Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1835-10-29

may tlam Tor ,h' plan ot tho battle oil the u mes
some merit, totally independent OF its operation
upon the enemy, and refer to i, not only positive
gain from the loss Of the enemy, bu, one Gf may
express MYSELF ola negative character, by p,c,cn.
tiny loss IN ourselves.
The plan, rs you know, gentlemen was that Of
refusing one wing BY throwing it back. and opera
ting upon TIC enemy exclusively with tho other.
In general order, Issued a, Portage River, the or.
der OF march and battle were prescribed and con-
hdentall, communicated TO the general officers,
and to none Others. The singular uniformity in
the character Of the country, aS well AZ the i'm.
provemnnts, enabled me- 10 Law down II plan for
both, which would answer with ,fining alteration
Tor any position in which the enemy might be
found. The roads in that country are invariably,
You know, upon the bank Of some Stream on lake
IA strip OF dry ground of more or lc~ width cN
tending from i, generally in cnltvadon) aud a
swamp beyond il. No one with any knowledge
oi the composition Of the onrmy's army, could
doubt that the regular troops would always occu-
p, tho dry ground and the Indians hc posted in hc
swamp and such proved To be the fact The
order OF battle was therefore prcdienied upon that
assumption. When ii was shown 10 Governor
Shelby, II did not appear to meet his appreciation.
After some hesitation, however and some further
explanation from me-, he returned the order. with
the declaration, made in the presence of tho .,al
amongs, which wa. his son IN law. Colonel Todd
-" that hc did not come there to dictate to- or nd
wise me, but 10 obey my ordcrs--that all he wish
cd was TO know what wa. required of him, and if
he did not execute it, he considered himself LA
Bile To arrest and punishment Az any other officer E."
At Detroit, after the action, III" Governor. refer
rng to The order OF battle, candid, admitted tina,
il our army had bccn drawn mp in a Inc parallel
Ia that oi the enemy. and extending into the swamp
rs far as tho Indians extended, he admitted hr
won ll,avc done, although said hc, " my Ken
mckians would have beaten them, it would have
been al great expense of valuable lives, NJ was
evident from the los. sustained b, the part of the
line tina, came in contact with th.n." lie refer,
to this opinion afterwards in u lrucr since publish
ed in which he asserts tina, onr army, drawn up in
that way, could not have been defeated b, double
our numbers.
You have, gentlemen, referred to the difficult,
OF my situation as the commander ol the Northwc,-
tern Army aud you have been pleased To add,
that passed through tho hardships pr',a'ions, aud
dangers of Wilderness war, in common with the
whole army In tho command Of such army,
| should have buslcd to think had used the pr-
vicgcs of my rank To indulge in repo,r Wills, they
laborcd-,ha, ! Toasted whcnthc. we're starving
that wa, in saict, when they were in danger.
But permit me, gentlemen, 10 add. that there verc
Suffering, peculiar to my situation. Relieved from
their occasional tours Of duty, tho subordinate Ge-
ncrals and all other officers and soldiers retire Ia
their quarters, freed from care, and, with n con
soiou'ncs, ofhavinc faithfully performed their dn
", sock that rcposc delicious and r-irc ,hng I'M
der such circumstances. This i. an indulgence
which the commander of an army on an active
campaign seldom or never enjoys. His dat, mr.
ends. lie retirns, others do, 10 his quarters,
but rarely TO rest. Some more of III, COM
plicated duties present Themselves to hi, mind.
Has every thing boon done that might have been
done lie Sees or iancics that he sees, in AN
rangcmenl he has made, some error, too late 10 be
corrected. lie expects inlormationas to the move
ncnts of part OF hi, force, some time due, upon
the character of which his own materially depend.
lie Is aware his position is in some respects faulty,
and he is fearful that the remedy he has been en-
ablcd to apply may be Intellectual. sleep, under
such circumstances, is impossible it " flies from
care" and not until exhausted nature can no
longer sustain him, can i, be INDUCED. Gem
llcmcn, this is not picture Of fancy.
am conscious, gentlemen, tina, have address
ed you in manner that Can only be justified by
the situation wo have once occupied in relation to
each other. | can never rclnquish the idea that
there is tic Of mutual obligation subsi,ting be-
tween those who were engaged in the ardnous ser
vice Of the Northwestern Army in the late war,
and have every reason to believe that il i, as
strongly felt by yourselves.
| must conclude by offering YOU toast. ! wish
it to be tribute to the memory Of one OF our de-
parted associates. Having lately sent to tho cole
braion at New York the name of him who amongst
the volunteer, was The first in Office 4, the first in
famc"-and not wishing 10 select from the ga
lazy Of heroes who follow him in rank, shall Of
fer the name of on. of our brethren who, ardcntly
seeking a soldiers death in the field. wa. doomed
To suffer one of barbarous torture to the eternal dis
grace OF the British name. ] give YOU
The memory Of Captain Pascal Hickman.
| beg you to believe that If my person i, absent,
my heart will be with you your celebration, and
that am with affcctionatc regard, Your icow-cil-
izcn, w II. HARRISON.
LESLIE COMBS,
IlENRY DANIEL,
CHARLES {. MooRn,
CHARLES CARR,
JAMES T.. DAVIS,
Tmos. II. PINDELL,
RICHARD II. CHINN,
BENJAMIN WARriELD,
Tnos. II. BRADroRD,
RopEnr NJ. EWING,
Committee Of Irritation, Sc.
From the Donning Ga,.ut.
WAsnIscroN CRY. EAST Room,)l
Monday, Oct. 5, 1885.
To Cousin Major Jack Downing, editor of the
Downing Gazette, Portland, away down east,
in the state of Maine.