n of
Columbia are seen now clearly by the result," said Sherman under oath.
"The burning of the private dwellings, though never designed by me, was
a trifling matter compared with the manifold results that soon followed.
Though I never ordered it and never wished it, I have never shed many
tears over the event, because I believe it hastened what we all fought
for, the end of the war." It is true that he feared previous to their
entry the burning of Columbia by his soldiers, owing to their
"deep-seated feeling of hostility" to the town, but no general of such
an army during such a campaign of invasion would have refused them the
permission to occupy the capital city of South Carolina. "I could have
had them stay in the ranks," he declared, "but I would not have done it
under the circumstances to save Columbia."

Historical and legal canons for weighing evidence are not the same. It
is a satisfaction, however, when after the investigation of any case
they lead to the same decision. The members of the British and American
mixed commission (an Englishman, an American, and the Italian Minister
at Washington), having to adjudicate upon claims for "property alleged
to have been destroyed by the burning of Columbia, on the allegation
that that city was wantonly fired by the army of General Sherman, either
under his orders or with his consent and permission," disallowed all the
claims, "all the commissioners agreeing." While they were not called
upon to deliver a formal opinion in the case, the American agent was
advised "that the commissioners were unanimous in the conclusion that
the conflagration which destroyed Columbia was not to be ascribed to
either the intention or default of either the Federal or Confederate
officers."

To recapitulate, then, what I think I have established: Sherman's
account and that of the Union writers who follow him cannot be accepted
as history. Neither is the version of Wade Hampton and the Southern
writers worthy of credence. Let me now give what I am convinced is the
true relation. My authorities are the contemporary accounts of six
Federal officers, whose names will appear when the evidence is presented
in detail; the report of Major Chambliss of the Confederate army; "The
Sack and Destruction of Columbia," a series of articles in the _Columbia
Phoenix_, written by William Gilmore Simms and printed a little over a
month after the event; and a letter written from Charlotte, February 22,
to the