The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1885-11-11

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U6eneral George B. Mcclellan Will always
be historic character, identified as is his
name with some of the principal events in
the most stupendous struggle OF modern
times The measure of his fame is, however,
TO be determined upon the pages OF i'm
partial history, yet to be written in time
remote from that Of the clash of military
criticism and the bitterness of partisan
ship which still renders a clarified judg-
ment of his career difficult and well
nigh impossible. By his admirers,
he istOnsidered the greatest military genius
ON the northern side. lacking only the men,
the resources, and the opportunities which
il is claimed were showered upon Grant and
conspired in the success he achieved. BY
his troops, Mcclellan was passionately loved,
and thousands of men, with supreme devo-
ton, would have followed him in forlorn
hope, which led through the heart of the
Confederacy in Its palmiest hour, or, had he
Il so wilied, to the Capital OF Washington, to
dispcIse the Congress at The point of the
| bdyOnst. He never 50 willed, and there is
| no reason TO doubt his essential patriotism,
although the most serious check to his per
Sonal ambition were inteTpoSed by the Fed
| eral administration ~ Y DEM
ocrat and Chronicle.
NEAT TRIBUTE.
The Cincinnati Commercial Gazette says:
at would be difficult question vet to saw
| what rank Mcclellan viii take among mill
| tary commanders. 1t is conceded that he
| excelled an organizer, but the time was
| when there was a tempest Of indignation, in
which nearly all men participated, because
| there was 50 much time spent in preparing
an army to invade Virginia. The cruel sto-
| ries of McClellan's treason and personal
! timidity have no support in serious history,
/ though good deal OF his correspondence is
| fantastic accusations as that ne was in secret
| correspondence with the Confederate mill
| taTy leaders, once largely circulated and be-
| lieTed, 1ind 10 longer any place. even in the
| gossip of the day. We believe 1T is not in
| the hearts of the American people to deal
| harshly With the memory of Little Mac or
| dole out scanty Justice TO him. He was one
| who served his country i'm dark days If he
| did not WELD the tiunderbolts that struck
down the rebellion, he forged them, and
they came from his hands with the temper
that made victory possible"
RENDERED VALUABLE SERVICE.
That General Mcclellan rendered most val
liable service to his country during the first
! year of the war is unquestionably true. 1t
was his gallantry that secured him a vote of
| thanks by Congress and led to his promotion
| TO the high position of General-in-C hief, a
| position in which he failed to satisfy the
| reasonable expectations of the country.
| What might have happened had he been
| continued longer in command belongs to
| the domain of speculation. What he did is
| known, and history will doubtless accord
| him full justice when time shall have sof
| tened the asperities engendered by the war.
| His death will be sincerely lamented by
| every American citizen, North and South
! PittsbuTg Commercial Gazette.
AN EXCELLENT ORGANIZER.
The political and military animosities
| once entertained toward General Mcclellan
| have well-nigh disappeared beneath the
| healing touch of lapsing years. His coun-
| trymen now perceive that il was quite as
much his misfortune as his fault to have
| failed as a commander in the war. He was
| great organizer-nOt a strategist or leader in
| the field. Had he been the chief of staff of
some such General as Grant, or Sherman. or
| Sheridan he would have won and retained
undying fame as a most successful soldier IN
a sphere of action peculiarly suited TO his
| qualitIes.-Troy IN. W Times.
! lie LABoRED UNDER DIFFICULTIES.
| 1t has always been patent that those who
| shared in the alleged mistrust of General
| McClellan's loyalty were either rascally par
tisan hypocrites or their dupes. Mcclellan
| was not treated by the administration as
magnanimously as General Grant, but t:is
| is to be attributed not TO any partisan pref
udices of Mr. Lincoln, perhaps, but TO the
| Vaccinations of others. who influenced him
| by Disgusting their motives and aims under
| various plausible pretexts--Louisville Cour-
| ier-JOurnal.
! 4 coon MAN. But No SOLDIER.
The Buffalo Express says: AS military
| student Met leilan was undoubtedly far SUI
| perior to Grant Few men of our day have,
| indeed, had a better theoretical knowledge
| OF the art of war in all its branches and de-
| tails than Mcclellan. If books could make
general. Mcclellan would have been great
| one. But nature had made him student
and an engineer not soldier. Nobody
| doubts that Mcclellan was a patriotic and
| conscientious man. lie was sadly mistaken,
| and very wrong-headed and strong-headed in
his errors. Promotion had turned his head.
| He was not content to be subordinate to that
| really great man, Abraham Lincoln.
The death of George b. Mcclellan removes
from lifes stage one of the greatest warriors
| of the century. He was patriot as well as
| a soldier, wise IN council and mastery in the
field. Among all other Federal commanders
| he stands out for those qualities OF the head
and heart which go to make the General
| which made him like Lee, his great antagO-
mist. The restored Union owes as much to
George h. Mcclellan as it owes to any one
| of the leaders who carried the old flag
through unto the end. His service found
scant thanks. Even when that service was
fresh in the memory of the republic, he was
| pusned aside for others. History, however,
will surely give him the credit that military
critics have already accorded to him. Tardy
Justice will be done to a commander who had
| not full Justice in his life.-St. Louis Repub-
lican.
| WHAT POsTERITY WILL no.
Posterity-whose justices, il slow, are sure
will give Mcclellan his due place
among the respectable but unlucky COM
manders whose fortunes were not common
surate with their merit. II will cleae his
figure from the confusing mists of extrava-
CANT detraction and unmeasured praise, do
justice to his motives, and record the purity