It is the facts that matter, not the proofs. Physics can progress without the proofs, but we can't go on without the facts. . . if the facts are right, then the proofs are a matter of playing around with the algebra correctly.
General Taylor is, I have no doubt, a well-meaning old man. He is, however, uneducated, exceedingly ignorant of public affairs, and I should judge, of very ordinary capacity.