Year: 1863




sonal character as citizens we cannot permit a
recent transaction to pass nnnotieed nor can we
in any degree meet the demands of the occasion
withou. the expression of our emphatic protest
against t. We refer to the dismissal of Lieut
Andrew J. Edgerly from military service, by the
President of the United States, in accordance
with the following order:


''wAR DEPART, ADJ'r GESEsAL's oTyIcE,


''WAsHTNGTOS, March l3, 1853.
"Special order No. ll9.


(Extract)


.34 BY direction the President, the following off,
GERS hereby dismissed the seavice Of the United
States Lieut. A. J. Edgerly, 4h New Hampshire volun-
eers for circulating coppeThead tickets and doing all
power promote the Of the rebel cause in
his State.


IL. THOMAS. Adjutant General


''TO the Governor Of New Hampshire"


We ought, perhaps, to apologize for not having
at an earlier day called your attention to this
gross assault upon the fundamental principles so
vital TO the existence of an elective government
to this seornfu contempt for your rights-to this
derial, in the most offensive spirit OF unbridled
despotism, of freedom of thought and opinion
to this shameful attack upon the elective fran
chise, in the crushing of which liberty must inev
itably perish-to this insult without a parallel
thrust in YOUR faces individually and collective
ly-to these offensive terms with which you are
assailed That apology is to be found in the
fact that, notwithstanding the humilating expe-
rience of the last two years, we did not believe 1t
possible that so extraordinary paper could be
genuine We could not believe that the Presi
dent of the United States wonld exhibit such
wanton disregard of the propreties of life as to
indulge in vulgar epithets in an official paper,
even for the accomplishment of such purpose.
We were inclined, so long as any doubt could ex
st, to r, gard this order as the fiction of unprnci
4 l.. f.Nrx
reluctant to conclude that even this administrt
iton had sunk to so low level; and were the or
der to prove really genuine, we desired to wait
and see what possible explanation could be offered
to lessen the indignation with which it should be
visited.


But there is no longer doubt with regard to its
penuineness The order has been carried into
effect by the dismissal Of Lieut.. Edgerly from
the service and is left to speak for itself without
further explanation than it carries upon its face


We have no occasion to say anything in vindi
cation of the officer thus rudely and with attemp
ted indignity removed from command. His
fidelity, capacity and courage have never been
questioned The order itself expresses the sole
reason on which his dismissal is based. That
reason consists in the fact that, happening to be
at home on the day Of our annual election, Lieut.
Edgerly in the exercise of the undoubted right of
freeman, cast his vote in accordance with his
own convictions of right and duty.


Our election took place on the 10Th of March.
On the 18th day of the same month, the order in
question was ssued-so ready and swift was the
Executive to bring condign punishment upon one
guilty OF the grave offense of voting as his con
scientious judgment dictated. No notice was
given: no charge was made and explanation de
sired; no opportunity for hearing was afforded !;
no time was taken for examination of the case,
even by the Government itself For the inter
vening period between the offense and the date
of order was barely sufficient for the intelligence
to reach Washington by the ordinary course Of
mail-though in this case as in others, a tele-
gram NAV have been considered a sufficient basis
for executive action.


Under any circumstances such an order for such
a cause would excite the severest Indignation;
but if ANYTHING were wanting at the present time
to add to such indignation, that want would be
supplied by the fact that the same Administration
which so summarly visited its vengeance upon
Lieutenant Edgerly for exercising his unquestion
able right of suffrage as free citizen of this
State, week after week through the late political
campaign, alowed-ifit it did not order-military
officers from other States of the highest rank and
receiving the largest salaries, to actively partici
pate in the canvass and assume TO dictate to our
people both their political principles and their
political action.


1t may be of little public consequence whether
Lieutenant Edgerly is in out of service. 1t
may be of little consequence to him personally.
But it is of the highest importance to every citi
zen of New Hampshire TO understand whether he
is to enjoy the rights of free man without awe
and without punishment; to know whether, in be-
coming a soldier for the defense of the country,
he ceases to be a free citizen. and becomes the
mere subject of an irresponsible despotism.
r Il. H. Il.
is TO be punished by dismissal from the service,
what is to be the limit IN kind or degree of pun
ishment which officials in power will inHct upon
the private for similar offense? Certainly
nothing less than coDscriptiOn will force the
Democrats of this State into the service if thereby
they are to forfeit freedom of opinion and the
dearest rsght of the citizen-the independent ex-
ercise of the elective franchise.


But this order addresses itself to yoG directly
and individually. In it the President goes out of
bis way to apply to you, the % 800 Democratic
voters of New Hampshire, the approprious epithet
which we will not repeat. In il, with a degree
of falsehOod equaled only by its vugarity, he
charges you with laboring to promote the Rebel
cause. The ticket, for the support of which
Lieut. Edgerly has been thus officially viifed
and punished. was the same ticket supported by
each of you; and the charge and the insult
and the indgnity which this order conveys
to him apply and were intended to apply
with equal force to you.


In your name and behalf we denounce the
charge contained in this order as false; and with
out descending to the level of its author to handy
epthetS, We express your contempt for any de-
nunciatiOns and threats intended to deter you
from the fearless assertion and exercise of your
inherited and nalenable rights.


Love for the Union and devotion to the Con-
stitutiOn are no new emotions with the Democ-
racy of New Hampshire. All your lives long
you have assiduousIy labored through evil report
and through good report to preserve the national
unity by unwavering fidelity to the common bond.
No sixteen starred flags with reasonable inscrip-
tiOns have been given to the breeze by your
hands In the past, you have believed no sacri-
fees too great to be made for the preservation
of the Cons tuition ard the Union, and we know
in the future there will be no defiance too deter
mined TO resist aggressions upon either. If the
President is "pressed" to issue orders rejecting
upon the patriotic integrity of the people, those
orders might with greater prOpriety be addressed
to those with whom he is at present politically
and socially affiliated, and whose whole career
has been characterized by unbounded denuncia-
tions of the compact which gave us an undivi-
ded cOuntry-thOugh IN such case we think his
"orders" should contain no language calcula' ed
10 mantle with shame the cneek OF every man
who appreciates the dignity of our Government
or possesses the ordinary pride of an American
citizen our tried and true devotion to the
Constitution and the Union and your patriotism,
are not to be coniounded with blind and unques-
tionable acceptance of the political opinions or
policy of any executive. You have opposed the
measures Of the present Administration, because
you believed them To be fatal TO the Union; you
have denounced its illegal and arbitrary acts be-
cause you know them TO be not only subversive
of the Constitution. but fatal to civil liberty.


April 25, 1863