Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1863-01-20
The President to General Mcclellan,


The following lotteI from President Lincoln
to Gen. Mcclellan, has been made public
through the Mcdowell Court of LOO and is
an imperfect part Of the history Of the PENN
sular campaign
WAsnNGToN, April ., 1862.
10 Waj0r General Mcclellan
My DEAR SIR Your dispatches complaining
that YOU sro not properly sustained, while they
do not ol-nd ne pain me very much. BlenkeF
division was withdrawn before you lelt mere,
aud you know the pressure under when dlu
II, and, as thought, acqusced IN It, certainly
without reluctance After you lei. ascertnned
that less than 70 GOO unorganiaed men, With
ont field battery, were all you designed to be
left for the defense Of Washington aud Manas-
sas Junction. and part OF this even was 10 50 TO
Gen. Hooker old position. Gen. Bank 3 corps
once designed Tor Manassas } notion, was dlYi-
dod and ned up on the line OF the Winchester
and Strasburg, and could not leave IL without
again exposing tho upper Potomac and the Bal
timore aud O6io railroad. This presented, Or
would present when Mcdowell and Sumner
should BIO gone, groat temptation for the
enemy to turn back from the R4ppahanpocS
Iand sack Washington. Ny explicit directions
that Washington should, by theludgment Of all
the commanders OF corps, 80 ef, secure, had
been entirely neglected. 1t WAS precisely this
that drove me to det4in Mcdowell | do not
loroet that was satisfied with your arrange.
meuts to leave Banks at Manassas Junction.
But when that arrangement was broken up,
and nothing was substituted Tor iI, OF course |
was NOT "a tshe1 | Was constrained to sub
stitute something for it myself, And now
allow mo 90 ask you do youreally think eotld
permit the line from Richmond via. Manassas
junction to this city to be entirely open, except
resistance could be presented by less than 10000
nnortnnzed troops Tins IS question which
the country viii not allow nae to cyadc. Ihers
"a p carous mystery about tho number OF troop.
now with you.
teegrlphei YOU ON the 9Th, saying that you
had over 100 900 with you, had just obtain
oil from the Secretary OF War statement taken
Ias he said from your own returns, making 1875,
600 tlen with YOU and en- route to you. You
, now ssy you will have but So 600 when oil On
( rome u you shall have reached you. How car
, this discrepancy OF 5000 be accounted for
Asto Gen. Wooi'a command, understand tina
it is doing rrecisely what Ike number OF YOU
own would have to do # that command wa
away suppose tho whole force whlch hai
zone forward 70 you is with you by THIS time
, and If 49,, thiuE !. ie the precise umo for yo'
10 strike blow BY delay the enemy vii
e readily gain on you that s, be will gain taste
bv Qualifications and reniorcemenls than yot
cln by endorsements atoms And once NOR
> let mr. tell you it s indispensable to You the
Won strike blow. ! am p0wcr.ess to help
This you will do me the justice to remember
! always wished not gong down The bay il
search Of field, nstead OF lighting at or noa
. Manassas, as only shifting and net surmouuun
difficulty that We would end the came enem
g and the same or equal ntrenchments az eIthc
t place The country will not fail to note
t noting uow--that the present hesitation {
mo,o upon an intrenched enemy Is but the otor
OF Manassas repeated.
: beg to assure you that have never vritte
OF pJkou you 10 greater kindness % iec!io
d chan now nor with fuller purpose TO sastai
d, gov so Jar a3 no my most anxious Judgment
. consistently can. Butyou must act
8 You're, very truly,
u ABRAuAM LINCOLN.