A special Cabinet council was convened on Friday morning, Nov. 1, at 9 o'clock, to take the subject into consideration. It was decided that Gen. Scott's request, under the circumstances of his advanced age and infirmities, could not be declined. Gen. McClellan was thereupon, with the unanimous agreement of the Cabinet, notified that the command of the army would be devolved upon him. At four o'clock in the afternoon the Cabinet again waited upon the President and attended him to the residence of General Scott. On being seated, the President read to the General the following order: service. I have taken that subject into consideration. I understand that they go with you to New York. I shall desire them, at their earliest convenience, after their return, to make their wishes known to me. I desire you, however, to be satisfied that, except the unavoidable privation of your counsel and society, which they have so long enjoyed, the provision which will be made for them will be such as to render their situation as agreeable hereafter as it has been heretofore. Each member of the Administration then gave his hand to the veteran, and retired in profound silence. The following is the response of the Secre"On the 1st day of November, A. D. 1861, tary of War to the letter of General Scott: upon his own application to the President of the United States, Brevet Lieutenant-General WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 1861. Winfield Scott is ordered to be placed, and GENERAL: It was my duty to lay before the hereby is placed, upon the list of retired officers | President your letter of yesterday, asking to be of the army of the United States, without re-relieved, under the recent act of Congress. duction in his current pay, subsistence, or allowances. "The American people will hear with sadness and deep emotion that General Scott has withdrawn from the active control of the army, while the President and the unanimous Cabinet express their own and the nation's sympathy in his personal affliction, and their profound sense of the important public services rendered by him to his country during his long and brilliant career, among which will ever be gratefully distinguished his faithful devotion to the Constitution, the Union, and the flag, when assailed by a parricidal rebellion. "ABRAHAM LINCOLN." General Scott thereupon rose and addressed the President and Cabinet, who had also risen, as follows: In separating from you, I cannot refrain from expressing my deep regret that your health, shattered by long service and repeated wounds, received in your country's defence, should render it necessary for you to retire from your high position at this momentous period of our history. Although you are not to remain in active service, I yet hope that while I continue in charge of the Department over which I now preside, I shall at times be permitted to avail myself of the benefits of your counsels and sage experience. It has been my good fortune to enjoy a personal acquaintance with you for over thirty years, and the pleasant relations of that long time have been greatly strengthened by your cordial and entire coöperation in all the great questions which have occupied the Department and convulsed the country for the last six months. PRESIDENT: This honor overwhelms me. It overpays all services I have attempted to renIn parting from you I can only express the der to my country. If I had any claims before, hope that a merciful Providence, which has they are all obliterated by this expression of protected you amidst so many trials, will imapproval by the President, with the unanimous prove your health and continue your life long support of his Cabinet. I know the President after the people of the country shall have been and this Cabinet well-I know that the coun-restored to their former happiness and prostry has placed its interests, in this trying crisis, in safe keeping. Their counsels are wise. Their labors are untiring as they are loyal, and their course is the right one. President, you must excuse me; I am unable to stand longer to give utterance to the feelings of gratitude which oppress me. In my retirement I shall offer up my prayer to God for this Administration, and for my country. I shall pray for it with confidence in its success over its enemies, and that speedily. The President then took leave of General Scott, giving him his hand, and saying he hoped soon to write him a private letter expressive of his gratitude and affection. The President added: GENERAL: You will naturally feel solicitude about the gentlemen of your staff, who have rendered you and their country such faithful perity. I am, General, very sincerely, your friend and The following is the official announcement to WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJT, GEN'S OFFICE, & WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 1861. The following order from the President of the United States, announcing the retirement from active command of the honored veteran, Lieutenant-General Winfield Scott, will be read by the army with profound regret: EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 1861. whose whole efforts have been directed to upOn the first day of November, A. D. 1861, hold our honor at the smallest sacrifice of life; upon his own application to the President of -a warrior who scorned the selfish glories of the United States, Brevet Lieutenant-General the battle-field, when his great qualities as a Winfield Scott is ordered to be placed, and here- statesman could be employed more profitably by is placed, upon the list of retired officers of for his country; a citizen who, in his declining the army of the United States, without reduc-years, has given to the world the most shining tion of his current pay, subsistence, or allow-instances of loyalty in disregarding all ties of ance. The American people will hear with sadness and deep emotion that General Scott has withdrawn from the active control of the army, while the President and a unanimous Cabinet express their own and the nation's sympathy in his personal affliction, and their profound sense of the important public services rendered by him to his country during his long and brilliant career, among which will ever be gratefully distinguished his faithful devotion to the Constitution, the Union, and the flag, when assailed by parricidal rebellion. birth, and clinging to the cause of truth and honor. Such has been the career of Winfield Scott, whom it has long been the delight of the nation to honor as a man and a soldier. While we regret his loss, there is one thing we cannot regret-the bright example he has left for our emulation. Let us all hope and pray that his declining years may be passed in peace and happiness, and that they may be cheered by the success of the country and the cause he has fought for and loved so well. Beyond all that, let us do nothing that can cause him to blush for us. Let no defeat of the armyhe has so long commanded embitter his last The President is pleased to direct that Major-years, but let our victories illuminate the close General George B. McClellan assume the comof a life so grand. mand of the army of the United States. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. The head-quarters of the army will be established in the city of Washington. All communications intended for the Commanding General will hereafter be addressed direct to the Adjutant-General. The duplicate returns, orders, and other papers heretofore sent to the Assistant Adjutant-General's headquarters of the army, will be discontinued. By order of the Secretary of War, L. THOMAS, Adjutant-General. Immediately on the publication of this order, GEO. B. MCCLELLAN, Major-General Commanding U. S. Á. Doc. 123. SURPRISE NEAR RENICK, MO. THE Hannibal Messenger gives the following particulars of this affair: We have additional intelligence from various sources of Lieut.-Col. Morse's expedition south from Macon City. It appears that he left Macon the latter part of last week with 450 cavalry and infantry, took the enemy, reported to be 800 strong, under Sweeny, completely by surprise near Renick, in Randolph County, captured all their pickets, and was pouring a murderous fire into their ranks before they were aware of his presence. HEAD-QUARTERS OF THE ARMY, WASHINGTON, D. C., Nov. 1, 1861. In accordance with General Order No. 94, from the War Department, I hereby assume command of the armies of the United States. The consternation is said to have been great In the midst of the difficulties which encom- in the rebel camp, the occupants flying in every pass and divide the nation, hesitation and self-direction for dear life. One of the fugitives is distrust may well accompany the assumption said to have passed through New London a few of so vast a responsibility; but confiding, as I mornings since with nothing but his shirt and do, in the loyalty, discipline, and courage of pants on. our troops, and believing, as I do, that Provi- Augustus Columbus Appler, late of the Dedence will favor ours as the just cause, I can-mocrat and News of this city, is said to have not doubt that success will crown our efforts | been taken prisoner. When he was found, it is and sacrifices. said he was lying in the grass, feigning death; but on being pricked in the "rear" with a bayonet, he bounded with the agility of an acrobat, and was immediately restored to life. The army will unite with me in the feeling of regret that the weight of many years, and the effect of increasing infirmities, contracted and intensified in his country's service, should just now remove from our head the great soldier of our nation-the hero who, in his youth, raised high the reputation of his country in the fields of Canada, which he sanctified with his blood; who, in more mature years, proved to the world that American skill and valor could repeat, if not eclipse, the exploits of Cortez in the land of the Montezumas; whose whole life has been devoted to the service of his country; If it be true that Appler was found in the camp and taken prisoner, it will be apt to go hard with him, as he took the oath while retained a prisoner by the Illinois Sixteenth, in Camp Hays, last summer. We understand that the rebel prisoners who were taken in the surprise near Renick, say the Federals had fourteen wounded, but make no mention of their own loss, which must have been much heavier. at his head-quarters near Neosho, Missouri, October 26, 1861, has expressed a desire to enter into some arrangement with Maj.-Gen. John C. Fremont, commanding the forces of the United States, to facilitate the future exchange of pris oners of war released on parole; also, that all persons heretofore arrested for the mere expression of political opinions may be released from confinement or parole; also, that in future the war be confined exclusively to the armies in the field, and has authorized and empowered Major Henry W. Williams and D. Robert Barclay, Esq., to enter into such an arrangement in his behalf; And whereas Major-General John C. Fremont concurs with Major-General Price; agreed by and between Maj.-Gen. John C. FreNow, therefore, It is hereby stipulated and mont and Maj.-Gen. Sterling Price, as follows, to wit: Information has come to my knowledge that certain individuals who formerly resided in this State, and are known to have been recently in Virginia bearing arms against the authority and the forces of the United States, have returned First.-A joint proclamation shall be issued, to their former homes with the intention of taking part in the election of the 6th of No-signed by Maj.-Gen. Fremont and Maj.-Gen. vember inst., thus carrying out at the polls the Price, in proper person, in the following lan treason they have committed in the field. There is reason also to believe that other individuals, lately residents of Maryland, who have been engaged in similar acts of hostility to the United States, or in actively aiding and abetting those in arms against the United States, are about to participate in the election for the same treacherous purpose, with the hope of carrying over the State by disloyal votes to the cause of rebellion and treason. I, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me to arrest all persons in rebellion against the United States, require you to take into custody all such persons in any of the election districts or precincts in which they may appear at the polls, to effect their criminal attempt to convert their elective franchise into an engine for the subversion of the Government and for the encouragement and support of its enemies. In furtherance of this object, I request the judges of elections in the several precincts of the State, in case any such person shall present himself and offer his vote, to commit him until he can be taken into custody by the authority of the United States; and I call on all good and loyal citizens to support the judges of elections, the United States Marshal and his deputies, and the Provost Marshal of Baltimore and police, in their efforts to secure a free and fair expression of the voice of the people of Maryland, and at the same time to prevent the ballot-box from being polluted by treasonable votes. JOHN A. DIX, Major-General Commanding. Doc. 125. THE PEACE OF MISSOURI. NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN GENERALS FREMONT AND PRICE. Whereas Maj.-Gen. Sterling Price, commanding the Missouri State Guard, by letter dated guage, to wit: of Missouri greeting: tered into by Major-Generals Fremont and Whereas A solemn agreement has been enforces in the State of Missouri, to the effect, Price, respectively commanding antagonistic that in future arrests or forcible interference by armed or unarmed parties of citizens within the limits of said State for the mere entertain ment or expression of political opinions, shall hereafter cease; that families now broken up for such causes may be reunited, and that the fined to armies in the field; therefore, be it war now progressing shall be exclusively conknown to all whom it may concern 1. No arrests whatever on account of politi cal opinions, or for the merely private expres the limits of the State of Missouri, and all persion of the same, shall hereafter be made within held to answer upon such charges only, shall sons who may have been arrested and are now be forthwith released. But it is expressly declared that nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to bar or interfere with any of the usual and regular proceedings of the estab lished courts and statutes and orders made and provided for such offences. have been driven from their homes because of 2. All peaceably-disposed citizens who may their political opinions, or who may have left them from fear of force and violence, are hereby advised and permitted to return, upon the faith of our positive assurances that while so returning they shall receive protection from both armies in the field, whenever it can be given. 3. All bodies of armed men acting without the authority or recognition of the Major-Gen. before named, and not legitimately connected with the armies in the field, are hereby ordered at once to disband. 4. Any violation of either of the foregoing articles shall subject the offender to the penalty of military law, according to the nature of the offence. In testimony whereof, the aforesaid John Charles Fremont, at Springfield, Mo., on the first day of November, A. D. 1861, and MajorGeneral Sterling Price, at on this day of November, A. D. 1861, have hereunto set their hands, and hereby mutually pledge their earnest efforts to the enforcement of the above articles of agreement, according to their full tenor and effect, to the best of their ability. Second.-Brig-Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, or the officer in command at Benton barracks, is hereby authorized and empowered to represent Major-General Fremont; and Col. D. H. Armstrong, Hon. J. Richard Barrett, and Col. Robert M. Renick, or either of them, are hereby authorized and empowered to represent MajorGen. Price; and the parties so named are hereby authorized, whenever applied to for that purpose, to negotiate for the exchange of any and all persons who may hereafter be taken prisoners of war and released on parole; such exchanges to be made upon the plan heretofore approved and acted upon, to wit: grade for grade, or two officers of lower grade as an equivalent in rank for one of a higher grade, as shall be thought just and equitable. Thus done and agreed at Springfield, Missouri, this first day of November, 1861. By order of Major-General Fremont. J. H. EATON, A. A. A. G. Major-Gen. Sterling Price. By HENRY W. WILLIAMS D. ROBERT BARCLAY, Doc. 126. Commissioners. FREMONT'S ADDRESS TO HIS ARMY. HEAD-QUARTERS WESTERN DEPARTMENT, SPRINGFIELD, Mo., November 2, 1861. SOLDIERS OF THE MISSISSIPPI ARMY: Agreeably to orders received this day, I take leave of you. Although our army has been of sudden growth, we have grown up together, and I have become familiar with the brave and generous spirits which you bring to the defence of your country, and which makes me anticipate for you a brilliant career. Continue as you have begun, and give to my successor the same cordial and enthusiastic support with which you | have encouraged me. Emulate the splendid example which you have already before you, and let me remain as I am, proud of the noble army which I have thus far labored to bring together. Soldiers, I regret to leave you. Most sincerely I thank you for the regard and confidence you have invariably shown me. I deeply regret that I shall not have the honor to lead you to the victory which you are just about to win; but I shall claim the right to share with you in the joy of every triumph, and trust always to be personally remembered by my companions in arms. JOHN C. FREMONT, Major-General. Doc. 127. THE COAST DEFENCES. GOV. CURTIN'S REPLY TO SECRETARY SEWARD. THE following is a copy of the letter addressed by Gov. Curtin to Secretary Seward, in reply to his circular on coast defences: PENNSYLVANIA EXECUTIVE CHAMBER, HARRISBURG, November 2, 1861. Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.: SIR: I received, a few days since, an envelope, apparently from the Department of State, at Washington, enclosing a slip from a newspaper, purporting to be a copy of a letter from you to the Governor of New York. This mode of communicating advice by the Government of the United States to the State authorities is so unusual, that I am, perhaps, not quite justified in assuming, as I do, that the communication is authentic. I am glad to learn that the prospect of a disturbance of our amicable relations with foreign countries is now less serious than it has been at any period during the course of the insurrection. The duty of taking precaution against such disturbance is appropriate to the Government of the United States; and as, when the prospect was more serious, it was not thought fit to invite to the subject the attention of Congress, which had authority to make suitable provision, I do not understand how the fact that it is now less serious can afford a reason for calling on individual States, which have no such au at Congress has done or omitted you of course must know, but it seems strange that general appropriations for military purposes should render lawful the expense of fortifying Washington, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and other places, and yet that the Government should falter under an apprehension of want of authority when the question is of fortifying seaboard and lake ports. The regular session of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, as you may be aware, will not commence until more than a month after the next meeting of Congress. When you assure me that the prospect of disturbance is now less serious than it has been at any period since the insurrection began, I feel that your letter would not justify me in calling a special session, and, without action by the Legislature, I have less authority to act than the Executive of the United States, since the subject itself is within the scope of the General Government, and is not within that of a State Government. State Governments have recently (in conformity with the spirit of the constitutional provisions in regard to the militia) acted as agents of the General Government, in raising volunteers for the general defence, and in clothing, arming, equipping, and supplying them; but even in this matter, not, it is believed, beyond their own people and territory. Some of the points important for the maritime defence of Pennsylvania are situated in other States. It could not, of course, be expected that the authorities of this Commonwealth should go into New Jersey or Delaware to erect fortifications. If they are to be erected by the concurrent action of the several States immediately concerned, an agreement among them would be necessary to determine what should be done, and what proportion of the expense of doing it should be borne by each. No such agreement could be lawfully made without the action of the several State Legislatures, and the Constitution expressly prohibits its being made at all without the assent of Congress. To pay the expenses of the proposed fortifications, the States must, of course, resort to loans. The effect produced by the competition of a principal with his own agents has already been illustrated by the embarrassments attending that system in the raising of volunteers, and in the procuring of clothing and other supplies for them. To throw several of the States on the money market, in direct competition with the large loans necessary to be made by the General Government, especially under the discouraging influence which the publication of your letter may have on public credit, is an experiment which must lead to embarrassments of a similar kind, but probably more injurious. It is not doubted that provision for reimbursement would be made by law, for Congress, at its last session, promptly passed an act providing for the reimbursement of expenses incurred by the States in raising, &c., volunteers for the defence of the United States. For that defence Pennsylvania has, in proportion to her population, furnished a larger and more effective force, and at a greatly less expense, than any other State, and her people are now freely contributing their money to the loans of the United States. Under the above-mentioned act of Congress, the Government of the United States, through its proper department, agreed to pay at once to the several States forty per cent. of their expenditures, as stated by their respective authorities, but this payment has thus far been withheld from Pennsylvania for the reasons, as given, that she is so wealthy a State, and has expended so little money in proportion to the large material aid which she has furnished, that she can wait till a more convenient season; in other words, that the economy of her Government and the liberality of her people afford grounds for refusing to her the prompt, though partial reimbursement which is made to other States, and which she would seem to have deserved not less, but rather more than they. In regard to the final settlement of these accounts, I observe that a communication has already been received, (backed by a certificate of a person holding a high official position at Washington,) setting forth the necessity that the agent for settling them should possess an intimate knowledge of all the laws and precedents applicable to such cases to be found in the past history of the Government, and adding that this knowledge and proper consultations with the accounting officers will be necessary to enable him to advise as to the best mode of making up and proving the accounts, many of which must otherwise be rejected by the accounting officers. These circumstances lead me to express the hope that the next provision by Congress for the reimbursement of the States may be so arranged that some faith may be reposed in the accounting departments of the several States, and that (at least in cases where the amount claimed is so small, in comparison with the services rendered, and with what they would have cost the United States directly, as to exclude the possibility of extravagance or prodigality) the actual expenditures made by the States may be refunded to them, without the necessity of resettling and revouching the accounts under such formidable conditions. On the whole, I suggest that the best mode of attaining the end which you propose, would be for the General Government itself to immediately undertake the fulfilment of its own duties in this regard, in which it will prove, if necessary, the prompt, earnest, and zealous aid of the Government and people of this Commonwealth. If, however, this course should not be assented to, then I have to say that Pennsylvania, in any way that may be required, will give her last man and her last dollar to quell domestic treason or drive back foreign invasion, and will leave to a more quiet season the discussion and decision of the various questions that may arise from steps that have been taken during the existing crisis. In case, therefore, the General Government should persist in the plan which you suggest, I beg that the President will, as you propose, forthwith send proper agents of that Government to Harrisburg, to confer with me on the position and character of the necessary fortifications, so that no delay may occur in adopting proper measures for their construction. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, A. G. CURTIN. |