The New York herald., 1862-02-10
Gen. Mcclellan and His Enemies.

| Gen. Mcclellan and His Enemies.
The abolition journals within the last few
days have been circulating all sorts of stories
about di8erenees of opinion between General
Mcclellan Oh one side, and the new Secretary
OF War and the President on the other. One OF
these statements is that General Mcclellan has
been deprived of his position as Commander-in-
Chief OF the srmy, and placed on level with
Haileck, Buell., Butler, Sherman and other
generals commanding departments or expedi-
tions that hereafter all orders, public and pri
vate, to the generals Of the army, will be issued
by the Secretary of War; and that =" the adj
ministration Of the war has already got q
policy" as if it never had any before. So says
the Tribune of Saturday last; and in double
loaded leader, with the caption, eft Moves at
Last" that journal announces, with tremen-
dous flourish =" Victory and omens of victory
attend the assumption by President Lincoln Of
his constitutional functions as Commander-in-
Chief of the army and navy. The country was
thrilled yesterday not only by the announce
ment of most important triumph in North
western Tennessee, but by the indications of
new vitality and more active spirit along the
whole enormous line of operations A few
more events such as the capture of Fort Henry,
and the war will be substantially at an end"
The meaning of this Is that if General McClel-
Ian had not been deposed, and the President
and his Secretary of War assumed their proper
functions, there would be no victory at Fort
Henry; but now "it moves at last!" Has it
not been moving from the beginning as fast as
prudence and good generalship would per-
NIT {? Did it not move at Hatteras, at
Port Royal and at Mill Spring, as well as at
Fort Henry? The truth is that the victory ON
the Tennessee is as much the result of General
McClellan's comprehensive plan as any other
victory that has been won, as much as his own
victories at Rich Mountain and other parts of
Western Virginia, by which he cleared that
section of the State of the rebels and restored
it to the Union-a brilliant feat of general
ship, which at once commended him to the at
tention Of the country and the government
as the man most worthy to take the chief COM
mand of the army. His plan now is to make
| the same sure work of the rebellion further
South as he goes along. McClellan's victories
| are valuable from their results A victory
little or nothing, though twenty thousand of
| the enemy were destroyed.
| The truth is that the President is slandered
by the Tribune, and he has never abdicated
| the functions which the constitution assigns
him as Commander-in- Chief of the army and
| navy, nor has he now assumed any new au-
thority. The same may be said of Secretary
Aoo L. l,,c
adopted the admirable plans of General
Mcclellan, and by his energy has carried them
out. In the Mexican campaign General Scott
was Commander-in-chief and yet he received
his orders from the War Department. There
never has been any difference of opinion
between General Mcclellan and the Presi-
dent or Secretary Stanton. There has been
and now is the most perfect accord be-
tween General Mcclellan, the practical Com
mander-in-Chief of the army, and the Presi-
dent, the legal Commander-in-Chief, and his
Secretary of War. Neither Mr.. Lincoln nor
Mr.. Stanton is a military man, and it is no dis
respect to them to say they would be arrant
fools if they attempted to dictate the strategical
operations Of the army or regulate the details of
the campaign. But when plan is presented to
them by an able general, they have the dis
cernment to appreciate it. When Columbus
made the egg stand everybody saw how he did
| it, and could then do the same thing.
The successes of our arms prove the wisdom
of McClellan's plans. The victories at Hatteras
and Port Royal have been attended with the
best effects, spreading terror and CONSERVATION
| A. = Al
out all rebeldom. The Burnside expedition
| is now striking another blow which will
tell for the Union. The occupation of Port
Royal would have been followed ere this with
more important results but for the premature
publication of the plans Of Commodore Dupont
by the very journals which have been all along
complaining of inaction, and continually shout
ing "On to Richmond" "On to Charleston
'On to Savannah "On to New Orleans." The
victory at Mill Spring, besides resulting in
the death of an active and formidable rebel
general, with the defeat and rout of his army,
has given the Union forces the key which opens
East Tennessee even to Knoxville, and will
enable them 10 seize and break up the railroad
communication between Lynchburg and Nash
vile, thus cutting off the army in Virginia from
supplies, reinforcements and communication
with the South by that route; while the more
recent capture of Fort Henry opens the free
communication of the Tennessee river to our
troops to West Tennessee, places them in pos
session of the Memphis and Ohio Railroad, ten
miles beyond, by which Bowling Green is con.
nected with Memphis and with Columbus
and each Of these strong positions, thus
severed, can be assailed separately by our
combined forces in the rear. There can
be little doubt that Fort Donelson, on the
Cumberland, few miles southeast of Fort
Henry, is by this time in possession of our
troops; and, as all know, up the Cumberland is
the way to Nashville. Thus are East and West
Tennessee penetrated at the same time, and