Alcala 1958

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Columbia what remain s unco nsume d, and with outhes itat ionI char geGen era l Wade Hamp ton with ha vin g burned hi s own cit y of Columbi a, not wi th ma lic iou s int ent , or as the ma nif estati onof a sil ly sto icism, but from folly and wan t of sen se, in fill ing it with lin t cott on and tinder .' "T his wa s the ins ult ing char ge fir st ma de by She rman,and ma de in the mos t off en siv eterms, at a time wh en I wa s a pri son er of war, unde r par ole , and thu s unabl e to mee t it in the on ly manne r it des erved. "But one mod e of an sweri ngwas ope n to me, an d the one leas t ag reea bleto my wis hes , that of deno un cin g it as false in i s unconsumed, io ge l ade to i g e ia, li ious , ifestation l i i , f l y , i .' i i g ge an, sive t , l , le l r . ng , ble ncing ,

ext rac ts. Th ere is no t one word of truth in all that has been quote d ex cept the statem ent tha t I "comm and edthe Con­ fed era te rea r gu ard of cav alry." I did not ord er an y cott on mo ved int o the str eet sand fired . . . I lef t the ci ty aft er the head of Sh erm an 'scolumn ent ere dit, and I ass ert wh at can be pro ved by tho usa nds , tha t no t one bal e of cott on wa s on fir e wh en he took possess ion of the cit y. His ass ert ion to the con tra ry is fal se, and he kn ow sit to be so. ' "The se ex tra ctsfrom my lette r wil l be su ffi cie ntto sho w how the cha rge ma de by Sherm anwa s me t . . . No an swer to my den ial wa s ma de by She rman,and he ha s rest ed qu iet lyund er the den uncia tion unt il the pre sen t momen t, when an ex­ am ina tio nbef ore the mi xe d commi ssi on ha s aff ord ed him the opp ortu nity to rei ter atehi s fal seh ood son oat h of fic ial ly , and as he suppo ses ,sa fe ly." Tw o not ari zedsta tem ent s byfell ow Con­ fed era te of fic er s atte st to the trut h of Gen eral Hamp ton 'sden ial of gu ilt an d sub­ seq uentl y ledthe "m ixe d commi ssio n"to com ple tely exo ne ra teGen eral Hamp ton of the all eg edars on . Th e firs t statem entwas sworn to by Capt. Raw lins Lou nde s,Ad jut antGen era l. It wa s dat ed Au g. 15 , 18 66 ,from Cha rlest on,S. C., and add res sed to Cha nce llor J. J. Carr oll, cha irm an of the Committ ee for Inv est iga ­ tio n of the Bu rn ing of Co lumbia . Th e stat eme nt ra n : 4 " S ir : Se ei ng that you ha ve cal led for tes timony in ref ere nce to the des tru ctio n of Col umbia by fir e, on the ni gh t of Feb rua ry 17, 18 65 , I be g to ma ke the fol low ingsta tem ent: " 'So on af ter Gen era l Ham pton as­ sum edcomma ndof the cav alr y,wh ichhe did on the mo rning of the 17 th of Februa ry, he told me that Gen eral [P ie rr e Gu stav e To ut ant] Bea ure gar d had det erm inedno t to bur n the cot ton ,as 4 C /.op . ci t. t e t anded - te .'' s .. an's d , I i . i io ry , s se cts l i nt an . i l a , i ly i tion il t t, - i tion is ion ed nity ate I ! o d ial y, , l .'' ized ents by - te ers l ton's i l - tly led i d is i n" l tely rate l to e . t te ent li s , t l. . , , f l o , e ed l . . ol , an itte iga- ing bia. ta t n : 4 ir: S g i ony nce ction of Columbia by fire, on the night of ry , beg to make the ing tement: ' l t n - nd o l y, i i ry, l rre l e tant) rd ined , 4 f. . t.

I

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FR. GEIMER the publi c prin ts, and thi s wa s don e on the 19t h of June, 18 65 ,in the fol low ing terms : 3 " 'Itwou ld be diffic ult, if no t impo s­ sib le, to exp res s in an equa l number of par agr aph s,a gre ate r numb er of fals e­ hood s than are con tai ned in the abo ve 3 C f. Wade Hampton, The Bur ning of Col umbia (Cha rlest on,S. C.: Wal ker, Eva ns & Cog swel l, 1888), p. 3. lic ts, , ing s: 3 'It l ult, s• l , ss l aph , r er ) • s ined 3 C t , i f bia rleston, , l ,

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