The Redwood gazette., 1911-11-14
Mcclellan General In Chief.

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While this thrilling action was going
forward at sea important changes were
being made in the command of the I'm
ion armies. On Oct. 81 General Win
field Scott. general in chief Of all the
armies of the United States. asked to
be retired because Of physical disabil
ity, and the next day General George
B. Mcclellan. builder and head of the
Army of the Potomac, was advanced
to the supreme command.
As the cOnqueror Of Mexico Scott
had made a worldwide reputation as
an able general. By his refusal to go
out of the Union with his native state
of Virginia he had endeared himself
to the north. He was now an old man.
however. unequal to the gigantic task
of leading the armies in what was to
prove the greatest war in history. At
this time Scott was few months past
seventy-fve. while Mcclellan was not
quite thirty Despite the friction
between the two and the things the
young general was saying Of the older
one In private letters, Mcclellan now
paid a tribute to Scott There are
two or three significant passages in
McClellan's correspondence at this
time. On Oct. 81 he writes:
".Our George they have taken it into
! their heads to call me- l ought to
take good care of these men, for be-
lieve they love me from the bottom Of
their hearts; can see it in their faces
when l pass among them. | presume
the Scott war will .culminate this
week."
Finds 'The Army Disorganized.
On Nov. he has evidently begun to
feel out his new duties. for he writes:
II find the army just about as much
disorganized as was the army Of the
Potomac when l assumed command;
everything at skies and sevens; no
system. no order. perfect chaos. l can
and will reduce it to order. l will
soon have it working smoothly
That is a most remarkable letter to
be written by a man who has just as
sumed chief command Of the forces Of
a great nation in the crucial hour of
its history. Can he not forget himself
even now? Can he not eliminate the
big l and little you" attitude that
sticks out all over it? Here the lead
ing military men of the nation had
been laboring for months and had sue
ceeded in evolving nothing but per
| feet chaos" Yet he alone will straight
en- 1t out in short order.
| The next letter sounds humber
note:
Il have already been up once this
morning was at O'clock, to es-
cort General Scott to the depot. It
was pitch dark and pouring rain; but
with most of my staff and squadron
of cavalry l saw the old man off. He
was very polite to me; sent various kind
messages to you and the baby; SO we
parted. The old man said his sensa-
tions were very peculiar. leaving
Washington and active life. can
easily understand them, and it may
be that at some distant day /, too.
shall totter away from Washington, a
worn out soldier, with naught to do
but make my peace with God The
sight of this morning was lesson to
me which l hope not soon to forget
l saw there the end of long, active
and ambitious life, the end Of the ca
reer OF the first soldier of his nation,
and 1t was feeble old man scarce
able to walk. hardly any one there to
see him off but his successor Should
ever become vainglorious and am
bilious. remind me Of that specta-
cle"
Was there note Of prophecy here? ?
Mcclellan was to quit in a manner
not entirely dissimilar. and the day
was not so distant" as he here pre-
diets.
The Removal Of Fremont.
/ A change even more troublesome te
the administration was that involving
/ H. un.~ 4 -