"It has been definitely ascertained since my last dispatch that the enemy are not now in force in front and they they have retired," writes McClellan in the telegraph shown below.
Earlier that day October 12, 1861, McClellan received intelligence that a Confederate force was approaching the Union lines in Northern Virginia. It wasn't until later he learned that the intelligence was faulty, and that must have been when he wrote this telegram to Lincoln.
Incidentally, this was the same date that McClellan's daughter, Mary, was born.
 |
| From the Library of Congress Collection |
No comments:
Post a Comment