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Porter On Grant

Porter On Grant image
Parent Issue
Day
9
Month
December
Year
1870
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

[COPY.J Nortii Atlantic SQUADRON, } U. S. Í'lAGSIIII1 MaLYJCUN,. CWK FlCAK HlVKU, ,I111. tl, 1805. J Mr Deak Bk : - I reoeivo'l your k nd letter of the 1 7 1 inntmit, and thauk you warmly for tho coufideuce you roposed 10 my god opinión tb ut tliis placo could be taken. T thu Navy IJepartmeut .; alone is th-j country indobtcd for the capturo of-tbis rebel stronghold; for had 11 uót been for your perto veranee in k'eping the fleet hero, and your constant yropositions made to the artny, nothing wou'.d have been done. As it was, after the proposition bad been received, Riid General Grnnt proniiscd that troops nhould bo sunt, it was not done until . Geueral Boiler consented to let the matsier go on, and when he hoped to reap ome little credit for tho explosión of the powder boat.' Now, the country gives General Grant the credit of naugnrating the expedition, when, on both oocaeious, Ie pormitted it to go improperly pro vided. In the firgt place it had neither head nor tail as far as the army was coucerned. In the second plaee bo (Grant) Bent too few men, when he ought to bave caleulated that the rebels would kave moro strongly defended the works, after seeiog what a narrow escapo they had. NotlNDg but the mest desperate figbting and a determination to win on th port of the army gave us the victory. ïhe gallant band of sailors who fear leisly wont into the works amidst a nhower of onnnister and bullets, drew the ensmy's attention away from the sssault on the land side, and cnnbled the troops to ottain a secure footing. 1 don't aay this to detract from the galJntry of the goldiers, for never did men frgbt harder or more handsoniely than did our troops tht day. Now that tli9 most' important fort on the ooast has been gained, as unual you will hear but little of what the navy did, and no doubt efforts will be made ngain to show that thw work was "not substantially injured as a defeneive work.'' To Gen Grant, toho w always wiUing to take tht credit whett anylhing is done, and equally ready to lay the blaine of the fuilure on the navy, wben a failure takes plaoe, I feel underno obligations for reeeiving and allowirg a report to be spread from bis beadrjuarters that there were three days when tho navy might have operated aod did not. He knows as mucli about it lts be did whsn be wrote to me, sayinp; "the only way in which the place could be taken was by running the f-hips past the batteries," showing evident ly ttiat be had not studied the hydrography of Cape Fear Rtver, and did not know the rirtue there was in our wooden walls when they went in for a fair stand-up fight. Any fort iu rebeldoin can be taken if we oan only get in roach of it I havo served with the Lieutenant-Gen eral before, where I nover worked so hard in uiy life to make a man euoceed as I did for him. You will ecarcely notico in bis reporta that the navy did Hm any service, when without the belp ft bas given him all the way through, henever would have been Liiutenant General. He wants magnanimily, like most effioerg of the army, and is so avaricious ai regards fawe that he will never, if he can belp it, do justioe to our department. When the rebels write the hislory of this war, thon, and only then, will the country be made to feel what the navy has done. I do not feel at all kindly towardt General Grant for the indifference he displayed in this matter until he found bis own reputation at stake ; then he was glad to throvv tho elephant overboard that hád weighed bim down so hcavily. He could not holp but know that Genral Butler was going in command of tbia expedition. The matter was con■tantly discusscd with him ; he knew that be had placed himself and all of his numerous staff on board the fltigship Ben de Ford, and everybody spoká of Lim os commander of the troop. In a conversation with General Grant, 1 ' tpretly iold him that I wanted nolhing to do with General Butler, and he promised mt fmthfully that he ihould not have any ttnnection toith the expedilion. Two month6 I wftited, the floot ready to sail at an hkmr's uotice, and I acquiesced in the Oeneral's decisión that he could not tpare troops for fear of endangering the defences in h'm front. I said, "Tben the eipedition will ncver go until Butler has a tinger in the pie;" and sure enough, w4en Butler said go, we went. The fcar of weakening the defences disappeared on ButlerV presenting his plan for blowing the forts down, and an army was shipped so quick (unprepared) on tbe transporte, that they almost sailed ín the middle of a heavy gale. Genera! Grant knew that I did not care a fie for tbe powder boat, thougb I was very willing to try it as an experiment, but not disposed to trust it altogether. I ihink it nwit unhandome in him to listen for a moment to the idlo talk of Butler's BtafT, and bis tiinid, calculatingengineer, Comstock, who wanted some excuse for not doing thcir duty. The LieutenantGcneral and I were together eighteen months before Vicksburg - never liad to wtit (or me, nor did any of his general (but I have had to wait for them), and he should have supposed from the pnst and' my nxiety to go to work, that I had not beoome any slower in my movements tban I was on the Mississippi. Uil toarse proves to me that lte would saerifiee his btstfriend rather than let any odium f all on General Grant. Uexcill takt to himself all the er edil of this move now that it is sueceuful, when he deserves all the blamefor the Jirst failure to take the place." All this is now saddled on General Butler, and history will teil nothicg of General Grant's share in it. I teil it to you for your own personal iatiífaction that you may know and feel that you are entitlcd to the entire credit for getting this expedition off and for it mccePF. I am mercly the agent and only used toadvan'.age the ampio meaos placed at roy disposul, which any one elce could have done as well as I. I expect you sometimos thiuk I am a little too irupolitic in what I say, bit that is my nature. I am always roady to figtot right away, if any one reflects upon tho nsvy. 1 koow that no country under the un ever raised a navy ns you have done in the same space of time, and tbat no navy ever did more. Could ihe navy opérate in James River, Kichmond would new beours. Vickburg astrooger plaoe, feil when the navy was bronglit to bear on it. Every place tas fallen whera naval cannou have been brought intoplay. . # . ïbis is not a pet place with the Lieutenntit-Geoer&I, and he lenves it with about seven thousand tr.en and I don'think knows much of the si'.uation An army mm tliinks if he has a gunboat at bi back he is all eaio, but this is one cas where at timea the gunboats sre árivfln off by bad weather, und those inide cannot oo-oporata Sectivcly. I live given you a long lotter, but find un apology for myfelf iu the fect thut 1 koow your whole heart h in the navy, aud that evcrything oononrning it interestt you, Again permit me to tharik jron rof Üie,coufidenco you havo always placed d me, and the ojipo'tunities yon Lavo givon me for d8ii"oton, and asRiirh: : viiu tliat il lias becn my wiirmos' wisli to merit only your ajiprobatioo, I i'utiinin, Hospcctfully and sincorcly, Your obd't seiv't,

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Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus