The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-11-09
DEFENDING PORTER
Why Grant Changed His Opinion in
the Porter Case.
ne Thinks That Restoration VIII BE
but Inadequate ReparatfoR
for Great
WRONG.

WRONG.
NEW York, Nov 9.-The following letter
was made public:
New YORK, Nov. 8, 1SS3.-Gen. F. ]. Por-
ter, Morristown, N. Dear General: As
there is now some discussion as to the proba-
bic reasons for my change of mind in regard
TO your case, now pending before the people
Of the United States, deem it proper that
l should give them myself. In the
first place | snever believed you to be a
traitor. as many affected to believe.
thought knew you too well to believe for
one moment that you would accept the pay,
rank, and command you held for the pur-
pose of betraying the cause you were pro
Tossing to serve Then, too, your services
had heen too conspicuous as staff officer at
the beginning of the war and as com
mander of troops later to support such
theory for a moment Bat did believe
that Gen. Pope was 50 odious to some
of the officers in the east that a cordial
support was not given him by them. |
was disposed to accept the verdict
of a eouTt-martial composed as the
one which tried You was. Some
of the members of that court | knew person
ally, and hid great conf lencs in their judg
ment of Justice. | supposed you had shared
this feeling towards Pope, aud while not
more guilty than others yoa were I'M
fortunate in being placed in a position where
specifications could be made show
ing this hostility. After the close
| of the war when / was requested
| to read your new defense. | read
| it with the feeling above described. At the
same time read the other side as prepared
| or furnished by Con. Pope. This gave maps
| showing the positions of the two armies sub
stantially as shown by the first of the dia-
| grams presented by Mr. Lord, of San Fran
cisco, and did not indicate the presence of
any other force than Jackson's. Then, too,
it appeared that You had actually received an
order at about or $50 in the afternoon OF
Aug. % TO attack the enemy s flank, and that
! too, at time when a fierce battle was raging
in the front.
was first shaken in my views, however,
when such man as Gen Terry, who unites
| the lawyer with the soldier and a man OF
high character and ability, and who had be
lieved as / dad, and possibly worse, after
many weeks of investigation, should entirely
| vindicate YOU, and be sustained, too, by mel
i of the known ability of his colleagues on the
board Until in 1881 re-examined for my
self my belief was that the 29th of August
| 1862 a great battle was fought between Gen
Pope, commanding the Union forces, and Gen
Jackson, commanding the Confederate forces
that you, with corps of twelve or mort
thousand men, stood in a position across tbs
right flank of jackson, and where you could
easily get into his rear; that you received al
order to do so about or half past o'clock
which you refused toobey because of cloud
of dust in your front, which you contended
indicated an enemy in superior force to you
that you allowed Pope TO get heated Will
you stood idly looking on without raising al
arm to help him. With this understanding
and without a doubt as to its correctness,
condemned you.
Now, on a full investigation of the facts,
find that the battle was fought the 30th o
August; that your corps, commanded di
reotly by you in person, lost a greater per
centage than any other corps engaged; tina
the half-past order of the day before diC
not reach yeu until nightfall; that your i'm
mediate superior had cautioned you early in
the day that you were too far out to tn
front then; that Gen. Pope had cautioned yol
against bringing on an engagement excep
under such chromosomes as he desc iHs3}49
! and that in any event you ms :, tho
night where it would Be i Necessary for Won
be to receive supplies; that from II o'clock @
the 10Th you were confronted by force @
twice your number, of whose preysnce yo
had positive proof, while Gen Pope did no
not know it, This last fact is shown by tn
wording of the half past order. 1t directe,
| you to attack the enemys right and to &c
) into his rear Gen. Popes circular of tn
morning of the Goth SAD that Gen LIE
was advancing by way OF Thoroughfare Gar
and at the rate at which he was moving h
J would be up the night of the Both or mornin
of the 31st. In his testimony before tn
, court martial which tried you he said unde
oath that he did not know of the arrival @
| Lees command until 6, O'Clock of th
10Th an hour and a half after he had dictate
the order for your attack. His circular an
testimony prove conclusively that jackson
and Jackson alone, was the enemy he in
tended you to attack. Your knowledge o
this fact as well as Of the fact that you hai
another force, quite double yours in add
ton in your front would have been sufficien
justification for your not attacking, even i
the order had been received in time. o
course this would not apply if battle hat
been raging between Jackson and Pope. A
the hour you received the order all was Quiet
This very short hastily written, and in
complete summary shows why and when m
3 mind underwent a change. I have no douh
now but the change would have taken plac
1 in 1867 If | had then made an investigation
regret now that did not understand you
: case then as l do now Your whole life sine
your trial, as well as your services befort
: dispreve the great burden of the charges the
sustained by court martial As long as
have voice it shs4 be raise
: in your support without any refe,
ence to the effect upon me O
others. Your restoration to the army simpl
would regard as a very inadequate and un
just PREPARATION, while men-one at least
! have been restored to the army because o
their gallantry and wounds after convictio
and sentence not only TO be dismissed but T.
be confined in a penitentiary, and when ther
is no doubt of their guilt and given all thei
pay for the years they were out OF the service
/ can see no reason for your having less,
hope for you a thorough vindicatign, mot onl,
by congress, but in the minds of your coun
trymen. Faithfully yours, U. s. GRANT.
Rad Hallway Accident.
COLUMBUS, Nov. "a Dispateh specie
says; "A collision occurred on the Pan
handle road near Nauark hot,,,ao,