Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1892-03-17
Extracts from the War Records Pub
lished To Show his Goad
Character.
Friends of the General Declare the
Reply to be Entirely
Satisfactory.

pages OF Gen. Ayers reply to the
critics of his war record. His reply
takes the form of the publication Of
the record itself and purports to give
all the papers now on file in the War
Department relative to the absences,
promotions and final discharge of the
general. It includes favorable indorse-
ments from time to time. The portion
that answers the charges made by the
New York Sun is the most interesting.
! The report and recommendations Of
Gen. Custer are given in full. with in-
dorsements. They are as follows:
HEAD JARTERs FIRST BRIGADE, FIRST
DIVISION CAVALRY. MIDDLE MILITARY
DIVISION, SEPT. 16, 1854. CAPTAIN A.
E. JANA. A. A g., FIRST Division CAV
ALRY:-In compliance with the instruo-
+ tions of the general commanding the
division, have the honor to submit the
following report in the case of Colonel
r. A. Alger, Fifth Michigan Cavalry,
stating the time at which he left the
command, for what purpose, by
what authority, and his present
whereabouts. Colonel Alger left
this command the morning of Aug. %,
as it marched through Harper's Ferry
to rejoin the division near Halltown; he
has been absent since that date. [ was
not aware of his absence until this
brigade halted to feed near Halltown,
when Assistant Surgeon ST, Clair, Of
the First Michigan Cavalry, informed
hot Nnl tn in
disposition, had remained at a house
in Harper's Ferry. At the same
time Assistant Surgeon st. Clair pre-
scented for my approval an application
from Col. Alger for leave of absence for
twenty days AS Col. Alger had, two
or three times previous to this, applied
for similar leave of absence when in
my opinion he was fit for duty, and
which opinion subsequently proved to
be correct, as it has in the case now re-
feIred to. l returned Col. Ayers APP
plication without my approval. He
failed to join his command. [ first
heard Of him again as stopping at the
Eutaw house in Baltimore. | now have
authentic and reliable information that
Washington, D. c., and that he has
been placed in duty in the latter city
as member of a general court mar
tial How he came to be detailed |
cannot say. He left this command
without authority and after having
been refused leave of absence from
these headquarters And have
i L. l., gSo1o
without leave" on the muster rolls of
his regiment. Respectfully submitted.
@. A. CUSTER,
Brig. Gen. Commanding Brig.
HEADQUARTERS MIDDLE MILITARY
DIVISION, SEPT. IS, 1864.-Respectfully
forwarded. | understand that Col. Al
ger is on some duty at Washington,
but it is evident he has left his COM
mand without authority, and it ap-
pears he has done so before. | have
always considered Col. Alger a good
officer, but cannot excuse his conduct
or withhold my approval Of the recon-
mendation of his immediate COM
manders.
P. H. SHERIDAN, \ ajor General.
General Alger' reply is to this effect.
On August 6, 1864, month and ten
days before General Clusters report,
Colonel Alger wrote a letter to Secre-
tary Stanton rendering his resignation.
In that letter he said:
1. | have been in the military serv-
vice of the United States nearly three
years, havinG~enlisted in August, 1861,
and have been off duty but eight days
except on account of wounds, six of
those eight days being on account Of
sickness.
?. NV private business at home has
become such and in such condition
that my presence there to attend to it
Is necessary in order to enable me to
save anything from it.
President Lincoln Endorsed this letter
as follows:
Let this resignation be accepted.
Aug. s, 1864 A. LINCOLN.
1t will be seen that this acceptance
by the President was dated month
and eight days earlier than the date
of Gen. Clusters letter regard
ing Alger. After leaving the
PRESIDENT Win HIS dCcepLeo
resignation in his possession, Col. Alger
learned that there was prospect of an
active campaign IN the Shenandoah
Valley He did not present his resigna-
ton at the War Department, but hastily
rearranged his business as well as pos
sible and started for the scene Of opera
tons, arriving, on account of misin-
formation as the time of the de-
parture of the train, one day late.
The papers which accompany General
Alger's record include a letter from
General Custer to the Secretary of
War, dated Oct. IS, 1868, in which Gus
ter recommends him for a brigadier
generalship.
This application was renewed by Gus
ter under date of june &c, 1864; in
dorsed by Gen. sheridan June %, for
warded without comment by Gen.
Meade July 5, sent by Gen. Sheridan to
the acknowledgement of the Army of
the Potomac on July II, and approved
by Meade July 20, 1864. On the same
day Gen. Grant wrote letter approx
ing all the recommendations in the list
In which Ayers name appeared. A
letter from Gen. Sheridan to Z. W. Kel-
logg, member of Congress from Michi-
gan, under date of July IS, 1864, says:
When [ recommended Col Alger,
Fifth Michigan cavalry, for promotion
it was with the expectation that he