_October 1st, 1842._
_October 5th, 1842._
MR. WHITNEY.--While exposing the demerits of Mr. William Bradford Reed, I
have no disposition to disparage whatever of ability or information he may
really possess; and concerning the letter, I cheerfully acknowledge that he
has made himself very thoroughly acquainted with the true character of the
leading men and events of the American Revolution.
But it is _this_ that constitutes his chief shame. In his absurd panegyrics
of his "Grandfather," he has not been imposed upon; he is seeking to impose
upon others, and in this he has, to a very considerable extent, succeeded;
he is sinning against the excess of light and the superfluity of knowledge.
Possessing the most ample proofs of his grandfather's treachery to his
country in the darkest hour of his country's peril, Mr. William B. Reed has
not hesitated to hold him up to that very country which he sought to
betray, and _did_ well nigh betray, and _would_ have betrayed, but for the
timely interception of his treasonable correspondence with the British
Commissioners, as one of the most glorious and incorruptible of the
patriots who fought and suffered for the establishment of American
Independence! The guilt of this will cling to Mr. Reed enduringly.
Never can he shake off its contamination. Could he escape from the odium of
his more immediate personal delinquencies; his fawning sycophancy of
Nicholas Biddle; his dirty work in behalf of that man for money, not for
love; could he deluge with Lethean ocean the public memory, his
malpractices as attorney-general; his venal career as a member of the
Legislature; could he induce the public to overlook the bribes which he
pocketed under the pretext of _fees_ received for services never
performed--bribes, the amount of which and the dates of whose reception,
are well known, and sustainable by documentary reference;--could all this
be erased, as systematic and persevering labours, from his boyhood upward,
to delude a much injured country into reverence for the memory, not of the
contemporary, but of the _predecessor_ of Benedict Arnold in "treason" have
won for him an infamy from the consequences of which escape is impossible.
I have heretofore referred, in general terms, to Mr. Reed's numerous
applications, by writing and in person, to such survivors of the
Revolution, or their descendants, as he supposed could furnish the
information he desired, for anecdotes of General Reed; a part of my
labours, hereafter to be entered upon, will be to narrate not a few of the
rebuffs and rebukes this unfortunate Doctor Syntax in search of the
biographical Pickenesque has experienced, and the minute fidelity with
which my sketches shall be marked, will contribute, let me assure Mr. Reed,
no less to his surprise than mortification, nay, I will establish that much
of the information, that many of the documents, which _I_ propose to lay
before the readers of the Evening Journal, _he_ and his brother, the
Professor, possess; that copies of some of the latter have long been in
their hands; and that Mr. William B. Reed has solicited the transfer or
destruction of the originals. But I will even do more than all this, I
will, in at least two instances, _publish his own letter_, praying for the
loan if not the gift, of original papers affecting the fame of his
grandfather. _Even here_ I do not mean to stop. I shall show that Mr. Reed
succeeded in inveigling from the possession of a gentleman of my
acquaintance, for a pretended temporary purpose, a letter, the publication
of which he supposed; and a part, I may say a prominent part, of Mr. Reed's
scheme to perpetuate the delusion of his grandfather's patriotism, has been
to write or call upon, every person projecting any work connected with the
Revolution; and by tendering information, or otherwise volunteering his
assistance, to deceive or disarm. He has played his game, so far, with very
clever success; and, as I formerly mentioned, it is one which he is at
present engaged in practising upon Mr. Bancroft--that same Mr. George
Bancroft, whom, at a political meeting in this city, held some four or five
years since, he so delicately described as a "tin cannister tied to the
tail of Martin Van Buren, while Martin Van Buren, was running through the
street, like a hot slut, with the whole kennel of loco-focoism bawling at
her heels!" Adapting this figure to circumstances, as it might be
introduced with great effect, into Mr. Reed's collegiate eulogy upon the
services and patriotism of his grandfather.
In Col. Smith's last published letter to Col. ----, he promised to furnish
the latter with copies of certain letters, and in another he says.
"I cannot answer your inquiry about Captain Anderson. I knew
several officers of that name, but can recal nothing
particular concerning any of them. I once received a letter
from a person some where in the State of Delaware, calling
himself Henry Anderson, inquiring about his uncle Captain
Anderson, of the Revolutionary army, but I have not retained,
or mislaid the letter, and cannot call to mind his more
particular address. But even this defective information may
serve to put you on the scent.
"Your son will tell you much for me that I would otherwise
write. My rheumatism has prevented my showing him as much of
the civilities of our town as I would have liked, but you will
excuse me.
"Most truly and sincerely,
"your old friend,
"SAMUEL SMITH.
From among the accompaniments of this letter transmitted by Col. Smith, I
select, for incorporation in the present article, the following
correspondence between General Anthony Wayne and General Joseph Reed. The
"_Numbers_" with which they are prefixed appear to be of General Wayne's
own addition.
No. 1.