The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1869-08-25
Iron the Charleston News. |

Ra9iosl Congressmau shown up by a
To THE PugL1c.--In his recent de-
fence of himself from the charge of
"political treaohery," &C. Bowen
was pleased TO make me the subject of
personal reflections and insinuations,
designed TO ipjure my reputation
abroad, although they will doubtless
havo tho effeot, as emanating from
him, to commend me to all honorable
mon who know his personal history. I
propose to reply briefly to those re-
aections, and show from the record
that G. @. Bowen is not credible
witness upon question Of faot. I
regret that l am obliged to make this
reply, during his absence from the
oity but the vices, like the virtnes,
flourish together, and C. G. Bowen has
added eowardice to slander by flying
from Charleston as soon as he had
placed the manuscript of his sour
rillous article in the hands of the
printer. trG& '
Referring to Dr.. Mackey's removals
aud appointments in the Customhouse,
Bowen states, in his communication,
Gle (Dr.lM.) oame nome and recon.
mended the removal of ex.Confede.
rate Surgeon Dupont, and the ap-
pointment Of ex-Confederate Captain
L. j. Maokey, the man who was once
indicted sfor violating the neutrality
laws in the days Of gray eyed Walker,
of Nioaraguan fame; subsequently is
said to have made unusually proita-
BILE use of petition for pardon of a
mail 1bber; was we'll known in Tex
as, "a State in which there are doubt
less worse men than he y was after
wards some kind of a ranger in the
Confederate army, then something else
in Texas, then clerk in the Freed
mans Bureau in Washington; for a
brief period titular private secretary
to Governor SCOTT, and chief fugleman
and destroyer of his brothers. chances
for senatorial honors, from which la
borious > but Improbable station he
was promoted to foreign entry clerk in
the Charleston Customhouse.
1t will be seen that Mr.. Bowen
chargee ,ths! 7 am an "ex Confederate
captain" charge which, made iu
connection with his allegation that
persons "disqualifed" by law were
retained in the Customhouse by DR..
Maokey, could have been meant only
to convey the impression that l am
embraced in this class. Yet Bowen
knows that my name is included in
the vory aot Of Congress by which he
himself was relieved of his political
disabilities, passed June 26, 1868. I
admit that am an ex-Confederate. |
was captain Of engineers in the Con-
federate srmy, which I entered as
citizen of South Carolina, in obedi-
enoe to tho accepted political code of
my people. In that capacity served
actively for near four years as the
chief engineer of important military
districts +; served in many battles Oh
the staff of General Sterling Prico--a
hero worthy to have worn the white
plume Of Navarro; and followed the
varying fortunes of that noble ohief
to their sad but honorable close. I
then surrendered my sword, ho pro-
ferring to die in exile rather than
etoop his lofty crest to the conqueror,
cyon though that oonqueror represent
ed, as he did, the flag of his country
that gave protection alike to the VIC
tor and the vanquished.
In the course of that service, per-
formed no act unworthy of good
soldier, or q man of honor.
But how stands it with g. G. Bow
on, ,.whose, name, by civic fiction,
now bears the prefix "Honorable :"
He is q New England man, born
and reared in Rhode Island, near the
very altar of liberty. He entered
the Confederate army as q lieutenant
of cavalry, and after an ignominious
career Of two years, he was oashiored
(as I can show by the official record
before me) for the crime of forgery
1t isalso true that I was indicted
with General Walker on the charge
of violating tho neutrality laws of the
United States, but I have yet to learn
that this fact could detracS from my
stand,ng as q gentleman. Immediate
ly after my trial and acquittal on that
charge, [ was appointed by the au-
thorities at Washington as Examiner
of United States surveys for Kansas
and Nebraska.
~. was not o clerk, but the Examinor
Of ACCOUNTS, in tho Freed Blu.
reau, and in that capacity became
acquainted with the evidence on which
@. q. Bowen was arrested and COM
mitted e. prison by General Siokles,
on the charge Of stealing money from
the freedmen. It is true that I was
private secretary to Governor SCOTT,
the same gallant soldier and worthy
gentleman whose duty it became, as
assistant commissioner Of the Freed
mems Bureau for, South Carolina to
have Bowen arrested ,(for stealing)
and TO make him, through the militia
~ authorities, disgorgo large amount