Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1912-02-02

IeI JUST dDull lDt "UtelnOuSt tildl
sent her scurrying out of range At
food tide on the 9th the Union flag
ship the Wabash, which bad been OF
too heavy draft to get over the bar
before, came in and joined the fleet,
and a consultation was called to pre-.
pare for battle. Thus matters stood
on the evening of the 5th.
Mcclellan General In Chief
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, ana 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 n tribute to Scott. There are
two or three significant passages in
McClellan's correspondence at this
time. On Oct. 81 he writes:
"'Onr George they have taken 1t into
their heads to call me- | ought to
take good care of these men, for be-
lieve they love me from the bottom of
their hearts; ! can see 1t in their faces
when l pass among them. / presume
the Scott war will eliminate this
week"
Finds ''The Army" Disorganized.
On Nov. 2 he has evidently begun to
feel out his new duties. for he writes:
81 find the army just about as much
disorganized as was the army of the
Potomac when / assumed command;
SfClytb Ut SlAeS ituO SGNeuS, lO
system, no order perfect chaos. i can
and will reduce 1t to order. I will
soon have it working smoothly"
That is a most remarkable letter to
be written by 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 | and little YOU" attitude that
sticks out all over it2 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- it out in short order.
The next letter sounds a humber
note.
Il have already been up once this
morning-that was at 4 o'clock, to es-
cort General Scott to the depot 1t
was pitch dark and pouring rain; but
with most of my staff and squadron
of cavalry ] 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 We're very peculiar. leaving
Washington and active life I can
easily understand them, and it may
be that at some distant day |, too.
shall totter away from Washington,
worn out soldier, with naught to do
but make my peace with God The
sight OF this morning was a lesson to
me which ] hope not soon to forget
i saw there the end Of a long, active
and ambitious life, the end Of the ca
reer OF the first soldier of his nation
and 1T was a 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 a note of prophecy here?
Mcclellan was 10 quit in 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 to
the administration was that involving
the command OF the western armies
There had long been complaint of Gen
eral Fremont, the charges against him
ranging all the way from inef1ciency
to extravaganza and lax financial man
agement. For one thing it was said
that he was inaccessible to those hav-
ing business with him and for another
that he overstepped his powers on sew
eral occasions. Pecuiation of some
of his under officers was also alleged.
The chief objection to him had been.
however, that he had not accomplished
anything and that he had failed to re-
enforce General Lyon at Wilson's
creek in August and Mulligan at Lex
ington in September, thus being indi-
rectly responsible for the disaster at
both places. Fremont was exceedingly
popular in the west and among the
more radical anti-sIavery men, and
trouble was threatened should he be
displaced. Nevertheless, the president
determined TO relieve him, and on
Nov. General David Hunter tempo
rarily took command OF the western
armies
There was no land fighting Of any
moment during the week ending Nov.
g. In western Virginia General Floyd
attempted bombardment of General
RosacranS, lines of communication hut