The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1862-03-20


WAS prp,nrnrSr, W lsmSeroS, Apgasi 2, 1881.
.nc, orielinr tho two batteries for YOU yester.
day. Il spl,eats Que company has has no guns ana
tbs 9th a is In western Virginia neither can DC
wINFiELD Scorr.
will not comment ON the disappointment
the General must have felt but he toilcd
on with almost daily drawbacks like these
When arrived at st. Louis. on the lAth
of September. saw Lieutenant Governor
Hall lie told me that Price was marching
through the cchtef Of Missouri, mp toward
LeN,nntou, with fifteen thousand men, and
flint Fremont ought to send out n column
for tho purpose OF interoepting and captur-
ing them ] asked him how many men Ere.
mont had in 81. Louis He said he had
twenty thousand mon, and spoke with great
positiveness as to the number. thought
II that wss correct there could be no excuse
for not sending them and went to head
quarters at once TO see General Fremont
told him il was represented that he had
twenly-thousand mon in st Louis, that Price
wal marching on Lexington with a large
fore, and urged that force hc sent without
delay t. cut him off. lie replied Mr.
Collax, will tell you conhdentially how
many we have in st. Louis though | would
not have it published Oh tho streets for my
life. The opinion in the city is that we
have twenty thousand mcu here, and this
gives us strength. If it wcie known here
what was the actual number. our enemies
would be promptly informed. But | will
show you how many there are" lie rung
the bell and the Secretary brought in the
mustcr-roils of the morning. | read them,
and there wore in the city, and for a circuit
OF seven miles round, less than eight
thousand men, honeguards and all. There
were actually but two full regiments, and
the remainder Of the force was made up
Of fragmcntary and undisciplincd regiments
of two hundred and City, four hundred, and
six hundred mon. 1t was u beggarly array
of en army, in proportion to what was
needed ut that time, for the defense even of
that city against enemios without or within,
and told him SO. But" said !, "can I
YOU spare some of these men ~ Tho tears
stood in his eyes, as hc handed me two tel.
egraphic dispatches, inst received by him,
which read then with pain and sadness,
and will read now, and the House can Judge
how they aided him in his plans for the re.
enforcement of Mullgan, or the capture of
Prices army.
WASHINGTON, September IL, 1861.
To Major General Fremont;
On consultation with the President and head ot
Department, il was determined to call upon YOU for
five thousand we'll armed infantry, TO be seut here
without moments delay. Give thcn three days
cooked ratons This draft from your forces to be
replaced by you from the States of Illinois, Iowa
Kansas, etc How many men have you under arms
III your distriot2 Please answer fully aud imme-
dittely. SIMON CAMERON, Secy Of Var,
WAsuINGroS, September Ia, 1861.
To Major General FREMoNT
Detach five thousand infantry from Your Depart
mcnt, tn come here without delay and report the
number OF troops that will be LEFT with you. The
President dictates. WINFIELD SCoTT.
| have shown you before that there were
regiments there waiting, without guns, and
yet, when under these desperate circun-
stances, General Fremont bought guns, the
hest he could get, he was denounced because
they wcrenot Springfield muskets OF Enfield
rifles, or the best arms known to the service.
lie was not allowed to send unarmcd rcgi-
ments, TO be armed after they reached
Washington, or on the road. From these
ho could have filled the order easily, But
they must he wcll-armed infantry" And
he had been begging for " arms, arms of any
KIND, the whole fifty days he had beer i'll
command in the West, but mostly in vain
aud now five thousand well-armed infant.
ry We're needed to swell the force of the
army of the Potomac. do not nlludc to
this to critcse. Like Fremont, believe
the capital of the country was first of all
20 be defended, and if he was foicd in hi,
plans ny demands like these, at such crit
ical moment, impartial history hereafter will
show that it was his misiortue, not his
fault.
We here pass over two columns Of very
Interesting evidence which our limited space
prevents us publishing Ed,
Now, to appreciate the difficulties Goncra
Fremont had TO contend with in bringing
any considerable number of men to any one
point, YOU must remember tho extended
frontier, and the large number Of posts he
had to defend. Troops were stationed, and
had to be, not only al st. Louis and Cairo
but all through North Missouri, at LeNmg
ton, at Jefferson City, at Rolla, ut honton
at Cape Grardeau, at Birds Point, at Fort
Holt, opposite Cairo, at Norfolk, at Mound
City, at Paducah and many other points
Judge Blair tcstiies how difficult it was fol
him. here at the Capital and with the inHu
cnce welded by member of the Cabinet
to obtain attention to Western interests, OF
compliance with Western acquisitions, Bu
Fremont, with troops constantly ordered
away from hun, with u plentiful lack o
guns, with credit impaired, il not ruined
by the possibility of his removal, (and
since then these creditors have seen THEN
claims delayed for months till examined 10y
board of commissioners, and even still
unpaidl was expected TO organize victory
aud triumph over every adverse circum-
stance.
But let us look further, and see what wat
the condition of affairs when Price marche,
upon Lexington. Why, sir, at the yer,
time whom Price, with from fifteen to seven
teen thousand men, was threatening I.eN
ingtOn, Mccullough was threatening Roll
and Jefferson City, lIardee was threatening
lronton, in Southeast Missouri and Poll
and Pillow, with a number of troops esti
mated at from twenty to twenty-siX thous
and, We're down at Columbus, threatening
our inferior forces at Cairo and in addition
10 that, there were the forces of Jeil
Thompson, Martin Green, and other guerri
land bands ; and there were organized band
OF rebels in every county in the State. Tn
State was heaving and secth;ng with insm
Tection under his feet and he had To restor
it to its loyalty. All this Fremont had 4
encounter, with nearly eighty thousand ret
els threatening all these exposed point;
with the disloyalists at their homes, an
with an inadequate force TO meet tho enc
my. Sir, responsibility was thrown upo
him which | would not to-day take upo
my shoulders for the best office in the g
of the American people.
THE INVESTIGATING COMMITTEE.
While ho was struggling nobly to PEI
form his duty, from every side came III
poisoned arrows of calumny, and tho q
pdrte testimony of tho investigating con