Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1862-12-03
Mn- nrnliANAN-a nrnLY

NNluUluIN NuN IU'h hI'll'A AllNnk. NV
has, nevertheless, Afforded mc nm oppDr
tunty az correcting mary nnfoundrd re-,
ports Which mad Tong burno iu pnlicnc,
and In silence in my answer, | have nj.
ready furnished clear and distinct res.
Iouses 10 all tho allegations Of Ger. Scott
aud In his rsjoindcr ho hos not called IL
o. cslion any of my statements, with q
single exception. Which ofu- is correct
in this particular depends uron he qucs'
ton whether his recollection Of nm cy ent
which occurred more than eighteen
months ago, OF the statement Of Mr. Holt
reduced to writing on tho very day, is en-.
titled to the greater crod't
The General, in the Introduction OF bis
reoindcr, assigns IA Rn excuse for the
criticisms on my public conduct that this
was merely incidental to his alleged ofi
cial report to President Lincoln on the
condition of our Notifications, and vas
not primarily intended for myself From
this statement one would conclude that
he had made such report. Bot where is
this 10 be Ioun&? For it he refers to the
hhHiyeucc of the Dist October; but there
| discover nothing but his letter Of iour
r2iuta 20 Mr. Seward, dated on the Sd
March, 1861, advising the incoming Pres .
ident how to guide his administration in
face of the threatening dangers to the
country. In the single Introductory sen 20
teuCe to this letter he barely relers to his
printed yiows, dated IN October, 1860
which had been long before the pubijc (;
but it contains nothing like an official res
port Oh the condition of the forliicatiOus,
Whether the Introduction of this letter
to the public, without the consent OF Pres
dent Lincoln, by one of tho General
friends, IL u political speech during
highly excited gubornatorial canvas, had
influenced him to prepare his criticisms
or my conduct, it j, not for me 20 deter.
mine.
At what period die Gen. Scott obtain
the six hundred recruits to which he re,
ferS in bis rGjoiEder? This was certainly
after the date ofhi5 "yiows," on Tho @Jth
October 1860; because in these he states
emphaticaly that the forces then At kis
command we're "in all five companies on.
Iy within reach to garrison or reinforce
the mine forts mentioned in the "yews.
Did he obtain these recruits in NOvem,
ber? If SO, had Ia visited Washington or
written and explained to mo in what
manner this military operation could be
accomplish ed by the four hundred in the
five companies and the six hundred re.
crults, | should have given his rcprescnN
tations all the consideration ominently
due to his high military reputation.
But he informs us he did not arrive in
Washington until the 10Th December His
second recommendation to garrison these
forts must consequently have been mad,
according to his own statement, on tina
18th, 18th, 23th, or 3Oth Of December, or
on more than one of these days At this
period the aspect of public affairs lad
greatly changed frcm what il was in Oc
tober Congress was now in session, ard
our relations with the Seeding Cotton
States had been placed before ITEM by
the Presidents message. Proceedings had
been instituted by that body with yiew
10 a compromise Of tho dangerous qucs.
tions between the North and the South:
and the highest hopes and Warmcst aepI.
rations were then entertained for their
success. Under thesc circumstances it
was the Presidents duty to take a broad
view of the condition OF the whole coun-
try, in all its relations, civil, industrial,
and commercial, az well rs military, Civ.
ing to each its appropriate inhGenco. It
was only from such q combination that he
could frame policy calculated to pres
serve the peace md to consolidate the
strength Of the Union. Isolated rccomN
mendations proceeding from one depart
ment, without weighing well their effect
upon the general policy, ought TO be
adopted with extreme caution.
But il seems from the rejOindcr that
Secretary Floyd at Richmond had claimed
the honor of defeating General SCOTS
"plan5 ard solicitations respecting the
forts. it being there" says the General
universally admitted that but for that
victory over me there could have been 10
rebellion" This is, in plain English, that
the secessiOnists Of the cotton SMtes, who
have since brought into the field hundreds
of thousands of undoubtedly brave sol>
diers would have abandoned in terror
their unlawful and rebelllous designs, had
General Scott distributed among their
numerous forts four hundred and eighty
men in October or one thousand men III
I December This requires no comment.
! have never been able TO obtain a copy of
the speech of Mr.. Floyd, at Richmond to
which presume General Scott refcls but
learned, both at the time and since,
from gentlemen OF high pectsbihtj
that in this same speech he denounced
ne most bitterly for my determination to
stand by and sustain the Union with all
the power possessed under the Cons.i.
tuition and the laws.
And here permit me to remark that il is
due TO General Scott as we'll as myself to
deny that there il any portion Of my an,
swer which justics the allegation that
"the ex.President snecys Ht my 'weak de-
rice' lthe words weak device being mark,
ed as a quotation) for saving the forts"
7 This mistake | must attribute to his "ac-
/ cidental visitor"
And in this connection I emphatically
declare that the General, neither before
nor after tho publication Of his "views" in
the National IatclAgcaccr of the 18th Janua.
'y, 1861, without my consent, assigned
any reason to me for making this publica.
tion, or ever even alluded to the subject.
In this ] cannot be mistaken, from the
deep impression which the occurrence
made upon my memory, for the reasons