Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-07-31
Republican VindicatiOn of GEN.
Morgan.


The subjoined article, vindicating Gen.
eral GEO. w. MORGAN against the charges
made against him by the Ne,o York Sun,
which the Journal of this.city with alacrity
reproduced, was written by Col. CARRIER
editor of the Madison (Ind.) Courier. The
writer is man of ability-and leading
Republican in the State of Indiana. There
lives not braver soldier or truer gentle
man than General GEO. w. MORGAN; but
because he refuses to consort with the Re-
publicans politically, he is belied-his pat
riotism questioned and his soldiership
sneered at-by cowardly stay-at-homes.-
But to the article from the Courier:
GEN. GEO. w. MoRGAN.-The Ne,o York
Sun Dana, formerly Assistant Secretary
of War; says:
sour military contemporary of the Citizen
eulogizes the martial career OF Gen. Geo.
w. Morgan, of Ohio, now Democratic
candidate for Congress, but strangely omits
to mention the part which that officer bore
in the bloody assault on Chickasaw Bluffs.
near Vicksburg. In that desperate fight,
notwithstanding the splendid daring and
good generalship of Frank Blair, his divis-
ion got an awful whaling, and with the
rest of Sherman's army was forced to re-
conclusion was that this same Morgan failed
to come to time. Immediately after the
battle he left that army in disgrace, and
never had any important service afterward.
If any one is in doubt about these facts, we
dare say he can learn the truth by inquir-
ing of the Democratic candidate for the
Vice Presidency. He was that day in the
thick of the deadly fire, but when he looked
around for Morgan, that gentleman was
not to be found" - .s.H -st'E
| We served in the command of General
George w. Morgan for nearly year; was
an officer on his staff, and associated with
him intimately, socially and officially. He
was known to be Democrat, we a Repub-
lican of the "straitest sect.n Yet in the
field there were no differences of opinion.
The one absorbing thought was to suppress
the rebellion and end the war. During all
the time of our service as an officer under
General Morgan, we never heard word
from him of sympathy with the rebel cause.
He was true type of the American SOL
dier; as such we respect and esteem him.
With the politician, George W. Morgan,
we have had no intercourse since he re-
signed. 1t is hardly necessary to say that
were we citizen of Ohio, and in his dis
trict, we would oppose his election to office
as zealously as we oppose Democratic can
didates in Indiana.
The article from the New York Sun is
full of Misrepresentation of the facts con-
nected with the operations at Chickasaw
Bayou. We were on the ground during the
fight, and aneye-witness of what occurred
on Gen. Morgan's front-the center of Gen.
Sherman's line. The assault the Sun alludes
to, was made on the third day. The exam
nations of the second day convinced Gen
eral Morgan that an assault of the heights
was veryhazardous if his crossing of the bay
ou-which ran all along his front and was
very deep-was made by the narrow cause
way road on his left and covered by the
enemy's guns. A more practical crossing
was found on his right, if pontoon bridge
could be constructed. These facts were re-
ported at General Sherman's headquarters,
and pontoons sent to the center. The first
pontoon put into the water sunk down in
the bayou twenty feet; the second was
disabled by shell from the enemy's bat
teries, and his sharpshooters drove the
working party in. Then the movement
was abandoned, and the order given by
General Sherman to make the assault by
the road on the left, before alluded to. The
center brigade was rapidly formed, into a
column OF attack. General Morgan said a
few words OF encouragement to the men
and put them on the road. This column
was met, when it deployed on the other
side of the bayou, by murderOus cross
fire from the enemy's f1anks and direct
fire from his centre. Blair on the left and
Smith on the right having been repulsed,
enabled the enemy to concentrate their en-
tire force on this attacking column, which
was repulsed in short time with great
loss. There was no delay, no time lost,
other than the failure to construct the pom
toon bridge caused. At no time during
the fight was Gen. Blair under hotter fire
than General Morgan was during the fight
on the third day.
Immediately after the repulse of the army
it was Withdrawn to the transports. Nor
gan's division was assigned to the 18th
Army Corps; with it he went on the expe-
dition to Fort Hindman, or Arkansas Post,
on the Arkansas river. In the engagement
at this place General Morgan's division was
on the left. and opposed to the land bat
teries of the enemy. These were silenced
by the batteries of Morgan's division, and
his troops were the first inside the enemy's
work. -...-,
Soon after General Morgan left the army
on sick leave, and resigned in consequence
of continued ill health. Not, as the Sun
says, in disgrace.-Madsson (Indtana) Coal-
rier. +--,,.