The National tribune., 1905-12-14
GEORGE B. MCCLELLAN.

CONTINUED from page IL
not get there; that the country was in
tested with Confederates; that Mosby's
cavalry would "gobble" me up, and the
like. But I said l would take the
chances! And so. interrogating all
'contrabands" en- route, and scouting
through all the dangerous-looking
places. arrived at Centreville, safe and
sound; with only a handful of team
sters and camp followers! 1t is true,
this was two or three days afterward;
but the situation was still substan-
TALLY the same, as reported then and
there.
Pope Fought Calamity.
Pope certainly fought sturdily and
CALAMITY, and was loyal to the core.
But he was outnumbered at first; and
his support afterward came up by
piecemeal, and he was beaten In de-
tail, before he could get his incongru-
Gus commands to gether and weld them
into one. The verdict of history must
be, that neither FitZ John Porter nor
Franklin supported him cOrdially-re-
or unconsciously, because of Mcclellan.
Their kilograms and dispatches at that
time, as we'll as their actions (and in
actions), go to show this.
I have always thought that both por-
ter and Franklin, as we'll as McClel.
IAN, should have been severely dealt
with, because they then failed to do
their utmost" for the Union cause. For
a less offense England shot Admiral
Byng i'm 1857, and by that act did much
to make her navy the greatest sea
power of modern times. Porter, 1t is
true, was cOurt-martialed and dis
missed-and afterward restored. But
the Judgment of his most thoughtful
comrades was that he was dealt with
too leniently-many have always held
he ought to have been "shot to death
with musketry"-and they have regret
fully seen little since in his "newly-dis-
covered evidence" so called, to change
their opinions. So, McClellan's tele-
grams and letters to both Lincoln and
Stanton, from the Peninsula and after
ward, bordered on INSTRUMENTATION, not
to say mutiny; and how the President
and Secretary endured their disrespect,
not to say insolence. will astonish and
amaze our future historians
Nevertheless. Pope was defeated, and
now what was to be done? Poor
Kearny had fallen at Chantilly, the
idol of his division and the pride Of the
army. Had he lived doubtless he
would have succeeded Pope. But Burn
side was held inadequate, Hooker and
Meade had not yet approved them
selves; and SO, as a dernier resort,
Mcclellan was allowed to drift into the
command again. Then came Antie-
tam-only a drawn battle, when 1T
should have been great and complete
victory. By singular good luck Cor
kindly Providence), Lees plan OF
and had he moved with celebrity, Lee
army would have been struck while
badly scattered and beaten in detail
easily, if not overwhelmingly. But
Little Mac sauntered along up into
Maryland, at the rate of five or ten
1t ,11nr l,n
ought to have marched 90 or 80; and
when finally he struck the Confederates
they had pulled themselves together,
and just missed whipping him.
Nevertheless. Antietam was a victory.
after a sort-Lee yielding the field at
night and retiring into Virginia. Ii
served to rehabilitate Little Mac" and
kept him i'm command until his extra
ordinary delay afterward (when he
ought to have been whacking and ham
mering away at Lees retreating army
finally exhausted the patience of Presi-
dent Lincoln even, and RELOCATED our
young Napoleon" to the peaceful lines
of Trenton, n. j., whence, singularly,
he never emerged. In 1864 Grant, in
deed, thought somewhat of calling him
to command again; but it never ma
terialiZed.
Brave Man and a Christian.
And yet Gen. Mcclellan was a brave
man, a Christian gentleman, and an
American of fine parts in many ways.
myself have seen him calm and erect
and CHEEKY in exposed positions, amidst
a very storm of shot and shell, while
everybody else was seeking cover. Not
ably did this occur on the left at Fair
Oaks, Wednesday, June 20, 1852.
There was a reconnaissance in force
that day, chiefly by Hooker. to feel the
enemy and advance our picket line. 1t
u-a q
slight breeze among the trees. The
spectacle was magnificent, as Hooker
swept down across the fields, his line
half mile long. his colors streaming
in the breeze, his bayonets glittering In
the sunlight: but without a drumbeat
The movement cost us. first and last
about 800 men in killed and wounded
and resulted in nothing piece OF
useless slaughter-our line returning &c
where it started from. But in the
midst of our advance, Mcclellan and
his staff Gncluding the French Princes)
rode over from headquarters, to view
the affair from redoubt to the left OF
the Williamsburg Road-called re-
doubt No. 3. Here also were Cen
Heintzelman, and many staff officers OF
the Third Corps-myself included. The
Confederates, from a lookout station
OF some lofty tree saw this gathering
of officers at redoubt No. 3, and sooT
began paying their compliments to Us
in the shape of shot and shell. At frs
the shells fell short or passed over us
exploding harmlessly In the air, OF
went wide of the redoubt. But pres.
emily they got our range, and pretty
soon shell after shell came screaming
straight at the redoubt, and every of
ficer lodged or fell fiat or leaped dowr
into the ditch, except Mcclellan, who
sat erect on the parapet, smoking &
cigar and laughing heartily at our var.
fous misadventures. Fortunately the
shells burst without injuring anybody
but McClellan's conduct Throughout,
was fine. and nobody doubted his cour-
age afterward.
Popular and Accomplished.
Indeed, Mcclellan was popular with
the army, as a whole, down to the very
last. His manners were simple an(
unaffected. He was always in uniform
but readily approachable. His person
al life and character were beyond re
proach. He read Latin and Greek wei
and spoke both French and Spanish
like a native. He was a very connois
seur I'm art. He knew all West Poin
could teach him, and indeed was ar
adept In all branches of the military
profession, except the last and mos
important one of ALL and that is, how
to fight and conquer.
AS an organizer, and drillmaster, ant
oirii n not IL