I inclose a field return of the corps made this afternoon,
which I desire you will lay before the commanding general. I am satisfied the
great reduction in the corps since the recent engagements is not due solely to
the casualties of battle, and that a considerable number of men are still in
the rear, some having dropped out on the march, and many dispersing and leaving
yesterday during the fight. I think the efficiency of the corps, so far as it
goes, good. To resist an attack in our present strong position I think they may
be depended on, and I hope they will perform duty in case we make an attack,
though I do not think their morale is as good for an offensive as a
defensive movement.
SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of
the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume
19, Part 1 (Serial No. 27), p. 66, abstracted from General Report No. 2. –
Reports of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, U. S. Army, commanding the Army of
the Potomac, of operations August 14- November 9 [1862].
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