The Portland daily press., 1862-11-20
To be Killed by his Friends.

To be Killed by his Friends.
If Gen. Mcclellan survives the efforts of his
friends to create diversion in public senti-
ment in his favor, he will reveal a toughness
and tenacity Of life not common to mortals.
In their eagerness to show his fitness to com
mdnd, they are so unkind as to alleged his
refusal to obey his superiors, and then exult
over his alleged INSTRUMENTATION! Gen. Nc
Clellan is either more or less than human if
he can stand such friends without serious de-
triment to his hard-earned reputation. The
following, from the Machias Union--a seces-
sion-sympathizing, traitorous sheet, in WASH
ington county. edited by one OF Howell Cobb's
officers at that place, is a sample of the inflic-
lions which Mcclellan is obliged to bear from
his indiscreet friends:
"The order goes from Washington under
the Stdnt0nidn Sedl:-Oct. 6, Forward to
Richmond Mcclellan and all his officers
knew that that order BODIED no good. To
move forward at that time was to move into
the jaws of death. His army was not in con-
dtion to press on. To do so was in the face
of certain defeat. Mac loved his men. He
did not want them sacrificed by tens of thou
sands. He meant that when the hour of 'ior-
ward came it should be forward to victory.
His prosecutors and conspirators at Washing
ton meant no such thing. They evidently es-
sayed his defeat and disgrace, though it cost
the loyal people the army, the Government
and liberty itself George B. Mcclellan dared,
like true patriot loving his country and his
fellow-citizens in arms, to delay until he tcds
ready, until his troops were ready, to move"
The "Stantonian Seal" means, of course,
the seal of the War Department, of which Mr..
Stanton is the head. The "order" was issued
from the highest authority; and here we have
a friend of Gen. Mcclellan boldly exulting
that such an order, a military man "dared" to
disobey, and dared "to delay" his movements
until he got ready-until his o,cn convenience
suited! Was military man ever more grossly
abused? 1t is no more the duty of subaItern
to obey his captain, or captain his colonel,
or a colonel his general, than it is the duty of
the commander in the field to obey the orders
from the War Department; and if be "dares"
refuse obedience, or dares "delay," to suit his
own whims or his his own convenience, who
can tell the disasters that may result to the
general plans formed at the headquarters of
authority! From his point of observation at
Washington the President, through his Secre-
tary of War, under the 'Stantonian Seai,"
may order an advance of different command
ers, designing that they shall cooperate in
some grand movement, upon which, perhaps,
Is to depend the fate of the empire; but one
of those commanders "dares to delay and
thus defeat the grand design, under the pre-
tence that he is not ready, or that his men are
not ready. Is this the way to carry on war
and to win victories?
We shall be very sorry to believe all that is
said of Gen. Mcclellan by his friends, for
should we do so, we should be obliged to be-
heye many things we have fondly hoped rested
only on the allegations Of his enemies, or at
least, those not specially friendly to him. 1t
was said that when the President peremptorily
ordered general movement of the army on
the 22d of February last, Gen. Mcclellan
"dared to delay" and during that delay the
evacuation Of Manassas occurred, and those
whom he should have fought and vanqished or
captured at that place slipped away from him.
1t has further been alleged that when McClel-
Ian was ordered to embark his army of the
Peninsula in transports sent to take him off,
and Pope was ordered to make a diversion to
draw attention from his (McClelan's) retir-
ing troops, he "dared delay" what was ex-
least five times that length of time, and until
the enemy found out his movements, and not
only fell upon and harrassed his rear, but had
time to take advantage of and defeat Pope
before he could be properly supported.
1t has been alleged further that when "order-
Frederick city, the route Halleck intended
should be traversed in two days consumed six,
somebody having "dared delay" all haste;-
and it has even been limited that, but for this
"delay," Harper's Ferry would have been
saved from rebel capture.
Gen. Halleck himself has stated that some
one Hdared delay" an advance FOR three weeks
which he had "ordered," under pretence of
short supplies, when, as he asserts, those sup
plies could have been forwarded to the army
In its proposed advanced position as well, or
nearly SO, as to the place where it was "delay-
ed.n
We have never desired to believe General
MCNltudu cdpdule Vi udTlug 10 ulsODey Or
ders from his superiors, and have supposed
that in all the cases referred to there was
either some mistake in the allegation itself,
or some valid reason why the "order" could
not be more promptly obeyed. But now We
have the exulting boast of a friend of General
McClellan-one who denounces his removal
as the consummation Of "conspiracy"-that
she dared delay" obedience 20 IAN ORDER
bearing the seal Of the War Department, to
advance his army, and he did this because he
was not ready! We have only to say that, if
this is not true, the Machias editor deserves
the execrations of every friend of General
Mcclellan; If it Is true, then General McClel-
Ian set himself up as superior to the rightful
authority of the government, and he has found
the penalty of disobedience much more easy
to bear than would private soldier who
should "dare delay" obedience to an order
from common sergeant. We repeat what we
said several days since, that never did any man
have more substantial reasons than General
Mcclellan, to put forth the prayer: "Deliver
me from my friendsw In closing we ask
Democratic editors to turn back to their old
iles, and see how they commented upon Gen.
SCOTS tart letters to Mr.. Secretary Marcy,
during the Mexican war; or, If they are not
disposed 10 trace the records so far back, let
them read what they said of the old hero's re-
N 0f 4be. ha raA