The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1892-12-08

| SeAGI{StADt5HEN on was h ing ITO H..
'f0k1l5@5ttS Neither .a Of . the the, l. Union n na
er and the Capital and
Government were practically at his mercy.
| Dispatches from Alexandria" says Mr.. john
| son, gave the first startling intelligence that
Lees army was destroying everything between
| POpes army and Alexandria, and that no COM
munication could be had with Gen. Pope.
| Warnings came that the forts around Wash
ington should be garrisoned at once, and that
| Lee with 10000 men, was advancing on the
| forts near Arlington and the Chain Bridge for
the capture of Washington, while Gen. Hal
leck was looking for cavalry raid upon Wash
ington at night"
Mcclellan had reached Alexandria; the
Peninsular campaign had failed, and his army
was returning, and purposeless. He neither
announced his presence, nor was there any
notice taken of him. Commun ication was at
! last opened with him. in which Mr. Lincoln
manifested wish to get rid of the General
who manifested no disposition to aid Pope,
communication with whom had been cut off.
In fact, Mcclellan, in so many words, proposed
to let Pope "get out of the scrape 4" as best he
could. Lincoln advised him to confer with
Haleck for the relief of Pope, but he did moth.
ing. AS to the true state of the case with Pope
there was little known, only he had fought a
terrible BATTLE" When Pope was heard from
it was to communicate this fact. In that tele-
gram he gave this warning:
II should like to know whether you feel Sc
cure in Washington, should this army be de-
stroyed. / shall fight it as long as | can get
man to stand up to the work. You must judge
what is to be done, having in view the safety
of the Capital"
"This dipatcb," says Mr. Johnson, stunned
Mr.. Stanton and overwhelmed the President
with apprehensons for the worst. The battle
was over. the day was lost, and Lee was NOV
ing to cross the Potomac above Washington"
President Lincoln had already determined
to get rid Of Gen. Mcclellan, and on the morn
ing of Aug. 81, in Mr.. Stanton's room at the
War Department, he himself wrote the follow
ing protest, to be signed by his Cabinet:
The undersigned, who have been honored
with your selection as part of your confidential
advisers, deeply impressed with our great re-
spOnsibility i'll the present crisis, do but per-
form a painful duty in declaring to you our de-
liberate opinion that at this time it is not safe
to intrust to Maj. Gen. Mcclellan the command
of any army of the United States. And we hold
ourselves ready at any time to explain to you
in detail the reasons upon which this opinion
is founded
To the President"
All the members of the Cabinet but the Sec
retary of the Navy signed this paper. The full
extent Of Pope's disaster became known within
the next few hours. 1t was complete. and the
situation was appalling. The peril that men,
ing of the Cd of September the President, hav-
ing been fully advised of this, went to Gen.
McClelan's house (he then being in Washing
tom and put him in command of the defenses
of the Capital and of the troops then coming
into the city from his own and Pope's armies
In the meantime the protest and all that it
meant was on Mr.. Stan toms desk in the War
Department, never to be made public while the
actors were living
1t important, even perilous pass in
the history of the country. In regard to it
Mr.. Chase aud Mr.. Weles, members of the
Cabinet, wrote as follows:
"On August 30 myself and Mr.. Stanton pre-
pared and signed paper expressing our judg-
ment of Mcclellan On suggestion of Judge
Bates the remonstrance against Gen. Mcclellan,
which had been previously signed by Smith,
was modified. and having been further slightly
altered on my suggestion, was signed by Stan
ton Bates and myself and afterward by Smith.
Welles declined TO sign it on the ground that it
might seem unfrieudly to the President though
this was the exact reverse of its intent He said
he agreed in opinion and was willing to express
it personally. This determined us to await the
Cabinet meeting"
OF this protest Secretary Wel,es says:
"But Pope was defeated and the army sadly
demOralized, came retreating to the Potomac.
The War Department, especially Stanton and
Halleck, became greatly alarmed. On the Both
before the result had reached US, though most
damaging information in regard to Mcclellan,
who fingered at Alexandria, was current, the
Secretary of the Treasury Mr.. Chase, called
upon me with protest. signed by himself and
Stanton, denouncing the conduct of Gen. Me-
Clellan and demanding his immediate dismissal.
Two other members were ready to append their |
signatures after mine / declined to sign the
paper. which was in the handwriting of Mr.
Stanton; not that did not disapprove of the
course of the General, but because the combna
ti0n was improper and disrespectful to the
President. l had doubted the wisdom of re-
calling the Army Of the Potomac from Rich
mond, therein differing from Chase and STAN
ton. The object in bringing that army back to
Washington in order to start new march over
land and regain the abandoned position did
not understand unless it was to get rid of Gen.
Mcclellan. The President never knew of this
paper, but WAS not unaware of the popular feel |
ing against that officer, in which he sympa-
thiZed, and of the sentiments of the members
of the Cabinet, aggravated by the hostility and
strong, if not exaggerated, rumors sent out by
the Secretary of War. Both Stanton and Hal |
leck were, however, filed with apprehensiOns
beyond others, as the army of stragglers and
broken battalions ON the last of August and
first of September came rushing toward Wash
ington."
As to the memorable and stormy Cabinet
meeting of Sept. 2, Mr.. Chase asserts that Mr..
Stanton disav0wed responsibility for placing |
Mcclellan in command of the forces for the
defense of Washington. He declared that no |
one was now responsible for the defense of the |
Capital; that the order to Mcclellan was given |
direct by the President to Mcclellan, and that
Gen. Haleck considered himself relieved from
responsibility, although he acquiesced in the |
order; that Mcclellan could now shield him.
self should anything go wrong under Haleck,
while Halleck could and would disclaim all
responsibility for the order given. The Presi- |
dent thought Gen. Halleck as much responsible |
as before, and repeated that the whole scope of |
the order was simply to direct Mcclellan to put |
the troops into the Notifications and command |
them for the defense of Washington. Mr.. Chase |
said that he felt that giving command to him was |
equivalent to giving Washington to the rebels. |
This he said and more. The President said it dis |
tressed him exceedingly to find himself differ |
ing on such point from the Secretary of War |
and the Secretary of the Treasury; that he |
would gladly resign his place, but that he could |
not see who could do the work as we'll as Me- |
Clellan. He named Hooker, or Sumner, or |
Burnside, either of whom could do the work |
better"
The President said he felt that he must rely |
upon the Army of the Potomac and its former |