The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1903-10-28
VOL. XVIII.

1t grieves me to think l have awaK-
ened your displeasure Indeed, l fear
that offended you before you were
born; at least the incident which calls
forth the expression of your Indigna-
tion occurred long before that interest
ing event in your history. The exact
terms in which your resentment was
made known l have been unable to
learn, but the newspapers announce
that In recent speech you were
pleased to 'sneer' at my conduct at
the battle of Fort Donelson, more
than forty-one years ago. The provo
cation which seems TO ha@ elected
this expression of your Indignation
appears to have heen some remarks
of mine addressed short time ago
to the citizens of my county, whose
voters of all parties you sought four
years ago to disfranchise.
My remarks were purely historical
in character. Thsy were intended to
5 how the i'll effects upon free gov
eminent, of the usurpations of
political machine absorbing all the
powers of the State parceling out
among its members the different Offices
of government, denying to the people
the right of free choice in the select
ing of their servants and trampling
upon the most sacred rights of free
men. think my statements were
fully established by the evidence of
your own svowed supporters.
do not understand that You have
called In question the correctness of
any of these allegations, but you rise
in your majesty to annihilate the
alligator by the supreme logic of a
guDernatorial sneer This courteous
notice which you have been pleased to
give me demands a fitting acKnowl-
edgement.
The act of which you disapprove
was public act, and, therefore,
like yopr own public acts, is a tit sub
ject of comment.
But there are sew eral essentials re.
quisite to form Just criticism. In
the first place the critic must know
something of the subject he is talking
about Then his mind must be free
from prejudice and not irritated by
passion or wounded vanity. But,
above all, his Judgment must be so
trained that it is capable of reaching
just conclusions from established pre-
misses. How far you may be wanting
in these requisites a discerning publ
must judge.
Concerning the Surrender of Fort DonelsOn.
The facts in relation to the action
which you criticize are recorded in
the arrives of the country and can
MT be changed either by my asser
tions or by any novel form of logic
employed by you. Briefly stated,
they are these:
OF the three senior officers at Fort
Donelson, l was the junior in rank
and subject, therefore, to the orders of
my seniors. urgently advised
against placing ourselves within the
light entertainments to be invested,
and counseled operations outside the
works. My seniors overruled me, as
they had a right to do. We were
completely invested, as might nave
been foreseen, and after several days of
severe combats a council of war
was held. / then urged a sortie of
the garrison as the only remedy left.
My advise was adopted. The sortie
was made and was completely success
full. Ny division was far beyond the
antrenchments in position to cover
the withdrawal of the whole army
through the open country behind 1t,
when, to my amazement, / received
an order first from one of my superiors
and then from the senior commander,
to return to my former position with
in the lines Against this l earnestly
protested as meaning the loss of
the army. But the commander elter-
ated his order, and / had only to
obey. | returned, distance of three
miles, to find that a portion OF my
works had been occupied by the enc
my in my absence; and it was only
after a severe combat that held an
unfortiHed line within the works.
At a subsequent council of war 1T W as
the unanimous opinion that the CON
dihons were so desperate that Ca
pitulatlon of the army was an absolute
necessity to avoid a needless massa-
ere by an overwhelmingly superior
force.
After this determination, my tw
senior commanders. against whose
patriotism and gallantry l have nc
word to utter, thought fit to effect their
escape on steamer lying at the
4,I~.~., .xvffh than ouch froOpc