Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-01-30
THE COWARD C~ARRINGTON AND
THE FgZE Phil hEAAAEH AAs-
EAGHE-

THE COWARD CARRISGTON AND
THE FUIE PHIL hEAhAEH AAs-
1 SACRE-
From ths Baltimore Gazertel
It would not be al sil surprising If
/ among the mul.ituds Of superseTvicea0le
/ Ioyslists and patriots that we're spawned
I uUon almost every community during
/ the late WsT, or resder- should have Tor
I gotten a certain Brig ten. Darlington.
/ He dourished in Ohio for some time,
| where ne was distinguished for the gal
| lsntrv with which he exhorted every
I bcdv 10 ruzh 4" 10 the 'front.' whilst tax
( ing especial care TO keep himself from
/ bodily harm. He was equally notorious
I for the extraordinary eageguess heeXhih-
tied ia denOuBCing apd imprisonIng
81 copnerheads.n For these eminent ser
vices Darlington was in due time trans
/ ferred 20 Indiana, where he eBtered upon
| a wider sphere Of action. His cOmmis-
! sion a. military commander Was EOt SUI
fcieat to satisfy his patriotic ambition.
1 He had q soul shove buttons and feathers
aud all those sort Of things; 20 he sup
uIemented his military duties by adding
/ 10 them the more sonZsnial Offices Of in
: former aud SOY. A an active public
psrsecutor he soon won the confidence Of
I Gov. Morton, VINO mad q fellow-feeling
I for men OF CGrrington's stamp, and de
lighted Ia the possession Of 50 useful aid
20 uuscTupui0us a subordinate. They
-e=a- e1uirabiy adapted % each other,
aud ever Que who rEH1uulberis Byronis
I definition of dTcGdsS dBtS9, ull reau-
( iy understand why they should have
reen SO. Whatever Gov. Morton planned
Darlington stood ready TO execute. He
had an especial aptitude for dirty work,
ell 81 - rfsarrTur FoFonF in that limo WAS
not suffered to remain idle. He arrested
men "on suspicion Of being suspected ~
He caused the Office OF Mr.. voorhees, to
be broken open and his papers seized aud
searched. He nOsed outtreLaendOus con-
~spirSeies, organized cOurts-martisl, and,
IN short, did everything thst such q man
could do to prove tbs intensity Of his 10y
atty, except One-he could not be pre-
vailed upon 10 exchange his harmless
4" dress paTsdes IN Indiana for the peril
Of active service at the south. During
the entire progress Of the war be never
Ouce smeit the smoke Of battle. After
the war wss over his official patrons, de-
sirOus Of be5tOWing some reward on 50
useful an Instrument snd, perhaps, anx-
ious to rid themselves Of him, obtained
for him the command Of the frontier post
Of Fort Phil. kesrney. Here, remote
from civilization, and under cover Of q
strong sSockade, defended By 8 garrison
Of regulars, Darlington may very reason
ably have entertained 3 hope that he
would OUtiive, in ingiOriOus ease, the
contempt OF those whose willing DOL be
had been, and the excavations Of his nu-
merous victims. Had he surmised that
the Indians might prove hostile, it is very
probable he would have thrown up his
commission In disgust.
But As no trouble was at that time 8p-
pretended, be concluded 10 accept the
command TO which he had been appoint
ed, and set out on his Journey scrGzs the
plains, taking with him his wife, Mar
gsret, a. his military counselor and ad-
wiser. For q time all va quiet enough,
but at length there were rUmors Of Indian
Outrages. Emigrant trains were attacked
and pluudered cattle were driven of,
and quite q number Of settlers were bar
barOusly murdered and their women and
children carried into captivity. Then
came the CroHUing act Of al. Nesrly q
hundred officers and..privates OF the reg
ui&r service were msssaCred within s
short distance Of the stOCkGde command
ed by Darlington. While these bloody
0utrsges were being perpetrsted, says
the Fort keaTney Herald, "CaTringtOn
kept himself safely enclosed within ais
newly made fort, aud when asked by his
suballerns and by travellers why he did
not drive the Indians from the public
road, consOied himself by impOtentiy
calculating / am no cOWard-I am no
cOward-I am no cOWard-it Is all my
wife's fault-yes, Margaret Is 10 blame
for keeping me fastened Up ia this In
dian prison."
II needed bus such a shameless -avoval
Of the most ~despicable ~poltroonery to
make the record OF this man Darlington
complete. Acts almost - evil, teInpers .
a. vindictive, shd instincts ST.
most as low and degraded a. those as
20 him, may have made other
men As notorious as he in their respect
i've spheres. But whatever may have
been the wrongs they inflicted upon 9th
srs, many Of them might claim 70 DOS
II least One redeeming tralt-that Of I
personal courage. In the case OF Car
even-thst questionable virtue Is
ound wanting, and those whose supDle
md subserVieBt tool be was. knowing
heir instrument as they must have
Known him. cannot now, BY ordering his
,rrest, screen themselves from sharing
q the responsibility which attaches u
lin for permitting the massacre Of near
J a hundred officers and enlisted men.
within sight Of the fort OF which
hey a given him the command.