The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1852-07-31

snsvaiisne. Neither 70 this gallant officer nor I
che President did you assign any sufficient q
even plausible reason for this extraordinary PFC
Wedding. The whole army, believe, and til
who!s country, when the transaction becatn
knswn, entertained bat one opinion on the sut
Iceland that was. that you had inflicted an IL
jury and an outrage upon brave and meritor
Gus officer. Such N act-ainost the hfst o
your assuming command-boded disastrous con
sequences olhe public service, and devolved ny
on the Presiden, the duty Of lnterposing to Pre-
tect the injured officer. This i.terposiIion 20
have made grave matter Of accusation agains
the head Of the War Department, and have char
acterEed il As a censure and rebuke. II ma.
imply both, and still, heing meri,ed, may leav
you withest prc'ence for complaint The IRE
sldent, after abiding to his duty to sustain tn
rigetsot the officers under your command, As vel
as your own rights Informed YOU that he did No
discover in the case as you had presented n, sui
iicent cause for such an ordet that, IN ms op'n
ion, Col Harvey had a jus: cause to complain
and that he hoped the matter had been recnnsld
erred by you, and the Colonel restored To his ap
propriate command Your own subsequent
course in this case demonstrates the unreasonable
hess OF your complaint, and viniicates the Cor
rectness of the Presidents proceedings lou had
really rebuked and crnsured your own conduct
for even before you had received the President
We've. you had. as he hoped you would recons
dered the matter. become convinced of your er
ror, reversed your own order. and restored Col
Harvey to his command, thus giving the strong
ss: evidence in favor Of the prupriety and correct
ness Of all the Presiden; had done IN the case.
give YOU too much credit fnr steadiness Of pur
pose, TO suspect that you retraced your step;
from mere caprice, or for any other cause than
conviction that YOU had fallen into error. After
the matter had tins terminated, il appaars unac
cruntable TO me that YOU who above all others
should wish il TO pass into obliviun, have agsn
called attention TO it by making il an item OF
your ar,agnn,en, Of the War Department.
You struggle in vain TO yindcate ycur course
IA thi, case by referring to your own acts IN the
campaign of 1874. You then sen. away, ~ YOU
alledge against their wishes 3 senior field OH
GERS Of as May regiments who were 'sfrn, Ma
Instructed, and Indifferent in favor Of Juniors and
With the subsequent appreciation Of Mayor Gene.
I,l Brown and the head OF the War Department
This precedent does not. IN my judgment, change
,the aspect Of the present case. Gel. Harvey was
not "infrm unin.tructed, and inefficient you
,i,d not assign, and, IN Difference to the known O.
pinion of the army and country. YOU did no, ven
ture to assign that reason for deposing him. do
not understand the force OF your logical dednc
zion, that because Won, on q toImer occasion, had
.lepised otii'ers under you Of their commands for
good aa.l sufficient reasons, with subsequent ap-
proEsi van nav nov, ut any time. do the same
thing without any reason whatever and If the
President inierposes to correct the procedure,
YOU have inst canse to complain OF an ndignl'
~, and right 10 arraign the War Department
As your amin. diversion upon the tone o! my
letter is probably not blow aimed at much
more cons picuous o. ,ect, to be reached through
inc. ought, perhap tn pass 1t without notice.
On revision Of that lie. ter, cannot perceive that
j, ie 40, entirely respe tful IN manner and Ian
guags The views of the President are therein
confidently expressed. be 'ause they were conn.
IDENTITY entertained. II Sc Hmed to be admitted
by you tina, III dictated to he greenest general
of the recent appantments,vt letter woaIl not
have been eSceptonable ] W. not aware mat
it was Wy duty TO u,a,lfy aHd gra iuate my style
~ as to meet according to your IA, udlous views,
the various degrees OF greenacss ant npeness oil
the generals TO whom | am reauIreo To convey
the order, uf the President, and for an s,ch de
feet in nv official commrnlcatioGs have M apoI
.ogy TO otter.
II the same letter. wherein YOU csmplah ed Of
Neiss eeEsuird for year course in relation to Col
fi~Dey. goa say, 4 AN now rebuked for the m.
svG6sbIe--.usv WISE If it had not been unavoi, !
nble-release, on parole, q! the prisoners taken
a, Ccrro Gordo, even before one word Ut com
rendation from Government had reached this
army, on account Gifts gallant conduct In the cap
turs Of those prisoners" Accident alOnc-bot
any oversight or neglect on my part-has given
you the apparent advantage of the aggravation
which yoa have ar,fuy thrown into this charge.
My letter oaIntneEdisg yourself and the gallant
army Nnda- yosr soIsnsad ST the glaio,Is
achievement at Cerro Gorda was written and sent
to you on the 10Th Of May-ll days before that
which you are pleased TO consider rs conalnlnya
rebuke.
But meet the main charge with positive
denial You never were rebukei for di>charsing
the prisoners taken at Cerro GnrJo. This issue {
can be tried by the record All tina, was ever (
said on the subject is contained in the following
extract from my letter Of the SIS, Of May:
Your course hitherto in relation to prisoners
Of war, both men and officers in disctarsing them
on parole. has been liberal and kind but vheih-
or 1. oueh. to be still longer continued, or in some
respect. changed has been under the considcra-
ton Of the President, anil be has directed me IN
canmuuisate to you has ,."7's on the subject lie
y oct aaavare q the gre,; Ell 'rTas'men' ,heT
dcien,ion. or the sending Of the.' to the United
Sta,cs, would occasion but, so far "a r@iates to
the officers, he thinks they SHOULD he I'"tNnec
until duly exchanged. In that csse, it will -
ably be found erpedien. to send them, or mos. -
them, 10 the United States You will not there
fore, except for special in particular ca,
&c, discharge the officers who may be taken pri'
oners, bu, detlin them with you. or send them
to the United States. Is you shall deem mos. ex.
pedient" !,
II understand the force Of terns. there is no.
thing in this language which, by fair in,erpre,a.
ton, can be made TO express or imply rebuke.
eannot conceive that any mind, other than one
of diseased constituencies, over ANXIOUS TO dis (
cover causes for complaint and accusation, could |
Imagine that anything like rcbuke was contain. ,
cd in this extract; yet on this unsubstan,ial ba ,
ais alone rests the charge over and over again /.
presented, that you were rebuked by the War
Department for dischareing the prisoners captur.
ed at Cerro Gordo n, in n case where il was so
easy to be right, and so difficult to get wrong. you
could fall into such an obvious mistake, What
may not be expected from you in other matters
where your perverted feelings have freer aud
wider range.
Before considering your complaints fo' not
having been supplied with sufficient means Of
transportation for the expedition against Vera
Cruz, vail notice your -four memorials" to the
War Department, in which you demonstrated, as
YOU state. that Vera Cruz was the basis Of opera.
tions, and that tho enemy's capital could not
probably DO reached from the Rio Grande.'
cannot discover the per,inency Of your au
sion to these four memorials, except il be to put
forth claim 10 the merit Of originating the expc.
d'tion against Vera Cruz. and Of being the first
l,.>z Ia A - = a