Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1870-02-04
application for Pardon for FitZ.JOhn
Porter.

IL
Porter.
George B Mcclellan came to Washing
ton during the holidays, when everybody
but the President was absent, to make per-
sonal application to Grant to disapprove
of tie sentence of the court-martial
cashiering Fitz-John Porter.
I believe you will take the position, that
to restore Fitz-J on Porter to honor, would
be scandal to history and an injury to
the United States service, and to confirm
this position / revive the circumstances
under which he permitted himself to be-
come the betrayer of his comrades ON the
field of battle.
On the Goth of August, 1862, Pope, in
command of the Army of Virginia, fought
the first days action of what is called the
Second Battle of Bull Run. His army was
drawn up across the Warrenton turnpike,
facing wet, and Fitz-John Porter lay at
Manassas Junction, considerably in the
rear of his left, Porter constituting the
vanguard of the Army of the Potomac,
which was supposed to be fastening up
to Pope's relief.
From Manassas Junction o road leading
northwest intersects the Warrenton turn
pike at Gainesville, beyond the rebel po-
sition, and the road lanked the rebel
right; for their line of battle stopped
some distance short Of it. Nothing was
easier than for Porter to have marched by
this road, obtained position on the rebel
right and rear, and while Pope was at
lacking in 'front.' to have thrown them into
confusion. This was the order given to
Porter at 8 o'clock in the morning and re-
peated to him with earnestness in the af-
ternoon. Porter obeyed so much of the
order as to march from Manassas about
One-half the way to Gainesville, where,
at Bethlehem Church, he halted, pushed
out feeble reconnaissance, and then
stacked arms along the roadside, where
he lay idly till the middle of the after
noon, when he sent word to Mcdowell
and King that he saw much dust ahead,
that they had better send their trains
back, and that, for himself, he meant to
return to Manassas.
The dust seen ahead was afterwards
shown by the rebel j. b. B. Stuart's
official report to have been made by ode
tachments of cavalry dragging brush
down the road from the direction of
Gainesville, so as to deceive the enemy"
and the rebel Generals agreed that an
earnest attack made from this fanking
road would have lost them the day.
Yet there lay Porter, with one-third of
Pope's whole'army, the entire Fifth Corps,
and an additional brigade numbering
twelve thousand men, with eight batteries
of artillery, including nearly the whole
regular army of the United States" the
most efficient and best disciplined corps
in the army, quite fresh, for it had
marched but three miles that day. While
Porter, four hours within the sound of
desperate battle, lay there in contempt of
his superior officer and in despite of the
calls of his country, Mcdowell marched
up from Manassas, swung off by the
right, and joined on Pope's left in dutiful
order of battle. Pope ordered Porter to
be brought before him, and shot dead for
disobedience, but was counselled to the
contrary by his Chief of Staff.
The animus of this action of Porter
was undoubtedly, a wish to see Pope
beaten and Inundated, for Porter had
been one of the intimate family of Nc
Clellanites, which had taken umbrage at
Pope for some innuendoes he made upon
McClellan's lines of retreat" ETC., etc.
The dispatches sent by Porter to Burn
side at Alexandria show this, as well as
McClellan's own animadversions upon
Pope. Military schisms reached it's Bit
terest and worst development at the head
quarters of Mcclellan. The impudent
letter of the latter to President Lincoln,
saying, 81 throw the responsibility upon
you," and the detection of Porter to his
commander, Pope, at Groveton, were the
results of the impertinent and aristocratic
feeling around the :" Young Napoleon"
te Petit Prince. 1t is fit that Mcclellan
should be here upon Porter's business 1t
is unfit that General Sherman should be
made their instrument. If this unfeeling
and disgraced man is to wear the star of
a general again, let us reverse Judgment
upon Benedict Arnold, and make statues
to Charles Lee and Conway. He is, in
the words of Pope, GAS clearly respon-
he had murdered the men with his own
hands,"
Porter has been indefatigable in en-
his case. He prepared, with the help of
Reverdy johnson and others, partisan
pamphlet, charging that he had been con-
victed by packed and periured court.
martial. Pope in recent letter, says:
"The person most active in urging a re-
mission of part of Porter's sentence is
the Hon. John Sherman, of Ohio. There
are also Enthusiastically of the Navy
Robson, Admiral Porter "a relative of
Fitz j. Porter), and others. 1t lis impos-
sible that these gentlemen could play such
part if they knew the facts, and could
understand the injustice their success
would inflict on Others"
Pope has addressed a printed remon-
STRANGE and diagram to GeneralSherman {;
to the Secretary of War, and to the Presi-
dent, while Porter is producing affidavits
from rebel officers, to show that had he
attacked on the Gainesville road he would
have been overwhelmed. But it is too
late to alter the official reports of J. E. B.
Stuart and Longstreet. 1t is too late to
appeal at the gate of honor by the wiles
OF peace, when there, on the field of bat
tie, 1t was so easy to win honor and fame
with the prompt, importunate sword
Washington Cor. (Jan. 20.) Chicago 1ri-
bune.
Tho NnIorn1 Couofo.,