Omaha daily bee., 1889-01-25
McClellan'S ProcraStination Or.

| NlCOlay ana Lay IN the feDuuary
| Century: With the exercise of very
| should have discovered from the tone
of this dispatch that the president S
| mood was taking on n certain tinge OF
| austerity. Nevertheless. he continued
| his preparations at perfect leisure, and
| four days afterward he sent a long let
| ter asking for definite instructions in
regard to details of guards to be left on
| the upper Potomac; to which he re-
ceived reply that "thc government
had intrusted him with defeating and
driving back the rebel army in his
'front.'" and directing him to use his
own discretion as to the matters in
question. AS General Mcclellan had
referred III his dispatch to the probable
march of Bragg's army eastward, Cen
eral Halleck concluded his answer with
the significant intimation: you are
within twenty miles of Lee, while
Bragg is distant about four hundred
miles"
He finally got his army across the Po-
tomac on the 1st of November. 1t had
begun crossing on the Goth of October,
and as the several detachments arrived
in Virginia they were slowly distrib-
uted on the eastern slope of the Blue
Ridge under the vigilant and now dis
VI uoulttl CyC VI ullc JiCSiuSup.
There is no doubt that the presi-
dents regard and confidence, which
had withstood so much from General
Mcclellan, was now giving way. The
president had resisted IN his behalf, for
more than year, the earnest and Bit
ter opposition of the most powerful and
trusted friends of the administration.
Mcclellan had hardly a supporter left
among the republican senators, and
few among the most prominent men,
bers of the majority in the house of
was the same unanimous hostil-
ity to the young general. In
the meeting Of the I'd OF September,
when the president announced that he
had placed Mcclellan in command of
the forces in Washington, he was met by
an outbreak of protest and criticism
from the leading members of the gov
erament which might well have shaken
the nerves of any ruley. But the pres
ident stood manfuliy by his action. He
admitted the infrmaties of Mcclellan,
his lack of energy and initiative; but
for this eXigency he considered him the
best man in the service ,and the country
must have the benefit of his talents,
although he had behaved badly. We
need not refer again to the magnanim-
ity with which the president had over
looked the insolent dispatches OF Gen
eral Mcclellan from Savage's Station
and Harrison Landing. He closed his
ears persistently duaing all the months
of the winter and spring TO the stories
which came to him from every quarter
in regard to the tone of factiOus hos
tility to himself which prevailed at Nc
Clellan's headquarters. But these
stories increased to such an extent dur
ing the summer and autumn that even
in his mind, so slow to believe evil,
they occasiOned some trouble. Soon
after the battle of Antietam an incident |
came to his hearing of whmh he felt
himself obliged to take notice, Major
john j. Key, brother to Colonel Thomas
Nj. Key, of McClellan's staff, was re-
ported to have said, in reply to the |
question, put by n brother officer, "Why |
was not the rebel army bagged immedi-
ately after the battle near Sharpsburg?"
"That is not the game. The object is
that neither army shall get much ad-
vantage of the other; that both shall be
kept in the field till they are exhausted,
when we will make q compromise and |
save slavery The president sent an
aide-dc camp to Major Key to inform
him of this grave charge, and TO invite |
him TO disprove it within twenty-four |
hours. A few minutes after this notice |
was sent, the majo appeared at the ex- |
ecutive mansion in comp1ny with Major |
Turner, the officer to whom the remark |
had beon made