214 REMOVAL OF GEN. M'CLELLAN. been hunted down, and was found in abundance. The fur, fin and feather tribes held almost undisputed sway in the forests and streams. Friday we marched at 6 A. M., and arriving at White Plains, waited for supplies. A dreary snowstorm prevailed all day, covering the ground to the depth of several inches. Many of the men, who had imprudently thrown away their overcoats or blankets, suffered severely from the cold. The intelligence received on Saturday, that Gen. McClellan had been removed, added still more to the gloom. The order for his removal reached his headquarters at Rectortown, a small village to the right of White Plains, about 11 o'clock on the previous evening. Gen. Gorman and several members of his staff were present at the time. He continued conversing in a cheerful manner, and was apparently the least affected one of the number. Gen. Burnside, to whom the command was turned over, soon made his appearance, and spent the greater portion of the night in consultation with him, after which Gen. McClellan penned the following farewell address to his troops: HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, CAMP NEAR RECTORTOWN, VA., Officers and Soldiers of the Army of the Potomac : In An order of the President devolves upon Major General Burnside the command of this army. parting from you I cannot express the love and gratitude I bear you. As an army, you have grown FAREWELL TO HIS TROOPS. 215 up under my care. In you I have never found doubt or coldness. The battles you have fought under my command, will probably live in our nation's history. The glory you have achieved; our marches, perils and fatigues; the graves of our comrades fallen in battle and by disease; the broken forms of those whom wounds and sickness have disabled; the strongest associations which exist among men, unite us still by an indissoluble tie. We shall ever be comrades in supporting the Constitution of our country, and the nationality of its people. GEORGE B. MCCLELLAN, Major-General United States Army. On the Sunday evening following, he gave an informal reception at his tent, where several hours were spent in conversation. Upon one of the guests remarking to him, "General, we shall see you back again in a fortnight," he replied, "If I never return to the Army of the Potomac, may I live to write its history. It is a task to which I shall devote myself." To another he remarked, "I feel as if the Army of the Potomac belonged to me. It is mine. I feel that its officers are my brothers, its soldiers my children. This separation is like a forcible divorce of husband and wife." Of his successor, he said: "Burnside is the best and honestest of men. He is no Mr. Pope, he will do a great deal better than you expect." Monday he rode among the troops, accompanied by a large retinue, and took an affectionate adieu of all of them. History fails to present, if we except the parting of Napoleon from his soldiers, so 216 SECRET OF HIS POPULARITY. affecting and imposing a spectacle as was this farewell of Gen. McClellan to the army, whose leader he had been for eighteen months. After visiting the troops at Warrenton and vicinity, he rode out to New Baltimore, where Smith's Division had arrived. The various Regiments were drawn up in line, with bright uniforms and burnished arms, and as their late Chief passed slowly before them, rent the air with cheers. It was a great ovation, shrouded in the gloom of a funeral occasion. Gen. McClellan's connection with the soldiers of the Army of the Potomac was ended, but nothing could sever the bonds of friendship and affection which united him to them. To many the secret of this great popularity has ever been a mystery. It arose from a variety of causes. It is rarely the case that a Regiment does not become attached to its Colonel, a Brigade to its Brigadier, and a Division or Corps to its Major-General. In the same manner the army became attached to its commander. Long connection increases this attachment, and General McClellan had been associated with these soldiers for nearly a year and a half. Gen. McClellan possessed a physique and address calculated to excite admiration. Indeed, it was proverbial in the army that no one could doff his hat so gracefully as "Little Mac." In addition to being Napoleonic in his appearance, he was Napoleonic in his speeches and orders, which equally won their hearts. He was likewise free from that boasting spirit which had made Pope so unpopular. THE ENTHUSIASM FOR HIM NOT UNIVERSAL. 217 He visited frequently among his troops-an important means of winning popularity. His Generals, appointed and promoted through his influence, thoroughly infused a McClellan element into their commands. An army of Generals bear very much the same relation to their Chief that office-holders do to the head of their party. By maintaining him in his position, they ensure their own, and in promoting his interests, they promote themselves. Especially is this true under a Democratic form . of Government, where politics exert such an undue influence in the army. Gen. McClellan's troops were, furthermore, of the opinion that his plans had been interfered with by the Washington authorities, and promised reinforcements withheld at the very moment he most needed them. Finally, they believed that he could lead them to victory. When we speak of this enthusiasm for General McClellan, we do not, however, imply that it was universal. Not only Burnside, but his whole Ninth Army Corps, began to question his military capacity, when he failed to "push the enemy to the wall," on the day succeeding the battle of Antietam. The troops who had previously been attached to the Department of Virginia proper, as well as the new levies, were to a certain extent indifferent as to who might be their leader. 218 GENERAL BURNSIDE'S ADDRESS TO THE ARMY. CHAPTER XXIV. Gen. McClellan's Departure.-Gen. Burnside's Address.-March to Fredericksburg. --Reasons for choosing this Route.--Randolph Estate.-Failure of the Pontoons to Arrive.-Stafford Court House-The Thirty-third preparing Winter Quarters.-Scouting Parties.-The Ashby Family. GEN. MCCLELLAN took his departure for Washington on a special train from Warrenton, Tuesday noon, and Gen. Burnside assumed command, after issuing the following address: "In accordance with General Orders No. 182, issued by the President of the United States, I hereby assume command of the Army of the Potomac. Patriotism and the exercise of my every energy in the direction of this army, aided by the full and hearty co-operation of its officers and men, will, I hope, under the blessing of God, ensure its success. 66 'Having been a sharer of the privations, and a witness of the bravery of the old Army of the Potomac in the Maryland campaign, and fully identified with them in their feelings of respect and esteem for Gen. McClellan, entertained through a long and most friendly association with him, I feel that it is not as a stranger that I assume command. "To the Ninth Army Corps, so long and intimately associated with me, I need say nothing. Our histories are identical. "With diffidence for myself, but with a proud con |