Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-09-14

VINO had caused his recall, and to disgrace and
| discredit the only man who had ledge OF
ms corrupt negotiations. He knew had writ
| ten to President Polk, (fOr had shown him the
letter. but Gen. Scott did not He knew that
10 accomplish his purpose, he must control Gen.
scott moral power and influence in the army.
| den. Scott never suspected his real purpose.
The armistice had greatly affected the conf
denee and feelings of the army towards Gen.
| scott, while my opposition to it, being known
throughout the army had tended to Induce an
| over-eStmate of my services.
Ihls was seen by General Scott in the many
| letters written from the army to the home press;
ana his sensitiveness on this point may be seen
| IN the Issuance of his offensive general order
intended to disgrace Gen. W orth and myself,
upon the bare suspicion that we had written
| such letters. Ii was this order that led to the
arrest Of Gen. Worth and Col Duncan and,
| though he arrested me under a different pre-
text, his main charge was that I, also, had writ
| ten similar letters
Under these circumstances, Mr. Trist found
II an easy matter to induce Gen. Scott to believe
was endeavOring to supplant him in the conf
| him of the honor to which he was entitled az its
commander. That he did 30 believe, is manifest
| from his charges against me.
Hence the blindness with which he rushed
into the extremes Of injustice and wrong towards
me; which proved so fatal to his own eputatiOn
Tor justice towards his suberdinates i'm COM
mand, and which had we'll nigh ruined the
humble individual who now addresses you.
1t will be seen from this narrative of events
that all my trials and persecutons-all the
talsehoods and calumnies heaped upon me in
consequence of my rupture with Gen. Scott
all the blackening and defarnatOry charges by
which he sought to strip me of the humble
honor of my services, and to disgrace me as q
man OF hOnOr-all the poison infused into the
mind of the nation by tho party press-that all
this obloquy was heaped upon me because
earnestly protested against the corrupt Puebla
negotiations, and the armistice, "a part Of it,)
which cost the army the lives of so many brave
men, and because L made known to the Presi-
dent, as was in honor bound to do, tho e1-
istence of these disgraceful proceedings
Hence it will be seen that instead of having
caused the rupture between the President ana
Gen. Scott and Mr.. Trist, from an oficious and
lntermedding disposition, as L was charged to
have done, L was engaged in a sacred duty to
my country in all that L did And though l
was so greatly wrongly by the press, and by
pubic opinion, such were my confidential rela-
tions to the Government and to this mission.
that could neither expose the motives of those
who sought to destroy me- nor the sense OF duty
which controlled my conduct
In my defence of the charges against me-
was compelled to confne myself to the charges
themselves, trusting to the future for the vindi-
0ouIoh MuIiNeo, anu tDe Huellty with
which met the responsibilities of my position
as the confidential officer of the Eoyerment.
The best friends / had in the army did all
they could to induce mo to acguiesce in Ger.
ScOtt's refusal to prOsecure the charges against
me. But conscious of my innocence, and hav-
ing been actuated by high sense of duty to
my country, / demanded an Investigation of the
charges, and an order from the court compel
ing him tOprOsecute them or publicly to admit
that they were false.
chose to brave all the consequences rather
than submit to be thus calumniated, or violate
the confidence repOsed III me by nay Govern
ment.
In all this claim to have done but my duty
but the time has now arrived when think the
relation / bore to the Government and to this
mission should be made known, that nv cor
duct may be understood and my motives ap-
preciated.
now appear before the people of Tennessee,
and ask their verdict upon these facts. Iappeal
to them for justice (; and state the peIfJrmance
OF these confidential services to my country
when neither the purposes of justice nor secrets
OF state require them longer to be With cid from
the public. lcOuld not state them earlier, con-
sistently with my sense of duty.
The facts, substantially as above given, will
be found the sworn testimony Of himself and
other general officers, in the archives at Wash
lngton, taken by order of the then President of
the United States.
The great man whose sleepless anxiety for
the honor and welfare Of the country impos ID
upon me these trying duties, has passed away
but not 50 the impress Of his mind, and the i'm
perishable achievements of his administration.
These are seen in the glory of our arms, in the
countless millions Of gold with which our Pa
cific steamers are freighted, and in the rapid
march of civilization and freedom to the distant
shores of the Pacific. Had he lived, this appeal
to my countrymen to remove from my name
the reproach implied by their apparent neglect,
would never have been necessary. He would
long since have made known my services, and
the motives which actuated my conduct.
In regard to the course of conduct shall
adopt if hOnored with your confidence, have
only to say, that think 1 have given proof
enough of love of country to satisfy you that I
will never Intentionally prove faithless to the
trust reposed in Inc.
Upon the great question which now threatens
the Union of the States, / declare my attach
ment to the Union to be second only TO the rights
secured by the Constitution to the States
Upon this question have no further conces-
sions to grant, no more compromises to make
L consider the South as already driven to the
wall. Further she ought not, cannot, shall not
retreat, with my concurrence.
Respectfully, GID. j. PILLOW.