Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1848-05-12


assistant adlutant general, may well be regar-
ded as slight TO the whole of the staff then
with you in Mexico, and catsa OF complaint;
but certainly not a complaint 10 efhanate from
you against the War Department. Willing as
am to presume, though unable TO conceive,
that circumstances justified you in passing @
yer all the assistant adjutants general then
with the army, and in selecting an officer OF
the line 10 performs the duties of adjutant,
though there was no vacancy in the Adjuiant
Generals staff of the grade ofmajor, for which
only you recommended the accomplished
captait1s"-and to which, only; they were
properly eligble--ihere was a vacancy in It
of the rank of captain. For this position you
recommended an officer in General v ool's
staff, then on the chihuahua expedition. This
officer was subsequently appointed assistant
adjutant general with the rank of captain, az
you desired, and has ever since been at tGe
headquarters of that general. Tins it wi. I be
perceived that your request, so far as il was
proper and reasonable, was actually complied
with. -
The next specification in the catalogue of
charges preferred against me, is' that court
marital was not instituted BY the President for
the trial of Central Marshall and Captain
Montgomery Cd your charge against them!
J he offences Flputed 10 them were certainly
not OF 81 aggravated character. The one, as
We alleged, had been incautious in relation
10 despatch under circumstances that might
admit of IFS coming TO the knowledge of the
enemy, and the other had not carried dss-
patch with as much expedition as yod thought
he might have done. AS one was general
officer, court 10 try him must have been
composed of officers of high rank Before the
order for assembling il could have reached
Mexico, it was foreSeen that your command
would be at Vera Cruz, and probably engaged
in an active seige of that city Officers could
not therefore, have been then sent from your
column TO Monterey or the Rio Grande, (tvhere
the court must have been held,) without great
detriment TO the public service. Had you
been deprived of several officers of high rank
al that critical period by the order OF the Pre-.
sident, it would have afforded better pre-
tence of complaint than any one in your en-
tended catalogue. Had the court been COM
posed of officers taken from General TayIor's
command, 1t would have still further weaken
ed his condition, already weak in consequences
of the very large force you had Withdrawn
from him. Subsequent events have proved
that it 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 critical CON uncture, have been cepafa-
ted from their commands, and engaged on a
court at distance from that glorious scene Of
action. 1t is not fancifu 10 suppose that
their absence might have changed the for
tune of that eyentful day. and that, instead of
rejoicing, as we now do, in triumph of VIC
ltory-arr.ong the most brilliant in the whole
course of the war--we might have had TO Ia
ment most disastrous defeat, and the almost
total loss Of the whole force you had left TO
sustain that frontier. No man has more rea-
son than yourself TO rejoice that no order EN-
anated from Washington, though requested by
| you, which would have further impaired the
efficiency of General Taylor's command in the
crisis that then awaited him.
My letter of The 22d February, conveying
the Presidents views in regard TO your order
depriving Colonel Harvey Of bis appropriate
command, is severely arraigned by you as Of
! fensive, both in manner and matter.
The facts in relation to this case Of alleged
grievance are now before the public, and a
! brief allusion to them will place the transact
ton in its true light Under your orders Col
Harvey had brought seven companies of his
regiment-the I'd dragoons-from Monterey
10 the Brasos, to be finder your immediate
command:and two others-being all of the reg
iment in Mexco-were expected to follow
within a few days. In the midst of his high
hopes and ardent desire for active service, you
took from him the command Of his own regi-
ment, devolved it on one of his junior officers,
and ordered him back to Gen. y!or's line to
look for what was not inapproprately denom-
mated San imaginary command" Outrage in
his feelings and injured in his rights, he res
pectfully demonstrated; his appeal to your
sense of justice was unaYaing. Neither 10
this gallant officer nor 10 the President did
you assign any sufficient or even plausible rea-
son for this extraordinary proceeding. The
whole army, [ believe, and the whole coun-
try, when the transaction became known, en-
tertained but one opinion on the sutherland
that was, that you had inflicted an injury and
an outrage upon a brave and mertorious Off
GER Such an act-almost the first on your as
sumng command boled disastrous conse-
qucnces TO the public service, and devolved
upon the President the duty of nterposing to
protect the iniureu officer. This interpositOn
you have made a grave matter of accusation
against the head of the War Department, and
have characterized il as a censure and re.
Duke. 1t may imply both, and still, being
meriitcc44 may leave you without pretcncs
for complaint The President, after abiding
20 his duty TO sustain the rights OF the officers
under your command, as well yOur own
iIiOIhICu you tLdt ultt !lOt uIHCC'Cl
in the case, as you had presented it, sufficient
cause for such an order; that, in his opinion,
Col Harvey had just cause TO complain; and
that he hoped the matter had been reconsldered
BY you, and the colonel restored 10 his appro-
pirate command. Your own subsequent course
in this case demonstrates the unreasOnableness
of your complaint, and vidicates the correct
ness OF the Presidents proceedings You had
really rcbuhed and censured your own CON-
duct; for even before you had received the
Presidents views, you had, as he hoped you
would, reconsidered the matter, become con-
WINGED of your error, reversed your own or
der, and restored Col. Harvey to his command;
thus giving the strongest evidence IN favor of
the propriety and correctness OF all the Presi-
dent had done ir the case. give you too
much credit for steadiness Of purpose, to sus-
meet that you retraccd your steps from mere
caprice, or for any other cause than a convic-
ton that you had fallen into error After the
matter had thus terminated, ii appears unac-
countabe to me that you, who above all 9TH
ers should wish it to pass into oblivion, have
again called attention to it by making IT an
item in your arrangement OF the War Depart
ment. -.
You struggle in vain TO vindicate your course
in this case, BY referring to yorl own acts IN
the campaign of 1914 You then sent away,
as YOU allege, against their wishes, "tbree
senior field officers of as many regiments
"wbo were infrm, uninStructed, and fnefi-
f1E.. nth .