The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1838-05-15
From tie COnncciIcM COWant.

|
| The following letter from an old revolutionary
pensioner at the west will be perused with inter
est. The old veterans opinions on some OF the
measures of the last and present administration,
are stated in clear and forcible language; and no
one can read them without being convinced OF
their soundness, and at the same time sympaihiZ-
ing deeply with the wrongs sustained from gov
ernment by that class of citizens TO which he be-
longs. We owe an apology to the gentleman
who furnished the letter, for delaying It's publ
cation.
PoMpEY, December %, 1887.
My DEAR OLD FRIEND AND FELLOW Sol
DER To prevent II breach of the promise nlutu
ally entered into by many yeursago,t TO write to
each other at least once year, during our lives,
and in answer to yours ofthe 9TH ut by our TREND
Jonah Moreland | have begun TO wrlte but the
infirmiiies incident to advanced age, have caused
such trembling my hand that fear you will
be hardly able to read what shall attempt TO
write. Among other evidences of decay and of
the difficulties in moving about, you mention the
increasing pain and laneness occasioned by the
wound you received in your right knee 10y mus
ket bali, in the battle at Monmouth. The same
kind of suffering and Inconvenience attends my
SELF us the effects of an ugly wound got in
storming Stoney Point under the brave General
Wayne.
You will grevo at being informed of the denth
of our old companion and fellow soldier, Peter
Garland who shared with us the dangers and
privalions of -four campaigns He died three
weeks ago last night after short llness, aged
79-about your age and mine. Drawer and
better soldier than Peter Garland never slung n
kuupsack. You remember the bayonet wound
he received in his shoulder, while, with other
gallant spirits of the continental line, forcing by
storm one OF the British redoubts at Yorktown
Poor Peter, for the last Is years, lived in Manlius
about III miles from me, where he died.
IL IL ln,,iy ne
find very few of the old coninentals remnnng-
and than few accouired with clutches aud walk
ing slaves, instead of those bright arms which it
was once our pride and glory to carry aud use
in the service of our country. Our numerical
force, il all now mustered, would amount 10 IL
very small hody, and that body almost daily di-
minishiug. Tie lists of deaths in the newspa-
pers almost daily contain briet notices OF the de-
parlure of IA revolutionary pensoner" This Is
the last we hear Of them, ior"when beggar5 die
there are no comes seen"
You request OF me to state what no'0 think
Of the policy of the Of the late aud pres
ent administrations" You must hc sensible IiIat
in my humble sphere OF hte, ANA limited means
OF knowledge in matters Of that nature, bu liIlie
confidence ought to be placed III my opinloli-
but Judging from the late elections i'll this and
many other States in the Union, ii seems there
must have been IL sudden and wonderful change
in the public mind. think 1t now pretty well
settled that in giving the Presidency TO Cell jack
son, the United States committed an egragious
error. 1t was yokIng the oil OK by mstake on
The nj side. He would neither i,nw ruun'. nor
gee Oti-und III his rage 10 go forward Often pfo
up II ailis IL stump, bur possessed 100 much self
viii aud obstnacy OF temper either 10 back ouI
or uuyoke. Had he been continued III military
command, This native e!cmcn) AMI placed at line
head OF no Other force than 'Wo companies OF
Kentucky riilrmen, he would long before thls
lime, aud W iii iH!ie comparative expense 10 inc
government, have used up ali our hostile" III
dian neighbours" from Oceoa down TO The pap |
poose OF lhc size ota musk-rat, Sennoies, Osnses,
WinnehagOes, ShuDagoes, and all.
ity the waE what thDk you OF tho manage |
nent of the Fiofada way? lt seems 10 me ii bids
fair if much longer continued iii The way 1t has
hitherto been carried on, 70 cost tte United States
more than The struggle tor our lnlependence.-
Gen. Jessup, it seems by the administration prints,
has now under his command an army OF ave
thousand men lnarshdlled 10 carry on war OF
determination against " our red brethren peo-
pie as believe, ignore sinned against than SIN
ming" 1t appears that The most OF our brave
mud patriotic troops have achieved during the as'
campaign (and certainly they had done nothing
worthy of notice betore,) was TO wound SIX or
eight full grown ln.iuns, aud dlve one single |
uualnred squaw into Il swamp, where they deem
ed unadvisabIe and hazardous TO follow, us there
might he some Indians there; but most valiant
iy and calamity delivered brisk and weil-drect-
ell fire among the slumps and bushes, which
must have ridded some OF the redskins, il amy
perchance had been there. Is it really So that
a handful of these scattering and broken tribes
have become so formidable thai a regular army
of 5000 mon, and nearly one half of them otii-
GERS, are required TO take the field against such
minutive Toe? In addition TO this, have the
United States sunk SO low in military ardor, and
The men Of the present generation become SO Ell
Terminate. that to carry on this war with any hope
of success, the government are driven to the ne
cessiry of hiring the aid Ut foreigners, vagabond
Germans and Poanders, 10 fight our red breth-
rem of the forest? o, shame! shame! But 10
place the cap-sheaf upon our national disLonor
ind degradation, the officers of this Our redoubt-
IDLE army are instructed by the government TO
sntice and bride, as far as they can, the Indians
themselves to toindhawk and scalp one another! !!
Fell it not in Gath!
But enough on this unpleasant subject did
Tot intend, when | entered upon it, to say go
much; but every remaining soldier of the revo-
ulion cannot think oft without feeling spirit