CAMP NEAR WARRENTON, VA.,
November 8, 1862.
To-day the order has been received relieving McClellan from
duty with this army, and placing Burnside in command. I must confess I was
surprised at this, as I thought the storm had blown over. If he had been
relieved immediately after the battle of Antietam, or at any period before he
moved, I could have seen some show of reason on military grounds. This
removal now proves conclusively that the cause is political, and the date of
the order, November 5th (the day after the New York election) confirms it.
The army is filled with gloom and greatly depressed.
Burnside, it is said, wept like a child, and is the most distressed man in the
army, openly says he is not fit for the position, and that McClellan is the
only man we have who can handle the large army collected together, one hundred
and twenty thousand men. We (the generals) are going to-morrow in a body to pay
our respects and bid farewell to McClellan, who leaves in the afternoon. He is
ordered to Trenton, N. J., to await further orders.
SOURCE: George Meade, The Life and Letters of George
Gordon Meade, Vol. 1, p. 325
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