Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-02-11
THE DEMONSTRATION AT.
- RAIR.

The Plot 90 Deprive General Grant. O
his Command when before Weeks
burg-His Recent IntervIew with
Gen. BaRks-Full particulars Of the
Affafr.
Il Correspondents Of the Baltimore Gazette.
/ WASHINGTON, Feb. 5.-The first
announcement of the fact that Gen.
Banks had atone time been ordered
to supersede Gen. Grant ndrelieye
him of his command at Vicksburg.
was received by the whole country
with establishment, and with many
doubts as to its correctness. 1t SEEM
ed incredible that those who were
now foremost in their protestations
of admiration for the successful
warrior had been plotting for his
disgrace at the very time when he
was about winning his brightest
laurels; nor did it seem credible
that transaction such as is alleged
could have taken place, and the
fact been kept profound secret so
many years. The public were in
credulous, and so was Gen. Grant,
until he carefully examined ints
the matter and became convinced
that there was some foundation for
the report.
The first movement was to have
a thorough search made of the rec
ords of the War Department, now
completely within the reach of the
party interested, but this search
proved unavailing, for not
line could be found to cor,
roborate the report Gen. Grant
next sought and obtained an inter
view with General Banks, and, after
calling attention to the report in
question, heput the question bluntly
as to whether or not there was any
truth in what had been stated.
While General Banks had kept the
transaction a profound secret for
six years, he now felt authorized,
upon the direct inquiry of General
Grant, to disclose the facts, and at
once placed his dispatches at the
disposal of the President elect, who
stood dumb founded at the reveal
ton. There was no mistaking the
official records. Three separate
dispatches had been sent to General
Banks, but each so carefully and so
charactertstically worded that while
Banks was directed to relieve Grant
and assume the command, he was
also required to assume the respon-
sibility in case Of disaster. Such
was the character of most of the
orders issued to the generals of the
army at the time The wording
was so arranged that the orders
could mean either the one thing or
the other, and if their execution
resulted favorably great credit was
blamed by the War Department
if disastrously, the heaviest censure
was visited upon the unfor-
tunate general. Thus much is
necessary to explain why the first
three orders received by General
Banks remained not only unexe-
cuted but uRReticed by him. Then
it was that a fourth order was
issued to him, in poSitiUe terms, di-
recting him to relieve Gen. Grant
at once and assume the command
Of the army. With this positive
order Gen. Banks as positively re-
fused to comply, for reasons he then
stated in a letter to the Depart
ment. For this refusal Gen. Banks
was severely oensurod, bat ssbOHt
the same time Grants strategy
proved successful, and Vieksburg
was taken. This brilliant achieve
ment on the part of the intended
victim Of the War Department
sileneed the clamOrs at Washington,
and Gen. Banks was left the custo-
dian of his own secret Such are
the facts of the case, as developed
in the interview between the two
Generals, but where were the de-
partmental records showing the
transaction Lost, destroyed or
spirited away. Not a vestige could
be found in the records of the De
partment as kept by Secretary
Stanton. Yet Gen. Grant could no
longer doubt that the great War
Minister whom he had SO warmly
sustained during the War Depart
ment embrogliO with President
Johnson was the party responsible
for this attem pit TO degrade and
disgrace him upon the very eve of
his triumph. There was yet one
otherplace where search might be
made. The Carnot Of the war did
sometimes attempt to shield himself
from responsibility by casting it
on others, and as the official telgrams
to Gen. Banks were all signed by
Gen. HalIeck, it was possible
his books would disclose some
thing. Lucky thought Gen.
Grant Immediately returned
to the War Department and de-
handed to see the papers connected
with Gen. Halleck's headquarters.
These had evidently been over
looked by those who had been en-
gagged in the attempt to destroy and
efface from the records of the De-
partment all evidence of the plot
against Gen. Grant, and as murder
will OUT so did Gen. Hallecks let
ter book corroborate, in every par
ticular, the dispatches Gen. Banks
had already placed in the posses
sion of Gen. Grant. The question
was now settled by the records of
the government itself that foul
conspiracy against Gen. Grant had
been plotted at the national capital
by the very men who now assume
to have been the Warwicks who
made him, and who now insist upon
being the guardians of his honor
and the keepers of his conscience.
A LAMENT.
TIE New York Erening Post (Radi-
cali thus laments the condition of its par
ty:
When political party has great
predsminance, it is pretty sure to draw
to itself the rogues, the interruptions, and
| the self seekers in the community. That
| Is the danger of such an ascendancy. A
party may become the tool Of corrupt
men, because its leaders are careless and
over confident of their strength, and be-
cause the rogues and self.seekers are at