: human heart can give forth, that while you are thus de- Each wishing you a happy and prosperous New Year, we Yours obediently, Mr. Manderson was sworn into office, as a senator for Nebraska, on the 3rd day of December, 1883, in the last session of the 48th congress; and was in due time assigned, for committee duty, to those of Private Land Claims, Territories, Transportation Routes to the Seaboard, and Claims. Having busied himself mostly with the investigation of questions that pertained directly to his own state and region of country, for the space of three months, he was fortunate in the selection of a theme on which to make his first oratorical effort before his deliberate and dignified associates; a theme on which the soldier's patriotism could dominate the lawyer's acquisitions in sustaining a military verdict. He stated the question at issue, as follows: "Adopting the language of the advisory board, it asks that the Congress shall annul and set aside the findings and sentence of the court-martial in the case of Major Gen. Fitz-John Porter and restore him to the position of which that sentence deprived him." His introduction was very conciliatory: Gentlemen of distinguished ability occupying places at both ends of the capitol, lawyers of great erudition whose reputation is national, soldiers of distinction whose names are "as familiar in our mouths as household words," have spoken and written upon the theme until it seems almost worn threadbare. The plea of the novitiate for kindly recognition was delicate and beautiful: Here in the face of the world, for nearly a quarter of a century, has progressed a contest where the stake was dearer than life-a struggle to vindicate impeached honor, to clear smirched loyalty, to brighten tarnished reputation. What wonder is it, then, that the interest continues and that even the fledglings of the senate show desire to record the reasons that prompt their votes for or against this bill? And then how adroitly "the fledgling's" locality was defined: When the court-martial assembled, in the fall and winter of 1862, with General Hunter as president and Generals Hitchcock, King, Prentiss, Ricketts, Casey, Garfield, and other distinguished military leaders, I was of the army of the West, far removed from Washington, and where by reason of our distance and the fact that we had usually sufficient on hand to keep us very busy, we knew but little of what was going on in the armies of the East. But it had become a matter of history that General Grant, and others, had at last joined the advocates of General Porter and in this preliminary skirmish that obstruction must be reduced. The first article presented to me, and carefully read, was the paper of General Grant, "An Undeserved Stigma," published in the North American Review, and this was followed by the letters of General Grant, Terry, and others; then the defensive pamphlet of Mr. Lord, and the report of the majority of the Committee on Military Affairs of the senate. But a judge could not rest with the defendant's side of the case alone, and hence Mr. Manderson carefully reviewed the testimony of the United States; and if the banner of General Grant was to lead the Porter procession, there was another likeness, of clear-cut features before which uncovered heads bowed "The experienced lawyer, the sound jurist, the great patriot, the compassionate man-Abraham Lincoln-reviewed the action of the court." Anxious not to appear ungenerous in anything he said: I would gladly join the ranks of those who, from a desire to do justice as they see the course of justice, or from motives of mercy as they see it right to be merciful, will take the stain of over twenty years' duration from this appealing old man; but under the facts and law, as I see them, whether this proceeding be one of judicial review or the exercise of clemency, this bill should not pass. There having been a great asperity in this behalf, and the Nebraska senator desiring to cover no concealed feeling beneath a judicial robe, the following disclaimer was uttered: I do not say that Fitz-John Porter deserved death. I do not believe he was either a traitor to his country or a coward. Of what offense I believe him guilty, under the proof and all the proof, whether taken before the courtmartial, or the advisory board, I will seek to show before I get through. Having established the dignity of military courts, as created by constitutional provisions, illustrating with opinions from treatises on military law, the conclusion was educed, "A courtmartial is the proper and only tribunal for the trial of military officers." This proposition was ably sustained, excluding congressional interference by reference to supreme court decisions, opinions of attorney generals and distinguished military writers, culminating in the declaration, "If congress controlled entirely, the military system would then turn to despotism." The senator then proclaimed an axiomatic truth-"Obedience, strict, prompt, unquestioning, active, whole-souled, painstaking, willing, cheerful obedience is the highest duty of the soldier." Supplementing this with the language of Hough in his Precedents on Military Law, and of Dr. Hart's treatise and of O'Brien on American Military Law, and testing the exculpatory evidence of General Porter by these accredited doctrines, he reached the conclusion that Porter held his superior officer (Gen. Pope) in contempt. He was jealous of his leadership. He dreaded a victory that would advance him further. He did not desire defeat to our arms; but he was not anxious to see Pope win a victory. Ah! the curse of this jealousy among the leaders of the armies of the East. McClellan, Hooker, Burnside, Meade, Pope-all fell as its victims. I thank God that the generals of the armies of the West knew not the base feeling. Generous rivalry there was between the divisions and corps comprising the armies of the Tennessee and the Cumberland, but amongst great leaders, -McPherson, Logan, Sheridan, Thomas, Grant, Sherman, there were no heartburnings from jealousy, hatred and ill will. [Applause in the galleries.] An army incident, certain to touch a patriotic chord, to condemn a tardy step, and show the star of Western fealty in the ascendant, furnished a splendid conclusion: Mr. President-But a few months before the day when Porter rested idly in the shade while the loud-mouthed cannon gave to him unheeded invitation, a far different scene was enacted in the West, and I would like to hold it up in contrast. The capture of Fort Donelson had opened a clear pathway by water and by land to our forces, and Grant, with his army, was near Pittsburg Landing. The glorious victory of Thomas at Mill Springs, the fall of Bowling Green and the surrender of Nashville had cleared Middle Tennessee for the marching columns of Buell. Along the beaten roads during the pleasant spring days they moved. On April 6, with the impetuous Nelson and the gallant Crittenden in the lead, the head of Buell's army approached Savannah on the Tennessee River. The day was nearing its close and the tired men were longing for camp and rest. Suddenly the faint sound of a distant gun. Another and another in quick succession. The straggling lines of troops instinctively gather in more compact form. Without command to that effect the marching step quickened. The sullen boom of the artillery was more distinctly heard as the distance lessened. The fact was apparent. Our brothers of the army of the Tennessee were engaged. The battle was on, but miles away and across the deep and rapid river. A long and wearisome march had been made that day by these divisions. Tired and hungry and likely to so remain, for there were no cooked rations in their haversacks and the wagons miles to the rear and not likely to come up. The leaders of these commands need no orders to hasten on and let the rest be taken after the battle is lost or won. The "sound of the guns" is all the order needed. The "old sea dog" Nelson, taking to water, naturally, I suppose, leaves the main road and leads his division over a shorter one through swamps. Crittenden hurries on to Savannah. The waiting transports are loaded to the guards. The river is crossed and Grant's gallant troops, disheartened by the long day's fight at fearful odds, welcome with glad shouts and tears of joy the leaders and men to whom the din of arms is an invitation and "the sound of the guns" an order. The rich reward is that on the next day the battle of Shiloh is continued and won, victory is wrested from the jaws of defeat, and the rebel retreat to the south goes on. [Applause in the galleries.] Mr. President-I oppose this bill because of the law and the facts; because of the dangerous precedent and the bad example; because it is destructive of discipline and injurious to the well-doing of our army; because I believe it to be eternally right to do so. The delivery of this speech indicated, not merely what parliamentary eloquence was to gain in the future, but what the present acquisition was, so rich in research, in scholarly adornment, and oratorical presentation. On account of constitutional make and moral perceptions, his memorial addresses, whether for senators or members of the house, have been exceedingly felicitous. When Senator Anthony, of Rhode Island, passed away, he said of him: The poet of the early English, grand Geoffrey Chaucer, says, "He is a gentleman who does gentle deeds," and the life of our departed friend is so full of the constant performance of such deeds that he made himself of the true gentry and issued his own patent of nobility. He did not seem to tire of such well-doing. The passing of the years and the coming on of old age brought physical change, but "that good gray head which all men knew" was ever the servant of the kind heart. Speaking of the life of Congressman Duncan, of Pennsylvania, we have the following: I was charmed with the symmetry of his life and could not but admire the features I have so feebly portrayed. A life so beautiful, a career so even, gave promise of a useful future. It is most apt to depict him growing with the years of experience into the trusted legislator, the wise councilor, respected by all men, of service to the state, until with ripened age came fuller honors, and at last with the full allotment of years would come the end to the rounded life. But it was not so to be. "God's finger touched him and he slept." His eulogy upon General Logan was a genuine bugle blast from morning call to "lights out": I first saw Logan in front of the Confederate position on Kenesaw Mountain when his corps made that desperate assault upon Little Kenesaw-so fruitless in results, so costly in human life. The sight was an inspiration. Well mounted, "he looked of his horse a part." His swarthy complexion, long black hair, compact figure, stentorian voice, and eyes that seemed to blaze "with the light of battle," made a figure once seen never to be forgotten. In an action he was the very spirit of war. His magnificent presence would make a coward fight. |