CHAPTER XXXV.

DIGRESSIVE.

IN preparing the foregoing pages, in order to avoid those digressions which often mar the continuity of a narrative, we have omitted several letters of interest which will be given in this chapter.

During the first year of the war, the newspaper press unwittingly occasioned great embarrassment to the army. Such was the public greed for news, that publishers had their correspondents in every camp, who did. not hesitate to give publicity to any and all operations of the army; so that, while the people were merely gratified, the enemy was advised and greatly benefited. General Sherman was among the first to perceive and attempt to reform this evil. It required a bold man to run counter to the wishes of the newspaper press. Nevertheless he did not hesitate to do so, when he judged that the best interests of the country required it. In 1861, while in command in Kentucky, he was not only embarrassed but alarmed, in finding all his operations telegraphed and published in the daily papers, even his plans foreshadowed, and the number and strength of his forces given. At that time, the allegiance of Kentucky was hollow and compulsory. In fact, many of her young men had gone into the armies of the Confederacy, leaving their relatives and friends behind to act the part of spies and informers. Kentucky was then our point of support for the operations of the Valley of the Mississippi, and we were obliged to draw our lines through counties and districts whose people were only bound to us by a fear that was taciturn,

supple, and treacherous, and which, like the ashes of volcanoes, concealed terrific flames, the eruption of which might be induced or provoked by the slightest cause. General Sherman, conscious of his weakness, and of the dangers by which he was surrounded, banished every newspaper correspondent from his lines, and declared summary punishment for all who should in future give information of his strength, position, or movements. A proceeding so unusual was ill-appreciated by the press, and the result was a lively fire in the rear, which was somewhat annoying to him. Nevertheless he persisted in this policy throughout the war; and the further our lines were advanced into the enemy's country, the more valuable became the rule. The following letter was written, early in 1863, in vindication of his policy :

"When John C. Calhoun announced to President Jackson the doctrine of secession, he did not bow to the opinion of that respectable source, and to the vast array of people of whom Mr. Calhoun was the representative. He saw the wisdom of preventing a threatened evil by timely action. He answered instantly: 'Secession is treason, and the penalty for treason is death.' Had Jackson yielded an inch, the storm would then have swept over this country.

"Had Mr. Buchanan met the seizure of our mints and arsenals in the same spirit, he would have kept this war within the limits of actual traitors, but by temporizing he gave the time and opportunity for the organization of a rebellion of half the nation.

"So in this case. Once establish the principle asserted by you, that the press has a right to keep paid agents in our camps, independent of the properly accredited commanders, and you would be able soon to destroy any army; we would then have not only rebellion on our hands, but dissensions and discord in our armies, mutiny in our camps, and disaster to our arms. In regard to this matter I may be mistaken, but for the time being I must be the judge.

"I am no enemy to freedom of thought, freedom of speech

and of the press; but the army is no proper place for controversies. When armies take the field all discussion should cease. No amount of argument will move the rebellion; the rebels have thrown aside the pen and taken the sword. We must do the same, or perish or be conquered, and become the contempt of all mankind."

But newspaper correspondents are not so easily put down by the pen alone, although it may be wielded by the hand that holds the sword as well. During the forepart of 1863, Mr. Thomas W. Knox, a correspondent for the New York Herald, was excluded from our lines in the department commanded by General Grant, in consequence of offensive language used by him in letters published in the newspaper with which he was connected. Mr. Knox appealed to the President, who, after hearing his statement of the case, allowed him to return to General Grant with a letter, as follows:

Whereas, it appears to my satisfaction that Thomas W. Knox, a correspondent of the New York Herald, has been, by the sentence of court-martial, excluded from the military department of Major-General Grant, and also that General Thayer, president of the court, and Major-General McClernand, in command of a corps of that department, and many other respectable persons, are of opinion that Mr. Knox's offence was technically rather than wilfully wrong, and that the sentence should be revoked, therefore said sentence is hereby revoked, so far as to allow Mr. Knox to return to General Grant's headquarters, and to remain, if General Grant shall give his express assent, and to again leave the department if General Grant refuse such assent."

Whereupon General Grant addressed Mr. Knox :

"The letter of the President of the United States authorizing you to return to these headquarters, and to remain with

my consent, or leave if such consent is withheld, has been shown to me.

"You came here first in violation of a positive order from General Sherman. Because you were not pleased with his treatment of army followers who had violated his orders, you attempted to break down his influence with his command and to blast his reputation with the public; you made insinuations against his sanity, and said many things which were untrue, and so far as your letter had influence, it was calculated to injure the public service. General Sherman is one of the purest men, and one of the ablest soldiers in the country; you have attacked him and have been sentenced to expulsion from the department for such offence. Whilst I would conform to the slightest wish of the President, where it is founded on a fair representation of both sides of any question, my respect for General Sherman is such, that in this case I must decline, unless General Sherman first gives his consent for your remaining."

Mr. Knox then addressed General Sherman :

"Inclosed please find copy of the order of the President, authorizing me to return to this department, and to remain, with General Grant's approval. General Grant has expressed his willingness to give such approval, provided there is no objection from yourself.

"Without referring in detail to past occurrences, permit me to express my regret at the want of harmony between portions of the army and the press, and the hope there may be a better feeling in future. I should be pleased to receive your assent in the present subject-matter. The eyes of the whole North are now turned upon Vicksburg, and the history of the events soon to culminate in its fall will be watched with great eagerYour favor in the matter will be duly appreciated by the journal I represent as well as myself."

ness.

The secular press of this country is a great power, for both good and evil, and the man who can show us how we may

have the one without the other, will prove himself a great benefactor of his race. But this is impossible. Honest truth is too slow for enterprising error; truth stays at home, and waits to entertain such friends as come to seek her counsels, while error, with her specious promises and plausible theories, advertises in the newspapers, and careers through the world. The reason why the press is not an unmixed good, is because all editors, publishers, and correspondents are not cultivated, high-toned, honest, and honorable men. But if they were so, and if they earnestly and faithfully set themselves to work to teach the people virtue, and to publish nothing but unvarnished truth, such is the character of mankind, they would have but few pupils. The stream can rise no higher than its fountain, and a people are no better than the newspapers they read.

The calling of the editor, in this country, is as high and honorable as that of any of the learned professions. If his errors and follies are more apparent than those of the lawyer, it is because they are more exposed to observation. The editor speaks every day to the public-the lawyer speaks but seldom, and then carefully before the judges. The man who talks much, is apt sometimes to talk unwisely. But the standard of each is elevated or lowered according to the public demand. During the early part of the war, the public demand was for the sensational, and army correspondents were, for the most part, as deficient in good sense and judgment as in good manners. Subsequently, the public demand was for truth and fact, and only such as might be consistent with the. public interests; and then, the letters from army correspondents became valuable contributions to authentic history. But the following letter to Mr. Knox in reply to the one just cited, bears on the former period, and the action in this case ended all controversy between General Sherman and army correspondents.

"Yours of April 6th, inclosing a copy of the President's action in your case, and General Grant's letter to you, is received.