St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-05-07
UP AND AT HIM.
Butler Says He Will Down ADJ
miral Porter.

mlrdl fOrtcrs
WASHINGTON, May 6.-Admiral Por.
ter has been interviewed again Oh the
charge of Gen. Butler that he ran away
at the Battle of New Orleans. After quot
ing letters from Secretary WelleS and
others, Admiral Porter said: "lt is all
nonsense to say that we fOrsOOk our
duty for an hour. The forts surren-
dered to me, and Butler knows it. His
position is untenable, and he never
would have attacked me had he been
sober. That speech of his was drunken
speech, you know. PHI give him enough
of reply, however. I'll fire it at him for
the next three weeks, and then he will
let me alone for five years. l shall not
hear any more from him during my life
time, for don't expect to live another
five years. / suppose he was celebrate
ing his capture of New Orleans. Ho
claims it, l understand, although tho
city was in the possession of the marine
corps for fully three days before Butler
and his troops got there. know that
because l tOwed them"
GEN. BUTLER,
fortified behind ponderOus legal tones
and immured in huge piles of manu-
scripts, sat in his office on Capitol hill
this afternoon, engaged in the prepara-
ton OF reply to Admiral Porter reI
garding the New Orleans episode dur
ing the Rebellion. He has enlisted the
assistance of his law partner, o. ID.
Barrett; business will be subordinated
to the work which was inaugurated by
the generals utterances at the recent
banquet at Boston, Mass. When re-
porter Intercepted Gen. Butler AS tn
the course he would pursue concerning
Il l.r Il
ter will say that he did not go down thu
river with his fleet below the head o.
the Passes on the day that Farragut
passed the forts, l will prove he liess
He has not said that yet" Among the
papers on Gen. Buffers desk, and
which will he prominent factor in the
proposed answer, is brief of the
record in case which was tried several
years ago in the supreme court of the
District OF Columbia before Judge
Humphrey. On the brief is inscribed:
Supreme court, District of Columbia,
in admiralty, No. 269. United States in
behalf of the officers and men OF
the North Atlantic squadron versus the
ironclad ram Texas and the Beaufort"
1--WE will show up transaction in
which Admiral Porter was interested"
said Mr.. Barrett, land in which he
1882. 12l.66 for the capture of these two
vessels, when, as matter of fact, they
were in possession of the army. 1t
was in the closing days of the Rebellion,
and these two alleged men-of-war were
Oh the point of destruction by
the COnfederates after the sur
render of Lee. Admiral Porter put in
claim for the amount of priZe-money
stated, but the case was thrown out Of
court. and especially when it was shown
that the two boats only brought 5000
when they were disposed of. 1 think
Admiral Porter will find it necessary to
consume more than three weeks in set
thing Gen. Butler, and the prize-m0ney
case is
ONLY AN INSTANCE
that we will cite against him in this con-
troversy. 1t is not upon hearsay evi.
dence that Gen. Butler has made the
statement that Porter ran away from a
floating dry dock and two small
Confederate steamers. After Farragut
went from the passes, and ran
by the forts to New Orleans, Gen
Butler followed in his headquarters
boat, and was thus between Porter and
Farragut and able to see and judge
what transpired. Had Gen. Butler
acted upon the information given him
by Porter he would have aband-
oned Farragut and ceased operations
against the forts, but he was better in-
formed than the commander of the fio-
tilla, who. the day after he had reported
that the COnfederates were in pursuit of
his steps when it was shown
that there was no foundation
for his scare. This controversy will
not be settled by pOOh-poohing on the
part of Admiral Porter, as he will find
out before we get through with it,
"When that bird of ill omen." said
Admiral Porter, ''takeS offense at any
one, he BOTTLES up his venom until in
one of his maudlin intervals he expel5
it. On my first acquaintance with But
Ter at New Orleans he sent me
an impertinent message, upon
which / wrote to him that
if he did not send me an ample apology
would take personal satisfaction. He
had to make the apology after doing all
he could to dodge the issue. Since then
we have not been at all like Damon and
Pythias. About once III every FIVE
wears, after one of his drunken bouts,
Butler makes a spasmOdic rush at me
like a mad bull, but have always
caught him on my horns and thrown
him fiat OH his back. Iwonder the public
should notice what the old imbecile says,
and except for the fun of laying him
out again, | would not notice him
now. He is the only man / ever heard
OF who could outlive the contempt Of
the whole nation, could always run
away in time of war and yet flourish.
l came very near tlireshing him while he
was military governor of New Orleans.
and am sorry l did not do it.
The general is going 10 write volume
of "Reminiscences If he will come to
me l will give him a book full about
himself which will enlighten the pub
lie, who may have forgotten the time
when he went by the name of Beast
Streets"