June 18, 1863, The New York Herald
Major General Hunter arrived in this city yesterday, having been relieved of his command of the Department of the South. General Gillmore, the conqueror of Fort Pulaski, takes General Hunter’s place, and we are sure that no appointment could be more popular with the officers and soldiers of that department, among whom General Gillmore is a universal favorite. It is now very likely that we shall hear of warm work in South Carolina before very long. General Gillmore is not the man to waste time in experiments with negroes or in writing silly and bloodthirsty letters to Jeff. Davis, threatening to hang, draw and quarter everybody within reach if some proclamation or other be not withdrawn. Charleston ought to have been taken long ago, and, now that General Gillmore leads the troops, we shall probably soon hear that the cradle of the rebellion is as closely invested as Vicksburg and Port Hudson by land, while our iron-clads bombard it from the harbor.What disposition is to be made of General Hunter we are not informed. If poor Greeley would only trot out his negro brigade “Black Dave” Hunter might take command of that and lead it on to glory. Such a position would be just suited to Hunter’s capacity. He has repeatedly demonstrated that he is unfit to govern a department or to hold any very high command. He went to South Carolina with a good reputation as a soldier, but lost it on the passage, and became somehow transformed into one of the craziest of fanatics – worse than Greeley, Garrison, Wendell Phillips or Cheever, and about equal to old John Brown, whose soul is popularly supposed to be marching on with the negro regiments. Poor Hunter was a fighting man before he became a negromaniac; but since then he has done absolutely nothing in the military line. On the contrary, he has stayed away from the battle field with extraordinary persistency; and all accounts agree that Charleston might have been taken at the time of our attack upon and repulse at James Island had General Hunter led and directed our army, instead of remaining at headquarters and allowing other generals to take the troops into action. A general who sacrifices his reputation, his soldiers and his position to his love for the negro deserves some consideration from poor Greeley. Therefore by all means hurry up the negro brigade.