Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1862-12-17
A Ohaplain'a Opinion Of General Mcclellan

WE have frequently quoted from the cor
.respondence of Rev. A. Il. Quiut, in the Con
gregationalist, as among the most interesting
records of the war. Mr.. Quint, who was the
able pastor Of the church at Jamaica Plain,
near Boston, enlisted, at the commencement
Of the war, as chaplain of the Second Massa-
chusetts regiment and has been a model
chaplain, faithfully discharging his duty as a
minister of Christ both to the living and to
dying men. In the last number ofthe Congre-
gationalis5 is a letter from him, dated near
Sharpsburg, Nov. 18th, in which he speaks
as follows of Gen. Mcclellan:
"The second is the removal of Gen. Nc
Clellan. OF course, the intimations that the
army would not fight under anybody else,
are perfectly foolish. Our men fight for their
country, not for man. 1 cannot answer for
any other corps than ours, but in ours, there
is a feeling of deep sadness at the loss of our
beloved, our trusted leader. have hardly
yet seen the man who does not mourn over
it, although ready to give his successor all
their help. Indeed, the new commander is
personally liked remember the cheers with
which he was greeted the morning after the
battle of South Mountain, and how the cheers
redoubled when Gen. Burnside, after entirely
passing the line, stopped to shake hands with
a wounded soldier hobbling along on crutch-
es. But we remember how Gen. Mcclellan
reinspired the shattered, respondent troops,
and by the magic of his name and presence
made the invincible army which, against su-
perior force q say what is true,) saved the
North at Antietam; who restored the way-
ering fight of the right wing whose falling
back witnessed; who infused life wherever
he went; who ordered an advance which he
stopped at the urgent request Of corps COM
manders; who would not throw his brave
men into hasty advance and winter cam
paign without suitable clothing. The soldiers
remember these things few hundred thous-
and men viii remember then in some future
exercise of their civil rights. But, in the
mean time, they viii follow the directions o.
their leader they viii give all their power:
to his successor; they will initiate the glori-
Gus patience, the heroic patriotism Of then
late General, who loves his country too well
to make his personal position any cause fol
weakening that country's power. Do I be-
lieYe in Mcclellan yetY' Most heartily I DO
He was virtually deprived of command be-
fore; necessity recalled him, to save the cause.
He is deprived of command again but the
end is not yet.
Holding such views ! have been grieved
in reading most virulent attacks on Gen. Nc
Clellan even in religious paper. His con-
duct is proper subject for fair criticism, such
as have seen in your own paper, while ]
disagree with your conclusions; but the bit
ter, malignant, personal attacks, such as
have read, against general actually in COM
mand, were certainly unsuited to the columns
of a religious paper. I have seen such reit-
Grated week after week. I have seen what
know, personally, to be actual falsehOods,
put forth in a spirit which should exclude
such paper from every Christian home
" Y ObseTver.