The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1882-03-16
RosEcRANs 1NrERvIEwEp.
VIVA. He Has to Say Concerning the

Garfield-Chase Letter.
WASHINGTON. March II. - General
Rosecrans told correspondent of the
Cincinnati Commercial last night that
he had no intention of making any
statement for publication about the /
Garfield-C Chase letter published yester- /
day, until he had ascertained whether il |
was genuine or not. AS soon as he saw |
the letter yesterday he wrote letter /
designed to elicit proofs of its authen- |
city. Until he received reply to this |
he had, he said, no desire to say any.
thing about the matter for publication.
He was somewhat surprised to find in |
New York paper to-day statement pur-
porting to have come from him respect |
ing the matter, which he supposed must |
have been written rs the result of some |
conversation, which he did not suppose
would be published. But as the state |
ment contains things he did not say, and |
is a misrepresentation of things he did
say, and the facts respecting the Tulla-
homa campaign are somewhat ludi- |
crously misstated, Gen. Rosecrans said
10 the correspondent tonight, that as
this premature publication had oc-
Cured, 1t might be as well 10 set forth
his views and the facts of history Alright,
upon the assumption, of course, that The
letter was genuine. In the first place,
he would say that he regretted ex-
ceedingly the publication of a letter
of which he had often heard, but in
whose existence he had, in the face of
Garfield's denial to himself, refused TO
believe. 1t was very embarrassing
circumstance, and in some of its phases,
inexpressibly sad. Still, as a promi-
nent Republican member of the house
said to him today, Garfield, and not
Rosecrans, viii suffer by the publication
o. arHatIl, of "a hnliaUan that
| if the matter were brought to an issue,
the country would, like his comrades of
| the army of the Cumberland, as one OF
| the thirty or forty who are in the house
| of representatives said TO him to-day, be
on his side. Words would fail him to
express his contempt for the perfidy of a
man who, treated as a conhdant rather
| than subordinate, betrayed the conf
dence of trusting friend in the basest
manner-a man who engrafted himself
! into the confidence of his commander
and then availed himself of the opportu-
mites of his position to supersede him.
| If the letter be genuine, it is one Of a
series. Garfield, the spy, sitting at the
i right hand OF his commander,
assisting with smiling face in
all his plans and secretly plot
ting his downfall, must have
been in constant communication with
friends in high places in Washington );
must have written many similar letters
before writing this letter of July 81, the
GROWING Infamy of all.
Gen. Rnsecrans is 10th to believe that
this letter is genuine. When he once asked
| Garfield whether he had written such
letter, Garfield replied: II have never
been untrue to you in thought, word or
| deed" If II be true. and the probabili-
ties strongly point in this direction, he
will feel called upon in justice to the
living to refute the statements of the
dead. In all this Rosecrans experiences
nothing but the sincere2t regret that the
treachery of his trusted chief of staff, if
treachcry it may be, should have been
brought out in the light of day, and for
Garfield's deed he has, of course, moth
ing but Indignation and contempt. For
Garfield he has nothing but pity. He
is shaken and saddened by the publIca-
ton of this letter beyond expression.
Respecting Garfeld's alleged state
ments of the facts upon which ROsecrans
was, he believes, finally removed, Gen.
Rosecrans has to say that it is directly
the opposite of what Garfield knew of
the facts Garfield's relations were so
intimate with Roscrans that he was per-
fectiy familiar with all the plans of his
commanding officers. Resecrans did
not attempt to shift the responsibility of
any of them on the shoulders of any one
else, but so far as Garfield was called
upon to express an opinion, he'approved
them all. Rosecrans never had any reas-
on 20 bel ieve that Garfield disapproved
of the manner in which the campaign of
Tullahoma and the subsequent move
ments were conducted. So far as he
knew, he shared the opinions of his
! brother officers, that the manner in
| xul, hand IDd hiS army XUaa
worthy of praise rather than censure /.
Garfield, of all others, knew that the der
lay in the advance of the army of the
Cumberland was due to the fact
that it was holding in place an army
which would otherwise have joined Joe
Johnston, and raised the siege of Vicks-
burg. Whatever determination was en-
tertained by one of its generals was en-
tertained apparently by all. While the
army was waiting before and after the
campaign of TullahOma it was growing
stronger in every way. When it advanc-
ed in the campaign of Tullahoma it
drove everything before it in the twelve
DAYS that elapsed before it gained its
point. No council of war was held be-
fore the advancement. After Rosecrans
had determined upon it, he asked his
fifteen general officers for their opinions.
They were returned to him in writing.
| be permitted Garfield TO prepare his.
They all conceded with his own. They
are all among the war records now, al
| though all but Garffeld's were
mIslaid for years. They. were
not read by Rosecrans be-
fore they went to Hallcck. He had on
| ly Garfield's abstract of them. He was
not in the slightest effected by them,
| save as they confirmed his purpose.
The campaign of TullahOma over,
| Rosecrans prepared for an advance on
the 1st of September, when he felt sure
the army would be ready. August 4th
came an important order from Washing
ton to advance. Rosecrans and his gem
erals, Garfield among the number, read
the telegram together. They all ex-
! pressed the same view, that the army
was not ready. Rosecrans tclegraphed
his alternative: ten days more in which
to complete the preparations, in whose
advancement every nerve had been
! strained, or he must resign. His deter
mination was applauded by all his gen.
erals. He is now disposed to believe
that the unreasonable order of August
| 18th was the result of GBrfield's letter of
July 9th