Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1862-11-14
IHPOhTANT STATEMENT FROM
GEN. uALLECh.
(0f5,i4l COrrespondenee.)
HEAI QUARTERS OF The ARNY.
w ..ur.cr-N a.. Is lSEo

" AeuANnAA-ss ". 49, 49,
To Hon. E. ". Stanton, Sc Of Wcr:
SIR; In reply to the general tat, rrog4t rie-
eontained in your lstt, of ,sie, day, l have %.
report
That reqqisitions fos =-pplies to the army
under Gen. cLlellan made b. bis staff m
Gers on the chief o. BUREAUS here ; that Il, fur
quartermasters' sup lies, oy hls chief quarter
slaster to the quirtsrHa-teE general Tor CON
MS AIRY supprs :, by his CO ei Goa nissary IN the
rom uissar, : uersi, &C. No sueh rcqaisiIIons
have been 10 my kuoSiedge made upon tie Sec
rotary OF War, anu none upon tie Geaera!-in-
CLiei.
p On several occasions Gen. Mcclellan tas
;elesfapaei 10 me that his army y deficient 10
certain supplies. All these kilograms we're i'm
msdiatcly referred to the heads II bureaus with
orders to report. Ii WAS asoeTtsintd that 10 eve
~ instance the acquisitions had been Immediately
filed, except one, wnere the qlartermas'or sener-
al bad been Obliged 10 send from PhilaaelphiA
certain articles Of clothing tents, Sc not having
a full supply here. There hss not been far
/ could ascertain, any neglect or delay in any
del artment or bureau. II issuiog all supplies
asked for by Gen. Mcclellan or ny the cfi,ers Of
his staff. Delays have occasionally occurred ia
forwarding supplies on account Of the crowded
condition Of the depois, or Of want Of care but
whenever notified Of this. agents have zen sent
10 remove the difficulty Unter the excel
lent superintendlncs OF Gen. Haupt, think these
d la aave been less frequent aad Of shorter T.
alton than Is usual with freight trains Az
IN, Of the size OF that under Gen. Mcclellan, will
frequently be for some days without tue supplies
asked for on account Of neglect in making timely
acquisitions and unavoidable delays 10 iorwar ing
them, and distributing them to tle dsfereat bril-
gade and regiments.
From all the information I can obtain / am Of
the opinion that tue acquisitions from that army
have been filled more promptly, and that the
men, as a general rule, have been better cup
piced than armies operating in the West. The
latter have operated at much greater distances
from the sources Of supply, and have had far less
facilities for ira lsportation, In tnc, / believe
no armies in the world, while in campaign, have
been mo-e promptly or better supplied than ours
soon after the battle Of Antietam, Gen. Nc
Clellan was urged TO give me information Of bis
intended movements, in order that IL be moved
between the enemy and Washington, re nforce-
meuts could be sent from this place. On the lst
Of October finding that he purposed 10 operate
from Harper's Ferry, urged him to cross the
river at once and give battle to the enemy point
ing out TO him the disadvantages Of delaying till
the autumn rains had swollen the Potomac and
impa red the roads. On the Ctr Of October be
was peremptorly ordered TO ''cIoss the Potomac
and give battle o. the enemy drive him south
our army MAST move nov while the roads are
good" IL will be Obse. we'd THAI three weeks have
elapsed since this order given.
Ia my opinion there has been no such want
Of supplies IL the army under Gen. Mcclellan %.
10 prevent his compliance With the orders TO ad-
vance against the Enemy. Had he moved 10 the
sOuh side OF the Potomac, lie could have recsived
bic supplies almost as readily As by remaining iu-
active on the north.
5. On toe 9Th Of October, in = telegram ia r.
gard 10 his intended movements General AeC.el-
stated that II would require least three DAYS
to supply tie frst. fb, AID sixth Cups that thew
n rid suo and i. a
clothing, Is well as shelter tents. Ne COMPLAINT
Vas made that any Tequistious bad been filled
and 1t Was inferred from hIs Language Tat be wac
only waiting isr to d. lS-t.O. Y. Jas supplies
On tue l2th he Photographed tnat a portion Of his
supplies sent by raIl had been delayed.
As already tstsd, agents wsre Immediately sent |
from mere u investigate thi' complaint, and they
reported hst everything had gins forward q I
the same date tine lltb) be spoke Of many Of 0.
ho-s-s oeing broken down b. fatigue. "a the . \ /
be complained that the rare Of supply was oli, /
lao horsts per ue.k Tor '-- entire srmy the.
and II 'front.' OF NAstin= ton l.. -a-diateiy di- /
Iecttd the qusrtermaster general TO ilquire into /
mis- matter. and report why larger supply wa.
not FURNISHED. Gen Meigs reported on the l4tb,
hat the average Issue Of horses TO Gen McC Ell |
ans army IN the field and in front Of Washing.
90 for the previous six weeks, lad been 459 /
per week, OF l54 IN all. In addition, that large
lumoers OF mu'es had been supplied, and that
n tie Upper Potomac vas over 81 1000 He.so
eported that he was then seudi-g 10 that aruly
u the horses he could procure.
On the 18Th, Gen u cCiellan stated, in regard to
lea Meigs' report that be had filled every requi
ltion Tor shoes and clothing "Gen Meixs nav
ave ordered these articles TO be forwarded but
hey have not reached our depOis; and unles,
reateT effort TO insure prompt transmission i.
aade by the department OF which Gen Meigs i.
lie head, tdey might as we'll remain 10 New York
= Phila elphia, so far as This army is eoucerned"
Immediately called Gen Meigs' a. tention TO this
pParent neglect of his department. On the 25th
e reported the result Of his Investigation that
) 1910 pairs Of boots and shoes bad been recsiyed
y the qaartermAster of Gen McClellan's army at
larptTs Ferry, Frederick and Hagerstown: that
J,OvO pairs were at Harper's Ferry depot on the
I-ti that $1,000 more we're on their way, and
o'OoO more ordered. Col Ingals, aid de camp.
II chief quartermaster to Gen Mcclellan, tsle-
aphed Oh the 25th: The suffering for W ant of
othing is exaggerated, 1 think, and certainly
ight have been avoided by timei acquisitions
regimental and brigade commanders" On the
IN, he telegrsphed TO the qusTtermsSter general
at the clothing was not stained ia cars at the
pots "sueh complaints are groundess. The
ls the clothing arrives and is issued. but more
sun wanted. L have ordered more than would
em necessary from any data furnished me, and 1 G
z TO remind you that you have always very I
ouptiy met my requisitions - far as clothing is
ncerned Our depot is not at fault 1t provides I
soon as due notice is given. | ioresee u, time
len an army Of over lot, 900 mea will not call q
clothing and other articles" 0
In regard to Gen McClellan's means Of promptIy D
the wants OF his army to ne or 10 !,
; proper bureaus Of the War Department, [ .
port that, in addition to the oriinaay m ,lls, be
s been in hourly Communication with Washing d
j BY telegraph.
Ii is due TO Gen. Meigs that should subi-it P
'eWlth copy IF q telegram received BY him 7
n u en-. Mcclellan. u
Very respectfully, y
Your cbvdient servant,
H.W. uALLECK,
General ill., hiei. -