The National tribune., 1907-10-31

!. President came away with a very sa,
, heart, for the hopelessness OF McCiel
Ian doing anything with his army wa
even more apparent than when he ha(
so vainiy tried to get him to move upOI
Manassas and clear the blockade, of tn,
Potomac. Wherever Mcclellan hat
been he always wanted something more
before he could do anything, and tina
want supplied created another want
which paralyzed his initiative
I As the weeks passed with. the mortal.
lity increasing, McClellan's Generals be.
gan to murmur. They did not want tc
see their men wasted in 'idleness and
dying from sheer inaction IN those ma.
larious surroundings Unless the army
was going to do some; hing 1t Was far
better that it should be taken away to
some healthier location. This talk was
SO loud and constant that it must have
reached McClellaE's ears, but he gave
no sign of recognizing it.
| The Appointment of Gen. Pope.
| What gave deepest offense to Gen.
Mcclellan and the coterie which imme-
diately surrounded him was the ap-
pointment of Gen. Henry w. Halleck to
be Commander-in- Chief of the Armies
of the United States, and the selection
of his able lieutenant, John Pope, to
command /the armies in front of Wash
AH6toh. u his Couiu Hot Help DelnS tX-
ceedingly distasteful to Mcclellan and
his friends. The Armies of the West
had achieved some signal victories,
while the Army of the Potomac had
done nothing. The bringing East of
Halleck and Pope seemed like an open
declaration that the Western men were
superior to those of the East, and
aroused sectional animosity. Inasmuch
as Mcclellan had at one time been the
Commander-in-Chief, and had gathered
Immediately about him those whom he
presumed to be the flower of the army
1t was necessarily calling to have an
other coterie Superimposed upon them
1t would be expecting too much of hu-
man nature, and especially of the high
mettled men of the Army of the Poto-
mac, to imagine for moment that they
would not bitterly resent this change
Personal hard feeling and jealousy
made John Pope particularly unac-
ceptable to Mcclellan and those imme-
diately around him. Both men were
in the Engineer Corps, and hated each
other as only good Christians and broth
er officers can hate.
Secretary Stanton's brilliant scheme
to bag Stonewall Jackson in the Shen-
andoah Valley, failing because of his
inability to make Banks, Fremont and
Mcdowell cooperate according to his
plans, had convinced him that the man
agement of the campaign from his Of
flee in Washington was beyond his pow
ers, and he had therefore called to his
assistance Gen. Halleck who was then
wearing the laurels won for him by
Grant at Donelson and Pope at New
Madrid and Island No. 10. Jackson's
stealing away unobserved from Banks.
Mcdowell and Fremont completed the
Secretary's dissatisfaction with those
officers, and Gen. John Pope vas as
signed to the command &c me three
armies. Fremont, who had good rea-
son for disliking Pope, dating from the
Missouri days, refused to serve under
him, and his command was therefore
given to Gen. Sigel. "'
Gen. Pope found in the combined
forces about so, 900 men, stretched from
Fredericksburg to Winchester of whom
about 10000 were considered fit, for the
field. He was informed that his duty
should be to cover Washington and
Maryland and threaten Richmond from
the north, cooperating with Mcclellan
Pope was heartily in favor of this pro-
gram, and wrote to Mcclellan propos-
ing that an attack be made simulta-
neous with an aggressive movement by
Mcclellan on his front. Pope could not
in that direction with any safe
ty unless Mcclellan kept the enemy In
his front so busiIy engaged that they
could not detach against him. McClel-
lan's reply was vague and hopeless.
Pope. however, took measures to; carry
out his designs by closing Sigel and
Banks down upon Mcdowell, sending
Kings Division forward from Freder-
TO break up the Virginia Cen
trail Railroad, and pushing Banks out
from Culpepper Court House TO threat
en- Gordonsville.
Pepe's Offensive Order.
In the Old Army Gen. Pope had the
reputation of being one Of the most
tactless of men, and he sustained this
in his position as General He probably
intended, by his order upon assuming
to encourage and inspirit his
men, but the language Of the order was
SO unfortunate as to cast reflections
upon the Army Of the Potomac and its |
Mcclellan and his coterse
made the most Of this offensiveness to
Incite feeling against Pope. The order
read:
ITO the Officers and Soldiers Of the
Army of Virginia:
by special assignment OF the Presi- |
dent of the United States ] rave as
sumed command of this army / have
spent two weeks in learning your
your condition and your
wants; In preparing you for active op-
erations. and in placing you in posi-
ions from which you can act promptly !,
md to the purpose.
Il have come to you from the West, |
where we have always seen the backs |
)f our enemies-froIn an army whose |
business It has been to seek the adver- |
;ary and to beat him when found
whose policy has ben attack and not
In but one instance has the enemy |
been able to place our Western armies /
xl.f-