Alexandria gazette & daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1817-1822, 1819-03-24
REPI Y to the STRUCTURES on the RE-
PORT ofthe COMMITTEE of the
SENATE.
From The National lntsllgenesr.
TO THE PUBLIC.
TO THE PUBLIC.

character. upon a report made by Sc
loo, committee of the senate, on the sub.
;ect of the Seminole war, and being the
only member of that committee now at the
seat of government, it seems to he duty l
owe 10 the senate of the United States, to
The committee Of which was member.
and to my own character, to offer some re-
marks on the structures. In the first place
il is necessary to observe, that, on apply
ing to the editors of the Natiopal lntelli-
gencer, I was informed by them, in wri-
ting, that they were authorised to give up,
as the authors of the structures, the names OF
two officers of the army of the U. States.
Could have brought myself to believe that
those young mems were the real, as they
were the ostens.ble, authors of those stric-
lures, they would have been treated with
silent pity and commiseration, and their
production would have remained forever
unnoiiced by me. But charity for those
men, and the peculiar circumstances OF the
case, forbid this conclusion: we must look
10 higher source for their author. Those
young men were aids to general Jackson,
or belonged to his military family. Some
oethe documents annexed to the structures,
were, it seems, furnished from his own pri-
vate bureau, for they could not be obtain
ed in the war office The personal invec-
tives INDUCED in, in the structures, cores
ponl entirely with his previous observa-
tions in the public taverns and bathrooms
at Washington for it isa TACT notorious,
and cannot be denied, that on those occa-
sions he was vocifrrous in his imprecaions,
and vio ent in his threats OF personal venge-
ance, even TO cutting off the ears OF some Of
the members of the select committee, and
this while the subject was before the Sc
nate and some members of the house OF
representative VINO dared to animadvert
upon his conduct, or even to doubt bis in
fallibility. were menaced in nearly SINH
lar manner. Under these circumstances,
there seems to be no unfairness in consider
ing that gen. Jackson is the real author OF
those structures, or at least that he appro-
we'd of, and assented to the publication Il
AMI that those gentlemen with more gal
Iantry than prudence) were induced to step
forward and take upon themselves re-
sponsibility that the general himself felt
unwilling to encounter And it is for him
TO decide how far it was just and proper tor
sge and experience to take advantage OF
the exuberant ardor OF youthful feelings
aud attachments, and by this means to in
duce the officers in question to hazard their
reputation Md future prospects III the ar
my. by acts 81 inconsidera,e rasbness. As
citize ms of the United States, they were en-
titled TO equal privileges with all others.
As military officers, they were held strictly
subordinate to the civil power. An act of
congress declares, that every othcer shall
be cashiered, or otherwise punished by
court martial, who shall even speak con-
temptuous or disrespectiul words OF the
congress Of the United States or of tine le-
sislstures or governors OF any OF the states
Of the union. And, by rules aud regula-
tons established in the army of the United
States. the officers are forbidden, under
like penalties, from publishing in newspa-
pers or otherwise, observations disrespect-
ful of each other.
And it is believed that this is the first in
stance in which military officer, whose
conduct was the subject of investigation be-
fore the congress Of the United States, has
yentured to charge that body with viola
tion Of the constitution, and with exercising
inquisitoriai powert Or that committee
Of either branch of the national Legislature
has been charged with the "most wanton
and studied disregard 10 truth" and the
*Those officers. were examined by the
committee ;they discovered but more es-
pecially one of them) talents; and much
energy ef character, that if tempered with
prudence, cannot fail TO make them useful
members of society; and tenderness for
them, bordering on paternal regard. has in
duced me to withhold their names from the
public, knowing that "rublic rehuke hard
ems the heart" and believing that, when
they have numbered my years, they will
look back on the mguarded tollies ofyoath
with sorrow aud rennorse.
I 1t the reader en;er,ains any doubts as TO
The authorship OF the structures, they will be
removed on reading the deposition Of Col.
Orr, in which il will be seen, that General
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