WRITINGS OF SAl\•l HOUSTON, 1851
286
And what are to be the consequences of this brevet that you are creating? Must you not accompany it with all the append- ages of a lieutenant general of the British Army? Will a major general be satisfied if he does not receive additional rations, pay, and perquisites, when promoted to this brevet rank? Certainly not. He will expect it. Will you give him an idle honor-an expres- sion of public complaisance, when you do not give him the attendant realities concomitant with the rank and consequent upon it? It would be an insult to say that he is worthy of the name, but not worthy of the benefits of the rank which you are about to confer. I have never known so much difficulty arise from any circum- stance connected with the organization of our Army as from the brevet system. It has been an eye-sore from its inception to the present moment. Years of discord have passed by, not less than twenty in number, since the first difficulty arose-when a dis- crimination was made, to which reference has been made by the honorable Senator from Mississippi, [Mr. Davis,] by selecting an officer unexpectedly to be chief in command. For years after his decease, it was a contested matter between two commanding generals as to which should have precedence. This grew out of the system of brevet, as opposed to lineal rank and lineal pro- motion. Had linear rank been regarded, these difficulties never could have occurred. Harmony would have existed, and the northern and southern divisions would not have been arrayed against each other; the officers becoming partisans of their own immediate major generals, and duels grew out of the controversy. This was all owing to the system of brevet rank. But have we a precedent for the creation of a lieutenant gen- eral? Yes, sir, we have, and in time of peace. It was the eleva- tion of General Washington to that distinguished position. He, sir, was worthy of it. Others may be so, too, but he certainly was. There was but one, "Father of his Country."_ There was but one Washington. There was but one lieutenant general. The office began and ended with him, and until there is a new regen- erator and saviour of his country, let it rest. 1 Congi·essional Globe, Avvendix, XXIII, pp. 154-155. The resolution upon which Houston spoke was to confer the title of Lieutenant General by brevet on Major General Scott, February 12, 1851.
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