t of retaliation, but have used their best efforts to
dissuade our soldiers from carrying their threats into execution when an
opportunity should offer. They have gone farther, and have drawn up a
petition in which they earnestly implore the Government in Washington to
prevent to the utmost anything of the kind on the part of our army. They
believe it to be morally wrong, no matter what may be the provocation from
the other side, and have always condemned the destruction of private
property by our troops in the South, whenever isolated instances of the
kind were reported. They believe, moreover, with our wise and judicious
Governor, that retaliation "can do no good to our own people, but a great
deal of harm, because we have more towns, villages, flouring and other
mills to be destroyed in three counties than our enemies in the Southern
States have in fifteen or twenty counties."

Such a wholesale, premeditated, and cruel work of destruction as the
burning of Chambersburg, was never perpetrated by Union troops, and when
Richmond papers have said so, they have said what the facts in the case
did not warrant. It must be admitted, however, that in too many instances,
Union troops did destroy private property unnecessarily and wantonly. We
hope in God it will never be done again. We trust our commanding officers
in the army will not allow passion to set aside moral principle, military
rule, and military honor. Within sight of our charred and desolated homes,
we implore and beseech them not to bring reproach upon our Government,
trample upon all law and order, inaugurate cruel barbarity instead of
civilized warfare, and be guilty of such accumulated horrors as have been
enacted here. And yet all this, and much more, will follow with unerring
certainty, if the immoral, dishonorable, and unmilitary spirit of
retaliation is carried into effect. God in mercy forbid it!

In this connection, and for the purpose of showing that I am not alone in
the views expressed as regards the destruction of private property by
Union troops on the one hand, and the exaggerated or untrue statements of
the Southern press on the other, I will quote the following paragraphs
from the pen of Colonel McClure, in his paper already referred to. I
suppose his statements come as near the truth as can well be ascertained.
He says:

"Jacksonville (Florida) was fired at a single point when our troops were
retreating from it, because citizens fired on our men