Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1861-12-03
TUESDAY,. DECEMBER s,a,ssl.
gen. patterson Heard sy.om,


(t3sf Gen. Patterson Heard EJ.om -
The Federal Gen. Patterson, yTb o has been
Fl so often and so vehementy eens<rcd for the
~osg part he did not play in the battleoG Names
sas Plains, has at last broken silence. He
took advantage of dinner given in Phila-
delphia on the 20th ult. in qccuune,nura tion
Of the formation in TIA OF the First City
A-s Troop. to make speech in selfdefcnee. He
- = vindicated himself at considerable length
-o1od and insisted that, in his campaign be had
-TsdE committed no blunder, had been caught in
no trap, had fallen into 20 amhnscadc If
-s3 he had not done more, the fsult. lie said was
svi with others; he had but obeyel ar,lers aud if
Z, y, the Generai-in7chief. SCoTT, had only called
So, him into the action at Manassas on-the 2lse
-. of Jelly, 'bis assistance might have produced
a different result. he concluded bis post
prandial harrangue by demanding an inves-
tigation Of the whole matter as due to him.
.at5H 8 1t was, mo doubt. eminentTy rrupcr and
- soeourageous iasthe PeunsyIy ania hefo to de-
xzIlS lay his deencss and enaud until t:s great
- military cheftain. SeeTT. had quit tic thea
zs,rstee of his labors in tthaf qt3t tine ambition
al usurpation,, and gene to seek aaict and rest
~ amidst the less stirring and more pleasant
scenes Of the old world, HsFwill be likely to
gel Lle -lnFesllSSaIOuf iDu Clear Dis tt
the stain of incompetcncy fnot of cowardice.
He and his, fellow-suifer the immaculate.
-Eaz Fremont, viii both. surely, provc,ihehs'Eves
ZJIa soldiers without fear aud feproaeh- when
- : they have an ktpdr's Investigation, Bat, to-
speak more candidly, we think is would best
sss;s subserye. his II paiaion'it Gen. PATTEEso
would retire to the privacy of his home and
s1S.s never let himself bebeard again. He Cheat
- and a hum5ug- never, 'Yas ct TO lead acol-
- umn, aud oughtynet Ia haFsdbeen iDtrusteI
= with. a command. In hi sspeech, which has
reproduced these remaI K, ne does ,,oi scruPle
sAs ySto assert q falsehood: gson the u of July.
he says, II crossed the PotomAc.ylnc The eu-
"a -, envy and whipped them; aS0a, every one,
$50 who is the leastIfamilur with the history OF
-s7sa operations on the upper Potomac, conducted
$50 by Gen. PATTERSON on the Federal side. aud
Gen. JOHNSTON on the Confederate, knows
80 this to be without foundation. Patterson
as never did have more than slight skirTnisb
Ss-s with our forces, and the result oi that gave
him such a wholesome dread of JOHNSTON
that he never came near him again; though
q JOHNSTON did every thing he could to induce
esai him to fight. The truth is PATTERsoN IL a
-si5 edisgtaced military man. He can say ner-do
any thing to redeem hiInseli, aud he had
- better follow old Lundy.s Lane to Europe,
- e and there bury himself till the memory OF his
degradation passes away: Efu
'l~@I Ia a brief speech shortly after the battle Of
Manassas Plains, he excused his failure t"
engage JOHNSTON at Winchester. by saying
ssthe great body of bis army were three months
men whose term of service was about 10 ex-
pIre, and he did not think it safe 10 60
further into Virginia with them He feared
they would abandon him. And his fears were
: {. justified by the fact that on the morning OF
s3 the 2Ist of July. when. the grand army
- marched to assault the Confederate lines, a
regiment of Pennsylvanianss whose term OF
-ssszservice expired that day, actually marched
-zGsback TO Washington and left the service!
Every thing considered, we think the hast
that Gen. PATTERSON says the better 1t viii
I,sbea not only tor himself, bus for his fellow
heroes of Pennsylvania. S-