Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1865-01-17
ADMIRAL PoRTERs REJoINDER TO GENERAL
a @ BUTLER

ADhlhAL LOhLEh EEJO4NOEh II 1hsghhIhA4-
Butler
Rear Admiral Porter has Forwarded to
the Navy Department two supplementary
reports relating to, what he calls, "the at
tempt now being made to create the i'm
preston that delayed much longer thAn
was necessary, and could have attacked On
the 18th as well as the oath. He says; aft
the army, after landing on the 25th, could
not undertake the assault, they could not
have done so On the 18th. The delay, if
any, gave them a thousand more men.
When General Butler was about to start
from F6ftress Monroe, having embarked
his men IN q storm, when told him he
could not possibly leave for three days l
asked him to wait day after started, ss
nv vessels we're slow; but he starred of
for the rendezvous he had himself estsb-
Iished, showed himself to the enemy, and
revealed cur whole design" i--J
Tho Admiral then makes an extract
from the log-book to show that from the
18th to the 22d the Westher was
not calm as General Butler represented,
and says: '- n
"The General eft the rendezvous on ae-
count of stress of Weather, although the
monitors and thepowder boat we're able to
ride it out. I do not he GAYS sattribute
the report that we had, wasted time to the
General, but to some junior member of his
staff, who was uct as good ssesman as the
General himself" He goes on to say
that the military psIt Of the expedition
was got up in the most unmilitary manner,
and proceeds TO specify, mentioning bad
transports no arrangement for condensing
water, scarcity of cooked ratio1s, no in
trenching tools or siege guns, and no al
loEsncs for contingencies Of any sort The
Admiral admits that he thought a good
deal would be done by the explosion of the
powder boat, although he-did not depend
it, He claims that the troops might have
garrison left after nightfall to svoid cap
ture.
In the next dispatch the Admiral forti-
fes his declaration that he could not have
landed on the 18th, by the testimony of
Lieutenart Preston and an officer of the
coast survey, and defends himself from the
charge of blowing up the powder boat
prematurely. He also argues that it would
have bean impossible to surprise the
rebels. --.- ..r
He concludes 1 should perhaps have
wsitsd till the attack was made on the
navy, but that is not a good rule in making
war. I shall fight just as readily in de-
Tending the navy against its traducers, as
I would against 8 rebel, snd 1 think II
wise precaution to give the Department
information about every movement of the
late expedition. No one can make a good
case out of the late failure, no matter how
clever the special pleading may be.
TIE wILMNeToN FAILURE TO BE EY-
r. ..s q AHMED INTO.
Generals Weitzel and Ames and other
prominent officers who accompanied the
recent Wilmington expedition, will be
summoned to testify. before the Commission
on the conduct of the war, in reference to
the matter; also, Admiral Porter and other
naval officers. la a.g-lT sas a.i -.-.-
BLAIR AND sINdLETeN's EXPEDITION TO
RICHMOND.
General singleton's friends, like those of
the senior Blair, have private business to
set up as the ostensible reason for his trip
to the south. He svowed here, to Demo-
cratic congressman, that while he should
embrace an opportunity to talk with the
rebel leaders on peace, if he could get it,
he went Independent of this, to bring
North couple of nieces who were in des-
titute circumstances. The denial of the
Richmond papers that old Frank Blair was
within their lines is known here to be
merely blind. Blair may not have gone
direct to Richmond, but he Is known here
TO be somewhere within the limits Of the
Confederacy.
PERSONAL.
General ]. S. Brisbin, of Kentucky, and
Ger eral Bragg, from the Army of the
POtomEc, are IN town. ;5l lz-f. .' 81.
BUTLER SUSTAINED By FARRAeUT.
In the active discussion going on here in
the Butler and Porter quarrel, Vice Admi-
raj FArragut does not seem to follow the
e. - = L..