"Little Mac" Attack: History vs. the Soldier's View

Among the condolences received by my Gr-gr-great grandmother on the death of her husband, John Owen Stearns, was a letter from Capt. Theodore Read, a staff officer serving with the Union Army of the Potomac.  The last three pages are preserved in our family archive, and describe the despair felt by the soldiers serving under General George Brinton McClellan when he was relieved of his command by Lincoln after failing to follow up on the northern success at Antietam.

I have often wondered at the disconnect between the deep affection the Army of the Potomac had for its ill-starred commander and the verdict of history.  His men by their own accounts adored him.  Lincoln was certain the soldier votes of McClellan's veterans would cost him re-election in 1864 when "Little Mac" ran on the Democratic ticket.  Yet armchair generals and Civil War buffs alike condemn McClellan as a failed and self-promoting army commander who may have been an efficient administrator but who consistently over-estimated his foes and was outgeneraled time and again on the Peninsula.

McClellan's own private letters to his wife, and public letters to his   commander in chief, betray arrogance, self importance, even venality in his character, but this is not the man his soldiers saw.  Despite the failure of the peninsula Campaign, McClellan's soldiers overwhelmingly reaffirmed their faith in their commander, so much so that when the rumor spread up the line of Union columns on the March to Gettysburg that McClellan had once again been recalled to lead them, they erupted in spontaneous cheers.

Soldiers may not be able to see battlefields as widely as their commanders, or with the long view and hindsight of historians, but they are not stupid.  Theodore Read, Capt. and A.A.G. on General Brooks staff, 6th Army Corps, spoke for many of his comrades when he wrote of the despondency they felt at McClellan's farewell in November, 1862:

"Symptoms of a conflict have been heard for several days in the roar of the Artillery of our advance guard reverberating through the mountains.  When the fury of the Storm will burst upon us God only knows.  A gloom has settled on every camp and sorrow is at the heart of every Officer and Soldier because of the loss of their beloved chieftain McClellan.  Never was man more loved than he.  His soldiery loved him almost to idolatry.  He was of strict integrity, pure of heart, a true patriot and an able general.  It is the feeling in the camp that a deep act of injustice has been done, purely from political motives, and there is a general indignation manifested.  The demonstrations of affection with which little "Mac" was received by his troops as he paid them a farewell visit it is beyond the power of pen to describe.  He is gone from us, but he has left a void.  An apathy is upon the army.  They care not to win laurels unless they can share them with the leader who has shared their dangers heretofore.  Yet I hope for the best and that no harm will result to the cause of our country from this act of the government."

History cannot dismiss out of hand the primary record of hundreds if not thousands of soldiers like Theodore Read who expressed similar devotion to McClellan despite the setbacks experienced by his army.  Compared to his subsequent successors, the hopelessly out of depth Burnside and paralytic Hooker, McClellan's qualities - ponderous, calculated, conservative - were those of an efficient engineer and administrator but not a nimble, offensive commander.  Nonetheless there were battlefield victories for the Union even as McClellan withdrew his army intact from the Peninsula. 

McClellan is a complex figure.  His tactics may have been unsuccessful, but the love of his troops is beyond question.  McClellan cared for his soldiers.  He may well have cared for them too much to risk the army he had built and use it for its full purpose.  Yet war aims in 1862 were evolving dramatically, and it is doubtful that the tactics of attrition employed by Grant in 1864 would have been politically possible in the Spring of the War when the North depended on an army of volunteers; there was no draft until 1863, and it was not yet a total war.  Had Lincoln been up for re-election in 1862, he would almost certainly have lost the soldier vote, but by 1864 the veterans knew that only a ruthlessly aggressive campaign against the South would bring the war to a close, and the majority voted for Lincoln.

Theodore Read continued to win promotions on General Brook's staff, rising to the rank of Colonel, and near the end of the war was brevetted a Brigadier General.  On April 6th, 1865, he lead a mixed command to destroy bridges over the Appomattox and was killed at High Bridge, Virginia.  He was the last Union general killed in the Civil War.

Comments

[Brian Downey]

Hi Tim,

I'm very glad to find your post. I appreciate non-standard viewpoints on McClellan. The usual stereotypes are almost overwhelming, but your Read letter offers something else ...

I don't see an email adress for you anywhere. Would you please contact me at your convenience, I'm hoping to learn more of that letter. I think it and Read are of further interest in their own right(s) ...

Thanks!
bdowney +at+ aotw +dot+ org

[GreenmanTim]

Thanks for the kinds words and for sharing your interest in what I wrote about McClellan and the Theodore Read letter. I was worried about spam so did not have an e-mail address on my site, but think I can now comfortably do so.

I have e-mailed you a complete transcript of the last three pages of the letter from Captain Theodore Read to (presumably) my Gr-gr-great Grandmother, and likely written in November 1862. I believe, but will have to confirm, that a collateral relation married his commander, General Brooks, which may have been the reason for Read's knowing my ancestor and writing to her. I was pleased and intrigued to find it among the papers in our rather substantial family archive when it came to me on the death of my great Aunt in 2003. This period in American history has been a passion of mine for close to 30 years (I'm 38). He is a fascinating character, as is McClellan, all the more so for the reason of his soldiers' love and history's condemnation that I cited in the post. I look forward to further discussion and thanks for writing!

[Michael C. Lucas]

I am researching Gen. Theodore Read, he was killed behind my property,could you send me a scan of his letters?

[GreenmanTim]

Michael, I'd be glad to do so. I have only one letter and it consists of just the final three pages. I'll send you the notes I've compiled about some of the references he makes as well. I'll scan it for you this weekend and forward via e-mail.

Best regards, GMT

[Michael C. Lucas]

Gen. Read was actually the 2nd to the last Union General killed during the war. Gen. Thomas Smyth was mortally wounded April 7TH between High Bridge and Farmville while Fighting Gen. John B. Gordons rearguard. Gen. Smyth died at Burkes Tavern April 9th the day of Lee's Surrender.