Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-10-28
Letter from hon. Frank Blair.
Saturdays st. Louis Republican contains
the following:

.
the following;
...,.. ST. LOUIS, October IS, 1861.
Editor Repabhcan-Sir: You do me the
honor this morning to connect my name
with the title of "Maior General" 1t is
very true, this is done with a sneer, but as
am not very tenacious about my military
reputation, 1 can afford to submit to your
sarcasm with good temper. 1t is very evil
dent to me from the want of knowledge
shown in the article, that it could not have
been written, or any Of its points suggested,
by the Aids or Secretaries at Headquarters.
1t is clear that it is merely some of your
own bluDdering, eXcusable perhaps from the
novelty of your position, and the sudden
change which has come over the Republican
since the days of Camp Jackson and Boone
vile.
In order to show how impossible it is that
auy suggestion, that desired to be Major
General, could have come from any well-in-
formed quarter, l take liberty of transcrib-
ing paragraph from a private letter from
Major. General John @. Fremont to Post
master General Blair, dated September 8,
| 1861. He says: Franks regiment will be a
| brigade, and fit command for General of
artillery. I urged him several times to ac-
Cept high rank and go into the war, but he
does not like to lose his position in Congress.
/ think he is wrong, but we all set different
ValueS on lne same lnlng.
The testimony you have borne to the
Wonderful energy" of Major General FIRE.
mont in raising an army of ninety thousand
men in few months, and in the same mo-
ments holding such line as that which you
describe as extending from Cairo to Kansas
City, is very honorable to the General and
to you. And when you add, that this ar my
was organized in half the time General Scott
required to raise a similar force, and the line
| baIb hu EVapopnf 10 pnnn IA lnnuar than. hat
held by Scott, it seems to me that nothing
can be added to the eulogy. But it appears
to me that your enthusiasm for General Free
mont should not induce you to do injustice
to another.
General Lyon held every post now held
by General Fremont, except Paducah, and
he held many others, including Springfield,
not now held by General Fremont and
never had more than fifteen thousand men
under his command. In TACT General Lyon
drove the enemy entirely out of the State of
Missouri and into Arkansas, and until Cen
eral Fremont arrived and took com mand,
General Lyon never met with reverse or
disaster. trust that ii will not be regarded
as a reflection upon General Fremont TO say
the truth in regard to General Lyon, and
especially as under cover of an attack on the
"Blair family" you have DETAINED the dead
Lyon by saying that "the Blair policy
brought us to the verge of ruin, even before
General Fremont came here"
Let me say that if ceuld properly and
honorably assume the credit of the conduct
of affairs in Missouri, prior to the day upor
which General Fremont arrived here, i
would be my pride and glory to do so, bu
l know too well what is due to the fame o
that brave, patriotic and selfsacrifcine
soldier General Lyon, to plume myself upor
, his dc eds or seek Inappropriate what belong
to his impeTishable TenoWn. While there
fore l can take it in very good temper, tha
, YOU should laugh at the idea of my being
! Major General, and when, indeed, if it wer
l az all necessary, could point you to som
examples, not a great way of, which woul'
. serve to illustrate how absurd and ridiculou
, such an appointment would be; at the sam
time, can not permit you to say that affair
!, here "were brought to the verge of ruin be
. fore General Fremont came here, when
= is universally known that Lyons career was
q up TO the time of General Fremont's assum
. ing command an uninterrupted series c
3 brilliant successes, without reverse or dis
y sster ard that even at this instant, it is pre-
!. posed to exchange the prisoners he took fc
\ Mulligan and those we have since lost. | d
n not intend to derogate from the high prais
YOU bestow upon General Fremont for o.
eanizing such q large army, and holdin
n such long line. / readily admit that Ger
D eral Fremont has more men than Lyon ha'
.e but if Lyon had not the same ability 70 raj;
A. men, vet he bad the knack Of winning VII
D. tories and taking prisoners which, after a.
|. ifpot so glorious, is not altogether witho'
le merit. Respectfully,
Col. First Missouri Light ATtiner