The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-11-21
THF PRESS.
TUESDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 21.
The Fitz John Porter Case.

Contrary to popular belief the pen is a
good weapon in tbs hand OF Gen. Grant
He has contributed to the North American
Review an article which the PRESS repub-
fishes this morning, on the famous Fitz
John Porter case. In the brief space of len
pages of that magazine he reviews the case
against Gen. Porter, summarizes the evil
dence upon which he was convicted, and
gives the fac.s which convince him that
Porter acted wisely and averted a greater
disaster to the Union forces than that which
befell the army of Virginia at the Second
Bull Run. With magnanimity unparal-
elled Gen. Grant confesses that for many
years heshared the common error concerns
ing the battle, and regrets that he did not
while he had the power remedy the injustice
done to a brave, efficient and patriotic
officer. New, he says, he shall do his ut
most to impress his countrymen with the
justice of the case, and to secure from our
Government, as far as it can grant it, the
restitution due to General Fi!z John Porter"
There are two charges againsl Porter, re
lafing to his action un the 9th and 29fh +
August, 1852. AT 10 o'clock on the night OF
the 9th General Porter received orders from
General Pope, commanding the army OF
Virginia directing him to start his com
mand at l O'Clock the same night and rep
at daylight at Bristoe station. The officer
who brought the order was over three hours,
by daylight and on horseback, in making his
way from Bristoe Station to General Porter.
Porter's troops were greatly fatigued by
marching all day, the night was extremel,
dark, the road was marrow and bad, through
woods. and blocked by about thousand
army wagons, many of them stuck in th.
mud. Porter's first inclination was to al
tempt to carry out the order at once, but his
leading generals, apparently without dis
sent, decided that to move a; O'Clock was
impossible, that it would only result in
wearing out the men and making them I'M
fit for fighting or marching on reaching
their destinations: and that on every account
1t would be best to delay starting for tw.
hours, employing the tt. e in efforts at clear
ing the road with cavalry, request fo ?
which was sent back to Pope This decis
ion Gen. Grant unqnalifedly commends.
He says that the order required an impossi-
bility, that Porter knew ii, and that, as was
entirely proper, he exercised his best iudg-
ment as to what move he should make.
In relation to the second charge Gen.
Grant also sustains Porter. On the after
noon of the 29h, at 430 O'Clock, General
Pope sent an order to Porter to attack Jack
sons right flank and to get into his rea :.
General Popss belief as to the situation OF
the enemy, and the evidence upon which
General Porter was condemned were entirely
contrary to the facts. Pope believed that
Jackson was in his immediate front, and
that Porter, at his left and front, with no ene-
my to engage his attention, could easily flank
jackson. In reality Porter's command was
not on Jackson's flank but three miles away
on Pope's left, while Longstreet with $4,000
men was in his (Porter's) front, and would
have wiped out his little command of 10000
men, had he endeavored to execute Pope's
order. Moreover Porter could rot have car
ried out the order, because it was not re.
ceived until dark and did not contemplate
night attack. The efforts be made to carry
it out demonstrated its impossibilty. Gen.
Porter knew the exact situation, while
General Pope was in ignorance and would
not believe that his theory of the situation
could be mistaken. Porter was left alone.
confronting nearly three times his force He
realized the situation, and he did the one
thing possible to assist Pope. He engaged
Longstreet's attention and succeeded in
preventing his uniting with jackson and
crushing Pope. This is General Grants
verdict, which agrees entirely with the con-
illusions reached by the Schofield board.