National Republican., 1882-12-29

should lose its place.
Tho bill being before the senate, Mr., Logan |
proposed that its friends should speak to-day, !
and said he would occupy two or three hours
tomorrow in opposition to it,
Mr.. COngcr protested against any arrange |
ment for the final disposal of the bill until it
should have been first considered by full
senate.
The conclusions of the military board, COM
posed Of Gems Schofeld, Terry, and Getty,
were read from the report of the committee
on military affairs made in May last.
Mr.. Sewell then addressed the senate in
support of the bill.
Mr.. Sewell said that Gen. Porter, at the
commencement of the war, was sent to the
relief of the troops in Texas in anticipation of
the action of Gen. Twiggs, and on his at
tempting to land at Galveston the enemy
threatened to capture his steamer with the
specie which he had on board Here Porter
first developed his qualities as a commander.
He threatened to sink the specie, he relieved
Pensacola, and saved 700 men of Twiggs's
command Coming north, he was assigned to
aid Gov. Curtin, and he helped to organize
the Pennsylvania troops. While at Harris
burg he heard of the outbreak at st. Louis,
and, communication with Washington being
cut off, he took the responsibility of
ordering, in the name of Gen. Scott,
the mastering in of the Missouri militia
under Capt. Lyon. This action on his part
led to the organization of tho army which
saved Missouri TO the union. Gen. Porter
forwarded the Pennsylvania troops for the
protection of Washington, then Joined Gen.
Patterson, was assigned to the army of the
Potomac, and was in command of the artillery
vt the seige of Yorktown. When that scige
'nded he was assigned to the command of the
fifth corps. He commanded the right of the
army of the Potomac, and the failure of Me
Dowell to connect with him (under orders to
protect Washington was the cause of the fail
urc of the Pennsular campaign. 1t brought
the whole confederate force upon Porters
command, and tho result was the battle of
Gaine5s mill and the retreat to Harrisons
landing. Con. Porter covered the rear on the
retreat to Yorktown and was ordered to join
the army of Virginia by way of Aqua creek,
hut, learning from some captured negroes
that Lee was moving northward, he tclc-
graphed the information to Mcclellan, and
shipping his command, he reported to Gen.
Pope four days sooner than his orders re-
quired. 1t was impossible, Mr.. Sewell argued,
that an officer so energetic, so skillful and so
ready to take responsibility could, within the
next few days, have been guilty of that with
which Gen. Porter was charged. The Burn
side communication, of which so much had
been said, was made in pursuance of an ar
rangemcnt with Burnside that Porter should
give him all the information from the army
Of Virginia that he possibly could, so that
Burnside, who had a separate cnmmard
take advantageo of it in case OF disaster to that
army. Tho order of Pope TO move at the
time designated was one which could not have
been carried out. Porter consulted his divis-
ion commanders, and, the night being dark,
they advised him that a movement at three
in the morning would facilitate progress more
than an earlier movement overa road covered
with 1000 wagons could possibly do. Here
was an occasion when a corps commander
might properly exercise his judgment in car
wing out an order given by the commander
of the army at a distance and without knowl-
edge of the circumstances. Porter did so, and,
acting upon his judgment and the advice of
his corps commanders, he arrived at the
designated point in time to carry out
the intention of Gen. Pope's order.
The order dated 430 p. m. to attack was re-
ceived by Gen. Porter about sunset. That was
another case in which the general command
ing had no knowledge of the circumstances
or of the force in front of Porter, and where
it was clearly the duty of the corps COM
mander to exercise his own Judgment. 1t
had been since demonstrated by the testi-
mony before the military board that Long
street occupied Porter's front with $4,000
men against his 5000, and had been there for
some hours before Porter arrived. This fact
Porter knew. He was waiting to attack, and
gave an order to do so; but, night coming
on, that order was countermanded. Nobody
denied that Porter fought the second battle
of Bull Run, or that his corps was
practically the only one engaged on
The day when the fighting was done. After
the retreat, in consequence of the
n-concentration Of the troops under
Gen. Pope, Porter had charge of the de-
lenses of Washington, and his command
was engaged at Antietam; and it was not
until after that battle, when the press of the
country was crying out against the military
mismanagement which had led TO the defeat
at Bull Run, that any charges were made
against Porter. The charges were made by
Pope at a time when the country seemed to
depand victim, and Porter was found
guilty on the evidence then adduced; but
the military board composed of Gems. Scho-
field, Terry and Getty, three of the brightest
and ablest officers in the army, after carefully
examining all the original record and hearing
all the new testimony that could be obtained
came to the conclusion that the facts of the
case were exactly as Gen. Porter had stated
them, and not merely that he was guiltless
but that his conduct on that occasion had
saved the army
Mr. Sewell said that he took II special in
terest in Gen. Porter's case, because he had
himself served in the army of the Potomac
had been present at Bull Rum and knew that
the assertion of the military boatd that Por
ter had there saved the army was correct. lie
made Gen. Grants recent article on the POr
ter case part of his argument, saying thai
the record would not be complete without it
and that it was a clear analysis of the Who'll,
case, which anybody who read it could under
stand. He also read Gen. Terry's letter t,
Gen. Grant, in which the writer said that
having entered upon the investigation with
prejudice against Gen. Porter, he had com,
out of it with the belief that Porter, insteaC
Of being traitor, was martyr. Very few
OF the officers of the army of the Potomac Mr.
Sewell said, had ever believed the charge
against Gen. Porter, because his whole con
duct and character gave them the lie.
AT the conclusion of Mr.. Sewell's remarks
the senate ON motion of Mr.. Mcpherson, wen
into executive session, and soon after ad
journed
CONTRIBUTIONS.
The senate in executive session confirmed
the following nominations:
John W. Garden to be register of the land q
Shasta, Cal.
PDstma.tcrs.-Thos Mein, at Nevada City, Cal
O. ;, Scott at Silver City, n. NJ: Simon ID. LauGel
at lrwi station, Pa; Thadeus W. Fancher, a
lOraiu Ohio; Thos, II. Blake, at Lebanon, Ohio
IL 4. n