ives, liberty, and
property of all classes of citizens were secure, and especially to
see that the loyal white and colored citizens who resided or might
sojourn in those States did not suffer injustice, oppression, or
outrage because of their loyalty. Loyal men, without distinction of
race or color, were clearly entitled to the full measure of
protection usually found in civilized countries, if in the nature
of things it was possible for the Nation to furnish it.

Inquiring as to the condition of things in the South, I waive the
uniform current of information derived from the press and other
unofficial sources from all parts of the South, and rely
exclusively on the official reports of army officers like Grant,
Thomas, Sheridan, and Howard--officers of clear heads, of strong
sense, and of spotless integrity, whose business it is to know the
facts, and who all united in warning the Nation that Union men,
either white or colored, were not safe in the South.

General Grant says that the class at the South who "will
acknowledge no law but force" is sufficiently formidable to justify
the military occupation of that territory.

General Sheridan, in an official report, says the "trial of a white
man for the murder of a freedman in Texas would be a farce; and, in
making this statement, I make it because truth compels me, and for
no other reason.... Over the killing of many freedmen nothing is
done." General Sheridan cites cases in which our National soldiers
wearing the uniform of the Republic have been deliberately shot
"without provocation" by citizens, and the grand jury refused to
find a bill against the murderers. Even in Virginia, General
Schofield was compelled to resort to a military tribunal because "a
gentleman" who shot a negro dead in cold blood "was instantly
acquitted by one of the civil courts."

General Ord reports in Arkansas fifty-two murders of freed persons
by white men in the past three or four months, _and no reports have
been received that the murderers have been imprisoned or
punished_.... "The number of murders reported is not half the
number committed."

General Sickles says that in South Carolina, "in certain counties,
such as Newberry, Edgecombe, and Laurens, so much countenance was
given to outrages on freedmen b