The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-03-14


reinstated and he had no doubt it will be done.
His baek-pay will amount to about 500, 900.
The Proceedings in Detail.
To the Western Associated Press.
WASHINGTON, March 13-The Senate to-day
took up the bill for the relief of Fitz John Por
yer, and Mr.. Henderson addressed the Senate in
opposition to it. He understood the claim to be
that on full examination, no fault could be
found with the conduct of General Porter He
had not examined until recently the report of the
proceedings of the court martial which tried Gen
eral Porter. He had read General Grants paper
in the North American Review, and that with
other reading, had aroused in him sympathy
and interest in the case. He felt it his duty
then to examine the matter thoroughly, and he
was sorry to be compelled to say that from the
examination he had given the case, whether this
be a case of judicial review or exercise of elem
eney; he felt bound to vote no this bill.
The bill asked Congress to set aside
the verdict of the court-martial, to review
and set aside the decision of one of the highest
tribunals most dangerous precedent. If
case, he said should come to this Senate as
original proposition on the finding of a court
martial and Congress should take to itself to
view the record and if it let the prisoner go the
advocates of this bill would stand aghast Pres-
dent Lincoln had written to Leonard SWEET that
he had read every word Of the testimony in the
is guilty and ought to be hung" Were corrob-
Grafton of Swett's statement necessary it was
afforded by the testimony of Robert Lincoln
before the advisory board as to the statements
of the President, his father. Porter had eX-
pressed to Burnside a feeling of contempt for
Pope, and that feeling was so plain to all officers
who had come in contact with him that even
General Mcclellan had to beg him to be loyal to
his commander. He did not wish disaster to the
Union army but he didn't wish Pope to succeed
This jealousy Of a leader had been Il curse
1t had caused the downfall of
many commanders of the army of the East
Mcclellan Hooker, Burnside, Meade and Pope
all fen by reason of it. Thank God, Mr.. Man
derson said, the armies Of the West, of the Cum
berland and the Tennessee, free from it.
Among Mcpherson, Logan, Sheridan, Thomas
Grant and Sherman, no heart burnings, no ieal-
Ousy on hatred existed Applause in the gal
ieries He opposed the bill because of the law
and facts, because of the dangerous precedent
TO the army, and because he believed it to be
eteTnally right so to do. loud applause in the
galleries.
MIR Logan then addressed the Senate 'In
1865. he said, ''when ministering angels of this
country had ceased TO smooth the brow of the
weary soldier, who, of all these that had been
administering the laws to put down the rebellion
could believe that its power VIC Id be invoked in
aid of such a measure as that before this SenateR
Travelling back to 1865, we find that forty-five
days were consumed by the courtmartial On the
trial Of the individual who, by its
decision was discharged from the army of the
United States. Part of that court martial were
learned in civil law; all of them were conversant
with military law. What is the trial now going
on! Is it the trial of Fitz John Pofter9 No, it
was trial at the grave of those that were dead
on the charge that the men who had tried this
man had disregarded the facts. Fitz John Por-
Ger had, after all these years, become prosecu-
tor 1t was trial. not Of the living but of the
dead. 1t was trial at this late day of Abraham
Lincoln, rather than Fitz John Porter.
Without desiring said Mr.. Logan, facing
fhn I'D ga oh
else the vote of any one, hope may be par
doned for making remark. 1t is perfectly nat
ural that those who had been engaged in the re-
bellion against great government like this,
themselves been pardoned by the govern
ment, that they should, without examination
of the evidence in the case, feel sympathy for
those who, during the war had been dismissed
from the service of the United States Whyl
Because they would naturally sympathize with
them and say: Il have been forgiven and
therefore shall forgive everybody else"
Continuing, Mr.. Logan inquired why it was
that before the court martial that tried Porter
the question was, had there been disobedience
of orders. Military law showed there was no
excuse for tho disobedence of q lawful order
unless there existed physical impossibility to
its execution. Had there been such a physical
impossibility shownl Not at all. He charged
h ere, and defied contradiction that Fitz John
Porter was the of the loss of the second bat
tie of Bull Run. Loud applause in the gallery
Mr.. Frye in the chair-who announced that under
40 circumstances could applause be permitted
and repeated the offenders would be removed
by the Sergeant alarms. The gentlemen said
Porter could not obey Popes orders. Why did
not the gentlemen show that he tried to obey
the order! The evidence showed he never tried
to do it. The road was open from 9 o'clock in
the morning and he didn't move for five hours
after ordered to move What excuse was given
by Porter's friendsl That it was dark night
Mr. Logan would only say the evidence contra
dicted that statement. And suppose it was a dark
night He would appeal to every senator in the
chamber of both confederate and federal armies
that such reason for not moving under the cir
cumstanees was absurd. Mr.. Logan had him
self, on an exceedingly dark and rainy night
with 10000 men, crossed the Mississippi river
marched twenty-five miles and fought a battle
and, as he believed saved the field. Take all
the marches of the armies on either side-take
the marches Of the very corps of Fitz John
Porter when he was relieved ofEits cOmmand-all
evidence showed that the armies marched night
after night in total darkness Take all great bat
ties in history and the same will be found To
fight the battle of Arbela Alexander the Great
marched all night in the dark to reach the battle
ground in the morning. So with Demosthenes
at the battle of Syracuse. One of Nero's marches
had been made so swift Notwithstanding the
darkness of the night that the first Hannibal
knew of his presence was receiving the head of
his brother Hamilcar, which Nero threw over the
city walls. The night marches of Napoleon were
n distinguishing characteristic of his military
methods and one of the secrets of his sue
cesses.
Mr.. Logan sent to the Clerks desk and had
read from Motley's Dutch Republic" an in
stance in 1872 where 300 soldiers marched nine
miles through an arm of the sea that came up to
their ehns, to reach their goal il time, and they