The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-05-17
The Defence OF the Accused.

The Court assembled at the usual hour on M)njag
morning, and, after a brief delay Mr.. E. W Andrews.
counsel for Major wyss read the defence Of which the
following is ABSTRACT
After stating In concise terms the imperative necess
ty which existed under military government for obei
ence to the commands of superior authority ~ counsel
cases prove that under certain crcum
stances an inferior officer justified in dsobeying thu
oroeis V ms superior Among these, he mentioned in
particular the case Of Capt Croghan who, while
ma q rort on the sandusky river during
the fort II the enemy appeared in force They did so
but the brave Captain, relying upon the bravery Of his
this he received the approval both of his comrades aud
his commanding officers.
and then concluded follows speaking the person
of Major Wyse, in accordance with the rules Of the
condition Of this vessel ask can any one believe that
my superior would have ordered my embarkation, had
they been in his possessionS Would he day order tf
dare to say that hereafter troops will be
barked that vessel Am then guilty ef criminal dis
obedience because did that which my superior would
have ordered me to do had all the facts known to me
been known to himY Did not carry out his real will
even when seemed to oppose its That did not act
hastily and upon inadequate the unfortunate
suit Of her recent voyage has abundantly shown In
this connection wish to remind the Court Of the gene
raj of the vessels that have been em
ployed in the transportation of troops. l need mot
refer to particular in proof. 1t Is within the
knowledge perhaps Of every member Of this Court and
within the knowledge of most of the officers OF the
army that old, battered, worn out vessels, in which
prudent traveller would venture to sail have been
steamer has become crippled age and hard
that she IL fit for nothing else, in many instances
she I, handed s to the service Of the army How
Lowell that the only reliance Of those who sail in
these vessels has been the forbearance of Provi
dence and the proximity to the land.' Did the
ployment Of unseaworthy vessels involve nothing
more than the comfort of the troops, it ought
is not poor that those who fight her bat.
ties shall be treated than the meanest her c
:ens. But when life is endangered when, as we
have lately SEEM worthless ship made snare the
subject becomes one Of the graves importance Human
@ sSsres Be ss
know not sit In judgment one; but surely it il
time that this triing with human life should cease, and
the safety Of the soldier be consulted less than the
teress OF the ship with worthless vessel
dispose Of 1t is my hope and belief that this trial.
the attention of the government this great abuse SO
that 1t shall be done away with forever. The second
charge brought against me is conduct anbeeomng an
and ndivisble term and cannot be broken by finding
of the Court (De Hart, P. s7e; Simmons, 2s4 To
sustain this charge conduct must be proved which, while
it inpugns the character of gentleman must also be
dscrediable to his character officer, and cast
proach upon the military community. Let then pro-
coed to examination Of the particulars of the rst
specification and whether such specification has been
did just prior to the embarIaton Of nv Command and
without giving time to any competent superior officer to
substitute any other officer Of suitable rank relnquish
a subaltern of the same.''
Here the period Of time when relnqushcd the COM
mated that purposely chose time late that no pro-
per officer could be found to fl place. Now what are
receiving the communication from Col Thomas on the
18th Of April enclosing the report of the Board Of La
spection appointed By the Chief and his
con- relnqushed my command into the hands of Lieut.
Loeser and despatched copy Of the same by special
messenger to the headquarters Of the army. Before
receiving this communication could not have given ia
my resignation, and did the instant it received
made no choice time for had no choice to make It
imDOsSibe. M
that the REIMBURSEMENT of command could have been
made at earlier hour than i for the of
that REIMBURSEMENT did not till that hour exist. The
second point in this specification is that the reason which
assigned for my conduct, in declining to embark
be Influenced by that which knew to be false; or in
other words that did not myself believe that the
for the relnq Of my command. What evidence
has been adduced to prove this 1t is said indeed that
board Of superior officers had inspected and approved
seaworhy But let inquire into the constitution
of this board and the character Of the report which it
made. Was it a board whose decision was bound to
regardf Was it constituted according TO the regulation
Of the army in such cases provided The language Of
sh.5ssS s%ssri.tieS order sss q more
who are to embark on board The the
troops aro on board respective
s Of @ i'm
to the officer who ordered the ms 2ecton.
piled withs Was medical officer appointed on this
boardY No. Was the commanding officer who was to
No Was called upon to make the report to the officer
who made the inspection No. So far from 1t that
differed entirely from the conclusions which embodied
Was the inspection most nindte," the regulations
require? So far from this being the several Of the
statements of this report were very far from the truth
This report states that the hull of the Falcon is but five
years old whereas has been proved before that it
Is between and eight This report states that the
boilers are less than two years q age whereas il has
years. This report says that the construction Of the
Falcon is the same as other steamship in the Cali
forna trade whereas it has been shown that the con-
struction of her upper deck is entirely different from
that Of the George Law and the Illinois, and other ves
sells that trade and that her frame Is very materially
lighter This report states that during the last two
years this steamer has been running without accident
to hull or machinery whereas it is in proof before you
tress her hull leaking at the rate of eight or nine inches
per hour and her machinery crippled that her engines
were unable without aid to turn their centres But let
US inquire further who were members Of this boardf
One was the quartermaster who had employed this
steamer as transport and employed her without any
personal knowledge of her qualities and who could not
be expected to nuy what he had already done Another
member Col Thomas, the chief of the staff at the
headquarters where this recommendation had been APP
proved. Further comment from me would, perhaps be-
inappropriate, and accordingly leave it for the Court
such board irregulariy constituted even If impartial
and which, the evidence before you has shown,
not in possession Of the facts sufficiently to form
rect judgment of the seaworhness Of this vessel to be
regarded by infslibe II is averred in the spec
cation that after this report made known to me- it
was Impossible could doubt OF the seaworthiness OF
this vessel and that only pretended to doubt But has
not the proof which have adduced in my defence album
dainty shown that my knowledge of this vessel
with that expressed in this report? regret Mr. Pres
dent and gentlemen of this Court that this charge OF
false pretences implying the lowest degree of basenes
should have been made Surely that which is so dear
to every man-his reputation for truth-should not be
lightly called in question. If had thus acted, pre-
tending to believe what did not believe, the brand OF
merited nfamy should rest upon me all my days.
1esre to speak in temperate language-nor to forget
the respect due to this court but repress
my indignation that such charge should be brought
against when not title Of evidence has been ad-
duced to prove it. / will not admit the thought that
those who know possibly believe 1t to be true.
The third point in this specification H. that shame-
fully abandoned my men TO supposed danger to which
unwilling personally to expose MYSELF As was
before charged with falsehood here am charged with
cowardicel am said to have refused TO go with my
command because was afraid TO 60 Marx Mr. Presi.