history.’ “In the name of common sense, I ask you not to appeal to a just God in such a sacrilegious manner. “You who in the midst of peace and prosperity have plunged a nation into war, ‘dark and cruel war;’ who dared and badgered us to battle, insulted our flag; seized our arsenals and forts that were left in the honorable custody of a peaceful ordnance sergeant; seized and made prisoners of war the very garrisons sent to protect your people against negroes and Indians, long before any overt act was committed by the (to you) hateful Lincoln Government; tried to force Kentucky and Missouri into rebellion in despite of themselves; falsified the vote of Louisiana; turned loose your privateers to plunder unarmed ships; expelled Union families by the thousands; burned their homes, and declared, by an act of your Congress, the confiscation of all debts due to Northern men for goods had and received! Talk this to the marines, but not to me, who have seen these things, and who will this day make as great sacrifice for the peace and honor of the South as the best Southerner among you. “If we must be enemies, let us be men, and fight it out as we propose to-day, and not deal in such _hypocritical appeals to God and humanity_. God will judge us in due time, and he will pronounce whether it be more humane to fight with a town full of women and the families of a ‘brave people’ at our back, or to remove them in time to places of safety among their own friends and people. “I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, “W. T. SHERMAN, Maj.-Gen. Commanding. “[Official copy:] L. M. DAYTON, Aide-de-Camp.” The conquering chief humanely gives the rebels time to depart, declaring a truce of ten days: “HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION MISSISSIPPI, } IN THE FIELD, ATLANTA, GA., _Sept. 10, 1864_. } “1. Pursuant to an agreement between General J. B. Hood, commanding the Confederate forces in Georgia, and Major-General W. T. Sherman, commanding this army, a truce is hereby declared to exist from daylight of Monday, September 12, until daylight of Thursday, September 22—ten (10) full days—at a point on the Macon Railroad known as Rough and Ready, and the country round about or a circle of two (2) miles radius, together with the roads leading to and from, in the direction of Atlanta and Lovejoy station, respectively, for the purpose of affording the people of Atlanta a safe means of removal to points South.