Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-11-12
LETTER FROM Ex.PREsIDENT
EsTeHs eWaN

To the Editors OF the National Inteligencer:
On Wednesday last I received the NatiOna
IHtslligencer, containing General ScOtts zddres
10 Che public. This is throughout an BHdis
guised censure Of my conduct during the les
months of ths RoEli,is tThtion, IN regard TO tb
seven cotton States now in rebellion. From on
past relations, was greatly surprised at th,
= appearance Of such q paper Ia oAe ssBee.
however, II was hghly gratifying. Il has jasti
. fed Ee 5; nay It hes rendered it absolutely
necessary thar should 40 longer reuain siiou
9 ii respect to charges which have bsen lens
vaguely circulating, but are row indorsed by th,
! responsible name OF General Scott.
: l., The FIRST and most prominent among these
chsyges, is my refusal Immediately 10 garrison
nine enumerated fortifcaiOns, scattered over
SIX Of the SoathsTn States, according 10 the
recommendation Of Gen. Scott, in his views
{ addressed to The War Department on the 29A
, sud 30lh Of October, 1860 And it has even
been alleged thst if this had been done il might
have prevented she civil war.
The refusal Is sttribu;ed, without the least
cause, 70 the iHh0enes Of Governor Floyd All
ny Cabinet must bear me witness that ]
was the President myself responsible for al
/ the acts OF the administration; aud Certain it is
that, during tbe last six months previ0uy TO tbs
29th, Of December, 1860 (the dsy on which he
resigned bis ofiss alter any requestl he sxeT-
cissd less influence OF. the administration thsu
J any oiher member OF the Cabinet hff Hnlt
WAS immediately thereafter transferred from the
kPostcfico Department 10 thst OF Wars so that
from tnis time uoth the 4sh OF March, 1861
which was by far the most important period tf
abe adminisrstlon, he performed the duties Of
Secretary OF War 70 my entire satisfaction.
Bot why did / not Immediately garrison these
nine f3rtitieations in such manner, to use the
! language of General Scott, as 10 make any At
tempt to take any one of them by surprise or
coup ds-Bain ridiculous There is one an
I sHer, both easy aud conclusive. even If other
I valid reasons did not exist. Ihers were no
/ available troops withia reach which could be
/ sent to these i0rtitic atoms To have attempted
a military operation on a scale 50 extensive, BY
I any means within the Presidents power. would
! have been siuFly sbsUrd. OF this General
/ Scott himself seems to have been c3nvipced, for
on the day after the date Of MS st 90 views "
views tO the War Department, ia which he
states There is one (regulsT) company IN
f. Boston one here (at the NaTOws oUe st Pitts
/ burg, one At Augusta Georgia oue st Baton
I Rouge in ell, five companies only within
Teach, to garisoa or reinforce the forts meuioued
IN tie views
FIvs companies-four bundrsd meB-to oecu-
py and reinso nine f0rti6cati0ns Ia six highly
exciled Southern States The force within
more need De said on the subject. 20 have st-
tempted such miitsry operation with 50 feeble
s tcIcs, and the Presidential election impending,
would have been an invitation 10 collision and
/ secession Indeed, if the whole Anericanarmy,
consisting then Of only sixteen thOusa8d men,
I had been " within reach, they would have been
scarcely sufficient for tsis purpose. Such was
ouT WEnt of troops that, although General Scott,
| believing, IN opposition to the opinion of the
ccmmiitee raised IN the House OF Represents
tYes- tbst the Inauguration cf Mf Lincoln
might be Interrupted by military force Was only
able 70 assemble ~ Washington, 80 lste as tbs
4th Of March, SIX bundled and 6ry-three men,
rank snd fs Of the army And 20 make up
this army, even the ssppeTs and miners were
brought from West Point.
Bat why was there no greater force within
reach This question could 30 better answered
by General Scott himself than any other person
Our small regular army, VITA the exception Of
q few hundred men, were ont Of reach, on cur
remote frontiers, where it had been continuously
ststiole3 for years, 20 protect the iuhsbitsnts
and she emigrants or their way thithsr asa.nst
the attacks Of hostile Indians. Al were insut-
hcieut, aad both General Scott and myself had
efldeavored in vain 10 prcvsI upon CODgreSs 70
raise several additional regiments for this pur-
pose. Ia recommending this augmentation ef
the army, the general states ia his report 10 the
War Department OF November, 1857, that '' it
would not more than furnish the reinforeemsnts
nov greatly needed in Florida, Toxas, New
/ Msxieo. California, Oregon, Washington Terri
! tory, kahsss, Nebraska, Minnesota, leaving
not company for Utah " Aad agsia, il his
report Of November 1853, he says:
" This want Of troops to gire reasonable
| security TO ogr citizens in distant settlements,
! including emigrauts on the plains, cen scarcely
be TOO strongly stated bus viii oaly sid thst,
/ As often as we haze been obliged 70 withdraw
/ troops from the frontier in order to reinforce
1 another, the weakened points have been IN
sisntly attacked or threatened with formidable
I inTssiOn.'
These views" Of General Scott exhibit tbe
| crude notiors then prevailing even among intel
lgent and patriotic men on tbs subject of seces-
sion. In tie FIRST sentence The general, while
ststirg that, to save time the Of secession
may be cQpceded, yet Immediately says This
| is instantly balanced by the cOrrelstve right on
| The part Of the Federal government REainst On
interior State or States to re-establish BY force
if necessary, its former contiunity OF tsrritsry -
(For this be eites Psley's Moral ana Political
Philosophy" last cbspier Il may bs there, but
have been unable 70 find it) While it Is diff
cult TO ascertain his precise meeuing ia this
passage, he renders what be did not mean quite
clear in his supplementary views In these
he says - Il wII be se-a that the views oaly
apply 70 a case of secession that makes a gap
IL TIE present Union"
: The falling of, ssy Of Texas, or OF ali the At
.sntic S a'es, nom TIE Potomac south (the Very
case which has occurred), was not within the
scope CT General ScOtt's " provisional remedies y
hst is 70 say, to establish by force if necessary,
the continuity Of our territory. In his views
BE- also states as follows. But break this glo-
rious Union by hstever Hus or lines that polit-
SsaT r1e1gess qoufeiva and flaro yro44l1 ha
10 hope Of recruiting The fragments, except By
the laeeFaiioa and despOtism OF the sword. To
eject such result the intestine wars OF cur Mex
cAn neighbors wcuid, iu comparison with ours,
sink icto mere cbilds pay" In lhs generals
opinion, smaller Ell (tkan these intestine
vars would be to allow The fragments Of the
great republic TO form themselves INTO new con
iederscies, probably four"
He then points cut what ought to be the
boundaTies between the new Unions and 8, the
end Of eacb, goes 90 f8F as even to indicate the
cities which onght 70 be The capitals Of the three
irst on TINS side Of the Rocky Mountsins, to-
Wit. f" Colamba, S nth Carolina. ~ Alton. or
Quincy, Illinois, sad 50 .bsny, New York, y
excluding Washington City altogether This
indication Of capitals, contained IN the original
now in my possession, Is earious;y omitted in
the version published in the National T4telligsn-
oer. he design&tss 10 capital for tie fourth
Union on the Pacific. The Tesdsr viii Judge
what encouragement thsse views, procsedine.
from 20 distinguished source must have sff rd-
ed 10 the sscessi0nists Of the cotton Ststes
4 trust hsvs said fenoBgb and more than
enough, TO convince every mind why I did net,
with q force Of FIVE composites, attempt to rem
force Forts Jackson ard ST. Phillip on The Mis-
sissippi; Pert Boree p, below M6bre Forts
iPjckens and McIss, in Pensacols bsrboI; Fort
Pulaski, beloz Ssvannsb Forts MouliTie and
Sar.er, Charleston bsTbor, aud Fortress Mon
Il roe, VHgiEis.
These svievss," both original sn1 supp, ,emen-
tary, were published BY General Scott in tha
N6fioHaJ IaieliigsHccT Of January 1S 1851, at
the most important and critical period of tie
administration TheiT pubiieah0u, At that tine,
could do 20 possible COED, and might DO IBueb
/ b.r-s 20 heV,s r44tfished then, sv7ithc41f the