Year: 1871

e Garrett 20 the Editors Of the Ten-


nessee Tribune.


NEW MIDDLETON, Tenn, Oct. 9, 187l.-
Editors Tennessee Tribune, Nashville: Sirs
You stated, in your issue of the I'd inst
that you were frequently asked why / was
not prosecuted for perjury, if the statements
some time ago set forth in the Tribune
could be substantiated by F. NJ. Anderson
and Prettyman Jones. You further stated
that YOU WERE INFORMED that not only
could the statements be made good by these
GENTLEMEN, but also by the testimony
OF many others whose names you mention
ed, not single man of whom except Mat
Neely was present. Consequently not one
of them save Mr.. Nicely could know any
thing about the facts in the ease. There
fore anything either one of them might
swear would be false or hearsay, which is
no evidence in law. There were but three
living men present with me or saw the
shooting; one Ofthem was Mat Neely, whose
name you have also mentioned as one Of
your witnesses to prove that | was not in
line of duty and that | was engaged in
private quarrel when wounded; but fortu-
nately Nicely is an honest man and there
fore would not perjure himselftO crafty you,
as some others were willing to do,
to defeat me in the collection of Just claim,
and in place of becoming tool in your
hands, to be used against truth and justice,
he came forward when called upon to testi-
fy with the other two gentlemen, who were
present and knew the faets IN the case, and
made oath in due form Of law,
THAT I WAS IN THE EXACT LINE OF
MY DUTY AS AN OFFICER AT THE
TIME / RECEIVED THE WOUNDS, and that
there was not one word of personal difficult
ty between the assassin and myself, at the
time of he shooting nor during that day,
nor at any other time. He further swears
that he saw the assassin when
he left his place of eoncealment
and stepped up behind me and
fired the shots that produced the wounds of
which you speak. Neely further states that
the assassin never spoke to me or give me
any notice whatever of his intentions, and
that there was no provocation given by me
for the assault at the time, nor during the
day previous. l also have the testimony
Of numbers of others to the same facts now
on file in the Pension Office at Washington
city, and have brief of the testimony
now in my possession. Mr.. Neeley and
nearly all the others whose testimony
have taken belong to the Republican party
and vote the ticket. So you will see that if
you, Capt. Anderson, Prettyman Jones, or
any other persons have sworn that
received my wounds in personal quarrel,
or that | was not in the line of duty when
the wounds were inflicted, they have sworn
a willful falsehond, and are guilty of per-
jury, for which crime they will be indicted
so soon as the fact of their swearing can be
ascertained. The public will then know
who is guilty Of perjury in my case. /
have plenty of proof to warrant me in say
ing that your informant Gf you have one)
is guilty of willful falsehood and has lied in
every word he stated in regard to my claim
for pension. / have also this day seen
Capt. E. S. Williams and another one of
the men whose name you give as witness
to sustain you; authorized by him
to say that he never knew
of any personal quarrel or difficulty between
the assassin and myself, and that he was
not present when the shooting occurred and
knows nothing about it, only what he had
heard. / have not seen either of the other
parties whose names You mentioned, but
assume the responsibility to say that neither
of them can nor will swear what your in
formant stated. If any living man swears
that / received my wounds in personal
quarrel, or that was not in the exact line
of duty when / did receive them, he or they
will swear a willful falsehood, and stand
ready with the proof to commit him
of the crime of perjury, and if you
have any witnesses that viii swear it
produce them, and if you have or know Of
any such affidayits now in existence, state
where they are, and by whom made and
where they can be found; if you have no
such proof, then stop your Icing ISLANDERS.
1 PRONOUNCE YOUR INFORMERs LIARS,
COwARDS AND SCOUNDRELS, BENEATH
THE NOTICE AND DIGNITY OF GENTLE
MEN; and say further that no respectable
newspaper would publish such slander and
lies unless they had at least one respectable
witness who would testify to their
statements, and upon whom the party
slandered might feel himself justifiable
in calling for personal explanation with
out letting himself down below The standard
of a gentleman; but it appears that you are
willing to go ahead, NOT BEING RESPONSE
BILE YOURSELVES FOR ANYTHING YOU
SAY, and publish ISLANDERS and lies as they
are handed to you by irresponsible scOun-
drels who neither have the honesty nor the
courage to allow their names to come be-
fore the public. Now, sirs, if you have
anything to say of me in the future, you
would do well to give the name of your in
formers to the public, otherwise | shall hold
YOU personally responsible for the lies and
slanders you publish if chance to catch
you outside the walls of your Office. / do
not intend to carry on this sort of warfare
any longer, it is beneath the dignity of gen
tlemen.


denounced your informant in my first
communication in such terms as would have
forever sealed the lips of any gentleman who
had one spark of honor left to depend upon.
This whole war you have been making upon
me and my claim for pension has been su-
perillduced by a mean, cowardly, personal
and political prejudice, and not by any de-
sire upon your part to benefit the public.
You and your partisan friends may succeed
for time, by your ISLANDERS and lies, in
robbing me of few paltry dollars; but,
unless you shoot me in the back, or employ
some one to do it, IS was done before, you
cannot do me any other injury; you
have not the character to damage me soci-
ally or politically. If were an aspirant,
rHE .IIliTHsEE