A Soldiers Letter
We have been favored by an old resident of Mabbettsville, in this county with the following interesting letter written to him by a nephew in the army, dated
Morris Island, S.C.
September 24, 1864
Dear Uncle:--Your good advice I will try and follow. I tell you, George B. McClellan is the only man, that can carry the old ship of State safely through; already we are drifting near the rock that will submerge the noble ship, and we need a man at the helm that will take her out into the broad ocean and guide her toward and into the port of Peace. I say there is too much negro about this matter; only look at the thousands of valuable lives that have been sacrificed for the black man, but my opinion is the South are not fighting for slavery now, but for their honor; but the present administration are continually harping on the negro. They say we are determined to break the bonds of every slave--or disunion. God forbid I should ever have those feelings. No, no. The Union must and shall be preserved. Let the negro go. The white man must rule and reign.
The noble and tried patriot today stands before the American people for the high position of President of these United States. His enemies will ask you what he has ever done to entitle him to occupy the presidential chair? He has done much. Why did he not do more? Simply because he was never supported by the Administration as he should have been; troops were withheld from him, when he called loudly for them. The great secret was, he was too popular with the people and soldier. The Republicans were afraid of him. But thank God he is as much beloved to-day as ever. The soldiers love him, and when their votes are counted you will find we will roll-up such a majority for General George B. McClellan that will astonish the country. He is our choice, and if you could have witnessed as I did the scene that transpired when he was relieved from command, it would have made your heart (though it were adament) melt to see the tears trickle down the cheek of the war worn veteran and the raw recruit when the news reached them, but I trust the day of deliverance is at hand.
Dear Uncle, though you may have never engaged in politics before in your life, I implore you to put your shoulder to the wheel, and every chance you have don't neglect the opportunity of urging the claim of Little Mac upon your friends. Please tell them to stand by him. I hope Old Duchess [county] will roll up a large majority for him. I must close as it is near 10 o'clock at night. Please write me a few lines.
Your nephew, Edwin A. Hoag.
Didn't quite work out that way. The soldier vote went about 2 to 1 for Abe.
“Simply because he was never supported by the Administration as he should have been; troops were withheld from him, when he called loudly for them.”
There is no doubt the troops loved “Old Mac,” but that doesn’t change the fact he was without a doubt one of the worst commanding generals who ever commanded an army. He was very good at organizing an army and getting it in shape to march, but when faced with the enemy he had, as Lincoln so aptly put it, “the slows.”
I don’t think you could find but a handful of Civil War historians who would ever argue that McClellan was at best a poor commander, at worst a commander who defied orders to promote his own ambitions.
One of the things that made the soldiers love Grant was that after the Wilderness Campaign they discovered themselves marching south instead of north. No more retreating after a battle to lick wounds and within a year the war was won.
In the end, McClellan’s true colors showed when he ran on a platform of negotiating with the South and was soundly defeated.