McClellan Redux? The Often- Reported, Imminent Return of Little Mac GEORGE C. RABLE Only days after the disastrous Union defeat at the Battle of Freder- icksburg, General George B. McClellan was returned to command of the Army of the Potomac. There was cheering in the camps around Falmouth, Virginia, and soldiers eagerly reported sighting a familiar figure on horseback. Of course, they were mistaken and the reports of McClellan’s restoration to command proved false, but in this case surely the wish was father to the rumor.1 Ironically, ever since President Abraham Lincoln removed McClel- lan in early November 1862, the general’s political and military crit- ics had worried about reports of his imminent return. Although the Chicago Tribune had once trumpeted McClellan as the savior of the Union, that sentiment became, as the soldiers would have said, “all played out.” Or at least the editor hoped so, for the fear remained that the general’s still loyal and sizable following might be hell-bent on overturning the president’s decision, giving aid and comfort to the Confederates, or even sparking an army mutiny. Republican losses in the fall elections had only compounded these worries, as did reports of New York Democrats assiduously courting McClellan. For sure, with General Ambrose Burnside commanding the Army of the Potomac, by 1. Zerah Coston Monks to Hannah T. Rohrer, December 21, 1862, Monks-Rohrer Let- ters, Special Collections, Emory University; William Wirt Henry to Mary Jane Henry, December 19, 1862, William Wirt Henry Family Papers, Vermont Historical Society; James Jenkins Gillette to his mother, December 17, 1862, Gillette Papers, Library of Con- gress (hereinafter, LC); Baltimore American and Commercial Advertiser, December 19, 1862; Marsena Rudolph Patrick, Inside Lincoln’s Army: The Diary of Marsena Rudolph Patrick, Pro- vost Marshal General, Army of the Potomac, edited by David S. Sparks (New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1964), 193; Henry Welch to his father, December 21, 1862, Welch Letters, Special Collections, Hamilton College Library. The mere rumor of McClellan’s return seemed to inspire troops that had become despondent after Fredericksburg. Henry P. Goddard, The Good Fight That Didn’t End: Henry P. Goddard’s Accounts of Civil War and Peace, edited by Calvin Goddard Zion (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2008), 120. Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association, Vol. 38, No. 2, 2017 © 2017 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois George C. Rable 41 early December such fears had subsided. Senator Zachariah Chandler of Michigan crowed that a recent report from General-in- Chief Henry W. Halleck “has put the last clod of earth upon McClellan’s coffin.” Flattered by being styled the “McClellan killer,” Chandler sarcastically remarked, “Now I am only sorry the game is so small.”2 Yet even as Chandler was exulting in his supposed triumph, the Fred- ericksburg debacle rekindled talk of McClellan’s return. “I think I can see through the policy of some of the press who . are constantly speak- ing in such unqualified praise of McClellan,” one of Burnside’s staff officers had presciently remarked just as the Fredericksburg campaign was being launched. “Should any mishap take place in the Army of the Potomac, Burnside will get it right & left, let the reasons be what they may.” Indeed many soldiers, not to mention people back home, had not yet reconciled themselves to McClellan’s departure. Even before the Army of the Potomac had been withdrawn from Fredericksburg, newspapers railed against Lincoln’s great “blunder” in removing Little Mac. “Jeff Davis still laughs at the follies of our military directors,” the New York Herald insisted. A volunteer in the Army of the Potomac shifted the blame to the politicians: “I do wish our statesmen . would stop this infernal meddling with the war and leave everything to our beloved McClellan.” Little Mac got closer to Richmond than any of the other generals, a New York private commented sharply, adding, “Our greatest disasters occur when we try somebody else.”3 Deriding civilian authorities for hamstringing generals was hardly unusual; in both the North and the South, and regardless of party, ordi- nary citizens, newspaper editors, and of course politicians regularly complained about the president or the War Department interfering with or not properly supporting the supposedly brilliant operations of their favorite commanders. “The politicians have ruined the country,” a New York cavalryman wrote home, but “if Gen. McClellan could 2. Louisville Daily Journal, November 15, 1862; Chicago Tribune, November 19, 20, December 16, 1862; Boston Herald, December 18, 1862; Willet Raynor to Zachariah Chan- dler, December 4, 1862, Chandler to his wife, December 15, 1862, Chandler Papers, LC. One skeptic, however, doubted that reports, published correspondence, or any other kind of evidence could change the mind of McClellan’s most ardent admirers. John Chipman Gray and John Codman Ropes, War Letters, 1862–1865 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1927), 42–43. 3. Daniel Read Larned to “My Dear Henry,” Larned Papers, LC; New York Herald, December 17, 21, 1862; Albert B. Williams to his father, December 29, 1862, Williams Letters, Rhees Library, University of Rochester; Charles Brandegee, Charlie’s Civil War: A Private’s Trial by Fire in the 5th New York Volunteers—Duryée Zoaves and 146th New York Infantry, edited by Charles Brandegee Livingstone and Brian Pohanka (Gettysburg, Pa.: Thomas Publications, 1997), 130. 42 McClellan Redux? appear here today, with unrestricted authority—the air would be rent with shouting, the army doubled in strength.” Whether they were scheming politicians or ignorant civilians, the general’s enemies were clearly ruining the country. The word “blunder,” it seemed to many, best summed up Lincoln’s decision to shelve McClellan. Soldiers still talked of McClellan’s genius and his ability to match wits with Robert E. Lee, and even before news of the Fredericksburg defeat, speculation grew that just as in the aftermath of Second Bull Run, Lincoln would be forced once again to call on Little Mac to save the country.4 Put simply, there remained a deep well of affection for McClellan. As one Hoosier volunteer who had seen some of the worst of the fight- ing put it only days after the battle, the camp now rang with the cry, “McClellan is the man,” and soon the troops were reportedly singing, “McClellan is our leader, so march along.” Had he been in command, the army would have been on its way to Richmond or already seized the Rebel capital, other soldiers claimed. Some speculated that McClel- lan could have taken Mayre’s Heights without launching disastrous frontal assaults. Perhaps the Army of the Potomac was really just “Mac’s old army” in the words of a Massachusetts soldier. Critics who had scoffed at McClellan’s slow movements would now have to reckon with the Fredericksburg carnage.5 4. John H. Van Ingen to “My own dear Goodie,” December 15, 1862, Museum Quality Americana website, www.mqamericana.com; accessed 1/18/2009; R. S. Robertson to his parents, December 15, 1862, Robertson Papers, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park (hereinafter FSNMP); New York Herald, December 17, 1862; W. C. Barry to James Gordon Bennett, December 28, 1862, Bennett Papers, LC; Thomas H. Mann to “Friends of the Lyceum,” January 20 (?), 1863, Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection, Special Collections, John Hay Library, Brown University; Bell Irvin Wiley, The Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldiers of the Union (Indianapolis: Bobbs- Merrill, 1952), 281; Edward Hastings Ripley, Vermont General: The Unusual War Experiences of Edward Hastings Ripley, edited by Otto Eisenschiml (New York: Devin- Adair, 1960), 67. One thoughtful volunteer believed authorities in Washington were just too proud to admit that McClellan’s removal had been a mistake. Gray and Ropes, War Letters, 57. 5. William Withington to his sister Lucy, December 23, 1862, Withington Papers, Michi- gan Historical Collection, Bentley Library, University of Michigan; December 15, 1862, George Washington Lambert Diary, Indiana Historical Society; Frank A. Moore, ed., The Rebellion Record: A Diary of American Events, 12 vols. (New York: Arno Press, 1977), 6 (Documents): 96; Henry W. Beecham to his mother, December 19, 1862, Beecham Letters, Wisconsin Historical Society; Walter Phelps to his wife, December 27, 1862, Phelps Let- ters, FSNMP; Cyrus J. Hardaway to his mother, December 17, 1862, Hardaway Letters, FSNMP; Roland E. Bowen, From Ball’s Bluff to Gettysburg . and Beyond: The Civil War Letters of Private Roland E. Bowen, 15th Massachusetts Infantry, 1861–1864, edited by Gregory A. Coco (Gettysburg, Pa.: Thomas Publications, 1994), 142; Caleb H. Beal to his parents, December 23, 1862, Beal Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society; Gray and Ropes, War Letters, 61–62; James E. Decker to his sister, December 17, 1862, Decker Letters, FSNMP. George C. Rable 43 Unlike the hapless Burnside, McClellan had known when to fight and when not to fight. Significantly, given the general’s well-deserved reputation for caution, the emphasis was all too often on what McClel- lan would not have done. Commenting on the slaughter in front of the famous stone wall, some of the Fredericksburg wounded came right to the point: “McClellan would not have led us there—he knew better.” Survivors let their families know that their former commander would never have attacked such strong positions. Cursing Burnside and calling for McClellan’s return enlivened many a campfire con- versation. Even soldiers who did not entirely share such sentiments recognized that McClellan and his allies were riding high on a wave of despondency in the army and at home.6 Surely, there must be some place for a man of McClellan’s talents. Herman Haupt, who supervised the military railroads, advised Lin- coln to appoint a military council—including McClellan—to plan campaigns.