Mr Lincoln's Army by Bruce Catton

Author:Bruce Catton
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Military, Non Fiction
ISBN: 9780385043106
Publisher: New York : Anchor Books, 1990, c1962.
Published: 2008-11-04T00:00:00+00:00

3. Generals on Trial

Back in Washington there was General Halleck, and the general was worried. Worrying, he called for incompatibles, demanding in one breath a dashing pursuit and an extreme of caution. Lee must be overtaken, brought to battle, and crushed, no matter what; but the army must remember that its primary function was defensive. If it did not hurry, Lee might get away; if it went too fast, Washington might be exposed. McClellan should keep his left firmly anchored on the Potomac as he advanced, lest Lee slide past him to the south and dash into the capital. On the other hand, it was dangerous to stick too close to the river: Lee might angle off in the other direction, making (so to speak) a sweep around right end, seizing Baltimore and coming down on the capital from the north. All of these points glowed and sparkled by turns, like shifting specks before the eyes of a troubled strategist. Halleck's telegrams to McClellan at this time, although they were numerous, were nagging rather than helpful.

In the beginning McClellan had asked that the garrison at Harper's Ferry, some twelve thousand good men, be ordered back to join the main army. He argued that the place itself was of no great importance, that it could quickly be reoccupied once Lee had been driven south, and that it was wholly indefensible and could not be held in any case if Lee wanted to make a snatch at it. Halleck pooh-poohed at him: the twelve thousand men were safe enough, nothing to worry about there. Later, when Lee had his army squarely interposed between Harper's Ferry and the Army of the Potomac, Halleck notified McClellan that the garrison was his to command as soon as he could go pick it up. It couldn't get out unaided, so it would just have to hold on until McClellan could go and relieve it, which he had better do at his early convenience. And so on.

Old Brains was in the top command and he was not being particularly impressive. He was stricdy a headquarters operator. General Pope (whom one could nearly feel sorry for, if he weren't Pope) had called on him, almost prayerfully, to come and take command in the field around the time of the second Bull Run fight, but Halleck felt insecure anywhere except at the Washington end of the telegraph line. He refused to budge then and he was not budging now, and he surveyed the war from his office in the War Department, at 17th Street and the avenue, and looked portentous as the papers piled higher and higher on his desk. As he studied these papers—or, for that matter, when he indulged in thought of any kind—he had a way of rubbing his elbows, slowly and methodically: a mannerism which drove Secretary of the Navy Welles almost frantic.

Welles had a number of dealings with him, there being divers matters on which army-navy co-operation was essential, and he came away from all of them feeling rather baffled.

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