Maryland free press., 1862-11-14

crowd was assembled. anxiously lbquiring if there
was any confirmation of the news. Men were
gathered In all parts of the saloon comparing q
notes and epdeavoring to solve the riddle Thy the
General was removed. The partisans of the Gen.
.ral were very noisy in their den onst atoms of
approval of Mcclellan, and cheers frequently pro-
posed and given. -
Important Correspondence.
IFrou the Washington Chronicle
ThefOllow ing correspondence doubtless contains
some OF the reasons why the President has con
cdrred' With -hisniltsry advisers in making the
recent important change in the command oil the
army Of fhe Potomac:
HEADQUARTERS OF SHK Army,
Al. Washington, Oct. 2s, 1862.
Hon, e. N. Stanton, Secretary Of War;
Sir-In reply to the general jnterrogatoriss
cont. .lLed in your letter of yesterday, have to
report
Lat That rsquisitiobs for supplies to the army
under General Mcclellan made by his staff
officers the chiefs of bureaus here that is, for
auartermasters supplies by his chief quarter
master on the qusrterinhster general! for c"mmis-
ssry supplies, by his chief commis.ary general,
60. No such r. QUESTIONS have been, to my knowl
edge, made upon the Secretary Of War, and none
upon the gsneral-in chief
2d. On several occasions oonoral Mcclellan has
telsgrsphed to me that his my was defcisst in
certain SUPP lies. All these telrgrams were ,mme
dstely referred to the heads OF bureaus, with or
Gers to report. 1t wss ascertsined that, in every
instance, tho rtqSisitions bad bsen Immediately
filed. except one, where the qusrterinaster gensra
had been Obliged to s,nd frcm Phladslphia certain
a!ticles Of clething, tents, &C., not having full
hara haa nnth far
could ascertain, any neglect or delay in any de-
partnlent or bureau in issuing all oupplis asked
TOR by Gen. Mcclellan, or by the officers If his
staff. Delays have occasionally occurred in fer
wardipg supplies by rail, on 3 count Of the crow
ded condition Of the depotI, or of want OF cars;
but, whenever notified of this, agents have b. en-
sent out to remove the difficulty.
Under the excellent srperintendepss Of General
HAupt. think these delays have been less fire.
quent and OF shorter duration than is usual with
freight trains. An army of the size Of that under
General McClel an will frequen tly be-, for some
days, without the supplies sk.d for, on account
of neglect In making timely acquisitions, and un
avoiding delays in forwarding hem and in distrib-
stipt: them to the different brigadss and regi.
menH. From all tho Information can obtain l
am of opinion that the equisitions from that army
have been flled more promptly, and that the men,
a general rule, have been better supplied, than
our prmiss operating in tho West. The latter
have operated at much greater distances from
the sour css Of supply, and have had tar less faci
tiles for. traHsportstieR Ia fine, believe that
no armies 10 the world, while in campaign, have
bsen more promptly or better supplied than
ours.
81. Soon after the battle Of AnLietam General
Mcclellan was urged to give me information of his
intended movements, in order that il he moved
bGtween the enemy and Washington reinforce
msnts could be sent from this place. On the LIST
of October, finding that he proposed to operate
from Harper's Ferry, urged him to cross the
river at and give battle to the enemy, pointing
out TO bin the dirad~antaFes doiayins tili the
autumn rains bad swollen the Potomac and i'm
paired the roads On the 6.h Of October be was
peremptorily ordered to "cross the Potomac 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.
Attn. In my opinion there has been no such want
Of supplies in the army under General Mcclellan
as to prevent his compliance with the orders to
advance agsinst the enemy, Had he moved to the
south side of the Potomac he could have received
bis supplies almost readily as by remaining in
active on be north side.
s h. On the 7th of October, in a telegram in re-
gard to his intended movements, Gen. Mcclellan
stated that it would require at least three days to
supply the frst, hrth snd sixth corpsi that they
needed shoes and other Indispensable articles of
clothing, as we'll as aheter tents. No complaint
Was made that any requsitions bad not be filled,
ard it was inferred frem his language that he was
only waiting ior the distribution of his supplies.
0n the i1,h he telegrsped that portion of bis
supplies sebtby rail had bsen delayed. Asalready
stated, agents were Immediately sent from here to
investigate this compliant, and they reported that
every thing had gone forward. On th e same date
(the 1lth) be spoke of many of his horses being
broken down by fatigue. Un the 18th be com.
planned that the rate of supply vas only $3.50 tor-
ses per week for tho .r- army there and in front
Of Washington"
Immediately directed the quartermsster gen.
eral to inquire into this matter and report why r
larger supply was not furnished. General Meiss
reported on the 18th that the average issue of
horses TO G.n McCellan's army in the field and in
front of Washington for the previous siz weeks
had been ,450 per week, or s. T5l in all. In ad-
dition, that large numbers of mules had been sup.
piled, and that the number of animals with Gen.
McClel!an's army on the Upper Potomac was over
tbirty-one thousand. He also reported that he
was then sending to that army all the horses he
could procure.
0u the 18Th General Mcclellan stated, in regard
to General Melg's report that be had filed every
requisition tor shoes ard clothing: "Gen. Meigs
msy have ordered these articles to be forwaI ded,
but they have not reached our depots, and unless
greater tf1rt to insure prompt transmission is
made by the department OF which General Meigs
is the head, they might as we'll remain In New
York or Philadelphia, so far as this army is con.
cerned." Immediately called General Msig's
atteption to this apparent neglect of his depart
ment. On the 25th be reported, as the result of
his investigation, that 4s, 900 pairs OF boots and
shoes bad been received by the quartermaster of
Gen. MeClesn's army at Rsrper's Ferry Fred
erick and Hagerstown; that 20 900 pairs were at
Hsrpsr's Ferry depot on the 2lt; that 10000
more were on their wayj and l5, 900 more ordered.
Colonel Ingals, aid dscarnp and chief Quarter.
master to General Mcclellan, telegrspbed. on the
rs b: "The suffering for want of clothing 10 ex-