The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-04-18

1
vam ber, Just toasr soeeks from ne tjWse the Or
In the letter to the President, Of the 17th
OF October, Gen. Mcclellan writes: aolfzlaE
"Your Excellency may be assured that
viii not adopt . course which differs at all
from your views without first full xplain-
ing my reasons and giving you time to is
sue such instructions as may seem best to
yOu." 5I - gl.t-3 & bzsa aaa1sfIr
THE END OF MCMILLAN. -
General Mcclellan was removed from
the command of the Army of the Potomac,
in pursuance of the following order
s'HEAD-oUARTBRso OF THE ARMY, WASH
INGIoN, D. c., NOV. 5, 1S62.-GENERAL: On
| receipt of the order of the President, sent
herewith, you will Immediately turn over
your command to Major-Gen. Burnside,
and repair to Trenton, New Jersey, report
ing on your arrival at that place by tele-
graph for further orders. Very respectful
~, your obedient servant, E- eG &.
H. w. HALLECk, Gen-in- Chief.
MAJ. Gen. MCCLELLAN, Comd'g &c"
WAR DEPT ADJT-GENERAL's OFFICE,
WAsHIsaToN, Nov, 5, 1S62.-GENERAL
ORDERS, No. 1872: BY direction of the Pres
ident of the United States, it is ordered that
Major General Mcclellan be relieved from
| the command of the Army of the Potomac,
and that Maj. General Burnside take the
command of the army.
L 70
"E. D. TOWNSEND, Assist. Adjt. Gen -
CONCLUSION.
Your committee think it better to submit
the testimony which they have taken in re-
lation to the conduct of the war, without
criticism to any considerable extent Of mill
itary plans or movements, leaving each
reader to form his own conclusions from
the testimony, and such opinions of COM
petent military men as it may contain.
AS they look back over the struggle OF
the past two years they feel that although
we have not accomplished all that we hoped
and expected within the time, still the
great progress made gives us full assur-
| ance of final success.
When the Government took its first &C
tive steps toward resisting the Rebellion
the Rebels had been for more than five
months actively and openly making pre-
parations to resist its authority and defy
its jurisdiction. They had usurped the con-
troll of the machinery of one State govern
ment after another, and thus overawed the
loyal people of those States. They had
even SO far control Of the Federal Govern
ment itself as to make it moi. only acquiesce,
| for the time being, in measures for its own
destruction, but contribute to that end
They had seized and taken into their pos
session the arms and munitions of war of
the government. They had scattered and
demoralized the army and sent the navy to
1
| There was treason in the Executive man
sion, treason in the Cabinet, treason in the
Senate and the House of Representatives,
treason in the army and navy, treason in
every department., bureau and office con-
nected with the Government. When the
necessarily obliged to adopt its measures
with the greatest caution, scarcely know
ing friend from foe. An army and navy
had to be created. There was scarcely a
battalion of loyal national troops to pro-
tect the capital; and the first sense of secu-
rity felt in the capital was when the volun-
teer troops entered it,summoned from their
homes for its protection. At the same time
it was with great difficulty that the loyal
people could make themselves believe that
any serious resistance to the authority of
| the Government would be attempted
There were not wanting those who conf
IDENTIFY asserted that it was but an outburst
of disappointed partisan spirit, which they
predicted would yield to an exhibition of
force, and a determined and united spirit
on the part of the people of the loyal States
| to suppress it. Instead Of such an easy
suppression, we have spent two years, al
most, in warfare. We have thrown into
the field million ofmen. Wehave poured
out our resources like water, and we find
ourselves still engaged in the fearful strug-
gle.
| But the national cause is not the only one
for which false anticipations were formed
| for which the present condition of things
presents striking contrast with the early
visions of its supporters. Those who heard
in Congress and elsewhere, the extrava-
gances of the conspirators will know what
| were their hopes, what their expectations.
A speedy march upon the capital; a
speedy overthrow Of the legal Government;
| a speedy submission of a people too pusil-
luminous to maintain their rights; and a
speedy subsection of the whole country to
the assumptions of the South, were the
prominent features Of their delusion.
The conspirators taught their people to
| believe that if war came it would not be on
| their soil. AS yet, the hostile foot has
scarcely trod the soil of the free States, and
it is upon the soil Of the States in open re-
bellion that the contest has mainly been
| waged.
The Rebels found themselves, almost
without resistance, in possession of every
| fort and harbor on the sea-cost of the re-
| VOTED States, except Fort Pickens, Pensa-
cola harbor, and the isolated Notifications
and harbOrs of Tortugas and Key West
They were for the time being, masters of
the territory of the revolted States, Of the
depOts, arsenals and Notifications of the
Government, and had high hopes that all
the slaveholding Border States would soon
be united with them. The fact that so
many of these States held to-day theiatrue
and loyal position in the Government dem
onstrates that true patriotism and loyalty
is not confined to any section of the coun-
try, and gives full assurance that the Gov
eminent will be maintained, it's jurisdio-
ton over every foot of our territory estab-
lished, and our nationality vindicated.
The events Of the past two years are too
fresh in the memories of all to require re-
capitulation.
WHAT THE WAR HAS ACCOMPLISHED.
Your Committee will, however, briefly
call attention to the fact that, from the COM
mencement of active military and naval
operations in the Winter and Spring of
1862, almost uninterrupted success for eight
months attended all our operations, result
ing in vast conQueSts. The triumphs of the
navy at Hatteras, Port Royal and Fort
Henry, were followed by the victories and
conquests of the army at Mill Spring, Fort
Donelson and Roanoke Island. Missouri
was wrenched from the Rebel grasp, and
the Rebel armies driven into Arkansas,
where they were defeated in pitched bat
tie at Pea Ridge.
By the capture of Fort Donelson Kentuc-
Ky was permanently redeemed, the capital
OF one Of the largest revolted States seized.