The North Carolinian

The Hon. Thos. Butler King, of Georgia, having made a speech at Paterson, New Jersey, said that Gen. Cass was the hero of Hull's surrender to the British, and that he and his regiments surrendered to a single British officer. And says Mr. King:

"If General Hull committed treason is not Gen. Cass a traitor? Yes, he is an; and a villain. He should have been tried & hung."

To ascertain the facts about this statement, the Hon. Robt. Smith wrote to Gen. Jesup. The following is his answer, which is interesting as a piece of history, related by an actor in the times, as well as a refutation of the calumny against Gen. Cass:

Washington City, Sept. 25, 1848.

Sir: I have received your letter, dated the 23 instant, calling my attention to certain charges said to have been made by the Hon. Thomas Butler King against Gen. Cass, in a speech lately delivered by him at Paterson, New Jersey, in the following words, viz: "Gen. Cass is the hero of Hull's surrender. Ordered away by Gen. Hull before the attack upon Detroit by the British, Gen. Cass was 'summoned by a single British officer, 14 miles from Detroit, to yield: and he did yield. With two or three regiments of men, Gen. Cass surrendered to a single British officer, fourteen miles from any other enemy.'" And in compliance with your request that I should give such information as I possess in regard to the situation of the detachment referred to by Mr King, at the time of Hull's capitulation, "and the position of Gen. Cass in relation to it, and whether the Gen. was in any way guilty of anything unbecoming a brave and gallant officer." I have the honor to state, in reply, that the charges made by Mr King relate to the surrender of a detachment sent by order of Gen. Hull, on the 14th of August, 1812, to meet a convoy of provisions, under the command of Captain Henry Brush of Ohio, supposed then to be on the route from the river Raisin to the army at Detroit.

As the acting adjutant general of the army, I detailed that detachment; and, by order of Gen. Hull, placed Col. McArthur, (not Col. Cass) in command of it. The General directed that the detachment should consist of one hundred and fifty men from Col. McArthur's and the same number from Colonel Cass's regiment, and a few mounted men were directed to accompany it. Before the detachment marched, a number of volunteers joined it from both regiments, so that the aggregate force when it left the camp was about four hundred men. Colonel Cass was not a part of the detail—he joined as a volunteer. When I understood that he desired to go. I objected to two colonels going with so small a detachment; but the service was considered by us all as extremely perilous. Colonel Cass claimed it as a right to share the dangers with his men, and he was permitted by the General, not ordered, to accompany them.

On the 15th of August Gen. Hull surrendered the fort and army, by capitulation, to the British forces under the command of Major General Brock, and included Col McArthur's detachment in the capitulation. The colonel had been ordered by express to return to Detroit, and he was within three or four miles of the fort when he received intelligence of the surrender. He fell back about three miles to the river Huron, where he received the articles of capitulation, with an order from General Hull to surrender. The colonel was, I believe, bound in good faith to surrender; but whether he was or not, he was compelled to submit, for he had not a day's subsistence, nor a dozen rounds of ammunition for his command. He was as gallant a soldier, and as patriotic a citizen, as the country could boast; and he did all that was possible under the circumstances; but whether the surrender of the detachment was right or wrong, he alone was responsible for it. Colonel (now General) Cass had no more to do with it than the honorable gentleman who makes the charges against him.

From the foregoing statement, you perceive that there was not even a single regiment to surrender, nor was Col. Cass in command at the time and on the occasion referred to by Mr King. That gentleman has been so unfortunate in the random statement of his facts, as not to have stumbled upon a single truth. His charges I know to be utterly unfounded from beginning to end. There is nothing in the history of the country, written or unwritten, to justify any one of them in the smallest degree. As to Gen. Cass, I served with him in two campaigns, a part of the time under his orders, and attached to his brigade. I have seen him in situations and under circumstances that would test the courage of any man, and he never faltered; but always acted in accordance with the dictates of high courage and patriotism. Whatsoever may be the course of others, he is never the apologist of the enemy, but is always found on the side of the country.

I am, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant.

TH. S. JESUP.

Hon. Robert Smith, Washington City.