Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1863-11-05
AND GENERAL BRAGG.
..--.. IL -. rnca

GROUNDS OF DIS 1ffeBt should bo diecioSeQs
aow undertake that vindies,ion in response 4
the leader Of the Huntsville (Marrietta) Dali
Confederate of OstobsT p, which assumes t
disclose by authority snch grounds. I wOulc
have noticed the Coafcdyaiss article earlier
but from having been prevented by absence il
Alabama fIom sse;ag it uatil yesterday. sceeP
the editors assurance of being influenced by nj
yrnkind feelings toward me, aud shall cay moth
ing 40 20 The correctness of inferonees and opin
ions which hs had the privilege of drawing q
forming from the facts before him. As 20 his re
mark hat he had seen matters in "Ashanteo's'
loi.ers 50 injurious as 10 excite aO expression o
surprise st their divulgence, aud the APPEALS
publication Of them, hSving made just suct
a eontemporaneeus criticism on semi OH 3al di
vulgeness Of delicate matters by the Coz.ttderat,
shile at Chattanooga, feel that We are eyenon
that score. The smiabls relations which be con
,sssss, subsisted between the Confederate and
tho general headquarters, may however have
placed IFS loyalty aud discretion beyond sus-
Dicion and reproAch, or the necessity Of surveil-
lance, as they did and have done msny journals
and correspondents not perhaps more prudent
or more loyal than "Asbautee" By pu.tinE
myself to little troubls can show that since
my connection with or knowledge sf the army
Of Tennesses there nsver has been any glLls OF
roticence in it beyond such as was disclosed By
tie whias CT cspIices, tho aversioss and pgeju-
dices of those in authority, and that indisereiion
was personal to tho man, and not
rsfersble TO the matter. That msy have bsen
guilty Of indiscretion viii not deny, bat it is
a guilt shared by all newspapers and CORE
spsndsuts alike, and is Inherent in all attempts
at communication between the army aud the
people, and for which if I should be punished,
all should be punished. La this, all arc cqually
mnoeant or equslly guilty, unless some are
infallible aud others falIible It is a singular
thing that while The army Of Tennessee is The
only one of our armies beset with troubles and
disputes between the chief and suboTdinases, it
is the only one in which there is any trouble
between the chief and correspondents. General
Lso, General Bsauregsrd, General Johnston
General XII by Smith, sssm to be occupied nj ia
gTlvsr matters than policiRg Newspaper cone
spondenls, or, as YelleH Legs said Of Captain
Simon Saggs' military spebislity, psTsecuting
women and children, and folks what's got the
ysllsr jsEd4rs" Ii msy be as bis friends weuld
seem to contend, thst tho chief Of ths army is an
spoihsosis While within the linss of the army
applisd 20 msny general officers for news, but
for only such Aews IS was communicable by the
laws of the service, stating that it was intended
for publication, and in every instance hsying
permission to use it, relying upon the integrity
and intelligence, and, in all respscts, superior
knowledge Of the duties in the prsmisss Of the
officers themselves, rather than my own judg-
ment. Officers, in this regard, should know
thoir own military rules and obligations better
than a civilian. I cannot remember q single
instance in which ever violated, ia my letters,
an ofis5sl confidence, and if I know myself /
am inespsbls of it. If officers cannot keep
their own ofieisl cou6dences, but insist Upon
vsHtilaiing them by free and essy CON-
muuicaion to esgsr ears, they caunos expect
else than that they win take the wings
OF tbo morning ami fiy to the Uttermost parts OF
the earth" The chief Of the army Of TeDnes-
see did not hesitate, while at shelbyville 10 vsn-
tilste hs Intentions OF his seeming intentions,
which in principle was tho same, in regard TO
Bgsocrans, in a serensde speech 70 q Populaee
knowa IS the most disloyal in Tennessee, and If
may be a question, though some weeks anterior
to the event, how far II msy have influenced the
operation, which led to the evacuation Of our
positions in Middle Tennessee, yet 1 never heard
Of his arrest for it by Provost Marshal McIEin-
6try. When I undertook the mission Of cOrrc-
spondent-which 1 did alone at the instance Of
the most intellectual, las coneeive,) and rot
least honorable and hsroicsl officer st that time
in that amy, man without hyperbole, alike
without fear and without rsproach, q man who,
without exaggeTstion, might fill the poets de-
scTiplioD As a
Glsrum et vsnerabHe nomen gsntibus ct multun nos
tre quod proderat urbi"
man who, occupying a position too high for
suspicion himself, olevates those whom he in
dorscs TO his own standard of integrity-I re-
ported my mission to General Brsggs chief Of
staff, as slso to his provost-marshal, aacompa-
nying my report with the expression Of desire
for pleasant relations, and such favcTs in tbs
way Of news, as they might feel free TO oommu-
nieate. esnnOt say shal my politeness was
compensated in the liberal and mnni6eenily i'm
partial manner ascIibsd to the provost-msrshal
By the Csufedsraie. my only compensation being
a watchful espionage from the provostmsrshsl
general, and rebukss for noticing chspge il
corps commanders, which had already besa no
tieed, or were noticed c0temporansously BY leea
journals, and for using information which hsC
baea given by an Official Of rank, fcl
publication, and which amounted 10 little or no
thing in itself The recent discovery as 20 the
manufacture Of kilograms at army hasdquaglsE'
nav throw light on the army rule Of retieenee
wbils lis estimate of the press may be iliustrst
ed BY story told by George NcDHfio in
speech Ia Congress, as illustrative of Gen. Jack
/ son's estimate Of banks. q man bought a lo'
terv ticket and attended the drawing. Bseom
ing SO much exasperaled, as tie wheel, revelu
lion after revolution, turned out nothing bu
blaaks, he took 9 stick and vowed he woul
4 destroy TIE machine. Bat Just as be WIS abou
putting his threat into execution, il threw ont
him tho capital prize He picked it mp, az
pockesed it with the remark, " That it was
asmned good institution after all"
Bat to The msin subject, the grounds Of Ii
arrest as sisted by the CoatsdsTsts On the sutho
itv Of Provost Marshal MeKinslry. They a
inns stated by the Csn5edsYGte:
1he particular letter which was the immed
ate cause of arrest, was, we understand, write
from Dalton and published in the ApPsel
ssnt I0.h, and contained a statement of The z
s,,loresmsnis sent from Virginia to Gen. Bragg
, 80 al exposition Of the movements Of Bragg
s-rev tbt, locality Of bis qnartermester and eoa
5,iessry Stores, his hospitsls. etc, with such a
,-,,ysev. hat TIE enemy. obtaining copy Of q
fattsr might have made an almost complete
sr,su, Of tie position Of the different depal