The weekly Butte record. [volume] (Oroville [Calif.]) 1858-1864, 1862-09-20
Vindicatiou of Mcclellan.

Peninsula campaign, and IN answer to The
vulgar falsehoods promulgated IN the I. 5
( Senate by that drunken and radical Senator
/ from Michigan, Chandler This article Is too
long for our columns, but it fully bears out the
position assumed by the Journal several days
since that McClellan's management of the
Peninsula campaign stamped him as one Of the
greatest military captains of the age.
1t appears that McClellan's army moved
from Washington month before ii had been
properly supplied with articles for which it
depended upon the manufacturing capacity Of
the nation. When it moved. the army of the
Potomac was about 100000 strong, and all
under the command of Mcclellan Thirty
thousand men were left 10 guard Washington
Mcclellan advanced to Yorktown with the
main body, the plan of the campaign having
been previously agreed upon. This plan was
for Mcclellan TO advance on Yorktown with
this body of troops. The troops which were
to acknowledgements corps $4,000 strong.
reinforced il necessary, by 10000 from Sum
ner's corps)-wete to land above Old Point,
interpose between Richmond and the rebel
army at Yorktown, and so cut off the latter,
and shut them up in the Peninsula without the
possibility of escape. In pursuance of this
plan the army left Fortress Monroe for York
town.
The execution of the plan Of Mcclellan had
now been fully commenced, and it was too
late to revise it, Tile first action had been
fought, aud the main body of the army stood
ready and anxious to execute their part. Yet
that very evening, within an hour after the
last gun was fired, without previous notice
whatever, Gen. Mcclellan received by tele-
graph the astounding intelligence that Nc
Dowell's corps, nearly one-lhrd of his army
the troops on which the vital operation of the
campaign depended had been detached from
his army, and were no longer under his COM
mand The execution of his plans were thus
very effectually thwarted yet, as if still fur
Their 10 embarrass him, Gen. Wool, with his
command, including Fortress Monroe and the
country up to Hampton Creek, was also with
drawn from bis control
Here we may remark that previous to this
our army movements had been controlled by
one mind the rebels army was controlled by
their War Department As a consequence an
interrupted series of victories had been our lot
But now all was to be changed " War
Committee. composed of civilians and small
politicians, together with Secretary Stanton,
assumed control of our army, while the rebels
placed the control of their army under one
head. Federal reverses and rebel successes
followed)
But go on /: Mcclellan Immediately tele-
graphed for reinforcements, well knowing that
the force with him was not sufficient to take
Richmond. The rebels, taking advantage of
the delays caused by the mismanagement OF
our War Committee, massed all their troops
near Richmond, and fortified that city. Saws
the World:
About the same time, perhaps by the way
of filling Gen. McClellan's Geographic demands,
or perhaps further to secure Washington, or
ders were issued stopping recruiting and sug-
gestious were even made that part of the
army might be disbauded as unnecessary =
Senator Wilson has denied bis completely with
this scheme, but the Congressional Globe and
the kilograms at the time from our own report
err prove his denial falsehood"
Mcclellan struggled on toward Richmond.
Had Mcdowell cooperated with him, accord.
ing to the original plan, be could have captur-
ed all the rebel army on the Peninsula
In the mean time, all that could be done
was effected, and the brilliant affair of the
Hanover Court House, and the destruction of
the enemys communications on the Central
Railroad, was undertaken and effected by the
troops on the north of Chckahominy. led by
the gallant Gen. Fitzjohn Porter. This rem
dered an advance towards Washington, by the
way of Fredericksburg, impossible to the rebel
army, ard removed the last shadow of excuse
for still Withholding General McDowells army
from Gen. Mcclellan. 1t is said that bis ad-
vance guard was within 81 the sound of the
euemy's cannon at Hanover. Had he ad-
vanced or been under McClellan's orders, we
might possibly have entered Richmond then,
but special measures had been taken TO prevent
Mcdowell, under any circumstance, from being
subject to McClellan's orders-and still rein
forcements were withheld.
Now at last some attention was paid to
the telegraph dispatches, and General Woods
command was placed under McClellan's orders
1t furnished some 5000 men-not enough to
repair our losses at Fair Oaks. At later
period another of McDowell's divisions. that of
Mccall, numbering some 5000 or 10000 men
was sent; it scarcely made good the sacr-
fee of men in the swamps of the Chicka hom
ny Had these forces been sent in time, they
might have made the victory at Hanover de-
cisive, or enabled Us to follow up the success