Washington sentinel. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1855, 1854-05-09


THE TRIAL OF MAJOR. WYsE.-The trial of
Major Wyse upon the charges, lst of disobe-
dencc Of orders, and I'd, of conduct unbecom-
ing an officer and a gentleman, was COM
menced on Wednesday at Fort Columbus, in
New York harbor The second charge is di-
vided into several specifications, setting forth
that he, without any warning or preparation,
relinquished the command just prior to the sail
ing Of the steamer, on the false pretence that
she was unseaworthy; that he had officially
declared to Lieutenant Colonel Thomas that
he had transferred to Lieutenant Loeser the
instructions which he had received, which de-
claration was false; and that he had falsely
stated, in q communication to Colonel Cooper,
that upon his return from weeks leave of abb
sence, on the 18th Of April, he learned for the
first time that he was to command the four
companies under his orders for the Pacific,
whereas he had been informed of it eight days
previous by Colonel Thomas.
In the course of the examination letter from
Major Wyse was produced, written to Colonel
Cooper, under date of the 18th, the day of the
sailing of the Falcon. In the letter Major
Wyse states that he learned for the first time,
after his return from leave of absence, that he
was to command the detachment for California.
Knowing the Falcon to be an old steamer, he
procured board Of inspection to examine her,
which reported unfavorably of her condition.
Another board had in the meantime been or
dered from ad-quarters, which had reported
more fayorably Of the vessel; but, as he knew
that Brevet Lieut.. Col. Swords, one of this
board, had never seen the ship, and there had
been no medical officer upon the board, as the
regulations required, he attached but little i'm
portance to it, and resolved to take stand in
opposition to renewed orders to depart. which
would bring the question to an issue, whether
the American soldier, though clothed in the
livery Of his country, was not nevertheless an
American citizen, and as such entitled to some
consideration; and he was sure that when the
truth was known the mind of the army would
approve the course which he had taken, al
though, at first sight it might seem unmilitary.
Second Dayton the second day of the tri-
al, Lieutenant Loeser, witness for the prosecu-
tion was examined He testified that Major
Wyse turned the command of the troops which
were about sailing for California, over to him,
byawritten order, on the morning of the 18th OF
April, four hours before they sailed in the Fal-
con. The order by which he was intrusted
with the command was delivered to him by
Major Wyse in person, upon the wharf, just
previous to his departure on board the Falcon
He (Lieut. Loeser) had examined the Falcon
before she hauled off into the stream, and
thought her unseaworthy. Her general ap.
pearance was very bad, the engine rusty and
dirty, and the paint on many parts of her was
still green. The engineer knew nothing about
the merits of the engine, but said he would be
able to tell after few days experience. The
steamer left New Cork at about o'clock, and
proceeded very slowly until night, when she
stopped for repairs. Next day, ne said, hei
trim was changed, being too heavy in the head
and throughout the day the engine seemed
hardly able to turn the wheels. On Friday
morning, three days out, they again stopped
three or four hours for repairs, and finding thai
she did no better, concluded to make for the
nearest port, which they reached in safety.