Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-09-18
THE LIEUTENANT GENERALCY.
Authentic Historical Facts Regarding
the Ofice.

/ grade or Lieutenant Oeneral IN our army ant
its tender to General Washington, permit m,
to give my version Of its history, derived from
the late Major General Thos S. Jesup, United
States army, the friend of Monroe and Other
revolutionary officers, from a critical exami
nation of the archives of the War Department
in Washington. of the American State papers
the annals Of Congress, and every public docu
ment bearing upon the subject that could find
in the libraries of the departments and of Con
gress and of the various lives Of Washington,
at the time that General Scott was urging his
claim for the brevet of Lieutenant General
This examination was made in accordance with
official request. and its results were confirmed
by conversations with Generals Scott, Gibson,
Totten and other officers who had been asso-
ciates and successors of the veteran soldiers
and statesmen surrounding Washington in his
active public career. am thus particular in
giving my sources OF information, that the
truth Of history may be vindicated If have
fallen into error unwittingly.
The present National Federal Union is as
known TO readers of history, only the continue
/ tion Of the confederation systematized and i'm
Troved by the Constitution of 17ST-S9, and is
act new government created by that instru-
( ment, as mistakenly thought by many The
4
| states. whether under the articles of confed-
| GRAFTON or the Constitution of i7S7-s9, consti-
| tutes an unbroken series. with which personal
history is inseparably linked. The life of Wash
| ington, beginning with the English and French
/ wars, and through the continental struggles
and revolutionary war to the day of his death
/ is consequently continuous narrative that
| cannot be interrupted Aud in drawing infer
ences from history we must adopt the Sc
| quences logically to be deduced from the whole.
and not from part only; nor can we color
| them by our predictions.
| The student of American history will re-
member that just before the close Of General
/ Washington's administration the insolence of
| the existing government of France and French
| depredations upon our commerce in.Ghe West
Indies, backed by a strong French party in the
/ United States. instigated by Genet, the French
/ Minister, had created great excitement in the
/ country, TO which disturbances Mr.. John
Adams succeeded on assuming the Executive
chair. The difficulties increasing, Mr. Adams
| convened Congress to take such measures as
might be needed, counseling peace if it could
be honorably maintained, and alluding to war
/ as the alternative in the last resort.
| In the spring of 179S, the French be-
| coming more insolent a state of war
was practically initiated by the French
on the 2Sth of May, 1898, and on the I'D of
| June, 1898, passed an act and a supplemental
| act, authorizing the President of the United
States to raise provisional army of ten thou
| sand men for three years, or unless sooner dis
charged by the President In addition to the
| existing military yestablishment-the troops to
be on the footing of the other troops of the
| United States, bounty excepted. By the fifth
section of the act May 2Sth, the President was
authorized to appoint Lieutenant General if
he saw fit to do So The eyes of the nation
we're naturally turned to General Washington
in this their extremity, though it was doubtful
whether his age and physical inf1rmities would
permit him to leave his retirement at Mount
Vernon and again take active service; and, as
the correspondence of Mr.. Adams and of
his Secretary Of War, Mr.. McHenry,
with him plainly shows, Washing ton was only
regarded as a possible, but not probable, COM
mander in chief: otherwise this old grade of
General to which he was appointed by the Con-
federate Congress on the 18th OF June, 1775,
would have been revived. But the alarm in
creasing, the opinion was universally enter
tanned that Washington must be called on to
take the command ofthe armies. notwithstand-
| ing his extreme aversion to enter again into
public life, and the inferiority Of the grade Of
Lieutenant General to that of General he had
previously held; so Mr.. Adams made up his
mind to nominate him to the Senate as
Lieutenant General and Commander rim Chief
bcause the nation would not be satisfied with
any other course. He therefore wrote to Gen.
Washington on the 22d of June, 1898: I'VE must
have your name if you will in any case permit
| US to use it. There will be more efficacy in it
! on the 26th Of June, Mr.. Adams Secretary Of
War, James McHenry, wrote General Washing
/ ton: 'You see how the storm thickens, and
that our vessel will soon require its ancient pi-
| IOb. VIII yOu-UQay VIC IAJG6E Ourselves bU1I III q
crisis so awful and important, you will accept
| the command Of all our armies? l hope you
will, because you alone can unite all hearts and
all hands,
To Mr.. Adams, Washington replied on the
4th of July, 1885, at length. saying: I'm case Of
| actual inUGsGOn by q formidable force GER
| taihly should not intrench myself under the
| cover of age go and retirement, if my SER
vices should be required by my country to
assist in repelling it." To the Secretary of
War Washington replied also on the same day.
| at length, saying: I'm circumstances like these,
accompanied by an actual invasion Of our ter
ritorial rights, it would be difficult for me to
remain an idle spectator under the plea of age
and retirement" These are but pertinent.
pointed quotations from these letters which in
their entirety indicate that in the creation of
the Office of Lieutenant General for the pro-
Visional army, Washington was not held imme
diately in the mind of Congress. But before
these replies of Washington were received by
the President or his Secretary of War or even
written, Mr.. Adams on the I'd July, 1898, nomi-
mated "George Washington, of Mount Vernon,
to be Lieutenant General and COMMANDMENT
Chief of all the armies raised or to be raised in
the United States" And on the Sd of july
1898, the Senate resolved unanimously that
they do advise and consent to the appoint
ment agreeably to the nomination" The
wording of the nomination and Of the advice
and consent are significantly peculiar, being
dual in their character: First, for Lieutenant
General, and, second, for COmmander-in-C Chief
of all the armies raised or 10 be raised in the
United States, the politico-miIitary rank grant
ed to the President alone by the Constitution
(Art. 2 Sec. 2, Cl. y. This last nomination was
unconstitutional; but until it was so pro-
nounced by competent authority. George
Washington, of Mount Vernon, whether Lieu
tenant General or plain Mr.. Washington, was
the Commander-in- Chief of all the armies of
the United States. In this action Mr.. Adams
fell into two errors, one military. the other po-
litical; not more singular, however, than that
committed by General Grant in nominating
and in the Senate confirming the late Mr.. A.
T. Stewart as Secretary of the Treasury.
In nominating General Washington to the
inferior grade of Lieutenant General Mr.
Adams infringed upon sentiment of military
etiquet not appreciated by civilians, but having
its foundation in sound military propriety. In
those days men were punctiliOus in the main
tenance OF their rights and dignity, and none
more so than General Washington. Mr..
Adams attention was called to his breach of
military rule, and recognizing the keenness Of
its violation in regard to Washington, he hast
ened to send no less a parsonage than the Sec
fet3ry of War to make the Gnle1de honorable
to the illustrious General. Therefore, on the
9Th of July, 1873, he instructs Mr.. McHenry to
proceed to Mount Vernon by the first opportu-
nifty, bearing letter from mself to Washing
ton and the commission of Lieutenant General
and Commander in Chief of the armies of the
United States. In these instructions Mr.. Adams
says to McHenry: 1.-The reasons and motives
which prevailed with me to venture on such
step as the nomination of this great
and illustrious character were too numer-
Gus to be detailed in this letter, and
are too obvious and important to escape the
observation Of any part of America or Europe.
But as it is movement Of great delicacy, it
will require all your address to communicate
the subject in a manner that shall be inoffen-
sive to his feelings, and consistent With all the
respect that is due from one TO him. IL the
General should decline the appointment all the
world will be silent and respectfully acquiesce.
IL he should accept it, all the world except the
enemies of this country will rejoice. IL he
should come to no decisive determination, but
take the subject into consideration, shall not
appoint any other Lieutenant General until
his conclusion is Known" Mr.. Adams was evil
IDENTIFY conscious that he had trenched pretty
heavily on the Generals military dignity In
the letter to Washington borne by Mr.. Nc,
Henry, r. Adams said: '"To you, sir, / owe
cesSity ! am in Of your advice and assist
ance- indeed. of YOUR conduct ana direction ~
the warts all can urge. and that is a sufi-
cient justification to myself and the world I
hope it will be so considered by yourself.''
Mr.. McHenry arrived at Mount Vernon from
Philadelphia (the then capital on the evening of
the llth OF July, 1898 and four days after on the
18th of July, 17g8, "atter a full communication
with General Washington upon the several
points he had in charge, he returned to Phia-
delphia bearing Washington's reply to the
President. In this letter to Mr.. Adams Wash
ington writes: Feeling how incumbent it is
upon every person Of every description to con-
tribute at all times to his country's welfare,
and especially in moment like tie present.
when everything we hold dear is so seriously
threatened, have finally determined to accept
the commission of CommanderIuChief Of the
armies Of the United States; with the reserve
only, that shall not be called into the field