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This reasoning, which temporarily served a partisan purpose, will not affect the verdict of history.

General McClellan's plan to punish Lee was formed the instant he received the order disclosing the Confederate movements. At 6.20 p. m. on the 13th, after explaining in full the enemy's intentions, he instructed General Franklin:

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You will move at daybreak in the morning by Jefferson and Burkettsville upon the road to Rohrersville. I have reliable information that the mountain pass by this road is practicable for artillery and wagons. If this pass is not occupied by the enemy in force, seize it as soon as practicable and debouch upon Rohrersville in order to cut off the retreat of, or destroy, McLaws' command. * * Having gained the pass, your duty will be first to cut off, destroy, or capture McLaws' command and relieve Colonel Miles. My general idea is to cut the enemy in two and beat him in detail. I believe I have sufficiently explained my intentions. I ask of you, at this important moment, all your intellect and the utmost activity that a general can

exercise. a

The next day at 2 p. m., well knowing the value of time, he again sent orders to Franklin:

Mass your troops and carry Burkettsville at any cost.«

By a gallant assault on the afternoon of the 14th, Franklin carried Crampton's Pass, and, debouching from it and turning to the left, arrived within 3 miles of Maryland Heights only to learn the next morning that Harper's Ferry had surrendered. Cheated of its legitimate prey, the Army of the Potomac completed the passage of the South Mountain on the 15th, pushed forward to the Antietam on the 16th, and on the 17th, won the victory which ended the first Confederate invasion. Civil and military critics with full knowledge of the strength of both armies, have followed the luckless commander to the close of his last battle. With the benefit of their after knowledge, he doubtless might have now punished Lee's temerity and crushed the Rebellion at a single blow, but seeking information at the point of the bayonet is one thing, and looking for it on the shelves of a library is another. The principal criticisms were that he fought the battle in detail, and that the corps of Fitz John Porter, numbering 12,000 men, was not engaged. The first charge is true, but the fighting of battles in detail took place both in the East and in the West during the great campaigns of 1864, and has happened in nearly every war in history, being of all others the most frequent cause of defeat.

The successive attacks of Hooker, Mansfield, and Sumner were not, however, in accordance with plans or repeated instructions of the commander. Hooker engaged at daylight, Mansfield about 8 o'clock, and Sumner an hour later. The onset of these three corps nearly crushed the Confederate left, but at 10 a. m., the arrival of two divisions from their right saved it from total defeat. To prevent the possibility of such a transfer of troops from one point to another, General McClellan early in the morning, directed Burnside's corps on the extreme left to be held in readiness to assault the bridge in its front. At 8 a. m. he was ordered to carry the bridge and the heights beyond, and then attack the Confederate right in rear of Sharpsburg. In proportion as the fighting developed on the right, these orders to the Ninth Corps became more frequent and urgent. Nevertheless it was not till 1 p. m. that the bridge was carried, nor till 3 p. m. that the successful advance was made upon Sharpsburg.

@McClellan's Report, p. 192.

This inexcusable delay on the part of General Burnside" permitted two-thirds of the Confederate right to move to the support of its left, while late in the afternoon the arrival of a fresh division from Harper's Ferry, enabled the Confederates to attack the left flank of the Ninth Corps and drive it back to the Antietam.

From about 9 a. m., when the two divisions were withdrawn from the Confederate right, till the arrival of the troops from Harper's Ferry the only force confronting the Ninth Corps of 13,000 men was one Confederate division of 2,500.

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It has been said that General McClellan was too tender of his troops. The popular opinion of the time found expression in the President's request that the enemy should not be permitted to escape without being hurt. In the battle of Antietam the charge of timidity was unfounded. At 1 p. m., the moment the Ninth Corps carried the bridge, General McClellan rode to the point of woods in front of the Dunker Church. The Sixth Corps had arrived and was eager to attack. The gallant Sumner, a witness of the terrible slaughter of the morning, arrested the movement. Its general made an appeal to the commander of the army. The enemy, in the opposite woods, lay behind the ledges of rocks, which formed a natural fortification. But two divisions, the only fresh troops now across the Antietam, were available for an assault. Eight divisions had been placed hors de combat. The commander did not yet know that the bridge had been carried on the left. He could not, in the situation as then presented, refuse to heed the advice of his subordinates. A desperate move, a simultaneous attack on the right and left, might possibly have settled the fate of the Confederacy, but from making this attack he was dissuaded by the veteran Sumner. The hero exclaimed: "Among all the troops engaged there was no organization left."

It is true that the commander did not use the corps of Fitz John Porter, reported at about thirteen thousand men. A portion of it was

a General McClellan makes the following statement in his report of Burnside's inaction at Antietam:

"At 8 o'clock [September 17] an order was sent to him [General Burnside] by Lieutenant Wilson, Topographical Engineers, to carry the bridge. * * * After some time had elapsed, not hearing from him, I despatched an aid to ascertain what had been done. The aid returned with the information that but little progress had been made. I then sent him back with an order to General Burnside to assault the bridge at once and carry it at all hazards. The aid returned to me a second time with the report that the bridge was still in possession of the enemy, whereupon I directed Colonel Sacket, inspector-general, to deliver to General Burnside my positive order to push forward his troops without a moment's delay, and, if necessary, to carry the bridge at the point of the bayonet, and I ordered Colonel Sacket to remain with General Burnside and see that the order was executed promptly.

"After three hours' delay the bridge was carried at 1 o'clock. * * * A halt was then made by General Burnside's advance until 3 p. m., upon hearing which I ordered one of my aids, Colonel Key, to inform General Burnside that I desired him to push forward his troops with the utmost vigor and carry the enemy's position on the heights. * * *

"If this important movement had been consummated two hours earlier, a position would have been secured upon the heights, from which our batteries would have enfiladed the greater part of the enemy's line and turned their right flank.

'Our victory might then have been much more decisive."-EDITORS. "Swinton's History Army of the Potomac, p. 220.

c A conspicuous instance of successful attacks identical with Antietam, but in which the disadvantages were reversed, occured at Gettysburg. The failure of Lee's commanders to make simultaneous attacks on the 2d of July, permitted Meade to withdraw troops from the right to check the overwhelming forces of Longstreet.

employed to protect the batteries in the center; but had no part of it been engaged, this reserve would have constituted less than one-sixth of his army.

Another criticism was that the commander did not renew the battle on the 18th.a

Had the enemy made the attack on the 17th, his silence on the morning of the 18th would have been a confession of defeat, but as he had only fought on the defensive the first day, his presence on the morning of the second-if it meant anything, meant that he was ready to renew the fight on the same terms.

On the afternoon of the 18th, General Meade, commanding Hooker's corps, submitted a field return showing that its "present for duty " was 6,729; before beginning the battle it was reported at 14,856.

This loss in but one of the three corps engaged on the right, indicated the nature of the struggle on the 17th. Official reports afterwards showed that the killed and wounded numbered 11,426."

This loss in a single day exceeded by 1,809 the losses of the combined Armies of the Ohio and Tennessee in the two days' battle of Shiloh; exceeded the casualties at Fredericksburg by more than 1,000; equaled the four days' losses at Chancellorsville, and fell but 5,000 short of the total of casualties in the three days' battle at Gettysburg. In addition to caring for the wounded, replenishing ammunition, and expecting large reenforcements, General McClellan, too, has given other reasons for deferring the attack till daylight of the 19th:

At that moment Virginia lost, Washington menaced, Maryland invaded, the national cause could afford no risks of defeat. One battle lost and almost all would have been lost. Lee's army might then have marched as it pleased on Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, or New York.

As estimated by General Banks, from information collected from prisoners, deserters, and spies, the Confederate army at Antietam numbered 97,445 men. This fact is important, as showing how easy it is for commanders to be deceived, who are not even in the presence of the enemy.

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The Confederates claim that their force numbered but 40,000. The Union army in action numbered 87,164. Its total losses, including the missing, were 12,469. The Confederate losses were 3,500 killed, 16,399 wounded; total, 19,899. Their other losses during the cam

a However eager he might have been for another attack, this feeling was not shared by all of his subordinates. On the morning of the 18th, General Burnside asked him for a division to assist him in holding his position in case the enemy should attack. The division was sent from the Fifth Corps in reserve, was placed in position, when, without orders, the Ninth Corps was withdrawn across the Antietam. (McClellan's Report, p. 212.)

6 Medical History of the War, p. lxiv.

c McClellan's Report, p. 211.

d McClellan's Report, p. 214.

e General Lee states, in his report of the battle: "This great battle was fought by less than 40,000 men on our side.” (Frank Moore's Rebellion Record, vol. 19, pt. 1.) An estimate of the chief clerk, office of the adjutant-general, Army of Northern Virginia, made in 1865 from memory, gives the total effective strength of the Confederates at Antietam as 41,500. (Taylor's Four Years, p. 158.)

The field return of the Army of Northern Virginia for September 22, 1862, gives present for duty, 36,187. This return appears to exclude the cavalry and artillery, and of course does not include the losses at Sharpsburg. (Campaigns of the Civil War-Antietam to Fredericksburg. )—EDITORS.

ƒ McClellan's Report, p. 214.

g Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion, pt. 1, p. lviii.

paign were 6,000 prisoners (mostly stragglers), 13 guns, and 39 colors.a This loss was again offset by the almost treasonable surrender of Harper's Ferry, with its garrison of 12,000. The only part of the garrison which escaped capitulation was 2,000 cavalry, commanded by the loyal Mississippian, Col. Benjamin F. Davis, First U. S. Cavalry. Given permission to effect his escape, he crossed the bridge at 9 p. m. of the 14th, took the road up the left bank of the Potomac, passed through the region occupied by one-half of Lee's army, captured Longstreet's ammunition train of 50 or 60 wagons, and the next morning in safety reached Greencastle, Pa."

While General McClellan has been censured for not engaging the 13,000 men under the command of General Porter, justice requires that we should cast a glance at the situation around Washington. On the 10th of September, he telegraphed from Rockville that the ememy's force, as nearly as could be estimated, ranged from 80,000 to 150,000 men. September 11, he placed the estimate at 120,000, and recommended, at the risk of being considered slow and overcautious, "that every available man" be added to his army. The same day he again telegraphed

* * *

Please send forward all the troops you can spare from Washington, particularly Porter, Heintzelman, Sigel, and all the other old troops. General Banks reports 72,500 troops in and about Washington. «

Two hours later the President answered

This is explanatory. If Porter, Heintzelman, and Sigel were sent you, it would sweep everything from the other side of the river, because the new troops have been distributed among them. As I understand, Porter reports himself 21,000 strong, which can only be by the addition of new troops. He is ordered to-night to join you as quickly as possible. I am for sending you all that can be spared, and I hope others can follow Porter very soon.d

At 9 p. m., General Porter's corps alone, of all the troops designated, was ordered to join the army, which was now being urged forward to fight, as was believed, the decisive battle of the war.

It is well known among soldiers that confidence on the part of a commander is indispensable to success. This confidence must result either from superior numbers or discipline, both of which could have been secured to the Army of the Potomac. The commander, as on the Peninsula, sought to place the result of the battle beyond doubt, by asking that every available man be sent forward; yet, at the critical moment when he was censured for not employing his last reserve of 13,000 men, an army stood idle at Washington aggregating present for duty 71,210; present and absent, 107,839." Had 50,000 of these men been sent forward, the raw troops placed in reserve north of the Antietam, the old troops to have joined their veteran comrades in battle, it is fair to infer that little would have been heard of the Confederacy after the Maryland invasion.

a McClellan's Report, p. 212.

Greeley's American Conflict, vol. 2, p. 201. This gallant officer was subsequently killed at the head of his regiment, the Eighth New York Cavalry, while leading a charge at Brandy Station in 1863. McCrea, of North Carolina, killed at Valverde; Terrill, of Virginia, a brigadier-general, killed at Perryville; W. P. Saunders, of Mississippi, a brigadier-general, killed at Knoxville; and B. F..Davis, of Mississippi, a colonel, killed at the opening of the Gettysburg campaign, form a quartette who, no less than the heroic Thomas, deserve a monument to commemorate their loyalty and steadfast devotion to the Union.

c Report of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, vol. 1, p. 481. d Ibid., p. 492.

FINAL REMOVAL OF GENERAL MCCLELLAN FROM COMMAND.

The restoration of General McClellan to command gave him another opportunity to make himself the hero of the war.

He was no longer called upon to organize a mob, "cowering on the banks of the Potomac," but found himself, beloved by his troops, at the head of a large and well-disciplined army.

In the next three weeks he gained three victories and put an end to all fear of invasion. But unfortunately a spirit of inaction now came over him. The ravages of the battle had been great, and he needed time to repair them; his army had again to be supplied with shoes, ammunition, and clothing; horses, too, were needed for the artillery and cavalry; the old regiments, as a rule, were reduced to a skeleton. But while this was the condition of the Union army, the condition of the Confederates was worse.

On the 1st of October, the President visited and inspected the army, and on the 6th, General Halleck telegraphed as follows:

I am instructed to telegraph you as follows: The President directs that you cross the Potomac and give battle to the enemy, or drive him south. Your army must move now, while the roads are good. If you cross the river between the enemy and Washington, and cover the latter by your operations, you can be reenforced with 30,000 men. If you move up the valley of the Shenandoah, not more than 12,000 or 15,000 can be sent to you. The President advises the interior line between Washington and the enemy, but does not order it. He is very desirous that your army move as soon as possible. I am directed to add that the Secretary of War and the General in Chief fully concur with the President in these instructions."

* * *

No movement being made on account of a deficiency of supplies which it was supposed could be procured in a few days, the President on the 13th wrote:

You remember my speaking to you of what I called your overcautiousness. Are you not overcautious when you assume that you cannot do what the enemy is constantly doing? Should you not claim to be at least his equal in prowess and act upon the claim? As I understand, you telegraphed General Halleck that you cannot subsist your army at Winchester unless the railroad from Harper's Ferry to that point be put in working order. But the enemy does now subsist his army at Winchester, at a distance nearly twice as great from railroad transportation as you would have to do, without the railroad last named. He now wagons from Culpeper Court-House, which is just about twice as far as you would have to do from Harper's Ferry. He is certainly not more than half as well provided with wagons as you are. I certainly should be pleased for you to have the advantage of the railroad from Harper's Ferry to Winchester; but it wastes all the remainder of autumn to give it to you, and, in fact, ignores the question of time, which cannot and must not be ignored.

You

Again, one of the standard maxims of war, as you know, is "to operate upon the enemy's communications as much as possible without exposing your own. seem to act as if this applies against you, but cannot apply in your favor. Change positions with the enemy, and think you not he would break your communication with Richmond within the next twenty-four hours? You dread his going into Pennsylvania. But if he does so in full force, he gives up his communications to you absolutely, and you have nothing to do but to follow and ruin him; if he does so with less than full force, fall upon and beat what is left behind all the easier.

Exclusive of the water line, you are now nearer Richmond than the enemy is by the route that you can and he must take. Why can you not reach there before him, unless you admit that he is more than your equal on the march? His route is the arc of a circle, while yours is the chord. The roads are as good on yours as on his. You know I desired, but did not order, you to cross the Potomac below, instead of above, the Shenandoah and Blue Ridge. My idea was, that this would at once menace the enemy's communications, which I would seize if he would permit. If he should move northward, I would follow him closely, holding his communications. If he should prevent our seizing his communications, and move toward

a McClellan's Report, p. 219.

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