“HEADQUARTERS FIRST DIVISION, November 16, 1847.

“To the Honorable Secretary of War, Washington: 

“SIR:  From the arbitrary and illegal conduct, the malice and gross injustice, practiced by the general officer, commanding in chief, this army, Major-General Winfield Scott, I appeal (as is my right and privilege) to the constitutional commander in chief, the President of the United States.  I accuse Major-General Winfield Scott of having acted in a manner unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.  He has availed himself of his position to publish by authority to the army which he commands, and of the influence of his station to give the highest effect to an order bearing date November 12, 1847, and numbered 349—­official printed copy herewith—­calculated and designed to cast odium and disgrace upon Brevet Major-General Worth; to bring that general officer into disrepute with the army, to lessen, if not destroy, his just influence and proper authority with those officers over whom he is placed in command; that he has, without inquiry or investigation, in the said order published to the army and the world, falsely charged Brevet Major-General Worth with having written, or connived at the writing, a certain letter published in the United States, and to which he has been pleased to apply the epithet of ‘scandalous,’ ‘malignant,’ etc.; that he has made these statements to the world, giving to them the sanction of his high authority and the influence of his position, while he has had no information as to the authorship of the letters in question; and when respectfully and properly addressed upon the subject by the undersigned appellant, he has declined to reply whether or not he intended to impute to Brevet Major-General Worth conduct which he had characterized as ‘scandalous,’ ‘malignant,’ etc.; be pleased to refer to correspondence herewith marked from A to E. I do not urge present action on these accusations, because of their inconvenience to the service in withdrawing many officers from their duties, but I do humbly and respectfully invoke the President’s examination into the case, and such notice thereof and protection from arbitrary conduct of said Major-General Scott as he may deem suitable.

  “I have the honor to be, etc.,

“W.J.  WORTH,

“Brevet Major General, United States Army.”

Upon receipt of the above communication at General Scott’s headquarters, General Worth was placed under arrest and charged “with behaving with contempt and disrespect toward his commanding officer,” or words to that effect; and the specification to the charge was to the following effect:  “Under pretext of appeal he charged his commanding officer to be actuated by malice toward him [Worth] and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.”

It must have been under a painful stress of duty that General Scott preferred charges against General Worth; they had been friends for over thirty years, and the latter had been aid-de-camp to the former.  Worth was the first general officer ordered from General Taylor’s army to report to General Scott on his arrival in Mexico.