The sun., 1892-02-13
Gen. Alser's Retirement from tho Army.


The sketch OF Gen. RUSSELL A. ALaER'slif
which appears in Volume l OF "Appleton's
Cyclopedia OF American Biography" while
otherwise explicit In the matter OF dates
and facts. is silent concerning the time Of
Gen. ALGER's retirement from the service
or the circumstances attending his retire.
ment. The sketch. indeed. gives the i'm
preston that Gen. ALGER served until the
end Of the war. We quote all that there is
bearing upon this important period OF the
Michigan Colonel's military career:
"He was with SHERIDAN in tho Shenandoah Valley in
1854 and on II June. at Trevan station. by . bril-.
liant charge he captured large force OF Conederaes
On II June 1855 he given the brevets of Briga.
dierGeneral and MajorGenera OF volunteers He then
resumed the lumber business in Detroit. Mch and has
acquired fortune serving President or director
Of various corporations"
We stated on Thursday that while in COM
mand Of the Fifth Michigan Cavalry. in the
middle Of SHERIDAN's active operations
against Gen. JUBAL EARLY In the Shenan-
doah Valley. Col. ALoER applied for ten
days leave OF absence. His application was
returned from division headquarters dsap-
proved on account Of the military situation
at that time. Col. ALGER thereupon left
his command without leave Of absence, and
few days later was in Washington acting
under detail on court-martial duty. The
fact OF his absence without leave was re-
ported to Gen. WESLEY MERRITT. his diyi-
sion commander. reported by Gen. MERRITT
to Gen. SHERIDAN. and by Gen. SHERIDAN
to the War Department, with the recon-
mendation that COL RUSSELL A. ALaER be
dishonOrdbly discharged from the service for
absence without leave The record shows
that on Sept. 20. 1864. Col. ALaEn was dis
charged from the service-not "dishonor-
ably" or at least 1t was not so stated.
Yesterday at Gen. ALaER's request We
printed conspicuously some remarks from
him concerning this obscure but very i'm
portant period In his military career. He
begins by saying that he has received by
telegraph THE Suns editorial article of
Thursday In full. and then goes on to say:
II was honorably discharged from the ser
vice. and was not dismissed. as stated" It
had nowhere been stated by The Sun that
Gen. ALGER was dismissed" word which
has an exact and technical Specification, as
Gen. ALGER undoubtedly knows. Col. AL.
GERS resignation was received. we infer
from his statement that he sent 1t to the
department as he was not able to enter the
field and did not like court-martial service"
and he was discharged from the service.
This happened within few days after his
absence without leave from the active
operations In the Shenandoah Valley.
Meanwhile. the fact OF his absence without
leave was reported by his brigade COM
mander to his division commander. and by
his division commander to Major-Gen.
PHILIP H. SHERIDAN: and Gen. SHERIDAN
reported the fact to tho War Department,
recommending Col. ALGER's dishonorable
discharge from the service.
We have given wide publicity to Gen.
ALGER's statement that he was sick, unfit
for duty; that he went with detachment
OF sick and wounded to the hospital ut An
napolis. never suspecting that there was
anything irregular in the proceeding; that
In few days he was we'll enough to go to
Washington and get detailed on court-mar-
tial duty. and that he did not like court
martial duty. and at once terminated his
connection with tho military service OF the
United States by resignation.
We have also printed Gen. ALaER's state
ment that for twenty-five years he had not
the slightest suspicion that his dishonora-
Die discharge had been recommended to the
Wa; Department: that no f1rst heard of it
when candidate for the Republican nomi-
nation for President In 1888 and denounced
the story as absolutely false: and that he
found afterward to his surprise that. the
story was true.
We have also given to our readers the
benefit OF Gen. ALoER's assertion. or rather
tntimatlon. that the recommendation that
he be dishonorably discharged was due to
the false friendship OF the heroic and gem
erous CUSTER. his brigade commander, who
chose this way to get even with Col. ALaER
for declining to appoint his brother THOMAS
CUSTER as Lieutenant in the Fifth Michi-
gan Cavalry.
To-day We print. again at Gen ALGER's
request. sort OF certificate from DR.. s. r.
WOOSTER OF Detroit. formerly surgeon of
the First Michigan Cavalry. to the effect
that Col. ALaER was sick when he went