The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1806-07-11
From tie National kteh;genee-.
=
CASE Of COMMODORE TRUxTUN,
(CenefnGed.J

CASE OF COMMODORE TRuxruN,
/ (Cenefa@ed.J
4 Com. Truxtup has Gated, that, by his let,e
i Of March Sd, 1899. however the language of
i 1ay be, he, in fact, did not intend to quit tn
4 fsrvice. To this point then as tn his i,itentio,
the remarks of this paper will be princinaIl,
4 confined And It will, i truR, thence be mani
I fsft, that he. not only did in exprefs laneuae
tender his re6gnatien, but that fuch alto wa
actually his real intention. -.
From kia printed rindicatien, it appears, tina
he has been invariably and i.nmoveabIy fxed il
the opinion that the prefent Secretary of tn,
navy was from the beginning determined upor
d;;fsraains him, in order thereby to 6ree him &c
quit the fervice. And for this opinion, as pro
found as tits liberal, he has gravely ALIGNED THU
very ,ngacious feafon, viz. that he Thoma.
Iruxtdn, had gained fucb prodigious renown il
! hghtng the French!yi However this kind OF
reafoning may appear 20 other understandings
| the idea hadfo faftened itfelf upon his imaein.
alton, that il had besuilsd him into the perfi,a.
iioa that al the fteps taken by the Secretary of
the Navy in relation to his command OF the
Mediterranean fquadron were with a view TO
dilsraee him., and thus to FORE him to ewf fke
jersier. May it not then be fairly preinned.
THAT, to avoid .his tifsrace, which at the time
Of writing his letter Of March sd, 1909, he ina
gined was accommodating, he had recoIved to re-
t'gn; and that under the impnife of fuel, refo-
luton he had written that letter, and that there
fore his real iatentio5 then was, as is therein cx
prefed, rsEgnafioa.
Com. Traxtun,in his letter of March 9, 1902.
declared to the government" IF this cannot
be done (meaning the letting him have. as Dale
had, captain)I NUT quit the fervice.''
+" To Quit fbe jstaiee" is technical appro.
pirate pirate. and of the fame impor. as to re-
Egn commifiion. Ills not only the accuftom.
ed language of Navy officers; but it is perfest.
" familiar TO all pcrfons whatever. II is indeed
admitted in thi, fenfe by the commodore him
telf IN his defence. For from confcioufnefs of
the true meaning of the language of his letter.
ne has, as his only refuge, hazarded the after
ton, that the word =" Afediterrnuean before
the word fervice" had from fome overnight been
omitted by him.
by inier!'ng then the word, thus alledsed to
have been omitted, comG odore Truxtun would
appear 10 have declared TO the government,
that ne muit qa't the Mediterranean feryice-
tnat 's.that he mutt refuic TO perform the par
henfar fervice to which he had been fneciaIIv
ordered--that he mutt in other words. dfobev
military order of his government. Without
80 a@rs %sessr r S1S R2f seenatts%Sshh
will go with me in the ftatement, that no point
Of dfcipline is better fettcd than that when an
officer has received from his government an or
der to perform any particular fervioe fach or
der mutt be obeyrd. And although the officer
fhoud conceive that his rank or any other efTen-
tiaI right had not been duly refpeeted, yet his
only alternative, even in fuch cafe, is an obedi-
eDes of the order. ora tender of his reGgnation.
From the general fervice of his country, by re-
hgning his commifion, AN officer of the Navy
may under lbeeiai eireunHaneeJ withdraw but
from particular fervice to which he had been
ordered by his government he cannot at hiJ
option withdraw, and at the fame time bold bis
eomnHFon. This difinetion is well known to
all military gentlemen of correct habits, it is OBJ
vious TO common fenfe and it is conhrc,ed BY
universal experience. Who then can imagine
that commodore Truxtun in writing his letter
Of March 3, 1909, had not adverted to this pal
pable diffinction2 And without imagining fuch
an ahirdty, how are we TO believe that by that
letter he did not actually intend, according 20 its
expeditions, rehgnation
The anf1er of the Secretary of the Navy to
Com. TnIxtua's letter of March g. so2, clear
w lhcwed to him, beyond the poiibility of
doubt, that the government had coniidered his
letter as an intended refignatiou. With this un-
dcrslnding thcnof bis intention by the govern.
mcnt, thus conveyed to him, how are we to
imagineit was not duly noticed by him And
being noticed. how are we to coDfider his an
f3er of March %, 1902, but as an acquiefcence
in iuch undertaking OF the government, To
anfwer even in part thefe obvious quefions, the
genius of the commodore, 40 fertile as it is en-
terprizing, has fnGgrtcd TO him the expediency
Of auVepturing the aiiertion, that the Secretary
of the Navy in els letter, of March 1S, 1909,
had ALTO /ome bozv or otter omitted the word
Mediterranean. So that to- vamp up his mar
vellous tale az to his intention, we are TO be
transported to- fome fairy-land, and there we
are to be wheeled into the fauciful fnppofition,
that in grave official carrefpondcuce upon a
iubjeet Of monochrome only the commodore
bad forgotten and omitted an dLY.imborfant
word, bd, that the Secretary Of the Navy in his
anfUer had slfo fo11e bow or other forgotten
and omitted the identit al fame word. Such
arrant poHfenfe merits not ferrous remark
| The anfwer of the government being an accep.
lance Of a rehgnation, If Com. Truxtun had
got intended bis letter as rr6gnation, would
be not at enee have had an official explanation
with the Secretary OF the Nayy2 Would hc
not without delay have fent To the department
4 letter Of eclairciements Would I've, inftrac
of iuch letter Of explanation and Cancellation
have fsnt, az he did, one full Of indecorcus de
flance and the ru1eit infolences If, as he nov
pretends, he did then c0nGder himfelf, an of
acer Of the navy, would he have been 70 TN
mindful of his duty, az to have ufed in an off
ei0i letter 20 the Navy Department fiich grof
and reprehenfibIc eXprefIions ofthe Prefdent
| In confirmation, beyond doubt, of the cor
refuefs of thefe obfervations, the attention q
the public is lbecialiy called tn the folIovin