The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-08-24
WARREN AND SHERIDAN.
From the American. Aug 10.

From the American, Aug 10.
1t is easy to say that Warren showed a
super sensitiveness, and was unnecessarily
anxious to be a proto martyr, and to an
nOunee himself diSgraced, when in point
of fact Sheridan and Sherman and Grant
only looked upon it as one of the unpleas-
ant incidents. of the war. That is undoubt-
eddy their way of looking at it, and I'M
fortunately the tone of the press and of the
press and of the great majority OF con
gressmen, the representatives of the peo-
pie, and of a huge portion of the people at
large, takes the key note from those in
authority. accepts their statement, and
looks on Warren as a man with grievance,
and his case as small matter to worry
over so long
There is, however assmall residum of
old army officers, especially of Warren's
own Corps of engineers, where high sci
entific attainment seems to have maintain
ed "A high sense of honor. and of men who
had served in Warren's Fifth corps, and
with him there or in other parts of the
Army of the Potomac. and of men who
were with Thomas IN the West, who are
not content with any such statement as
conclusive of Warren's case. They look
on it as an injustice inflicted on soldier
of tried merit, by one whose whole career
has been a series of brilliant good luck,
and who might, with great credit to him
self, have exercised the small gen crosby
of acknowledging an injury done brave
soldier and thus put himself even more in
the right. They see in it just another in
stance of the same sort of I'M Justice that
was melted out to the Army of the Poto
mac by the authorities and especially by
the soldiers and civilians who
chose to consider the western armies
as the great and important factor in the
success of the Union cause. They liken
it to the preference which was given to
Sheridan over Thomas and Meade, which
made him the next in session for the high
est post in the army, while those who had
held important and independent COM
mands were passed over. Thomas had
won the battle of Nashville, as Meade had
won the battle of Gettysburg, but Sherman
took all the henors and the popular APP
plause and the enduring rewards. Thomas
must be content with place in the true
history of the war; which yet remains to
be written, while Sheridan has the place
which ought to have been Meade's. Nash
vile and Gettysburg were both good for a
marshals baton to their winners.
But there is a still graver matter involv
ed in the question of Warren's case, great
er far that his own personal grievance. 1t
is the slow but sure decay in the army
itself of that nice sense of honor
which Warren himself indicated by
dying more easily than living to
bear an unrequitted injury and an
undeclared dishohor. 1t is perfectly true
that an officer might be relieved. even on
the field of battle where he had won a vic
tory, without disgrace. Indeed, Warren
f,,Il. inc fia1 in,
that the discredit was Sheridan's for not
knowing the real condition of affairs in his
own command Abroad il is Just such
case as would in Germany have been sub
mitted to court of honor and, upon their
approval, the injured party would have
sought redress in an appeal to arms and a
conflict to the bitter end. Here we rest con-
tent with the judgment of the highest in
authority and of public opinion. But the
result, in this as in other cases, shows that
both have ceased to be animated by the
spirit which ought to govern both above
and below The set or direction thus
started has continued in steady downward
course and only recently has made itself
so painfully manifest, in the extravaganza
opinion in Mason's case, that even the laity
have been stirred by such a violation of
the primary rules at the foundation of all
military discipline.
When Sheridan began in Warrens case
had the excuse of being done in the haste
and heat and excitement of a. battle-a
poor excuse for a commanding officer, who
ought to have full possession Of his
faculties and no more make mistake in
the discipline of his own men than in
meeting the disposition of the enemy. But
bad as was the offense, what followed was
the worse. in that he had the added injury
of being done after cooling time, and with
the aid of such fresh information as was
grathered from all sources. With this
fully and fairly before him. Sheridan,
backed and supported by Sherman, rs he
had been by Grant and the successive