Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1868-11-17

matter has elected the attention of the
Legislature. 1t is q scathing rebuke of |
Gov. Brownlow, and if he is not lost to
all sense of shame, he must so regard it,
that members OF his own party have
been compelled to remind him of his duty |
and to rebuke his usurpations in so pub.
lie manner. The offering of the bill |
shows the terrible character Of the des'
potism that has been inaugurated in Ten-
nessee under the Brownlow rule.
FITZPATRICK PILLORIED AGAIN.
General Fitzpatrick seems to take. an
especial delight in misrepresenting South
ern men. Some weeks ago he grossly
and wantonly slandered Governor Vance,
of North Carolina, for which that gentle~
man publicly branded him as liar.
General Fitzpatrick did not resent or
take any notice of this denunciation.
Subsequently he INDUCED his propensity
at the expense Of General Forrest, charg-
ing that gallant officer with atrocious
cruelties at Fort Pillow. The attention
of General Forrest was called to this
attack upon him by General Shackelford,
of New Haven, Connecticut, where the
false accusation had been made, and it
drew from him warm and indignant
denunciation, in which he branded
General Fitzpatrick as "a black
guard, liar, scoundrel, and poltroon."
Forrest intimated that if Fitzpatrick was
the brave and chivalrous gentleman he
professed to be, he would not rest under
this denunciatiOn, and notified his accuscr
that any communication addressed to
Gen. Basil w. Duke, of Louisville, KY,
would receive prompt attention. Kill
patrick knew what Forrest meant by his
straightforward manner but he lacked
the nerve to meet the man he had so
Wiley traduced, so he authorized Gen.
Whitaker, Of Hartford, Conn, to write a
whining note to Gen. Shackelford, in
which that gentleman was informed that
General Fitzpatrick has nothing to
communicate either to Forrest or
Basil Duke, except to reitcrate his
denunciations of Forests unparalleled
atrocities" The sllulking fellow would
have stuck his head in q red-hOt furnace
sooner than have faced the eagle-eye of
the Wizard of the Saddle In his re-
ply to Whitakers note, Gen. Shackelford
pillories kirkpatrick as follows:
New HAVEN, Conn, Nov. 6, 1868.
General Z. w. Whitaker, President Of
Central Grant Club, Hartford, CT
General Your note of the ID inst. in
which you say 'in behalf of General
Fitzpatrick, that since officers of the
United States army, who were present
at the investigation into the charges
against Forrest, have not only confirmed
Gen. kilpatrick's statements on that sub
ject, but have given additional and more
shocking Details" ETC., is before mo and
in reply, will state what every intelli-
gent man in this country knows to be
true, that the so-called Investigation"
to which you allude, was a One-Sided
Radical affair, intended to intensity the
bitter feeling then existing, both North
and South, and to mako capital in the
then approaching elections.
The few soldiers, black and white, who
gave evidence in that farce, misnamed
Investigation" had not recovered from
the fright they received in the Fort Pill
low fight, and knew nothing Of the fate Of
the missing men, who were taken prison.
ers and afterwards exchanged-hencet the
willy and INSCRIPTIONS Chairman Of that
so called Investigating Committee
easily,filled the vacuum in their distorted
lmaginations, by suggestions which any
shrewd lawyer can make IN asking
VeddiHg qUeStiOnS," that those missing
men were Slaughtered, nailed to fences
and burned to DEATH" etc.
The exercise of a little common sense,
| sir, would teach any man that were there
the least veStige of truth in any Of these
infamous and slanderous charges against
| General Forrest, no power on earth could
| have saved him from the fate of Captain
| Henry Wirz, and none should know this
fact better than General Fitzpatrick HIM
self
1t is well-known fact that General
Forrest has repeatedly demanded a court
of inquiry into those charges, to which
demand the powers that be" have made
no response.
Since the smoke of battle has cleared
away, the excitement allayed, and the
combatants again in friendly cOmmuniCs-
ton with each other, the truth could be
more readily and more accurately ar
rived at than when the confusion Incl
dent to war was at its zenith. Then why
has he been refused this inquiry? Are
the Radical authorities afraid of the de-
velopment Of such an inquiry, fairly con-
| Quoted? General Forrest and his friends
deny the truth Of those charges, and all
law and equity comedies men innocent
until proved guilty.
You say General Fitzpatrick has moth
ing to do with either Forrest or Basil
Duke, except to reiteTate his denuncia-
tons ofFOrrests unparalleled atrocities"
If General Fitzpatrick is not utterly lost
10 all StllS6 Vi hOlOT, bIII Ao Will HOiU Ou
responsible for placing him in such an
equivocal position. A distance Ct five
hundred miles from General Forrest evil
IDENTIFY makes the valiant Fitzpatrick feel
very brave. believe, sir, that distance
has that influence with all towards and
braggarts-hence he ''reiterates his de-
nunciations, etc" and seems to forget
that he has been publicly denounced as
"a 6lackgudrd, a ScOundrGl and q
poltrOOR," by this gentleman, with whom
you say he "has nothing to do" He is
evidently a man of "easy courage and
fiinty cheek"
If you are the champion of General
Fitzpatrick and authorized to act for him |
in this affair with General Forrest. l
would very respectfully suggest that
General Basil w. Duke, of Louisville, |
Kentucky, is the proper party to adore |
and not myself.
l am, very respectfully,
IL. h. SHACKELFORD, |