Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1863-06-30

- 49, @ON N@NNI
EDIroR SENTINEL: / have been persuaded to
ask you to publish a brief statement Of facts in
connection with the following article, extracted
from a late number Of the Indiana Journal.
Speaking of the discharge of Capt Hughes from
the service of the United States. the Journal
says:
John g Hughes was a Captain in the 35th
Indiana list Irish) Regiment. AS little can be
said in praise OF his miIitaryacareer in This State,
a. of the way he began il. or Of the way the War
Office ended IL. he was not a citizen OF Indiana
at all, but, through the cOntrivance and assist
anee Of John @. Walker, then Colonel of the re
giment. he obtained a commissions and a muster
into the service, pronounced by the War Depart
ment a fraud. His I'm posture as &c Is officially
denounced. was probably as much the work OF
the Colonel as himself. and If the former had not
been dismissed for INSTRUMENTATION long ago.
there IS little doubt that he would been lifted
out along with Hughes for a share in the clan
destine aud dissracefui muster"
The above IS merely a specimen copy of numer
Gus notices with which l have been favored. during
the past six months. by the Journal and other
Republican newspapers in Indiana. Having been
Endorsed BY an election to the important trust I
now hold. in which l recognize the confidence Of
those men in my State whose good opinion is
worth an effort to preserve. I have thus far passed
by in silence the assaults Of a subsidized press,
feeling the abuse OF the VICIOUS to be a compli-
nent to. rather than a stigma upon, my charac-
ter. 1t has been urged. however, that / owed it
to my friends to refute the false charges which
have been. from time to time. industriously cir
cuIated against me-. To do this will require an
article so lengthy and so full Of details purely
rer1ona1 fo-nwealf that I Hesitate tn funn0za n
upon the public. Since, nevertheless, it may be
read By my friends. and. at the risk of becoming
tedious even TO them, / will present a brief his
tory Of the events which led to the conclusion
stated. and misrepresented. both by the quoted
extract from the Journal and by the War Depart
ment at Washington City.
II. 1861, after il had been declared by Con-
gress, and by the Administration, that the war
with the States in rebellion was to be prosecuted
not to s~uhiugate them nor to interfere with their
established institutions, but simply to restore the
Union and vindicafe. throughout that the Union the
Consultation Of the United States, I yielded, with
rsluctance. to the persuasion of friends to accept
The command ola Cavalry Regiment. which they
and | we're subsequently authorized to organize.
i say that L yielded to these persussions with re-
luctance-fOr ] doubted the good faith Of the
party in power. in the declarations made by it. of
the objects held 10 view in the prosecution OF the
war.
By the time the organizatios of the Cavalry
Regiment was perfected. and the Legislative au
thority for putting it into the field obtained, His
Excellency, Governor Morton, became convinced
through the representation Of persons in the north
part of the State. who have not vet exposed their
valuabie lives 20 the bullets of the enemy. thatsi
was unsafe to entrust an important command to a
man 50 firm in his political convictions and as
true to the requirements of the Constitution as
the writer of this article. The services of the
regiment were consequently declined. ostensibly
on the ground that Cavalry were not needed and
would not be useful in this war. took occasion,
at that time, 70 expose the Governors bad faith
in this transaction, which, together with an eoi-
sode especially private in its character, establish
ed between him and me relations Of an unamia-
BILE and disagreeable nature. Fu5
Several months subsequent to these events,
the gentlemen engaged in raising the "lrish reg
iment." urged my appointment to the command
OF il upon the Governor of the State. At that
time the Irish element of our population. at all
inclined to enter the service, had been mainly
absorbed in other military organizations, sad the
regiment in question was recruited at great labor
and expense. II was finally ordered in the field
with but about eight hundred men. John G.
Hughes. Of Dayton, Ohio. a Captain in the Mex
lean war. a Major in the three months service, a
gallant soldier. an accomplished officer, and an
Irishman by birth. was pursuaded to accept a
Captaincy in this Irish regiment. lie was com
missioned as such BY Gov. Morton, and being
unaequainled in Indiana, succeeded, in the linn
tied time allowed him. n recruiting hnt few men
who. on the receipt of marching orders, were
distributed throughout the corps, leaving the
regiment with nine companies only. and Captain
Hughes without a omman In March, 1862,
while the regiment was still in Kentucky, a va
cancy occurred in the Captainoy of company z.
and, at the unanimous request of the men,
assigned Captain Hughes to the command Of
that company. AS soon as an officer authorized
10 act in the premises could be found, Captain
Hughes was regularly mustered into the service
of the United States. aud has drawn pay only
from the date Of that muster. These are The
ldctS IN the case ana Il Will mere venture the as
sertiOn that there is not an officer in the army
who values his reputation that will say the trans
action was either iIegitimate or illegal. The
true reason for the discharge Of Capt Hughes
will appear further on in this chapter Of outrages
inflicted upOn the dignity Of the service and the
personal rights Of officers in the field.
By reason of incapacity in some. and physical
disability of Others. the Office Of Lieutenant Co
lionel and Eve or six Offices Of the line. in the
35th regiment. became vacant during the time
intervening between the lst Of January and The
LIST Of April. 1862 Some time in April. che reg
iment being in the vicinity Of Nashville. Capt
Hughes was recommended by nearly all the off
cers present. for the appointment OF Lieutenant
Colonel. Other persons in the corps, ~favorites
with their res 3ective commands. who bad earned
t5e right to promotion BY Iaborious attention to
duty IN the field. were also recommended to fl
the other Offices vacant in the regiment. Gov.
Morton declined 70 commission Capt. Hughes a:
Lieutenant Colonel, but. instead Of doing so, anc
against the almost unanfmous wish Of the officer.
and men. promoted Major Bale to that position
The Governor failed also to appoint or promot.
more than one or two Of the several persons rec
Feeling this to be an Insult to myself as well a.
the regiment. / forthwith VISITED Nashville. anc
fendered nv reignstso, "a Da,,rtu.-+ u.ad