The Hawk-eye and Iowa patriot. (Burlington, Iowa) 1839-1843, 1840-08-06

Vol. II.......No. 10.
I What shall | say Of charges against his
military character? Nothing. One old
soldier cannot be brought to vindicate
the reputation of another old soldier from
"a charge of cowardice; Indignation would
}choke my utterance. Iappeal from the
living to the dead--I appeal from Van
Buren, and Kendall to Shelby and Perry.
LETTER FROM GEN. HARRISON.
Gen. HARRISON was among the invited
iguests to the dinner given TO Gen. Van
! RENSSELAER,, in Cincinnati, Ohio, on the
Ia inst. He could not be present. for rea.
sons assigned. The following is his let
ter declining the invitation. It is one of
those good things which frequently fall
from the pen of American statesmen, and
from none more often than Gen. HARRr-
SONS. la.E9 So a.ssl
! NORTH BEND, july /, 1870.
GENTLEMEN: A recent domestic Attic.
ton in the death of one of nv sons. and
the present illness of Mrs Harrison. will
prevent me from enjoying the great pleas
ure of being present at the dinner to be
lgiven on Thursday next to my beloved
friend and old associate in arms, Gen.
SOLOMON VAN RENSSELAER,. 1t is now
tiorty-seven years since | first met this dis
thnguished soldier in the army of Gen.
IWayne-he in the capacity of cornet of
Dragons, and | as an ensign of infantry.
Associated in all the tolls and difficulties
incident to war, the theatre of which was
an unbroken wilderness, of ages nearly
correspondent, and of dispositions and
tastes which induced us to seek the same
employments, the same amusemen,s, and
the same fellowships, our friendship thus
formed by prepossession and knit in COM
mon danger could not be ephemeral. It
was such, indeed, as though we had own.
ed the same paternity, and had been nur-
!tured at the same bosom. And / may say
with Castalio of his brother,
"Whcn had a friend that was not Polidore,s,
f. Or Polidore q foe that was not mine?"
T | will not attempt, gentlemen, to give
you even summary of the services of
Gen. Van Rensselaer,. / will not tell you
! Of the deep debt of gratitude which is due
to him from Western men, Of his gallant
bearing in the battle Of the Rapids Of the
Miami, and the blood which saw pour.
ing from his manly bosom upon the soil
of Ohio, or his still more glorious achieve
ments upon the heights of Queenstown.
ennobled, like those of Abraham, by the
blood of the contending heroes. All this
you know. 1t is to be found in the records
of your country, and furnishes some of
the brightest pages of its history. But,
for a moment, let me ask your attention
to his more recent history. Ay, what is
he now? What and who is the hero of
two wars, the conqueror of the heroic
Brock, Of him by whose management, or
whose gallantry, SO deep wound had
been inflicted upon the military charac-
ter of our country?
A year ago | would have answered
you, fellow-citizens, that he was living
| in humble retirement, in the bosom Of
large and happy family, supported by the
emolnments of an humble office, the gift
! ola President who had himself jeoparded
his life and shed his blood in achieving
the Independence of his country, and
knew how TO appreciate hero's services,
and reward a soldiers tolls. Such, gen.
tlemen, was the situation of my friend,
the, defender of Ohio cabins from the
furious savage, the bearer in his body of
the marks of seven distinct wounds, when
the spoilers came.
When.the disbanded legions of Angus.
tus were suffered to eject the happy hus-
bandmen of the fairest portion of Italy,
we have reason to believe-we know, in
deed-that some were spared. The ruth
less warrior was not suffered to usurp the
seat and violate the groves which had
resounded to the songs of the great
est of poets. We may conclude, also,
that the scared veterans of former wars
were exempted from the otherwise gen.
eral prescription. Indeed, we must sup
pose that the sympathy naturally felt be-
tween men of the same profession would
have induced the usurpers to spare the
war-worn followers of the great Pompey,
although they had been the soldiers Of
liberty, and the sworn enemies of their
own faction. But, gentlemen, let me ask
you now to point to an exception in the
prescription which has ragged in our conn
try for the last twelve years.
h Who has been spared that professed
any thing which could tempt the cupidi-
ty of the spoilers? My friend is the last
victim. The reason of this honorable
distinction | could tell. It is somewhat
different from that which induced the
giant Polyphemus to intend the like no.
nor to the king Of Ithaca. But you may
perhaps be anxious to know the reason
which has been assigned for this outrage
upon the feelings of the American PEG.
pie. Why. it was precisely that which
has been given in all ages and in all
countries for all the violeHs and unjust
acts of tyrants: 1.-The public good" In
III. cooo IS the ADVANTAGES oc IL. der,o