that the true course was to meet the trouble firmly, and his suggestions, made while James Buchanan was still President, were such as, if followed, would have crushed rebellion in its very birth. But they were all unheeded. Twenty-eight years before, and in the same city of Charleston, Winfield Scott had been present at the rehearsal of this drama of secession - yet all the experience then gained, was not only not permitted to be of service to the country, but the old soldier was even compelled to abandon to its fate, a brave garrison in an insufficiently provided fort. Despite, however, the inactivity forced upon him by weakness or crime, General Scott secured to the Government the possession of Washington City, which it was openly asserted could not be saved, and also secured the safe inauguration of President Lincoln.

General Scott's experience, and great knowledge of the American people, were of infinite value in the organization of the army destined to act against the rebels. To an early movement of that army he gave a reluctant consent, and disaster followed the departure from his advice. Many differed with him, honestly no doubt, as to the method most likely to crush the rebellion; yet every American must bitterly regret that neither his honorable and great services, nor his age, could, upon that point, preserve the veteran from the gross vituperation of an intemperate and ribald press.

Finally, feeling himself no longer equal to the proper discharge of the important duties of his position; and that the best service he could render his country would be to make room for a younger man, Lieutenant-General Scott retired from the army, November first, 1861. No act of history is marked by more of simple dignity and truth, than this withdrawal of the man who felt that in the decay of age his faculties were no longer equal to the requirements of his country. Upon his conclusion to retire, General Scott wrote thus to the Secretary of War:

"HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,

WASHINGTON, October 31st, 1861.

"TO THE HON. SIMON CAMERON, Secretary of War:

"SIR: For more than three years I have been unable from a hurt to mount a horse, or to walk more than a few paces at a time, and that with much pain. Other and new infirmities, dropsy and vertigo, admonish me that repose of mind and body, with the appliances of surgery and medicine, are necessary to add a little more to a life already protracted much beyond the usual span of man. It is under such circumstances, made doubly painful by the unnatural and unjust rebellion now raging in the Southern States, of our so lately prosperous and happy Union, that I am compelled to request that my name shall be placed on the list of army officers retired from active service. As this request is founded on an absolute right, granted by a recent act of Congress, I am entirely at liberty to say

it is with deep regret that I withdraw myself in these momentous times, from the orders of a President who has treated me with much distinguished kindness and courtesy, whom I know, upon much personal intercourse, to be patriotic without sectional partialities or prejudices; to be highly conscientious in the performance of every duty, and of unrivalled activity and perseverance; and to you, Mr. Secretary, whom I now officially address for the last time, I beg to acknowledge my many obligations for the uniform high consideration I have received at your hands, and have the honor to remain, sir, with high respect,

"Your obedient servant,

In response the Secretary of War wrote as follows:

"WINFIELD SCOTT."

"WAR DEPARTMENT,

WASHINGTON, November 1st. "GENERAL: It was my duty to lay before the President your letter of yesterday, asking to be relieved, under the recent act of Congress. 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 wise 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. In parting from you, I can only express the hope that a merciful Providence, that has protected you amidst so many trials, will improve your health, and continue your life long after the people of the country shall have been restored to their former happiness and prosperity.

"I am, General, very sincerely, your friend and servant,

SIMON CAMERON, Secretary of War.

"Lieut.-General WINFIELD SCOTT, Present."

General Scott's request, it was decided in a special Cabinet council, held November first, could not be declined in view of his age and infirmities; and in the afternoon of the same day, the President, attended by all the members of the Cabinet, waited upon General Scott, at his residence, and there read to him the following order:

"On the first day of November, A.D. 1861, upon his own application to the President of the United States, brevet Lieutenant-General Winfield Scott is ordered to be placed, and hereby is placed upon the list of retired officers of the army of the United States, without reduction in his current pay, subsistence, or allowance.

"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 unanimous Cabinet express their own and the nation's sympathy in his personal affliction, and their profound sense of important public services rendered by him to his country during his long and brilliant career, among which will be gratefully distinguished his faithful devotion to the Constitution, the Union, and the flag, when assailed by parricidal rebellion.

"ABRAHAM LINCOLN."

General Scott thereupon rose, and thus addressed the President and Cabinet, who had also risen:

"President, this honor overwhelms me. It overpays all services I have attempted to render to my country. If I had any claims before, they are all obliterated by the expression of approval by the President, with the remaining support of his Cabinet. I know the President and this Cabinet well. I know that the country has placed its interests in this trying crisis in safe keeping. Their counsels are wise, their labors are as untiring as they are loyal, and their course is the right one.

"President, you must excuse me. I am not able to stand longer to give utterance to the feelings of gratitude which oppress me. In my retirement I shall offer up my prayers to God for this Administration and for my country. I shall pray for it with confidence in its success over all enemies, and that speedily."

The President and the members of the Cabinet then severally took leave of the General.

Upon the same day Major-General George B. McClellan was appointed General Scott's successor in command of the army, and issued the following General Order:

"HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,

WASHINGTON, November 1st, 1861,

GENERAL ORDERS No. 19.

"In accordance with General Order No. 94, from the War Department, I hereby assume command of the armies of the United States.

"In the midst of the difficulties which encompass and divide the nation, hesi

tation and self-distrust may well accompany the assumption of so vast a responsibility; but, confiding as I do in the loyalty, discipline, and courage of our troops, and believing as I do that Providence will favor ours as the just cause, I cannot doubt that success will crown our efforts and sacrifices. 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, whose whole efforts have been directed to uphold our honor at the smallest sacrifice of life; a warrior who scorned the selfish glories of the battle-field when his great qualities as a statesman could be employed more profitably for his country; a citizen who, in his declining years, has given to the world the most shining instance of loyalty, in disregarding all ties of birth, and clinging still to the cause of truth and honor. Such has been the career and character of Winfield Scott, whom it has long been the delight of the nation to honor, both as a man and as 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 army he has so long commanded embitter his last years; but let our victories illuminate the close of a life so grand.

"GEORGE B. MCCLELLAN,

"Major-General Commanding U. S. A.”

Eight days later General Scott sailed from New-York for Europe, there to join his family and seek repose from the labor and excitement that, added to his years, had so nearly borne him down.

President Lincoln, in his message of December third, 1861, to Congress, thus refers to the retirement of General Scott:

"Since your last adjournment, Lieutenant-General Scott has retired from the head of the army. During his long life the nation has not been unmindful of his merit. Yet, on calling to mind how faithfully, ably, and brilliantly he has served the country from a time far back in our history, when few of the now living had been born, and thenceforward continually, I cannot but think that we are still his debtor.

"I submit, therefore, for your consideration, what further mark of recognition is due to him and ourselves as a grateful people."

These words, a noble tribute in themselves, have hitherto called out no response from Congress; and it remains to be seen what action will be taken to express the full sense of the nation's gratitude toward the great man who has, for so long a period, so faithfully and faultlessly served it.