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I Advertisements, &C.. (u lhn usual ruins. .
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Noll-rcémndclncc‘ Between ‘
in]. Scott and [he Scereflm‘y
‘ , -, ‘ of W’nr, ~
" {As “10' purpose giv‘jng Summary MAncv'u un
film lo Gen. Sco-r'r'a‘ loner of nccunmion nguinm
rhn Government and Wnr Dopurlmvul. We have
fhuuglu it bur fair that we should luy lhc Gener
;hl‘upomplninla beforo‘our random. in Miami lon-
Egpngg. Y We therefore begin with hib diary immo.
:‘ialely nllcr theft!“ of Verfi Cruz. Thom that he
xdei lo in lhb proimua Burl o'fhis loner arc-no
vquolcd by the Secretary us no! to requrro in~
m here 2] ’ . r \
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'He ciiy land cnslle were cuphncd
Ich 29; and.~wi(h about. oneJourth ol
neceslnry‘meanl lor a road-train. (no
offmiue.) the' retreat. in pursuit of
enemy. «as \igorously commenced
i 1 29." The'bhule pf|oerro Gurdo 5600
Med; and We oc.cupied Jalnpa and Pe
. where we. were obliged Kuwait {or
allellfrom Vem Cruz. . .In these pos
m 1 ms made to mime under anolh.
rue] _diuppuinlménl.‘ »
my_lour,mcmorinls lo the department.
;he ..further proreoution oi the war a
:gaimt _Meaiea. writleo at Washington,
sf ‘and dated. respectively. Oct. 28. Nov. 12.
«‘l6. and 2!. (It Was only intimated to me
ititltenightol Nov. 18..thatl might pre
pare mytelt for the field.) paper! in which
» ldemouatrated that Vera Cruz‘was the
true bane ol operations. and that the ene
tnyf‘pcabitalcould not, probably-{be rea.
ched from the Rio Grande; lestimated
that, after taking the great sen-port, ‘a
bout 20.000 men’ or tan army of more
than 6,000 men’ may be needed. ‘l. To
beat in thefield. and in passes. any accu
" tnulated later: in the way. 2. To garri.
son many important points in the rear, to
recure a free communication with Vera
Cruz. And 3. To make distant detach
ments. in order to gather in, without long
helm-necessary subsistence." And that
force. lsupposed. including volunteers.
and. aided by land and money bountien.
might be raised‘in time. by adding ten or
twelve new regimento oiregularo, and fil
ling: up the ranks of the old. ‘
A bill was introduced for raising ten
additional regiments; anti I certainly do
not mean to charge the department with
the whole delay. in passing the bill thro’
congress. But it was passed February
11. 184.7. and under _it. by early in April,
some lew thousand men had been already
raised and organized. My distress may'
be concrived. by any’soldier, on learning
at Jalnpa. April 27. that the whole 0! that
tnrce had been sent. under Brig. General
Cadwalader. to the Rio Grande lruntier.
In my letter to the Department. writ
‘ten the day olten! said I had expected
that— - .
2.7-“;
.‘ 5 54‘»,
‘ 5J5":
,2. ;(24
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1&7; ‘
93 54“
mar?“
"Detachmenta of the new regiments would. as
you had promised me. begin to nmva in this month,
nnd continue to follow perhaps into June. How
many [volunteers] will rc-ongage. under the act
npprovod March 3 (only received two day. ago) l
ltnow not; probably hut fotv. Honca the greater
my disappointment. eatined‘by rendtng the new
troops to the Rio Grande; (or. besides then keep
-ing the road in our present roar open for many
waoka by mul‘Chci ‘in ruccouivo detneltmonts.l
had intended; an] advanced. to leave leung gar.
riron- In this place.(.lalapn,j in Parole. and Puebla.
and to keep at the head of the movement: a {och
equal to any pruhablo oppoaitiun. It may now
depend on the ttume-r ofthe old volunteer: who
may re-engugc, and the number of new troops xhat
may arrive from tho Brazus in time. or also in some
degree upon the advance of Major General 'l'nvlur.
whether I shall find this army in utrength tn leave'
the garrisons and to orcuw the capital."
llmay'add thnt only abnut fifty individ
uals ol the-old volunteers re-ettgagcd un
der the provisions of- the act ol- March 3;
that the remainder w’crn discharged. May
4th,; that Major General Taylor made no
movement in advance ofSattillo; nml that
the new'rég'ula'r's. including Cndwalladcr’s
Brigade. only began to come up with me
at Puebla; in July. but not in unflicient
numbers ttll August 6., The next day the
army" cprnmenc‘etl its advance upon the
capital With a little, mart-than 10,000 at
(ectrvnmen. ~ - v- . ' ~ '
It is not extravagant many that, if
”fig-Gem" Cadwaluder’e ' forces had not
been diverted from me to the Rio Grande.
Rehere. he was made tovlnse. "withbut‘nnyv
«benefit to,Mojnr .Gen. ’l‘nylor.‘ much' pre
ucious tinie, ’I might, easily have taken this
city in‘th‘e monthof June. and at one-fifth
[of the loss ‘sustained in August and Sep-‘
.tember. The enemy Mailed htméelf'bt
rnyqur‘ced delay. .at Puebla; tn collect.‘tu
treble.“ organize and discipline his fnr
.ces. ashnlso, to erect numerous and pow‘f
erlul‘defiences' with batteries. . Nearly nlI
those extraordinary preparations ~'for ,our
reception were made safter the middle/oi
June. Audit?" known thnt,the newsnf
the‘ victory'o! Boena Vista reached Wash
ington in time to countermand .Cadwalln,
ders orders for the RidGrnnde,‘ before his
“warm“: from New Orleans; »Tvso nae
com-print“, With him, received the cou‘n:
:termnnt! .there. .nndjo' ed merari)" '
’1 know that I had (“i misfortune to'give
offence to the Departn ant. by expressing;
myself ‘to "the 1 name Intact—4sm:r-Jatrpu,’
May 6.1: in a rEport ofithat date?! snide}
" Thootibjeet of thatvordc}; (No. J3s¢qoltl = val;
nnteon‘) hupxgiyenfme long ‘ndtdeup mlicituder-J'
To part with l 0 ‘inrgo and 9:1 reßpCClttbit‘ a‘pomnn
f writ. 2.4-. . 7' ‘ ' - . ~ ; 3 ' 3,, '
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nflhifl army. in the middlwpfp. country. which,
lliough in'iln {mower is no: ym l‘lipoaed m sue for
peace; to provide for the return homo of seven ro
gimcntu, from this interior position. nt in time when
I find it quitediflicultlto provnlo Iranyportntion &
supplies for the operating forces ,which remain
and all this without nay prmp‘ect of nuccnr or re-
Inforcommts. in po'rhapn the next seven month-~—
heyond name 300 army reernitn~prcuenr novel
ties utterly unltnmi'n to any invading nrmy before
With the addition often or twolve . Ihnnuand new
lovin. in April or May—asked for nml until very
recently expected—or oven with Iho nihlitinn of
two or threo thouannd now troops, destined for
thin ormy.bnl suddenly, by the orders oi the War
Department, diverted to the Rio Grundo frnrrtrcr,l
might. notwithstanding the unavoidable discharge
of the old vultmlaors—auvqn regimenln and two
independent compnnios—ndvrince with Mnfidenco
upon tho enemy's cupilnl. luhnll. noverthnluau,
udvnnco ;- but whollier beyond Pueblo, Will do
pond upon intervening information and rerlernon.
The general- panic given to the enemy at Cerro
Gordo utill remaining. [think it probable we nhall
go to Mexico; or. if-tha enemy recover from that.
we mult renew the consternation by another Mew." 1
Thus. like Cortez, finding myscll iso
lated and abandoned. and again. like him;
always alraid thnt the next ship or men
nvnger might, recall or further cripple me,
lrenolved no lonizer to depend on Vera
Cruz or home. but to render my little or
my 'a self auataimng machine’-—as,l in
formed everybody. including the head of
the War Department—land advanced to
Puebla. -
It was in reference to the ltiregoing se
rious cause: ol complaint, and others. to
be lound in my reporls at large—particu
larly in respect to money for the disburs»
in;: staff ulficers. clothing, and Mr. Trint.
commissioner. that 1 concluded my report
lrom Pueblo,‘June 4. in these words:
"Considering tho many cruel disappointment.
and mortifimtiono I have been mode to {or-I oinco
[ left Worhington. and tho lolnl wont ofsupporl or
nympnlhy on the part of the War Department.
which! have so long experienced. I bag ll! be ro‘
culled from this army the moment it may be nnlq
for any per-on to embark in Vera Cruz—which. I
suppose. will bo early in November. Probably
all field operations will be over long bt-fnru thnt
lime."
But my next report (July 26) from Pu
ebla. has no doubt. in the end. been deem
ed more unpardonable by the Department.
In that paper. alter Speaking of the ' hap
py change in my relations. both official &
private. with Mr. Trist.’ I continued :
5 " Since about the 26 ultimo, [June] our inter~
courae has been frequent and cordial. and l have
found him [Mr. T.] able, diecreet. courteous and
amiable. At home it no chanced thttt we had but
the alighteat possible acquaintance with each oth
er. Hence more or less at reciprocal prejudice; 6t
at'the existence of h-I feelings towardl me. I knew
(by private letter!) before We met. that at least a
part of the cabiiiot had a lull intimation. Still.
the pronounced misunderstanding between Mr.
Triut and myself could not have occurred but for
other t'ircnnietaueee: l; ”in being obliged to send
forward your letter of Aptil M,inatead of dolircr
ing it in poraon, with the explanatory papere which
he deaired to communicate : 2,11” bad health in
May antl June; w‘bieh lam happy to any has now
become good; and 3. The extreme myltifioation
into which your letter. and ..pnrtieularly an inter
lineation. unavaidnlily threw Inu. So far it: I am
concerned. I am perfectly mlling that all I have
heretofore written to the department about Mr.
'l‘riat ahould be suppreasod. l malio thin deelnia»
tiontaa due to my prelont oateem for that gentle
man; but ask no favor. or desire none. at the hands
of the department. Juattco to myaelf. however
Inrdy.l ahall talto care to have done. ‘. ‘
I do not acknowledge the juatice of either ofyour
rebukea contained iii the letter at May 31. {in re
lotion to Mr Trist and the prisoners at Cerro Gur.
dad and that I do not here triumphantly vindiruie
myself, ll not from the want of Will. menus, or us
hilit)‘. but time 'l'liufiret letter. dated Ft'b.22_ re
eeived from you. at Vera Cruz. riititained u cen~
sure. and i am new rehulted for the unavoidable
_nay,‘tvige, if it had not been unavoidable—re
lune, on parole. of the prntunen taken at Cerro
Gerda—even before one word of commendation
from government had reached this army on tit-count
ol its gallant conduct in the (’tlpllll’o of those prtr~
onere. [No "such commendation hit! yet been re.
ceiVetl—li‘ehroary. 1848] So. in regular progros.
men. I may. nhould the some army gallantly bl‘tlf
me into the city of Moxtco. in the next “It" tMv.
on weekl. which iii prohahle, if we are not nrru
ted by n peace or a truce—look to be dianiineed
from the service ,of my Pountry! You will par~
ccivo that] am aware (ea l have long been) at the
dangers whieh hang over me at home ; but I. too,
am it citizen of the United States, nntl well knott ‘
the obligations imposed under all cireiiniutaticea tiy
an enlightened patrinlilm. In respect to money. I
beg again to report that tliu L'lltcf commmury
(Captain Grayeun) of lhtl army has not received u
tlellar from the States. Since we landed at Van,
Cruz, March 9. He now owea mum thun'ggonfl
000. and is obliged") purchase on crud“. nt kn,“
disadvantage. The chief, qtiartoh'mnutu [Captain
Irwin] has received perhaps $60,000,; and toturn
under like iiicninhmncea Bulb-hove so“ drougliw
to small amoiiiitu, and.berrowedllargely.brf'im- pay
department. which has receivetlmbom half the
money estimated for. Comequently; 'the (wow;
have eomo {our‘months pay due them. Our pov.
erty, or the neglect ot' the. disbursing dcpnrttnenltt
at home, has been made known. to our "hum“ i"
the pupora of the capitol here. through a letter
from Liout. Col. Hunt. that true found on ttio'por.
eon ofthe special messenger from Washington”?
The army in aliao enduring gitietlyfroiii the want
of noenaaory elotliing.‘inelutling blanket» atid‘groiit,’
cents. The new troops [theee’wlto have lent ar
rivodJ ne destitute tie ~lho‘othersi, tvere lint told:
that they would find abundant slip the» at New Or;
lonllllltflllfi‘tvoffl Cruzmnd-finally hare;~ where-'7
"5' “'°_ll°W hflVCa perliape. 0 thousand hande'o’n-r
89g0d_ltt melting sheep and pantalooiie. out ,Dr‘ltutl“
materials. and at high rates. ‘ 'l'heuo “hides, 'uinytm'
3000‘ pairr of eachl nro'ahsolutely' iiecetloary’tlo‘
cover the nahedneaa of the troope‘.‘ b‘ébriiafl‘flß."
UffLehoa; lerote lOAßTlSadie-r General “white to:
direct the Quartot‘tnai’iteriatNdid Orleans to send
me- largo EUPPltafiwPl’Clolllinttt; March 169-23‘
General Brooke replied that Ihoqnorter matter at
New Orleans, had 'neilhor clo‘tliing nn‘i'ffhuea "
and that lie wee 'leiirftil that. uiileas they have
been ”’3’” 0‘" to YOU direct, ~intuiw'ill ho intieh die.
appointed}.- Stiine 'urnall qunitttty‘dfiu'munnkl,”l:
a,
' _i‘ ' ..r, , ~ -, : ’ "98°“ hut-J," Minna am!
this place.“ t ' . , “ "'j""
l’muattieré‘t eciaill “'re" t: ' I" ‘ i.
- . .. » P Y . anti, manila:
Jetty}. .No; 30,‘ though ltii'ivr‘trtléd' ‘, the“
ntghtol llttdi'lltl, (July 25,)»weei‘nsua’hfiég
. , . _ .M
~ 01, EA R F‘l‘ EL 1), PA-.-M H ”@lB4B
miscarriefi. Perceiving.- nban‘Nnv. ‘27,’
that it was no: acknowledged by the De.-
pxmmcnt, [canned a duplicate to be lunar,
Si2ool|§il nnd sent it of? by the slime con<
”fluke \rilh._my deepnlch. No. 36. and
the chm‘ges Against Brev‘c! Major General
Worth, Mbjn} General Pillow; and ”re
vel Lieut. ‘ Co".- Duncan. together With
the appeal against me a! the former.’ 'l‘”
(have papers are acknowledged by lhe
Depnrmmnl, in lhe'uume lonerannuary
lii—mat recalls'mr.
it was that budget of paper: which'cau
sed the blow of powder. on long suspend
ed, to {all on a devoted head. The three
arrested officers, and he who had eotlenv
ored to enforce 0 little necessary disci
pline against them, are all to be placed to
gether belore the same court;the inno
cent and the guilty. the accuser and the
accused; lhejutlge and his prisonera, are
dealt with alike. Mo~t impartial justice!
But there is a discrimination with a venv
aea’ncel While the parti I are on trial—
il the nppealer is to Ml at all, which
seems doubtful-twr of th to are restored
[to their corps—one of them with his Bre
vet tank-and I am deprived of my com
mand! There can be butoné more step
in the same direction; throw the rules and
articles of war into the fire. and leave all
ranks in the army free to engage inde
nunciatinna andya general ucramble for
precedence. authority and Executive la
vor. The pronunciamento. ore-the part
of my factiouajuoioru‘ia most triumphant.
My recall—under the ciscumstances. a
aevero punishment before trial, but to be
lullowed by trial here, that may run into
Autumn. and on matters thatl am but
partially permitted tn know by the De
pnrtment and my acéuaers—is. very in
geniously. placed on two grounds: lot.
My own request. meaning that of June
4th. (quoted above. and there was no oth
er one before the Department) which had
been previounly (July 12) acknowledged
and rebukingly declined. 9d. The ar
rest at Brevet Major General Worth. lor
writing to the Department, "under the
pretext and lorm of an appeall”.an open
letter, to be. sent through me. in Whifh l
was grossly and lalsely accused of " mal
ice" and "conduct unbecoming an officer
and gentleman," in the matter at the gen
eral order No. 349, on the subject ol puf‘
ling letters. for the newspapers athnme.
On that second point, the letter lrom
the Department. ol January 11. is more
than ingenious ; it is elaborate. subtle and
protouml : a proleasional diuaertatiun, with
the rare merit at teaching principles until
now wholly unknown to military codes 81
treatiser, and ot courre to all mere sol
diera. however great, their experience in
the field. t
I have not at this place, time to do more
than hint at the fatnl consequences ot the
novel doctrine in question. According
to the Department. any (action: junior
may. at his pleasure. in the midnt oi the
enemy—using “the lorm and pretext of
an appeal" against his commander-inf,
suit and outrage him to the grossest ex
tent. thongh he be the general in chief, &
charged with the conduct of the most ctit-
Icnl (mention; and that commander may
not orient the incipient mutinr-er until he
lhhii ho’ve lirlt laid down his own authori
ty and submitted himself to a trial, or
woit at least for in distant period ol leisure
to: the judicial examination ot the appeoll
And thu Is preciu‘ely the case under con
~.'n|erotion. The Department. itt its en
germ-eta to t‘ontletnn tne’t could not tnke
tune to learn of lhe experienced that the
general-in-chiet who once uubmttst to on
outragr, from u junior, moat loy his ac
count in t-uti'er the like lrotn all the vicious
u‘ndcr him—at least down tn‘ a runk that
may be aupptm-d withodt influence in‘high
qunrtt-rst. beyond the army. But this
would, not he the whole mtnchtet in the
public service. Even the grant inassol
the spirited. intelligent, and well uliected,
among his brother» i'l outta, would soon
tcduce ruch a cumtnandrt‘ to utter unbe
ciltty by holding him In just sewn 8L cun
tetnpt {or hts recrt-anoy to him-ell and‘
country. find are discipline and ([ficienL
c't/ of no valuc'jn' t/tcfiehl? ‘
But It was not my request of June ‘l.
our report No. 50 (of July 26) on luruely
qnott‘d'ltutn above, our yet the appealnl
one prommcindorthot nus. at length. hrot’
down upon tnc thisyisitution, so clearly
piedicted. 'l'hitt ttppeul,_no tloubt,‘hod itp‘
mcrlls—consideringflit came trout on er
ruttc bittther~nttleaertce Irom the other
extreme—who. hoving'juut tnude hts‘ pence
wit}: the true fault. was hound to‘ signal;
ize apostnoy bygaeceptoble, denunciations:
of one toriwhotnh uplto Yera‘Cruz. he had
proleased." [and not; without cause.) that
highest obligations; [it was-there he tear-f
"ned, lromitnfi that I wno'dnotned ut WushJ
t't'tigtott. and‘s’tt'ra‘ightwé‘ty‘the upontute‘he-z
gun to ‘seck. through .11 quarrel. the menus;
ot‘turniut; that knowledge to his own hum
ctit.]‘ No. There wast [:t'ecetttly) at'tll‘
another element negotiated in the work—'-
KW“.“’l‘.”‘Hl'l'llliulimbiiéo.’WU“;in": "ct-g
,ter oi recoil: onglittl'u'e‘nce'.nroceedtng lroin'
the other illTL‘alL’llT glfflerQl—V'WhU‘ is'qu‘lte
willing thatlit Hi’llluldtlgenl'fflny be under;
stood [and uhd'shull goinsuy‘ltm sig‘ttiiié
taunt. «isqutescmc‘c’fi' 'tliata‘ttf ruwotduuttd
';yunrtslitn‘en_ta,]xin :thts army 2 [we‘re hunt the
:fiiiifito following: tccnmtnendationsp-n
timing the more ;po’w‘ortul ofthe pijommt
ctadasmguinst- Noz‘B‘49,‘ “fell knew“; the
him. as: "Paoon‘ “new; thét‘he ‘wai‘jitstl'y;
shhoxiuui—-not only as unite animatlver
aiomé‘ot'thnt order. but to other censure;
of a mu‘chrgrnver character. . . ‘ .
In respect to ihll’gonfll'fll,'iho' letter of
recall observes. parenthetically. but with.
an 'ncumen‘wotlhy of more thnn'fa haety‘r
notice, that some of my specificationaof
his misconduct‘are 'hardly consistent with
" your [my] official “World and commen
datione.” ‘ ' L 'f "i 5 ‘ I "
- Seemingly; thisia-a'mnst-just rebuke—‘4-
But. waiting for manuals; 1 will here brief:
ly state that. unfortunately; i followed that
{general'eiown reports, written and oral;
that my conlidence.‘ lent him in advance.
had been but slightly shaken as earlv as
the first week in October ; that up to that
time. from our entrance into this city; I
had been at the desk, shut out from per
sonal intercourse with my brother oliicerm
and that it Was not till after that confine
ment that facts, conduet ahd motives be
gan to pour in upon me. i ’
A word as to the fifth article of war. I
can truly any that. in this and other com
munications. lhavo‘nnt designed the slight
est disrespect to the commander iii-chief
of the army and navy of the United States}
No doubt he, like myself and all others.
may fall into mistakes as to particular men;
andl cannot, having tnysolt' been behind
the curtain. admit the legal fiction that all
acts of a Secretary are the acts of a Presi
dent. Yet, in my defensive statements. I
have offered no women discou‘rteey to the
head of the War Department. although that
functionary is not in the enumeration ofthe
above mentioned article.
Closing my correspondence with the
Department unlil afler lhe’approaching rri:
al. I haverhohonor to remain. réspemfully.
Your most obed’r aerv’l, ‘
WINFIELD SCOTT.
To W. L. Minnow; Sec’y of War.
Secrelary Marcy’s Reply.
Wm Dann'mm'r, Washington, April 21. 1847.
Stu : It Would not be respectlul to you
to pass unnoticed your extraordinary let-’
ter of the 24th ol February, nor just to
mysell to permit it to remain unanswered
on the files of this department.
To attempt to dispel the delusions which
you seem to have long pertinaciously cher
ished. and to correct the error: into which
you have fallen. devolves upon me a duty
which I most not decline; but. in perlor
wing it. I mean tube as cautious. as you
prolcss to havebeen. to abstain from any
'wanton discourtesyf and i hope to be
alike successful. Your prudent respect
for the ' sth article of, war ’ has induced
you to hold -me ostensibly responsible
lnr many things which you are aware are
not fairly chargeable to me. The device
you have adopted toiasssil the President,
by aiming your blows at the Secretary at
War. does more credit to your ingenuny
as an accuser. than to your character as
a soldier. A premeditated contrivauce to
avoid responsibility does not indicate an'
intention not to do wrong. ,
, The general aspect ol your letter dis
closes an endent demgnto create a beliel
that you were drawn lortli lroiu your quiet
position in a bureau ol this department,
and assigned to the command of our urin
its in Mexico, lor the purpose or being
sacrificed; and that. to accornplish this
end. ' neglects, disappomtinents, injuries,
and rebukes’ ' were inflicted’ on you,
and the necessary means ol prosecuting
the war with success Withheld; or; in oth~
er words, the government. alter prelerriug
you to any other at the gallant generals
within the range of its choice. had labored
to lrustiate its own plans, to bring defeat
upon its own armies. and involve i'tsell "1
rain and disgrace. loi' an object so unini
portant in its bearing upon public allairs.
A charge so entirely preposterous, so ut
terly repugnant to all the probabilities ol
human conduct. calls lor, no relutation.
Fbr blhefl'purpuaes- "mu to combat this
lundly-chuuhcd clumera, ll‘ as proper that
I should notice uumu ul your apecalic uhe
gnuom. . .
It is iiue that. after you were designa
trd lor the chic! command oi our mum-5.,
the President was ticatiuua thnt your ill)“
pnrlurc should not on unnuccaeurity delay
ed ; but you were not restricted, its you
allege, to ‘mily iour duys' to make the
tic_ccssury ;iruparatioiw at Worthington"—
You ware not ordered .'.way' until you had
reported thnt these preparations were so
lnr completed that. your presetico hen: wu»
no longer required. - 'l‘hen. lllslcudj'Ul'gU
ing dtrecily io MexiCo,"yoii were permit
icd. at your own request, to take 11 circu'-
ilous route through New ‘York. and, there
to remain u‘lcw days.: You staid at Ne't‘v
‘York hourly un‘ entire week: and, not
until-lhe mm of December; (twenty-six
'days alte'r leaving --Washingtoo,=) ‘dtkl L_vuu'
reuch' New Orleans. :wltc‘ro'tjg'ou‘ would
have arrived "woven :(lnyb iiyoh had been
required- w take the downtime.“ 'l‘hiz}
solicited indulgence, ' by which yu’ur‘u‘rrig
vul'zal'Néw Urlounrwas Ucla'ymlitéurlj
three weeks,‘ isinconipaiihlowiih yo'dr‘tildj
legution llmt‘you were alltiiv'eti"orily (om:
days at. Whaliiuglbn; where ‘twr’nty‘ liilkhl
haile'beomnust advantageously" 'cinpi’ojodj
.'l‘h'u,compluint'hus Iclution- [ofthetr] \‘Viihf
'luytmur uwn k‘nbwlédgc‘; Ermi'. 'liiEi‘éiOi‘EL
I 3 "I“th rccuuctlable with onyxs'tiliciiuiiq
to be accurate.‘ As thtg hi your’o'p‘cuitig
charge against tho Wh'r"-f)>bp.tt'tt‘i_'i'orit;‘ om!
muyiihe régmdcdl .tis-tritlicntivtt" 'of tho“:
whichiollo'w. l ‘ahnlli intake the roi'u'tuiidi'i
NEW SERIES—VOL. I, N09‘22.-9i\'vliol.i: N 0: i 667;
ow ‘ 'H-’
of ihékiy more completee for-,the purpose
oft owing; with ,whatnenklessuess .you
have performedEthetlurtcttons.of anaccug
ear. and how liltlcgrelinnce. in! thotpres'ent
state of you, _teelings. :cambe. placed. on
your memory. You are): the witnessgby
whom' your allegation. It tnrbégtlisproved.
On. the day oi'your departure ,‘rrrmjvnqh: ‘
lngton. you left with me. a;ptlpe_r, in your:
own handwriting. A dated ‘ November._23.
13846, with the following heading}. Fu— alzf
"Notes suggestingtopics to beg.‘ctrxltrnt:odl.inthe
Secretary's instructiona to Gems“ drnwn'upttre‘
haste} at the request ofthe fitrmoti',’ " ‘ ":3”
From that paper I extract (hoteliers/trig
paragraph: " ' i , if V
“l (the Secretary of Wnr)-' nm ‘plutiaod 10 ion!“
from you (Gen. Scott) thntynu have in It very few
days already. through the general ototl'or'lmt ”PM
here. laid a sufficient basis at: the purpoBos;W§¢ll
which you are charged, and, that you now thi'ttitvi't
best to proceed at once to the southwest, inertial:
to organize the largest number oftr'oepe‘thatttinn
be obtained In time {or that meat, importance-roe
dllion"——(lhosxpedilinn againstYornCruz) t
Hero is your own mostcxplicit admis:
sion that you, represented v tothe Secret-I
ry. of War. belore’ leaving Washingtoni
that arrangements were so for completed.
that you thought it best to proceed atiqntat;
to the armyvin Mexico ; sndyet you make
it your opening charge against‘ths depart:
ment, that you were lorcodaway.to Mex;
ico before you had time for necessary prei—
parations. ‘ ' . t» .
I present your. next chargein-your one
language: ‘ . 4 ' , ~;, ..
"I handed to you a written rcquestthatonp of
throelof our accomplished capiainl, thereto named,
might be appointed assistant adjutant gon'erell'with
the rank of mayor, for duty with mo'in Iho-field.
‘ and there mun vacancy, at the time. terone. [My
‘ request has never heen‘ attended to. and. thoni
3 have had no officer of lhuvAdjutnnl Generalfsfie
‘i partmcnt with me in the campaign. :Cen'nnother
instance be cited of denying to a general-i'nschtel.
in the field at the head ofa large army—of “Olin
small one—the selection of his chisfot' the staff—'-
tham. the chief m the departmentot order-4nd
correspondence 3" . , ._,.. .
. Were the case precisely as you have
stated it to be. you have given too much
prominence, as a matter of complaint”)?
the President’s refusal to be controlled.
in his exercise ofthe appointing po'wenb)’
your wishes. Had there beena vacancy
such as you mentlon, for ' oneotithe so;
complished captains? you named. no one
knows better than you do that younge
quest could not have been acceded. to
without departing from the uniform ’role
of selection for stafl, . appointments, with
outviolating the right of severnlnffigg"
to regular promotion. and uttering cult!-
dignity to all those who .held the _positit‘hfl
of assistant adjutant?s eneral~ withdftfi
rank of captain. The "fie el’regular'er
motion in the staff rs, as inflexible, and
has been as uniformly pbserygd. as thstin
the line. It must appear surprising. that
you. who were so deeply ‘shockedlinnd
distressed ’ at the suggestion ofappointing.
by authority of Congress» ' citizenlicu
tenant general.’ or vesting the President
with power to devolve the, command 0|
the army on a major general withoutjc
gard to priority in the date of his commis
sion. should. in your first request. .nfter
being assigned to command, ask ,the'vP‘reo
ident to disregard. the rights of at least
(our officers as meritorious as -' the three
accomplished captains ’ named by.yori.fl—-
The President’s views on this subjectu'n
doubtedly differ from yours. His regard
tor the rights of oflicers is not graduated
by their rank. Those of captains and ma«
jor generals have equal value in his esti
tustion, and an equal claim to his respect
and protection. I cannot admit that it is
ajust ground of censure and rebuke :-
gatnst the 'Jhcad ol the \Var Department’
that the President did not see fit, in or
der to gra’tily your feelings of favoritism.
to disregard the claims and violate the
rights at all the assistant, atljumat gener
uls of the rank of ‘captainlthen in comtnts.
ston. "
But, so far as it is made aground ofcom
plaint and roprnof. this in not the worst aa
pect ofthe can't). You are entirely mista
ken in the assertion that there was thong
vacancy in the adjutant gcnoral’s stall”, with
the rank of major; to which either ofthe
captains recoaimondad by you could have
been properlyappointed. Them waa no
u’uch vacancy. ' o sltow'lhe correctness
of this statement. and to demonstrnto your
error. 1 appeal to the Army Register. and -
the records of the Adjutant General’a Of
lico. Your tnistalte :18 tom obvious-[act
lying within tho range of matters with
‘whioh you are preaumo‘tltolie familiar. has:
oxcitud loss u'urpriso than the declaration.
that by the noncompliance with your to
queat, you -‘ have had no ofliccr oftheAd
jutant Gancral’s Departmcntwitlt mov(vou) '
iu- the campaign.” Every officer ofthat
tlopartmonteut least oiglitfwaa’ as ,Lygu
Noll' lcacty, subject to your“ commuting?-
.‘thn you arriv‘ediin, Mexico, thoremwy‘ero
with" the armyat lcaat five assistant adju
tents general. all int, Xouj'WsmTVlGQ-t ,Tnpt
Y 9“ .0995? ‘0 ”@WW. "o'lo M 43100! MIN"
lleéqnt’tmrrtaqd idetaclictl from otholr‘ap
propriate flullfléuoflicdn toaot “101.8,."
yittunl'.adj.tzl.:am;gen.emt. may well bowie
g‘lldod,“ “tight to the;wliqle.of;tltal3 DIOR
‘lll’l‘ Wllh. X 9“ in.eM.oxlco. and.“ “09°10,"
'99,"?R'3mti but; Certainly .not a..,complaint
~|9,9(na,_iiate from yoaagainsuhafWanna
parlrxtgitt. ”walling-931;], nnt’tbwreauflte.
'thoagh unhblewtptponc‘aivc, ..that *cucum
atanceejusnficdjuu ttt passiogio‘vcr'alhtha
assigtanti.adjut‘antc’ gener'at (thenwwithi‘tha
mnn tandem 56’8951014'allotmenofigthaline {
to perform the dunes ot'adjutant spacial tap"
.1 , 40 T,f;l'l,
MEM
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