The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1882-11-24
Grant in Behalf Of Porter,
THE Ex-pREsIDENT's URGENT APPEAL
FOR THE RESTORATION OF GEN.
FITz JOHN PoRTERs RANK.


General Grant has written an article
for the December number of the North
4neerican Reyieac entitled San I'm
deserved Stigma, in which he reviews
the charges made against General Fitz
John Porter, and in which he express
es his full conviction in General Por
ter's innocence. In the first place, the
ex- president refers specifically to the
charges made against General Porter
before the court-martial that convened
in Washington in November, 1862.
The charges were:
First Disobedience of orders
under the 9th article of war.
Second. Misbehavior before the
enemy under the send article of war.
Under the first charge there were
three specifications of which the court
found Porter guilty. These were sub
staptially:
First, Disobedience to the order
of August 27, requiring him to march
from Walrenton Junction at l o'clock
on the morning of the 2Sth, aud be at
Bristoe Station by daylight.
Second Disobedience on August
30, while in front of the enemy, to the
Joint order to Mcdowell and Porter,
directing them to march toward
Gainesville and establish communica-
ton with the other corps.
Third. Disobedience on August
20, while in front of the enemy, to
what is known as the "4,30 p. m.
Order requiring Porter to attack the
enemys flank and rear.
General Graut sums up these charges
with more than legal brevity: at
will be seen from the foregoing, he
writes, "that General Porter's alleged
misconduct was embraced in three
separate cases of disobedience of orders
one on the 27th of August, and two
on the 29th of August; and in having
retreated unnecessarily from the enemy,
by that act endangering other portions
of the army with which he was CO
operating.
"It will be seen that, though these
offenses were alleged to have beer
committed in August of 1862, he was
| COlllIlutu III Tue VI All dIlIl0
corps until some time in Novembe
following, taking an active part in the
battles of the day following the datt
of the last charge, and in command o
the defenses of Washington on th'
: west bank of the Potomac, and also a
the battle of Antietam, some week
later. 1t would look at first very sin
, gular that an officer, so wantonl,
derelict in the performance of his duty
as General Porter was alleged to hav
been on the 27th and 29th of August
should have been continued in so i'm
portant place as the command of al
army corps, when so much was a
stake as there was on the 30th of Au
gust, and in the defenses of Washing
/, ton, and in the later battles in Mary
land, when the invasion of the Mort
was threatened These facts woul
indicate to an unprejudiced mind tina
the charges against Porter were a
atter-thought, to shift the responsible
tiles of failure from other shoulder
and to place them upon him.
"ln regard to his disobedience c
the order of the 27th of August, he
: alleged to have, without justification
deferred his march from Warrento
Junction to Bristoe Station from
o'clock until 3 of the morning of I'll
: 2Sth.
TIE TROOPS FATIGuED.
{ General Grant declares in regard [
: this charge that it was about 10 o'cloc
!. on the night of the 9th when Port,
!. received an order by command
Major General Pope, directing him
n start at p. m. with his corps to me
:, General Banks at Warrenton Junctio
4 If the latter was not there Gener,
1 Porter is ordered to leave regimen
s of infantry as a guard until Gener
e Banks arrived. General Grant say
d in this connection, Porter's troops ha
been marching all day, that were vel
2 much fatigued when the order was
IS ccived, The night, as shown in Il
l. testimony before the court which tre
Porter and as confirmed by the e,
d dence given in what was known as Il
Y Schofield board, was extremely darL
o the road very narrow, with numero
; cuts and streams passing through il
J, bounded by woods on both sides
d many places, with no place where Il
/. open country could be taken for IL
d march of troops, aud blocked up wit
e about two thousand army wagon
many of them mired in the narrow roa
e so that the officer who conveyed II
e order to General Porter was over thr
hours on horseback, in making the d
l. tance of ten miles. Porter was G
!. pected, with fatigued troops, worn wi
T long marches, ON seantY rations.