Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1846-06-11
HsApevARrs.. o, rur A.rr.

MAJOR General wMriKLp scorr,
Commanding General, &c. &c.
HRApouARrkRs o ruK Aknr,
Washington, May 81, 1886.
SE bad the honor receive your letter Of
a, my office, about . o'clock at night
Asyou do not say that you had shown my explanatory
note TO you Of tho previous night May 25 10 The
may beg you to lay the fair copy herowth before himi
In this copy have inserted in brackets. material word
irends-aeeiden'ally omitted in the hurry OF writing
In read ink and in brackets.
Allow mo to reespi,us,e OF the principal facts in
my ito mel unfortunate ing with the
War Department ~
About the 18th instant both you and tho Preside,t
pressed the desire. very explicitly that should conduct
on an SCALE with the forces about to be rai.
myself honoted by the intended appointment and hsg
mar my on tho OCCASION which need not
repeat, may be RENE mbered
have said in my letter 20 vou oe IN. o., ;,, a.,
hasereeeNed no orders me TO the
command OF the army about be raised" &c No off,
GO, Of inc army or navy despatched by any
e,oho,stanlmporant service. without tcrs instrue-
nons or orders from his government have recoiv,d no
paper and have never heard that such paper had
wn up orwaseve in preparation for mo- Il is evident,
en, hat without written instructions or orders. could
not nave lett habtual duties here f
preliminary arrangements for the formidable move mani,
contemplated against Mexico. "''"''
On tho 18th instant hearing thai N.,;.., , , I,
passed the Rio Grande and the capture of C,n, rh
tons detachment addressed letter to Gen. T,yior
copy oil winch annex and beg it, a,o with this ic,,s,
may DC laid before tho President the letter t Ger r.
ior was twice sent up TO before was desn,,cb,d III
ut your instance was changed (by the omission of p,ra
graph to the shape OF this COPY " pan"
Its last paragraph is in these words "I do mn, Nos, =
reach the Rio rande much ahead Of tho heavy 70
Inducements alluded TO above, the immcJ,,
command in that quarter before my arriyslp
quote this paragraph to show that did moi e,n.., .
be sent to tho Rio Grande, and did even suspect ;,
tho intention OF the President or yourself 10 - -
thher. much ahead Of the heavy reinforc,m.n. IL %
odd thona.
few additional regulars. s'aeS
Though lid occasion to you twice or thrice in ,b
~ une, hntd no complaint from you aud received
no correction OF That misapprehenson-ii in fact had ,I
len into any-beiose the evening Of the 2Oh ins,,n, h
spoke oil the Impotence manifested my occupations
lot delay here-which complaint caused INV letter 10 w.
vi the next mornng-May 2lst
seemed, therefore, evident me, at the tme thu,
your complaint had been caused by the out cIno,
TO which have since alluded.
Three hours before received your le,,er n, Tho oE,L .
sn conveying the dspeasure Of the Executive
out tue least expectation OF receiving such letter had
which concluded with this declaration: 'i
81 think my preliminary and necessary occupaton NAV
DC eh1ed mere IN say three days more, when-premsne
alter the great and brilliant victories Of the gallan,
Taylor, lot which we have recently heard | shonId h.
ashamed TO supersede him before arrival of
to penetrate the interior of Mexico and 10
peace shall be ready Tor any instructions or
orders with which the President may honor me-"
And again, on that day. the night of the 9th ,f,o,
eeivng the censure of tbs President through your letter
concluded my promP, explanatory reply, thus:
whether it shall be the pleasure Of the Prcsidon, 4,
send me 10 tho Rio Grande (which would prefcr ~ y,
retain me here, only say am equally ready 70 Do -
duty IN either position with all my zeal and all my ability
still hope when the President shall have read thu, az,
pannioy letter and the foregoing exposition of facts
lively, he may be willing to his original nprnos
and accord TO senior rank the preference which b,x
ceased to entertain and which should have
with ineessant ZEAL but for the apprehensons
expressed, and which letter have nearly if NOT on
removed. thereforefore beg claim that commend
whenever the Pre- dent may deem proper to give me the
to-day atany other better time bs
may be pleased to designate. ~
In your rejoinder - me Of yesterday MAY 26hl which
have acknowledged above, you quote from nv letter of
causes of uneasiness have against the Department.
&c.
Your notice OF this complaint on my part is SO libe.
ra-not TO say kind-that | am bound TO be frank and
explicit, Of those causes: had upon INV mind
in hastily Pennng those words, these facts: Brigader
General Wool was called to this place. by letter OF your
own writing, TO command, under me- one of the de
Iached columns agsinst Mexico according 10 an under
standing betw the PreSden you and me- TO that ef
feet saw Gen. Wool first, the day of his arrival MAY
10 and communicated TO HIM the purpose of his being
called TO this place. In day or two | learned from,
Gen. Wool that, notwithstanding my intmalon he had
been told by you, he might rot be ultimately assigned 10
that command because, perhaps other generals might be
authorized and appointed, for the army and called into
service from the States That information gave me No
serious apprehensiOns for Gen. Wool or myself until
saw, in the morning OF the Goth a bill reported in the
fore, providing for two major generals aud four bTga
der generals to be added the regular military estab
shmeat, besides giving the President the power of Sc
Letting State generals for the command Of the so 900
volunteers then thought strong probability thar
both General Wool and myself would be superseded AZ
least IN the loar against Mexico by Of the new re-
gular generals OF respective grades be appointed
as was generally understood, from civil political life
Ii then that my apprehensOns became serious m nv
be seen in my letter TO you of the following day. (May
9lst) and IN many OF subsequent From that mo-
meni, (betore my letter OF the 2ls have had but little
doubt down to last night, that If that bill became law
it with the clamors against me TO which nave
should not be against Mexico
will now, however, hope for bette. fortune and ,npo,I
ing the justice OF the President aud the rights of senior
rank have the honor TO remain sir your most obed en
servant, WINFIELD SCoTJ
T. 5. add 10 the papers, herewith copy Of Col But
crs explanatory notes Of rough sketch made by him of
northern Mexico which may be valuable. The colonel
in the notes, is not full the rainy season as no and
General J. I. Mason were in conversation with me. 1
beg again 70 refer TO them personally. W. $.
Hon. WIN. l.. MARCY,
Secretary OF War.