Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1870-02-10
SMITH AGAIN.
Er. Pitser Miller Paints His Portrait Like
True Artist.

The Cincinnati Commercial Of the 9th
inst. contains the following letter from
Colonel Pitser Miller, relative to the con
duct and character of the so-called Hon.
WIN. j. Smith, holding a seat in Congress
from the Memphis District. There is no
man in the State more generally andfa-
vorably known than Col. Miller. He Is a
MAJ of unquestiOned loyalty, a native Of
East Tennessee, and for many years a res
ident of the Western District; in this city
be enjoys a reputation second to that or
no man. The following Is the letter:
BOLIVAR, TENN February l, 1870.
70the Editors Of the Commercial:
Iroad your correspondents don Piatt)
article In regard 10 Gen. W. y. Smith,
and thought the tatemen were Justified
by the facts. / then read the article OF
January 3, signed by Barbour Lewis, and
thirty-eight others, denying all that Don
Piatt stated, and lsuding him TO the skies
as an of fine character, and a hero, and
everything that was laudable.
I claim 70 be as good a Union man as
ANYBODY, but I like to see fair play. Gen
eral Smith and myself are on the best of
terms. and have always been friendly, but
the idea of those thirty-nlne citizens say
ing he had a good character, is remarka-
bic. Most of the thirty-nine who signed
il are clever men, but 8 pressure u
have been put on them. 1 know that one
Of them, an officer In the Government,
told me they tried hard to get him to sign
it. and another in high Office sad he had
almost rather have died than sign II, but
Il looked as If he WAS obliged TO do it.
General Smiths general character IS in
famous. lie now holds his seat as Con-
gresham from the Eighth District by an
infamous certificate issued by Brownlow,
when Leftwich was electe' by a large
majority.
During the war he levied a contribution
on forty of his neighbors, at Grand juno
ton. ofsfxty dollars, and when he collect
ed il (the sixty dollars he took two, or
three or four times as much. He took
from some pianos, from some mules, and
others bales of cotton. So successful was
he In this that, for another pretended
loss, he levied q further contribution Of
ten thousand dollars on the same neigh
bors, and would have collected it, but
General Thomas was appealed to, at Nash
vile, and stopped it.
He has thirtY-nine signers to his good
character; and if the same zeal was used
TO get signatures to his infamous charac-
ter, your paper would not hold the
names.
was in the midst of the Federal army
during the whole war, and never heard Of
his fighting; but his regiment was a ter
rOr to all good citizens.
As a sample of his course during the
war, I inclose copies of a couple of trans
actions with a clever widow living near
Grand Junction, filed in our clerks
Office, in settlement as adminisJratrix:
"GRAND JUNCTION, September IL, 1852.
Received of Mrs. V. Hunt, twenty
dollars for bringing four negroes from
Bolivar. W. J. SMITH"
Bolivar was seventeen miles distant.
'GRAND JUNCTION, September II, lS62.
Estate of John w. Hunt.
"To W. j. Smith, DR..
one pair DOT
To five pairs cards..~--".-..----~-.aE28
Received payment. W. j. SMITH"
Cards worth two dollars at Bolivar.
Col. Yestnian and VIM. Il. Brown, mer-
chant OF your city, know me personally.
General, and Gen. c. @. washburne, of
Washington City, also know me.
Respectfully,
PTTsER MILLER.