Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1862-03-12
GENERAL FREMONTs DEFENCE.

A supplement of the New York Tribune
contains a long defence of General John
e. Fremont against the charge of the CON-
mittee on the conduct Of the war. 1t fills
five pages. The General states that he has
only answered the leading points brought
forward, as he did not desire to cumber his
defence with merely personal debates He
says:
when in July last. was assigned to the
command of the Western Department, it com
pretended with Illinois. all the States and
Territories west of the Mississippi river and
the Rocky Mountains, including New Mexico
No special object was given me in charge
to do, nor was furnished with any particu.
| lar plan of q campaign. The general dis
cussions at Washington resulted in the un
derstanding that the great object in view was
descent of the Mississippi, and for its ac-
complishment / was to raise and organize an
army, and when | was ready TO descend the
river | was to let the President know NV
command was then to be extended over Ken
lucky and down the left bank of the Mssis-
sippi. For military reasons it was Judged
expedient to do so in the beginning.
Full discretionary powers of the ample
kind were conferred on me. Not line of
written instructions was given me. The
leading object of the campaign being settled.
the details of its accomplishment and the
management of my department were left to
my own judgment
"While at Washington informed myself
fully of the unprepared condition of the west
and its want of arms, from the Governor of
Illinois"
The General then goes on to show that
from the utterly unprepared condition of
the western loyal troops, from the threaten
ing aspect of the rebellion, for the want of
any kind of artillery or Notifications, and
from the raw condition of the Federal
levies, he was forced to buy arms, to erect
Notifications, and to oversee the gigantic
field of operations from Cairo to the Rocky
Mountains.
The emergency, Gen F. thinks, justified
him in taking 100000 from the T. s. As
sistant Treasurer at St. Louis, and des-
patch from Hon. NJ. Blair shows that he
acted with his concurrence, for Mr.. Blair
says: you will have to do the best you
can, and take all needful responsibility >
LII TcIeTeHcc W Oeu. hyUhJ ucu. rTeLuone
says that his defeat at Springfield does not
lie at his door. Had Gen. Lyon been able
to adhere to his (Gen. Lyon's) own pro-
gramme before that battle, the defeat would
not have occurred. About Col Mulligan' s
defeat at Lexington, Gen. F says that G.
Cameron was calling on him for 5000 troop.
to 60 to Washington, and the danger Of
Cairo required other thousands of soldiers
from his department, so that hs could not
do everything in the world at once. How.
ever the General says:
'On the l4th. Gen. Sturgis was directed to
move, with all practical speed, upon Lexing'
ton. Gen. Popc's despatch of the 10th gave
me every reason to believe, as he did, that a
reinforcement of 1000 men, with artillery,
would be there in abundant time. and, if the
committee will take the time to read the accom-
panying papers, it will be seen that, from ev.
cry disposable quarter where there were troops
the promptest efforts were made to concentrate
them ON Lexington, but chance defeated these
efforts"