Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1848-06-08

obvious Tact lying wllhln The range OF matters VIII
which you are presumed TO be familiar, has excit-
ed less surprise than the declaration, that by the
Noncompliance with your request, you "have had
no officer Of the hdjutant Generals Department
with me" [youl in the campaign" Every off
Ger Of that departmental least eight--was, rs
you well knew, subject to your command. When
f you arrived in Mexico, there were with the army
at least five assistant adutunt generals, all al YOU
service. That YOU chose 10 employ none of them
AZ your headquarters, rnd detached fiom other
appropriate duties an officer to act as an assistant
adulant general may well be regarded as slight
TO the whole of ihut staff then with you in Mexico
and a cause Of complaint; but certainly not com
plant TO emnhate from you against the War De-
partment. Willing as | am 10 presume, though
unable ~ conceive, that circumstances justified
YOU in passing over all the assistant Hduant
generals then with the army, and in selecting an
officer Of the line TO perform the duties Of adutunl
general at your headquarters, was mnch surprS-
ed to learn FROM you that, when General Worth
sent 10 you one Of these accomplished captains"
the frat on your list, under the belief that you de-
sired his services as an acting assistant aduant
general, you declined TO employ him IN that
capacity; and am still more surprised to perceive
that you have made it distinct ground of charge
in Your arrNignment oflhe War Department, hat
YOU were not permitted 10 have him as an assistant
udulant general ut your headquarters. Had YOU
selected him instead ofunolher, AS you might have
done, YOU would have been bereit OF all preext
for complaint. Though there was no vacancy in
the Adju'ant Generals staff Of the grade Of maj
for which only YOU recommended the "accUn-
pIished captains and TO which, only, they were
properly eligible there was vacancy in ii in he
rank Of captain, For this position you recommen
ded an officer in General " ool's staff then on the
chihuahua expedition. This officer was suisse
quenlly appointed assistant udjulant general with
the rank Of captain, as you desired and has ever
since been al the headquarters Of that general-
Thus it will be perceived that you request, so far
as II was proper and reasonable, was actually
compiled with,
The next specification in the catalogue of char
ges preferred against me, is that court-maItul
was not Instituted by the President for the trial of
General Marshall and Captain Montgomery OIL
your charges against them, The offences imputed
TO them were certainly not of an aggravated char
ac!er, The one, as was alleged, had been incuu-
uOus in relation TO Il despatch under circumstances
that might admit Of its coming 10 the knowledge
of the enemy, and the other had not carried deS-
patch with us much expedition as you thought he
might have done, AS one was general officer, II
court TO try him must have been composed Of Of.
fcers Of high rank. Before the order for assenbI.
that your command would be at Vera Cruz, and
probably engaged in an active siege OF this city
Officers could not, therefore, have been then sent
from your column to Monterey OF The Rio Grande
(where the court must have been heId,) without
great delrimcnt TO The public service. Had you
been deprived OF several officers Of high rank at
that critical period by the order of the President,
it would have afforded better prelence Of con-.
plant than amy one in your extended catalogue,
Had the court been composed of officers taken
ssGT S SfhRe wddAEdSE n esot%@a9d would have
in consequence 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, aud most
conspicuous at Buena Vista, might, at that critical
conjuncture have been separated from their COM
mandS, and engaged on a court AT distance from
that glorious scene OF action. 1t s not MnCilul TO
suppose that their absence might have changed
the fortune Of that evenllu day; and that, instead
Of rejoicing, rs we now do in Il triumphant VIC
oIy-anong the most brilliant in the whole course
of the war--wc might have had TO lament most
disastrous, defeat and the almost total loss Of the
whole force you had left TO sustain that frontier.
No man has more reason than Yourself TO rejoice
that no order emunaled from Washington, thuugh
requested by you, which would have further
Unpaid the efficiency Of Gen, Taylors command
in The crisis that then awaited HIM.
My letter Of the 22d Of February, conveying the
President 3 views in regard to your order deprIN'ng
Col Harvey ofhls appropriate command, " severe
Iy arraigned by you us Offensive, both IN manner
and mutter.
The facts in relation to this case Of alleged
grievance are now before the public, and btie
! uuson to them will place the transaction in lis
true light. Under your orders, Col. Harvey had
brought seven companies Of his regiment The q
Dragons from Monterey 10 the i!razos, 10 be
under your immediate command; and l"o other
- being all Of the leg iment in Mexlco-were ex
!. pected to follow within few days, In the mids
Of his high hopes aud ardent desire for active sell
; vice YOU took from HIM The command Of his own
regiment, de,oIvcd it ono Of his junior officers
= and ordered him bpck 10 Gen. 'rnylor's line &c
: look for what was not appropriately denomnat-
" ed IAN imngnory command. Outraged in his
feelings and injured in his rights, he respectfully
demonstrated; his appeal to your sense of justice
was unavaiing. Neither To this gallant officer nor
to the President did you assign amy sufficient OF
even plausible reason for this extraordinary pro
cecdng. The whole army, believe, and the
whole country, when The transaction became
/ known, entertained but one opinion on the sub.
4 Iceland that was, that you had inflicted an in.
, Jury and an outrage upon brave and merorous
officer. Such an nct-nlmost tho first on your as
= suning communicated disastrous consGq uences
TO the public service, and devolvcd upon The Pre-
tas the duty Of inlerposing 20 protect the injured
} officer. This nierposition yon have made grave
matter OF accusation against the head Of The War
! Department, and have characterized ions cen
sure and robuke. 1t may impy both, and still,
being meriied, may leave you without pretenCe
for complaint. The President, after abiding to
his duty TO sustain the rights Of the officers under
your command, as well as your own rights, in
formed you that he did not discover 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 appropriate command -
Your own subsequent course in this case demon
slrales the unreasonableness of your complaint,
and indicates the correctness of the President =
proceedings. You had really rebuked and cen
sured your own conduct; for evtn before you had
received the Presidents views, YOU had, as he
hoped YOU would, reconsdered lhe matter be-
come convinced Of your error, reversed your own
order, and restored Col. llnrney to his command; ;
thus giving the strongest evidence in favor of the
proplety and correctness of purpose, 10 suspect
that you retrnced your steps from mere caprice,
or from any other cause than conviction that you
had fallen into error. After the matter had thus
terminated, it appears understandable to me that
,ou, who above all others should wish it 10 pass
into oblivion. have again called attention 10 II by
making il an item in your arrangement Of the War