Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1862-12-04
GENERAL FLOYD AND raE STOLEN ARMS

A'
In his nj binder TO General Scott, tI President
Bocs.n,n thus .llude, to the charge that General Floyd,
While Secretary Of War, stole SInI from the United
s ats Government, With the view Of preparing for the
rebellion:
should have nothing more 10 add had G,n. Scott In
hi, r,ioinder, confined himself TO the topics embraced
10 hs original letter. He has extended them, and nov
for the 6 .. time, in . sarcastic aud no Kindly spirit, n
fsrs 10 the alleged stealing OF public arms BY Secretary
FLOYD and their transportation 70 the South In Antioipa'
ton Of the rebellion. The most conclusive answer to
this allie CATION 10 that, notwithstanding the boosting CT
Mr.. FLOYD at r chmond, evidently with the vies Of con.
ciliainR hls new allies, cited by the General as bis au-
thori,y, no public Armi we're ever stolen. This fac. is
| e~stsbisned BY the report OF the OoIa nittee on. N liary
Az .irs of the Ho1se Of Representatives, nov before me,
mads BY Mr.. Stanton Of Ohio, their Chairman, on tie
IS b February, 1851, and to be found in the secoud
v Jluue Cf the Reports Of Committees OF the House for
the sess' on Of ls6O-ol. Pts report, Ali the testimony
| before the Committee es,aol sh:
1. That the Southern States received In 1860 less In
stead OF more than the IoA Of arms to which they
we're entitled by Law, aud that thr,e OF them-North
| Carolina, Mississippi aud KAntucky-receivsd no arms
| whatever, and this simply because they did not ask for
! them. Well may Mr.. s anton have said ia the House,
".hAt there are a good deal Of III uors and sF6c ilation
| and misAppreLsl svn as 10 the true state Of fAcs in re-
gard TO this matter
2 Secretary Floyd, under t~u-piolouI circumstances,
| on the 22i D oember, 1850, and but q fs~ dsys before
| b, left the Department, had, " .thout the knovle1g Of the
| Presid snt, or Tered lis coum6iad5 and II S2-p)unders
| 10 be tral soor OF from Pils urg TO shfp Island and al
| weston, in Mississippi and f,Ii4. TITS tact was brought
10 the knowlcdgs OF the President by a communiCs ion
from Pftsbcrg aud Secretary HOl. inme1 aely there
| sfter couaterm Anded the order Of his predecessor, and
| the clrnpa we're never at The p-onptiGude with
| which We acted el c',sd q gote Of thanks, dated the III
Of January, lssi, from the Seltc: and Common Councils
of that city TO the Presia ,nt tes Attorney G'ncri, and
Il n. A .... c.. ~ VIZ . INT Anltl
After this statement hcW shall We AGO )unt for ,bs eE.
| Mi II declaration OF Gel. Scott that, 'acciden.a ally h,R7.
log early 10 March that under this pos.humous order
| (that OF 4. Floyd OF the AL Dec ,mbc') the ~ahipnent
Of these guns had commenced, | commuI icated the Tact
| 10 s secretary Holt, (Ioiny for Secretary Camcroul jlst
10 time TO deiCa. the robbery" Aud this is the ssme
| Secretary Holt Who Lad co~untermlnded "Ebo posthu.
/ NOUS order" Ia the previous December. And, strange
| 70 say, thee guns, but for tie alleged interpretation OF
| Gen. & 1T, we're TO be cent 50 late as ha'el, from the
| loyAl States Into those ever which J.f Json Davis bad
| then for some time presided.
Had q neral Scott -A--'sd rcr a moment ne could
-. 49, S.rr5n INTO this blunder. II IL q lite manifest
he vas "Withcut q ptinted document and my (his) own
oficiI pIpers"
S Toe GpverrneRt bad on hand 10 the year 1889,
about 800 coo old muskcts, which had been condemned
"as unsuitable for public service " under The &C: Of the
81 Of March, 1873 They we're Of such 8 character
that. although Ch.red both q; public aud private sale
for 81 so each, purchasers could not be Obtained At that
rate, enc "! for = c comparatively small nuuber. o. the
| 30 h OF November, 1883. Score airy Floyd ordered about
ols.fth OF tie whole number UO5 000) 10 be sent from
tae springf laid Armory, where they had a eumul It'd, TO
fys SoutIeIn arsenals, TN proportion 20 thtir respective
| means Of piopsv storage" This ord, vas carried into
effect by the 0rdnarc s Bureau, In thS uuSl course Of
Aimiustrsti0n and without referotcI to the President.
Il Is bu; justics 70 fGy that from the testimony before
| the Conmitte, ,htrs 10 no reason 70 suspect that Secre-
airy Floyd Issued this order from Any sinister motive -
les date was months before Mr.. Lincoln's noEinstion for
he Presidency, and nearly a year b ioro his election,
aud while the So eiary vAl stll al Gvo~ed opponent
Of secss,ion. Indeed, the testimony Of OBJ. Craig and
Gap. kAynadier, Of the Ordinances, b,ore the Conmi-
tee is wholly Inconsistent with any evil intention on his
part.
And yet these condemned mltkets," with a few
Thousand aDcicn. Ia - Of a ciibre then no logger used,
are transformed by G N. Scott into " ll5 900 extra mu',
ksts aud rh q, with all their implements and ammu1i.
ion." This is the ace. time | have heard-cer ainly
there was nothing Of the kind before the Committee
that ammunition was sent With those condemned and in-
fsrior arms to their p'ases Of storage-juss ~ though
they had bsen intended, not for sale, but for immediate
use 10 tho field. The truth Il, that it Is impossible TO
steal arms and transport item from one depository to
another without the klowl dge aud active par ~icipltion
Of the Off Jers Of the o dlar CT B IreSu, both In Wash.
irgton and a. those repositories. /; may DO observed
that Col. C-Sig, the head Of he B Ireau NJ this period.
ives as correc. an officer ard a. loyal and as honest a
mAn a. 'xiI;s in the country.
Your, very respectfully,
Whtatland, near Lancaster. Nov. II, 1852