A NATIONAL PAPER, PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS BY JOHN FENNOjJNo. 34, NOPTH FIFTH.STRF.ET, PHILADELPHIA.
[No. 66 of Vol. IV.]
CONGRESS.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
SATURDAY, January 5.
CO N TINUATION OF THE
DEBATE on MR. STEELE'S MOTIOJf,
• For reducing tl'e Army.
MR. MOORE said, the resolution as now
worded, contemplates the reduction of
the army to two regiments. No rc=?b.-jS.
been intioduced for thismeafure, which were
cot brought forward in the firft difcuflion of
tto fubjeft. He thought that t.'.e rc ifons for
continuing the army, existed with additional
force. He observed, that granting abuses had
taken place, it was no good reason for repeal
ing a law. If abnfes do exist, which he by no
means thought to be fact, this was not the
way to correct those abuses. But he insisted,
that the mode proposed as a fubftituttf for car
rying on the war, was the way to encreafe
those abuses—the opportunities would be en
creafed—and the meansgreatly diminiflied, by
reason of the distance, of detesting & prevent
ing them. He enlarged on this idea; and then
entered into a consideration of the queftibn,
whether the militia or the regular troops
were the most eligible to be employed in an
Indian war?—tie stated the difficulties and
expcnces arising from the militia system—it
would be much greater than it has ever yet
been. Adverting to the fyfter.i adopted by
Congrcfs, he observed that two ebjefts ap
peared to have been in view at that time—
those objects exist at the prefeßt moment;
they have reference to two species of force—
a defenfive, and an incurfive. He said if no
other thaw a militia was contemplated, -the
Indians would never make a permanent
peace. The iticurfions of the militia, and the
burning of their town's, will uever bring the
Indians to terms—permament pods must be
eftablilhed ; a reipeclablc force must be fixed
In their neighborhood. He alluded to the
treaties which had already been made—the
repeated violations of those treaties. Fear
only can keep the savages within any bounds.
Nothing el re can effeit a lasting peace. A
permanent regular force is then the necefTary
result—the experience of the French, Spani
ards and English, fufficiently enforce the pro
priety and necessity of regular troops. Here
ho entered into a consideration of the differ
ence between such regular troops as he con
templated, and those to which gentlemen ap
peared to be opposed. Added to the advan
tages of difcipiine, the regular troops may be
trained to fight the Indians in their own way,
to greater purpose than any militia ever can.
On the whole, he was clearly of opinion that
the present was not the time to reduce the
military force of the country—and (hould
therefore vote the motion.
Mr. AVilliamfbn so far supported the mo
tion, as to suggest the reducing the number
of officers on the regular eftabliihment, to the
number of men in actual service, and to stop
recruiting after the month of March.
Mr. Mad i Ton said the present discussion in
volved a revival of the tjueftion agitated the
)aft session, whether the militia or regular
troops were to be preferred in carrying on the
Indian war?—lt is said that this is not the
time to reduce the military force of the coun
try—that the President is invested with the
power of reducing the army—that while im
portant negotiations are pending, it will be
attended with inauspicious effects to leflen
the imprejfions of our power on the mind of
the Indians. These considerations, he ac
knowledged to be weighty—but if the force
of the country can be continued on as rc
fpeftable a footing as alt present, and at the
lame time the expence greatly diminiftied,
the government would be inexcusable not to
do it. It is supposed that this may be done
in perfect consistency with impressing the ene
my with the failed imprellion of our power.
He suggested therefore the eligibility of com
peting the effe&ive force by the addition of
volunteer militia—to organize compleatly the
regular troops already raised—and to reftrilt
them to the number that they at present con
sist of. To reduce this idea to effect, he sug
gested to the gentleman from North-Carolina
a modification of his motion, by an amend
ment in conformity to these ideas.
Mr. Steele said he was perfectly in senti
ment with the gentleman, in regard to the
propriety of inferring an amendment to the
motion, which might fecureafufficient appro
priation to carry on ofL'nfive operations a
giinft the hostile Indians, by the militia of the
frontiers ; and if an alteration was proposed
t« that effect, he would fecoud it. "The at
i If-., STi.i-'-V"-'
WE&ifEsbAY, JANUARY 16, 1793.
tention of the K011R: to this question speak?
its importance ; it is probable, one move im
portant will not occur during the present ses
sion. On its decision are suspended the hopes
and fears of the people of this country, their
hopes of a speedy and honorable peace, and
their fears of 3 standing army, with its ui'ual
retinue of political evils.
The present is regarded as *n interesting
epoch in the affairs of the United States; and
it has been perceived, with serious regret,
that while our national character is forming
{he hoped it was not yet formed) it seems to
partake in some ref|>efts more of the unnatn
ral spirit of monarchy, than of the mild and
conciliatory temper of a republic. The prin
ciple of keeping up standing armies, though
highly obnoxious to the great body oi the peo-
P le i iias not been equally so to the govern
ment ; they have been maintained and eil
creafed without affording prote&ion, or even
defence- to-th* fumrtcrs i the fuppiies necef
c» support the eftabliftmient, begins to
discover an alarming derangement of the pub
lic finances, and it is now incumhent on' the
House cf l'ieyrefentatives to check this grow
ing mifchief.
Mr. Steele then adverted to the effects of
{landing armies on the morals and political
fentimeats of the people, wherever thev had
been employed; of the expenfivenefs of all
such establishments, and of the wicked purpos
es to which they had been, and might be sub-
fcrvicnt. He laid, he had prepared himfelf to
have spoken largely to this pcint, and to have
quoted the pernicious effects of fucli a policy
in other options ; but the debate having been
already lengthy, and the committee probably
fatigued, it would be fufficient for his present
purpose for the members to make their own
reflections, and to mark the rapid progrelTion
of the army from 1789 to 179 3 » bo'h i" num
bers and expcnces. Instances from foreign
history are fuperfluous, when our own affords
such ample testimony. The eftabliihment be
gan with one regiment, it is now five ; the
Hotife was called on in 1789 to appropriate a
little more than 100,00 a dollars for mat de
partmeut, in the pre Lent year above one mil
lion is demanded. The reason of this extra
ordinary additional expenditure, -tbss urss
pefted encreafe of the army, if not enveloped
in darkness, has been founded on policy hi
therto not fatisfaftorily explained. He said,
however lightly he was disposed to touch this
part of the fubjeft, he could not avoid re
minding the committee of the memorable sen
timents of 1776, in regard to standing armies;
of the universal abhorrence of the Americans
to them at that time; and to illustrate it
more clearly, he read the expreflions of some
of the states in their Bills of Rights. These
were the sentiments of the whigs of 1776, and
to ftich whigs he wished to appeal on thistoc
cafion.
He also reminded the committee of the re
cent debates of 1788, of the amendments pro
posed in several state conventions, of the una
nimity which prevailed among all ranks of
people on this particular point; and it is now
to be lamented, said he, that while the ink
which recorded these objections to the consti
tution is yet drying, the evil then predicted
has taken place.
If there is a subject on which much delibe
ration is unneceflary, in order to forming a
right opinion, it would be in regard to mili
tary eftabli(hments; the feelings of a free
people revolt at their continuance; and every
man who reads, or can point out their
dangers.
He said, he felt more anxiety for the fate
of this motion, than commonly markshis con
duit, because this isthelaft lei Eon that will
fever afford him an opportunity to trouble the
House with his sentiments on this, or any o
ther fubjetfl. The motion was brought for
ward to dil'charge a duty which he owed to
his constituents, to fatisfy his own confer
ence, and to afford that protection to the fron
tiers which they deserved, and to save the
public money. If an uncommon degree of
zeal was discovered in supporting the motion,
it ought to be attributed to thefe,and no other
motives.
The question will now soon be taken—if
adopted, I (hall be among those who rejoice ;
if rejected, among those who have always £üb
mittud with a proper degree of decency to the
decision of the majority. But in any event,
the public will know that we have aflerted
the sense oftjie people against ftandingjarmies,
that we are anxious to defend the frontiers
against their enemies, that we have recom
mended a system of occonomy and efficiency,
instead of profufion and delay, that we have
recommended a system calculated to produce
victory and peace, instead of disgrace anc}
war, and that we wilh to rescue the govern
ment from the intoxication of the times, and
all the apery of military establishments.
He said, he had been attentive to the argu.
mentt of the opposition, and they tend prin
cipally to four points. If neither of these po
sitions be found tenable, the motion will cer
tainly fuccecd ; and that they are not tenable,
is believed and wili be ihewn.
261
Ift. It has been boldly asserted that the
President is the author of the existing system.
2dly. Tbey call in question the sincerity of
our declarations in wishing to afford effe&ual
protection to the frontiers.
3dly. They deny the competency of the
militia.
4thly. The impolicy of reducing the efta.
biilhment, when a treaty is expected.
In regard to the firft, we deny that the Pre
sident is the author of this plan of prosecuting
the war, not having avowed explicitly himfelf
that he is so, & no document appearing to con
firm that opinion, we are juftifiedin attribut
ing a system which appears to us ineffectual,
to his Secretary and not to him.
It is true that the Secretary is only a fin
ger of his hand, and the intimate connexion
which must of necessity subsist between theto,
perhaps is the ground upon which the aflerti
r/n has been made. The Secretaries are all
equally near to the President, and if it be ad
mitted that he is the author of this, he may
with equal propriety, be said to have beer,
.the author of every fyftemon general ftibjefts
which either of them have recommended.
Was he the author of the report on the fifli
eries ? Was be the author of the plan for ef
tablilhingthe National Bank: It is-known
that he was itot, and circumstances might be
mentioned (which are withheld from delicacy)
to confirm this opinion.
Was he the author of the funding f} Item ?
Some gentlemen in the apportion to thli mo
tion, would not be willing to. give the Presi
dent that credit if he claimed it ; and some
who support this motion, would not only be
sorry that the President Had even claimed such
a credit, but believe that it was in no respect
attributable to him. The fame gentleman
(Mr. Wadfworth) who firft afierted that the
President was the author of this military plan,
in the fame speech admitted it to be the war,
as well as the plan of the lionTe, and then ar
gued on the necessity of liability in our mea
sures. It is eat very material to the prelent
question whose plaji in is; being a pubiic mea
sure, we are juftified in offering our objections
to it ; and tins is the firft time that I have
heard it publickly alferted that a government
.VmM jx'rfevere ia jn etror, hifffaufr* th« Vhad
undertaken it. If the plan be a good one, it
may be l'upported by reason ; if a bad one, no
name ought to be called ii) to prop it up.
The inconsistency of that gentleman's (Mr.
Wadfworth) arguments not only supports the
motion before the committee, but shews the
wretched fhifts which have been used to de
feat it.
It has been Paid in the course of the debate,
that individual members, and even this lioufe,
are incompetent to decide upon the efficacy
or inefficacy of military plans. In answer to
this it may be said, that if we are not all Ge
nerals, we are all members, and that we have
the privilege of thinking for ourselves and for
our constituents. To admit this doftrir.e in
the latitude which has been expressed, would
be t» introduce military ideas indeed; it would
be to mak» soldiers of tis, instead of legisla
tors; nay worse than that, it would be to re
vive the exploded doctrines of pafiive obedi
ence and non-resistance.
In regard to the sincerity of his intentions
to afford effectual protection to the frontiers,
Mr. Steele said that he had been Efficiently
explicit, that a feeling for the fufferers had
dictated this motion ; that he was sorry it had
been whiipered in the ears of some of the
n'embers, that it was intended to withhold
the necessary appropriations, and divert them
to other purposes.
If two regiments were inefficient to gar
rison all the posts necessary for defence, he
would even under certain reftriflions, cfth
fent to continue the three sub-legions, there
by enabling the President to eftablifli double
the number of posts now erected if he should
deem it adviieable. Regular troops being in
capable of a&ive expeditions against Indians
in the wilderness, his wilh was to abandon
that system, and confine them entirely to the
garrison.
The next obje&ion to the motion is the in
competency of the militia, and to support this
opinion the gentleman from Conne&icut (Mr.
Wadfworth) has made this expreflion, " that as
to the expedition under General St. Clair, the
regulars were tew, and not to be named when
Compared with the number of the militia." The
truth is there was not a man engaged that day
as a militia man, except the advance guard com
manded by Col. Oldham, which Confided of
300, perhaps a few more, the field return of the
day preceding the action being in the war-office,
this can be ascertained with precision. The
ballanceof the army on that unfortunate day,
had been entitled as regulars, even cloathed as
regulars, wrre fought as regulars, and poor fel
lows, died like regulars. They fuffered the fate
which awaits every regular army destined for si
milar expeditions. Even the handful of militia
employed that day, did not deserve that name,
they were chiefly fubftituies for draughted men
from theceded territory. This draught bccame
unavoidable, from a misfortune to General Se
vier, which Mr. Steele related.
The attack on Major Adaii has also been men
tioned at a proof of the incompetency of mili-
[Whole No. 588.]
tia and Mr. Steele infilled, that the only infer
ence which could be drtwft from thence was,
that 100 militia were able to repel, but not del
ftroy near 200 Indians.—This event he conceiv
ed was in favor, and not against his motion.
He next adverted to the argument of Mr.
Wadfworth, in regard to the war of 1,76* ; of
the eftabhfhmeni of poftj in PenDfylvania 'and
Virginia,and of the fucctfs of Colonel Bouqu t's
expedition. If two worn-out rcgimentsat that
time were fufficient to defend the frontiers, and
with the aid of the militia, to terminate the
■war, two new tegiments,in them, all the vigour
which the gentleman described to now poflefj,
with the aid of eflablilhed posts, and a much
more effective militia, can certainly be equal to
the fame end Al'er examining Mr. W.'s
arguments for some time, Mr. Steele said, that
when analyzed, it would be found, that they
proved more than they were intended to prove f
but the merits of this motion did not require
that he (hould take advantige of these indirec
tions.
He (hewed from the hi ft or? of 1762, that tho*
potts wttt eftahlilhed, with a handful of regu
lar troops in each, they never answered the pur
pose of efi"«£lual proteftinn ; but t,he frontier
people Were always obliged, in a great degree,
to defend themselves j that thev were best cal
culated for that service, and that they would
perform it now with alacri'y and Cucccfs, if
well rewarded.
Mr '. ?'f cle t ' lfn refuted the objection against
the itiilitia on account 6f their waste and ex
pence which Mr. W. had alluded to. The law
allows a mounted volunteer, furnifhing himfelf
with a good horse, good arms, piovifions, and
every other nereflarv, except ammunitinu, at hts
own risque and cxpcr.ce, one dollar per day.
The ci£)ft ex pence of such an expedition, can be
calculated. Whether (uccefsful or not, the
charge to the public cannot be mcreafed. The
contractors, quarter-matter's and hospital de
partments are a'l avoided, with the abufes.ex
pencer and frauds attending such eltablilhments.
Mr. Steele enlarged upon this point, and faiii
that these are always found to be the most expci .
five departments in any armv, and that the fe
deral treafuiy had fell their effects already. In
favor ol the militia it mav h<- aflted, who fought
the battle of Bunker's Hill ? Who fought the
battle of New.Jersey f Who have fought (he
Indians so often with success, under GcneraU
Wirktnton, Str7it, »ct ontl —uifijri s T —Wtto
marched in 1776 under General Rutherford,
through the Cherokee nation, laid waste their
country, and forced them to peace ? Who (ought
the battles of Georgia, under Clark and Twiggs ?
Who fought the battles of South-Carolina, un
der the command of an honorable member, now
preGnt ? Delicacy forbids to enlarge upon his
fuccefles in his pre fence.
Who fought the ever memorable battles of
Cowpens, King's Mountain, Hanging Rock,
Blackftocks ; the ?i\ots, on which the revolu
tion turned in the southern States ? In (bort,
who fought all the battles of the southern States,
while we had a mere handful of regular troops,
scarcely the (hadow, much less the reality of an
army ?
They were all fought by freemen, the substan
tial freeholders of the country : men attached to
the revolution from priuciple : men who wero
sensible of their tights, and fought for them.
Such men will not enlist in regular armies, nor
will any one who has the disposition, or the con
ftitutton of a frteman. It would give me pain
to describe the trash which compose* all regular
armies: They enlist for three dollars a month ;
which, in p country like the Unttc-d States, is a
fufticicnt description of their bodies as well as
their minds. Such men are not fit to combat
the moll a£live enemy in the world. Here Mr.
Steele read Major Gaither's and Major True*
man\s depositions, refpe&ing the defeat of lh«
±th November, 1791, dating, that they could
not fee the Indians, because they were behind
trees, &cc, that the regular troops tried, but
could not fight that way ; that tb?y ffemed t*
be stupid, and incapable of refinance ; 2nd that
if any General in the wprld had commanded
such men that day, he muil have been defeated
as they were.
An additional areument, and one of the most
weighty too, against regular expeditions, in this
fpectesof warfare, is that by the slowness of
their movements, the force of the enemy may
be concentrated, —time is afforded them to form
alliances, and to confederate against those whom
they consider a common enemy. Tt is other
wise with militia incursions. He offered a num-*
ber of reasons to (hew that it was so, and how
e(Tent?al for the interest of the United States, to
adopt a policy calculated to detach the tribes
from each other as mucb as pollibte.
But it h?« beeu said the(e men were not regu
lar .troops. Mr. Steele aflced, what theo were
they ? They surely were not militia.
The last objc&ion, and the Icaft serious of all,
to this motion, is che expectations of a treaty in
the spring. Mr. Steele laid, if he thought
gentleman who threw this difficulty in the way,
believed himfelf that we have any reason to ex*
pe6i a permanent peace from the treaty now pro
posed, it may deferye an anlwei, Fasts arc
more to be relied upon than words: from the
channel through which these proportions have
come—from the whole complexion of their
talks, and from the late attack on Major Adair,
it may fafely be alferted, that no peace can be
effr&ed in the spring.
lie recapitulated fomeof the difficulties which
this motion had to conflict, aod fajd, that be