Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-05-20
General Pope in Command OF the
Army of Virginia.

From the Century War Series we
quote the following by General Pope,
prefacing his account of Second Bull
Run, in the January Century,: Early
in June, 1862. | was in command of the
army corps known as the Army of the
Mississippi, which formed the left wing
of the army engaged in operations
against Corinth, Miss, commanded by
General Halleck. A few days after Co
rinth was evacuated went to st. Louis
on short leave of absence from my
command, and while there | received a
telegram from Mr.. Stanton, secretary of
war, requesting me to come to Wash
ington Immediately. | at once COM
municated the fact to General Halleck
by telegraph and received reply from
him strongly Directing to my leaving
the army under his command. / quite
concurred with him both as to his OBJ
jections to my going to Washington for
public reasons and as to the unadvisa-
bility of such a step on personal consid-
erations. | was obliged, however, to
go, and | went accordingly, but with
great reluctance and against the urgent
protest of my friends in St Louis, and
subsequently of many friends in the
army of the west.
when 1 reached Washington, the
president was absent at West Point, but
| reported in person to Secretary Stan
ton, / had never seen him before, and
his peculiar appearance and manners
made a vivid impression on me. He
was short and stout His long beard,
which hung over his breast, was slightly
tinged with gray even at that time, and
he had the appearance of man who
had lost much sleep and was tired both
in body in mind Certainly, with his
large eyeglasses and rather disheveled
appearance, his presence was not inn
posing. Although he was very kind and
civil to me, his manner was abrupt and
his speech short and rather dictatorial.
He entered at once on the business in
hand, seemingly without the least idea
that any one should object to, or be re-
| luctant to agree to, his views and pur-
| poses He was surprised, and it seemed
to me not well pleased, that | did not
| assent to his plans with efftlsion; but
went on to unfold them in the seeming
certainty that they must be submitted to.
He informed me that the purpose was
to unite the armies under Mcdowell,
Fremont and Banks. all three of whom
were my seniors in rank, and to place
me in general command.
1T was natural not only that the
commanders of the three corps of the
army should be dissatisfied with an or
ganization in which they were subordi-
mated to their junior in rank, but al
most equally so that the subordinate
officers and the enlisted men of those
corps should have been i'll pleased at
the seeming affront to their own officers,
involved in calling an officer strange to
them and to the country in which they
were engaged, to supersede well-known
and trusted officers who had been with
them from the beginning, and whose
reputation was so closely identified with
their own.
How far this feeling prevailed among
them, and how it influenced their act
ions, if it did so at all. / am not able to
tell; but it is only proper for me to say
| (and it is a pleasure as well as duty to
say iD that Generals Mcdowell and
| Banks never exhibited to me the slight
est feeling on the subject either in their
conversation or acts. Indeed, think it
would be hard 10 find officers more faith
tul to their duty or more deeply interest
ed in the success of the army. To Gem
eral Mcdowell especially is due my graf
| itude for his zeal and fidelity in what
was and ought to have been considered a
common cause, the success of the Union
| arnly