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

-anuisitions for the army under Gen.
McCleilan have been made since you as
.umed command as General-in-Chief; and
whether any requisition for supplies ofany
lind has since that time been made upon
,ha Secretary of War, or communication
rsd with him except through your
AaSecond: If you as General-in- Chiefhaye
| .,len pains to ascertain the condition Of the
tSe army in respect to the supplies of shoes,
cciothing, arms, and other necessaries and
whether there has been any neglect or de-
lsr. by any Department or Bureau, in fill
;nathe acquisitions for supplies and " hat has
| loon and is the condition of that army as
Compared with other armies in respect to
sappIIiss1' = what dats .ftsr tho battle -
Antietam, the orders to advance against
tbe enemy were given to Gen. Mcclellan,
and how often they have been repeated?
..Fourth: Whether in your opinion there
has been any want in the army under Gen.
| Mcclellan of shoes, clothing, arms, or other
| equipments or supplies, that ought to have
prevented its advance against the enemy
when the order was given?
Fifth: How long was it after the orders
to advance were given to Gen Mcclellan be-
fore he informed you that any shoes or cloth
ing we're wanted in his army, and what are
his means of promptly communicating the
wants of the army to you, or to the proper
bureaus of the War Department?
EDWIN NJ. STANTON, ys-sis. II w
..- SECRETARY of War.
1Najor-Gen. HALLECK, General-in-C Chief"
"WAsH1NaToN, Oct. %, 1S62.-SI In
reply to the several interrogatories contain
ed in your letter of yesterday, have to re-
port: gs,ss - r.-.r
the army under Gen. Mcclellan are made
BY his staff officers on the chiefs of bureaus
here; that is, for Quartermaster's supplies
hiS( inf n,p, STOW c{ov n,,n
master General; for Commissary supplies
BY his Chief Commissary on the Commits
sary General, &c. No such acquisitions
have been, to my knowledge, made upon
the Secretary of War, and none upon the
Secretary of War, and none upon the Gen.
eral-in- Chief
Second: On several occasions Gen. Nc
Clellan has telegraphed to me that his army
was deficient in certain supplies. All these
kilograms were Immediately filled, except
one, where the Qurtermaster General had
been obliged tosend from Philadelphia GER
tain articles of clothing, tents, &c, not hav-
ing a full supply here.
''There has not been, so far as could as
certain, any neglect or delay in any de-
partment or bureau in issuing all supplies
asked for by Gen. Mcclellan, or by the Off
GERS of his staff. Delays have occasionally
occurred in forwarding supplies by rail, on
account of the crowded condition of the de-
W
titled of this, agents have been sent out to
remove the difficulty. Under the excellent
superintendent ofGen. Haupt, I think
these delays have been less frequent and of
shorter duration than is usual with freight
trains. Any army of the size of that of
days without the supplies asked for, on ac-
count of neglect in making timely reauisi-
tons, and unavoidable delays in forward
ing them, and in distributing them to the
different brigades and the regiments. From
all the information I can obtain am of
the opinion that the acquisitions from that
army have been filled more promptly, and
that the men, as "a general rule, have been
better supplied than our armies operating
in the West. The latter have operated at
much greater distances from the sources of
supply, and have had far less facilities for
transportation. In fine, believe that no
armies in the world, while in campaign,
have been more promptly or better suppl
ed than ours.
Third: Soon after the battle of Antietam
Gen. Mcclellan was urged to give me in
formation ofhis intended movements in or
der that, if he moved between the enemy
and Washington, reinforcenents could be
sent from this place. On the LIST of October.
finding that he proposed to operate from
Harper's Ferry, urged him to cross the
river at once and give battle to the enemy,
pointing out to him the disadvantage of de-
laying till the autumn rains had swollen
the Potomac and impaired the roads. On
the 9th OF October he was ito cross the Po-
tomac and give battle to the enemy, or
drive him South. Your army mast move
now while the roads are good" 1t will be
observed that three weeks have elapsed
since this order was given.
Fourth: In my opinion there has been
no such want of supplies in the army un-
der Gen. Mcclellan as to prevent his COM
pliance with the orders to advance against
the enemy. Had he moved to the south
side of the Potomac he could have received
his supplies almost as readily as, by re-
manning inactive, on the north side.
Fifth On the 7th of October, in tele-
gram in regard to his Intended movements,
Gen. Mcclellan stated that it would re-,
quire at least three days to supply the
First, Fifth and Sixth Corps; that they
needed shoes and other indispensable arti-
cles of clothing, as well as shelter tents
No complaint was made that any requisi-
tons had not been filled; and it was infer
waiting for the distribution of his supplies.
ION the 18th he telegraphed that por-
ton of his supplies, sent by rail, had been
delayed. AS already stated, agents were
Immediately sent from here to investigate
this complaint; and they reported that ev-
erything had gone forward. On the same
day (the 1lth) he spoke of many of his
horses having broken down by fatigue
On the 18th he complains that the rate Of
supply was only $50 horses per week for
the entire army, there and in front Of
Washington. Immediately directed the
Quarter Master General to inquire into
this matter, and to report why larger
number was not furnished. Gen. Meigs
reported on the 18th that the average issue
o. horses to Gen. McClellan's army, in the
neld and in front Of Washington, for the
previous SIX weeks, had been 1,45O per
week, or 1854 in all and that the number
OF animals with Gen. McClellan's army,
on the Upper Potomac, was over 81 ,OOO.-
He also reported that he was then sending
to the army all the horses he could pro-
cure. -
''On the 18th Gen. Mcclellan states in
regard to Gen. Meigs's report, that he had
filled every requsition for shoes and cloth
ing: Gen: Meigs may have ordered those
articles to be forwarded, but they have not
reached our depots; and unless greater Of.
fort to insure prompt transmission is made
by the department of which Gen. Maigs -
the head. they might as well remain in
New York or Philadelphia, so far rs this
Y