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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 5, 1962)
2 B MONDAY. NOVEMBER 6. 1962 MEDFORD MAIL' TRIBUNE. MEDFORD. OREGON THIS SWAS TEE CIVIL WAR Gen. McClellan Removed By MERTON T. AKERS UPI Correspondent The commander ol the Army ol the Potomac aat alone in his tent near Warrenton, Va., the night of Nov. 7, 1862, writing a letter to his wife. The time was near mid night. Outside an early snow storm blew through the camps of his Union army. "Suddenly some one knock ed on the tentpole, and upon my invitation to enter, there appeared Burnside and Buck ingham, both looking very solemn," Maj. Gen. George B. McClcllan wrote years later. "I received them kindly and commenced conversation upon general subjects in the most unconcerned manner possible. "After a few moments Buckingham said to Burnside: 'Well, general, I think we had better tell General McClellan the object of our visit.' "I very pleasantly said that T should be glad to learn it. Whereupon Buckingham handed me the two orders of which he was the bearer." Burnside Appointed One order removed McCbl lan from command of the Army of the Pw.omac. The other appointed Burnside in his place. "I saw them both es pecially Buckingham were watching me most intently while I opened and read the orders. I read the orders with a smile, immediately turned to Burnside, and said: " 'Well. Burnside, I turn the command over to you.' " With no more formality than that McClellan, one of the most controversial men of his lime, was removed, nev er lo serve in the Union army again. When Maj. Gen. Ambrose Everett Burnside and Brig. Gen. Catharinus Putnam Buckingham, a special duty officer in the War Depart ment, went back out in the snowstorm, McClellan alone again, turned to finish the letter to his wife. ". . . They have made a great mistake," he wrote. "Alas, for my poor coun try." Only 38 Words The published War Depart ment directive removing Me Clellan and directing him to go to Trenton, N. J., to await "further orders" which nev er came, contained only 118 words but behind it lay a massive controversy among his friends and enemies, with President Lincoln squarely in the middle. Actually McClellan had run out his military string ana Lincoln had little choice ex cept to remove him. He had spent more than seven months reorganizing the Army of the Potomac after the first battle of Bull Run (Manassas) without moving against the enemy hardly more than a long cannon shot away. He had vacillated be fore Yorktown, Va., at the start of the Peninsula cam paign. He had missed the op portunity of capturing Rich mond before the Confederate army was assembled. He had lost the Seven Day's battles but saved his army. He had dragged his feet sending troops lo Maj. Gen. John Pope at the second battle of Bull Run. He had missed a chance few generals ever get to crush Gen. Robert E. Lee's army at Antietam by not throwing in his fresh troops on the second day and not pur suing Lee promptly. He had dabbled in politics (he made no bones about being a Dem ocrat) and pointedly told Lin coln how lo run the war. Prodded for Action With almost infinite patience Lincoln had prodded McClel lan for action and hardly ev er succeeded. Now patience gave way to action as Mc Clellan's army had moved south so belatedly that Lee had interposed his forces be tween the Army of the Po tomac and Richmond. Men differed then as now as to the merits of McClellan's removal with the majority on Lincoln's side. Allan Nevins, one of the formosl Civil War historians, has written of McClellan: 6m Mid of course, he made them take them up again." Of that scene McClellan wrote to his wife: "I never before had to ex ercise so much self control." McClellan went to New Jersey by the way of Wash ington, leaving the capital without fanfare. Almost exactly a year be fore, he had bade goodby to Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott when the old general retired. Mc Clellan had written to his wife that night: ". . . It may be that at some distant day I, too, shall totter away from Washing ton, a worn out soldier . . . Should I ever become vain glorious and ambitious, re mind me of that spectacle. . ." Harper's weekly described Burnside, the new command er, as "a very handsome man. Tall and stout, with a flash ing eye and a sonorous voice. He looks the very beau ideal of a soldier." Headed Regimen! Burnside was 39 at the time. Born in a log cabin in Liberty, Ind., he learned to be a tailor early in life but his father managed an ap pointment to West Point for him where he studied with Mc Clcllan and Stonewall Jack son, among other Civil Wari figures. When war broke out he headed a Rhode Island regi ment and was among the first troops to arrive In Washing ton when the capital was cut off soon after Sumter. He had led a successful ex pedition against Roanoke Is land early in the war. By the time of Antietam he was a corps commander but McClel lan blamed him for being slow to attack that day and their close friendship was strained thereafter. Burnside, a distinctive man, has come down in history largely because of his mag nificent mutton chop whis kers, still called burnsides. Lincoln expected him to act where McClellan had delayed. Burnside would disastrous ly. MOVES UNDER POWER Barrow-in-Furness, England - WPD - Britain's first nuclear submarine, the Dreadnaught, moved for the first time Sun day under its own power on i short triy to a new berth with its auxiliary electric engine. Subscribers T'J report Improper or non delivery of the Mail Tribune rr. Medford. phone 772-6141; Ash land uall at '.224 Iowa St.. or uhnne 482-3602, Montague and Vreka, phone GLone 9-3171, be fore 6 45 p.m. dally and 10:30 a.m Sunday. It regular delivery arrives hort'.y after you call please notify office, thus eliminating special messenger service. REMOVED It was near midnight and snowing on Nov. 7, 1862, when "Little mac," Gen. George B. McCienan, received word at Warrenton, Va., that President Lincoln had removed him from command of the Army of the Potomac. McClcllan had run out his military string he would never serve as a Union commander again. Lincoln had little choice but to remove the controversial general. He had constantly prodded McClellan to move, but to no avail. McClellan, who had lost the Tidewater Peninsula, was endangering the entire Union effort with his vacillation, and Lincoln had to move. McClel lan is shown in a pen and ink sketch from the Library of Congress collection. (UPI) Effective, Responsible Leadership ED BRANCHFIELD rrn for State Y7 tentative "Vote for three, including me" Pd. Pol. Ad., Brinchficld for Stilt (top. Comm.. Sim Harbison, Chmn., 21 25 Orchard Homo Drivi. "Behind the mask of seem ing serenity and self-con fidence, however, lay a great deal of self - distrust; behind the apparent energy, dynam ism and boldness lay caution and timidity." Kenneth P. Williams, au thor of the five-volume "Lin coln Finds A General," said: "McClellan was not a real general. McClellan was not even a disciplined, truthful soldier. McClellan was mere ly an attractive but vain and unstable man, with consider able military knowledge, who sat on a horse well and want ed to be president." Gen. Jacob D. Cox, who served under McClcllan in West Virginia, said of him during that campaign: "There was the same over estimate of the enemy, the same tendancy to interpret unfavorablcy the sights and sounds in front, the same hes itancy to throw in his whole force . . ." Confederate General Lee: "He is an able general but a very cautious one." Bade Farewell On Nov. 10 McClellan bade an impressive farewell to his army. A private in the 1 lath Pennsylvania V o 1 u n teers wrote of the last review: ". . . As General McClellnn passed . . . whole regiments broke and flocked around him, and with tears and entreaties besought him not to leave them. . .Indeed, it was thought at one time there would be mutiny but by a word he calmed the tumult . . . (Thom as F.) Meagher's Irish brigade . . . cast their colors in the dust for him to ride over, but. Til 0 if .... .,' I I ' 1 ' I til Gold Hill Mrs. Vjrgtl (Fayetra) Gribble, Wilbur Martin. Eagle Point Wilfred E. Davies, Edward Chamberlain. Shady Cove Mn. Ed (Ima) Abernathy, Mrs, Ray (Marguerite) Pore. Ashland C. W. Timmons, W. H. Lewis. Butte Falls Elga Abbott, Ben Fulton. Central Point Scott Hamilton, Harry Musson. Rogue River Henry Corbin, Joe Deckelman. Medford George Watson, Roy Johnston. Valley View Mrs. Dee F. Newton. Phoenix Evan E. Raimussen. Trail Mrs. Lewis (Betty) Dusenbcrry. FOR YOUR FINE SUPPORT AND EFFORT! RALPH A. JAMES Democratic Candidate for COUNTY JUDGE Pd. Pol. Adv. by James for County Judge Comm., Geo. Loftin, chrm., Rr. 2, Central Point, Ore. " U.S. CONGRESSMAN The only man ever to be elected to serve two con secutive terms as Speaker of the House, Oregon legislature, Bob Duncan is ready to go to work for you in Washington as a vigorous, experienced and iair-minded representative. He has achieved national recognition, being one of only three state legislators in the nation to be appointed by the President to the Advisory Com mission on Intergovernmental Relations. A llyear-old practicing attorney. Bob Duncan ha varied and invaluable experience. He's worked with his hands In farming and mining, and served as a merchant seaman. He flew as a World War 11 pilot, and continues to serve in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He's a family man, with six children, and has lived in Medford for 11 years. He's the kind of man you'd bt proud to have as your representative in Congress. Pd. Adv.. 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