The Adair County news., 1906-06-20

much as l love liberty, l will fes-
ter in a prison or die on a gibbet
before l shall agree to any terms
, that do not abandon all charges
: against me and fully acknowledge
my innocence. Since you have
taken my case in your own hands
Mr.. President, let me appeal to
your sense of justice, and ask
that you will will give to what /
have to say in my defense a cam
did hearing, and then do what
you see fit; and here l trust l
shall be pardoned if may speak
of myself somewhat more largely
than the canons of good taste may
seem to warrant, for as my acts
are the subject of the sole accu-
sat;on against me so they are my
sole defense. Whether or not
they form triumphant defense,
you sir, shall judge.
On the 10th of March, 1864, in
the city of Lexington, KY, the
Union men of Fayette county
were pleased to present me with
a fine sword, pair of valuable
pistols and pair of spurs. In
response to an eloquent presenta-
ton speech made by an learned
divine, / delivered a Union speech
the leading purpose of which was
to promote the recruiting of men
for a division of cavalry which l
then had the honor to command,
and whose ranks had been thin
ned by losses in battle, the First
Division having just come to Ken
lucky from the front for the pur-
pose of recruiting, refting and
remOunting. | m d a long
speech, in which | discussed full
ly the wickedness of the REBEL
ion and contrasted the misery
and despotism of the so-called
Southern Government with the
the happiness and freedom of our
own. In the course of the speech
l spoke of your abolition policy
and condemned it. But | insist
ed that it was the duty of all good
citizens to defend their country
by fighting the rebellion, wheth-
er they approved the policy of the
administration or not. For the
true character of the speech l re-
fer you to the statements of M.
c.. Johnson and others which l
enclose. The men whose names
are subscribed thereto are men
of the highest order of intellect
and of the most elevated moral
character. The substance of
what they say therein can be
proved by five hundred ladies and
: gentlemen.
For this speech l was arrested
and sent to Knoxville, in h {
State of Tennessee, where / re-
NAMED without any charges be-
ing preferred against me, until
!. you were induced by some wick
ed men in Kentucky, who knew
that no court martial could be
found that would even centure
.. me for anything said in h a
speech, to issue an order, found
ed on a bare rumor, as you your.
self informed me, dishonorably
dismissing me from the service
of the United States for violating
the fifth article of war, for dis.
,, loyalty and for conduct unbecom-
ing an officer and a gentleman.
Now, Mr.. President, what l want
to call your attention particularly
to is, that every word contained
in this order of dismissal is false;
that there is not the least found
alton for truth contained in it.
did not violate the fifth article of
war, nor did ever violate any
article of war in my life. It was
; my duty to study the articles of
war, and teach them to my men,
and l think / understand them.
The only thing T said about you
personally was that you had told
a great political truth when you
said that you had no power under