The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1848-04-30

these preparations far completed that your pres
ence here vas no longer required Then instead OF go
ns drecly 10 Mexico, YOU permitted, at your
request, 10 iake eircuous route through New York
ana mere 10 remain few days. You stad at New FORK
nearly an enufe week and, not until the 10th OF Decem
Der, Gweny SIX days after leaving Washington did
you reach New Orleans where You would have arrived
IN seven days you had been required take the direct
route Inns solicited indulgence, by which your arrival
at New Orleans was delayed nearly three weeks, is in
compatible with your allegation that you allowed
"only Tour days at Washington, where twenty nigh,
nave oeeh most advaniageousy employed" This COM
plant has relation to facts within YOU own knowledge
error therefore, is hardly econcabe with any solicit
tude to be accurate As this your opening charge against
the war Department, and may be regarded as indica
i've OF nose which follow, shall make the refua-
ton OF II sui more complete, for the purpose OF showing
with what reckessness you have performed the functions
OF an accuser, and how little reliance, the present
! OF your feelings, can be place. your memory You
are The wltsess by whom your allegation is to be dis
proved. % the day of your departure from Washing
Ton you lett with me paper IN your own hand wring
dated November %, 1885, with the following heading:
Notes suggesting topics TO be embraced in the Secrea
rvs instructions TO General 81 drawn up Gin haste) at the
| request OF the former"
From that paper extract the following paragraph:
81 tthe Secretary of Wa) pleased learn from you
General Seo) that You have in very few days already,
cent basis E the purposes with When You are @ charged
and that you nor M'k II best 10 proceed at to The
oops be obtained IN time for that most import.
ant expedtion"-(he expedition against Vera Cruz)
Here your own most explicit admission that you rep
CtCIetdiy vi leaving w
ng,on, that arrangements were so far completed, that
you thought best to proceed at once to the army in Next
COS and yet you make your opening charge against the
department, that you forced away to Mexico before
you had time for necessary preparations
present the next charge IN your own language:
handed TO youa written request that one of three of
assistant adunnt general with the rank OF major for duty
viii in the field and there vacancy, the time,
have had officer of the Adutant Generals Depart
partmcn with in the campaign Can another Instance
head OF large arnyor small onethe selection
of his chief OF the siathat is the chief in the depart
ment OF orders and correspondence 7"
Were the precisely you have stated it to be,
you have given too much prominence, as matter of
complaint to the Presidents refusal to be controlled, in
his exercise OF the appointing power by your wishes
Had there been vacancy such you mention for zone
OF the accomplished captains" you named one knows
better than you do that your request could not have been
acceded 10 without departing from the uniform rule of Sc
lection for staff appointments, without violating the right
OF several officers 10 regular promotion, and offering
ndignty all those who held the position of assistant
aduants general with the rank of captain The rule of
regular promotion in the staff is nfexibe, and has
been uniformly observed, that in the line. 1t must
appear surprising that you, who deeply shocked
hority Of Congress, "c,tsen lieutenant general"
vesting the President with power 10 devove the COM
mand OF the army on major general without regard to
priority in the date of his commission, should, in your
first request after being assigned to command ask the
President to disregard the rights of at least four officers
as merorous as the three accomplished captains"
Dy YOU lie views on lnlS SUBJECT
undoubtedly differ from yours His regard for the rights
Of officers is graduated by their rank Those of cap
tains and major generals have equal value in his esma
ton, and equal claim TO his respect and protection
cannot admit that it is just ground of censure and re-
buke against the head of the War Department that the
President did not see fit in order TO crafty your feelings
OF avotism, to disregard the claims and violate the
rights OF all the assistant adutans general of the rank of
captain then in commission
But so far as ii is made ground of complaint and re-
proof, this is not the worst aspect of the case You are
entirely mistaken in the assertion that there then
vacancy in the adjuant generals staff, with the rank of
major, to which either OF the captains recommended by
you could have been properly appointed There was no
such vacancy To show the correctness of this state
ment and demonstrate your error appeal to the Army
Register and the records Of the Aduan Generals Office
Your mistake as to obvious fact lying within the range
of matters with which you presumed to be familiar, has
excited less surprise than the declaration, that by the
Noncompliance with your request you shave had no
" officer OF the Aduan Generals Department with me
[youl IN the campaign" Every officer of that depart
ment-at least eght-was, you well knew subject to
your command When you arrived in Mexico. there
were with the army least FIVE assistant aduiants gen
eral all at your service That you chose TO employ
OF them at your headquarters, and detached from other
appropriate duties officer to act assistant adu
tant general may well be regarded slight to the
whole of that staff then with you in Mexico and
OF complaints but certainly not complaint to emanate
presume though unable conceive, that crcumstan
ces justified you IN passing over all the assistant adu
tan's general then with the army and in selecting
officer OF the line to perform the duties OF adjuant,
|
staff of the grade of major, for which only you
mended the accomplished capains"-and to which,
only, they were properly eigibe-theTe was vacancy
in II of the rank OF captain For this position you
mended an officer in General Woors staff, then on the
Chihuahua expedition This officer subsequently
appointed assistant aduant general with the rank of cap
tain you desired and has been at the head
quarters of that general Thus it will be perceived that
your request far il proper and reasonable
actually complied with.
The next specification in the catalogue of charges pre-
ferred against me, is that court-maral not insti
lued by the President for the trial of General Marshall
and Captain Montgomery your charges against them.
The offences imputed to them certainly not OF an
aggravated character. The one, was alleged, had
been incauous in relation to despatch under circum-
stances that might admit OF its coming to the knowledge
of the enemy and the other had carried despatch
with much expedition as you thought he might have
| done AS a general officer court to try him
must have been composed of officers OF high rank Be-
fore the order for assembling could have reached Mex
co il toreseen that your command would be at Vera
Cruz and probably engaged in ar active siege OF that
city Officers could not therefore, have been then sent
| from your column to Monterey the Rio Grande,
detrimen TO the public service Had you been deprived
OF several officers of high rank at that critical period by
the order of the President would have afforded better
pretence of complaint than any your extended cat
aogue Had the court been composed of officers taken
from General Taylors command, it would have still fur
ther weakened his condition, already weak IN conse-
quence of the very large force you had withdrawn from
him. Subsequent events have proved that 1t was most
fortunate the President did not comply with your request.
for had he done So some of the officers highest in rank
and most conspicuous at Buena VISTA might at that crit
ca conjuncture, have been separated from their COM
mands, and engaged court at distance from that
glorioas of action 1t is not anclful to suppose