Democratic Sentinel, Volume 7, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 November 1883 — GRANT TO PORTER. [ARTICLE]

GRANT TO PORTER.

New York, NovemD-T U, 1883. General F. J. Porter, •Mor i jsunvi'. N. .T Dear Genrral— As there is now some discussson as to the i) rob able reasons for my change of mind in regard to your case now pending before the people of the United States, I deem it proper that I sliouid give them myself. In the first place, I never believed you to be |a traitor, as many affected to believe. I thought I knew you too well to believe for one moment that you would accept the pay, rank and command you held for the purpose of betraying the cause yon were professing to serve. Then, too, your services had been too conspicuous as a staff officer at the beginning of the w r ar, and as a commander of troops later, to support such a theory for a moment. But I did believe that General Dope was so odious to some ot the officers in tn? East that a cordial sup port Avas not given him by theni. I was dispo.ed to accept the verdict of a courtmartial composed as the one wduch tried you was. Some of the members of that court I knew personally, and had great confidence in their judginent and justice. I supposed you had shared in this feeling toward Pope, and while not more guilty than others, you were unfortunate in being placed m a position where specifications could be made

showing this hostility. Astor the close oi the war, when I Avas requested to read defense, I read it with the feeling above describgo. At the same time I read the other side as prepared—or furnished—b>|Gen. Pope. This gave maps showing the; position of the two armies, substantially as shown by the first of the diagrams presented by Mr. Lord, of San Francis, co, from whom I copied in the article in your case —and did not indicate the presence of any other force than Jackson’s Then, too, it apDeared that you had actually received an order at about 5 or 5:20 in the afternoon of August 29 to at.

tack the enemy’s flank, and that, too, at a time when a i fierce battle was raging in the | front. I was first shaken in my views, however, when such 1 a man as General Terry, who unites* the lawyer with the soldier, and a man of high character and ability, and who had believed as T had, and possibly worse, after many weeks of investigation, should entirely vindicate you, and be sustained, too, by men of the known ability of his colleagues on the board. . Until in 1881, when I re-examined for myself, my belief was that on the 29th of August, 1862, a great battle was fought between Genei’al Pope, commanding the Union forces, and General Jackson, commanding the confederate forces; that you with a command of twelve or more thousand men, stood in a position across the right flank of Jackson, and where you could easily get into his rear; that you received an order to do so about 5 or lialf-past 5 o’clock, which you refused to obey because of clouds of dust in your front, which, you contended, indicated an enemy in superior force to you; that you allowed Pope to get beaten, while you stood idly looking on, without raising an arm to help him.

With this understanding, and without a doubt as to the correctness of it, I condemned you. Now on a full investigation of the facts, 1 find that the battle was fought on the 30th of August; that your corps, commanded by you directly in person, lost a greatei per centage than any other corps engaged; that the lialfpast 4 order of the day before did not reach you until nightfall; that your pirn mediate superior had cautioned you early in the day that you were too far out to the front; then that General Pope had cautioned you against bringing on an engagement, except under such circumstances as he desired, and that in any event you must be prepared to fall back behind Bull Run that night, where it would be necessary for you to be to receive supplies; that from 11 o’clock of the 29th you were confronted by a force of twice your own number, of whose presence you had positive proof, while General Pope did not know of it. This last fact is shown by the wording of the half-past 4 order. It directed you to attack the enemy’s right and to get into his rear.

General Pope’s circular ,of the morning of the 29th said that General Lee was advancing by wav of Thoroughfare Gap, At the rate at which he was moving he* would be up on the night of the 30th or morning of the 31st. In his testimony before the courtmartial, which tried you, he said, under oath, that he did not kn o w of the arri val of Lee’s command until 0 o’clock of the 29tli, an hour and a half after he had dictated the order for your attack. His circular and testimony prove conclusively that Johnson and Jackson alone was the enemy he intended you to attack. — Your knowledge of this fact,

as well as of the fact that you had another force, quite double yours, in addition, in your front, would have been sufficient justification for your not attacking even if the order had been received in time. Of course this w ould not apply if a battle had been raging between Jackson and Pope. At the hour you received the order all was quiet. This very sboi t, hast ily written and incomplete summary shows why and when my mind underwent a change. I have no doubt now but the change would have taken place in tS r ‘>7 if I had then made an investigaton. I regret now that I did not understand your case then as Ido now. Your whole life si-ic; your trial, as

well a*, your service# before. disprov*B the great burden mt the t-bargee then sustained by the court-martini. As lODg aa I havb a voice It shall be raised in your uSpport, without any ref -rente to the effect upon me «; others, lour restoration to the army simply I wtuld regard as a w ery in-* adequate and unjuet reparation.— While men one ut lea3t—have b«eu restored to die army because of the r gallantry »ua weumls after convie tiou ami sent*, ce, not only to be di# missec', but t) be confiued in a penilentifuiy, and when there is uo doubt of thoir guilt and given alt the.t pay for the years they w«*re out of the service, I can see no reason sot your bavins less. I hop# so: you a thorough vindication, not only b.> cougiess, but in the minds of yor.i countrymen. Very faithfully. U. S GRANT. The machinery is being placed in the New Mill. Benton Review: Attorney John McHugh, of LaFayette, has been employed to defend Nelling. Miss Dwiggin? has 99 pupils en* rolled in her department of the Fowler Sobools— the First Primary. We hear Teat Nelling will be brought to Fowler under the escort of company “O’* of the militia. Such precaution we think entirely unnecessary. The peeple want Nelling to have his trial and have justice meted out to him according to law. and want it dono speedily. A little girl aged 9 yeurs, named Nellie Reed started from this place to Troy, Kansas, last Friday all by heraelf- Agent Richmire to prevent the little ,_ne from encountering difficulties on her journey, checked h(.r trunk through to Troy, put the duplicate check in her shoe and tied the striug attached to it around her ankle he then put a tag on her bonne' and gave her a letter to be give B to the different conductors that she would meet on her way, telling them to s£e ihat the littl? one was safely transferred to the different trains. The little girl is a neice of Mrs- A. J. Kendall, living five miles east of town and an orphan. A year ago she ■ado the tlip from Rochester, N. Y. to thi9 place and now she goes to Kassas to live with relatives she has there. We wish her a safe and speedy journey. Old General Toombs, one of the stormy political petrels of American politics, after keeping the air of Georgia blue with “cuss wo;ds” for the last half century, has finally an. ehored in the friendly harbor of the Methodest Church. A correspondent gives the following account of his reception Into the Church: Generai Robert Toombs was baptised and admit:ed Into the Methodist Church roll of members by Bish op Pierce last Sunday Th<s discourse of the Bishop was ufte his usual spleudi 1 style, and was heard by quite a large congregation. jA'ter t.he sermon during the ceremonies at the reeept ion of the new members, scarcely a diy eye could have been found in the houFe, eo great was the joy felt by the people when they knew that our grand old citizen had made peace with his God. Mr. Gabriel Toombs has long been a Christian, and the sight of the pleasure on his face as be stood by his‘brother during the cerernoeies is weil worth one’s memory for yeais to cenae. Logansport enjoys the distinction of having a girl but six years old who car read English. French, Gtrinan and Latin with ease and correctness. The girl has never attended school, and h-r lather K ng .Stuart, a co'ored man, is unable to read or write. Logan sport. Pharos. It is developed that Jay Gould’s front name is Jason, ♦lni Dio Lewis is Diocletian Lewis, a * d the editor of the New york Tribune Jacob Witilolaw Reid.