A Letter to Hon. Charles Sumner, with 'Statements' of Outrages upon Freedmen in Georgia

A Letter to Hon. Charles Sumner, with 'Statements' of Outrages upon Freedmen in Georgia

Dear Sir: The undersigned beg leave respectfully to suggest to you the propriety of repeating your paper read before the Historical Society at a recent meeting, on the Private Life of Thomas Jefferson, and making public a larger portion of your ample materials, in the form of public lectures. The unanimous expression of approbation on the part of the Society, which your paper elicited, is an earnest of the satisfaction with which your consent to lecture will be received by the public at large. My Dear Sir: It would not become me to express an opinion upon any of the legal questions involved in the Georgia bill now before the Senate, but I respectfully call your attention to the following "statements" of facts. I certainly am not surprised that Honorable gentlemen whom I greatly esteem, should express their belief that the outrages committed upon the Freedmen and Union men in Georgia have been greatly exaggerated in the statements that have been presented to Congress and the country. I know that to persons and communities not intimately acquainted with the state of society, and the civilization developed by the institution of slavery, they seem absolutely incredible. Allow me to say, from my personal knowledge, and profoundly conscious of my responsibility to God and to history, that the statements that have been given to the public in regard to outrages in Georgia come far short of the real facts in the case. Permit me to add that I went to Andersonville, Ga., to labor as a pastor and teacher of the Freedmen, without pay, as I had labored during the war in the service of the Christian Commission; that I had nothing at all to do with the political affairs of the State; that I did not know, and, so far as I am aware, I did not see or speak to any man who held a civil office in the State, except the magistrate at Andersonville; that a few days after my arrival there I performed the first religious[Pg 4] services, and participated in the first public honors that were ever rendered to the 13,716 "brave boys" who sleep there, by decorating the cemetery with procession, prayer, and solemn hymns to God, as described in Appendix A. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 29942
Author: Pierson, Hamilton W. (Hamilton Wilcox)
Release Date: Sep 9, 2009
Format: eBook
Language: English