, 1863-04-16
CONDUCT OF THE WAR,
McClellan's Career Summed Up

lFrom the n. +. Independent, 11th nat.]
Commenting on the.rcvelations na6c b. the
Report Of the Committee on the Conduct Of
the War, the n. T. Independent. thus sums up
the part performed by Gen McClcllan:
We defy any one to read this Report with
out prejudice ona not realize that Mcclellan
has never desired the overthrow Of the Re-
btllion. That he hns throughout based his
estimates IT the Rebel torce III his front on
Information. Furnished him OF purpose BY tue
Rebel chiefs, is scarcely matter Of Inference.
Wien nobody clsc in the Army Of the Poto-
Hac believed that the Rebels had sixty-thous-
and Mcn in his trout throughout the winter Of
1sGl-1, he persisted in declaring their force
pearly or quite equal to his own, which ranged
from one hundred and fifty tn two hundred
thousand. When he was uSgcd, toward tic
close Of 1851, to detail four thousand
Hcn from his great army tu cooperate with
the ravy in clearing out rebel distractions TO
the navigation the POTOMAC result which
Wonld have immensely diminished the diff
Guilty and cost OF feeding his men and :ni1uals
through the ensuing winter-hc he7itated,
procrastinatcd, and finally refused outright.
alleging that it might "briug on Il general
engagement" The disaster 1t Balls Bluff
tue fai'ure to support Gen. Lander's opera.
tions westward Of Harper's Fcrr5-the per-
sfstent. obstinate inaction before Ccntreyille
and Manassas throughout t1mt Winter of
leart-sickness from Hope dtfcrrcd-the ad-
vance at last, after the rebels had unietly
evacuated their Winter quarters without loss
the sitting down to the work Of entrenching
ard mounting batteries before Yorktown
the struggling, headlcss advance thence to
Nilli;unsburg-th failure to mo1est the rebel
evacuation Of that post-the tortoise.]kc
approach to Richmond-theq quiet sitting down
agnin to dig and mine within sight Of that
ci'y-thc failure TO profit by the known
absence Of Stoncwall Jackson with a consid-
cradle force On his raid down the Shenandoah
Valley-the refusal to ofoliow up the advantage
gained by our troops in their second days
struggle at Fair Oaks or Seven PiDes-thc
holding inactive the bulk Of his army while
his right wing was crushed by overwhelming
numbers at Gaines Mill--thc resolution to
| retreat tlereupon to the bank of the James,
leaving his severely wounded to the mercy Of
| the enemy, and destroying or leaving to that
Iinds-thc failure to follow up tile victory
| snatchcd from adverse fortune by the rnlor Of
| his soldiers at Malvern 1lills-tie hurried
| retreat thence to Harrison's Landing, (whcre
| the Committee says the rebels might have
| destroyed his army before he took up
| the requisite positions and planted cannon to
| repel them, but fort he Intervention Of heavy
| rain)Hthe inc1cusablc delay in evacuating
| the Peninsula under pcrcMptory orders, and
| the obstinate tardincss with which reinforce
lncnts were sent to tile relief Of Gen. Pope's
! outnumberel and hard-prcssed forces-tEc
1ioHtCE5 Ill IEIlCh IuS E FETl}-lut
| cular march to get between the rebels and
| Pennsylvania, Instead Of interposiny between
| them and the Potomac, and compelling them
] to fight at = disadvantage of ground, where
defeat would have begu their ruin-the tat
| tack by driblets' at Antietaul, first on one
wing. then, after an interval, on the other,
allowing the rebels to meet each demonstr:l-
| ton with at least equal Numbers, which a
| ein,ultaneou. attack at NIL points would hare
| prccluded--the failure to order up Fitz John
| Pertcr's fresh and strong reserves ut the
critical moment-She refusal to renew the
| attack next day, permitting the rebels to steal
across the Potomac without los.-the obsti-
nate Incidence Of tile next SIX weeks, in def
| ance Of reiterated orders and e1treaties from
his superiore, IN defiance. too, Of the excel
| 1ence Of the roads, the geniality Of the wealth
/ er, the superiority Of his numbers, and The
d decisive blow should then be struck, and
| in yiew ct the fact that his position covered
Washington and threatened Richmond, bling
nearer to each than his antagonist, and with
less than all the rebel army opposing him =
this mono:ony OF hesitation, hanging back,
n'agnifyius the strength Of the rebels and
tlevising excuses for not .assaili1g then1-is
not adequately accounted for by constitution
al tip,Sdty, however excessive. It WAS the
consistent execution Of plan, whereof the
object MAS and is to exhaust the resources and
the energies Of the loyal millions, and impcl
! them to say, "This war is failure, let US
| stop it anyhow wH-an1 so throw themselves
into the arms Of the Democratic politicians
and enable them to make Il grand pro slavery
compromise with the rebels. Well does Lord
| Lyons report to his Government that the re-
| 1l.oFal Of Mcclellan from command Was re-
ccived BY the " CONSERVATIVE leaders, in this
city with con.tcrnatioa, rs fatal to their pur-
pose: and their schemes. Ills whole career
as commander justities the conviction tllat
ho was under the inspiration and guidance Of
ablcr and crattier men, who had resolved that
the wdr should not be prosecuted to the dis
| conltiture and overthrow Of the rebels, and
his campaigns and conflicts were shaped to
their ends. And this is why his removal from
command affords ground Of hope that the
blunders and failures Of the two past cam.
paigns in Virginia will he retrieved BY i third
aud that the next Fourth Of July may see the
national flag tloating proudly over the war
rtisnuS and slAYc. .ntns Of Richmond