Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1863-01-29
Gen. McCIeIIan's Disobedience of Orders


The following letter from Major General Z
A. Hitchcock, Advising-GeneEal Of the War
Department to the Washington Chronicle, was
called out by an erroneous and inaccurate pub
lrcation of the testimony given by him before
the Mcdowell Court of Inquiry:
The N Y. Times, of yesterday, contains
what was designed 10 be received by the pub
lie as a report of my testimony before the Nc
Dowell Court, now in session in this city, but
it is so full of errors and inaccuracies oi all
sorts. misplacements of whole passages, and IN
one material particular directly reversing my
statement, that beg to request that you viii
afford space in your columns for an accurate
publication of that testimony, together with
the documents exhibited with it, which can
doubtless be had at the Court room.
If nv testimoney was worth publishing at
all il ought to have been published as gave
if. II was the duty of the Court to determine
the questions should be called upon TO an
swer. and mine only to state the truth as sworn
10. The Court asked my opinion touching the
responsibilities in case of a disobedieace OF Or
ders by Gen. Mcclellan, in not leaving for the
security of Washington force designated by
the four commanders of the four army corps
COMPRISING the army of the Potomac.
In answering this question, placed the re-
sponsibility where military law and army rs
ace has always placed it-with the officer W o,
as was assumed In the question, had disobeyed
the order-to wit, with Gen. Mcclellan, and
moi with the President, who, In making good
his original order, by the detention Of a part
of McDowelr's corps IN front OF Washington,
merely took a necessary step to repair ms
chief committed by Gen. Mcclellan himself In
mol attendng 10 the order of the 9Th OF March,
which was resteratei through the Secretary OF
War on the 18th Of the same month.
In the Times report of my testimony, this
portion of il is invertei, and am put forward
i am bound to suppose hy accldent-as
piacing the responsibility with The President,
and not with Gen. Mcclellan.
Nv opinion was, and so stated at the Courf,
that Gen Mcclellan. in disobeying ihe proers
of the President took upon himself the re-
snonsibility of ali the consequences that might
saIlow sucb disobedience. This is PLAIN mil
itarv. principle, which every soldier UNDER
stands.
will add her that Gen. McClellan's prop
ar course. under the orde:s Of the President,
was first to obey the orders punctuaiiy and
nrecisely, and hen 10 consider whether he had
sufficient force lefi for The execution OF his plan
OF going 10 Richmond VIA iorkto"n ana me
Peninsula. If not, he should have reported
to the President before starting on ms expedi-
tion. II. in that case, the President bad re-
ouirei him TO proceed TO the execution OF his
pIans. all the world would have placei tie e.
sponsibility at the door Of the President. Zen.
Nc lelan did not do this. .
He commenced the expedition neglecting"
the point 50 ''explicltly" ordered by the Presi-
dent. and put large part Of his force in mo-
ton for the Isthmus before the President kn.w W
of that aneglect." and thus lock npop n's'
the entire responsibility for all that .oliove
brilliant success has often projected o.
ficer from the penalty affixed BY iaw-see ias
9th Article of War-to 10 d.sobedenee Of orders;
but it will be new feature in military hist'rv
when failure, resulting from departure &
plans and orders, shall be visited upon the SUI
perior, whose plan was not followed and wh-Ss
orders were " neglected"