We are sorry to see the effort making in several quarters . . .

. . . by the press in the interest of General McClellan, to charge his tardiness and the apparent want of vigor – his failure to fill the public expectation – upon other parties, and to causes other than the true one. Gen. McClellan’s plans have been interfered with and his strategy defeated – his army has been divided, troops have been withheld, &c., &c., by the Secretary of War and the President. So say the partisans of Gen. McClellan. As we understand it McClellan has one-third more troops than McDowell and Banks, combined – has chosen his own route to Richmond, and is progressing in his own way, aided by the federal iron clad gunboats, vessels of war and transports. That he has chosen the hardest and worst route is his fault – that he makes no progress can hardly be charged upon the Secretary of War or the President. Gen. Banks, with less than one-third his force is making his way to the Rebel Capital – overcoming all obstacles and driving the enemy before him. General McDowell’s small army, although but one-third as large as McClellan’s, has been reduced to reinforce the army at Yorktown – het McDowell is progressing. Our forces in every quarter and under every General in the field, save only General McClellan, are striking heavy and telling blows, which are fast destroying the rebellion. With the largest, best armed and best disciplined of all our armies, McClellan alone, of all our commanders, has not yet struck a blow. His friends, in charging his failure upon those who have kept him in command against the wish of Congress and the country, show base ingratitude and partisanship.

– Published in The Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Burlington, Iowa, Saturday, May 3, 1862, p. 2