The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1864-10-19

The army Of the United State, as yor
found it at the commencement of this
war, was high toned, intelligent, honora-
BILE, gallant set of men, fully equal the
contest before them /; they had always stu.
diously avoided all political connections
many Of them had been thirty years ip
the service of their country and had nev-
er voted. They held 9heir country and
the honor and iiptskrisy Of 4 before every
other Consideration. Had rule beer
! adopted requiring that no political sub
ject should be introduced into,the army
but that all political rights should be re
spected,, ahd'had army officers only been
held responsible for the conduct Of The
war, it would have terminated long ago.
Why have Mcclellan, and Sedgwick
and Mcpherson, and Bayard, and Frank
lin, and Buell., and Meade, and Averhill,
and Porter, and score Of other general
officers, with hundreds, if not thousands,
of officers of an inferiorigrade, been often
dcd and held back, and many of them
dismissed from the army without a word
of explanation, an arbitrary act unknown
in Great Britain, whilst Pope, and Burn.
side. and Hooker, and Butler, and Hun
ter, and Banks, and Sigel, and hundl eds
of others, certainly no better than the
former, have been preferred2 Why was
Gen. Stone, than whom there is not a
more loyal MAJ, and accomplished gentle
man, and gallant soldier in the country
confined in prison fifteen months And
when released by an act or Congress, why
was it that neither the President, nor Sec
retary of War, nor Secretary of State, mol
other perse ms at Washington would as
sent to any knowledge or any participa-
ton in the arrest? Such outrages are
calculated to break down the honor and es
prH dc corps of any army, and all have
looked on With disgust and horror and
pain at the shameful injustice and out
RACES that have been continually heaped
upon SO many of their old friends and
comrades In arms, whom they incapable
of an ungentlemanly, dishorable, unsol-
dierly, or disloyal act.
Why did the Committee on the Con.
duct of the War investigate and falsify
with such nice precision the conduct of
Mcclellan and his freinds, overlook the
volumes of charges field in the War De-
partment against Fremont, and Sisel, and
Hunter, end others, and entirely overlook
the immense slaughter at Charlottesville
and Fredericksburg and south of the
Rapid Ann? Why did secret political
inquisition, with no other pretext than
that they suspected him of political ambi-
ton, sit over five hundred days and man.
ufacture over seventeen hundred pages OF
&c parte testimony against young officer,
Christian gentleman, an honest man,
who, Heaven only knows, never had but
one purpose, and that to serve his coun
try and his God?
You know, Judge, that whilst in Wash
ington Gen. Mcclellan studiously avoided
all political association, and to such an
exetnt that many of his friends of both
parties were much offended The first
knowledge that ever had of any polite
al ambition on his part was after he had
been retired from active service and sent
in disgrace to.New Jersey and this was
after his fitness for the succession had
been discovered by Mr.. Lincoln, and the
people had signifed their affection for
him. His letters and orders have been
called poHical, but they were eminently
proper and refer entirely to the military
policy of the country.
But, suppose, that we admit that
Gen. Mcclellan had an ambition to be
President Of the Unsted States, was it not
a.laudable ambition, and is there any inn
propriety In it? Is the field not spetsso'
him as we'll as to Lind II, q Fremans, \
Chase, or the many oEsrs pfnitsly yfhis
interiors So far as the objections TO his
military qualifications are coScsxned, We
have ply to rena;nd you that, Sithih the
last ai2 days, cSofdentfl friend Of the
- r L. II
Rraidepswas sent to offer him enc of the
most importanscommaqas Of the army
But this proposition was coupled with the
most dishonorable ,co4atidh that he
should decline to be,a candidate for the
Presidefy. Gee. Mcclellan restrained
his iAd pation and replied to the beanef
of the mel sage, "Go back to Washington
and say the President for me, that when
rooa;va NV official uritten ordars he