Everybody knows that George McCellan loved his men so much that he was afraid to commit them to battle. Some people might make the attempt to debate McCellan's passive aggressive generalship, the love for his men is unmatched by an general in history. When you read the following quote you will be swept away by "Little Mac's" love for his soldiers. George had created the Army of the Potomac and like a mother love it and took care of it. It is no surprise that he uses the parent analogy in his message to his troops. The following was read to the men just prior to the start of the Peninsula Campaign in 1862.
"I am to watch over you like a parent over his children; and you know that your general loves you from eh depths of his heart. It shall be my care, as it ever has been, to gain success with the least possible loss; but I know that if necessary, you will willingly follow me to our graves for our righteous cause...I shall demand of you great, heroic exertions, rapid and long marches, desperate combats, privations perhaps. We will share all these together; and when this sad war is over we will return to our homes, and feel that we can ask no higher honor than the proud consciousness that we belong to the Army of the Potomac."
The way Mac finishes that statement is so true. I've always wondered if veterans of the Army of the Potomac felt that way. I am sure that so many of them did. "When this sad war is over we will return to our homes, and feel that we can ask no higher honor than the proud consciousness that we belonged to the Army of the Potomac."
What do you think of "Little Mac's" generalship??? Leave a comment with your response.
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