The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1901-05-29
Recalling the Past.

Nothing, remarks the New York
Sun, conld Indicate more strikingly the
obliteration OF memories OF the civil
war and incidentally the rise Of new
generation whose knowledge of that
terrible struggle has been obtained
from histories only, than the casual
manner of the newspapers IN comment
ing on the death of Fitz John Porter.
In this connection the Sun reverts to
incidents in the political and military
history of those troublous times.
The army idolized Mcclellan. He
was, at the time of the Richmond cam
paign, the object of much adulation,
Notwithstanding his defeats and man
ifest shortcomings as a general in the
field. He was esteemed veritable
Napoleon by large part of his SOL
diers, as we'll as by civilians, and his
enforced retirement aroused fierce con-
troverses throughout the North. The
country was for time divided into
Mcclellan and anti-McClellau factions,
and the war of words between them
was often fercer than the fighting in
the field.
But when real generals, real COM
manders, arose in the persons of Grant,
Sherman, Sheridan, Thomas and
others, and victories were following,
the establishment came and the Nc
Clellan infatuation vanished. So great,
however, had been its power, 80 gener-
eral is prevalence, that "the Democratic
party, with faulty not extraordinary
in its history, nominated Mcclellan for
President in 1864, and while the war
was still raging it put him on platform
of disgraceful surrender 30 infamous
for q soldier that he felt compelled to
undertake to relieve himself OF its obi
um by saying in his letter of accep,-
ance: i could not look in the face of
my gallant comrades of the army and
navy who have survived so many
bloody battles and tell them that their
labors and the sacrifice of so many of
our slain and wounded brethren had
been in vain; that we had abandoned
that Union for which we had 80 often
periled our lives.'"
The misfortunes OF the Army Of tie
Potomac under the commanders who
Immediately followed Mcclellan -
Pope's defeat at Bull Run, Burnside's
December "mud campaign" and Hook
er's defeat at Charlottesville, in a
way, by those who did not discriminate
closely, were regarded as indications
of Mcclellan. Had Little Mack"
been in command this disaster or that
discontinue would have been avoided,
albeit the Army of the Potomac under
McClellan's command had suffered
continuous and disastro reverses and
had escaped humiliation only because
the Confederates had not improved
their opportunity.
But Sherman's capture of Allan
ia and the successes OF Sheridan in
the Shenandoah settled some things,
revived the faith of the North and re-
stored its reason. Mcclellan received
but 81 electoral votes to Lincoln's 2l2.
OF the times, some of its events and
incidents, the Sun makes this interest
ing review:
The Mcclellan episode of adulation
and superstitious veneration is over.
That the controversy is closed and for
gotten, save by gray-headed survivors
who took an active and heated part in
it has never been demonstrated 30 COM
pletely as now in the comments upon
the death of Fitz-John Porter, an
ADLER man and better general, who
should 60 down to lasting fame for his
Hill alone. On that historic field, when
Mcclellan, apparently, had given up
the day as hopeless and retired to a
gunboat on the James River, Porter
gathered an army seemingly democrat
lied in a seven days. retreat and made
dispositions 80 mastery that there re-
suited victory which saved the Union,
for it is not too much to say that de-
feat then would have meant ruin.
The wildness of the McClelland con-
trove1sy, we may add, was illustrated
by the hot and persistent denial by his
civilian champions of even the indis-
putable fact that Mcclellan, on July l,
1862, the day of the battle of Malvern
Hill, went aboard the gunboat Galena.
When asked as to the matter by the
committee on the conduct of the war,
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