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Battles Around Atlanta
FIFTH PAPER.
Death of Gen. J. B. McPherson.
BY SIDNEY HEBBEBT.
The terrible struggle of the 22d of July. 1864,
1 iOwn in military history as the “Battle oi
Atlanta” witnessed the death of two of the most
gallant, chivalrous and beloved commanders,
who on that bloody field crossed swords in de
fence of the flags, under whose folds they brave
ly marshalled, in deadly conflict, their trusty and
dauntless soldiers. „ T
In the previous paper of this series, Gen Jo
seph Wheeler briefly refers to the death of Maj.
Gen. Wm. Henry T. Walker, of Augusta, Ga.,
at the head of his division, which he was about
leading into action, and calls him, most appro
priately, the “Chevalier Bayard, the knightly
son of Georgia.” It was to his division that the
present First Volunteer Regiment, of Savannah,
was attached, and which is nowcommanded by a
son-in-law of Gen. Walker—and a gallant and
courtly soldier upon whose brave shoulders the
dead hero’s mantle seems ;to have fallen—Col.
Clifford W. Anderson.
Owing to the great length of Gen. Strong s
interesting and valuable narrative of events
connected with Gen. MoPhersbn’s death, I
find myself compelled to divide into three pa
pers, what I had first intended to comprise . in
one. The preseit paper contains all the im
portant facts connected with Gen. McPherson s
death. The next paper will comprise a sketch
of his life, and a description of the “Memorial
recently erected to mark the spot where he fell;
in the succeeding paper (seventh) I shall give
a sketch of the life of Gen. Walker, and the
circumstances of his death, which occurred
near the same place, at about the same hour,
and in much the same way as McPherson’s. At
all events, the similarity of the two cases, is
strikingly marked.
FEOM GEN . SHERMAN'S MEMOIRS.
On the 21st of July Sherman’s forces were
advanced, to use his own words, “rapidly close
up to Atlanta. ’’ On the morning of the fatal 22d,
from a point near the Hurt House, Gen. Sher
man says he could see the “line of parapets,
‘men dragging up from the intervening valley,
by the distillery, trees and saplings for abatis.”
Gen Schofield was at that time “dressing for
ward his lines,” and General Thomas had already
commenced skirmishing.
It was at this spot, and at this moment, that
Gen. McPherson, with his staff, came up to
Gen. Sherman, and the entire party rode, back
to the/‘Hurt House,’ a “double frame building
with-a porch, and sat on the steps discussing
the chances of battle, and Hood's general char
acter.” We agreed, says Gen. Sherman, that
we ought to be unusually cautious, and prepar
ed at all times for sallies and hard fighting, as
“Hood was undoubtedly a brave, determined
and rash man,” and "the Confederate govern
ment seemed to be displeased with Gen. John
ston's cautious but prudent conduct.”
Gen. Sherman also says: “McPherson was in
excellent spirits, well pleased at the progress of
events so far, and had come over purposely to
see me about the order I had given him to use
Dodge’s corps to break up the railroad.” Dur
ing this interview skirmishing was going on
down around the distillery, and Gen. Schofield
and Gen. Thomas both seemed to be making
things “lively” along their lines. Shots from
the direction of Decatur, ana which were too far
to the “left rear to be explained by known facts,”
led Gen. McPherson hastily call for his horse,
his staff and his Orderlies, and return to his
command. Ot his appearance, dress and con
duct at this interview, Gen Sherman gives the
following account:
“ McPherson was then in his prime (about
thirty-four years old) over six feet high, and a
very handsome man in every way; was univer
sally liked, and had many noble qualities. He
had on his boots outside his pantaloons, gaunt
lets on his hands; had on his Major-General's
nniform, and wore a sword-belt but no sword.
He hastily gathered his papers (save one, which
I possess) into a pocket-book, put it in his
breast-pocket and jumped on his horse, saying
he would hurry down his line and send me
back word what these sounds meant. His Ad
jutant General, Clarke, Inspector-General Strong
and his Aids, Captains Steele and Gile, were
with him. Although the Bound of musketry on
our left grew in volume, I was not so much
disturbed by it as by the sound of artillery
back torward Decatur. I ordered Schofield to at
once send a brigade back to Decatur (some five
miles,) and was walking up and down the porch
of the ‘Hurt House’ listening, when one of
McPherson’s staff, with his horse covered with
sweat, dashed up to the porch and repored that
General McPherson was either killed or a pris
oner! He explained that when they had left me
a few minutes before, they had ridden rapidly
across to the railroad, the sounds of battle in
creasing as they neared the position occupied
by Gen. Giles A. Smith's division, and that Mc
Pherson had sent first one and then another of
liis staff to bring some of the reserve brigades
of the Fifteenth Corps over to the exposed left
flank; that he reached the head ot Dodge’s
corps (marching by the flank on the diagonal
road described,) and had ordered it to hurry
forward to the same point; that then, almost, if
not entirely alone, he had followed this road
leading across the wooded valley behind the
Sixteenth Corps, and had disappeared in these
woods, doubtless with a sense of absoloute secu
rity. The sound of musketry was there heard,
and McPherson’s horse came back, bleeding,
wounded and riderless."
Of his own action in regard to the matter,
Gen. Sherman says: “I ordered the staff-officer
who brought this message to return at once, to
find Gen. Logan (the senior officer present with
the Army of the Tennessee,) to report the same
facts to him, and instruct him to drive back
this supposed small force, which had evidently
got around the Seventeenth Corps through the
blind woods in rear of our left flank. I soon
dispatched one of my own staff (McCoy, 1 think)
to General Logan with similar orders, telling
him to refuse his left fiank, and to fight the
battle (holding fast to Leggett’s Hill) with the
Army of the Tennessee; that I would personally
look to Decatur and the safety of his rear, and
would reinforce him if he needed it. I dispatch
ed orders to Gen. Thomas on our right, telling
him of this strong sally, and my inference that
the lines in his front had evidently been weak
ened by reason tberof, and that he ought to take
advantage of the opportunity to make a lodge
ment in Atlanta, if possible- Meantime the
sounds ot the battle rose on our extreme left
more and more furious, extending to the place
where I stood, at the ‘Hurt House.’ Within an
hour an ambulance came in (attended by
Colonels Clark and Strong, and Captains Steele
and Gile,) bearing McPherson's body. 1 had it
carried inside the ‘Hurt House,’and laid on
a door wrenched from its hinges. Dr. Hewitt,
of the army, was there, and 1 asked him to ex
amine the wound. He opened the coat and
shirt, saw where the ball had entered and where
it came out, or rather lodged under the skin,
and he reported that McPherson must have died
in' • few seconds after being hit; that the ball
ranged upw ard across his body, and passed near
the heart. He was dressed just as he left me,
with gauntlets and boots on.
“While we were examining the body insidethe
house, the battle was progressing outside, and
shots struck the building, which I feared
would take fire, so I ordered Captains Steele and
Gile to carry the body to Marietta. They reached
that place the same night, and, on application,
I ordered his personal staff to go on and escort
the body to his home, in Clyde, Ohio, where it
was recieved with great honor, and it is now
buried in a small cemetery, close by his mother's
house, which cemetery is composed in part of
the family orchard, in which he nsed to play
when a boy. The foundation is ready laid for
the equestrian monument now in progress, ua-
der the auspices of the Society of the Army of
the Tennessee.” In describing the evacuation
of Atlanta by his troops, which occurred early
on the morning of November 16th, Gen. Sher
man says of himself and staff: “We rode out of
Atlanta by the Decatur road, filled by the
marching troops and wagons of the Fourteenth
Corps; and reaching the hill, just outside of
the old rebel works, we naturally paused to look
back upon the scenes of our past battles. We
stood on the very ground whereon was fought
the bloody battle of July 22 j. aud could see the
erals Logan and Blair left instantly for their
respective Corps. Capt. Steel was sent to De
catur, five or six miles back, with instructions
for Col. Sprague. Clark, Williard, Reese, Buel,
Rose and Knox were sent with important orders
to different parts of the field. Hickenlooper,
Gile and myself being the only members of the
staff who remained with the General. We rode
rapidly through a heavy grove of timber which
lay to the south of the railroad, and soon came
to the open fields beyond, where the larger part
of our supply train was parked, and as the ani
mals were being exposed to a heavy fire from
the enemy’s guns, and as there was some ex
citement and confusion among the teamsters,
Gan. McPherson left Capt. Gile to look after
the train, instructing him to work it back to
wards the railroad and to the north of it if pos
sible, to get it out of the range of the artillery
“About this time Hickenlooper was sent to
look after the artillery of the Sixteenth Corps,
which was preparing to’go into action. The Gen
eral and myself accompanied only by our Or
copse of wood where McPherson fell. Behind i derlies, rode on and took position on the right
us lay Atlanta, smouldering and in ruins, the ; of Dodge's line, and witnessed the desperate^as-
black smoke rising high in air, and hanging
like a pall over the ruined city. * * I have
never seen the place since. ”
This is all that Gen. Sherman says in his
“Memoirs” in regard to the circumstances con
nected with the death of Gen. McPherson. In
his official report to Gen. Halleck, dated near
Atlanta, July 23d, 1864, he thus announces the
sad event: “Gen. McPherson, when arranging
his troops about 11 a. m., [yesterday] and pass
ing from one column to another, incautiously
rode upon an ambuscade without apprehension,
at some distance ahead of his staff and orderlies,
and was shot dead.” The additional unofficial
particulars connected with this sad affair are
gathered from various sources.
FROM GENS. HICKENLOOPER AND STRONG.
In reply to a letter addressed by me to him, I
Gen. O. M. Poe, Colonel of Engineers, of Gen. ;
Sherman’s staff, writes thus briefly from Wash- [
ington, D. C.: “General Sherman’s account of'
the death of McPherson is correct in general
terms. Some of the details are better known to
General A. Hickenlooper, of Cincinnati, Ohio,
and General W.E. Strong,of Chicago, than to any
body else, and by writing to them you might
obtain some information. One thing of which
there has been some question, lam clear about;
and that is that McPherson wore top boots when
he fell—as described by Gen. Sherman This
is of importance only because the statue erected
in this city shows him with pantaloons strap
ped down over his boots, as I never saw him
wear them.”
As above suggested, I wrote to Gen. Hicken
looper, and he gave me an immediate reply.
“Two years ago,” he says, “one of the members
of our staff Gen. W r m. E. Strong,of Chicago,111.,
compiled with great care a full and detailed ac
count of all the circumstances connected with
the death of McPherson. I assisted him and
prepared for him a map to accompany the re
port. It was perfectly accurate and complete
in all its details, and would be invaluable to
you. I have no doubt if you write to him he
would give you a copy of it. There never can
be compiled a more perfect statement of all the
various incidents of the battle connected with
McPherson’s death, as it is based on the knowl
edge of the various members of the staff with
McPherson at the time, and also that of the Or
derly who was riding with him when he fell.”
The next thing was to write to General Strong,
which 1 did. and received the following in re
ply. “I prepared, a year ago last summer, at
the request of a number of prominent officers of
the Army of the Tennessee,a paperon the death
of Gen. McPherson. The material for this paper
I had been collecting since the war. The arti
cle, I think, is perfect and complete, covering | with tHe flank of the^iittteenth and Seventeenth
some thirty-seven pages of legal cap paper. I Corps, thus making the line continuous. I was
saults of Hood’s army. Near the time that the
enemy failed in his second attempt to carry
Gen. Dodge’s position. Gen. McPherson sent
me to Gen. Blair to ascertain the condition of
affairs along his line, and directed me to tell
Giles Smith to hold his position, and that troops
would be immediately ordered up to occupy the
gap between the Seventeenth and Sixteenth Corps
As I left Geu. McPherson remarked that he
would remain with his Orderly where he then
was (a commanding position on Dodge’s right),
until I returned. I rode rapidly through the
woods to the Seventeenth Corps and found Gen.
Blair with Gen. Giles A. Smith neartue extreme
left of the Fourth Division (Col. W. Holt’s brig-
ad e). From these two officers I learned that
rebel infantry had been seen moving out of At
lanta and towards the left flank of the Seven
teenth Corps, and they feared the enemy was
trying to get in rear of the army, or was feeling
for the break in the line, with the hope to
cut off the Sixteenth Corps. I at once returned
to Gen. McPherson with this information, find
ing him just where I had left him.
“Immediately the General started, accom
panied by myself, to look over the gap between
the two Corps, and with the intention of ask
ing Gen. Logan for a brigade of his Corps (which
was in reserve), to fill the position. The only
road which it was possible to travel, in order to
reach Gen. Giles Smith’s command without
making a lengthy detour to the rear and cross
ing a number of ravines and streams, ran nearly
in prolongation of the line of battle of the Six
teenth Corps. The General and staff had pass
ed over this road in the early morning, again
shortly before 12 o, clock, it had been passed over
constantly by the troops of our army with safety
since the early dawn of the 22 1, and ten min
utes prior to the General’s death I had ridden
rapidly over the same road, to and from Gen.
Blair’s command without being tired at. I ac
companied Gen. McPherson on this road 350 or
400 yards from th > open fields and un
til we had gained about the centre of the gap
between the flanks of the two army Corps. The
General suddenly checked his horse and left
the road, looking the road over carefully to the
south of it, and following some distance a ridge
which ran parallel to the road, and which he
said was an excellent position for our troops.
Upon returning to the road again the General
stopped, and sent isyj back, to Gen. John A. Lo
gan with the last order he ever gave, and prob
ably it was the last time he ever spoke to anyone,
unless to his Orderly. The substance of this
order was, to ask Gen. Logan to send Wangelin’s
brigade of Wood’s division, which had been
held in reserve near-^tjhe Augusta Railroad, to
throw it across the gfjp and connect the same
begin back to the 20th of July, the day the Army
of the Tennessee passed through Decatur, and fol
low the movements of that army minutely up to
three or four o’clock of the 22nd. A very fine
map of the battle-field of July 22d accompanied
the paper, prepared by Gen. Hickenlooper,
which in all respects is accurate.
“As you are probably aware, I never left Gen.
McPherson on the 22d of July until a minute or
two before his death, when I was sent by him to
bring up Wangelin’s brigade of Wood’s division
to throw in the gap between the Sixteenth and
Seventeenth Corps. Capt. D. C. Buel (Chief
Ordnance Officer) and myself, with our Order- _
lies, went in with an ambulance and brought the open fields, I met Capt. Howard, the Chief
Corps,
to guide the brigade to the point indicated,
show it where to form, and then return and join
the General at Giles Smith’s command. When
McPherson had given me this order he dashed
up the road towards the left of the Seventeenth
Corps as rapidly as his horse could carry him,
and by the time he could have ridden 150 yards
he was killed by the bullets of the enemy’s ad
vance lines.
PARTICULARS OF HIS DEATH.
“As I passed back to the rear in the execution
of McPnerson’s order, not much more than a
minute after leaving him, and before gaining
out McPherson’s remains. I have every fact
bearing on the subject, and the testimony of all
who know anything about it. The paper has
been submitted to Generals Logan, Leggett,
Fuller, Force, Hickenlooper and many others,
and they pronounce it accurate so far as the
movements of our army are concerned. I pre
sented the paper to General Sherman more than
a year ago—keeping a copy for myself—and I
have several letters from him in which he
speaks in very complimentary terms of the nar
rative, and I think intends to publish it him
self sometime with writings of his own.
“I hardly think I would like to have extracts
from my paper published, as it ought to be pub
lished entire, and just as it is written. Nor
would I like it to be published entire without
first consulting Gen. Sherman in regard to the
matter. Do you want the article entire, with
the map, or do you only want the facts connect-
ted with McPherson's death? The latter I shall
have no objections to giving you. If you want
the paper itself, to publish, I will consider the
matter and write Gen. Sherman about it. After
the capture ot Atlanta, 1 took Gen. Hickenlooper
to the place where I found Gen. McPherson’s
body, and Hickenlooper cut his name—* Maj.
Gen. James B. McPherson, July 22, 1864’—on a
small tree within three feet of the spot where he
fell.” [Note. —The owner of the land on which
the “Memorial” has been erected, says he cut
this tree down after the close of the war. He
well remembers the inscription rudely cut in
its bark.]
I at once replied to Gen. Strong, who was
Inspector General of the Army of the Tennes
see, that I only desired the immediate facts
connected with the death of his lamented com
mander. This brought a prompt response, in
which the distinguished officer says : “I gladly
give you the information you desire, quoting
briefly from the paper which I referred to in
my previous letter. A few minutes before 12
o’clock on July 22d, 1864, Gen. McPherson and
staff met Gen. Logan and staff, Gen. Blair and
staff, and several of the division commanders
on the Atlanta and Augusta Railroad, three
quarters of a mile or more in rear of the right
division (Chas. R. Wood’s division), of the Fif
teenth Corps, and as everything at this time
was quiet along our entire line we all dismount
ed and had our lunch together in a little grove
of oaks just to the south of the railroad. Of
McPherson’s staff present at this time there were
Lt. Col. W. T. Clark, Assistant Adjutant Gen
eral; Hickenlooper, Chief of Artillery; Reese,
Chief Engineer; Buel, Chief Ordnance Officer;
Capt. Kilburn Knox; Rose, Signal Officer; Dr.
Duncan, and Major Hilliard and Captains Gile
and Steel, the General’s personal Aides, and
Strong, Inspector General.
“Soon after finishing our lunch, and while
we were enjoying our cigars, a shot was fired
to the left and rear of ns, and then another,
succeeded quickly by a rattling volley of Binall
arms, and at almost the same instant a shell
came crashing through the tree tops near us,
followed by rapid and incessant firing from
Gen. Dodge's corns (the Sixteenth.) At the
first shot every officer sprang to his feet and
called for his horse. The time I should think
was ten or fifteen mir ~‘ee past 12 o'olooL Gen-
Signal Officer of our army, with several men of
his corps, and I think, Lieut. Sherfy, one of the
signal officers of the Fifteenth Corps. They
were riding very fast (evidently going to Giles
Smith's division), and must have been near the
General when he was fired at I brought up
Gen. Wangelin’s brigade as directed, but could
not place it in the gap referred to, the condition
of affairs along tnis part of the line having ma
terially changed since I had parted from McPher
son. I told Gen. Wangelin I would at once go
to the left of the Seventeenth Corps, where I
supposed McPherson to be (having been ordered
to meet him there), and ask for further instruc
tions in regard to this brigade. It being impos
sible to get to Giles Smith's division in the road
heretofore referred to, I made a detour, cross
ing some cornfields, and finally gained the dense
timber to the rear of the left flank of the Sev
enteenth Corps.
“When within two hundred yards of the tim
ber, I saw McPherson’s horse staggering about
and evidently wounded. The saddle and equip
ments bore the marks of three bullets, while the
horse himself was struck in two places. About
the time I reached the horse a wounded soldier
came out of the woods near by accompanied by
another soldier, unhurt, who seeing me, asked
if I was not an officer of McPherson's staff. I
returned an affirmative reply, whenhe informed
me that the General was dead, and that they
had a few minutes previous left his body in the
woods. To corroborate their statement they
gave into my possession an empty pocket book,
a knife, bunch of keys, and a number of other
articles, which I at once recognized as belong
ing to McPherson. The wounded soldier was
George Reynolds, Company D.. 15th I >wa In
fantry, and the ocher was Joseph Sharland, 64th
Illinois Infantry.
“They volunteered to guide me to the spot
where the General’s body was then lying, but
said it would be impossible to get to it from
that direction, that we would have to go baok
and go in by the road. I immediately retraced
my steps, accompanied by these two soldiers,
and soon reached the open field where General
Wangelin’s brigade was still in position awaiting
orders. Here I met a member of McPherson’s
staff, Capt D. C. Buel, Chief Ordnance Officer,
who volunteered to make the attempt with me
to r"cover our General’s remains. We secured a
four-mule ambulance for that purpose, and pro
ceeded without delay to the road through the
woods, up which the General was riding when
killed. The firing on this road had ceased at
this time, and we resolved to make a dash in
with the ambulance and bring off the body if
possible. Our party consisted of Captain Buel
and his Orderly, myself and Orderly (George
Taylor, Co. D., 12th Wisconsin), George Rey
nolds, Joseph Sharland and the driver of the
ambulance (name not known to me). Reynolds
and Sharland rode in the ambulance. We
dashed in on this road as fast as our horses
would carry us, and were soon near the point
where Reynolds thought the body lay. The
ambulance was turned quickly about, and the
mules headed out Buel and I dismounted, our
Orderlies holding the horses. Buel and Shar
land, revolvers in hand, walked down from the
ambulance some yards, and promised to watch
the road, and protect the ambulance with their
lives. George Reynolds, weak and faint though
he was from loss of blood, guided me through
the dense thicket and underbrush straight to
the spot where McPherson fell.
“Thirty-five or forty yards from the main
road we came upon the General’s prostrate form,
cold in death. He was lying on his back, his
head resting on a blanket which Reynolds had
previously placed there. His hat, watch, sword-
belt and field-glass were missing, and the book
which he carried in the side pocket of his blouse,
and which contained memoranda, papers and
telegrams, was also gone. His buckskin gaunt
lets had not been removed and a diamond ring
of great value still remained on the little finger
of his left hand. Raising the body quickly
from the ground and grasping it firmly under
the arms, I dragged it, with such assistance as
Reynolds could offer, through the brush to the
ambulance, and with the aid of the other mem
bers of our party deposited it therein, after
which we went out, as we came in, ‘on the keen
run. ’ But when we had gained the open field,
the ambulance was stopped, and the General’s
remains were placed in a proper position, his
limbs being straightened, his arms folded over
his breast, and his head tightly bandaged, and
supported by a folded blanket. Thus we car
ried to Gen. Sherman’s headquarters at the Hurt
House all that remained to earth of the gallant
soldier and beloved commander of ‘The Army
of the Tennessee. ’
“ Gen. McPherson was killed, or mortally
wounded, between one and two o'clock, and
probably in about two minutes from the time
I left him in the execution of his orders. The
enemy, shortly after I passed over the road from
the interview with Generals Biair and Giles
A. Smith, had advanced his line, found the gap
between the corps, and had possession of and
controlled the road, a regiment of infantry
having been thrown accross it. Gen. McPher
son must have ridden within fifty feet of the
Confederate line before he discovered his pecu
liar situation. An officer standing near threw
up his sword, as a token for McPherson to sur
render, but the only response he made to this
informal demand consisted in raising his hat,
politely bowing, and reining in his horse to the
right to avoid the enemy, evidently hoping
to escape by gaining quickly the thick-timber
and under-brush which was close at hand.
“These are the main fac s in relation to Gen.
McPherson’s death, briefly stated to meet your
desire. In the paper prepared for Gen. Sher
man, I go more into details, and give the state
ments of Lieut. Sherfy, of the Signal Corps A.T.
Thompson, the General's Orderly (who was cap
tured at the time, and remained a prison
er of war over nine months) and George Rey
nolds. To these are added an interesting state
ment from Capt. Richard Beard, who was in
command of the company (5th reg. of Cleburne’s
division j that held possession of the road, over
which McPherson was riding, and from which
company the volley came that caused his death.
From Capt. Beard’s standpoint, his article is
undoubtly accurate, still (viewed from our side)
there are some errors in it, which I seek to cor
rect in my paper. Capt. B. states, that when
McPherson was called upon to surrender and
refused to do so, ‘young Corporal Co ernan, who
was standing near him, was ordered to tire, and
did so; and it was his ball that brought Gen.
McPherson down.’
“Nei-her McPherson’s body-guard nor any
member of his staff’were with him when he was
killed. A. J. Thompson, his Orderly, was the
only soldier with him properly belonging to
our head quarters. Col. R.*N. Scott, of the 68 :h
Ohio.(Capt. Howard, Chief Signal Officer, Lieut.-
W. H. Sherfy, of the signal corps, and Capt.
Raymond, were the]only officers of our army
who were near enough to witness the firing of
the fatal volley, so far as I have ever been able to
ascertain. Col. Scott and Lieut. Sherfy must
have been very close, as both were dismounted
by the volley fired, the first named officer hav
ing his horse killed, and being himself captur
ed. As to young Reynolds, not enough can be
said in his prais . He received a dreadful
wound in the elbow, and although weak and
faint from loss of blood, he remained with the
General until he died, and did every thing in his
power to comfort and.relieve him. This brave
soldier refused to go to the hospita’ or to have
his wounds dressed until we had recovered and
brought from the field the dead body of our fal
len commander. As a slight reward for his
bravery, and lor his kindness to Gen. McPher
son during his last moments, the ‘gold medal
of honor’ of the Seventeenth Corps, was awarded
him, by Maj. Gen. Frank P. Blair, his corps
commander, and the presentation made in the
presence of his regiment under arms.”
In referring to my previous article on the
death of McPherson, Gen. Joseph Wheeler, who
with his cavalry played a conspicuous and gal
lant part in the bloody battle of the 221 of July,
gives me some new facts in regard to the matter:
“After the fight some of our soldiers reported
the killing and capture (as they expressed it) of
a Federal surgeon. The uniform described by
them, however, was so like that of a general that
others besides myself felt convinced that they
were mistaken in the rank. It is most probable
that Gen. McPherson was the person to whom
they referred. If this be true the statement of
Gen. Sherman that the body was for a brief time
within our lines, is well founded. Is is very
possible that McPherson, when he fell, finding
himself alone in our hands, and mortally woun
ded, uttered the one word ‘surgeon,’ meaning
that he wanted a surgeon to attend to bis
wounds. Our men, doubtless, thought he de
sired to make known to them that he himself
was a surgeon, as the hero died before he could
make any further explanation of his condition
and wants. Gen. McPherson was oertainly all
his most ardent admirers claimed for him—a
man of great mental ability; of remarkable ac-
quirments; noted for his sterling character; re
spected and esteemed by his superiors, his sub
ordinates and his soldiers; and held in high re
gard by the entire Confederate army, as well as
the citizens occupying the territory which the
fortunes of war placed under his control.”
This is all the information I have been able to
gather up from various sources, after much pa
tient effort, in regard to the death of Gen. Mc
Pherson. Many of my letters to prominent mil
itary men have never been replied to, while
others have called out only apologies for being
unable to give any new facts. Gen. Sherman,
when my letter reached him, had just returned
from a long official visit to the Indian country,
and he was reluctantly compelled to content
himself with these few words of thanks and
apology: “I am much obliged for your courte
sy in sending me that printed slip describing
the ‘McPherson Memorial,’ and its location. I
could write you much on this subject, but real
ly am too fully occupied at this time.” As he
does not in any way refer to discovered errors
in his published account of McPherson's death,
which formed a portion of my article, it is right
to presume that no new facts have contradicted
the narrative given by Gen. Sherman in his
•Memoirs.’ It is true that Gen. Strong fixes the
death of McPherson between bneand two o’olock
in t‘ e afternoon, while Gen. Sherman places it
between eleven and twelve o’clock in the fore
noon. Both may err in their recollection as to
the exact hour, but it is known that his death
ooourred between the hours of eleven and two
o’clock. The exact time is unknown.
Kimball-House, Jan., 1878.
— A cargo of nitro-glycerine exploded at the
Jackson mines, near Negaunno, Mich. Seven
men were blown to atoms. The shook was
plainly felt three miles away.
The Jew as a Debtor.
“Swindling Jew,” is an epithet that has very
often been applied to the Israelite. Indeed no
H ie have ever been so grossly maligned, so
y traduced, as the Hebrew people. For
long centuries have they borne unmerited and
persistent woes. For long centuries, have they
been the victims of scorn, of hate, of falsehood
and abuse. But it is needless to rehearse the
past—to relate anew the story of wrong and suf
fering inflicted upon our people. That story is
familiar t'o every student of history.
It is with the present that we desire to deal.
To refute falsehood, to dissipate error, to expose
malevolence and hate, to answer the charge ot
dishonesty so often brought against the Hebrew
people—shall be our task to-day.
“The Jew as a debtor” is the question we de
sire to discuss. How does he compare with the
debtors of the Gentiles in honesty and integrity?
To answer these questions truthfully and satis-
faetorily, an impartial statement of facts and
figures must be made.
There are, in the United States from 300,000
to 500,000 Israelites. Of these, probably 50,000
are male adults Wno follow some business or oc
cupation. The vast majority of these male adults
are engaged in commercial pursuits. Compara
tively few are professional men, farmers or me
chanics. Hence, it may be safeiy stated that
from 35,000 to 40,000 Israelites are, strictly
speaking, business men, and are, to a certain
extent—as the credit system is so much in vogue
—debtors. The question therefore arises: Are
these 35,000 or 40,000 Israelites as prompt and
as honest in the payment of their debts as 40,000
merchants, bankers or manufacturers selected
at random from among the general population ?
Let us take the city of New York as an example.
There are in that city, about 75,000 Israelites.
Of these 75 000, about 12,000 are male adults and
at least 7,000 of these male adults follow com
mercial pursuits. Of the general population,
about 150,000 are male adults, of which not
more than 35,000 follow commercial pursuits.
H;nce, while according to population there is
one Jew to every twelve Gentiles, according to
occupation, there is one Jew engaged in mer
cantile pursuits, to every five Gentiles. There
fore, the proportion of failures should be as one
to five.
According to statistics, not less than eight
hundred failures per annum occur in New York.
Hence,according to the proportion, there should
occur about one hundred and fifty Jewish fail
ures per anium. Yet facts and statistics show
that there are hardly seventy-five Jewish fail
ures. Thus, in the city of New York, there are
two Gentile failures to every one Jewish failure.
And New York may be taken as a fair example,
in this respect, of t ie other cities of the Union.
We therefore reply to our first question, that
the thirty-five thousand Israelites engaged in
commercial occupations in the United States
are fully as prompt and fully as honest in pay
ing their debts, as thirty-five thousand bankers,
merchants or manufacturers, selected at random
from among the general population.
Again. It has been stated on good authori
ty that since the panic of 1873, there has been
an average of one bank failure per diem, which
would make not less than 1200 bank failures
from that time to this. Yet there are not twenty-
five Jewish banking houses included in this list.
Making all due allowance for the number of
Jewish and Gentile bankers, the propoition
would ye.t be exceedingly favorable to the for
mer. And yet, when the recent failure of the
Greenebaums and Netters occurred in New York,
some unthinking people railed at “Jewish dis
honesty.”
Let the impartial seeker after truth examine
carefully the records of the Bankrupt and Insol
vent Courts of the United States. Let him scan
the names of those who have taken advantage of
those laws, and few indeed will be the Jewish
names found upon those records. Let him in
spect the Homestead books, whereon are found
the names of those who seek to evade the pay
ments of honest debts, by the means which the
laws of the various States allow, and on those
books he will find Jewish names in an over
whelming minority.
If he be still unsatisfied, let him examine the
records of the Criminal Courts, let him seek
the names of those who have been indicted for
fraud cenuected with the non- payment of debts,
and hardly a Jewish name will greet his eye.
Let him inspect the long list of defalcations—
of men who, after obtaining possession ol cred
itors’ money, abscond without paying one cent
of their indebtedness, and he will be unable to
find a single Jew on that black roll of crime.
Let him gather up the names of those who
have defrauded the poor and needy, who have
robbed the widow and the orphan, by inducing
them to intrust their hard-earned wages in
swindling “Savings Institutions,” and he will
find Jewish names conspicuous by their ab
sence.
If he be still unsatisfied, if all these evidences
fail to force conviction upon his mind, let him
glance back over the pages of history, to the
time when Philip Augustus of France promul
gated his decree absolving every Christian from
his liability to a Jew; when'.Eaglish barons bor
rowed immense sums from the Jewish money
lenders, and repaid them with tortnre and per
secution ; When German princes decoyed unsus
pecting Israelites into their dominions, to ob
tain possession of their substance, and for pay
ment banished them from the land;—then let
him turn to the other side of the picture; let
him observe how the Israelites scrupulously re
paid every debt; how even unjust taxes were
cheerfully paid by them; how they rendered to
the governments which iobbed and persecuted
them, the most oppressive, the most iniquitous
exactions.
Let him contrast Christian(?) with Jewish
debtors in the Medieval ages; then let him ex
hibit the result of his investigations to the
world, and all must acknowledge that despite
the calumny of foes, despite the falsehoods of
unscrupulous men, the Jew is atid ever teas an
hottest debtor. Not to pay oue’s honest debts is
similar to stealing, and “Thou shalt not steal,”
is one of the fundamental principles of J udaism.
In all their wanderings the Hebrew people have
observed this divine command. Through all
their vicissitudes, honesty and integrity have been
their guiding-stars; have shown as the brightest,
fairest gems in Isael’s glowing coronet 1
.Max Mexerhabdz.
Rome, Ga., Jan. 8th, 1878.
A Child Born in a Grave.—A horrible occur
rence is reported from Castel, near Guidici, in
Italy. A poor waman, near her confinement, was
seized with a fit of catalepsy, which the surgeon
who was called in mistook for death. He gave a
certificate accordingly, and twenty-four hours
later the woman was buried in the oommon
grave of the cemetery. A few days afterward,
on the grave being opened for the body of anoth
er interment, it was remarked that the body of
the woman had been disturbed. On examina
tion, the eyes were found partially opened and
distorted, the bandage in which the legs had
been swathed was burst asunder, and a child
had been born. The doctor and the president
of the commune have been punished for their
criminal carelessness by imprisonment for three
months.
“Things are a-climbin’ down low, sonny,” re
marked the old darkey. “Fust, I done come
down to two meals a day, den I comes down to
one—mighty plain one at dat— an’ now, bress
my old hide, ef I don’ got to scratch ’round ter
flit so |muoh as one good squar’ lunohin’ a
week!” “ 1