The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1862-04-19
1ubmonh pispafl1.
SATURDAY MORN' t.... april 10, lssa.


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SATURDAY MORN t..... APRIL 10, isss.
The Fort Doneison Investigation.
AS the public are informed. the specisi
committee to whom was referred this matter
nave made report 70 me House. AoolintnG
a. present to announce the conclusion Of the
committee, owing 70 the msss Of testimony
yet To be acc nm ulated; bat submitting that
already oetiiaed, aud asxinG II to b prinsed
Tor the use OF nembsfs.
In addition to this rer ort, two Of the com.
mittee. Msssrs. Fsots aud Bruce. Asked leave
&c present minority report, expressing an
op!aion upon some OF the subjects In volv Cd in
the iuvestig alton; but consent not having
been obtained, it was not presented. Some
portions OF II, however, have been Published,
and IL IL deemed proper to pu olish the fol.
iOwtrg extrasts touching the same points
from . report prepared In response thereto
by another member OF the committee, Mr.
barksdais, OF Mississippi. The reception OF
the latter was not asked By It's author after
he resusN OF the House. pnasr the rules, to
receive the former: -
tIxrRAcr
The undersigned solemnly protests against
tue conclustons emu neratad IA that report in
relation 70 the conduct OF Generals Ftoy and
Pillow, In the matter OF the surrender OF
Fort Donei.on. He prote ,ts that il 10 not the
province CT the committee, aud that II was
&c part Of the intention of the House, TO In
,erfere with the constitutional prercg atives
Of the President, who deemed the suspension
OF those ON ,ers to Dc proper, until TN inves.
fiEation OF thttr eonduct could be Instituted.
Sorupuious to do 60 injustice, the under
sigaed declines 10 express any definite cpin-
Ian IA is.attou - the acts of those Generals
cnths occ ls,on referred te, until fall IT, to<-
nation apon the suhJrct snail have bee0 re-
cetvsd.
with tbs Lights now before the committee,
the undersigned has net been able TO arrive
"a, the conclusion stated In the report hersto-
fore mentioned, that all the Inquiries pro-
pounded by the War Department, have been
Enthusiastically answered by those Generals D.
/: Is q painful factIhat, while that rsport ex
presses an identical opinion upon the ccnduo.
OF both OF those otacers. their off1csal reports
cor dic. with ami contradict each other in IS.
ssntiai And important particulars. Both can
not be right
Ia the reports Of one of these of1 GERS, laen.
EloyG,l II ie state1 that In the council OF war
be exscted az condition Of the surrender the
he aid taSe away hIs own brigade, by cut.
ung through the lines Of the enemy, or other
wise, The uIdersi yned canr OF conceive why
single brigade was thought 70 bs equal TO
SUCH IA untertakiog, when * was not deemed
.attsirahie by tho entire force ander his com.
mand.
The undersignei deems /. due to the State
OF hiississtrpi, and 10 the galIsnt men of the
Twenusth Mississippi regiment. to declare
that, until some more :. satisfactory evi.
depee is produced to justify the abandonment
OF tbs; regiment t. captivity by The General
vhess fortunes 1, had followed, while The
other regiments OF his command, raised In
his own nsighbornood. were afforded facility
for escaping IN the only steam boa's at the
For, he can join in no such report AZ the
siguers Of the on Q in question have deemed 1t
tnsir duty to submit
In his supplemental report, Gen. Floyd
has Sta ed that "no one Of the regimen. s''
composing his command, "wes wholly saved
or wholly ieff;' bat IL 10 within the know.
ledge OF the COMMITTEES that The 10Th Mis-
eissippi regiment Is an exception to the re j.
mark--notex exceeding six mt mbers of that reg
i'm snt having escaped with Gen Floyd The
''three hundred members Of the regiment
reported ty him to have been ''saved," it 30
happens, were, for the most part, absent from
the fort when the battle was foug ht, at home,
or In hospitals, on furlough, sick leave, &c.
or the entire nun Der (about ooo) who were in
the battle, none comparatively We're "saved'
la TIL boats which took away the main por
tisns Of the other regiments, com posing Gen.
Eloyd's brigade. A few escaped by land after
the departure OF IT, g bOats, without moles sta
ton By the enemy.
The undersigned submits that it required
the exercise Of more than ordinary ingenuity
to construe, az the signers of the above.n emo d
rerort have done, the unofficial letter OF the
lamented Gen a.. >. johnston, dated Ma1ch
16Gb, ss an expression OF his approval Of the
Surrender of Fort Donelson. In a spirit OF
lnaenqnimity, he fpsf ks in general terms OF
his confidence Gin the gallautry, energy, and
devotion TO the cause of the Confederacy" of
Generals Floyd and Pillow; but he refrains
from any expression impl wing his approval
OF their cOnduc: in that afl;r. On the con-
triry, he oeclare d that "events (su bRequen: to
the fall Of Fort Uonelson) shoa that The Unrest
not C0Mplefe az their Information
from their scouts I'D Them to btliepe''
il was upon Information thus pronounced
II be erroneous by the General In command
Of :he depaT mect that the fatal surrender
was made, consigning TO captivity the gallant
my, who. according to testimony taken By
the COMMITTEES, were able aud eager to cut
their way. II need hs, out o! the lines Of the
enemy.
In the same unofiiciai letter Of Gen John.
stop, he uses the following language, which
certainly forbids the construction pi aced upon
the words tnccrpora ted in the report to which
this 10 @ response. He seys: "When the force
was detached, (for the defence CT Doneiron }
have been made a. would have enabled the
forces to defend the fort, ettAdvap uihoNt sac.
y.fcisS tAs arrays On the l4th, ordered Gen.
Floyd, by telegram, ~ h loss The fort. TO get his
forces back TO Nashsile."
Whether Gen. Johnston found in the cir.
Sufficient reason for the failure OF the Gene.
raj In command to execute this order, Is not
stAted In his letter. He preferred to await the
opportunity OF obtaining all the facts, end to
weigh them impartiailS, before expressing an
opinion.
The undersigned impn.es no improper mo.
lives to the authors OF tho report; but his
own ter % OF duty tmpels him to protest
against their c1nclustons being approved by
this House under circumstances so exuacrdi.
nary a. those which he has detailed.
T. BARxsDAlR.