Isaac N. Arnold

“ Success and glory are in the advance--disaster and shame lurk in the rear. Let us act on this understanding, and it is safe to predict that your banners shall be inscribed with many a glorious deed, and that your names will be dear to your countrymen forever. ”

“ McClellan did not move until early in March, and then reached Centreville with his immense army, to find it abandoned, and wooden guns in position on the works behind which the rebels, in far inferior numbers, had remained all the autumn and winter unassailed. But his words, addressed to his army at Fairfax Court House, led the country to hope that he would now make up in energy and celerity his long delay. He said: "The army of the Potomac is now a real army. Magnificent in material, admirable in discipline, excellently equipped and armed. ”

“ This depends on the sort of human nature. A true patriot and soldier would have forgotten his grievances, and those of his chief; would have been at the front in the battle. His duty clearly was to do his utmost to relieve Pope. Few candid men will believe he did this. Suppose McClellan had been in the position of Pope--are there any who believe Fitz-John Porter would have left him alone "to get out of his scrape?" Or suppose Porter had been fighting Lee and his whole army, as Pope was, would it have taken McClellan an entire month to come up the Potomac to his relief? ”

“ On the 5th of April, General McClellan, when near Yorktown, said to the President: "The enemy are in large force along our front, ...their works formidable," [5] and adds: "I am of opinion I shall have to fight all the available force of the rebels not far from here." On the other hand, the rebel General Magruder, in his report of July 3rd, says that the whole force with which Yorktown was held, was eleven thousand, and that a portion of his line was held by five thousand men. ”

“ General Floyd, late the treacherous Secretary of War under Buchanan, and who had been in command, was conscious that a man who had plotted treason against the national government while in the Cabinet, deserved punishment as a traitor, and fled at night before the surrender. These substantial victories compelled the evacuation by the rebels of Kentucky, and opened Tennessee to the Union forces. Bowling Green, called by the insurgents the Gibraltar of Kentucky, was, on the 15th of February, occupied by General Mitchell of the Union army. ”

“ The strongest position a soldier should desire to occupy is one from which he can most easily advance against the enemy. Let us study the probable line of retreat of our opponents, and leave our own to take care of itself. ”

“ In the autumn of 1861, General George B. McClellan had under his command, at Washington and its vicinity, on the line of the Baltimore and Ohio, and at Fortress Monroe, more than two hundred thousand well armed men. General Halleck, who was in command in the West, had a very large army. McClellan was a skillful organizer, and had the power of making himself personally popular, but was slow, very cautious, and was never ready. ”

“ Lee and the army of Virginia were nearer Washington than McClellan. General Burnside had brought his army to Fortress Monroe, ready to cooperate with McClellan. A bold move upon Richmond would keep Lee on the defensive, but such a movement under McClellan--judging from the past--could scarcely be expected. It was determined to withdraw McClellan's army from the James, and concentrate it with the command of Pope. Pope was active and vigilant, and did all that could be done with the force under his control. On the 14th of August, he was reinforced by General Reno's division of Burnside's army. ”

“ Unselfish and firm, he trusted in the people and in God. That firm belief in an overruling Providence, which some called superstition, sustained him in this the darkest hour.
McClellan was the representative man of the so-called war democrats. He had the confidence of his officers, and was personally popular with the soldiers. The President yielded to the military necessity, or supposed military necessity, and placed him again in command of all the troops, and McClellan assumed the responsibility of defending the capital, and defeating Lee. ”

“ The Cumberland and Tennessee rivers, having their sources far within the rebel lines, and running to the north and west, empty into the Ohio. To secure these rivers from Union gun-boats, the insurgents had constructed and garrisoned Fort Henry, on the Tennessee, and Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland. Flag-officer Foote, one of the most skillful and energetic officers of the navy, commanded the Union fleet on the Western rivers. Co-operating with General Grant, they planned an attack on Fort Henry. ”

“ On the same day he telegraphed again:
"There must be no further delay in moving Franklin's troops towards Manassas; they must go to-morrow morning, ready or not ready. If we delay too long to get ready, there will be no necessity to go at all, for Pope will either be defeated or victorious, without our aid. If there is a want of wagons, the men must carry provisions with them till the wagons can come to their relief."
At 3 P.M., on the 29th, Halleck telegraphed to McClellan, in reply to his dispatch of 12 M.:
"I want Franklin's corps to go far enough to find out something about the enemy. ”

“ The army of the Potomac was demoralized, some of it on the verge of mutiny, and the conduct of Franklin and Fitz-John Porter indicates the spirit in which McClellan's lieutenants would have supported any other chief. With Lee and his victorious troops menacing Washington, it was a military necessity; Lincoln, with his usual good sense, saw and yielded to it.
Footnotes ↑ "During all this time the Confederate army lay at Centerville, insolently menacing Washington... It never presented an effective strength of over 50,000 men." ”

“ All the vessels in the James River and the Chesapeake Bay were placed at your disposal, and it was supposed that eight or ten thousand of your men could be transported daily. There has been, and is, the most urgent necessity for dispatch, and not a single moment must be lost in getting additional troops in front of Washington."
On the 21st, Halleck again telegraphed to McClellan at Fortress Monroe:
"The forces of Burnside and Pope are hard pushed, and require aid as rapidly as you can send it. By all means see that the troops sent have plenty of ammunition," etc. ”

“ This was August 9th and yet re-enforcements did not leave Fortress Monroe for Acquia, until the 23d of August! On the 10th, a week after the order was first given, Halleck again telegraphed: "The enemy is crossing the Rapidan in large force. They are fighting General Pope to-day. There must be no further delay in your movements. That which has already occurred was entirely unexpected, and must be satisfactorily explained."
Pope was gallantly fighting against an overwhelming force. Lee was massing troops to crush him and reach Washington, and yet McClellan did not move. ”

“ The President realized this, and on the threshold of the war, his most anxious thought, and most difficult problem, was to find officers who could lead the Union troops to victory. The republic had few soldiers of experience. Scott and Wool had won reputation in the war of 1812, and in Mexico, but were old for active service. Military skill must be developed by costly experience. In his appointments to high command, the President, without regard to party or personal considerations, sought for skill and ability. ”

“ McClellan did not arrive at Alexandria until August 26th. On the 9th, General Halleck telegraphed as follows: "I am of the opinion that the enemy is massing his forces in front of Generals Pope and Burnside, and that he expects to crush them, and move forward to the Potomac. You must send re-enforcements instantly to Acquia Creek. Considering the amount of transportation at your disposal, your delay is not satisfactory. You must move with all possible celerity!" ”

“ He criticised freely the radical acts of Congress and the administration, and he very soon became the center around which gathered all who opposed the radical measures of the President and of Congress. ”