Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1828-02-21


Tennessee.
have the honor TO be. very respectfully, your
! eNceiiency inost ooedicnt servant,
J. ARMSTRONG"
I" Ills Exceilency w. BLoUNr,
Gov. of Tennessee"
On the Goth May, 1914, Gov. Bi0pnt issued the
following general order:
.NAsHvILLE, Goth Nav, 1921.
Sir,-ln compliance with the requsi,ioa Of
MAJOR General Thomas Pinckney, that the ports OF
Fort Williams, Fort Siroter, Fort Armstrong, Fort
Ross, and Forts Old and New Deposit, should be
kept up, the doing Of which has been conded to
you, until the objects Of the government in rela-
uon To the war against the hostile Creek Indians
shall have been fully effected: s. from the probable
expiration of the time OF service of the troops, now
occupying these important posts, commanded by
Coi. Bunch, prior to final accomplishment of the
views OF government in relation TO the Creek war,
you ,oiH, ,oithoh delay, order OUT one thousand
m'Htd infantry ofhe Cd dicision for the term Of
SIX MONTHS, unless sooner discharged by-ordcr OF
the President oil the U. s, or YOU may accept a
tender OF service Of the above number of volunteer
infantry, from the % division, for the aforesaid
term, Tor the purpose of garrisoniug the said ports,
at your option ichch latitude an relation To calls
.Tor men TO act against the Creeks, ia further
dnce or the cletcS az government IN that 6ehay,
Is GIVEN TO BE BY INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE
WAR DEPARTMENT.. Those troops will be COM
mandcd by an officer of the rank of Colonel and
VIII be required TO rendezvous at Fayetteville on
the 2oth June next: thence they will proceed 10
! 1ic doose-HneuuOReu posts, unuSr your order, In
such number to each, as you shall assign. 1t is
important TO the public interest that they should
be at those posts between the LIST and 10th OF July
next, as about that time the term of service of the
troops now there, under CO... Bunch, will expire,
and at which pos Is there is much public property
committed 10 their charge.
=" on VIII order the muster master 10 attend and
muster the troops into service,-you will call on
the contractor for provisions, and the assistant
deputy quarter master iSewise for supplies i'll his
department.
WILLIE BLoUNT''
To Maj. Genl. .4nare,c Jackson,
2i'd dioiSion Of Tennessee Militia.
1t was under this order that the &c Six Militia
men, called into service. 1t will be remembered
thatat that time Gen. Jackson was no officer of the
u. 3, but Major General in the Niiitia Of Ten
nessee. Four days after the date of the Govern
or's order, Gen jackson in conformity there with,
issued his general order of requisition, in which
he says that to-" relieve the troops now stationed
at Forts Williams, Strother and Armstrong on the
Coosee river, as well as Old s. New Deposit, am
commanded by his Erceitency Goo. Bi0unt,to call
from my division, 1000 men, into the service of the
U. s., for the period of sir months, unless sooner
discharged by order of the President of the u. So
The officers commanding brigades ordered,
therefrom respectively, forthwith to furnish, &c by
drdft or voluntary enlistment, two hundred men,
with two captains sc. 90 to be rendezvoused at
Fayetteville, Lincoln county, in the state of Ten
nessee, on the 10Th June nert.''
In pursuance ofthese orders the &c six militia
u. -.
on the goth day Of June 1914, and deserted on the
goth day Of September oltOtrng, will appear by
the letter of Col Pipkn, inserted hereafter. Now
the Adams gentlemen admit that these militia men
were legally called into service, for they accused
gen. j. OF violating the claw g. the constitution by
the arrest, trial and execution of six militia men,
who were guilty of no other offence Than the as
sertion OF their lawful right to return home after
their legal term Of service had expired" 1t being
admitted that they were legally ns1Lsteredin into ser.
vice. 81 it being proven that they were so mustered
OltdeT The general orders Just recited, the oucs-
ton arises what that "legal term of service
was! 10 decide this question you have only to
! look to the orders themselves. If thew were lie
gduy mustered by these orders, there could be no
. legal tern, 81 service TO expire. If that le-
SGt term Of service existed at all (and it could
not expire lift never eXisted) 10 created bY the
orders qt0resGid, and could only have been for the
! period oil Sir months, and no other But, IS one
OF the desperate shifts of more desperate cause
| 1t has been inSinuated that Governor Blount mis-
conceived and transcribed his Instructions Let
us admit although we do not beleve) it. Does
| that alter the case, quoad General Jackson?-
Was it for him to question the explicit and pc
remptory orders OF his superior oificer--thc Gov
ernor oil tire Commonwealth--an demand of him
the authority upon which they bound?--
! Was II Tor him to demand a view of the Gin
sfrucffOns from the WGr Depart ,,ent - or to saw
that the Governor had mistaken the g Iatit .,de in
relation TO calls for men,, vested in him by those
inSructions-and that, therefore, his order should
| Hot nc oDeyeu! ttad sucn been ms course he
might, indeed, have been charged with spirit of
| INSTRUMENTATION. But like a faithful citizen and
gallant soldier, he obeyed, with promptitude and
hdeiity, the orders of those who had the legal and
constitutional right to command him. But sup
pose we go farther and admit, CONTRARY TO esab-
4, llshed tacts) that neither Governor Bount nor
General Jackson had right to hold these men 10
| service for longer time than three months and
that their legal term Of service expired there
with-stili II is as clear noon day. from the fol-
lowing or 81,
Tor which they were tried and executed. Colonel
| Ppkin says" short time previous 10 this 1.-THE
2Ofh Of Septem6er,) the same party demolished
the bake-house, destroyed the oven, and did ma
| ny other disorderly and mutinous acts. The dav
previous to their departure, large number parad-
] ed armed and marched towards the commissarv
stores. ordered them to dispense, but INV order
was dsregarded, and they forced the guard station
| ed for the protection of the stores. The Commits
sary, anticipating their design, closed and locked
the door; but that did not restrain them for one of
| the men (who was afterwards shot by sentence of
| the Court Martial,) Immediately snatched ,lp
pick-aXe, and cut the door off its hinges They
then entered the house and took out eleven bar-
Tcls OF flour, and made public proclamation to all
who intended going home, TO come forward and
draw rations, which they did. They afterwards
proceeded TO the bulock-pen and shot down TWO
beeves, and the balance taking fright broke tbe
pen, and ran some distance, where thoy killed
| third"
| Thus then, it is as clear as proof can make H..
! thst these men were mustered on the 2ofh .J,,oe
1914, and that they deserted the 10th lScpteD,-
Der following, making period Of exactly three
months, and that all the acts Of Tnutny with which
they were charged, were committed anterior TO
| the last mentioned day. So that whether six. or
| three months, constituted " their legal term of