The National tribune., 1894-09-06
hMtletam.

IUe Dabble, Which HU-
body could believe tC
be the end of it, occurred an incident which
even at this distance of time l narrate with
| some hesitation.
When it became evident that the attack
| on the rebel left had been repulsed, and that
the fighting in that part of the field was over
| for the time | rode back across the creek IN
| the direction of Gen. McClellan's Headquar-
tiers. 1t was expected he would order for
ward his reserves under Gen. Fitz-John
| Porter, but he did not Precious minutes and
| priceless hours ebhed away and nothing was
done. l was looking about for aremount, as
my horse had couple of bullets in him and
could not be depended on when an officer OF
| Gen. McClellan's staff whom l knew de-
tached himself from the group at a little dis
lance and came over to me. lie SAID:
Il hear you were with Hooker when he
was wounded?"
"Yesn
"Do you know whether he is disabled?' -
/ said that he had been hit hard, could
not sit his horse, and had been carried off on
| an ambulance; since then | had not seen
him.
DO you know where he is?"
eyes; at red farm-h house in an open
field on the right this side of the creek"
Will you take a message to him ?"
BY this time / began to think the interro-
gatOry both curious and serious, and l an
| swered:
THAT depends on what the message is
My friend and / were by ourselves, well
out of ear-shot of the staff, but within view,
and | saw that the taft or some of them were
watching what went OH. He came a little
closer, lowered his voice, and said
L = / II II
half fought and half Won. There is still time
to finish it. But Mcclellan will do no more.
What want you to do is to see Hooker, find
out whether he can mount his horse, and if
he can, ask him whether he will take COM
mand of this army and drive Lee into the
Potomac or force him to surrender"
1t was perhaps the most astounding re-
quest ever made by soldier to a civilian.
What he suggested was nothing less than an
act of mutiny in the face of the enemy, and
l told him so.
81 know that as we'll as you do" was the
answer. ave all know it, but we know also
that it is the only way to crush Lee and end
the rebellion and save the country"
pointed out that if Hooker were to be
approached OH such a subject, it ought to
be by him or by one Of his comrades in
the plot-for it was a plot-and that, if
they meant business, they ought to be
| ready to take the risk. | added that
thought it more than likely that Gen.
Rockers answer to such proposal would
be to order the man who made it, whoever
he was, under arrest.
at need not be proposal" he replied.
"All we want you to do is to sound Hooker
and let us know what his views are. The
rest we will do ourselves" | asked him if
he meant to give me a written message.
Certainly not. Such things are not put
into writing"
"But why should Hooker believe me,
or compromise himself in conversation
with man he never saw till this morn
ing?"
He said it was known I had acted as
Rockers Aid, and urged sundry other
reasons. / still declined, but he still
pressed it. Hooker, he declared, had won
the confidence OF the army, and Mcclellan
had lost it. It was no time to stand on
trifes. He regarded what he proposed to
me as patriotic duty, aad SO on.
Finally, as | persisted in refusing to be
the bearer of any such message he asked if
would see Hooker, and bring them word
whether he could, in any circumstances,
take the field again that day. To this l saw
no objection, and rode off.
/ found Gen. Hooker in bed, and in great
pain. He asked eagerly for news of the
battle. When | told him that the attack
on both wings had failed, that no movement
had been made for the last two hours and
that Gen Mcclellan seemed to have no in
tention of making any, he became angry and
excited, and used language of extreme plain
ness.
had noticed in the morning that he had
a very copious vocabulary. 1t was directed,
for the most part, against the enemy, whose
sharpshooters followed him all over the
field, in which his tall figure in full uni
form, and his white horse, were by far the
most conspicuous targets.
Once his staff got the benefit of this flow
of energetic speech, when two or three of
them joined in the suggestion that the
proper place for corps commander was not
in the skirmsh-line, and that he could not
prudently remain under SO hot a fire. Now
it was turned upon Mcclellan, with whose
excessive caution and systematic inertness
in the crisis of great battle he had no
patience. This Outburst gave me an OPP
portunity of putting the question l wanted
to, and | asked him whether his wound
would permit him TO mount his horse again
that day. He pointed TO his swollen and
bandaged foot.
mo; it is impossible"
"Or to take command of your corps again
in any way-in a carriage, if one could be
found ?"