The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1870-02-12
DON PEATr VS.. w. 3. smBTsg
Jerusalem Shoaon Up.

Some time ago Don Piatt, the Washington
correspondent of the Cincinnati Commercial,
took occasion to refer to General Jerusa-
lem Smith" thief Congressman from this
D strict Smith, IN his peculiar whining
cringing manner, went to radical hummer
friends, and, with salt water in his littIe
snakeish eyes, plead for signatures to u
sickly article which he had drawn up refut-
/ ing the correct statements made by the
! honest Don. To this article Piatt comes
back at the saddle-suatcher in the following
/ style We know thar the Commercial
correspondent could get in Hardeman
county, without trouble thousands of good
and true men to testify to the unmanly,
seapesrace characteristics Of the dis-honor
able member Of Congress whom be has so
successfully exposed to the public:
was shown, a few days since, com
munication in the Commercial, signed by
number Of citizens of Memphis, supporting
to be counter statement TO my bineraphi-
cal sketch Of the Hon W. J. smith, more
! famiiiarly known as .'Old Jerusalem" This
communication escaped my notice at the
&
that much sympathy is excited in the House
by what the friends Of this member are
pleased to term "a wanton attack on a good
Union man, who fought gallantly his way
up from private to the position Of Brevet
Brigadier General"
l beg these sympathetic friends to sus
pend their generous emotions unsil they
learn u few facts. And the first that
propose to impress upon their loyal, i'm
Z L.. ~, L.
attacks on any one. As n journalist, is Is
my duty to pancture charlatans and imbe-
Giles to the best Of my ability, and it is not
with IDe labor of love do it from a
high stnse of duty to my party and Govern
ment, and can appeal to - better record of
/ loyalty 10 bOth than twO-thirds Of these
sYmpathizers can show, and. above all, ]
want them to know that | am certain of my
/ facts before | make a move, involving such
consequences as does personal assault to
an honorable member of Congress
1t viii be observed that the communica-
ton referred to does not pretend to refute
any assertion or fact that made 1t is a
certificate Of good character generally. Now
such evidence of good character IS apph-
cable only when the charges of misconduct
are in doubt This is not the case in this
instance, and it would be well for The
friends to begin by denying ut least some OF
the charges made time and again against
the gentleman in question Then the allie
CATION of good character in general would
be more apr licabls 1t Is, at best, a mega
tive sor5 of evidence, and means only that
the witness knows no Ill Of the person
indicted and in the case of the venerable
Jerusalem this amounts to q confession of
not knowing him at ALL
As for his fighting, it is the drearY sort Of
stufI we hear rung in our ears by every
rogue who seeks to hide bis shortcomings
under the ample folds of the star spangled
! banner that has been so often used in that
way that it is getting TO be very dirty and
ragged. Smith was a member Of the W est
Tenn essee Cavalry. subsequently called the
Sixth Tennessee, and if this regiment did
any fighting other than that of "A hummer
campaign among unarmed people for
plumber 1t was unknown to the officers IN
/ command during the war in Tennessee.
The svmpathzers can test this bv appealing
| to General Washburn, now on the floor
with them, and | VIII abide by his response
II not satisfied with this, they can appeal to
General George H. Thomas, or any other
general officer IN command in that part of
I Tennessee.
OF Old Jerusalem's part in this noble
style Of warfare We have some records that
throw much light on his brilliant career.
hold in my hands q document marked
General Orders No 16S," and dated,
| Headquarters, Sixteenth Army Corps,
Memphis, Tenn, Dec. g. 1868, +" which docu-
men5 purports to be record of "a general
court martial which convened at Bolivar,
4 Tennessee, pursuant to Special Orders No
/ II, paragraph II, dated 10th March, 1868,
! from these headquarters, and of which
I Colonel Robert b. Latham, Tooth Illinois
4 Infantry, was President, when w. j
Smith "was arraigned and tried on charges,
! first. of robbery, and the specifications set
| forth about as vile detail of stealing
/ side saddle, then a mule, then bed clothing,
I such quilts, counterpanes, sheets, etc;
/ then he robbed d church. then bale of
cotton. Ali going, | suppose, to make up
I the property be claimed to have been taken
/ from bin by the seceSsionists and that grew
in value from the $4,000 paid by the order of
the General commanding, by tax collected
on the neighborhGod to the enormous
amount now pending before Congress.
The second charge is one of ''misappii-
cation and emhezzlement Of public property
iatrnsted TO him.
Charge third i that of insubordination,
while the fourth and last Is Of conduct un-
becoming an officer and gentleman, and is
. rebash Of the first, the officers composing
tue court laboring under the singular belief
that robbery of woman Of her sides
saddle and of a church, Is gather ungentlc-'
manly and unofficerlike.
This document is authenticated by the
name of \, A. HurlSurt, Major
General, and r H. HoIris, T. S A
Adjusane General and am assured 10y
good authority that the reason that this old
fellow did not End his way into the Peni-
tentiarF instead of Congress, is that in the
trouble that followed the trial, brought
about by the unexpected arrival Of General
Hood and the Confederate army. the case
was not followed up to just conclusion.
80 much for Old Jerusaiems military
record
If any one cares to peruse the military