St. Paul daily globe., 1894-08-16
BROWN Will ENJOIN
Placing Birch Coulie Menu
ment on the Norton
Fair Grounds.
GRANT NOT COMMANDER.
The Attorney General Is to
Institute Proceedings
at Once.
SURVIVORS OF. MAI. BROWN
Maintain That He Was the
Commander, and Not
Grant.
SURVIVORS OF MAI. BROWN

anu Sdtnuel y. DrOWn, SONS OF MAJ.
Joseph R.Brown, who, it is claimed, was
the commander at Birch Coulie. has
been presented to Attorney General
Childs, asking him TO begin injunction
proceedings, and that officer is now en-.
gagged in the preparation of the proper
and necessary papers. Notice will be
served and the court proceedings had at
all early date.
The petition, among other charges,
alleges that the monument commission
have. in violation of the law, decided to
erect the monument OH the fair grounds
of the Morton Fair association, nearly
two miles from the real battlefield,
while the law provides that il shall be
placed on the ''iand" where the bait
was fought; that it has further decided
to have engraved the name of Capt. ii.
I. Grant as the commander, which the
petition says is not true; that the real
commander was the father OF the peti-
TONERS, Maj. j. r. Brown. and that this
can be proven by abundant evidence,
documentary and otherwise, and asks
for an injunction and restraining order
10 compel the commissioners to locate
the monument Oh The battlefield and to
erase the name of Capt. Grant as con-
mander. etc.
1t is learned that the petition was
prepared by Judge Fiandrau. and was
presented to the attorney general by
Gen. Sanborn and eX-Gov. Marshall: ::
and that these three gentlemen ana
many others are strong sympathiZers
with and supporters of the injunction
pr eeedingS.
Samuel }. Brown, whose name is
sighed to the petition. Is stopping at the
Merchants hotel, and was seen by a
GLOBE reporter last night.
1--WE have begun this movement in
earnest" said Mr.. Brown, land we have
no doubt of the result 1t was only last
Friday that it was learned by anybody
but the commissioners and the workmen
on the monument that the matter had
been definitely settled that the monu-
ment was to be on the Morton fair
grounds, and that Col. Grants name
was to appear as the real commander.
Ii there has ever been any public an
nouncelnent of tine commissions de-
ciSion in these regards neither myself
nor any of my friends has ever seen it.
For months newspaper controversy
has been going on, and, in the absence
OF any notice to the contrary, it was
fairly supposed that no decision had
been reached. 1t was learned. however,
from private sources that the commission
was divided in opinion on the subject.
But when the announcement was made
in the newspapers that the dedicatory
exercises would be held September 8, at
Morton, particular inquiry was made.
with the result that it was learned by a
letter from tine Rockville, Mimi, Gran.
ite company, that the monument would
contain Grants name as the commander,
and from other sources that it would be
set Oh the fair grounds.
"As soon as this intelligence reached
me my brother and took the first train
for st. Paul TO see if we could not pre-
vent this outrage. as we deem it. Pre-
viousIy and certain friends had sent
communications TO the press denying
that Capt. Grant was the commander,
and presenting what l considered full
father justly belonged the distinction.
had never supposed that anyone else
| claimed it. The first intimation | ever
| had to the contrary WAS the appearance
| OF short communication in the Pioneer
| Press last spring, signed H. 2. Grant,
| Commander of the Forces at Birch
| Coulie." / at once sent cOmmunica-
tion to the paper in denial ahd claiming
! the
Honor for My Father,
and this was published, together with a
| long and exhaustive review of the evi-
! dence lii the case. which it seemed to
me ought to satisfy the commissioners
and everybody else that Capt. Grants
claim was utterly without ground or
| foundation. / did not ask that my
| fathers name be placed on the Inonu-
! tended that Capt. Grants name ought
| not tO be. In communication with cer-
tain old friends of mine and of my
| father learned that they were as much
| Interested as myself, and L assure you
| that We would have tried these legal
remedies long ago had we known that
the commission bad decided to violate
the law, the facts, and all history as we
now know they have decided.
IL had hoped that the matter could
and would be settled outside of the
courts, and my brother and l have only
taken this action as last resort. The
attorney general wrote the chairman of
the commission on the subject some
days ago, and OH my arrival here was
urged to await his reply before taking
legal action. Time is important just
now, as we learn that the monument is
already going in position, so | waited
until today and then. as no reply came
from the chairman, we filed our petit
ton. You will understand that we
could not commence proceedings ON a
mere rumor or supposllion; We had to
wait until we learned definitely what
action the committee proposed to take.
I'VE ask that the monument shall be
placed on the battle ground proper-the
site of the corral where the tight was
as the law directs. With the exception
of Capt. Grant, / do not know a single
man that was in the fight that wants i
put any other place. Capt. 10 Ander-
son, who commanded a company there
and won great renown for his heroi.
and efficient conduct, wrote long ago Il
the GLOBE that it should be placed
where the men fought and died, and h,
proffered subscription to pay for thl
land. DR.. Daniels and w. Ii. Grant
| lDciHDcIS VI Lilc COUlulSS!0Es naV6 al
ways been in favor of the battle ground
Others of the old soldiers have writer
and expressed themselves very yigor
ously on the same side.
las to the evidence that Capt. Gran
| was not the commander. and that M
| father was, the important eyidencl
| seems all one way. We shall show i
| by Gen. SibIey's field and order book
| by his official reports and other com
4 municatlons; by the adjutant general
/ records, by standard histories, by tn,
testimony of living witnesses, and b,