washington, February 22, 1861.
My Dear Sir: I
found it impossible to prevent two or three companies of the Federal troops
from joining in the procession to-day with the volunteers of the District,
without giving serious offence to the tens of thousands of people who have
assembled to witness the parade.
The day is the
anniversary of Washington's birth, a festive occasion throughout the land, and
it has been particularly marked by the House of Representatives.
The troops
everywhere else join such processions in honor of the birthday of the Father of
our Country, and it would be hard to assign a good reason why they should be
excluded from the privilege in the Capital founded by himself. They are here
simply as a posse comitatus, to aid the civil authorities in case of need.
Besides, the programme was published in the National Intelligencer of
this morning without my personal knowledge, the War Department having
considered the celebration of the national anniversary by the military arm of
the Government as a matter of course.
From your friend, very respectfully,
james Buchanan.
President Tyler.
SOURCE: Samuel
Wylie Crawford, The Genesis of the Civil War: The Story of Sumter,
1860-1861, p. 274-5
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