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This order was inclosed :
“ Wae Department, Adjutant-General’s Office,Washington , November 5th, 1862.
“General Orders, No. 182: By direction of thePresident of tile United States, it is ordered that Major-General McClellan ho relieved from the command of theArmy of the Potomac, and that Major-General Burnsidetake the command of that army.
“ By order of the Secretary of War:
“E. D. Townsend,
“ Assistant Adjutant-General.”
If we except Halleck’s report of October 28th,obviously called for and furnished as a record,and containing nothing new, no cause or reasonwas ever made public either officially or in anyone of the many informal modes in which officialaction so often finds it convenient to let itself beknown until the appearance in “ The Century ”magazine for February, 1889, in which Messrs.Hay and Nicolay make it clear that the Presidenthad some time before made up his mind to removeMcClellan “if he should permit Lee to cross ttieBlue Ridge and place himself between Richmondand the Army of the Potomac.”
General C. P. Buckingham, the confidential assist-ant adjutant-general of the Secretary of War, borethese orders from Washington by a special train.He arrived atRectortown in a blinding snow-storm.First calling upon Burnside to deliver to him acounterpart of the order, late on the night of No-vember 7th these two officers proceeded togetherto General McClellan’s tent. McClellan says: ■&
“ I at once [when he heard of Buckingham’s arrival]suspected that he brought the order relieving me fromcommand, but kept my own counsel. Late at night rwas sitting alone in my tent, writing to my wife. Allthe staff were asleep. Suddenly some one knockedupon the tent-pole, and upon my invitation to enterthere appeared Burnside and Buckingham, both look-ing very solemn. I received them kindly and com-menced conversation upon general subjects in the mostunconcerned manner possible. After a few momentsBuckingham said to Burnside: ‘ Well, General, I think
•fa “McClellan’s Own Story,” pp. 652, 653.
I General Buckingham, in a letter printed in the“ Chicago Tribune,” of September 4th, 1875 (quoted in the“ History of the Civil War in America,” by the Comte doParis , Vol. II., p. 555), writes substantially to the sameeffect. lie also states that General Burnside at firstdeclined the command (as there is good reason for believ-ing lie had done twice before, namely, in August, andagain early in September). He adds: “ General Mc-Clellan has himself borne testimony to the kind mannerin which I communicated the order, and I can beartestimony to his prompt and cheerful obedience toit.”— K. B. I.
History of the Second Army Corps,” by GeneralFrancis A. Walker , p. 137.
From “McClellan’s Last Service to the Republic,” byGeorge Ticknor Curtis (N. Y. : D. Appleton & Co.), pp.81-83, we take the following description of McClellan 'sfarewell to the Army of the Potomac :
“ Alter he had reached Warrenton, a day was spent inviewing the position of the troops and in conferences withGeneral Burnside respecting future operations. In thecourse of that day the order was published, and GeneralMcClellan issued a farewell address to tho army. On theevening of .Sunday, the 9th, there was an assembly of nillcerswho came to take leave of him. On the 10th 1m visited someof the various camps, and amid the impassioned cries anddemonstrations of the men betook a last look of the troopswho had followed him with such unfaltering devotion. ‘ Ills-
wo had better tell General McClellan the object of ourvisit.’ I very pleasantly said that I should be glad tolearn it,. Whereupon Buckingham handed me the twoorders of which he was the bearer . . . .
"I saw that both — especially Buckingham — werewatching mo most intently while I opened and read theorders. I read the papers with a smile, immediatelyturned to Burnside, and said: ‘Well, Burnside, I turnthe command over to you.’ ” ]
The movements of troops that had already beenbegun were completed on the 8t,h and 9th, at Gen-eral Burnside’s request ; but there the executionof General McClellan ’s plans stopped. Burnsideturned to the left and massed his army on theRappahannock, opposite Fredericksburg ; Leeconformed to this movement, called in Jackson,and concentrated on the opposite heights. Thedisaster of Fredericksburg followed.
On the 10th McClellan bade farewell to theArmy of the Potomac. As he rode between thelines, formed almost of their own accord to dohonor for the last time to their beloved com-mander, grief and disappointment were on everyface, and maidy tears stood in many an eye thathad learned to look on war without a tremor.In tho simple, touching words of the gallant andaccomplished Walker : “Every heart was filledwith love and grief; every voice was raised inshouts expressivo of devotion and indignation;and when tho chief had passed out of sight, theromance of war was over for the Array of thePotomac.”
In all that these brave men did, in all that theysuffered, and great were their deeds, unspeakabletheir sufferings, never, perhaps, wero their devotionand loyalty more nobly proved than by their in-stant obedience to this order, unwisely wrungfrom the President as many of them believed itto have been, yet still for them, as American sol-diers, as American citizens, an implicit mandate.The men who could talk so glibly of “preotorianguards” knew little of tho Army of the Potomac.
lory,’ Iio said to tlio officers who crowded around him — ‘ his-tory will do Justice to tho Army of the I’otomac, even if tlicpresent generation does not. I feel ns if 1 had been Intimatelyconnected with eacli and all of yon. Nothing is moro bindingthan the friendship of companions in arms. May yon all infuture preserve the high reputation of our army,'mid servoall as well and faithfully as you have served me.’ On the11 tli, at Warrenton Junction, he entered with his stall a rail-road train that was about to start,toward Washington . Herethere was stationed a detachment, of 2000 troops. Theywere drawn up iu line, and a salute was tired. The men thenbroke their ranks, surrounded the car iu which he was seated,uncoupled it rrom tho train and ran it back, insisting wildlythat, he should not halve them, and uttering the bitterestiniprecat,ions against these w r ho had deprived them of theirbeloved commander. The scene has been described to us byan ollicerwho was present as one of tearful excitement. Themoment was critical. One word, one look of encouragement,the lifting of a linger, w-ould have been the signal forarevoltagainst lawful authority, tho consequences nf which no mancan mcasurn. McClellan stepped upon tho front, plat form oftho car, and there was instant, alienee. His address wasshort. 11, ended In tho memorable words, ‘ Stand liy GeneralBurnside as.yon have stood liyme, and all will be well.’ Timsoldiers were calmed. They rolled the caronward, roeoupledit to the train, and with one long and mournful huzza badefarewell to thoir late commander, whom many of thorn weredestined never to brhold again. General McClellan reachedWashington on the following day, and without, tarrying fo ran hour proceeded at, once to Trenton, where lie arrived at4 o'clock in the morning of the l’2tli. From that timo henever again saw Lincoln, or Stanton, or 1 Pillock.” —EDITOR®-