Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1898-04-01
GENERAL MILEs's AMBITION.

GENERAL MILES'S AMBITION.
1t is much to be regretted that the
friends General Miles will insist upon
pushing the bill for the revival of the
gcade OF lieutenant general in the U. S.
army.
The time is inopportune. If we are
to have war let General Miles so dis
,inguish himself as to win the gratitude
of the country, and then Congress will
be willing enough to honor him as he
deserves.
If we are to have no war, he should
be satisfied with his present rank and
emoluments. Besides. discussion of
General Miles's record inevitably recalls
be dark chapter in his life when he
WAS j4iler at Fort Monroe of President
Davis.
The effort is being made to relieve
him from the responsibility for putting
'rous upon Mr.. Davis ty showir 6 that
Mr.. Dana, who was then Assistant Sec
crtary OF War, authorized it. Possibly
ne idea OF ling the prisoner orig
I ste with Mr.. Dana, but ifso, he found
in General Miles a plant instrument.
Mr. Dana's orders were that MIR. Davis
s1ruld be shackled should that be nee
e,-sary to render his imprisor ment more
secure. General Miles was to be the
of the necessity. At that time
Mr.. Davis wss confined i'll casemant
=. h,u a moated tort, and a soldier
>a1 kept at his door all the
me. For considerable period
ndeed, two soldiers were kept in the
Dom with him Mr. Davis was enact
4,ed to frightful degree, and was very
eble, and the presence of the watch
IN the cell added vastly to his misery
and prevented his sleeping.
The post surgeon, Craven, was kind
nearted man, and he did all he could to
l4ssen the prisoners suferings, but his
efforts were not infrequently thwarted
nv Miles. This fact DR.. Craven has
left on record iu his book on the sub
Jet of Mr.. Davis's imprisoa ment. AS
to Mr.. Davis's condition DIR. Craven
saws he was "a mere fascine of raw and
tremulous nerves." and was $50 emaci-
4ted that his skin chafed against the
bed slatsn through his thin camp mat
tress. The shackles abraded patches of
skin from the parts they touched, 80
that the prisoner could not even stand
erect. For considerable time neces-
sary changes of clothing were denied
MIN; he was not allowed to smoke or to
have any reading matter. Nor was he
n CrYoh
lily, aud finally DR.. Craven was forbid
den to converse with him, except upon
purely medical questions. To say that
man, an old man, in the condition
that DR.. Craven represented MIR. Davis
to be, was in danger of escaping, is to
argue an absurdity.
The order of Secretary of War S an
top, directing that the irons be re-
moved from Mr.. Davis's ankles, was
the first step in the smelioration
of the prisoners condition, and
gradually, under the persistent
representations of DR.. Craven. changes
were made for the better. 10 Septem-
Der he was removed from the damp
casemate to Carroll Hall, and was per-
mitted to read and smoke, and was
granted one hour of open air exercise
per day.
This exercise was taken on the ram
parts and in the enforced companion
ship of General Miles. By November
the weather had become quite cold, and
Mr.. Davis suffered much from it, par
Jiculsrly while walking on the ramparts.
In consequence of Mr.. Davis's repre-
sentations to this effect, DR.. Craven, at
his own expense, ordered for him
thick overcoat and wooden undei-
clothes. This kind act drew upon the
doctors head the disapproval of the
authorities, and in letter dated Nov
ember 10Th, 1865, he was reprimand-
ed therefor by Captain A. V: Hitch
cock, the provost marshal OF the post.
Assuming, if we choose, that Dana
was primarily responsible for the shack
ling of the prisoner, General Miles
is not thereby acquitted of ill-treatment
OF him. Whoever will read DR.. Craven 8
diarv or Mrs. Davis's memoirs of her
husband will fnd evidence the most
complete aud unquestionable of Miles's
prosecutions. And these precautions
continued uOt OulJ Huiio ~ ~no oSA.0'
ed in the North that MIR. Davis had
something to do with the assassination
of Mr.. Lincoln, but for months and
months after that most cruel and un-
lust charge had been utterly exploded
1t is unpleasant to recall these facts
at this time, after more than thirty
wears have passed, and when the inter-
ests of the country might possibly be
better served by ignoring them, but
the pending bill in behalf of General
Miles compels an examination of his.
army record. The improperly OF
pushing the bill at this time ought to
be evident to all. The reading public
can see nothing in the Generals record
which entities him to higher rank than
that OF msjor-generel. The statement
filed by the Hon. Daniel S. Lamont,
wren he was Secretary of War, clearly
sets forth the reasons why the office OF
lieutenant-geperal should not be re.
vived. And those reasons hold good
now.
as ma jor. general, Miles is as much
at The head of the army as ne could be