Evening journal., 1911-04-03
new NEWS OF YESTERDAY
Fitz John POrter'S Tribute
to General Grant
By @HOIland.Y

Alone of all the great commanders
in the Civil War, Major General Fitz
John Porter was disgraced by being
cashiered from the Union Army for
alleged misconduct at the second bat
tie of Bull Run. Under the sentence
of the court martial, he was debarred
from ever holding any office under the
Federal Government, a disqualification
that was not RENTED until 1882, when
President Arthur took executive ac-
ton. Four years later President Cleve-
land signed the bill which restored
General Porter to the army, giving him
the rank Of colonel, and annulled COM
pletely the finding of the court martial
Of the sixties
A few days after this bill had been
signed / called upon General Porter
at his office. When l entered the of
flee and saw a man of slight physique.
whose hair was turning iron gray,
whose complexion was pale, and whose
whole manner suggested that he had
spent his life at the desk or In the
library, my first thought was that the
gentleman was the secretary to Cen
eral Porter. But he held out his hand
graciously and very kindly smile
fitted over his countenance as he said a.
II am very glad to see you"
could not repress my feeling of as
tonishment when ! first saw this dis
tinguished general. Here was the very
man upon whom Mcclellan had chiefly
relied in his great Peninsular cam
paign; in this quiet, gentle-mannered
man were the soldierly qualities which
made McClellan's victory at Malvern
Hill one of the great achievements OF
the Civil War. detected, as | thought
An expression Of sadness in his count
enance. due, doubtless. to the fact thai
he had not yet been able wholly tC
overcome the chagrin, the humiliation
and the crushing sense Of injustice
which had been his daily portion for
so many weary years
told the general that 7 had come &c
congratulate him that what General
Grant had called the grossest kind OI
injustice had been corrected so far as
possible by AN act of simple Justice, by
which his honor was maintained and
his rank I'm the army restored 10 him
ITO me the most gratifying feature
of this affair which has cost me untold
misery during the best part of my life
has heeu the attitude taken by General
Grant" said General Porter Il believe
that that attitude is without any prece.
dent The commander Of the Union
army, who at one time stood firmly in
support Of the findings of the court
martial. of his own accord publicly
confesses that he was grievously mis-
taken. and by that mistake shared
with others in the cruel injustice that
was done To me.
You may remember" continued
General Porter, that the charge upon
which I was tried by court martial
was that had disobeyed orders on the
first day Of the second battle of Bull
Run, and that because of my disobedi.
ence General Pope was disastrously
defeated Notwithstanding the fact
that evidence was brought before the
court martial TO show that It was i'm
possible for me to have obeyed the or.
der alleged to have been sent to me
nevertheless j was convicted. I ther
knew for the first time what the agon!
is to an INNOCENT man who has beer
convicted Of grave crime
Those of my friends who knew Gen
eral Grant we'll told me that theri
never lived a man with a more devoted
sense of duty or of loyalty to justice
than General Grant. so and m!
friends were convinced that II we coul,
persuade him to read the record, hi
would speedily see that had been un
justly convicted. But some of those
who were near to General Grant wheI
he was president, and who had hi:
confidence, were army men who were
bitterly opposed to me. Therefore. Gen
eral Grant, as President, peremptorill
refused to read the evidence.
But three or four years after hi
had retired to private life, he was per
suaded by one or two of my friends Il
read the record. To do that required
much patience, yet Grant read ever!
word of It,. AS he read on and on h
became deeply moved and when he hal
finished, ne said frankly: This soldie
has suffered unjustly, and I will sa.
so over my own signature. He di'
say so, and largely because he dare'
to take and maintain that position tn
stain which was upon my name ha
now been fully removed.
There are very few men wit
would take blame to themselves in tina
way. I have heard of many noble ant
just acts done by General Grant;
cannot help thinking that this is a
nable an act as he ever did. Certainl
it is a perfect illustration of the rea
character Of General Grant"
| Copyright. 1911, by f. ]. Edwards. AL
Rights Reserved)
Tomorrow Mr.. Edwards will tell 0
'sThe Hedging That Doomed SunJa
Delivery of the Mails"