Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1863-01-17
THE MCDOWELL COURT MARTIAL.
Important Letter from the President
to Gen. Mcclellan.

WASHINGTON, Jan. l6.-In the Mcdowell
court of inquiry to-day, Gen. Ricketts, was
examined, testitying that the road by which
he was ordered to march by Gen. Mcdowell
on the morning of the 18th of August was so
obstructed by wagons in his front as greatly to
impede the progress Of his command.
Major Gen. Hitchcock was next called. He
testified at length relative to the force left for
the protection of Washington when Gen. Me
Clellan's army started for the peninsula In
the course of his testimony the following letter
from the president was laid before the court =
WASHINGTON, April 8, 1862.-To Maj. Gen.
Mcclellan ;-Hy Dear Sir-Your dispatches
complaining that you are not properly sua-
tanned, while they do not offend me, pain me
very much. Blenker's division was Withdrawn
before you left here, and you know the press
ure under which | did it, and, as | thought,
acquieSced IN it, certainly not without reluc-
lance.
After you left, l ascertained that less than
10000 unorganized men, without a field bat
terry, were all you designed to be left for the
defence of Washington and Manassas June
ton; and part of this force even was to go to
Gen. Hooker's old position. General Banks
corps, on0e designed for Manassas junction,
was divided and tied up on the line Of Win
chester and Strasburg, and could not leave it
without again exposing the upper Potomac
and the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. This
presented, or would present, when Mcdowell
and Sumner should be gone, great tempta-
ton for the enemy 10 turn back from the
Rappahannock and sack Washington.
My explicit directions that Washington
should, by the Judgment of all the command
ers of corps, be left entirely secure, had been
entirely neglected. twas precisely this that
drove me to detain Mcdowell | do not for
get that | was satisfied with your arrange
ments to leaye Banks at Manassas Junction;
but when that arrangement was broken up,
and nothing was substituted for it, of course
was not satisfied. was constrained to sub
stitute something for it, myself
And now allow me to ask you, do youreally
think could permit the line from Richmond
via Manassas junction to this city, to be en-
tirely open, except what resistance could be
presented by less than twenty thousand unor-
ganized troops? This is a question which the
country will not allow me to evade.
There is curious mystery about the num-
Der of troops now with you. | telegraphed
you on the 9th, saying that you had over one
hundred thousand with you. | had just OBJ
tanned from the secretary of war a statement
taken. as he Said from our own returns, max
sand then with you and en- route to you. You
now say you will have but eighty-tive thou
sand, when all en- route to you shall have
reached you. How can this discrepancy of
thirty-five thousand be accounted for? AS to
General Woors command, understand it is
doing precisely what a like number OF your
own men would haye-to do if that command
was away
suppose the whole force which has gone
forward to you is with you by this time, and if
so, think it is the precise time for you to
strike a blow. By delay the enemy will readl-
ly gain on you that is, he will gain faster by
Notifications and renforcements than you can
by reinforcements alone; and once more let
me tell you 1t is indispensable to you that you
strike blow. l am powerless to help. This
you will do me the justice to remember. [
always wished your not going down the bay in
search of field instead of fighting at or near
Manassas, and said that it was only shifting
and not surrounding difficulty; and that we
would find the same enemy and the same or
equal entertainments att either place. The
country will not fail to note that the present
hesitation toamove.upon an entrenching enc
my is but the story OF Manassas repeated.
beg to assure you that | have never writ
ten or spoken to you in greater kindness Of
feeling than now, nor with fuller purpose to
sustain you so far as in my most anxious judg-
ment consistently can. But you must act.
Yours very truly, A. LINCOLN.