division of the Mississippi. Confederate Military History, Vol. 5 CHAPTER XXI. Confederate Military History, Vol. 6 CHAPTER XVII. Southern Historical Society Papers Vol. I. Richmond, Virginia, June, 1876. No. 6. History Of The Army Of The Cumberland. Southern Historical Society Papers. Vol. II. Richmond, Virginia, July, 1876. No. 1. Editorial Paragraphs. Southern Historical Society Papers. Vol. III. Richmond, Virginia, February, 1877. No. 2. Diary Of Captain Robert E. Park, Twelfth Alabama Regiment. Southern Historical Society Papers Vol. VIII Richmond, Va., May, 1880. No. 5. The Burning of Columbia, South Carolina -- Report of the Committee of Citizens Appointed to Collect Testimony. By J. P. Carrol, Chairman. Southern Historical Society Papers Vol. X. Richmond, Va., August and Sept'r, 1882. Nos. 8-9. Sherman's March To The Sea, As Seen By A Northern Soldier. Southern Historical Society Papers. Volume XII. July-August-September. Nos. 7, 8, 9. General Sherman's March from Atlanta to the Coast -- Address Before the Survivors' Association of Augusta, Ga., April 20th, 1884. by Colonel C.C. Jones, Jr.

Grim Chieftain's Pillage Brigade

James H. Lane, a United States Senator from Kansas returned to his home state of Kansas in the summer of 1861 to command what was called "Lane's Brigade." Lane was to retain his Senate seat while occasionally rampaging through Missouri.

His brigade was composed of Kansas infantry and cavalry. This force was, in fact, a ruthless band of Jayhawkers (plundering marauders) wearing United States uniforms. James H. Lane was known as the "Grim Chieftain" for the death and destruction he brought on the people of Missouri.

In September of 1861 Lane and his men descended on the town of Osceola, Missouri. This community of 2,000 was the county seat of St. Clair County, Missouri. It was here that Lane and his men established their criminal reputation. When Lane's troops found a cache of Confederate military supplies in the town, Lane decided to wipe Osceola from the map. First, Osceola was stripped of all of it's valuable goods which were loaded into wagons taken from the townspeople. Then, nine citizens were given a farcical trial and shot. Then Lane's men went on a wild drinking spree. Finally, his men brought their frenzy of pillaging, murder and drunkenness to a close by burning the entire town.

References: "The South Was Right" by James R. Kennedy and Walter D. Kennedy, Chapter 4. "Truths of History" by Mildred L. Rutherford, Chapter 10. "The Lost Cause" by Edward A. Pollard, Chapter 9. Also 4 pages of documentation (available upon request) found in: Southern Historical Society Papers Vol. VI, Richmond, Va., October, 1878, No. 4 Van Dorn's Operations in Northern Mississippi -- Recollections of a Cavalryman. Southern Historical Society Papers Vol. VII. Richmond, Va., May, 1879. No. 5. The Missouri Campaign Of 1864 -- Report Of General Sterling Price. Southern Historical Society Papers. Vol. XXIV. Richmond, Va., January-December. 1896. Reconstruction In Texas. O.R.--SERIES I--VOLUME LIII [S# 111] Confederate Correspondence, Etc.--#6 O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME 3 [S# 3] SEPTEMBER 22, 1861. ---Skirmish at, and destruction of, Osceola, Mo. Report of Brig. Gen. James H. Lane, commanding Kansas Brigade. Confederate Military History, Vol. 9 CONTENTS--MISSOURI. CHAPTER XVIII Burning of Osceola.

Immortal Captives

Immortal Captives:

On August 20, 1864, a group of 600 Confederate officers were taken from Fort Delaware as prisoners of war. The purpose for this removal, to be shipped to Hilton Head, S.C. There they were place in stockades in front of the Union works at Charleston. Placed in the open, they were shelled by their own men, this lasted over a month! There is no record of any being hit by shells, but three died of starvation!

On October 21, after 45 days under fire, the weakened survivors were removed to Fort Pulaski, Ga. Here they were crowded into the cold damp casements of the fort. On November 19 197 of the men were sent back to Hilton Head to relieve the overcrowding. A ration10 ounces of moldy cornmeal and soured pickles was the only food given for 42 days. Thirteen men died at Fort Pulaski and five at Hilton Head.

The remaining members of the Immortal Six-Hundred were returned to Fort Delaware on March 12, 1865, where an additional twenty-five died. They became famous throughout the South for their adherence to principle, refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance under such adverse circumstances.

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