The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1881-03-03
The Grant I'm, : new Departure.
The Fitx john Porter and the shields Re
lief Bills.


to differ than the Yazoo Herald, but We
will venture to suggest, and viii attempt
to demonstrate that our Yazoo friend i
& wide of the mark in his effort to discover
a similarity between the Grant bill and
the relief measures for the benefit o.
; Gen. Fitz John Porter and the late
General Shields The Grant bill stands
alone in its glory without precedent
either in custom or in the principle
upon which its advocates sup
port it. The measures are entirely dis
similar in character and intent. Here
tofore we have omitted any mention OF
the Porter bill, treating it as we have
: thousands of other private bills that
come before Congress in which there is
no question of principle or precedent in
volved, but as it has been cited in this
discussion, we will give brief synopsis
of its purposes, and also of the history OF
the Shields act.
THE FITzJoHN PORTER BILL.
In 1862, after Gen. I. j. (StonewalD
Jackson had given Pope thorough
thrashing at Second Manassas scape-
goat was made of Fitz John Porter, who
commanded a division under Pope. He
was tried by court martial, condemned
for reasonable disobedience of orders,
and dismissed in disgrace from the
army. The principal specification was
that he had willfully failed, and refused,
to occupy certain position when order
ed to do SO by Pope, and such failure
lost the battle. Porter continuously as
serted his innocence of the charge, and
constantly demanded rehearing of his
case. This, latter long delay was granted
him. The court summoned all the
prominent actors in the battle, both
Federal and Confederate, then living,
and after full examination acq quilted
him of the charge. 1t was conclusively
shown that when Porter received the or
der to occupy the position it was already
| held by Jackson'S men. That he made
determined, and desperate, effort to
obey, but could not owing to Stonewall
Jackson's way of holding whatever posi-
ton he took. This verdict of acquittal
did not entirely wipe out the stain of
treason from Porter's record. While
the court declared him innocent, it had
no power to replace him in the army
This only Congress could do, and
the bill before it is to restore him
to the rank of Colonel which he
held when dismissed from the army.
He was also rigadier-General of
volunteers and Major-General by bre-
vet We are not in favor of ex-
Confederates in Congress taking an act
i've part in the settlement of army feuds
which arose during the war, yet when
the question of doing an act ofjustice to
an innocent man is presented they
can not do less than vote for it.
No new investigation was necessary
to convince us that FitzJohn Porter
had been unjustly punished, for this
writer believes that the army, when in
anything like equal proportions, was
never formed that could have withstood
the victorious onslaught of Stonewall
Jackson and his men.
THE SHIELDS CASE.
There were two bills before Congress
for the relief of Gen. James Shields.
One originated in the House that pro-
vided for his appointment in the army
as Brigadier-General on the retired list,
which after much discussion was very
properly killed in the Senate. Under
this bill the pay would have been about
81, 100 year. The other was Senate
bill in words as follows:
That the Secretary of the Interior be, and |
he is hereby authorized and directed to place |
on the pension roll, subject to the provisions
and limitations of the pension laws, the |
name of James Shields, late a Brigadier-
General of the United States Volunteers at |
the rate of one hundred dollars per month"; /
said pension to be in lieu of that which he |
now receives.
This bill became law June IS, 1873. |
The amount allowed Isl 200 per annum),
was deemed sufficient for the veteran to
live upon comfortably. 1t will be seen
that the Herald is mistaken in its asser-
ton ''that the Democrats in Congress
voted for and passed bill through
that body placing General Shields
imam who was not in the army at the
'time-on the retired list of the army
with the rank and pay of General"
He was not retired" upon the pay of
General which is ST 800 per annum or
anything like that amount; in fact he
was not 'sretired" at all. The effect OF
The act was only to increase has pension
IF thirty dollars month, ,chicA he had
'eea dra'cing for many geqrs, to one
hundred dollars. Its object was to pro-
ride for the declining life of poor and
lecrepit old man, seventy-odd years of
Lge, who had been wounded and bodily
disabled in the service of his country. !
n the Mexican war, at Cerro Gordo, he
lad an arm shattered, and at Chapulte-
zee he was shot through the breast with /
and was reported mortally s
Wounded. The principle of this act I
ccords with the whole pension system I
" which the government cares for the 1
sounded, disabled and aged soldiers of
he Republic. The old hero did not re. '
Luire the 800 for many months. He
vas soon called to his long account, and
We find that on June I'd, 1879, less than
ne year after the passage of the act
mother act was passed providing PEN
ion for his widow.
THE GRANT BILL
Is not ike the Porter bill for the rea.