Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1827-09-18

OF the head oil traitor "''I
before. with arms Ia his hands, was taken
IN the act of treason To his country. I'll
there be any one prepared 10 swallow SO na"-
SEATING dose, ! pity his creduiity, ne is past
cnr. But whence did Gordon derive his H.
forma alton. an Enelishman himself, It VIII hard
Iv he credited that he had so Tar lnslnuated
himself into The confidence OF the cautious and
wary Washington as TO have drawn thls story
from him. Circun,spect as the General was,
il is probable that the officers oil his own lami
". were unac tainted with the order. was IL
lien believed, or is itnow believed, that the dis
cipIine Of the army was a matter o1 so HuC"
indifference to the Commander in chief, that
subaliern officer Of any grade tor he loo was
subal,ern in reference 10 " ashingtoh, )wouio SO
far set his high authority al defiance, as 10 exc.
cute a soldier directly within hrs view, ahu
send his head 20 camp, without an order 10 .ha'
effect? 1t is recorded by the historians oil the
Resolution that for want oil a we'll timed appllca-
ton Of discipline and energy We should nave
beheld The army mouldefing away by the dark
est treason and disafftction, and should no de-
cisive rffor, have been made to arrest the as
raceful practice? shall now proceed TO shew
that "Gordon's authentic History" is at best
doubted by Others as well as myself hat his
torian states that at the s,ormng oi one Oh TIE
redouLts at York town, Lafayette, wlb the
approba,ion of Washington mark thaO order
! ed every man in the redoubt after its surrender
10 be nut TO the sword. These s2nguinary or"
! dcrs so repugnant TO the Character OF W ash!nS-
ton and Lafayctte were never given, there is no
trace ofthem among the papers OF Genl. W ASH
! ineton; s col, Hamilton, who took part IN the
enterprise which assures US OF his perfect know
ledge of every material occurrence, has public
ly conradic,ed the statement. Marshal, page
4S6, vol. 4,h note.
1t is certainly manifest from the above au-
lhentic historian that Mr.. Gordon is totally
mistaken in those important particulars, am l.
is qui'e as certain that he is in error respecting
he a-count Of The Stony Point deser,er do
not impugn The motives of Mr.. Gordon, hui
suppose thai his information was not derived
from an authentic source.
The following is an extract from the Mary
land Republican of July 2s'h, 1897 "Genera!
Reed a, the time alluded 10 was Lieutenant in
the army. his Immediate Commander was Co
LIONEL VIM ID, Beal Of Prince Georges County
Md. now living, and il was his authority VIZ
had for The starmen, Of the transaction given
in our paper Of the 10th July, he was present.
and at the elbow Of Major Lee ofihe Dragon"
under whose command the advance posts oil
W ashiag,on's army, were when he issued the
order which Lieut. Reed received, and execnt.
ed as he himself relates" am well pPrsua 80
,ha, the very WORTHY editor did no, mran to IN
innate that because Col. Beall was The COM
mander Of the company TO which was atiat n
ed, that lie must necessarily have seen the order
issued by General W ashipgton or Lee, and di-
rrct!yi1,accd in my hands. The order was ne
,erout Of my possession, il would have been
highly improper To have shown it TO any per
son-Tbe officer charged with its execution
mus, be its only depository. Wsshingion's or
der Was given 10 Lee, it as in his hands that
I saw it. 1t was 20 be executed by mr., neither
is it possible ,ha, any other officer ever this
order. He we'll knew the value of secrecy -
The order to Lee came with other papers from
Head Quarters, and | distinctly recoect that
Lee was then at the infantry Quarters when tnc
aforesaid order vas brought Ia To him by an or
derlv, and here in there has b. en- mistake.
Again, the "Maryland R republican says, II II
true General Reed no whore says that the Or
Gers which hc had were Immediately f. ON Ge-
neral Washington. but he does say that Wash
ing,on issued such orders, (true) and tina, he
had such orders in his pocket" The order
which had in my pocket was from Lee, IRAN
scribec from the order, delivered 10 him by &c
ucral Washington, and directed 10 him as ihc
commanding officer Of the advanced troops
his is enough TO show that Genera! " Washing
ton issued this order, and not Col. Lee, as some
have enormously supposed.
! The editor ofhe Republican proceeds, "Men
in the least acquainted With military disc piine
will know the improhahilily of Commander
in Chief Of IN armv issuing written order 10
the subatsrn on the spot-al orders sent as Gr.
I neral Reed represents General Washirgion's
10 have been, pass through the usual channel,
and ar, commute ated through a subordinate
! officer" Not so fast Mr. Editor think YOU Sc
riously that all orders public and private (for
there are manv private ortlers) go into thr or
derby book of the army, and reach their des.
linariop In that public manner.
Think you my dear sir, tina; when The irwin
| chile Wayne was about TO storm Stony Point,
| the gallant Lee 10 assault Powles Hook. Lafdy-
cite, Hamilton, and The Baron Viomcnrl 10
storm the r-doubls al Yorktown, that orders
connected with these objects passed through
the "usuai channel;'' sir, all was secret and
siirnt as the dead hour of night, orders on i'm.
portsnt and secret enterprises GO moi into the
orderly book. they would not he trusted on pa