Coming or Going

"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

I Am More Than Satisfied With You

General McClellan’s Address to His Soldiers, July 19, 1861

Headquarters, Army of Occupation, Western Virginia, Beverly, Va.
July 19th, 1861.

Soldiers of the Army of the West: I am more than satisfied with you. You have annihilated two armies, commanded by educated and experienced soldiers, entrenched in mountain fastnesses, and fortified at their leisure. You have taken five guns, twelve colors, fifteen hundred stand of arms, one thousand prisoners, including more than forty officers. One of the second commanders of the rebels is a prisoner, the other lost his life on the field of battle. You have killed more than two hundred and fifty of the enemy, who has lost all his baggage and camp equipage.

All this has been accomplished with the loss of twenty brave men killed, and sixty wounded on your part. You have proved that Union men, fighting for the preservation of our Government, are more than a match for our misguided and erring brothers. More than this, you have shown mercy to the vanquished. You have made long and arduous marches, with insufficient food, frequently exposed to the inclemency of the weather. I have not hesitated to demand this of you, feeling that I could rely on your endurance, patriotism, and courage. In the future I may have still greater demands to make upon you—still greater sacrifices for you to offer. It shall be my care to provide for you to the extent of my ability; but I know now that by your valor and endurance, you will accomplish all that is asked. Soldiers—I have confidence in you, and I trust you have learned to confide in me. Remember that discipline and subordination are qualities of equal value with courage. I am proud to say that you have gained the highest reward that American troops can receive—the thanks of Congress, and the applause of your fellow citizens.

—Geo. B. McClellan, Major General.

I Have Pledged My Word To the People of Western Virginia

Today's entry comes from The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I Vol. II part I.

Yesterday (See June 24, "Rebels In Our Midst") I blogged a letter, a letter  from the people of western Virginia imploring the government to send help.  Help was indeed on the way already, and today's entry is General George McClellan's message to the Army of the West, going to the aid of western Virginia.

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE OHIO,
Grafton, Va., June 25, 1861.

To the Soldiers of the Army of the West:

You are here to support the Government of your country, and to protect the lives and liberties of your brethren, threatened by a rebellious and traitorous foe. No higher and nobler city could devolve upon you, and I expect you to bring to its performance the highest and noblest qualities of soldiers-discipline, courage, and mercy. . . . .

Bear in mind that you are in the country of friends, not of enemies; that you are here to protect, not to destroy. Take nothing, destroy nothing, unless you are ordered to do so by your general officers. Remember that I have pledged my word to the people of Western Virginia that their right in person and property shall be respected. I ask every one of you to make good this promise in its broadest sense. We come here to save, not to upturn. . .

Your enemies have violated every moral law; neither God nor man can sustain them. They have, without cause, rebelled against a mild and paternal Government; they have seized upon public and private property; they have outraged the persons of Northern men merely because they loved the Union; they have placed themselves beneath contempt, unless they can retrieve some honor on the field of battle. You will pursue a different course. You will be honest, brave, and merciful; you will respect the right of private opinion; you will punish no man for opinion's sake. Show to the wold that you differ from our enemies in the points of honor, honesty, and respect for private opinion, and that we inaugurate no reign of terror where we go. 

Soldiers! I have heard that there was danger here. I have come to place myself at your head and to share it with you. I fear now but one thing-that you will not find foemen worthy of your steel. I know that I can rely upon you.

GEO. B. McCLELLAN,

Major-General, Commanding.

Gen. Geo. B. McClellan, Library of Congress Collection, Brady-Handy Photograph Collection