Arkansas true Democrat., 1862-03-13
JOHN HAMPTON.
-ss -< <3A.- --azsr---

F3s part of the ofIieersof Col. Gantts regi- ment seem to have wrought themselves into in- tensely trotAy and furious condition. Ihe cause Of this seems to be tho noticcw made, some weeks since, of Col Gantts want ofqualifcaton as q reg imenta commander The example We gave was the conduct of the regiment at this place. There may be an explanation necessary to uninformed people i'll regard To this matter; which is. that the misconduct of d regiment or body of men under military orders, ls always the fault ofthe command ing officer. One not having any experience i'll matters of this kind, would be astonshed at the action of q body of soldieIs-~al good moral men al home-when freed from restraint by their com manding officer. They run into all manner of ex- cceses, and do things at the thought Of doing which they would shudder at home. AS we said, on former occasion, there are h0u0rabe excep- tions to this rue-men of such stries moral prinel pie that the temptation of an epidemic ol disorder and outrage and crime cannot swerve them from the right; out many-yety many-depart from the moral nome habits of their lives when they become soldiers, especially if they are not restrained by their officers.
 It is impossible for , 20mmGndng officer t0 pre- vent all bad conduct or crime on the part of lis soldiers; so, too 1t is impossible for father 10 keep his soIs, at all times, within that srict line Of de cogum ard pr0priety, which his position and their duty require; out the colonel of regiment, like the head of family, fl he iioes bis duty, can al- ways o-,ue1~s< hi.r.lA wsA ges~tf ii- iinnfF1iat4 presence ana can inia-c pc! a spit ol discipline III his command that Jherc Hiif Be but few wrong things done in his absence, Illus much we have said to show, what ali well informed men know, that general misconduct on tho part of aregnout is not 10 be aitributed to the men who compose lt, but 10 the officer who c0mmaHdS 1t.
 A t0 what re said of Col Can't $ regiment while
 it was al this place. it is not oGiy well known 10 he true, but susceptible proof, ivy hundreds of wit nesses; and if any one saw Col Can't, while here, attempting to restrain his men iu their eNcesses, by the authority of his comm&nd, we hare not heard o t. Indeed so well dO his friends seem to hc aware of the force Of this point that they have not attempted to controvert our facts and by th. they stand before the country in the light of hay ing permitted judgment to bc entered up against them on our statement, which they could not con trorert, that they have attempted to escape by making new ssues hoping thal they, themselves, may find q hiding place in tte smoke of the de nunciati0nS they have made 0i us. This @iil not avail them; for our character let if De good bad, has nothing to do with the fact that Col. Can't, while here, showed his utter incompetence and un- fitness for the position Of commander ol regiment. If the showing we made was not true, it was in the power of those concerned to cOntrovert it. But our showing was true, and hence the attempt to escape is consequences by raising new issues, mak ing denuncatons, etc. On the question Of charac- ter we are content to let ours be passed upon by the people Of Arkansas among whom we have been raised; and that man must be poor indeed, ill the way of character, who can be bettCred or wOrstcd bv the publication of such a document aS the one put forth by part of Col. Gantts officers.
 No better proof need be desired of the condition of Col Gantts command, and the fact that the cd ucat0n of many of bis officers, as soldiers and gen. tlemen, has been sadly neglected, than is given in the True Democrat No man of the most limited education in the duties of soldier, would expect such men to lmbue those under their command with the spirit of any thing like proper discipline or even common decency. But this manifesto is not the unanimous sentiment of the officers of the reg iment, as shown by its.own evidence. As we said before, there are honorable exceptions to it.
 It was the work of iIaman to build the gallows upon which he was hung himself So has it been the work of these men who rite their own disgrace. No one read this notice, and in his heart, say it was tue work Of sensible or sober men, or had it's source in any but the lowest depths Of fes- tering corruption and deprayity They have shown themselves w9rses ip eN4.y respect, than any one has attempted og Ge osg2o show them; and have, besides, shown that they are accomplished adopts in the dirty work Ql hlackguag1ism.
 From the first we had public and not person. al object in view, in bringing this matter before our readers. We desired, by adducng evidence which no one controvert, to show that Col. Can't was notoriously incompetent to command regi- ment; and, in that way, to prove that he was also incompetent to command hrigade---as tie major includes the minor. Able as most of our generals are, the few neombetent ones jn our army are too many Our cause, the lives of our soldiers, and the honor of our country too dear, and involve too much to be triied with by the appointment df worthless generals Ept we need say n1 more on this subject Col. Can't, in engineering this meet ing of his officers, and having its proceedings read to his ngsment at dress parade, las done the work for himself as effectually his worst enemy could desire It is now manifest to all intelligent men that he does not know the difference between an army and democratic meeting As Dogbery n- sisted on being written down an ass; 50 has Can't
 mad himself writtendewn & unfit for military com mand and as demagouge, and published the fact to the world.