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This long letter on how to militarily govern southern cities was written at the invitation of General Halleck. Lincoln asked that the letter be published but Sherman chose not to publish it until 1875.
[Private
and Confidential.] HEADQUARTERS,
FIFTEENTH ARMY CORPS, CAMP ON
BIG BLACK, MISSISSIPPI, September 17 1863 H. W.
HALLECK, Commander-in-Chief, Washington, D. C. DEAR
GENERAL: I have received your letter of August 29th, and with pleasure
confide to you fully my thoughts on the important matters you
suggest, with absolute confidence that you will use what is valuable,
and reject the useless or superfluous. That part
of the continent of North America known as Louisiana, Mississippi,
and Arkansas, is in my judgment the key to the whole interior.
The valley of the Mississippi is America, and, although railroads
have changed the economy of intercommunication, yet the water-channels
still mark the lines of fertile land, and afford cheap
carriage to the heavy products of it. The
inhabitants of the country on the Monongahela, the Illinois, the
Minnesota, the Yellowstone, and Osage, are as directly concerned
in the security of the Lower Mississippi as are those who dwell on
its very banks in Louisiana; and now that the nation has recovered
its possession, this generation of men will make a fearful
mistake if they again commit its charge to a people liable to misuse
their position, and assert, as was recently done, that, because
they dwelt on the banks of this mighty stream, they had a right to
control its navigation. I would
deem it very unwise at this time, or for years to come, to revive
the State governments of Louisiana, etc., or to institute in this
quarter any civil government in which the local people have much to
say. They had a government so mild
and paternal that they gradually
forgot they had any at all, save what they themselves controlled;
they asserted an absolute right to seize public moneys, forts,
arms, and even to shut up the natural avenues of travel and commerce.
They chose war--they ignored and denied all the obligations
of the solemn contract of government and appealed to force. We
accepted the issue, and now they begin to realize that war is a two-edged
sword, and it may be that many of the inhabitants cry for peace.
I know them well, and the very impulses of their nature; and to
deal with the inhabitants of that part of the South which borders
on the great river, we must recognize the classes into which
they have divided themselves First.
The large planters, owning lands, slaves, and all kinds of personal
property. These are, on the whole,
the ruling class. They are
educated, wealthy, and easily approached. In
some districts
they are bitter as gall, and have given up slaves, plantations,
and all, serving in the armies of the Confederacy; whereas,
in others, they are conservative. None
dare admit a friendship
for us, though they say freely that they were at the outset
opposed to war and disunion. I know
we can manage this class,
but only by action. Argument is
exhausted, and words have lost
their usual meaning. Nothing but
the logic of events touches their
understanding; but, of late, this has worked a wonderful change.
If our country were like Europe, crowded with people, I would say
it would be easier to replace this class than to reconstruct
it, subordinate to the policy of the nation; but, as this is
not the case, it is better to allow the planters, with individual
exceptions, gradually to recover their plantations, to hire any
species of labor, and to adapt themselves to the new order of
things. Still, their friendship and
assistance to reconstruct order out
of the present ruin cannot be depended on.
They watch the
operations of our armies, and hope still for a Southern Confederacy
that will restore to them the slaves and privileges which
they feel are otherwise lost forever. In
my judgment, we have two
more battles to win before we should even bother our minds with the
idea of restoring civil order--viz., one near Meridian, in November,
and one near Shreveport, in February and March next, when Red River
is navigable by our gunboats. When
these are done, then, and not
until then, will the planters of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi,
submit. Slavery is already gone,
and, to cultivate the land,
negro or other labor must be hired. This,
of itself, is a vast
revolution, and time must be afforded to allow men to adjust their
minds and habits to this new order of things.
A civil government
of the representative type world suit this class far less than
a pure military role, readily adapting itself to actual occurrences,
and able to enforce its laws and orders promptly and emphatically. Second.
The smaller farmers, mechanics, merchants, and laborers. This
class will probably number three-quarters of the whole; have, in fact,
no real interest in the establishment of a Southern Confederacy,
and have been led or driven into war on the false theory
that they were to be benefited somehow--they knew not how. They are
essentially tired of the war, and would slink back home if they
could. These are the real tiers
etat of the South, and are hardly
worthy a thought; for they swerve to and fro according to events
which they do not comprehend or attempt to shape. When the time for
reconstruction comes, they will want the old political system of
caucuses, Legislatures, etc., to amuse them and make them believe
they are real sovereigns; but in all things they will follow
blindly the lead of the planters. The
Southern politicians, who
understand this class, use them as the French do their masses-- seemingly
consult their prejudices, while they make their orders and
enforce them. We should do the
same. Third.
The Union men of the South. I
must confess I have little respect
for this class. They allowed a
clamorous set of demagogues to muzzle
and drive them as a pack of curs. Afraid
of shadows, they
submit tamely to squads of dragoons, and permit them, without a murmur,
to burn their cotton, take their horses, corn, and every thing;
and, when we reach them, they are full of complaints if our men take
a few fence-rails for fire, or corn to feed our horses. They give
us no assistance or information, and are loudest in their complaints
at the smallest excesses of our soldiers. Their
sons, horses,
arms, and every thing useful, are in the army against us, and they
stay at home, claiming all the exemptions of peaceful citizens.
I account them as nothing in this great game of war. Fourth.
The young bloods of the South: sons of planters, lawyers about
towns, good billiard-players and sportsmen, men who never did work and
never will. War suits them, and the
rascals are brave, fine
riders, bold to rashness, and dangerous subjects in every sense.
They care not a sou for niggers, land, or any thing.
They hate
Yankees per se, and don't bother their brains about the past, present,
or future. As long as they have
good horses, plenty of forage,
and an open country, they are happy. This
is a larger class
than most men suppose, and they are the most dangerous set of men that
this war has turned loose upon the world. They
are splendid
riders, first-rate shots, and utterly reckless. Stewart, John
Morgan, Forrest, and Jackson, are the types and leaders of this
class. These men must all be killed
or employed by us before we can
hope for peace. They have no
property or future, and therefore
cannot be influenced by any thing, except personal considerations.
I have two brigades of these fellows in my front, commanded
by Cosby, of the old army, and Whitfield, of Texas. Stephen
D. Lee is in command of the whole. I
have frequent interviews
with their officers, a good understanding with them, and am
inclined to think, when the resources of their country are exhausted,
we must employ them. They are the
best cavalry in the world,
but it will tax Mr. Chase's genius for finance to supply them with
horses. At present horses cost them
nothing; for they take
where they find, and don't bother their brains as to who is to pay for
them; the same may be said of the cornfields, which have, as they
believe, been cultivated by a good-natured people for their special
benefit. We propose to share with
them the free use of these
cornfields, planted by willing hands, that will never gather the
crops. Now that
I have sketched the people who inhabit the district of country
under consideration, I will proceed to discuss the future. A civil
government now, for any part of it, would be simply ridiculous.
The people world not regard it, and even the military commanders
of the antagonistic parties would treat it lightly. Governors
world be simply petitioners for military assistance, to protect
supposed friendly interests, and military commanders would refuse to
disperse and weaken their armies for military reasons. Jealousies
would arise between the two conflicting powers, and, instead
of contributing to the end of the war, would actually defer it.
Therefore, I contend that the interests of the United States, and of
the real parties concerned, demand the continuance of the simple
military role, till after all the organized armies of the South are
dispersed, conquered, and subjugated. The
people of all this region are represented in the Army of Virginia,
at Charleston, Mobile, and Chattanooga. They
have sons and
relations in each of the rebel armies, and naturally are interested
in their fate. Though we hold
military possession of the
key-points of their country, still they contend, and naturally, that
should Lee succeed in Virginia, or Bragg at Chattanooga, a change
will occur here also. We cannot for
this reason attempt to reconstruct
parts of the South as we conquer it, till all idea of the
establishment of a Southern Confederacy is abandoned. We should
avail ourselves of the present lull to secure the strategical
points that will give us an advantage in the future military
movements, and we should treat the idea of civil government
as one in which we as a nation have a minor or subordinate
interest. The opportunity is good
to impress on the population
the truth that they are more interested in civil government
than we are; and that, to enjoy the protection of laws, they most
not be passive observers of events, but must aid and sustain
the constituted authorities in enforcing the laws; they must not
only submit themselves, but should pay their share of taxes,
and render personal services when called on. It seems
to me, in contemplating the history of the past two years, that all
the people of our country, North, South, East, and West, have been
undergoing a salutary political schooling, learning lessons
which might have been acquired from the experience of other people;
but we had all become so wise in our own conceit that we world
only learn by actual experience of our own.
The people even of small
and unimportant localities, North as well as South, had reasoned
themselves into the belief that their opinions were superior
to the aggregated interest of the whole nation. Half our territorial
nation rebelled, on a doctrine of secession that they themselves
now scout; and a real numerical majority actually believed
that a little State was endowed with such sovereignty that it could
defeat the policy of the great whole. I
think the present war has
exploded that notion, and were this war to cease now, the experience
gained, though dear, would be worth the expense. Another
great and important natural truth is still in contest, and can only
be solved by war. Numerical
majorities by vote have been our great
arbiter. Heretofore all men have
cheerfully submitted to it in
questions left open, but numerical majorities are not necessarily
physical majorities. The South,
though numerically inferior,
contend they can whip the Northern superiority of numbers,
and therefore by natural law they contend that they are not bound
to submit. This issue is the only
real one, and in my judgment
all else should be deferred to it. War
alone can decide it, and
it is the only question now left for us as a people to decide.
Can we whip the South? If we can, our numerical majority has both
the natural and constitutional right to govern them. If we cannot
whip them, they contend for the natural right to select their own
government, and they have the argument. Our
armies must prevail
over theirs; our officers, marshals, and courts, must penetrate
into the innermost recesses of their land, before we have the
natural right to demand their submission. I would
banish all minor questions, assert the broad doctrine that as a
nation the United States has the right, and also the physical power, to
penetrate to every part of our national domain, and that we will
do it--that we will do it in our own time and in our own way; that
it makes no difference whether it be in one year, or two, or ten,
or twenty; that we will remove and destroy every obstacle, if need
be, take every life, every acre of land, every particle of property,
every thing that to us seems proper; that we will not cease
till the end is attained; that all who do not aid us are enemies,
and that we will not account to them for our acts. If the people of
the South oppose, they do so at their peril; and if they stand by,
mere lookers-on in this domestic tragedy, they have no right to
immunity, protection, or share in the final results. I even
believe and contend further that, in the North, every member of the
nation is bound by both natural and constitutional law to "maintain
and defend the Government against all its enemies and opposers
whomsoever." If they fail to
do it they are derelict, and can be
punished, or deprived of all advantages arising from the labors of
those who do. If any man, North or
South, withholds his share of
taxes, or his physical assistance in this, the crisis of our
history, he should be deprived of all voice in the future elections
of this country, and might be banished, or reduced to the condition
of a mere denizen of the land. War is
upon us, none can deny it. It is
not the choice of the Government
of the United States, but of a faction; the Government was
forced to accept the issue, or to submit to a degradation fatal and
disgraceful to all the inhabitants. In
accepting war, it should be
"pure and simple" as applied to the belligerents.
I would
keep it so, till all traces of the war are effaced; till those who
appealed to it are sick and tired of it, and come to the emblem of
our nation, and sue for peace. I
would not coax them, or even meet
them half-way, but make them so sick of war that generations
would pass away before they would again appeal to it. I know
what I say when I repeat that the insurgents of the South sneer at
all overtures looking to their interests. They
scorn the alliance
with the Copperheads; they tell me to my face that they respect
Grant, McPherson, and our brave associates who fight manfully
and well for a principle, but despise the Copperheads and sneaks at
the North, who profess friendship for the South and opposition
to the war, as mere covers for their knavery and poltroonery. God knows
that I deplore this fratricidal war as much as any man living,
but it is upon us, a physical fact; and there is only one honorable
issue from it. We must fight it
out, army against army, and man
against man; and I know, and you know, and civilians begin to
realize the fact, that reconciliation and reconstruction will be easier
through and by means of strong, well-equipped, and organized armies
than through any species of conventions that can be framed. The
issues are made, and all discussion is out of place and ridiculous.
The section of thirty-pounder Parrott rifles now drilling
before my tent is a more convincing argument than the largest
Democratic meeting the State of New York can possibly assemble
at Albany; and a simple order of the War Department to draft
enough men to fill our skeleton regiments would be more convincing
as to our national perpetuity than an humble pardon to Jeff.
Davis and all his misled host. The only
government needed or deserved by the States of Louisiana, Arkansas,
and Mississippi, now exists in Grant's army.
This needs, simply,
enough privates to fill its ranks; all else will follow in due
season. This army has its
well-defined code of laws and practice,
and can adapt itself to the wants and necessities of a city, the
country, the rivers, the sea, indeed to all parts of this land.
It better subserves the interest and policy of the General Government,
and the people here prefer it to any weak or servile combination
that would at once, from force of habit, revive sad perpetuate
local prejudices and passions. The
people of this country
have forfeited all right to a voice in the councils of the nation.
They know it and feel it, and in after-years they will be the
better citizens from the dear bought experience of the present crisis.
Let them learn now, and learn it well, that good citizens must obey
as well as command. Obedience to
law, absolute--yea, even
abject--is the lesson that this war, under Providence, will teach the
free and enlightened American citizen. Aa
a nation, we shall be
the better for it. I never
have apprehended foreign interference in our family quarrel.
Of coarse, governments founded on a different and it may be an
antagonistic principle with ours naturally feel a pleasure at our
complications, and, it may be, wish our downfall; but in the end
England and France will join with us in jubilation at the triumph
of constitutional government over faction.
Even now the English
manifest this. I do not profess to
understand Napoleon's design in
Mexico, and I do not, see that his taking military possession
of Mexico concerns us. We have as
much territory now as we want.
The Mexicans have failed in self-government, and it was a question
as to what nation she should fall a prey. That
is now solved,
and I don't see that we are damaged. We
have the finest part of
the North American Continent, all we can people and can take care
of; and, if we can suppress rebellion in our own land, and
compose the strife generated by it, we shall have enough people,
resources, and wealth, if well combined, to defy interference
from any and every quarter. I
therefore hope the Government of the United States will continue, as
heretofore, to collect, in well-organized armies, the physical strength
of the nation; applying it, as heretofore, in asserting the
national authority; and in persevering, without relaxation, to the end.
This, whether near or far off, is not for us to say; but, fortunately,
we have no choice. We must
succeed--no other choice is left
us except degradation. The South
must be ruled by us, or she will
rule us. We must conquer them, or
ourselves be conquered. There is
no middle course. They ask, and
will have, nothing else, and talk
of compromise is bosh; for we know they would even scorn the
offer. I wish
the war could have been deferred for twenty years, till the superabundant
population of the North could flow in and replace the losses
sustained by war; but this could not be, and we are forced to take
things as they are. All
therefore I can now venture to advise is to raise the draft to its
maximum, fill the present regiments to as large a standard as possible,
and push the war, pure and simple. Great
attention should be
paid to the discipline of our armies, for on them may be founded
the future stability of the Government. The cost
of the war is, of course, to be considered, but finances will
adjust themselves to the actual state of affairs; and, even if we would,
we could not change the cost. Indeed,
the larger the cost now,
the less will it be in the end; for the end must be attained
somehow, regardless of loss of life and treasure, and is merely a
question of time. Excuse so
long a letter. With great respect,
etc., W. T.
SHERMAN, Major-General. General
Halleck, on receipt of this letter, telegraphed me that Mr. Lincoln
had read it carefully, and had instructed him to obtain my consent
to have it published. At the time,
I preferred not to be drawn
into any newspaper controversy, and so wrote to General Halleck;
and the above letter has never been, to my knowledge, published;
though Mr. Lincoln more than once referred to it with marks of
approval.
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