The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1847-01-25


supposed say an inventive imagination might have
SEEN or thought saw, all this. Possessing such i'm
agnaton, saw no such thing And taking the offer il
in ITSELF and signal evidence of the Presidents conf
dencc in me, and good will for me, made him my
thanks for il privately as now do publicly and the
ming of September lastonly three months before the
meeting of Congress- that at that time, it is quite
clear the President had such momentous and fear
| full design as the senator from North Carolina has
attributed to him Up to that tme-up to the first day
OF September, in the year 1si6he republic was safe
Immediately after refusing the mission to France went OF
TO the west, gone until the month OF November and
had no communication OF any kind direct or indirect,
nor upon any subject whatever with President Polk.
This makes all safe again for two months more: re-
turned to this city in November, where my family was
and where Congress was soon TO meet The day after
my arrival called upon the Presidents ard here we APP
roach the dangerous ground For in that first interview,
ne actually asked me my opinion about the future mode
OF conducting the Mexican war For reasons not proper
now to be stated, but of the validity OF which the coun
Try will some day have an opportunity OF Judging, the
President saw NJ to ask me my OPINION upon the future
me as being anything strange or unreasonable either
unbecomng in him to make, or for me to comply with.
In my senatorial capacity was his constitutional adviser
on many great questions, those OF peace and war mclu
sive. In my political capacity, was the supporter of
his administration, and ready to give him my opinion
on any subject AS chairman OF the Senates Committee
on Military Affairs and accustomed IN that character, to
| communicate military subjects with all administra-
tons for about quarter of century last past, saw
nothing in tn, nature OF the request he had made
ion as to the future mode of conducting the war:
gave il to him, first in speech, face to face, and
afterwards in writing And here i is! holding up roll
OF paper,] for chose to retain the original for myself
while sending copy to him; Here il is and at the
proper time the public shall it, but not now; for do
not belong to the school that makes publication of plans
of camp,ign--even rejected pans-in time of war The
President approved the pan and so happened that the
nature of the plan required head to the rmyone head
to the whole body-to unite and combine the whole into
k,,
pened, aso that enough known of the ideas OF the
two highest in rank of the officers of the army to know
that their plans were different; and it is maxim OF fun
damenta observance in war that no general is to be
CURED to execute plan which he disapproves. new
commander became indispensable; and as any ma
jor general would be subordinate to all in commits
sion, the solution of the difficulty lay in the creation of
new rank, superior to that of major general, and ine
ror to the constitutional commander chief The
creation of the rank of lieutenant general, as had
been done in the year 179s, at the time of the ex-
pected war with France, was the solution of the
difficulty, This rank. appeared to be the natural
and regular derivation from the Presidents own pot-
link between him and the army. As President he was
both the civil head OF the government and the military
head of the army He was commander,in- chief of the
vice They were all then in SERVICE and in foreign
country. He could not go to Mexico to command in per-
son paramount duties required him to remain here He
could not send orders from the closet in this city That
folly of which there had been example since the
time that the Prince Eugene (o Savoy accustomed
to return unopened at the end of the campaigns all the
ders which the Aulc Council accustomed to send him
| from Vienna The President was bound to command
he could not go Mexico TO command person and he
could not command from washington The solution Of
med the exercise OF all duties, civil and military,
the appointment OF military deputya legaus locum
tenens-a lieutenant to take the place of the constitutional
name, and to take the responsibility OF plans and move
mens, while the generals, at the heads of divisions
columns would only have the responsibility of execution
IN nrahn
this chamber it was would be entirely agreeable
the generals of highest rank in army in Mexico; il
would their at home, and leave them free
contend with the enemy in front 1t not intended
diminish the fighting vocation of the two generals but to
reconcile and accomplish two desirable objects namely
the execution Of the Presidents pans and the release
ments This the view of the office of lieutenant gen.
eal to the proposed officer, there breach OF
appointment The office was original and belonged to no
person The President had right to nominate and the
Senate to confirm whom they pleased. Personally, |
would take in it. only asked the President
to make known the nteaded for the place to the
members OF Congress- that all objections to the officer
well as to the office should be open to full inquiry for
not say word for myself would not even obviatc
prominent objection by reminding any one that, in
1912, was the military superior of every general
manded the whole Of them i We had Glanced eG, to
serve together. was then colonel in the service
OF the United States, commissioned by President Mad
Il
OF my own raising from Tennessee to the lower Misss-
spp, under General Jackson meet the British then ex
pected at New Orleans but who did not come till 1911
was then OF rank, and in position, to have com
manded, If we had met, every general in service
Even in the regular army, in 1913 lieutenant colo
mel while most of the present generals were company
officers, and only of them of the rank of colonel
Yet scomed to mention these things, even to bosom
friends, while the depending and only do
now for the purpose ct rescnng the President from the
ment of citizen from civil life myself being that citi-
Zen) to the command of the army Finally and TO con-
clude the vndication of the President in this particular
say that Mr. Polk is not the first President who pro-
co-that Gen. Jackson himself proposed it in 1885, when
our affairs with that country looked warke; and that
them as now, agreed to take it. And here Mr. Presi-
dent, having fulfilled my task of indicating the Chief
Magistrate OF the Union from the design, alphabetically
imputed to him, of wishing appoint his successor in
might close my remarks but my name has been
coupled with this business and have remained SILENT
and even left my seat while the measure was depending
| must now take leave, with the kind indulgence of the
my accounts and to show that service and not rank
my nducemen TO agree the offer of the President
and that there might have been in which would
not have accepted the office of lieutenant general even if
il had been created have already said that will not
now show what my own plan was but ] can say of it
that il was plan which looked to a result, and promised
issue, and that briefly; and that | would have had
nothing to do with any plan of any other kind nothing
to do with any plan that contemplated along and moderate
war, or war OF mastery inactivity or OF retreat upon
the Rio Grande or Of defending line or Of attack upon
the idle and solitary castle of San Juan of Ulua-espe-
cialy at the commencement of the for the black
vomt In no one of these cases would have been lieu
tenant general or captain general, major general,
was heard Of know very well that the President had
idea OF any of these most amabe plans but there