The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-06-18

General stated with q heavy heart, that he
had no troops to spare for the defense of
Harper's Ferry, and that the arms and stores
at that place must inevitably be lost.
The garrison at Fortress Monroe was, he
feared insufficient to repel the force which
it was understood was organizing to attack
it. He had not, he said, men sufficient to
protect Washington if formidable
demonstration. was made. At length
he promised to send Colonel Della
field of the Engineer Corps, and
think consented, before the Pawnee left that
battalion of the Massachusetts volunteers,
raised under the proclamation of the 10th,
might accompany Commodore Paulding, pro-
vided they had reached Hampton Roads.
They were, he said, undisciplined- be
good for nothing as yet for serious fighting.
but would be serviceable in throwing 1p bat
teries under the direction of the engineer.
For the present, his first great duty, with his
feeble force, was to defend Washington, and
next to Washington, Fortress Monroe, which
was the key to Washington, Norfolk, Balti-
more, Chesapeake Bay, and the rivers which
entered it. He therefore could not, and
would not, consent to part with a single regu-
lar for either Harpers Ferry or the Norfolk
Navy Yard; and his opinion frankly expressed
to us was that the public property in each of
those places must, in case of an attack, be
sacrificed. The most that could be done was
into the hands of the insurgents.
Harpers Ferry was abandoned that evening.
AS but little assistance could be derived
from the military, lost not moment, after
parting from the President and General Scott,
in giving the following order to Commodore
Paulding:-
NAVY DEPARTMENT., April IS, 1sel.-sr:-You are
directed to proceed forthwith to Norfolk and take
command OF all the naval forces there anoat. With
the means placed at your command, you will do all
in your power to protect and place beyond danger
the vessels and property belonging to the United
States On no account should the arms and NUM-
surrectonists, or those who would wrest them from
the custody of the Government; and, should it
Gnay oO r you WILL in order to pre-
into effect these ORDERS you are invested with full
power to command the services of the entire naval
force, and you WILL II necessary repe force by force
in carrying out these instructions IT is understood
that theWar Department will detail Colonel Richard
Deafield, or some other competent officer, with a
command to aid and assist in protecting and guard
ing the yard and property at Gosport aud vicinity,
and you will cooperate with that officer in this
object. am sir respectfully, etc.
GIDEON WELLEs Secretary of the Navy.
Commodore Hiram Paulding, Washington, ID. @.
This order was to repel, not to assail the
administration continued to be forbearing
and to the last was not aggressive. Extreme
men were dissatisfied and censorious because
the administration did not attack, though not
prepared. On to Sumter was the word, as at
a later period the cry, equally inconsiderate,
was ''On to Richmond"
Commander Alden, who, as already re-
marked, had been sent on special duty to
Norfolk on the 1th of April, returned on the
morning of the 10Th, and confirmed the state
ments of Chief Engineer Isherwood. The
| Cabinet was in session when he arrived.
The loss of Harpers Ferry the preceding
evening" and the movements at Norfolk, with
the threatened attack upon the navy yard and
upon Fortress Monroe, were among the
matters under consideration. When Com
mander Alden arrived he went to the Navy
| Department, and finding nae absent, followed
to the Executive Mansion, and calling me
from the council, related the strange condi-
ton of things at Norfolk, and the bewildered
and incapacitated state of mind of Commo-
dore McCauley. After hearing his statement
introduced him to the President and Cabinet,
to whom he recapitulated the statement
which he had made to me. He was immedi-
ately attached to the expedition under Com
modore Paulding, and returned to Norfolk
that evening. The Pawnee reached Wash
ington from the Sumter expedition just in
time to be despatched to Norfolk. She was
placed at the disposal of Commodore
Paulding, with all the naval officers,
men, and means that were at command, and
left Washington on the evening of the 10Th.
Captain Wright, of the army engineers, now
| Brevet Mai or General Wright was substituted
|
expedition. The Pawnee reached Fortress
| Monroe on the afternoon of the goth. Com
| modore Paulding procured from Colonel Dim
mick, in command three hundred and fifty
Massachusetts, volunteers, who had been en-
| listed embarked at Boston, and reached
Hampton Roads within four days after the
proclamation of the President of the 18TH
When Commodore Paulding arrived at Nor
! folk, on the evening of the Goth, he found
that the vessels had been scuttled and were
sinking. Nothing, in his opinion, remained
but to burn them and destroy such property
as could not be carried away by the Cumber-
land and Pawnee, as General Scott had said
would be inevitable, to prevent it from pass
ing into the possession of the insurgents.
OF the manner in which the orders of the
| Navy Department were executed or of the
expediency and necessity of the measures
taken in the first instance by Commodore
McCauley, after consulting with and being
advised by Commodore Pendergrast to scut-
tie the vessels and destroy the guns, and of
the completion of the work of destruction
thus commenced by Commodore Paulding
when he arrived, it is unnecessary to speak at
this time. The whole was an exercise of
judgment and of authority by three expert
enced, brave, tried, and faithful officers in a
great emergency, for which Congress had not
provided and the country was not prepared.
Great censure has been bestowed upon them
by persons who know little OF the circum-
stances, and who had none of the RESPONSE
bilities. Whether the conclusions of these
officers were xight or wrong, they were such
as in their judgment were best, and were pre-
cisely such as. General Scott had said would
be inevitable sas
mind, were all of them before blockade
| ha1 OrHa hn frof oft 1f