The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-02-09
FITZ JOHN PORTER.
Montgomery Blair On the Illegal
ity of the Court Martial,
A Soldier Sacrificed for Political ProAt-The
Prosecution Bigoted and Partisan
Public Justice Will Yet Come"

The folio wing is the letter OF Montgomery Blair
in fun, which has recently been referred to an
showing the justice OF General Porter's demand
for rehearng on account Of new testimony in his
case:-
WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 1874.
10 MAJOR GENERAL FIR JOHN PORTER. Morris
DEAR GENERAL-You ask me what can be done
TO get your case reviewed by the administration.
Nothing that know OF. They probably see some
trouble and no political advantage IN 1t and wiii
let II alone. You can get all you really want; the
Vindication, II any Is yet needed, or your good
name In the minds OF the people. by getting able
and distinguished lawyers who command the pub
nc confidence to review the record aud pronounce
Lord and Reverdy Johnson and Others nave
gwen you their clear ana positive opinion.
nave have no doubt Mr. Eyarts and Mr.. 0'Conor and Mr..
Bartett ana Judge Black would give you the same
opinion. These are among great lawyers OF
the day. Men OF their stamp would not refuse to
40 Justlce TO true solder suffering under great
wrong. No man OF sense will regard against their
Judgment the finding OF all the courts martial or
do not mean to disparage military courts iarly
constituted. But the same securities against pre-
JUDGE BIAS aud interest are required iii them as
IN all tribunals. Undoubtedly you are
| ENTITLED TO HEARING
oy tne PRESIDENT You are under sentence OF dis.
qualification which is still in force and OF
execution. II 1t were an executed sentence ne
might say It was final In law, and rid him.
application to the pardonlng power, with
II he finds the sentence unjust to issue his pardon
Oi course you do not want his pardon, and would
refuse to accept it unless he puts IT Oh the ground
OF your innocence. But your application does not
ne only TO me pardonlng power Many precedents
remedy In such a case OF gross injustice Yhe
PRESIDENT may restore you with consent OF the
Senate. Undoubtedly 1t is his duty public justice
requires 1t. IL Is not mere matter OF Executive
iavor DO not see how he can refuse to declare
nus hs IND pag@ ssm,n Of your entire innocence
largely evidence from the side of the enemy,
which you could not procure during the
ings Of the court martial. You are as much en-
titled TO this evidence as Bazaine was to the test
m0ny or the German princes and generals. l do
not say that tlls new evidence Is necessary to
your vlndlcatiOn. l believe with Judge Curtis and
lull and honorable acquttal on the evidence at
the trial; but the new evidence leaves no peg to
hang doubt on. No Judge Advocate VINO has
his own cnara cter to take care OF Will assert your
guilt In the face OF such evidence.
the public, l think, will now look at your case
party ieellng. When they tried you the War De-
partment wanted to excuse
and their share Of the business. That honest and
able man, Secretary Welles. in his defence Of Mr..
Lincoln, tells how stanton met the emergency He
charged the blame on Mcclellan. HE demanded OF
Mr. Lincoln his instant dismissal He tried to en-
gage the whole Cabinet in It, he tried to get them
al to sign paper drawn by him to compel Mr.
LlncOln's consent. But Mr.. Lincoln thought Nc
Ceiian only could rally the army, and he vent to
him and asked him to resume the command That
put check on the business till Mcclellan was
finally removed, and then the charges were worked
ground that 'the Army of Virginia" Pope's army,
which got in behind the detences OF Washington,
GUS work committed to 1t. Its campaign was
marked by signal vgor and ability" And
you mad made "a vigorous attack" the ..rebe!s
army (neither within your reach nor IN the habit
OF being captured aud destroyed, unfortunately
for u.s., destroyed or captured" aud that, Tor the
escape OF that army" and the "calamItes and
told grief OF our people" IN the ensuing years of
the war you were chargeable. There was
NOT WORD TRUTH
IN all this. 1t mad scarcely any color, from the
sweeps away the whole ground OF IL. Still | fear
that neither the party, as whole, nor the admin
ag the 70 ana
the time OF his death he purposed
rehearng OF your case, by which evil
dence, non-attainable during hostility, might
be adduced to your favor; an act so like his Just
cordial assistance OF President Fillmore and other
persons OF high official position, repeatedly de-
you have had presented the opinion OF General
sherman, that you could with proprety peuitlon
much OF the sentence as prevents you from hold
Ing office, and to nominate you Tor some position
the same as or similar TO that held by you In the
regular army at the time yOu were dismlssed;'
and although you have in your possession. with
which to ever command the attention and respect
OF the patriotic people oil the country, the assur-
THAT GREAT SOLDIER, GENERAL GEORGE II. THOMAS
that "he could safely assert that not one OF your
old army friends believed for one moment that the
finding OF the Court was just and that 1t was uni
versaiiy believed that the Court had been misiedn
And although Vice President wilson, and Horace
Greeley ana Governor Curtin and Senators Sher-
man. Foster and Harris, with many other dis
tinguished leaders OF the administration party,
have recommended to the President the revision
you ask ior-still | fear your case must walt
/ A FALSE ARGUMENT
One false argument has been used against you
with the public-that you disObeyed orders; and
consequences is military crime that justices The
sentence. Now, the public do not know that the
first part OF this proposition Is not true in TACT and
orders, according to the motive and crcumstan-
ces, Is an offence OF the highest or lowest grade.
1t may deserve death or simple reprmand. In
small matters, and without wrong intention, it Is
not to be regarded seriously: TO be serious
ton, from honest motives, from sincere
but aut is no Even es Ss best
| officers may have to plead sucn excuses. Military
lie gives frequent occasion for them. "No COM
mander," great historian tells us, "was as in
dugent to such errors" as the great Napoleon,
and mo master was SO faithfully served" Even
when Gr0uchy failed him at Waterloo, though he
thought 1t as ''strange as II an earthquake had
met MS army and swallowed 1T up,'' ne was still
lit treachery only misfortune 1t Is estab-
lisned that you were not amenable to either
charge.
BLIND OBEDIENCE TO ORDERS
In regard to the obligation of orders and "biipd
| obedience" to them the same great master OF war
! has inculcated that absolute unreasoning, blind
obedience Is only due when the commander who
gives the order Is present. If he be absent, and
| the subordinate Is clear that the order made
IN iAnorance and error OF the SITUATION and that
the commander, II present, would not make 1t, he
is allowed TO exercise his own best Judgment as to
the execution OF 1t. grave responsibility OF
| course devolves on him. selfish, stupid man,
may say the order is positive--iet the blame be on
him who gave IL; but that Is not the suggestion OF
high and true sense OF public duty.
In your case orders which you were convicted OF
dsobeying you were relieved and discharged from
IN express terms. The first or joint order to Gen.
eral Mcdowell and your self-omitted by Nc
Doweh's word and act-directed at should not be
carried out II any considerable advantages were to
he gained by departing from it," and this dis
erection was aveiled OF all that day successfully
as to keep Lee from throwing all his forces ON
| POpe's scattered army. The otner or last order
known as the haf-past four p. NJ order-even II 1t
had not arrived too late for execution, directed
| you to advance on the exposed flank OF Jackson's
army 1t was not JacKson's nank before you but
Lee and LoBgstreet In overwhelming force. The
| prosecution refused to believe that the trial.
| They know 1t now. But you knew at the
! time what Pope did not know. II You
had sacrfced your corps you could not
| have pleaded the order lor II. Orders must