The National tribune., 1885-11-05

of Rich Mountain, on July IL, 1861, and Car
rick's Ford, July IA, the rebel forces were ut
terly destroyed, the creation of the loyal State
of West Virginia was made possible, and Con-
gress rendered the thanks of the Nation to
Mcclellan.
His triumphs in the Virginia Mountains
were so nearly cOntemporaneous with the de-
feat of Mcdowell at Bull Run that President
Lincoln merely Obeyed the popular voice by
calling him to defend Washington and take
command of McDOwelPs beaten army. He was
at the Upper kanawha when the order reached
him, and on his way to Washington he passed
through Philadelphia, where his old townsmen
went into fever of enthusiasm over him. On
July % he took command at Washington, and
when General Scott retired in November he
was promoted to the command of the army.
The Philadelphia City Council presented him
with a costly sword, which he wore on most of
the ceremonious occasions afterward.
Gen. Mcclellan began operations with vigor,
by projecting Burnside's operations in Eastern
Virginia and North Carolina, Buell'5 move
mentS-on the lines of communication between
Tennessee and Virginia, Sherman's attack on
the defenses of Savannah and Charleston and
Buffers reduction of New Orleans and the OPEN
ing of the passes of the Mississippi. All these
movements were to be part of a comprehensive
plan whose central feature should be his own
advance on Richmond by the lower Rappahan-
by the President; the command of all the
armies was taken from him; the Army of the
Potomac alone was given in his charge, and
after the Winter of 1S61-tH was passed in in
action a council of corps commanders decided
upon the attack of Richmond by way of the
peninsula between the York and James
Rivers. Meanwhile Mcclellan had brought
the army into magnificent condition, and when
he laid it on April Z, 1862, before the Confeder-
ate Notifications at Yorktown it embraced,
according to his own report, $1,000 as good
troops as ever followed flag. He complained
that since his arrangements had been made for
the campaign $4,000 men had been taken from
his command. His special cause of complaint
was that Banks's command had been held in the
Shenandoah Valley and that McDowelPs Corps
was retained around Washington for the defense
of the Capital.
The hard fighting on the Peninsula began Or
May q with the battle of Hanover Courthouse,
which Mcclellan won, and on the 31st he re-
pulsed the enemy at Fair Oaks at terrible loss
to himself. Nearly a month was occupied in
crossing the Chickahominy in the midst of
continuous rains, during which time StOnewall
Jackson withdrew his forces from the Valley
and re-enforced Lee. The battles of Mechanics
vile, Gaines's Mill, Aliens Farm Savage Sta
ton, Glendale, and Malvern Hill marked the
trail of blood across the Peninsula Fighting
with courage and discipline never surpassed,
the average of the contest was yet against the
Army of the Potomac, and when it made its
decisive rally on July 1 at Malvern Hill, a
semi-circle like bent bow with its ends rest
ing on the James, it only repulsed the enemy
by the most heroic effort and by the aid of the
gunboats which, from the river, protected its
TANKS and enfiladed the rebel lines with storm
of shot and shell. The army retreated in safety
to Harrison's Landing.
The failure of the campaign had a most dis
rta g
and Gen. Mcclellan was subjected to the severest
criticism. His star was again in the ascendant
however, after the defeat of Pope at Second
Bull Run. Lee was again preparing for the in
vasion of Maryland. The army. the press and
the public called for the restoration of McClel-
Ian to command as the one man who could save
imperiled Washington. On the morning of
Sept 2, when Pope was in full retreat on Wash
ington, Mcclellan accepted his orders to meet the
army outside the Notifications and place himself
at its head. The next week occurred the race up
the Potomac, Lee on the south side, Mcclellan
on the north, which, with the interludes of
Miles's shameful surrender at HarPers Ferry
and the battles of Champions Gap and South
Mountain, ended at Antietam Oh Sept. II. Nc
Clellan was the victor in that bloody fight and
yet it is true that adverse circumstances fought
against him. Hooker would have crushed in
the rebel right if he had not been wounded
early in the day, and Burnside made the error
of waiting too long before making his attempt
to carry the bridge. But in spite of all this
McClellan's Over-caution prevented the crush
ing of Lee. He was fighting an offensive battle,
and he failed to drive his center on Lee
when the latter was weakest-that is to say, at
2 o'clock in the afternoon, when the Confed-
crate center was demoraliZed and wavering in
the town of Sharpsburg. But, at least, Mcclellan
had saved Washington, aud that was the last
achievement of his military career. He hung
on the north bank of the Potomac until Oct. 5,
when he was ordered to cross the river and
strike Lee. He demurred because of the dis
organization of his army, but, On the 25th, he
announced that he was ready to undertake the
task. There was more parleying between him
self and Halleck and the President. the upshot
of which was that, on Nov. Z, he was relieved
from command, Gen. Burnside superseding
him.
In 1864 Gen. Mcclellan was nominated for
the Presidency, with George I'll. Pendleton as
the candidate for Vice-President. on the famous
platform which declared the war failure. The
ticket received 81 of the electoral votes. Nc
Clellan resigned from the army on election day,
spent several years in Europe, and when he re-
turned took up his residence near Orange, n. j.,
and engaged in practice as an engineer. He
had charge of the Stevens floating battery and
was Superintendent of the Hudson River Rail-
road Bridge, near Poughkeepsie. For some
time he held the position of Superintendent of
Docks and Piers in New York. In 1877, after
he had made another trip to Europe and the
East, Gov. Robinson nominated him for Super
intendent of Public Works of New York, but
the State Senate rejected him. In 1877 he was
elected Governor of New Jersey on the Demo-
cratic ticket and has been in retirement since
the conclusion of his term.
Gen. Mcclellan married the daughter of Gen.
4. b. Marcy and leaves a son and daughter.
His home on Orange Mountain was beautiful
residence, adorned with many objects of art.
Lee IL Shepard, of Boston, have in press a
japanese story, entitled A Captive of Love- by
Edward Greey. author Of The Golden Lotus,
Young Americans in Japan, ETC., and one of the
translators of The Loyal Ronins.