Daily Democrat and news. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1859-1864, 1862-10-23

In yesterdays Gazette appeared
lev gsrbisd extracts from the alleged
letter Of Gen. Ksarney to bis friend y.
3. Halstssd. Tho extfscts puo''sneo
bv our considerations contemporary are
.n.b alone y reflect upon the military
character Of Gen. Met lellan. OF course
that 10 the style oftbat paper. 1t
would mot publish the schole letter
oh, no that would be letting the cat
out Of the bag that would show the
weakness and moral, - we'll ~ military
depravity, Of the letter. We publish the
document entire. Gen. Kearny's a.
saults are not directed alone to Gen.
McClsllan-they are made upon all the
officers Of the army. Says he to his
sDear Pet" ave have no generals"-
excepting, Of course, Pope aud himself
He says, Mcclellan 10 . failure;"
" Sumner is . bull in . China shop, and
. bluuderer !" Gen. e. lost his corps
gratuitously;" Gen. g. is . small
brain ossi6ed ;" "Portcr is as weak as
waters" Generals L. and Franklin
are dangerous failures )" Gen. G
was drunk, and l know Of no other feat
Of his !" "Hooker started out on a crude
expedition :" and so it goes on through
the obapter-no generals in the field
bat Kearny and Pope. This shows
exactly how much the letter is worth,
and how much credit there is to be at
tached to it. We hope Kearny never
wrote il. 1t betrays something wrong
IN the matchmaking that We would
not like TO find in any general.
"Get my fighting division with Pope"
writes the traducer Of generals, and
great things would DO accomplished.
"With Pope's army" he says, 81 would
breathe sgain." This Wholesale de-
nunciation of the leading generals Of
the army Of the Potomac does not well
become Gen. Kearney. Mcclellan,
Sumner, Porter, Franklin, Smith, Casey,
Hsintzelman, Keys, and others, arc the
objects Of his wrath and ridicule, while
Pope alono comes up to his ideal stand
ard Of the true military man-and
Kearny added. We repeat, wo wish
the letter had never been published.
Mot because it brings us to think less
Of tho generals Of the army Of Virginia,
but because il makes us think less ofthe
man who wrote it. Surely, If Mr.. Hal
stead had been the true friend of Gen.
Kearney, he would never have permit
ted it to come befor the public.
There is one point in this letter which
10 alone conclusive evidence that the
writer was not sane when he wrote it.
Complaining that he was not fully ap-
prcciated, Gen. Kearny says:
"Do they forget that was appointed
twelfth on the original list That l, on
the heels Of Bull Run, faced the enemy
with JERSEY brigade in advance Of ali
Others, Nc Nellan, Mcdowell, ct id
omane genus, nearly forcing me to come
back Of the Seminary"
Mcclellan at Bull Run! lie was. AZ
everybody knows, in Western Virginia,
and had no more to do with Bull Run
than Kearny had with Bunker Hill
Mcclellan was called to Washington to
organize the demoralized Bull Run sol.
diers after the disgrace vas earned.
The Washington Star thus comments
upon this Kearney letter:
"Personally brave as Julius Caesar. he
was noted in the army for self-conceit
with reference to his professional abili
ties, never ceasing jealousy of his Co.
temPoraries one and all, utter reckless
moss Of the manner in which he was &C.
customed to air that failing of his, and
. lack Of ordinary professional discre-
tion which made him VIGOROUSLY unfit
to be trusted with military responsible
ties, except under the eye and absolute
control Of superior officer. The mani
festation of these characteristics account
tor his original resignation from the
service; and it is deeply to be regretted
for the sake Of his postbumous fame
gallant soldier - he really was-that
on returning to it he did no. re- enter the
army With his mind aud character prop.
erly tempered by his increased wears
and more enlarged experience with the
world. - his letter in question proves
he failed to do.
.What his judgment Of his superior
Officers is worth may be realized from
the fact that while be sneers at MoCIel.
Ian, heintzelman and Hooker, and in
deed every one else 10 the army then on
the Peninsula who stood directly or in.
directly 10 the path of his overwhelming
ambition, the only officer in the service
Except himsel0 in whom his letter gees
any merit whatever, is no other than
Gen. John Pope."
BsrrER TAKE IT BAck.-Dunham
the villain Of the Burlington Ha,ckeve
was mean enough to call those soldier.
who voted the Democratic ticket, tories
This indignity could not be brooked bv
those brave men who had left home
and family to fight the battles of thei,
country, and We are informed by thu
Angus that . committee of those s.me