On January 13, 1848, the Secretary of War addressed a communication to General Scott in which he said: "The President has determined to relieve you from further duty as commanding general in Mexico. You are therefore ordered by him to turn over the command of the army to Major-General Butler, or, in his absence, to the officer highest in rank with the column under you, together with all instructions you have received in relation to your operations and duties as general in chief command, and all records and papers properly belonging or appertaining to general headquarters.
"Desirous to secure a full examination into all matters embraced in the several charges which you have presented against Major-General Pillow and Brevet Colonel Duncan, as well as the charges or grounds of complaint presented against you by Brevet Major-General Worth, and deeming your presence before the court of inquiry which has been organized to investigate these matters indispensably necessary for this purpose, you are directed by the President to attend the said court of inquiry wherever it may hold its sittings; and when your presence before or attendance upon the court shall no longer be required, and you are notified of that fact by the court, you will report in person at this department for further orders."
General Scott while in Puebla had asked to be relieved from command of the army because of the want of sympathy and support of the home Government. He thought active operations would cease in November, and the passage through Vera Cruz would be safe by that date. The Secretary, in reply to this request of General Scott, said:
"Regarding the inducement you have assigned for begging to be recalled as deserving to have very little influence on the question, it will be decided by the President with exclusive reference to the public good. When that shall render it proper in his opinion to withdraw you from your present command, his determination to do so will be made known to you."
And further:
"The perusal of these communications by the President has forced upon his mind the painful conviction that there exists a state of things at the headquarters of the army which is exceedingly detrimental to the public service, and imperiously calls upon him to interfere in such a way as will, he sincerely hopes, arrest and put an end to the dissensions and feuds which there prevail.... The documents show that General Worth felt deeply aggrieved by your General Order No. 349.... With this view of the import and object of the order, his attempt by all proper means to remove from himself the ignominy of these imputations can not be regarded as an exceptionable course on his part. If he was actually aggrieved in this matter, or believed himself to be so, he had an unquestionable right to have the subject brought to the consideration of his and your common superior—the President. He prepared charges against you, for his letter of November 16th to the Secretary of War can be viewed in no other character, and endeavored to send them through you, the only channel he could use without violating established regulations to his common superior.... General Worth having preferred charges against General Scott before the latter preferred charges against him, both law and natural justice require that the order of events should be pursued in such cases. The charges which he prefers against you should be first disposed of before proceedings can be instituted against him for malice in preferring charges, or for presenting such as he did know or believe to be well founded."
The President was evidently laboring under a misapprehension in regard to the condition of affairs at the headquarters of the army. Everything was quiet, industry prevailed, and constant watchfulness for the comfort of the men of his command was being observed by the general in chief. The public interests under his charge received his constant care. No feuds were known to the army, and it was expected that if there was anything done by the President it would be to sustain the commanding general. At the time the order was issued relieving General Scott, both Generals Quitman and Shields were in Washington, but they were not consulted by the President or Secretary of War. General Quitman wrote from Washington to his aid, Lieutenant Christopher S. Lovell: "You are long since informed of the course the War Department has thought fit to pursue in relation to the difficulties between some of the generals. Though General Shields and myself were at Washington when the information came, we were not consulted."
It was believed by a large number of persons both in and out of the army that considerations of public good had not in themselves caused the President to relieve General Scott from command of the army. It was well known that his political opinions were not in harmony with the Administration, while those of his successor were. There had been anything but that amenity which should exist between a commissioner to negotiate a treaty of peace and the commanding general. General Scott did not think that Mr. Trist treated him with the consideration his position required—rejecting all overtures on the part of the general. General Scott ascribes Trist's conduct to sickness, which is throwing the mantle of charity over a series of slights amounting almost to insults, which a general less solicitous for the cause he was engaged in, and less regardful of his country's good, would have resented in a manner that would have produced a crisis detrimental to the interests of the Government.
General Scott, commander in chief, being the accuser, and Pillow, Worth, and Duncan the defendants, the duty devolved upon the President to appoint the court, which he did, composed of Brigadier-General Nathan Towson, paymaster general, Brigadier-General Caleb Cushing, and Brevet Colonel William G. Belknap, with Captain S.C. Ridgely, judge advocate and recorder.
The court organized and adjourned to the City of Mexico, where it met March 16, 1848, all the members present, the judge advocate and recorder. General Pillow was also in attendance. No objection being made to any member of the court, they were duly sworn. General Scott then read a paper, from which the following extracts are made: