Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1864-03-24
John M: Bolts and Geo. h. Nc
Glellan.


ertain opinions by no means complmsn- v
ary to Gen. Geo. B. Mcclellan. The as
erticn brought forth rejoinder from Mr.. d
smith, in which he declared that he bad 2
lever received. any such letter from mr. I
Bolts. This denial was seized upon by the
he originstors Of the story; the correspou3 +,
lent of the Tribune denounced forfalsehood /
md forgery: this paper accused Of willfully
,betting such falsehood and forgery for the
purpose of sandoring that distinguished
, ,ldier, Gen. George B. McClellan and,
with indignant virtue, it was demanded that
he Tribune should Immediately clothe
itself in hair shirt Of the toughest sort.
and put itself upon penitential diet Of
bread and water, Offering up, at the same
time, the head gifts delinquent correspon-
dent asfrut meet for repentance. 1t would
have been just as easy month agoas now to
have retuted this idle tale, but it hardly
seemed worth while. We are somewhat
used to slander and abuse, aud seldom turn
aside to rebut H. but this particular lie has
been SO often reiterated, has pulled on its
seven feagued boots so often, and has travel
ed so fast, and SO fur, that for once we de-
part from our usual rule and set the truth
in pursuit Of it. And here it is.
On the 30th of January we published
letter from one Of our special correspondents
with the Army of the Potomac, dated Jan.
II. In it he said:
In answer to letter from the Hon. G. S.
! Smith, Treasurer Of the Virginia State Gov.
ernment, to the Hon. John NJ. Bolts, urg-
ing on behalf Of Gov. Pierpoint his accep-
tance of the position Of Senator from that
State, Mr.. Bolts has wri tten an eloquent re-
sponse declining the profered honor. lie
states that he is fully aware of the respon-
sibility of United States Senator, that
the position is one which ought to satisfy
the aspirations of any moderate man, but
that he is compelled at present by solemn
convictions of duty to decline accepting any
Office from either of the numerous govern
ments of Virginia, representing or profess
ing to represent that State. His unselfish
motives he states might be impugned, but
he nevertheless believes the time not far
distant when he may be able to aid in heal
ing the bitter animosites Of the two Sec
tions He charges the leaders Of the Re-
bellion as having, with miscalculafion upon
misealculation and blunder upon blunder. y
: brought ruin and destruction upon the "Old
, Mother ofStates, and closes by saying that
naither war, nor want, nor suffering can last
forever, and that when the proper time ar
rives he believes he may be instrumental IL
the work Of Union aud reconciliation.
And this is all he said in relation to tht
letter Of Mr.. Bolts to Mr.. Smith, and We
presume that Mr.. Smith, if anybody vii
take the trouble to inquire of him, will 40
knowledge that he had received such let
ter and that such was its purport. 1t il
g evidently meant as synopsis Of the whole
, letter, and, as the writer says it closes By
saying" only wilful perversion Of hi
: meaning could construe what followed a
=, having any reference whatever to the lette
:, to Mr.. Smith.
But the correspondent then goes on to relat
the substance of conversation he had hin
: self lately had with Mr.. Bolts, and in ths
a. is stated that gentleman's opinion Of Gee
~ b. Mcclellan. The letter continues thus:
At In a conversation with Mr.. Bolts he sti
,. ted that never for single instant durin
" this war has he doubted the final result.
4 His opinion of George B. Mcclellan is nc
Il at all complimentary to that gentleman
q whom he regards, If not positively disoy,
~ at heart, at least in the light OF an amb
= tious asrirant for undeserved honors. NJ
20 B. stated that he believed that the majorit
of the Rebel army regarded Mcclellan as b.
ing as truly devoted to their interests {
n Robert II. Lee, and that man who wou
!. not, when his name was used in cOnnectic
g. with Davis, Vailandinvham, Wood, all
= others of the same political complexio
u come out boldly and disclaim the associ
O. tion, was totally unfit to bs commander Of
lp Union Army.
re No candid or careful reader could ha'
to made blunder here. Observe: Our CO
I'd respondent had two items Of interest to sci
to US; first, what Mr. Bolts had to say in rep
ve to solicitation that he would represe
ro Virginia in the United States Scnat
communicated in letter to Mr.. Smith, Al
~ CLOSING BY saying" &C.; and second, VIII
be Mr.. Bolts stated, TN conpe'atton,"
w his opinion of Gen. Mcclellan. The t,
points were az clearly distinct in the conte
n Of the letter Of our correspondent as tn
Nv we're in the mind Of the writer. Thore
60 no possibility ofa mistake except by t
ry most careless reading -unpardonably cal
less il the letter was read with the purpc
~ ~ of quoting it. But there was no carele
80 80 ness about II. Such an estimate Of I
- character Of Gen. Mcclellan from such
~ man as John NJ, Bolts was too damaging
'" be allowed to pass without notice. But h'
;. could it be met? Copperhead ingenuity
=. upon the cxpedient Of enbodying the OPP
- ion in letter to Mr.. Smith and then der
ing-not the opinion-but that It was ev
|, sent in any such letter to that gentleman.
of 1t was ingenious, as any forgery must be
ats deceive anybody. II would have been tral
,lly parent enough had the rogue who comu,
nf ted it quoted the whole paragraph; but tn
! or OF course, he was cunning enough not to (
,ha Doubtless, he relied upon our usual indifi
IA encs to such scandalous falsehoods; but |,
"a liz well stuck TO" little too long. .