Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1848-05-12

tween MIR Trist and myself could not have oc-
CURED, but for other circumstances /. His be-
ing obliged TO send forward your letter of April
Ia, instead of dciverinatit in person, with the
explanatory papers whieiiNhc desired to colnmu.
nicate; 2. Ills bad health in May and June,
which, am happy to say, has now become good;
and y. The extreme mystfcation into which your
letter-and particularly an interlineation-
voidably threw me.
So far as / am concerned, ! am perfectly
willing that all have heretofore written TO the
Department, about MIR Trist, should be suppress
cd. make this declaration as due to my pres
ent esteem for that gentlemen; but ask no favor
and desire none, at the hands Of the Department
Justice to myself, however tardy, | shall take
care to have done.
al do not acknowledge the Justice Of either Of
your rebukes contained in the letter of MAY 81
lin relation to Mr. Trist and the prisoners at
Cerro Gordol, and, that do not here triumph
antly vindicate myself, is not from the want of
will, means or ability, but time.
1.-The first letter dated Feb 22) received
from you, at Vera Cruz, contained a censure,
and l am now rebukcd for the unavoidable
nay, wise, IL 1t had not been unavoidabe-re-
lease, on parole, Of the prisoners taken at Cerro
Gordo-even before one word of commentator
from Government has reached this army on ac-
count of its gallant conduct in the capture of
those prisoners. No such commentator has
yet been received, Feb. 1881 So in regular |
progression, | may-should the same army gal |
lanty bear me into the City of Mexico, in the |
next six or seven wecks--which is probable, If !
we are not arrested by peace or a iruce-look |
to be dismissed from the service Of my country |
Iou will perceive that | am aware las | have |
long bcen) of the dangers which hang over me
at home; but | too n citizen of the United |
States, and well know the obligations imposed, |
under all circumstances, by an enlightened pat |
riotisni.
In respect to money, / beg again to report |
that the chief commissary Captain Grayson) of
this army, has not received dollar from the |
United States since we landed at Vera Cruz,
March 8. He now owes more than $500. 900,
and is obliged to purchase on credit ut great dis |
advantages. The chief quartcrnastcr Captain
IRWIN has received perhaps 5000 and labors
under like membranes Both have sold drafts
to small amounts, and borrowed largely of the |
Pay Department, which has received about half
OF the money estimated for. Consequently the
troops have some four months pay due them.
Our poverty or the neglect of the discussing
departments at homc has been made known, to
our shame, in the papers of the Capital here,
through letter from Lieut.. Col. Hunt. that was
found on the person Of the special messenger
from Washington.
The army is also suffering greatly from the
want OF necessary clothing-including blankets
and great coats The new troops Chose who
'"'N i~S' "ihttJf Us deSNltutc Ms tlt OtncFN
were first told that they would find abundant
supplies at New Orleans; next, at Vera Cruz;
and, finally, here; whereas we now have. per-
haps, thousand hands engaged in making shoes
(out Of bad material and at high cost and pan
falcons. These articles about 5000 pairs of
each, are absolutely necessary TO cover the ma
kedncss Of the troops.
February 2s, of Lobos wrote to Brigalier
General Brooke TO direct the Quartermaster at
New Orleans to send me large supplies of cloth
ing. March 1876, General Brooke replied
that the Quartermaster at New Orleans had
neither clothing nor Shoes and that he was
fearful that unless they have been sent out to
you direct, you will be much disappointed
Some small quantity of clothing, perhaps
one-ffth of our wants, came to Vera Cruz from
some quarter, and followed us to Jalapa and this
place.
must here specially remark that this report,
No. 80 though forwarded the night Of its date
(July 25), seems to have miscarried. Perceiv-
ing, about Nov. ~ that it was not acknowledged
by the Department, caused duplicate to be
made, signed it and sent il off by the same con-
veyance with my despatch, No. SO, and the
charges against Brevet Major General Worth,
Major General Pillow, and Brevet Lieut.. Colonel
Duncan, together with the appeal, against me, of
the former. All these papers are acknowledged
by the Department, in the same letter (Jan. l3)
that recalls me.
1t was that budget of papers that caused the
blow of power, so long suspended, TO fall on a
devoted head. The three arrested officers and
he who had endeavored to enforce a necessary
discipline against them, are all to be placed to-
gether before the same court; the innocent and
the guilty, the accuser and the accused, the judge
and his prisoners, are dealt with alike. Most
impartial justice But there is u discrimination
with vengeance While the parties are on
trial-if the appealer is to be tried at all, which
seems doubful-two are restored to their corps
one of them with his brevet rank-and am
deprived of my command! There can be but
one step more in the same direction throw the |
rules and articles Of war into the fire. and leave
all ranks in the army free to engage in denun-
Citations and a general scramble for precedence,
authority, and Executive favor The pronta-
ciamento, on the part of my factious juniors, is
most triumphant.
My recall-under the circumstances, severe |
punishment before trial-but to be followed by
trial here, that may run into the Autumn-and
on matters l am but partially permitted to know
by the Department and my accusers, is, very in
genously, placed on two grounds: /. My own
request, meaning that of June Quoted above, |
and there was no other before the Department.,
which had been previously (July l2) acknowl-
edged and rebukingly declined; 2. The arrest
of Brevet Major General Worth, for writing to
the Department, under the pretext and form
\
me, in which / was grossly and falsely accused
Of "malice" and conduct unbecoming an off
Ger and gentleman" in the matter of the Gen
eral Order No. $40, on the subject of putting
letters, for the newspapers at home.
On that second point, the letter from the De-
partment of Jan. 49, is more than ingenious: il
is elaborate, subtle and profound--a professional
dissertation, with the rare merit of teaching prn-
cpes, until now, wholly unknown TO military |
codes and treatises, and of course to all mere
soldiers, however great their experience in the
field
have not in this place, time to do more than
hint at the fatal consequences of the novel doc
trine in question According to the Department,
any lactious junior may, at his pleasure, in the
midst of the enemy--using "the pretext and
form of an appeal" against his commander-in-
suit and outrage him to the grossest extent, even
though he be the General-in- Chief, and charged
with the conduct of the most critical operations
and that commander may not arrest the incipient
mutineer until he shall have first laid down bis