Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg general advertiser. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1850-1866, 1862-11-15

force "within reach" was so entirely in
adequate that nothing more need be said
on the subject To have attempted such a
military movement with so feeble force,
and the Presidential election impending
would have been an invitation to collision
and secession: Indeed, iftho whole Amer.
lean army, consisting then of only sixteen
thousand men, had been "within reach, ~
they would have been scarcely sufficient
for this purpose. Such was our want of
troops, that, although Gen. Scott, belev-
ing in opposition to the opinion Of the
committee raised in the House of Repre-
sentativos, that the inauguration of Mr.
Lincoln might be interrupted by military
force, was only able to assemble at Wash
ington, SO late as the 4th of March, six
hundred and fifty three men, rank and file
of the army. And, to make up this mum.
ber, even the sappers and miners were
brought from West Point.
But why was there no greater force
within reach This question could be
better answered by General Scott himself
than by any other person. Our small
regular army, with the exception of few
hundred men, were out of each, on our
remote frontiers, where it had been con.
tinuously stationed for years, to protect
the inhabitants and emigrants, on their
way thither, against the attacks of hostile
Indians. All were insufficient, and both
Gen. Scott and myself endeavored in vain
to prevail upon Congress to raise several
additional regiments for this purpose
In recommending this augmentation of the
Army the General states, in his re-
port to the War Department, of
November, 1857, that "it would
not more than furnish the reinforce
ments now greatly needed in Florida, Tex
as, New Mexico. California, Oregon,
Washington, (T.0 Kansas, Newbraska,
Minnesota, leaving not company for
Utah." And again, in his report Of Nov.
1858, he says:
"This want of troops, to give reasona-
bic security to our citizens in distant set
Elements, including cmigrants on the plains
can scarcely be too strongly stated ; but l
will only add, that as often as we have
been obliged to withdraw troops from
one frontier in order to reinforce another,
the weakened points have been instantly
attacked or threatened with formidable
INVASION
ThSse "viows" of General Scott exhib-
it the crude notions then prevailing even
among intelligent and patriotic men on
this subject Of secession. In the first sem
tence the General, whilst stataing that 'to
save time the right Of secession may be
conceded yet Immediately says "this is
instantly balanced by the correlative right
on the part of the Federal Government
against an interior State or States to re.
establish by force, if necessary, its former
continuity of territory" (For this he
cites, "Paley's Moral and Political Phil
osophy, last chapter" 1t may be there,
but l have been unable to find it.) Whilst
it is difficult to ascertain his precise mean
ing in this passage, he renders what he
did not mean quite clear in his supple
mentary views In these he says: "It
will be seon that the "views" only apply
to case of secession that makes a GAP in
the present Union. The falling off say of
Texas, or all the Atlantic States, from
the Potomac South, (the very thing which
has occurred y was not within the scope of
General SCOTS provisional remedies !"
that is to say, to establish by force, if me-
cessary, the continuity of our territory. In
his views he also stated as follows /: But
break this glorious Union by whatever line
or lines that political madness may con-
trive, and there would be no hope of re-
cruitng the fragments except by the lacer-
alton and despotism OF the sword 10
effect such result the intestine wars of
our Mexican neighbors would in compar-
ison to ours, sink into mere child's play"
In the cnerals opinion, ga smaller evil
Chan these intestine wars) would be to
form themselves into new Comic deracies,
probably four" lie then points out what
ought 10 be the boundaries between the
new Unions; and at the end of each goes
so far as even to indicate the cities which
ought to be capitals of the three first on
this side of the Rocky Mountains, to wit,
columbia, South Carolina" 'Altona or
Quincy, Illinois,, and Albany New
York. excluding Washington City alto
gether. This indication of capitals con
tanned in the original now in my posses
sion, is curiously omitted in the version
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