The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1840-03-26

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NJ Sneaker Is shawn how The extremes OF
harhars m md civilization meet. As the scan
5ay;an baroes Of old, after the latigues oil war,
- vine from the skulls Of their slaugh-
,arad enemies in Odins Halls, so now our
militia general and his forces, from the skulls
of melons hus yanquished, in copious
drauohs of whiskey assuage the heroic fire
of their souls, after the bloody scenes OF pa
rade day But, alas, for this short-lived race
of ours, all things will have an and, and so
even is il with the glorious achievements OF
our general. Time is on the wing, and VIII
moi stay his flight /; the sun, as if frightened
at the mighty events Of the day, rides down
the sky, and at the close of the day when
''lhe hamlet is STILL" the curtain of night drops
upon the scene,
"And glory, like the pheniI in its fires,
Exhses lis odors, blazes, and expires"
Such, sir, has been the experience in war OF
the gentleman from Michigan. We know
this from the simple annunciation that he is
and has been brigadier Of militia in time of
peace and now, having full understanding
Of the qualifications of our learned general,
both from study and practice, | hope the
House will see that it should give its profound
reflection to his discourses on the art OF war.
Ard this il will be more inclined to, when we
take into view that the gentleman has, IN his
review Of General Harrisons campaigns, mo-
destly imputed to the latter great mistakes,
gross blunders, imbecility, and even worse
than this, as shall show hereafter The
force, too, Of the lecture of our learned and
experienced friend from Michigan is certainly
greatly enhanced, when we consider another
admitted fact, which is, that the general whose
imbecility and errors he has discovered had
not, like the gentleman from Michigan, the
great advantage Of serving in watermelon
campaigns, but only fought fierce Indians in
the dark forests of the West, under such stu
pid fellows as Anthony Wayne, and was af-
forwards appointed TO the command OF large
armies by the advice of such an inexperienced
boy as Gov. Shelby, the hero Of Kings Noun
tain.
And now, Mr.. Speaker, as have the teme-
rity to entertain doubts, and with great defer
ence TO differ ia my opinions on this military
question withihe gentleman from Michigan,
desire to state few historical facts concern
ing General Harrison, whom the general from
Michigan has pronounced incapable. imbecie,
and, as l shall notice hereafter, something
worse even than these. General Harrison
was commissioned by General Washington an
officer in the regular army Of he United States
in the year 1871. He served as aid TO Gene
raj Anthony Wayne, in the campaign against
the Indians, which resulted in the battle of the
Rapids OF the Maumee, in the fall of 1904
Thus, III his youth, he was selected bv Gene
raj Wayne as one of his military family. And
what did this youthful officer do in tina, memo
rable battle Of the Rapidsl Here, Mr. Speak
er, let me summon witness merely to show
how military men may differ. The witness |
call to conlrovert the opinion Of the gentle
man from Michigan is Gen. Anthony Wayne.
In his letter to the Secretary of War, giving
an account Of the battle of the Rapids, he
says:
"My faithful and gallant Lieutenant Harrison rem
dered most essential services, by communicating my
ders every direction and b, his conduct and brarey
exciting the troops TO press for victory"
Sir, This evidence was given by General
Wayne, in the year 1894, some time, ina
CINE, before the gentleman from Mich. an was
born, and long before he became militia Ge-
neral and long, very long before he ever pc
rused the title page Of Baron Steuben. Mr..
Speaker, let me remind the House, in passing,
that this battle and victory over the Indian
forces OF the Northwest, in which, according
to the testimony of Gen. Wayne, "Leutenant
Harrison rendered the most essential services
by his conduct and bravery" gave peace to an
exposed line of frontier, extending from Pitts
burgh to the southern borders of Tennessee.
II was, in truth, the close of the war of the
Revolution, for the Indians who took part with
Great Britain in our revolutionary struggle
never laid down their arms until after they
were vanquished by Wayne in 1894.
We now come TO see something Of the man,
the General, whose military history our able
and experienced General from Michigan has
reviewed We know that debates like this
have sometimes been had in the British Par
lament There, believe, the discussion
was usually conducted by those in the House
who have seen, and not merely hard of SER
vice. We all know that Col. Napier has, in
several volumes, reviewed the campaigns Of
Wellington, and criticised the movements and
merits of Berestord, aud Soult, and Massena,
and many others, quite, yes, say, quite as
well known in military history as any of us,
not even excepting our General from Mchi-
gan We respect the opinions Of Napier, be-
cause we know he not ouly Mough of war, but
that he fought too. We respect and admire
that combination Of military skill, with pro-
found statesmanlike views, which we find in
Caesars Commrntaries, because we know
the mighty Julius" was a soldier, trained in
the field. aud Injured to the accidents and dang
ers Of war. But, sir, we Generals Of Con-
gress require no such painful discipline TO give
value to our opinions. We men of the 9th
century know all things iniuitvey. We I'M
derstand perfectly the military art by nature
Yes, sir, the notions OF the gentleman from
Michigan agree exactly with sage by the
name Of "Dogberry" who in listed thai, read
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