WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1826
42
under officers appointed to the different departments, for the pur- pose of contributing to the defence of their own coast. Th regulatiol)s of the Government at that time, fixing the rank of the officers, was so arranged, that, whenever an officer of the militia should be called out, to act with an officer of the same grade of the United States, that the latter should take rank of the former. This rule obtained from the highest to the lowest grades of the army. But it never was pretended that the militia officers of superior grade whould be subject to the immediate or- ders of the United States' officers of inferior rank. ·when, for instance, a Major General of the militia was serving with a Major General of the United States' army, the Major General of the regular army necessarily took rank of that of the mi!itia. But, if a Colonel of the United States' service, in command of his regi- ment, was co-operating with a Brigadier General of militia, the General would, necessarily take his rank and command. There- fore, the measure was objected to more on account of its sub- stance than from any notions of form or etiquette. I am author- ized to say so by the documents which have been exhibited in support of this claim. But, it is said, that two objections were urged to the requisition; that one hundred and forty-one com- panies, which·were to be detached, were sufficient to constitute one or more divisions, and that no general officer from the State was to be called out and placed in command. But, Mr. Chairman, where was the necessity for the detail of a Major General? An officer of the General Government was al- ready there, in command of the district, and it was not intended that these one hundred and forty-one companies should be con- solidated. Had that been the case, the objection might have been urged, with plausibility, at least. The detail of a general officer would then have been proper. But such was not the fact. These companies were to be detached to different places. Some were intended to man the forts, others to .guard the coasts at different points. What need was there, then, of a general officer, when a commanding officer of the district was responsible for its defence? It was not designed by the general Government to sta- tion, at any one point, more than one regiment, constituting a command for a colonel, and not more. We are told by the Gov- ernor, that the troops of Boston were Already in a state of prepa- ration for defence, and that in six hours they could be marched from the neighboring villages, and that further preparation was
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