The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1862-02-22
The Arrest of Gen. stone.

The arrest of Gen. Stone is one oil
those striking incidents in the course ol
the war that cannot fail to excite public
attention. Until almost the moment o
his arrest he was in command of one
of the most important divisions of the
army, and must have been possessed OF
the details of our projected campaign.
He appears to have had, until very
recently, if not until the last, the entire
confidence of the General-in Chief, as
he had previously shared that of Gen.
Scott. That such man, who, when
Washington was belcaguered in April
last, rendered his services to organize
the District Militia, and who has been
eight months in active service, should
be arrested for treason, may well startle
the community, used as it had become
to detection and insincerity among
military officers, in the. early days in
the rebellion. r..--.-- r
And yet if any we'll informed man
in this, or any other State North, had
been asked to point ont the most likely
man to be arrested upen such charge
he would have designated Gen. Stone
For long time-ever since the Balls
Bluff slaughter-he has been the most
unpopular man III the army. He has
been generally believed to be respon.
sible for that great calamity. and it has
been almost, impossible to reconcile the
leading known facts of that terrible
affair, with sincere devotion to the
Union cause, and ordinary skill as q
commander. But had he been innocent
of that great crime, the shadow of il
falling upon any ordinary. man, in tbs
responsible relations he occupied to it
would have been panied and subdued
But not SO with Gen. Stone; he has beer
reoklessly defiant, . and all manner OF
unsatisfactory reports. of his conysrsa-
tiop and action have reached the public
through numerous channels. Whether
guilty or not, his usefulness was gone,
and he should in deferance to the
popular demand. have been dismissed
long ago. But it seemed that even
investig alton was denied. 81,
90 1t is now, however, apparent that
investigation into the Balls Bluff dis.
aster. was going on, dbuto not in the
quarter to which the. eyes of the public
were directed. In inauguration of .
wholesome custom, Secretary Stanton
to whose courageous earnestness we
are indebted for this arrest, gives to
the public at once, the. specific crimes
with which, Gen. Stone is charged, and
as we scrutinize the fearful indictment,
we know that the arres: could only
have been determined upon 40 the re.
suit of patient and ndedinvestiga,
ton. Fl 1t will doubtless be surmised
and probably be charged in some
quarters, that political luminosity and
military hatred have had the most TO
do with the arrest of Gen. Stone. but
all accounts agree that the most serious
and persistent charges against hin
came from the men in the division oi
the army under his command4-the yer,
persons who would know best, for the,
have seen most. IT ...a.- .:,,5.,., 49,,
What will strike the public in thi.
arrest most, next to the gravity OF ths
charges upon which it is made, are It'll
peculiar iimeiinessf Z and the icourage
that dared to order it, AS to the frs'
point, we must remember, that the pres
ent is the most critical time in the his
leory Of the war. The srniy is at las