ecause 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.

It was shown that General Pillow had given a written account of the
battles of Contreras and Churubusco to the correspondent of a
newspaper about August 25th, expressing a desire that it should go off
with first impressions and form a part of the correspondent's letter.
The general told the correspondent he had prepared it for him. The
latter examined the paper submitted by the general, found it incorrect
in many details, and did not send it as requested. When, however, the
mail from New Orleans brought the newspaper with the "Leonidas
letter," the correspondent compared the letter with the memorandum or
statement given him by Pillow and pronounced them almost identical.

The arrest of General Pillow was ordered. He was charged: 1. With a
violation of a general regulation or standing order of the army. 2.
With conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.

The specification to the first charge was, that he [Pillow] wrote or
caused to be written an account of military operations between the
United States forces and those of the Republic of Mexico, August 19,
1847, in and about Contreras and Churubusco, in which operations said
Pillow bore a part, and which account was designed by said Pillow