Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1870-03-10

p lC"I 1iIE lOilohADSi TIE otDel
day, in 4 newspaper;
"The Philadelphia Age relates
that when President Andrew Jack
son was told that Prser Randolph
who was dismissed from the navy
for defaIcation, had been arrested
for his assault upon him, lie ex
claimed:
Yes, and / greatly regret it.
and have ordered his release. II ]
had not been interfered with, ]
would have punished the scoundrel
on the spot. / 10 not want the
aid of the law to protect me, or re-
dress my wrongs My dear moth
er, God bless her, when | was a
boy, gave me this piece Of advice :
Never to sue for SANDER, indct for
assault and battery, or to permit a
personal assault to 60 Hnpunished
on the spot and God knows have
most religiously adhered to it
throughout my life and, dashing
a long-stemmed white clay pipe,
which he had been smoking, on
the mantel-piecc by which he was
standing, he broke it into atoms"
This contains several inaccura-
cies. In the first place, Robert
Randolph was not a purser in the
navy, but a lieutcnant In the sec
Ond place, he never was arrested
for his assault upon the President,
and, consequently, General Jack
son never ordered his release.
In 1874, l was stopping, for a
time, in Washington, Fayette Coun-
/ ty, where / met and made the ac-
quaintance of Mr. Randolph, and
from him, and from other sources,
learned the history of that cele-
brated affair.
Lieutenant Randolph was in com
mand of the Washington Navy
yard. He was charged with an i'm
proper use of the funds that came
under his control, and was tried by
a naval court t-marlial, and acquit-
ted. Upon this, General jackson,
having made up his mind that he
was guilty, ordered his pcrempto-
ry dismissal from the navy. Ran
dolph attempted to obtain some ex-
planation from the Navy Depart
ment, but the only answer he got
was that he was dismissed by or
der Of the President, and the Sec
tretary had no discretion in the
matter. He sought to see the Pres
ifdont, but Jaolsson refused to see
him. Shortly after his dismissal,
an excursion of some kind went
down the Potomac on a steamer.
and the President was Of the party.
Randolph got on board the boat,
and, after she had got under way,
and the passengers were scattered |
about the boat, he sought out Gen
eral Jackson, and found him sit |
ting in the cabin, with his chair
leaning back against the side, with |
but few around him, and no one,
Just at that time, engaging his at
tention. Randolph approached him |
and something like the following
coIloquy ensued:
Randolph" Mr.. President, I /
am Lieutenant Randolph, lately |
dismissed from the navy by your
order"
Jackson-"I don't know you,
sir"
Randolph-"Bnt, Mr.. President,
you gave the order, and ought to !
know the cause. Will you tell me
why l was dismissed p !
Jackson" l know nothing Of
you, sir, nor your dismissal"
Randolph-"But, sir fyou made
the order, you must be able to give
the reason" ."
Jackson-"I can give you no rea-
son, and desire to hear nothing
more from you
Randolph-"Well, if you can't
give me a reason, know what I
can do. l can pull your id
old nose"
And he Immediately seized the
Presidential proboscis between his
fingers, and gave hearty tweak
This, of course, produced great
excitement. Randolph was knock
ed down, bnt his friends got hold I
of him, and got him away from the
excited crowd. | don't remember
how he got off the boat, but he did /.
get clear, and great efforts were
made to arrest him. He made his
way to Baltimore, where he broke
through the posse of the Marshal,
and finally reached Virginia. His
co8sin, John Randolph, of Roam
oke, was about starting for Eu-
rope, and it was arranged that Rob
ert should accompany him, but
John Randolph died on his way to |,
New York, and Robert remained
in this country. General Jackson
did express desire that he should \
not he prosecuted, and the excite
ment finally died out. Randolph
tried hard to get himself restored
TO the navy, but never succeeded
remember that he was exceeding
" anxious for Clay's election, in
1854, fully expecting, if Clay be-
came President, to he restored.
He was one of the most singular
characters | ever met Full of gen
srous impulses and gasconade' he
was, l suppose, a firm type OF tne $
old navy and of the old school VIZ
yinian. He could be the most pc
lite and accomplished gentleman,
and the rough sailor, who could
swear the shingles off of a church
steeple, and each in such quick sue