The daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1863-1864, 1864-10-10

that T shall be psrdoned If I speak of my
self somewhat more largely than the can
ems Of good taste might seem to warrant
for, as.my acts are the subject of the accu
sAtion against me, so they are my sole de-
fence!1 Whether or not they forms trium'
phent defence, yon, Sir. shall Judge, ,.e- sl.
j On the 10th day of March, 1854, in ths
city of Lexington Kentucky, the Unior
men Of Fayatte county were pleased to pre-
sent me with very fne sword, pair n
valuable pistols, and q pair Of spurs. In
response to an eloq uent presentation speech
made BY q learned divine, ! delivered
Union speech, the leading purpose of which
was to promote the recruiting of men for
division Of cavalry, which then had the
honor to command. whose ranks Lad been
greatly thinned by heavy losses in battle
the division having just came to Kentucky
from the trout for tho purpose Of recruiting,
rs.fitting, and remounting. I made long
speech, in which !, fully discussed the wick.
ednes of the rebellion, and contrssted the
| misery aud despotism of the socallcd South
ern Government with the happiness and
| freedom of our own. In the course Of the
speech spoke Of your abolition policy, and
condemned it. Bnt insisted that it was
the duty ofSall good citizens to defend their
country by fighting the rebellion, whether
they approved of the course pursued by
tho Administration or not. For the true
character of this speech refer you to the
statements of N, o. johnson and Others,
which I enclose. The men whose names
| are subscribed thereto are men of the high
eat order Of intellect and of the most ele-
vsted moral character. The substance ol
what they say therein can be proved by
Eve hundred ladies and gentlemen.
For this speech !. was arrested and sent to
Knoxvilis, IN the State Of Tennessee, where
Irsmained, without any charges being pre-.
ferred against me, until you were in
ducsd by some wicked men in Kentucky,
who know thst no court martial could be
found who would censure me for any
thing said I'M that speech, to issue anlorder
| founded On 4s bare rumor, as you yoarseli
informed9m 9me, dishonorably fdisnrissing me
from the service of the United States for
violation of the fifth article of war, for dis
loyalty, and for conduct unbecoming an OF
fcsr and q gentleman. C-gi 60
Now, Mr.. President, what wish to cal
YOUR attention particularly to is the tact
that every word contained in this order o.
dismissal is false-that there is not the least
foundations in truth for anything contained
in it. did not violate the fifth article o
war, nor did I ever violate any article OF
war in my life. 1t was my. duty to study
the articles of war, aud teach them to my
L 4. IL r .Ior hal
only thing said about you personally was
that you had told q great political truth
when you said that you had no power un
der the Constitution to interfere with the
domestic institutions Of the States. fur
ther said that you were the President OF
the United States, and, as such, the com
mander in chief of the army, which made
it my duty to respect your position, and to
obey all the legal orders that emanated
| from you.
Your order charges me with disloyalty
Surely am not disloyal. never did a
disloyal act, spoke disloyal word, or
thought disloyal thought in all my life
disloyalty is treason, and treason is the
highest crime known to the law. Tho
charge of disloyalty should not be lightly
made against any officer or citizen. AS
proof that am not disOyal, let me set be
fore you a few facts. At the commences
ment of the war opposed the doctrine OF
neutrality in Kentucky. When Governor
Magoffin refused to respond to your call
for volunteers, | raised company on my
own responsibility, and held it in readiness
for nv country's service. Afterwards, by
YOUR permission. under the auspices of the
iamented Nelson, l raised the first regi-
meut of Kentucky volunteer cavalry, and
had it mustered into the service OF the
United States. raised this regiment at
nv own expense, without ever asking the
Government to refund the money. l was
almost three years in the service, always
in front, and always present in the dis
charge of my duty, although all the time
suffering from severe wounds received IN
battle. was almost ali the time fighting,
so that the fights and skirmishes was in
number over three hundred. was in
almost all the fights that were fought in y,
Kentucky and Tennessee. was in all
the chases after Morgan, and was present,
and second in command, when he was
ChpkuTcu III nohy hSaSS
regiment, in many others brigade, and
for a long time aud in many fights divi'
sion. For proof that did my duty in the
field and in the camp, and that my COM
msnd ALWAYS behaved well and always
fought well, l refer you to Generals Burn
side, Shackelford, Hobson, Sturgis and
Carter. | never made any written reports
of the battles l fought, because seldom
had time; besides, was not seeking fame,
and did not desire promotion.
Loving my men from long association
with thsm,I resolved, after was dismissed,
to ioin my old regiment as a private; but
/ was so disabled by the wounds had 70
ceiyed in battle that could not pess the
examination Of the surgeoD" 'nen
thought of going at my c"n expense OUT
was prevented from doing SO by an or
der.
Boiug thus cut off from doing anything
for nv country in the army, l accepted
the nomination Of the Conservative Union
Convention as a candidate for that party
a = On =. sc oloofar ot th5 n6Yt Presl-