The age-herald., 1900-03-08
COLONEL MORGAN TALKS OF CORBIN sTeIls of Why the CourtmartiaI ' Was Ordered.
 IT SHOULD NOW BE DROPPED He Says That it Was Reported to Him
 That Corbin Was Cowardly and
 He at Once Instituted
 Proceedings

New York, March T--T. J. Morgan, late colonel of the Fourteenth United States colored infantry, and brevet br1gadier gen. eral, U. s. ", has written the following open letter to the Tribune with reference to Adjutant General Corblns military rec ord during the civil war:
 'Pending the consideration of the biEl for making the present adjutant general a major general, the senate has instituted an invest1ga tion into General Coib,n's m.l- itary record during the civil war, and as my name has been repeatedly connected with the question, beg the privilege of "a little space in your paper for brief sta,te- ment of the essential facts On October G., 1863 by direction of the secretary of war, began at Gallabin, Tenn, an organization of the Fourteenth United States colored infantry. I had the rank of lieutenant colonel and H. c. Colloin was associated with me as major. After I had completed the organiza ton was authorized by Gen. erad George H. Thomas to organize the Forty-second and Forty fourth United States infantry, and subsequently l organ ized the first colored brigade of the Army of the Cumberland. My duties were largely adnSinls trative. When I was promoted as colonel of the Fourteenth, Major Corbn was made lieutenant colonel. Upon him devolved chiefly the work of drilling the regiment, which he did very successfully, bringing it up to high state of efficiency in the manual of arms and in the execu- tlhon of company and battalion movements.
 In Battle Tour Times
 The regiment was in battle four times at Dalton, Ga, Pulaski, Tenn, and Deca- tur, Ala, under my own personal com mand, and at Nashville Tenn. under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Corbin.
 ''At the decisive battle of Nashville, Tenn, December IA and 15, 1864, had the honor of opening the fight on the extreme left Of our line with an improvsed division consisting of a small brigade of white troops, comprising fragments I think, of three regiments, under command of Lieu- tenant Grosvenor, now member of congress, a brigade of negro troops, under command of Colonel (now GeneraD w. R. Shafter comprising his own regiment, the 17th col ored infantry, the 44th United States col ored infantry, Colonel L. J. Johnson; the 14th United States coored infantry under Lieutenant-GeneralC Corbin; fragment of the 18th United States colored infantry, un- der Major Jerry; and a section of the goth Indiana ssSttery under command of Cap tain Osborne, I think. We were hotly en- gagged during both days of the fight, and \ TeCelNeu STeftL PrdpSe ITOm DUtn General Steedman, my immediate commander and General Joe Thomas, on whose joint recom- mendaticn I was made brdgadler general. Shafter and Colonel Gnosvenor acquitted \ themselves with great credit, Shafter show \ ing special activity and courage, and suf- \ fering the loss of many of his men. I was \ not with Lieutenant-C Colonel Corbin during the fighting. Both officers were reported to me after the battle. only heard from them in proxy.
 N "In my official report of the babtle said that I thought that the lieutenant colonel \ did not have the courage requisite to com mand brave men, Many times afterward when rebellion records were about to be published I was urged to expunge that sem tence before tho report was published.
 Declined on Two Grounds
 sThis I decline to do on two grounds first, because did not feel at liberty to alter the records, believing that such ac- tion on my part and on that of the of ficers would not only tend to destroy their historical accuracy and value; and second- ly because events closely connected with my report and my own record would be without proper explanation. I preferred charges against Lieutenant-Colone Corbin