Hide Article Text (OCR)
Military Appointments.The appointments to military positions in this Stato, scorn to be attracting some notico from the press. In private circles, the subject is no doubt one which claims its shave of consideration. Some of our cotempornrics are very emphatic in their declarations that former party affiliations should have j no influence upon these appointments; while others less scrupulous, do not hesitate to claim the offices for the precipitators, or in other words for those who have hail a principal share in forcing North-Carolina out of the Union; forgetting that under thatreyme, Mr. Lincoln and his advisers would undoubtedly monopolize the whole of them.Of the merits of the appointments we have no disposition to express an opinion, if unfavorable, unloss forced to it, nor will we without groat provocation allude unkindly to tho motives which have in- fluenced or determined many of them. We are not i ignorant of tho dtffic|$Sj||g which have pressed them- j selves upon tho opp'^SSjpg power. Tho most acute , mind and tho soundcstdiscretion of any one man in the State, in the possession of the most vigorous j health, would hardly havebcon more than sufficient ' to grapple with those difficulties. But an ordinary mind, enfeebled by months of disease and surrounded by advisers unused to the details and the prae- . tico, if not wholly ignorant in fact, of the theory of planning and arranging for military defence or cam- | paigning, it would have been‘a wonder if most sc- 1 rious blunders had not been made. Besides, much allowance must be made for the multitudes of applicants and tho scantiness of fit material in some of the departments, out of which to fill the appointments. Moreover, wo presume, such was the pressure of hungry office hunters, who had nearly starved themselves from sheer hard work in the business of precipitation, that in very few cuses the post was allowed to hunt for tho officer, but in most instances the officer hunted for the post.Of the appointments made from the okl U. S. Army, we presume no one complains. So small a portion of the few U. S. officers which North Caro- i linn had, have resigned their positions and tendered j their services to the State, it was difficult to do better, although in some instances among the younger!officers, the stride which some of them have been j assisted in taking, may have been a little too long : for safety. jAll tilings considered, we doubt if any one can j justly complain of the appointment, of Gen. lfolmcs j to the command of the const defences, or of Col. i Hill to the Camp of Instruction, of Col. Brad ford, of ;lAssistant Adjutant General Riddick, of Major Ram- ; seur or others of the late IT. S. Army. We presume , these appointments give no body any uneasiness.— But tho selection of civilians to fill important in ill ta- j ry posts, involves greater difficulty, and might iiavo i been expected, if not judiciously made, to create dis- , satisfaction. We make no complaint and cure not a jot, if in every instance, honesty, capacity and moral worth, were the basis upon which the appointments were made. There is but one other ground upon which we might object. And that is in those instances in which it does appear, the precipitators wanted office to shield themselves from the dangers of the war, who in the judgment of the appointing power wero capable of leading u squadron in tho field or of shouldering a musket. Such persons we claim arc entitled to no immunity from the war; certainly they arc not entitled to pay for bringingt it on.Now our cotempovavy, the Charlotte Democrat, admits that “all parties in the State arc united in maintaining her honor and independence—those who were formerly Union men are doing as much as any others for the Southern cause—and no particular preference should he given.” Our very plausible coteinporary further soith, “we are confident however, that Gov. Ellis tries to act impartially and do what is right.” And again, “we know that many of the highest positions have been given by Gov. Ellis to political opponents as well as an equal number of the lowest posts in the military,” But still further, “in fact, wo think Gov. Ellis has been disposed to treat with special favor applications from those heretofore opposed to him, and in some instances preferred them to old political friends.”Well, we think it cannot be denied, that since the election of Abraham Lincoln, there have been but two parties in the State, the conservatives and the precipitators, or the Union men and the Secessionists. For the sake of testing the correctness of the | Democrat's affirmations, wc append a list of all the appointments to “high military “positions” from tho civil ranks, made by Governor Ellis and his Military Board. Wc leave out those who wero in tho U. S. Army, for the reason that all admit they were entitled to offices in the Army. Now the Democrat will oblige us if it will point out a single officer in the following list, who was an undoubted Union man in the election, of delegates to the Convention in February last, and especially up to the time of Lincoln’s proclamation. We want no quibbling friend Yates. Como-up to the test like a man.Military Board, — W. Winslow, II. W. Guion.Brigadier General,—Walter Gwinn.Colonels.—Go's. L. O'13. Branch, Wm. Johnston, M. S. Stokes, C. C. Tow, G. II. Meares, D. K. McRae, C. P. Fisher.Lt. Colonels.—M. W. Ransom, Wm. P. Bynum, R. II. Cowan, J. A. Young, W. T. Dortch.Majors.—A. M. Lewis, W. Bevcrhout Thompson, John W. Wood fin, W. L. De Rossett.Surgeon General.—Dr. Clms. E. Johnson.Chaplains,— Rev. E. A. Yates and Rev. F. Fitzgerald., These are all tho appointments that we know of in the “ highest positions,” which have been made from civilians. If the Democrat can find the half of a lato Union man among them, it has the power of discerning spirits quite beyond our roach.South-Carolina Troops.The seventh Regiment of Riflemen, of Edgefield District, S. C., commanded by Col, Bacon, arrived here in the Western train 011 Thursday evening and proceeded to Virginia by the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad. The regiment is about 1000 strong, a fine body of men, in fine spirits, and ready for tho enemy.Nortfi-CnvoUim Abroad.Col. John Louis Taylor Sneed, a native of this Stuto, but for some years a resident of Tennessee, has been appointed a Brigadier-General by Gov. Harris of that State. He was a Captain of a company of‘Dragoons In the Mexican war and did gajlant scrvico in the field, uodor Col. Yell.
Newspaper Details
Weekly Standard
Raleigh, North Carolina, US
Wed, Jun 12, 1861
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Brandt W.
VA, USA 01 Sep 2015
Other Publications Near Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh Daily Confederate
Raleigh North Carolina Standard
Raleigh Register and North Carolina Weekly Advertiser
Raleigh Oak
Raleigh Twig
