UNITED STATES. 



721 



Army of the United States. The head-quarters of the 

 army will be established in the city <>t Washington. 

 All "communications intended for the Commanding 

 General will hereafter be addressed direct to the Ad- 

 jutant-General. The duplicate returns, orders, and 

 other papers heretofore sent to the Assistant Adju- 

 tant-General, Head-quarters of the Army, will be dis- 

 continued. 

 Bv order of the Secretary of War : 



L. THOMAS, Adjutant-General. 



Less than six months previous, General Mc- 

 Glellan was engaged as the President of the east- 

 ern division of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad. 

 Born in Philadelphia in 1826, he entered 

 the army from West Point, and rose to dis- 

 tinction in the war with Mexico, and was 

 subsequently sent by the Government as one 

 of a deputation from the army, to the Crimea 

 during the war of France, England, and Sar- 

 dinia with Russia. A few years afterwards 

 he resigned his commission in the army and 

 retired to private life. This appointment re- 

 ceived the highest approbation of the retiring 

 General. 



On taking the command of the army, Gen- 

 eral McClellan issued the following order : 



HEAD-QUARTERS OF THE ARMY, ) 

 WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 1861. J 



In accordance with General Order No. 94, from the 

 War Department, I hereby assume command of the 

 armies of the United States. 



In the midst of the difficulties which encompass and 

 divide the nation, hesitation and self-distrust very well 

 accompany the assumption of so vast a responsibility; 

 but, confiding as I do, in the loyalty, discipline, and 

 courage of the troops ; and, believing as I do, that 

 Providence will favor ours as the just cause, I can- 

 not doubt that success will crown our efforts and 

 sacrifices. 



The army will unite with me in the feeling of regret, 

 that the weight of many years, and the effect of in- 

 creasing infirmities, contracted and intensified in his 

 country's service, should just now remove from our 

 head the great soldfcr of our nation, the hero who, in 

 his youth, raised high the reputation of his country in 

 the fields of Canada, which he sanctified with ' his 

 blood ; who in more mature years proved to the 

 world that American skill and valor could repeat, if 

 not eclipse, the exploits of Cortez in the land of the 



tMontezumas; whose whole life has been devoted to 

 the service of his country ; whose whole efforts have 

 been directed to uphold our honor at the smallest 

 sacrifice of life ; a warrior who scorned the selfish 

 glories of the battle field, when his great qualities as 

 a statesman could be employed more profitably for his 

 country ; a citizen whose declining years have'given to 

 the world the most shining instances of loyalty in dis- 

 regarding all the ties of birth, and clinging still to the 

 cause of truth and honor. Such have been the career 

 and character of Winfield Scott, whom it has long 

 been the delight of the nation to honor both as a 

 man and as a soldier. While we regret his loss, there 

 is one thing we cannot regret the oright example he 

 has left for our emulation. Let us all hope and pray 

 that his declining years may be passed in peace and 

 happiness, and that they may be cheered by the suc- 

 cess of the country, and the cause he has fought for 

 and loved so well. Beyond all that, let us do nothing 

 that can cause him to blush for us ; let no defeat of 

 the army he has so long commanded embitter his last 

 vears, but let our victories illuminate the close of a 

 life so grand. GEO. B. McCLELLAN, 



Major-General, Commanding U. S. A. 



Gen. McClellan had undertaken, after the 

 battle of Bull Run, to re-organize the army of 

 46 



the Potomac, and to these duties, together with 

 those arising from his new position, he now de- 

 voted himself. 



The only event of importance which occurred 

 before the close of tin.- year, was the surrender 

 of Messrs. Mason and Slidell on the demand of 

 the English Government. The capture of these 

 Commissioners, and the possibility of a rupture 

 with Great Britain, turned the attention of the 

 Government to the unprotected condition of the 

 northern coast and frontier. A letter was 

 therefore addressed by the Secretary of State 

 to the Governors of the respective States, re- 

 questing them to repair the fortifications within 

 their limits. For further details of the year, 

 see President Lincoln's Message, December 3, 

 under PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



It may not be out of place here to mention 

 some of those brave men whom the war found 

 engaged in peaceful pursuits of life, or in sub- 

 ordinate military positions, but who, upon the 

 first call to arms, hastened to the field and 

 trained the soldiers, and led them to victory. 



Major-General John Charles Fremont was 

 born in South Carolina in January, 1813 ; grad- 

 uated at Charleston College in 1830; studied 

 and taught civil engineering ; employed by the 

 Government on Mississippi survey ; commis- 

 sioned lieutenant of engineers, and in 1842 sent 

 to explore the passes of the Rocky Mountains ; 

 made three exploring expeditions thither, of 

 great interest and importance , assisted in the 

 conquest of California ; was made its first gov- 

 ernor, became the victim of a quarrel between 

 two American commanders, and was stripped 

 of his command by court-martial ; reinstated 

 by the President, but resigned his connection 

 with the army ; made another expedition across 

 the Rocky Mountains, and nearly perished in 

 the snow ; was sent to "Washington as the first 

 senator from California ; held a large tract of 

 land in the Mariposa gold region, but became 

 greatly involved for a time by litigation of its 

 title ; was republican candidate for the Presi- 

 dency in 1856 ; improved his Mariposa estate 

 and made it profitable in 1858-60; visited 

 Europe in autumn of 1860; rendered material 

 service to the United States there in 1860-61 ; 

 was appointed major-general in the regular ar- 

 my, May, 1861, and assigned to Western Depart- 

 ment in July, 1861 ; removed from command in 

 November, 1861, and ordered to report himself 

 at Washington ; reinstated in command in Feb- 

 ruary, 1862, and assigned to Mountain Depart- 

 ment. 



Major-General Henry Wager Halleck was born 

 in Oneida County, New York, in 1819 ; graduated 

 at West Point in 1839, third in a class of 31 ; 

 second lieutenant of engineers same year ; acting 

 assistant professor of engineers from July, 1839 

 to June, 1840 ; first lieutenant in 1845 ; author 

 of a work on " Bitumen and its Uses," publish- 

 ed 1841, and another on "Elements of Military 

 Art and Science " in 1846 ; brevetted captain 

 for gallant and meritorious conduct in 1847 ; 

 Secretary of State in the military governments 



