Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1862-11-11
TEE ARMY or TIE POTOMAC.
letter of Gen. TallecIz-Nhy Gen. VIC
Eiellan was Il aalOvC6-f7is DisObej. l.
cncc OF PeremptOry OrleEs-So Want of
SUpplies-tl hat is Thought About 1t.
HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
MAsHINGrON. Oct. Is. 1862.

WASHINGTON, Oct. IS. 1862.
lion. Il. ". Stanton, Secretary Of Var -
Sir: In reply to the general interrogatories
contained in your letter Of yesterday, | have
to report =
FiySt-That acquisitions for supplies to the
army under Gen. Mcclellan are made by his
staff officers on the chiefs of bureaus here
that is, for quartermasters supplies by his
chief quartermaster on the quartermaster gem
eral; for commissary supplies by his chief
cOmmiSsary on the commissary general, &c.
No such acquisitions have been to my know
ledge made upon the secretary Of war, and
none upon the general-in-chief
SecOHd-On several occasions Gen. Nc
Clellan has telegraphed to me that his army
was deficient in certain supplies. All these
kilograms were Immediately referred to the
heads Of bureaus with orders to report.
1t was ascertained that in every instance the
acquisitions had been Immediately filled, ex-
cept one, where the quartermaster. general
had been obliged to send from Philadelphia
certain articles of clothing, tents, &c, not
having full supply here. There has not
been, so far as | could ascertain, any neglect
or delay in any department or bureau, in
issuing all supplies asked for by General
Mcclellan or by the officers of his staff
Delays have occasionally occurred in forward
condition Of the depotS, or of a want of cars
but, whenever notified of this, agents have
been sent out to remove the difficulty. Under
the excellent superintendent OF Gen. Haupt,
think these delays have been less frequent
and OF shorter duration than is usual with
freight trains. An army of the size of that
under Gen. Mcclellan will frequently be for
some days without the supplies asked for, on
account of neglect in making timely requisi-
tons, and unavoidable delays in forwarding
them, and in distributing them to the different
brigades and regiments. From all the in
formation | can obtain, | am of opinion that
the acquisitions from that army have been
filled more promptly, and that the men, as
general rule, have been better supplied than
our armies operating in the west. The latter
have operated at much greater distances from
the sources Of supply, and have had far less
facilities of transportation. In fine, believe
that no armies in the world, while in cam
paign. have been more promptly or better
supplied than ours.
Third-SoOn after the battle of Antetam,
Gen. Mcclellan was urged to give me lnfor-
nation of his intended movements, in order
that, If he moved between the enemy and
Washington, reinforcements could be sent
from this place. On the LIST of October, find
ing that he proposed to operate from Harpers
Ferry l urged him to cross the river at once
and give battle to the enemy, pointing out to
him the disadvantages of delaying till the au-
tumn rains had swollen the Potomac and i'm
paired the roads. On the 9Th of October he
was peremptorily ordered to ''cross the Poto-
mac and give battle to the enemy, or drive
him south. Your army must move now while
the roads are good 1t will be observed that
three weeks have elapsed since this order was
given.
Fourth-In my opinion there has been no
such want of supplies in the army under Gen.
Mcclellan as to prevent his compliance with
the orders to advance against the enemy. Had
he moved to the south side Of the Potomac,
he could have received his supplies almost as
readily as by remaining inactive on the north.
Fifu-On the eth OF October, in Il telegram
in regard to his intended movements, Gen.
Mcclellan stated that it would require at least
three days to supply the first, fifth, and sixth
corps; that they needed shoes and other in
dispensable articles Of clothing, as well as
shelter tents. No complaint was made that
any acquisitions had not been filled, and twas
inferred from his language that he was only
waiting for the distribution Of his supplies
On the llth he telegraphed that a portion of
his supplies, sent by rail, had been delayed.
As already stated, agents were Immediately
sent from here to investigate this complaint
and they reported that everything had gone
forward. On the same date (the 1lth) he
spoke of many Of his horses being broken
down by fatigue. On the 18th he complained
that the rate of supply was only $50 horses
per week for the entire army there aud in
front Of Washington" | Immediately direct
ed the quartermaster general to inquire into
this matter and report why larger supply
was not furnished. Gen. Meigs reported on
the l4th that the average issue of horses to
Gen. McClellans army in the field and in
front Of Washington, for the previous six
weeks, had been 1853 per week, or S754 IN
all. In addition, that large numbers of mules
had been supplied, and that the number of an
imals with Gen. McClellan's army on the
upper Potomac was over thirty-one thousand.
He also reported that he was then sending to
that army all the horses he could procure.
On the 18th, Gen. Mcclellan stated in re-
gard to Gen. Meigs report that he had filled
every requisition for shoes and clothing:
Gen, Meigs may have ordered these articles
to be forwarded, but they have not reached
our depots; and unless greater effort to in
sure prompt transmission is made by the de-
partment of which Gen. Meigs is the head,
they might as well remain in New York or
Philadelphia, so far as this army is concerned"
| Immediately called Gen. Megs' attention to
this apparent neglect Of his department. On
the 10Th he reported as the result Of his in
vcotgation, that 600 pairs Of boots and
shoes had been received by the quartermaster
of Gen. McClelans army at Harpers Ferry,
Frederick and lIagerstown that 10000 pairs
were at IIarper's Ferry depot on the 2lst;
that 10000 more were on their way, and
$1,000 more ordered. Col Ingals, aid-de-
camp and chief quartermaster to Gen. Nc
Clellan, telegraphed on the 18th: "The suf-
tering for want of clothing is exaggerated, |
think, and certainly might have been avoided
by timely acquisitions Of regimental and brig
ade commanders" On the 9th he telegraphed
to the quartermaster general that the clothing
was not detained in cars at the depOts. 'SuCh
| complaints are grOundless. The fact is, the
! clothing arrives and is issued. but more is
still wanted. l have ordered more than would
seem necessary from any data furnished me,
| and beg to remind you that you have al
| ways very promptly met all my acquisitions
| so far us clothing is concerned. Our depot
| IS not at fault. 1t provides as soon as due no
| tice is given. | toresec no time when an
army OF over one hundred thousand men will
not call for clothing and other articles"
| Inregard to General McClelans means of
! promptly communicating the wants of his
army to me or to the proper bureaus of the
war department, l report that in addition to
the ordinary mails, he has been in hourly
communication with Washington by tele-
graph.
It's due to General Meigs, that | should
submit herewith "A copy Of a telegram received
by him from Gen. Mcclellan Very respect
fully, your obedient servant,
IL. w. HALLECK General-in-C Chief.