90 



AEMY OPERATIONS. 



Potomac, thirteen hundred and fifty in all, fifty-five 

 thousand four hundred and fifty-six. There would 

 then be left for the garrisons in front of Washington 

 and under Gen. Wadsworth some eighteen thousand 

 men, exclusive of the batteries, under instructions. 

 The troops organizing or ready for service in New 

 York, I learn, will probably number more than four 

 thousand. These should be assembled at Washington, 

 subject to disposition where their services may be 

 most needed. 



I am. very respectfully, vour obedient servant, 

 GEO. B. McCLELLAN, 

 Maj.-Ge'n. Commanding. 



Some explanation of these orders is to be 

 found in answers of Gen. McClellan to inter- 

 rogatories before the court martial above men- 

 tioned. In one answer he said: "The force 

 left disposable for the defence of Washington 

 was about 70,000 men, independent of the 

 corps of Gen. McDowell." Again, he said: 

 " My recollection of the suggestions as to the 

 forces to be left varied from forty to fifty thou- 

 sand. I think Gen. McDowell proposed the 

 latter number. Of one thing I am confident : 

 that, with the facts fresh in my mind, I thought 

 that I left more than was suggested by any 

 corps commander." 



As to the necessity that Gen. McDowell 

 should remain for the defence of Washington, 

 he said: "I think that Gen. McDowell was 

 correct in his opinion that it was safe and pro- 

 per for him to unite with the Army of the Po- 

 tomac. I think that immediately after the oc- 

 cupation of Hanover Court House by a portion 

 of the Army of the Potomac, there was no 

 rebel force of any consequence between Hano- 

 ver Court House and Gen. McDowell. I think 

 that the main object of Jackson's movement 

 against Gen. Banks was to prevent reenforce- 

 ments from being sent to the Army of the Po- 

 tomac, and expressed that opinion in a telegram 

 to the President within a day of the time I re- 

 ceived information of Jackson's movements. I 

 think that if Gen. McDowell had moved direct 

 upon Hanover Court House, instead of in the 

 direction of Front Royal, Jackson would have 

 rapidly retraced his steps to join the main rebel 

 army at Richmond* With a strong army of 

 our own in the vicinity of Richmond, and 

 threatening it, I do not think that the rebels 

 would have detached a sufficient force to seri- 

 ously endanger the safety of Washington." 



Before Gen. McClellan left Washington, an 

 order was issued placing Gen. Wool and all his 

 troops under his command, and he was ex- 

 pressly authorized to detail a division of about 

 10,000 men from the troops under Gen. Wool 

 and to attach them to the active army. After 

 operations had commenced on the peninsula, 

 on the 3d of April Gen. McClellan received an 

 order from the Secretary of War countermand- 

 ing all this. No explanation of this has ever 

 been made. 



The design of Gen. McClellan was to make a 

 sure and rapid movement upon Richmond, but 

 other causes still occurred to defeat this purpose. 

 The contest between the Monitor and Merrimac 

 took place on the 9th of March (see NAVAL 



OPERATIONS), and the insecurity of the trans- 

 ports, while the navy really had not entire con- 

 trol of the James river, caused the troops to be 

 landed at Fortress Monroe, and the march to 

 be commenced overland from that point. 



About the 1st of April the force above stated 

 had reached Fortress Monroe, Gen. McClellan 

 arrived on the 2d, and commenced active opera- 

 tions. On the 4th of April the following order 

 was issued from the War Department : 



PAETMENT, "WASHINGTON, April 4, 1S62. 



Ordered, 1. That the portion of Virginia and Ma- 

 ryland lying between the Mountain Department and 

 the Blue Ridge shall constitute a military department, 

 to be called the Department of the Shenandoah, and be 

 under the command of Maj.-Gen. Banks. 



2. That the portion of Virginia cast of the Blue 

 Ridge and west of the Potomac and the Fredericks- 

 burg and Richmond railroad, including the District 

 of Columbia and the country between the Potomac and 

 the Patuxent, shall be a military district, to be called 

 the Department of the Rappahannock, and be under 

 the command of Maj.-Gen. McDowell. 



By order of the PRESIDENT. 



EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. 



The effect of this order was to take from 

 under the control of Gen. McClellan the forces 

 of Gens. Banks and McDowell, and the direction 

 of all military operations in his department 

 west of the Richmond and Fredericksburg rail- 

 road, and in lower Maryland, and to con- 

 fine him strictly to the remainder of eastern 

 Virginia. On the llth of April, the following 

 order was sent to Gen. McDowell : 



WAR DEPARTMENT, April 11, 1862. 

 Maj.-Gen. McDowell Commanding : 



SIR : For the present, and until further orders, you 

 will consider the national capital as especially under 

 your protection, and make no movement throwing 

 your force out of position for the discharge of this 

 primary duty. 



EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. 



On the 5th of April, firing was opened by 

 the enemy at Yorktown on the extreme Fed- 

 eral right, to repel a bold reconnoissance. 

 While this was going on, Gen. McClellan heard 

 for the first time that Gen. McDowell was with- 

 drawn from his command. Yorktown is a post 

 village, port of entry, and shire town of York 

 county, Virginia. It is situated on rising ground 

 on the right bank or south side of York river, 

 eleven miles from its mouth. It is seventy 

 miles east-southeast of Richmond, and had be- 

 fore the war about sixty houses, four hundred 

 and fifty inhabitants, and several thousand tons 

 of shipping. 



The army of the Potomac had commenced its 

 march upon this place wholly in the dark as 

 to the nature of the country, or the position 

 and strength of the enemy. The maps which 

 were furnished by the commanders at Fortress 

 Monroe were found to be entirely erroneous. 

 The peninsula is bounded on the north by York 

 river, which is commanded by Yorktown and 

 Gloucester, on either side. Both places w r ere 

 strongly fortified to obstruct the entrance of 

 the river by gunboats. The Confederate batte- 

 ries mounted fifty- six guns, many of which were 



