MICROFILMED 1986 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - BERKELEY GENERAL LIBRARY BERKELEY, CA 94720 COOPERATIVE PRESERVATION MICROFILMING PROJECT THE RESEARCH LIBRARIES GROUP, INC. Funded by THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES THE ANDREW W. MELLON FOUNDATION Reproductions may not be made without permission. THE PRINTING MASTER FROM WHICH THIS REPRODUCTION WAS MADE IS HELD BY THE MAIN LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY, CA 94720 FOR ADDITIONAL REPRODUCTION REQUEST MASTER NEGATIVE VMBER 84-0749 AUTHOR: Frast, William P. TITLE: Willlam Starke Rosecrans. PLACE: L San Francisco] DATE : L 138023 VOLUME 5:19 60 | - - CALL £3 MASTER 86 NO. V5:19 X NEG.NO.O'141 Q.. C2 v. 9:19 Frost, William p William Starke Rosecrans. Hus life and public services. Reasons why he should be elected 10 Congress. (San Francisco) Democratic Congressional Committee [18507 ) 16 p. 23cin. (Pamphlets on California biography, v. 5, no.'9] Se br 1.0 Ele jz = =z lez oo lige J fl fl22 No On fli ie MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS STANDARD REFERENCE MATERIAL 1010a (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) LLL TTT I] WILLIAM STARKE ROSECRANS. HIS LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES. Reasons Why he Should be Elected to Congress. | BY WILLIAM P. FROST. PosrLisaED BY THE DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE. TaE action of the Demoeratic party, in National Conyention assembled at Cincinnati, in choosing for its standard-bearer in the Presidential contest of 1880 that peerless soldier- statesman, Winfield Scott Hancock, has been fitly supplemented by the Democracy of San Francisco in the nomination for Congress of his noble companion-in-arms, WILLIAM STARKE Rosecrans. When Daniel Dougherty placed the invincible name of Hancock before the Cincinnati Convention, he said it would thrill the Republic. He read aright the heart of the American people. From far-off Maine has already come a responsive echo, and the winds of November will waft to every patriot ear the tidings of a victory which shall an- nounce a new birth of the glorious sisterhood of sovereign States, a future that knows no North and no South, a career of national progress and prosperity wherein sectionalism shall be dead of the dead past. As the nomination of Hancock appealed to the supreme majesty of the American people, so has the nomination of Rosecrans, kindred in its instinct and inspiration, touched an answering chord in the hearts of the people of California. Its magnetism has extended away beyond our own confines and helped to draw thousands of our hesitating Eastern brethren within the fast closing circle of perpetual brotherhood and lasting concord, which the faith of Democracy symbolizes. Hancock and Rosecrans! How alike the names in the dark days of our country’s history; how appropriately allied to-day in this hour of splendid promise. The life of GENERAL ROSECRANS teems so with events, that,it is almost impossible within the limits of a pamphlet sketch to even approx- imately do it justice. It is a life worthy the study of every American, be he young or old. And because from lapse of time the deeds of gallant soldier and wise statesman which its faithful recital must narrate, are for the most part unfamiliar to the younger generation, this brief biography is respectfully dedicated to the Young Voters of San Francisco. Much herein contained has not heretofore been submitted to public perusal. The author has had acoess to papers and records from which none others have been permitted to extract. Ancestry of Rosecrans. WiLLiaM STARkE RoskckaNs was born in Berkshire Township, Delaware County, Ohio, or the 6th of September, 1819, and is, therefore, just now entering upon his sixty-second year. His paternal ancestry was of Dutch origin. The Hudson River Rose crans family from which he sprang, emigrated from Holland about the year 1746, and settled in the province of New Netherlands. Many of their descendants are to be fonnd to - this day in Columbia, Duchess, Orange and adjacent counties of New York. The General's grandfather, Daniel Rosecrans, removed, at the age of twenty-one, from New York to Luzerne county, Pennnsylvania. Here he married Thankful Wilcox, who was of the old Wilcox and Crandall families of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Daniel Rosecrans was one of the commissioners sent by his neighbors in Luzerne county to select lands in Ohio, which it was proposed to colonize. The lands chosen lay in Sunbury and Berkshire townships, Delaware county, and thither the colonists migrated in the year 1808. Crandall Rosecrans, son of Daniel, was born at Wilkesbarre, Pa., in 1794, and at the age of fourteen removed with his parents to Ohio. When only nineteen years old he served as Adjutant of the Columbus Light Horse Battalion, under General Harrison, in the war of 1812. In 1816 he married Jemima Hopkins, who was also a native of Wilkesbarre. Miss Hopkins’ mother, the General’s maternal grandmother, was a Nesbitt; her husband was of New England origin, and served as a lieutenant in the Pennsylvania line of the Continental Army, win- ning distinction as a brave soldier. Mrs. Hopkins was one of the few adults who survived the celebrated Wyoming massacre. A friendly Tory gave her two hours’ warning, and, with her two children she fled on foot sixty miles through the wilderness to Easton, Pa. Lieu- tenant Hopkins died some time after the close of the war, and his widow with her fam- ily of nine children, formed a part of the Pennsylvania colony which went to the Buckeye State in 1808. Crandall Rosecrans, the General’s father, was for many years a successful merchant and manufacturer of potash at Homer, Licking county, Ohio, near which place he died in August, 1849. He bore the title of captain, having for a long time commanded a volunteer militia company. He was a man of great energy and highly respected for ster- ling integrity and unostentatious but effective charity. His widow survived him eleven years, dying near Sigourney, Iowa, in duly, 1861. She was the mother of five sons, of whom the eldest died in infancy; the second is the subject of this sketch; the third, Charles, was for years a farmer in Iowa, and died during the war of the Rebellion; the fourth, Henry C., is engaged in farming and general business near Sigourney, Iowa; and the fifth and youngest, Sylvester H., who died in 1878, attained high rank in the Catholic priesthood, and a national reputation as an accomplished scholar. He was President of St. Mary’s College, Ohio, and afterwards Bishop of the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, and Coadjutor of Archbishop Purcell, of Cincinnat;. Early Life, A patriotic sentiment which has always characterized the Rosecrans family, led Crandall Rosecrans to honor Gen. John Starke, of Revolutionary fame, in giving a name to his second son. .WiLLiaM STARKE ROSECRANS was early trained to habits of industry and impressed with the necessity of strict fidelity to truth and avoidance of bad associations. His primary education was acquired in the district schools of Homer, Licking County, which, in those days, were in session only during a term of three winter months in the year. Here he acquired the English rudiments and a smattering of Latin and algebra. He early manifested a remarkable mathematical and philosophical turn of mind. His father intended him to follow mercantile pursuits, and so obtained for him employment as a clerk in the store of a merchant of Utica, Ohio. But young Rosecrans had higher aspirations. He yearned for a military education. Procuring the co-operation of his father in attaining his ambition, and the recommendation of Senator William Allen and other influential men, he made application for a cadetship at West Point. Discerning in the youth the promise of honorable service to his country, General Lewis Cass, then Secretary of War, granted the coveted appointment, and at the age of eighteen young Rosecrans became a member of the class entering West Point in J une, 1838. Enters West Point, The class numbered 112 members, of whom 56 were graduated. Among his class- mates were several who afterwards became famous men, namely, Major-General Newton, General B. S. Alexander, and Confederate Generals Gustavas W. Smith and Alex. P. Stuart. Among his contemporaries at West Point were the youths subsequently known to history as Generals Hancock, Thomas, Wright, Whipple, McClellan, W. J. (“‘Baldy’’) Smith, Fitz John Porter, and W. B. Franklin. Rosecrans’ name always appeared on the class register among ‘the first five.’ He was 3 ingui in mathematics, physics, chemistry, geology, mineralogy and wilitary art hn was appointed Re Cndet Professor’ of mathematics. On being graduated with the highest honors, he was recommended for promotion in all corps, and chose that of U.S. Engineers, which he entered as Brevet Second Lieutenant in July, 1842. His first year’s service was under Colonel R. E. DeRussy, at Fortress Monroe, Virginia. On the 24th of August, 1843, he was married at St. John’s Episcopal Chapel, New York, to Ann Eliza Hegeman, daughter of Judge Hegeman, deceased. The Hegeman family was of ancient and honorable Knickerbocker lineage. Soon afterward he was ordered to West Point as Acting Assistant Professor of Military and Civil Engineering. In 1844-5, he was detailed to assist in the Department of Natural and Experimental Philosophy. In 1845-6-7 he served as Assistant Professor of Civil and Military Engineering, and during the last named year, in addition to this duty, was charged with the construction of the new cadet barraeks, and the duties of Acting Post Commissary and Quartermaster. In all the qualities that go to make up an efficient instrnetor, Lieutenant Rosecrans was conspicuously valuable. 1847 he was placed in charge of all the fortifications and engineering works at Newport, R. I. During the five years spent at this post, he invented and submitted to the Chief of the Engineering Corps, and had approved by a board of engineer officers, copsisticg of Col. De Russey, Major R. Delafield and Captain (afterwards Confederate Commander-in- Chief) Robert E. Lee, a new system of permanent quarters, the leading principles of which have since been adopted throughout the quartermaster service. In April, 1852, he was ordered to Washington to report to the Secretary of Navy for special duty. He was assigned as Civil and Constructing Engineer at the Washington Navy Yard, where ks remained until impaired health compelled him to relinquish that service. He left Wash- ington on sick leave and repaired to Cincinnati, whence he resigned his commission as an officer of the army. When sufficiently restored to health, he engaged in works of civil engineering and architecture until 1858, when he established a coal oil refinery, and was a successful pioneer in the refining of petroleum. Offers his Services to the Union, i wife and four children, and a business just entering on a career of prospe- rity, Bo fre by stern duty, on the breaking out of the Rebellion, in April, 1861, to offer his services to his country; and so, relinquishing his occupation, he assisted in or ganizing the Home Guards of Cincinnati, and laid out Camp Dennison while acting yi in the capacity of a private citizen. About this time the legislature of Ohio created t $ office of Chief Engineer of the State, with the rank of Colonel and the emoluments o Colonel of Engineers, U. S. A. Governor Dennison tendered the lucrative commission 0 RoseczaNs, but, to his surprise, the unselfish reply came: ‘I thank you, Governor; i would be very gratifying to me to stay at home with my family, but our people must go 0 the front with or without leaders, and fight and die for the eountry. _I cannot say a home and see this. Duty demands that I should offer my military acquirements to ai Yin diminishing the loss of life. I must go with our people to the front. Ten days dates e Governor sent to Rosecrans the commission of Colonel of the 23d Ohio Volunteer Infan- try, U. 8. A. CoLoNEL RosEcraxs repaired to Columbus, where his regiment was assem- bled, named the ground of its encampment after his illustrious friend, Secretary Chase, and was busily engaged in organizing and instructing his command, having for Ligmensnk Colonel, Stanley Matthews, and for Major, Rutherford B. Hayes, (now de facto Presi en of the United States), when a commission arrived from the War Department, Appotsting him a Brigadier-General in the Regular Army, to which he had been *eommende ¥ General Winfield Scott, Gen. J. G. Totten—his old Chief of the Engineer Coe Soretary Chase, and others. The day after its acceptance GENERAL ROSECRANS was ordere § 3,0 8 eral McClellan to report for duty in Cincinnati, and thence he went with McCle 0 West Virginia, where he was placed in command of a provisional brigade. Rosecrans’ Great Service to the Country, . . Dees in the We now come to a recital of the active varticipation of GENERAL ROSECRANS in t War of the Rebellion. We come to analyze his qualities as a military SUTRAS and 2 estimate the importance of his services to the success of the Union arses. 3 the Bal i" fails in any instance to conform to popular apprehensions, if the golimate Joes g or honor to GENERAL RosEcravs than bas hitherto been accorded him, it wi Je, hasan . malevolent writers, inspired by malevolent authorities, have heretofore sought ie “ad belittle essential facts and to warp the truth of history. When a great his oric SARE 38 achieved, the eye of the public is inevitably diverted from the long train o Sue whith led up to the national triumph, aud riveted upon the few conspicuous 20 % w Ro 20 8 fortunate as to occupy the stage during the final act. A thousand sirckey 0 i] e iH ing ram may be required to breach a massive city wall. While nine hundred and ninety 4 being delivered, the army looks on with indifference, perhaps with critical coldness and skepticism. Only when the ponderous keystone is shattered and crumbles under the last ten strokes, does a general shout 80 up and the pzan of victory begins to swell. In British song and story it is always Wellington who conquered the conqueror of Europe; it was Wellington who chained the arch-enemy and sent him to the solitary rock-bound isle. But it was not Wellington and Waterloo that crushed Napoleon; it was the frosts of Russia, the burning of Moscow, the slowly aroused but unquenchable nationality of Ger- many which swept down upon him at Leipsic, and the total exhaustion of the French na- tion, which not even his genius could galvanize into another burst of martial enterprise. So, the long herculean struggle which terminated in April, 1865 before Petersburgh and at Appomattox Court-house, was by no means decided by the events of that month or of that year. The gigantic combinations of 1864 —that magnificent march of Sherman from the mountains to the sea and from the sea to the rear of Richmond; the ruin of Ewell in the Shenandoah Valley; and, above all, the crushing of Hood at Nashville—were made possible only by the successes of 1863. And the victories of 1863 —the expulsion of the rebel forces from Kentucky and Tennessee; the seizure of the key point of the south, Chattanooga, with her munitions of rocks; and the capture of Vicksburg—were achieved only because of the successes of the previous year at Stone River, Iuka, and Corinth, three victories due, and due alone, to Rosecrans. It was RoskcraNs who threw up and macadamized the highway along which Grant and Sherman and Thomas moved their grand armies to brilliant and crowning success, while their no less gifted, useful, and de- voted predecessor was submitting in silence to the most cruel and heartless criticising from a portion of the public press, and to official slanders and misrepresentations, as well as neglect more cutting and more unjust than hostile criticism. His West Virginia Campaign. —Rich Mountain. It was in the field of West Virginia that Rosecrans gave a foretaste of those shining . qualities, that fertile invention, that readiness in resource, that promptness and dash at moment for action, which, in subsequent years, wrought such splendid results. a fact worthy of note, that just as Washington laid the bases of his subsequent military eareer as a surveyor of the regions in which he was first called to operate, so ROSECRANS, only four or five years before he commanded on the Kanawha, made a critical examination and sarvey of that district. It would be difficult to say how much of his wonderfu success could be traced to these preliminary labors; but every one who knows anything about the planning and prosecution of a campaign will perceive how greatly these must have facilitated and influenced the movements of Rosecrans and lightened his task. As soon as Robert E. Lee was appointed Major-General and Commander-in-Chief of the Virginia forces, he assumed not only the defense of the highland region but the ex- pulsion of the Union forces from the soil of West Virginia. After putting the depot at Parkersburg in order, Roskorans moved with his brigade, on the 4th of J uly, 1861, to Buchannon, and thence with General McClellan to Roaring Creek, at the foot of Rich Mountain, on which the rebels were entrenched. While the trains were coming up, he was active in exploring the scene of operations and collecting all available information. “My first duty *’—the duty of an apprehensive and competent captain—he says, officially, ‘‘was to know the locality.’’ Having secured information from which he decided that the 8 position might be turned by a march to the summit of the mountain, at early ght on July 10th, Rosecrans took his brigade into a trackless forest at the right of the enemy’s camp, and commenced the toilsome march in a drenching rain. At 2 P. M., the enemy, who, by capturing one of McClellan's couriers, had gained knowledge of the movement, was found posted behind log breastworks, and opened upon the Union force with artillery from a point on each side of its flanks. About 4 P. M., RosEcRrANs, placing himself at the head of a charging column, urged it forward at a double-quick. At the same time the Nineteenth Ohio Infantry delivered a very effective fire, just as Rosecrans, at the head of the columu, came within ‘a hundred yards of the enemy’s breastworks. At this the foe began to waver; the Nineteenth Ohio instantly poured in another effective volley; and the whole line, charging with a terrific shout, leaped the enemy’s breasiworks and pursued his fleeing army into the woods. The battle of Rich Mountain was over; was won; the enemy’s dead closed dewn. rendered, with its artillery, camp equipage, quartermaster’s stores, and about 200 men; the remainder having escaped through the woods, were captured the following day. by the capture of thé Gap at Rich Mountain, the keystone was knocked from the rebel arch of defense, and they were driven from West Virginia. This defeat of the rebels enabled the Government to turn its attention to other quarters, and relieved the Union cause of much embarrassment, not only military, but political. Two weeks later McClellan was called to Washington to assume command of the Army of the Potomae, and General Rosecrans succeeded him In Command of the Department of the Ohio, . ising Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. Thus suddenly placed ae ne Mgt Ll anticipated that activity of the rebels to recover a pak, which actually occurred, and strained every nerve to be prepared. for that most o oi 0 military tasks, the defense of a vast mountainous wooded country, with a pris of os posed frontier, in this case nearly four hundred miles in extent. To add to his ia culties, he was destitute of any regular staff, and most of his regiments were three Tops 8 men, whose terms of service were expiring and whose places could be supplied only as ] ree years volunteers,’ were organized. General Lee undertook to drive the Union irdops on West Virginia, with Floyd and Wise operating by the way of the Ranawis Wh repulsed at Cheat Mountain and Elkwater, while Floyd and Wise were de exp oh 8 : battle of Carnifex, Lee’s campaign against Rosecrans closed unsceessfully. ; n Ie of a telegram announcing this result, General Scott sent a reply to Rosny in : i following words: ‘‘Use your own judgment as to farther mevements. e densa - Commanding has entire confidence in your valor and discretion.” General Dommats ; 2 directed his attention to the organization of a pack-train of one thousand anima 0 other preparations fora campaign into East Tennessee, which had been Intense y e § operations. After sending the larger part of his troops to reinforce General 2 8 ‘i pro. posed to secure West Virginia from rebel inroads during the winter by eeupying inches » with his own and other available trcops, and intrenching it. This plan of sappsien you unfortunately rejected by McClellan, which seriously retarded the progress of the Uni arms. Qualities of his Civil Policy. ivi i 3 : v i i Department of the Ohio, 1 policy of General Rosecrans, while commanding the Dep of the Ohic he Pia Renmin a notably wise character. He saw kindling the fires of that internecine strife which desolated parts of Kentucky and Missouri and rendered the existence of civil government irapossible. He saw elements of local discord in the Union or rebel sympathies of neighbors, leading them to harass and wrong each other, and to invoke military interference without necessity, which tendency, if not checked, must over- throw civil order and destroy the country. He immediately published a brief pldvess in the people, pointing out this impending ruin. The keynote of that policy which made his subsequent civil administrations so eminently successful is found in these words of that address: ‘My mission among you is that of a fellow-citizen, charged by the Government to restore law and order.” One of his measures to quench the flames of neighborhood strife, was to appoint five select men, three Unionists, and two others known for pig and candor, and to hold them responsible for prompt 2a asuntiie nlormationy i aia las i ire the intervention of military force. By th is simple means he co ] ais regu portion of the people to feel the Yesbonsi ig yp hos hg) Pardon of skh. ini herever military force was not present or actively at work. ese, and « ai do which he adopted hoi so effectnal that even in that wild and mountainous region iaw and order were the rule during the entire war. The new State government way eo organized, its administration going on dnenceiorang lpady, a illa * 5 ' known. So well did the people of West Virginia a 4 guerilla warfare was almost un ! TOI 054 the people of West Virginia abDiciak 8 S t their legislature passed a una=imous vote o € Joascrans, bs php on of Ohio formally and unanimously thanked him for his Sezviees. Soon after this, General Rosecrans, finding some of Jus new 0s being Seciaaied | y i , carried into execution the daring plan of removing the sick from 1 iy So in the dead of winter, and thusin a single regiment in three weeks reduced the sick list from nearly three hundred Jo Home muy of i Seen i i { y ight two-wheeled ambula the inconveniences of the heavy four-wheeled and lig peeled am eesunplied oo is ¢ d during the past campaign, he had built, under his direction, : 3 8» iy nn A ro, a was almost immediately adopted throughont the Union armies, and is now used even in Europe. Rosecrans’ Wise Counsels Rejected. vr Sorhrien at i CRAN y an for the invasien o ing the winter of 1861-2, Roskcrans drew up a plan : Southern Viesint and auxilliary to the Sxpite of a aM Had 4s Sxechiion been entrusted to its author, great results must have followed. e Gove A iti 5 in givi d to Fremont, and he was not permitted ated by political reasons in giving a comman r Woogie pene i lans into execution. He was relieved from the comma Fn of the Ohio, deprived of the opportunity of «erving the nation in a a for whieh he was best fitted by his experience and knowledge of the country and peo- le, and directed to report for orders to the War Department, where the Secretary erin him with expre-sions of regret that circumstances had prevented the Depart- ment from confiding to him the execution of the only ‘‘ live plan of campaign for the - 6 season’ which he had seen. The Secretary told him he had a mind to send him to join General McDowell, then commanding north of the Rapahannock, for he “‘should like to see him and that General get to Richmond before that ¢ d—d little cuss McClellan.’ ’’ Inthe early spring Rosecrans was ordered to visit and confer with General Banks, commanding the De- partment of the Shenandoah. Aftet this consultation, RosEcraNs submitted to the Secretary of War a plan for the combined operation of Generals Fremont, Banks and McDowell's com. mands, amounting to some 70,000 effectives, to take prompt possession of the Shenandoah Valley, cut off from it the enemy’s supplies, and, taking strong positions in the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge, compel the enemy to detach from Richmond an army of obser- vation, and thus weaken the opposition to McClellan’s advance on the Confederate Capital. With the warm assent of General Banks and his subordinates, General RoSECRANS tele.- graphed in cipher to the Secretary of War. The disasters which followed the failure to adopt such a plan are too numerous to be recounted here. From that time Jorth General Rosecrans appeared to have made an enemy of Secretary Stanton. On returning to Washing- ton, Rosecrans was ordered to report to General Halleck in front of Corinth, Miss. Despite the value of his services in the East, it was perhaps fortunate for the Union cause and for freedom that he became one of the directing and ruling spirits in the West, where men of his ability were sadly needed, and where he proved his immense capacity in the most difficult part of military art and science—logistics. Arriving at Halleck’s head- quarters six days before the enemy evacuated Corinth, he took command of two divisions and was the first to enter the beleaguered town, pursuing the retreating foe for a consid- erable distance. Commanding the Army of the Mississippi. On the departure of Pope for the East, Rosecrans succeeded to the command of the Army of the Mississippi. His method of military administration was immediately felt in an order to Colonel P. H. Sheridan, with two cavalry regiments, to proceed to Booneville, an outpost on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, where, on the following day, the rebels, with eight regiments of infantry and three battalions of cavalry attacked him and were beaten, thus laying the foundation for Sheridan’s promotion and a victorious future for the Union Cavalry. RosEcraNs at once organized a system of anti-scorbutic and anti-fevar diet and sanitary treatment for his troops, which soon reduced the sick-list from 31 to 12 per cent. In June, 1862, he initiated a most important system of photographic military map-making, which subsequently spread and developed until it reached the East and became an almost indispensable auxiliary to all the Union movements. Successful Dealing with Difficult Questions — ‘“Non-Combatants’” Oath. While commanding on this front, there was constant necessity of dealing with ques- tions of the status and government of the local population within his military jurisdiction. Swept into rebellion with the idea that they were fighting for their rights, and that it would be dishonorable to desert their own people when they fell within the Union lines, the mass of the people could scarcely comprehend that they were not entitled to protection as citizens who had a right to go with their State and resist Federal coercion, instead of being subjects of a conquered territory, as they actually were. General RosEcraNs regarded them as rebellious citizens who could not be driven out of the country, nor yet safely trusted inside our lines without some guarantee. The general practice among the Union commanders was to administer the oath of allegiance to the prominent people of the occu- pied districts, although it was manifest that, taken under a kind of duress, it would be disregarded on the withdrawal of the Union forces and the return of the rebel power. To establish a principle for the military government of those districts, General RosEcraNs raised the office of Provost Marshal from Chief of Military Police to that of a court of record, administering the civi: department of martial law, which necessarily ruled supreme. To Union men from disputed districts who came asking advice, he said: ** You are my brethren—children of ‘Uncle Sam’ —and must not hurt your father; he will do all he can for you and for the rest—you take care of yourselves.” To all others he said: ‘If you acknowledge yourselves citizens of the United States, and want to exercise special Privileges, you must attest it by taking the oath of allegiance before my Provost Marshal. While / consider you citizens I will not insist on your taking the oath of ,allegiance which You may not be able to keep; you are at least denizens of a country, which, de facto, I govern; you owe qualified allegiance. I shall require you to be really non-combatants and to abstain from all mischief to my government, or leave the country.” He thereupon instituted what was then and probably remained a peculiarity of his military administration throughout the war—an oath which he called the non-combatant’s oath—which met the case of many who could not safely take or keep the oath of allegiance. Under this organization civil proceedings in all cases, however summary, were conducted with care and duly — uy 7 i inhabitant, bh, the taker declared himself a peaceful in I i t inconsistent with i all acts toward the United States Government 1nconsi n gov Bt it was given to the taker and declared prima facia sdense pat fea : aod to protection. The Provost Marshal was made the supe? J J ho civil side of military law and his court of record was conducte 5 8 Hig Co os wherein all proceedings, caths in? jouimony BRED a I ord, roperty, must be recorded. Violato » on being > pn gen. Th i. It was also a geri of Be Dolley it ds» i i -combatant population, to require the civil a ma DE teanteint a order, supplementing their weakness only when absolutely necessary, by military authority. The Fall Campaign of 1862—Iuka and Corinth. i the fall ber, 1862, the rebels began to develop their plan for Shout Roa a ew , the battles of Iuka and Corinth soon Sollogal, Con 3 000 men, was expected to advance upon Nashville, capture Jd 3 Js De To, ing for a grand advance on St. Louis and Chicago, 1n Sonjucs jon ith i Re i ot Tira The enemy’s plan was to drive the Union forces he, Hho ed Sn nd West ey thus co-operating with Bragg’s movement oto ou 5 Y. a d project, holding forth bright promises and permanent a yan as, He go triumphs scattered to the winds. The part sain ypuies Wis as r accomplishment. His first task was to gain such an advan 13 a roo 1d enable him to cross the Tennessee River, and advance =» 1 Soh $ De oe month Price came up to Iuka with a considerable part o his 2 a0, 10 Seite ri e of the programme. He found ROSECRANS command on 8 i yoy ou P M.. and made a desperate effort to wipe it out. A gasp “Doak Donk i 3 ; a, durin which RosecraNs, with sixteen regiments, eleven of Ww B ors unt dake oe f the a resisted the onset of all Price’s force, thing ig a Joe ts of Sf six batteries of artillery, and ten regiments of 528 oY agit Se n Oy combatants, resting on their arms, their lines a 33 De 908 Bin a the ground between them Bsn po Cn Jason Lang a i ri ward, followed at daylig Pe nigh ei be be division struck the rear-guard ol wh snolys Baw the Union forces moved into Iuka without discharging a n % Beat golnigz, ag Pri e would make a straight push for Jackson, and only a fein aly # or thought fat thele s he made his preparations for a rebel attack in force, gs a ¥ ol Pm BC On the 2d of October information ached Hi bis ) fe Sug, Yad we * . . . . . a , , oy with all the available troops of Mississippi, Se, A eo oo wi i f turning h ) 3 t a northward, apparently with the rd hi numbering about 15,700 infantry an for all emergencies, he cise) be, an Skirmiching was deepening into the ; . Alld i dually artillery, and 2,500 cavalry ongagement. The Union troops gra y continuous rattle and heavy OR i the enemy advancing, as night closed contracted their front and retire ards of that point. During the ithi dred y : : upon the bloody Seid, 10 within abou) ! his. Sa prevent the foe from turning his i i ed . . 9 . gh Tr So A om a henry weliety BE 1° sok 2 ae en d, Price making g sferioon aol Tages on fhe *Rhe ry of his assaults being con istely optfied, be Sooty gh Eras the south that evening. Rospoasss Sunes 3 for iochy i Og Coeded aly stated his dissent from the policy of Festi Coma he fa broken and defeated columns of the enemy were 8 only § Seer 280s, Sov as forces and the possession of Vicksburg, the acquisition of which alter. i A og t so much blood and treasure. Says de Peyster gp 1 ~Decingus wards cost the Tate , Civil War:” ‘To those who urge that the capture 8 Fick sg gs Conflicts of $he “th nswer must be given, yes, as a mere incidental fight; : oe bag ight A re if Yi Lsburg had been occupied after the crushing defeat o 188 x3alk Cori Cage ph) Eh have béen, all the subsequent operations tending orinth, ) : : ilitari ideration.”” The news of the certainly gupssinons in a philosophical and utilitarian cons igi 16 tore defeat at Corin e i Within a C ermined the course of Bragg. yO BE WS ee i . Thus it was ROSECRANS at lu 3 ! - Ra gh % ghefisny on by his fighting at Btope River and his practical Re Tullahoma a year later, he pushed him back into Georgia. recorded. By the non-combatant’s oat 8 Rosecrans’ Tr ansfer to the Department of the Cumberland. Upon his return to Corinth, Rosecrans was directed by the War Department to repair to Cincinnati, where he received orders to relieve General Buel from the command of the Fourteenth Army Corps, and with it to assume command of the Department of the Cumberland, which was ‘‘ to consist of so much of the territory south of the Cumberland as he might be able to occupy.” This command he assumed on the 27th of October, 1862, and ordered his troops to concentrate at Bowling Green, Ky. For six weeks he addressed himself to the work of supply and organization. He divided his army into three grand corps, commanded by Thomas, McCook and Crittenden. The Cavalry, hitherto serving in isolated detachments, he organized into brigades, with General D. S. Stanley for chief. The cavalry of the Army of the Cumberland became the model of the whole Union forces. On the 7th of November he made his headquarters at Nashville, and entered upon the task of enlarging the Department of the Cumberland, which then amounted to about ten miles square (around Nashville). To provide for thoroughness and uniformity in the publication of orders, and in attention and obedience thereto, he organized the Inspector- General’s department, detailed corps, grand division, division, and brigade inspectors, of appropriate rank, and prescribed their duties and forms for their official reports, which ecame models of those subsequently adopted and now in universal use in the Inspector- General’s department of the army. The Provost-Marshal’s office was established upon the same principles as he adopted while in command of the Army of the Mississippi. He co-operated with Andrew Johnson, military Governor of Tennessee, in consolidating civil order, and protected the Union merchants of Nashville, by creating a commission of five of the most distinguished citizens, without whose recommendation no license was given to any trader from abroad. Meanwhile the reorganized cavalry corps, composed of 2,500 en, representing every company in the command, had distinguished itself by beating the Texas rebel cavalry, captaring Franklin, and burning the flouring mills there, wkich had supplied the rebel army at Murfreesboro with sixty or seventy barrels of flour per day. All this time General Halleck had been urging upon RosECRANS the necessity of an imme- diate advance, intimating that it was required for political reasons, and that he had been requested to indicate Rosecrans’ successor. To this RGSECRANS replied that, having shown why, because of the feeble condition of the Union Commissariat, such an advance would be premature and disastrous to the public interests, it only remained for him to say that if his superiors desired to take the responsibility of imperilling those interests, the sooner his successor was appointed the better it would be for the service. This answer quieted the official nerves at Washington. The Splendid Battle of Stone River. The necessary rations having finally been accumulated, an advance on Murfreesboro was at once arranged, and the movement of 43,400 troops of all arms began, in ice and snow, on December 26th. RosECRANS was never greater than during those six following days of skirmishing, hard fighting, and manly endurance. On the 30th the rebels, under Bragg, were found intrenched principally on the north side of Stone River, and cannonading took place all along their lines, the positions of which were carefully determined and the necessary information obtained, for the plan of battle of the 31st. This plan miscarried because of the failure of McCook’s command to hold its pivotal ground on the right. The fearful fight of the 31st resulted Clearly to the advantage of the rebels. Bragg swept down with a swift onset upon McCook, and doubled him back in confusion upon the centre. But the disaster stopped here. RosEcrANs was everywhere, directing, cheering, inspideg and praising his 1 en, until night ‘ell on the scene. The question then arose with Rosecrans whether to fight it out on that line or withdraw to an advantageous position covering his depots at Nashville. After consultation with his chief officers, he reconnoi- tred the ground in person, and returned with the word: ‘* Gentlemen, we shall not retreat but fight it out here and to the front. Go at once to your posts, and hold your commands ready to receive any attack from the enemy. We shall not attempt to attack him until the arrival of our ammunition, which I have ordered up from Nashville.” The following day (January 1, 1863), the rebels refrained from making any attack. On the 2d they made « gallant and desperate assault on the Union centre, but fell back exhausted, losing over 2,000 killed and wounded in thirty-five minutes. RosEcraNs then, by a skillful ruse, con- veyed the impression that he had received an important reinforcement, which so frightened Bragg that he forthwith began his retreat on Tullahoma. Upon the reception at Washing- ton of tidings of this success, the President sent the following telegram: =. J 9 President Lincoln's Gratitude. i ‘* WASHINGTON, J Apr 9, 100% : i g ouncing the retreat of the enemy has ens pg oe tender to all fad Sept for d their skill, endurance and a sre vi 8 = i Major- lleck The Secretary of War forwarded a similar congratulation, and Major-General Ha also ih a telegram, of which the following is a copy: “To MaJ.-GEN. ROSECRAN just reached here. God bless you : vourself the nation’s gratitude for your an ¢« WASHINGTON, January 9, 1863. battlefield. (« Ma7.-GEN. Rosecrans: —Rebel telegrams confirm your telegrams from the battle illi . You and your i y nd one of the most brilliant of the war. fo Pe in of your Sonniny and Eh o* fe Jona. bn : i historical, and future generations t fae Gi re defence of the Constitution and De Aen, pa Cumberland. Thanks to the living and tears for veh honor to the Army of the Cum susie haa : age- a moral effect of Stone River, or Maessha, Wo fo mi bin % = hg JET Gatksy Hhe vey, ih iota, Stone River pounded this con- a a aL in 1 cirified the nation. The price of gold fell, and idl ow OP on {the Southern Confederacy was indefinitely post- he pg Bn to RosEcrans that the effect had been ii i: Tl Set dit i rani peasel 2. joint ig og > Hm oo Genoa) salutar 1 bi O° Ohl an ne. Be wi yo, A Fo Dy which it had conquered by previous orders SANS od the Department, of the Cumberland. was coapdiedig thio nily had been River, in the winter and spring of 1863 ROSECRANS W ipellezby he my an and the inferiority y Mis oom 3 oe Kn Fo i o, which he fo se : eu a ie by another consideration, one of oa Hany a a that ie by vigorous measures, he were to push Bragg ou of Den omg Be roams 1d inevitably be ordered to go south to reinforce J Dionsia sete om a Vi Xebt . Rosecrans’ policy was to keep Bragg north ony e oneness 0 tae ai Ny t Vicksbur should be settled. His plans for the tota exp! wo pl Ry, d oe aaution of Chattanooga kept every one a = And opmmpied unt] To oni pecamme. ttled in the spring. Horses for cavalry and artillery i a Se came upon him before he was in readiness je move. Ahsonghon Jai os "Secret rv of War and General Halleck were pressing mn oh gn i Hone Rene oN thern ory Rosecrans directed General Garfie ), 1g Gist of sles A abli candidate for President,) to send copies of a no fo £5 Swersin OE Fate of all his corps and division commanders, soys jo he gramags ey le of an immediate or early advance, which answers rg he frweasct Wan DN eral Rosecrans informed his chief of staff at he Jae 408 ihe Bo bibs ig ig rs to these notes were, the Army of the Cuml er Pi won ssn A e. d Vicksburg beyond the reach of succor from a es" Jonsiing ee Cornet fifteen out of the seventeen commanders bax 2 be fos ii a. = to an immediate movement. They yerd formal ok AL Ne io r officers of rank thought of the situation. L 0 Tel we e $hey Le a Tor this SE that Gen. RosecRANs never read them; a 1.00 a marise them and have them forwarded to t ge Seana jon. San Bona hi i gd ig mission to give his opinion—a request oni yon.of 26 usa) 3d Ha a a oc argument in favor of the views and determ a entertained by the General commanding. The Campaign of Tullahoma. oer ot SRE he investment of Vic y longer any doubt that t 7 J yg By the 22d of June there was no ¢ i i bly to the Union cause. 1 d the oT pn HE or) Campaign of Tlishanes, Shih ue for 1= ghiscs re : C 4 : to dislodge the rebels from the intrenched SADE 9%: pel A oy pis Me i Cpl » i into Georgia. ocd aeons ie DE by open , A or regular approaches, Dui by o en bog 6 Bt Ria Spee gen ph of cavalry operations he aig the shal abe oie belist mov . r His? : that his forces would advance directly Weaver! u is xu ey re ae boun A X | iii g Age fo turned the Shelbyville camp, which was much more 19 Awd have no grounds upon which to base such a conviction. The Convention must therefore discharge its high and responsible duties, in view of the exigencies of the Nation, accord- ing to its judgment and conscience, leaving me to the exercise of mine when I shall know its decision. “W. S. Rosecrans.” The message was intercepted by Secretary Stanton after passing the Pittsburg relay, and pever reached its destination. At the close of the Presidential campaign Rosecrans was relieved of his command, and returned to Cincinnati, awaiting orders. Thus ended his active share in the suppression of the rebellion, Just after the close of the war Rosecrans was ordered to Washington. Obtaining six months’ leave of absence, he made his first visit to the Pacific Coast, arriving here in July, 1865. His stay was limited to about six weeks, during which he found opportunity to make a flying trip to Nevada, whose great mining interests were then just tairly develop- ing, and in which he took a deep interest. Returning to Washington, he was mustered out of the volunteer service in 1866, when he again procured leave of absence and returned to the Pacific slope. On the expiration of his leave he resigned his commission in the regular army, and addressed himself to the avocations of civil life. He had remained longs enough in the service to see his juniors, Sehofield and Hancock, promoted to Major-Generalships over his head. His native generosity of soul forbade him to begrudge his comrades in arms their deserved elevation; but he possessed a soldier’s pride, which could not brook studied and long-continued indifference to the performanee of public duty, which his own conscience told him he had faithfully and honorably rendered. In closing the record of his military carecr, the impartial biographer must bear tribute to the fidelity and unwearied devotion of RoskcraNs to the interests of the nation. He never failed in any great military undertaking; he was never guilty of insubordination; he showed him- self free from all intrigue, bitterness and selfishness, even when he saw his career of use- fulness cut short by malevolence and envy. His heart, like his sword, was his country’s, and therefore throughout the great national struggle he bore a constant series of wrongs and neglect without, public complaint. The history of our country furnishes no parallel to the case of Rosecrans. In general, America has been abundantly grateful to her mili- tary heroes. For the display of military talents no brighter than the qualities which shone on the banks of Stone River, Jackson was twice made President, and with a military record no fairer and less beneficial to his country Taylor was raised to the same honor. Should another war break out, there is no sword from which the people can expect more brilliant executive results than that sabre which our Government permitted to be sheathed immedi- ately after it had unlocked the key-point of the Appalachian mountains i and placed under the Union flag the great interior stronghold of the rebellion. There is no man who loves his country better than does WILLIAM STARKE Rosecrans. No American heart beats in truer cadence to its best interests than his; and there is no soldier who has suffered deeper ingratitude at the hands of those who had the power to reward the grand deeds of a great officer. Rosecrans’ Political Principles. As hasalready been intimated, General Rosecrans never, until the present presidential campaign, took an active part in politics. On the contrary, he has repeatedly given the negative to the offer of high civil office. In 1867, he was tendered, by leading Democrats, the nomination for Governor of California, which, upon his declination, was accepted by that honored Democrat, Henry H.Haight. The only civil employment which he ever held was that of Minister to Mexico, conferred upon him, wholly unsolicited, by President Johnson in 1868. The General was visiting the East at the time, and the news of his appointment came to him as a complete surprise. Not until six weeks after his confirmation by the Senate did he decide to accept the mission. The character of his services in this capacity abund- antly justified the trust reposed in him. He devoted himself ardently to the promotion jof commercial intercourse between the two countries, and paved the way to much of that cordiality of international relationship which has since subsisted. His memorial to the American Congress in behalf of the commercial annexation of Mexico to the United States received the hearty approval of such statesmen as Allen G. Thurman and Charles Sumner, and the bill of which it was the basis would have become a law had not certain selfish and corrupt interests interposed to prevent its passage. His project for the construction of an inter-oceanic railroad to encourage and facilitate trade between the neighboring nations, was formally approved by more than two-thirds of the Mexican States, and though it has never yet been carried out, his efforts in this connection are still held in grateful remem- brance by the Mexican people. His service in Mexico covered the period from November, 1868, to July, 1869, when Grant, who had been inaugurated but a few months before, gave vent to his malice by recalling him und sending Nelson, an Indiana politician, to succeed him. He then returned once more to San Francisco, which he had determined to make his 13 But though General Rosecrans’ participation in active Jolities) gre has been slight, the nature of his plies) $2508 pn Jo pidion, < p80 is joo In { my d consequent absence from v ) . og 5 eh nto of the United States. Those four votes Voie eat for icine Seymour, and Tilden. Perhaps ne bau pases 2 en uc ; y Y 1 ting from the letter § ) itic rinciples could be given than by quoting th ; Pils : es ns. ha his return Eo Me agalining, 3 Spo oS ny 4 1 ., ties, inati mously tendered him by the Democrac) ¥ fog rik ov i his long absence, was still proud to claim him as 0 ’ ’ an honored citizen. Said the General: A Statesmanlike Letter. ieldi in «i re i o Democratic representative government, ig a SE or. or high the world has yet seen, at the mi of which I Sons ie of men and some experience in governing them, I Jn sn a 5 me i we conviction and a sentiment of brotherhood with my fel wma. Dery : Be rd 9 duty under the circumstances of this nomination, to iy a few ions ¢ Jt y the fundamental principles which I think ought to under » ey i latform. What of old gave the Democratic party in the Unite a 0 ioe ie and. i was its profound faith in the capacity Ren Ld Sioa men ; , institutions be reat principles s iE id press under Baiting iy Be a yin [4 logic of its faith into Bryon. en a t discipline order and progressive originiality which oe med 3 : These arose - it victorious banner the symbol of hope to the lovers of freedom a 0 Bisa ng hile i the nature of things it became the rallying-point of office-see ers ad . 5 die . of fortune, whose timid and time-serving counsels sometimes im- sat golitionl of its action, and, combined with other causes, prevented jae Yigorony I of is iin But, after a great civil war, which has changed t 0 soe a democracy of the American people i he. he Se 3 En or have i i i institutions and in : eo war ey in oxi ee of ition re. ji spite of dreamers after A adapt them to the ite of those whose political principles are the apparent expe joncies oH he consolidation, in hot civilized man will have government, are ever devising Vioks #9 bo oe elves the «fortunate few’ who are to provide and be paid for it; i f re idler democratic representative government “a, Fook rd : ag SXporue 3 bh ) o] i ic ople beats warmly, ripe o Be bo oe Toeiinge and rier. Appeal should Shsseione be made fo ae and convictions by A HOO I A tiogey ow : is ry, and announcing, he ¥ re develop nets St Oo er based on these great principles, a he Te eeton of the nation’s life and action may req of Sriniy Sotiney, 2 o ati o be, a party of principle, a pa , ] ) progr Fou ui. fmlcandes, do ol Bropery belong to the purty, snd i in i retire st. Ss a a en monopoly, TO 4% Js Seed, ra i igi ati rty of the Unite 3 pase, and pational Cp Dror atic, and equality before the law 0 al Sho Jive tt lo fing of our country. A fact of our history, expressed on our na onal 6 of hononks ibs % E Pluribus Unum—Many in One—is that we have gown | m nyo ars by Me words lf-governing communities under one country or genera Soy en! 5 Too. Vig wie " For to be *“ one’ would interrupt this law of our historic life. ; Be To cease to be fiany eople by States, the unity of the nation, are essential laws % ont {epgousrment 0 hich oar written constitution is but the formal ox[rpssion, a A mags be Pash gros with the national Democratic party, whose policy must be broa g i ceni her. It is the combined action of these two Raat thy gue i AE system its power of SEpaneion, jad grinciples a pin and admiration of European philosophers— avin Jos 4 8! A naked it work 1 t to the people, and relieving the States of all the hy ops © 2 aes, e iar diplomatic rojeseuitivesy i ag ood h a ne f : i 2 rom productive industr se OF 0Biiely Wich ls ovo Ee and travel from the biogiunaly SPA bATASDY the states of Europe, Ye and spying officialism, and provides that the g i Df of 080 of Sigle bis, Pe d payment of claims from those of another withou B state S07 ODA Te Le I by the direct intervention of courts of law. permanent home. minable operations and delays of ii gn and repudiating the doctrine that ‘‘ might i w . -. Raped iy $58 dave of Sif Mls 5 bie that liberty consists in the obedience of all to makes right, 14 just laws, that these laws should be the fewest and simplest possible, leaving the utmost: individual freedom of thought and action consistent with equal rights and impartial justice; and, when individual action must be regulated by law, ey Fees 4 a) Justine; to the greatest number.”” On these simple and sublime truths Democracy bases its prac- tical action, and, moving with the life of the people, from time to time declares such prin- ciples of policy as the condition of the country demands, and carries them unhesitatingly and firmly into action. This is the Democracy I believe in, and to which I am proud to belong. Permit me, therefore, to indicate among the measures called for by the present exigencies, the following in reference to our public debt, our currency, revenue and pro-- tection, class legislation, offices and tenures thereof, executive patronage, the suffrage question, and the caucus system. 1. The enormous interest on our public debt is producing the most fea i al- ities in the distribution of capital. This is retin ol of our wb i vi and forcing the very life-blood of capital from the South and West, and, in fact, from all the extremities of the country, where its circulation is especially needed to the great Eastern centres of capital and speculation, and, by putting a high price on money in a country whose business and industry require a great deal of cheap capital, is gnawing at the verywitals of the industry of the great mass of the people. To arrest these devour. ing evils demands the most prompt redemption of our bonds according to the law and equity of the contract, and that natioral bank notes should be payable in coin on demand To effect this we must diminish our expenses at home, establish confidence in our political and administrative stability, and increase our credit abroad until our bonds in foreign markets are worth what our ability and certainty of paying warrant, and then, from the proceeds of a new issue, bearing reasonable interest, subject to reasonable taxation, promptly redeem every existing bond the moment it is due. No local declarations should impair the priceless value of the public credit by attempting to put a popular and interested pre-judgment on the terms of payment, but every Democratic platform should aim to raise higher and higher the public credit, and thus create the speedier means of ridding the country of these encrmous burdens. ’ 2. An irredeemable paper or depreciated and fluctuating currency is a gigantic fraud. and a concentration of evils injurious to all classes, but especially oppressive to those who live by their labor. The Democracy should assert with renewed vigor its old declara- tion in favor of the decisive and speedy restoration of a specie basis and paper eurrency convertible at par into coin at the will of the holder, and should take prompt and effica- cious measures to raise our bonds to where the security they offer and the interest they bear ought to place them, so as to draw greenbacks to par with the least possible delay This will relieve all classes, especially the laboring, and, augmenting the value of our circulation twenty-five per cent., give a vigorous and healthful impulse to every depart- ment of business and industry. } 3. The fundamental principles of free trade, and that all taxation should fall as directly as possible on all members of society in proportion to their ability to pay, have always been held by the Democracy. The aim of its legislation must therefore be a8 much as possible to reduce the amount and diminish the number of indirect taxes, and to levy such as are necessary for revenue, having due regard to the principle that the wealth of a nation consisting in its productive industry, whatever favors the greatest amount of this in the masses is to be favored, and whatever fosters special kinds and classes, to the det- riment of the masses, is to be opposed by Democracy. ’ 4. Democracy opposes all kinds of class legislation, refusing to rob t i benefit of the poor, or the poor for the benefit of the rich; and ie with oan] hor rence the partisan of unjust claims and the advocate of the repudiation of just ones. But knowing that legal pyovision for the security of private property generally suffices to pro- tect the rich, while something more is requisite to protect the poor, Democracy, without violating private rights by its laws, will always aim to elevate and educate the masses of the people. 5. Offices should be created only when clearly demanded by necessary public business and such salaries be paid as the nature and importance of the business require, leaving no just ground for complaint or excuse for peculation. A policy that leads to or requires the multiplication of offices is anti-democratic, unjust, and dangerous to freedom. “A poliey which changes men in office for individual profit, instead of public good, is a perversion of the principles of business, anti-democratic, corrupting, and perilous to the liberties of the people. Official power is a trust for the common good which no public officer has a right to use for his private benefit, and whoever does so is a greater scoundrel than he who mis- applies funds in his trust, because the official trust is more sacred, and the wrong done more difficult to detect and measure. Whoever obtains votes under false pretences is a baser knave than he who obtains goods under false pretences, and, on account of the 15 greater difficulty of detecting and measuring the evil, deserves severer punishment and reprobation. Regarding ll officers as servants of the people and trustees of power for the common weal, Democracy favors such modes of appointment and tenures ot office as reason and experience show best calculated to secure good conduct and efficiency in the public service, without regard to private interests, public customs, or individual preten- sions. Reason and experience alike condemn frequent and needless changes in public officers, and the generally prevailing practice of making them for personal benefit instead of the public good, is acting in great matters of the state and nation on principles that would ruin any private business, and, if not corrected, will bring the administration ot free government into deserved contempt. It is essentially opposed to the principles of a democratic government, and it behooves the Democracy of the United States to make war on the practice, without hesitation or delay, by returning to the Jeffersonian standard of qualification, *¢ Is he honest, capable and faithful ?”’ 6. The immense increase of national executive patronage, placing upward of one hundred thousand offices, besides numerous minor positions of emolument, at the Presi- dent’s disposal, and the habit of changing the incumbent to secure or reward executive partisanship, has become dangerous to the liberties of the country, and demands prompt and efficacious remedy. That remedy, at least in part, and other important national advantages, may be attained by providing that no President shall be eligible for a second term without a joint resolution of Congress, passed by a two-thirds vote in each House previous to the election, declaring the same; and that the Presidential term shall be lengthened to six years. 7. Democracy has always held that suffrage is not the natural right of every human being, nor of a particular sex or race, but a political privilege, and who should exercise it a question to be decided by what will produce ‘‘ the greatest good to the greatest number,’ and therefore, as far as possible, to be determined locally, where lies the great body of the rights of the people. But in these local discussions the democratic idea favors a broad rather than a narrow basis of suffrage, thereby creating bonds of brotherhood between the poor and rich based on mutual interests, and to avert conflicts between capital and labor. It is not unmindful or regardless of the rights of women, of minors, of property, and of inferior races; but, seeing other effective, advantageous ways in which these can have their influence in all legislation affecting their interests, at present prefers giving direct vote to manhood and qualifications. 8. The ‘‘ caucus ’’ system, invented by the Democracy as a practical way of finding out who is a proper person to be voted for where the constituency is too large to be per- sonally acquainted with each other, and, in spite of its glaring imperfections and corrup- tions, now adopted by all parties, should be improved by the Democracy, and regulated by wise provisions of law. These views I believe to be explicitly or implicitly held by three-fourths of our vot- ing population, and only require distinct Democratic enunciation to meet a substantial response from the people, who well know that neither a public policy based on passions nor radical issues per se can long rule without ruining the country, and would be glad to combine for public good on grounds that would restore the administration of our state and nation to the principles and practices of democratic-republican simplicity. Should there be Democrats whose mental organization or temper does not permit them to recog- nize fixed facts, or conform to great popular changes for the common good, they ought to abdicate leadership, and leave the new energies of the people to act in the line of life and progress.”’ The doctrine enunciated in these lucid and explicit declarations against an irre- deemable currency and class legislation, and in favor of free trade, honest civil service, and broad suffrage, ought to commend GENERAL RosECRANS to the favor of every intelligent citizen of San Francisco, whatever may be his party ties. His principles comprehend * nothing which is not manifestly in the interest of the whole people of the Pacific Coast. He sustains them by reasoning which is simply irrefragable. Nor will they be combatted by any voter to whom his friends appeal for support in his present candidacy. In the brief space allotted to this sketch it is not possible to recount in detail the many other evi- dences of the qualities of statesmanlike thought and habit which have marked the career of Rosecrans. That his intellect is fitted to grapple with the most difficult problems of Republican institutions is conclusively proven by the plan of popular government which he drew np and had published in 1878, after years of reflection. Firm in the faith that ours should be a government “ of the people, by the people and for the people,’ he therein sets forth a practical method of determining who are the people and of obtaining legal expression of their best intelligence, judgment, and will, in all public matters. The document has met the approbation of the ablest publicists, both of this country and Europe. 16 Returning to the narrative of the life of Rosecrans, we find him, in 1869, going back once more to the East, for the purpose of joining his family and bringing them to the new place of residence which he had chosen. He was absent about eighteen months, and upon his return entered actively upon the mercantile and industrial pursuits in which he is at present engaged. As President of the Safety Powder Company, he commands an enter- prise capable of giving employment to a large number of white laborers, and which has given NoNE To CHINESE. His executive ability has been of the highest value to the under- taking. Rosecrans’ Family. Of his family GENERAL ROSECRANS has every reason to beproud. Mrs. Rosecrans is a most estimable wife and mother, respected by all her acquaintances and beloved by those who have the privilege of more intimate relationship. She has borne him seven children, of whom the first, William, died in infancy at West Point; the second, Louis (Aloysius) was a Paulist Clergyman of high literary and oratorical ability, and died at New York in 1876, at the age of 26; the third, Mary, a young woman beautiful, accomplished, and uni- versally beloved, was a young nun of the Ursulines at St. Martin’s, Brown County, Ohio, where she died in 1878; the fourth, Lillie, resides with her parents; the fifth, Anna, recently took solemn vows at the same convent in which her sister Mary was educated, and is soon to be one of the teachers in aschool at Santa Rosa; the sixth, Charles Frederic, now just attaining manhood, resides with his parents; and the seventh, Charlotte, died in infancy just after the battle of Chickamauga. Of the seven, three, one son and two daughters, are living. Illiberal in none of the relations of life, GENERAL RosEcraNs is by profession a Catholic, and no man more conscientiously endeavors to live up to the spirit of his relig- jon than he. His religious sentiments are not the product of hereditary bias, but of that earnest conviction which has characterized him from boyhood npwards. Why Rosecrans Should be Elected to Congress. In conciuding this inadequate sketch of the life of General RosecraNs, the author regrets that he is compelled to forego tAe use of much valuable material that might con- tribute to a just estimate of a character which he believes to be one of the most exemplary presented by contemporary history. It is fortunate for the country that RosECRANS is yet in the prime of life, with faculties unimpaired for public service. It is fortunate that he is willing, after many years of service in arms, to take up a civil burden which his shoulders are 50 able to bear. Even if he were deficient in the qualities of a national legislator, his skill and valor in the defense of the Union ought to entitle him to consideration far more favorable than has been accorded to many who have of recent years enjoyed exalted civic honors. But when there is discovered in him qualities of ripe statesmanship which challenge the admiration of every patriotic mind, he becomes doubly entitled to support for the high office the nomination to which came to him entirely unsolicited. It was with diffi- culty that the numerous friends who appreciated Rosecrans’ qualifications to represent San Francisco and California in the national legislature, induced him to accept the candidacy. He realized that from a business standpoint he was making a sacrifice which he could ill afford. Only the strong argument that his close sympathies with the mass of the people, and his antagonism to the various elements adverse to their interests would rally to his support many voters who do not usually act with the Democratic party, pe rsuaded him to submit his name to his fellow-citizens. If elected, he will be better enabled than any other man who could be named, to rid the people of the Pacific coast of the evils from which they are now suffering. His personal relations with President Hancock would give to his voice in our behalf a weight that could attach to that of none of his opponents. In all regards he is in the heartiest sympathy with our people in their grievances. His record on the issue paramount to us is unimpeachable. He has never, either in an individual or representative c.pacity, countenanced Chinese immigration or labor. His opposition thereto has been thoroughly consistent. Lat us, while aiding in the complete restoration of our common country by electing WinrieLp Scorr Hancock President of the United States, also aid in restoring prosperity to San Francisco by the election to Congress of WILLIAM STARKE RoskcRANS, whose civil achievements promise to be even more splendid than the honors won on tented field. pn a Ye % Uy P. J. Thomas, Prinler=505 Clay Street. ~ OFTITLE