+*. ^0 6°" # * *© -S> v *-**$$$***. ° W *i w • SStj Ea£> • :r » caEs mw" „ w . s&ri nigs • X^V .rSj^l*^, ^C,' O^Pl^r "5^^ . AW/02, o VV vv "* 4? ^ • W ^ * A* tfA\ ^o >* /dlfc\ ^ .*♦ •*&«£• *«* >* **fStef- * cv * .>v^ \/ .a^., %^ ..^sfcjj.. ^ .* **o'« :'. ;• . * **,i ^^ 'a\ >. >* - % ^«&'- ^ ^ .^Wa\ % .c^ .*- SPEECH OK Hon. Edwards Pierrepont, DELIVERED AT THE CONVENTION AND MASS MEETING OF THE DEMOCRACY OPPOSED TO THE CHICAGO PLATFORM, HBLD AT THB Cooper Institute, New York, November 1/1864. „;„£ ^i" Z f 8 - : f htt l e whlle a »° those of the Democratic party who meet here to night earnestly desired a change in the Administration; to that change weloked 2 t£ Svf 6 W , aJ t0 , bnng P T e t0 .° Ur C0Hntr ^ We trusted that ^e Chicago Convention would exhAit wisdom, honor and patriotism ; we hoped that they would drop all minor SeSna and strive to bring about an honorable adjustment of our difficulties dissensions Many of us believed that the Convention would propose that the insurgent States lav stZ I 6 "" T? T d J?' 11 " 1 f '° the F ni0Q; and this **tig done > that * convfntTon o? a 1 K fS^X f d , f ° r , 5 e P ur P° se <>f ^ying to harmonize the real or imagined grievance? Upon that simple platform we had hoped to place two eminent civilian whose E whose moderation and whose statesmanship the country could trust. Wttn 'such a pktform and with such candidates, we had intended to go before the people and urge thorn tc ► mak. this change as the surest means of restoring the Union. But when we find°tha the enemts tnZ%°lt TQ ? ent ' t r ait0rS 1 t ° Democratic principles, ruled that assembly, and virtuaHyTur * d the honor the valor and the manhood of the North, we denounce the crime and refuse to stand sdent by and witness the completion of our country's humiliation thP «lS em ° Cra •?• ? arty T e *> defeated in the Presidential contest four years a-o because the southeTn politicians wished it defeated; they deliberately planned I and persiVteX pSS2 Af^-- te.UunhL™ elected because the souL?n poSictans Sfd £ to 5Sri n aU m ^ PWer t0 make ™ r de f eat and his ei ^n sure. Their^bS wS tErnnl t y >, • m °? ra !i. C Par y ' and thus dest roy the Uaion, as they themselves Veivsai? through their journals they "hated free schools, free speech free institutions free labor Tnd free men." No man of our time had a more complete knowledge upon this subject than that true. Democrat, brave patriot, and great man, Stephen A. DoSglas. Death summoned Mm from this scene of strife, and in his last farewell he said : summoned him ™iJSS m^ C e ^han\ m v r e e ar P s^2lfo? m e ST?* T^™ movement is the ™»» »f an enor- twelve month, a^go? The^se th^eTyl^^^m^t^T^ *** ^^ Confeder acy more than desired the election of a aorthern canaidat hv I L,,;*.™? , • i" 6 accom P'>shment of their ends. Thev candidates in several of the southern States S defeated ' m the def eat of the disunion levied to a"comp li s Mf. f0 Ther e e are only IT sidesloXP^ * n T knovn I *™Ie. have been raised, war i, against i, Ther'e can be ^3S* !^SL kg*?" — ' * '" ^ UnUed bJate8 ° r Chicago 8 la ThrS eeCh0f ? 0Ugla9 Wa9 deIi ™red just before he died. It was delivered in A committee on resolutions entered that assembly and said • faUur^to Sre^heVnion b yCe e^pSlnt of ^VS"? ° f I' V ffierican P^Je, that, after four year, of or war power higher than The Cons«tutfoT?hP rw£ f—F W ,^ h ' Under the P^tense of a mintary necessity lie liberty and private right S & d »w B X" "i b6en dis - re e ard « d * ereiy part, and pj£ Patched >y the War Dwaowatto Stat* Committee of the State of New Tort .irk* hear the heart beat. It is no wonder ! they were standing by Douglas' grave ! and they saw his handwriting on the wall, and they heard his warning voice say, " There can be no neutrah in this war — only patriots or traitors." I shall show that the sentiments embodied in this resolution were not the sentiments ot anv friend of Douglas, of any true Democrat, or of any lover of the Union The resolution was forced upon the Convention against its real sentiments, and by noisy bold, and fraudu- lent threats of a Northwestern secession. It is to be regretted that the friends of Douglas, the friends of his principles, the friends of the Union, did not firmly say, " TJiere can be no neutrah in this war-only patriots or traitors." But all real friends of the Lmon will soon shake off the galling fetters with which Vallandigham, Pendleton, and other southern avmpathizers have bound them, and return to the true principles of the Democratic party, from which these friends of the Union's enemies have for the moment beguiled them. The hour is near when all will see that " there are only two sides to this question; every man must be for the United States or against it." # . g ,,..•. Yallandi"-ham and a few active, noisy, adroit and audacious enemies of the Union, and tnends of Toombs Jeff Davis and Judah Benjamin, have assumed to give voice to the Democratic r,artv ■ they have skillfully tried to make honest Democrats believe that no supporter of an ad- ministration placed in power by Republicans could be a Democrat. By this false and specious o!' e many holiest men have been deceived. When the Democrats of the South, by their own treachery to the Democrats of the North, placed Mr. Lincoln in power, what was a patriotic Democrat to do, but to sustain the only government which Southern traitors had left us? Were Northern Democrats to sacrifice their country, to surrender their manhood, to become the dou-hfaced cowards and poltroons which Southern braggarts always said we were t When in April, 1861, Fort Sumpter fell, and the Rebel Secretary of War amid he roar of I cannon and the shouts of the enemies of our Government, announced to the world that the , Confederate flag floated over the walls of Sumpter, and that the same flag would float over j the Dome of the Capitol at Washington before the first of May, what were Northern Demo- crats to do ? What did their good instincts prompt them to do, and what did they do t Thev rose in their might, and swore to defend and to preserve our country entire -they hastened to the field, nor stopped to ask who for the time was at the head of their beloved government. This great uprising struck the South aghast-so long had we been accustomed to vield to their arrogant pretensions; so long had they ruled us as they pleased; that they verily thought, when they chose to deprive us of power and to put Mr Lincoln m place, in order as they expressed it, " to fire the Southern mind and hurry the cotton States into revolution " that Northern Democrats would tamely submit to the destruction of their party and the ruin of their country. They soon found out their mistake ; they a so found that Northern Democrats would fight, and that they were dangerous foes to meet m the held. Thev found that Northern Democrats retained their valor; that they still loved their country, their government and the Union ; that the dear old flag which waved so proudly over every sea and whose bright stars gladdened tie heart of freedom on every shore ; which no tyrant, Sncr or emperor dared insult; they would not allow to be pulled from the high Dome of he Capitol nor let the rebel rag there float in the morning air, to flap shame and menace in the face of Loyal Men. Wheif Davis, Mason, Slidell, Toombs and Judah Benjamin saw this, they took counsel together, and they Jid "exphcitly declare" that war thus conducted woiud be "a failure," and they concluded that upon Northern Democrats they had bettei « exhaust all the resources of statesmanship," and so they commenced. Emissaries were sent abroad to write in foreign journals; Secret agents were sent to every part ot the North; efforts were made in every possible way] to delude, deceive, and to corrupt the mind of the Democracy ; skillfully to excite their prejudices, their passions and their tears Arbitrary arrests! the fanaticism of abolitionists, the currency, the draft-labor too low, and labor too high-the short-comings of the administration, the love of peace, and the evils i ,f war were each seized upon in turn, ii order to divide the party, and to prejudice the pub- lic mind against the Government-and % what end ? Was it to restore the Union ? No ! every one now knows that it was to stop the war, and to destroy the Union _ ' The Englishman who fought for the Sultan in the Crimean war was not thereby made a Turk or a Mahomet. We do not turn Republicans to sustain this war. W e fight tor our ( i overnment-for patriotism— not for party. We go into this war Democrats, we shall come out of it Democrats. We shall preserve our Democratic Government, our Democratic prin- ciples and our Union entire. Can any dullard be made to believe that our brave officers and soldiers who have periled their lives in the war are changed from Democrats to Republicans t It is the strength of their Democratic faith and the devotion of their Democratic patriotism which makes them fight so nobly. ix.^T\ n ~ n The South had well nigh exhausted " all their resources of statesmanship upon the Demo- cratic party when they forced the second resolution upon the Chicago Convention and placed " their own familiar friend," Pendleton, on the ticket. Bnt tha, South had other resources, as they confidently believed ; they supposed that cot- ton ruled the world; that England could not live a year without this staple of the South— X C5- :-£ x that without cotton England would soon be in revolution — be forced to recognize the Con- federacy and raise tbe blockade. England did want the cotton; England did desire to recog- nize the South; England did eagerly wish to rend us asunder; to cripple our commerce, to have free trade with the South, and to destroy our manufactures ; and she encouraged the Southern revolt in every possible way. She allowed the Alabama to be built in her waters, and to be manned with English seamen, and under false pretences to leave her shores to prey upon our commerce. She saw with joy the havoc which that swift steamer was making upon our merchantmen ; — that our shipping was rapidly driveu from the seas, and that England was taking the trade of the world ! Emboldened by the success of the Ala- bama, she allowed the formidable steam rams to be built for the destruction of our Navy, and to break up the blockade. Our Government protested against the hostile act ; England shuf- fled, prevaricated, excused herself — said she had no law to stop them ; and they were nearly ready to come out upon us, when Mr. Seward said if English law could not stop the rams — English law coidd not stop war with the United States. The trading English are a consider- ate people ; they keep the ledger carefully, and they know how to cypher ; slow, to be sure, but pretty accurate in calculating profit and loss. Lord Russell sent out to Lord Lyons to know whether these Yankees would fight ? His lordship replied that they were a strange, obstinate, fanatical sort of people, and that he thought they would fight ; that he had been throuo-h the North with Mr. Seward, and the people seemed to have a great deal of property and a great deal of. pluck ; and besides that there were a good many of them, and they did not seem to be afraid of anything — in short that they were a dangerous nation to quarrel with. Enjrland'began to reason, that if the Alabama, without a single port in the wide world within which to take a prize — without a single harbor for a resting place — could destroy the commerce of the United States, what would a hundred American cruisers do when let loose upon English ships ? England soon contrived to stop the rams. England is harmless now ; she has given bonds secured by all her shipping upon the ocean ; she will keep the peace ; she is old, heavy and rich ; she keeps shop; does a profitable business; makes things to sell ; and peddles them in her vessels all over the world. Fighting is not her profession ; she says war is unchristian, is wicked. The South have " exhausted all their resources of states- manship " upon England, and have given it up. But the South relied also upon France. France is a warlike nation, with vast armies in perfect discipline, and ready for the field. France don't cant about the "wickedness of w,ar ;" France is not so thoroughly of the shop as England. France cares less about money, and has more love of glory. France is prepared and ready for a fight— she needs only the occasion and the motive. We have been in real danger from France. The motive has been widely different in the two countries. England wants to see us broken up, our com- merce and manufactures destroyed ; France has no such wish. The present Emperor, like his great uncle, sees that our greatness is useful as a restraint upon England. But he had certain designs upon Mexico and the Isthmus, bearing upon the trade with the Pacific and China, which made our temporary disunion seem desirable ; and the evidence is clear that the South believed that, for the surrender of Louisiana and Texas, the Emperor would lend the Confederacy his aid. It is now too late to purchase his intervention even at that price. The restoration of the Union will not interfere with any known designs of that far-seeing statesman. On the contrary, he wishes it restored, and he will soon throw his influence in that direction. France gives the laws of taste, luxury, and fashion to the civilized world. Nations who are at war — poor or demi-barbarian — are of little value to France ; but every nation which cultivates the arts of peace, grows rich, luxurious, and refined, pours its treasures into France. If stable governments can be established in Mexico and upon the Isthmus, those countries will rapidly grow rich, refined, luxurious, and make a new market for the wines, the silks, and the countless fabrics of France. Our own country had become the best of her customers ; the war has now nearly destroyed all trade with France. I learned from our Consul in Paris that the trade had literally ceased. The Emperor under- stands all this — he watches every phase of our politics and every movement of our armies with intensest care. He wishes peace in America for the good of France ; and you may be 'sure that he will try to hasten peace by every means in his power. During the month of July it was confidently whispered by the Secessionists in Paris, that the next steamer would bring news of Lee's entry into Washington, and that the Confederacy would forthwith be recognized by France. No Union man could then understand upon what this confident hope was based ; we now know — the Northwestern conspirators were to aid Lee, and the Rebels in Paris were advised of it. The plot failed. Many of the conspirators have fled, others are secreted, some have been arrested, and are now on trial in Indiana. The Rebels have " exhausted all their resources of statesmanship" in this direction, and have " explicitly failed." The Emperor, as you know, has lived in this country — he understands our Govern- ment — he Waits the result of this autumn election to determine his action. I had it direct from those who have the best meats of information, and before the result of the Chicago Con- vention was known, that, if Mr. Lincoln should be re-elected, it would assure the Emperor that the North were determined to put down the Rebellion " at all hazards ;" and that they 4 bad the a 1 ilit 4 to do it. But if the opposition candidate were elected, tb,en it would assure- him that the North were too much divided to succeed against the Confederacy — that he was determined, if possible, to bring about an early peace, and that the re-election of Mr. Lincoln would be conclusive evidence that there could be no peace but in Union, and that the elec- tion of the opposing candidate would make it equally conclusive that there could be no peace but in disunion. It may be safely said that soon after the election of Mr. Lincoln, the hand of Napoleon will be seen in favor of the speediest Peace and Union of all the States ; urging the North to offer, and the South to accept, re-union with every right guaranteed under the old Constitution. But it may be safely said that the South will not accept even this. Not a Secessionist in Paris, not a Confederate minister of the South, not an orator, not a newspaper, not a pub- lic man anywhere suggests or ever has suggested that the election of McClellan and Pendle- ton would even tend to produce a return of the South to the Union — they each and all reject the proposition with scorn. Even Stephens, the mildest of their number, announces that it is " recognized sovereignty" and not Union which they are determined to have, and that the only ray of hope which the nomination at Chicago gives, is a faint possible hope of an eariier independence ; never a suggestion that re-union can, by any possibility, come of the election of McClellan. Did you ever ask a friend of Vallandigham and Pendleton and of the second resolution of the Chicago Platform, what effect the victory of our arms was likely to have upon the elec- tion of McClellan ? If so, they have confessed to you that vietory in the field was their defeat at the polls. What ! great victories won by our heroic armies in the field, over traitors to our Government, tend to defeat a Major-General of that army, still drawing his pay from that Government ! ! ! Does this need a commentary ? How does it strike the people ? What do they say to this ? They send their brothers and their sons to battle and to death ; they at the cost of fife win bright victories in defense of our cherished Government, and every such victory, it is acknowledged by all, tends to defeat the Major-General McClellan ! Can those who wish him elected, rejoice at such victories ? I trust he has no friend so base as to pretend to such false rejoicing. The private character of a candidate for public honors is not a proper subject for discussion. But when a man comes before the people and asks them to vote him into the Presidency, it is just that we should, with honest fairness, consider his claims to that exalted office. I believe that the private character of Gen. McClellan is without reproach ; I cheerfully accord to him all the purity and every kindly virtue which his admirers claim ; I think him a Christian gentleman who would not willingly see the Union destroyed'; — I shall" only speak of his public career as it appears in the record of our time. McClellan is thirty-seven years eld : what has the young man done for his country to entitle him to this high place ? The convention which nominated him " does explicitly de- clare " that the war is " a failure ; so then, it is not for success in war, that he claims our votes. Two years ago, he was removed from his command for alleged incompetency. During those two years, our Country has passed through the direst trials and bloodiest wars of modern times ; thousands of his brave comrades in arms have died on the battle- field ; three hundred thousand of our youth have perished in this struggle for the Nation's life! What has McClellan done at his country's call during these two long years of her greatest peril ? What has he done ? He is said to be very popular, and to have much influence over that class of men who make soldiers in the field — the army has been in greatest need of men — was his heart full of zeal for the cause, and did he go from city to city, using all his powers to rouse the people for the war, to put down the wicked rebellion and to save his bleeding and beloved land ? Had he done so, he would have received the holiest benedictions of the people ; he would have been made lieutenant-general of all the armies, and the heaving of the Nation's heart would' have lifted him to the Presidential chair, easy as the swell of the ocean lifts a little barque upon the shore ! What has he done during these two eventful years ? Nothing — but write out excuses for doing nothing be- fore. You can't deceive the people long — they have an instinct, a just perception of truth wiser than logic. Old Blair told McClellan that he woidd surely foil if he run for the Presidency. After election, McClellan will find that old Blair was right. But he can then very justly make the same excuse for the failure which he so often made for his failures in the war, namely — the want of men. What then are the pretensions of this yonng man to this great office ? Before the war he had done nothing ; in the war, it is explicitly declared "that all has been failure." Since he left the army, it is plain that he has ddoe nothing whatever. But we are told that Jeff. Davis, Mason, Slidell, Toombs and Judah Benjamin are men of such lofty pride that they will not treat with- Mr. Lincoln, whose manners they don't like ; but that McClellan is an educated, courteous, amiable, Christian gentFeman, whom they formerlykuew well, and that they would be more willing to treat with him for peace. We have many cultured, amiable, Christian gentlemen in the North, and we justly prize their virtues. But, during this grim time of war, I think it safer to let Grant, Sherman and Sheridan ; Farragut, Dupont, Porter and Winslow treat with these arch-rebels. The Hon. Robert C. Winthrop made a speech the other day at New London, in which he gave reasons why McClellan ought to be elected, which I had never seen advanced be- fore. He says : " Let me not forget, however, to remind you, my friends, that he has in his veins, in common with so many ef you, and in common, as I am glad to remember, with myself, too, a little good old Connecticut blood, com- ing down ftom an ancestor who settled here a century ago. I am sure you will not think any the worse of himr for that." I believe it is true, as Mr. Winthrop says, that McClellan is of a Connecticut family, who have lived there for more than a hundred years ! When Jeff Davis, Toombs, and Judah Benjamin read Mr. Winthrop's speech, I question whether they will be so ready to " nego- tiate with General McClellan" as their friends now suppose. They may suspect and hesitate lest they get hold of a wooden nutmeg from Connecticut. The origin of the wooden nut- meg story illustrates the surpassing ignorance of the South rather than the sharpness of the North. Nothing could be more preposterous, since the successful counterfeit must have cost twice as much as the genuine article; nevertheless, that story has had much vogue. Its origin is this: Many years ago a small trader in the very town where Mr. Winthrop made his speech, together with apples, chestnuts, walnuts, hickory nuta, d <• he moved that the noSatiof o? MccSL L" 7 i^ *"?"* m ™ thaU three Jen. Davis has lately made two spSs taS2rfi£Sffl2 TT" t , ,, . ' ^f must beat Sherman, we must march into T™ n . „ mC , UeJiaa At Augusta he said : *. 2555SR£?T " to the JT*"* °< the ~va,ive party North. ^ ^ ^ * slaughter in battle, of your brothel a^o^i^ P^^ 011 ° f , McClella " by the box; askhim ifhe can aid these contemDtno,,«lTf heir ?P eeches to your neigh- be sure that he can do now, and thatlTe S o If °i 0Ur l°T try b ^ his TOte - If 80, then Fellow Citizens | there is no ^^° ^^'J 114 ™ J f Da ™ bids him', war; only patriots or traitors '" g m P« eorrSnf Itj s hishlv By command of Lieutenant General Scfttt. With this order fresh In his memory Major General *£. J" T °^ NSEND > -*«<*»«« ^^«ftm< oW«J. McClellan, the following order: g ne S>e<^ I, the same day, caused to be addressed to Major General orZuT' t0 be reported at once to general head fo^rTh C ?- U •'■ the P° 8iti °™. State and number of troops si ion madfof 'ZT< ^ -Po^wiUbe fa^SfeM n£ %&?*£" ^?P en «^ r 4"S Eighteen days have now elapsed and no, «, ,• [ ^' "' T ° WNSEND ' ^^' stoTO ^ ^^^'^ ^,m/. elapsed, and not the slightest respect has been shown to either of these orders by such as he so eagerly furnished the President a»7certaln Secretarie^ ^ ^ me P^^te returis- ^-^Verre^ of such persistent negiect and d»o- has been feared that a conflict of authority near the !h T P robab 'y soon cure the evil. But it eneinies, and depressing to the friends, onhe Union 6 iLnce my lon^foZ^r? 6 higWy encour W to the but nominally) on duty. I shall try to'hold out till the arrival of Maior Gen^ Ti\ ^ ? ontinui °S (though will give me increased confidence in the safety of the llninn ,, Major General Halleck, when, as his presence or to walk, by reason of dropsy in my feet and W s an^l nnrTu- ^Z 8 ' 8S \^ unable to ride ia ^ ***&*, retire from the army. y egs ' and P araI >"sis in the small of the back, I shall definitively I have the honor to remain, with high respect, your most obedient servant, On the 1 st of November the "*> ****** * * * President's Special War Orders No 1 Washington, Executive Mansion, Jan. 81, 1862. of ™&™f^^£j^&*^*%**^ after providing safely for the defense the railroad southwestward of what is known a, mIT, f* 6 , ob J ect ° f seizing and occupying a point upon Commander-in-Chief, and the exp^L^T^etT^rr ^T^^T^^yZ^ ^^ ^ • corded! S ' 7 OD J ectlon8 to his plan, and my reasons for preferring my own. Permission was ac- his l^says ':* **"**** t0 the plaQ ° f the President > ^ * g^ing reasons for prefering ^!^&^!^^^yxrr^ A zi&^i ato r?% *a ot , the lower Chesapeak * enemy's power in the east, P usslDie ^na route to Richmond, and strikes directly at the heart of the ^ The roads in that region are passable at all seasons of the year. ^^^^^X^^^^^£^^^ ?«** !' landing which promises th. draught, it is neither occupied nor observed bv X tnZ \ ^ P ° mt a eaSl [ y reached b * vesseIs of heavy that region, and thence, but two marches to .Richmond T' ■* bUt ° De m , arch from W ^ st Point - *e key of off Magruder in the Peninsula and enable m ? to orlnt p ?P i! d mo 1 ve , m r t fr . om Urbana ' would P robabl y cut Should we faUm that, we could! w*to^ before it could be strongly reinforced, of Richmond, thus forcing the enemy to come out and « tta ^ 7' Z° SS tbe - James and show ourselves in rear the southern bank of the river ack US ' for *"" P osit ion would be untenable, with us on ^W S^wlS^SktVort^S ^i n Ll Urbana '-f- ? useMob Jack Bay-or, toe ^ less celerity and brilliancy of remits, up fhe Peninsula ' ° Perate WUh C ° mplete SeCUrity > althou S h with iCrW^r £ uT'T '« neW Une W ° Uld bC ' aCC ° rdiDg t0 «=-cumstances, from 110 to 140,000. adopted y,dded *° the GenCTa1 ' Wh ° had his °™ ™7 (P- 107), and his plan was At page 154, General McClellan says : Monroe^ St artelSSn^f toe 2d ed,With ^ head -1 uarter S ° n «>e steamer Commodore, and reached Fort * * * ' * * * Torktown was surrounded by a contnu^u^ "^^ ^ the effect that and garrisoned by not less than l^niin t™!^= « arth -works, with strong water batteries on the York River, had been prepared by to"Top?«fSaiXCp« r n^ command ,°f General J. B. Magruder. Maps wh?cb! s an immediate movement had taken possession of the minds of the Administration ; and the new Secretary urged him to take immediate steps to freo the Potomac from rebel batteries and instructed him to develop his plan to the President." * Was it not about time to do some of these things ? His reason for insisting on going down the Peninsula two hundred miles to find an enemy, which had lain within twenty miles of him all winter, was that " the roads in that region are passable at all seasons of the year." And yet, if his dispatches are correct, he could not move a step there in early June, because " the roads were impassable." This new development of his plan was sent to the President on the 3d of February ; and yet, in April following, he writes that, even then, his informa- tion as to the enemy was vague and untrustworthy, and that he did not know whether Mul- berry Island was a real island or not, and that he did not even know which way the Warwick River ran I This will be found at page 154 of his report; and at page 106 of the same, report, he states that the total force to be thrown upon the whole line was to be from 110,000 to 140,000 men ! The army of the Potomac, according to the returns in the War Depart- ment certified by McClellan himself, numbered as follows : ABSTRACT of returns received from the Army of the Potomac, from the time General McClellan took com- mand to August let, 1662.— On file in the Adjutant General's office: ^^ Date of Return. September 80, 1861 October 10, " October 30, '• •November^, u •November 91, " November 80 (monthly) '.. . 162^781 ■Agsreff»t« P"«>nt for Duty. Aggwcate Present ted Absent. *... 118,587 144,0051 138,724 157,723 1*3,581 j 168,340 154,364 1 175,731 156,858 180,902 .198.338 .168,996 195,403 .174,384 209,445 . 183,507 219,781 .194,159 224,035 .190,695 225,935 .182,313 , 222,227 .185,418...: 222,018 .192,424 221,578 .179,362 214,983. .101,697 139,868' .115,102 156,838 . 98,258 148,755 . 99,826 157,038 • 101,691 158,314 96,044 156,001 December 10, 1861 ♦December 20, " December 31, " •January 1, 1863. •January 10, w January 31, " February 28, " •March 2, " March 81, « Jane 10, 1862. June 20, " June 80, a July 10, July 20, " July 30, " *r J„ Cf ; rt ify that the above is a correct statement, taken from the official returns made by Major General McUellan (those marked thus * are signed only by his Assistant Adjutant General, the others by Major General McClellan himself) on file in this office, for the respective dates. • , „ (Signed) SAMDEL BRECK, Assistant Adjutant General. Adjitant General's Office, Washington, D. C, October 25th, 1864. THE PLAN. (l . " Fairfax Court-Housb, March 13, 1862. ■«, t> , counci1 of commanders of army corps have unanimously agreed upon a plan of operations. Gen. McDowell will at once proceed with it to Washington and lay it before you. ' -Forces around the city of Washington .and line of the Potomac, before tho opening of tbe campaign, April lat, 1862. r-o-t-r —» -Forces of the Army of" the Potomac on the Peninsula. Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War. G. B. McCLELLAN, Major General Commanding. 41 " Headquarters Armt of the Potomac, Fairfax Court-House, March 13, 1862. A council of the generals commanding army corps at the headquarters of the army of the Potomac we*© of the opinion — " First._ That the enemy having retreated from Manassas to Gordonsville, behind the Rappahannock and Kapidan, it is the opinion of the generals commanding army corps that the operations to be carried on will be best undertaken from Old Point Comfort, between the York and James rivers, upon Richmond ; provided, First, that the enemy's vessel, the Merrimac, can be neutralized. Second, the means of transportation sufficient for an immediate transfer of the force to its new base can be ready at Washington and Alexandria to move down tne f otomac. Third, that a naval auxiliary force can be had to silence, or aid in silencing the enemy's bat- teries in York river. Fourth, " that the force to be left to cover Washington shall be sucli as to give an entire jtetona of security for its safety from menace.'" (Unanimous. ) This was the Peninsula plan submitted by McDowell, and McClellan telegraphs on the name day : _ .. , . . , .,„ Flint Hill, March 13, 1862— 6.15P.M. Tour dispatch wag received at 6.10 P. M., at this place, about three miles from Fairfax Court-House, where I am moving a division. The members of the council, together with myself, were unanimous In forming the- pLan which was presented to you by General McDowell. Steps have already been taken, so that if the plan meets your approval, the movement can commence early to-morrow morning. I will communicate more fullr •Vi soon as I return to my camp. Your speedy action will facilitate the movement. Hon. ■. M. Stimtoh, Seoretary of War. _. n ,. . _, ,. ,, War Dhfabtmbht, March 18, 1862. Tne ^resident having considered the plan of operations agreed tipon by yourself and the commanders »f army corps, makes no objection to the same, but gives the following directions aa to its execution : 1st. Leave such force at Manassas Junction as shall make it entirely eertain that the enemy shall not re- possess himself of that position and line of communication. 3d. Leave Washington secure. -k££ i?*. 0Te toeremaiader o* t*»e 'orM down the Potemac, choosing a new base at Fortress Monroe, or aay wnere between here and there; or, at all events, move such remainder of the army at once in puraail of th» eaemy by some route. Seven o'eloek, forty minutes. MAit* w»aer»l Oaoua B. McClbllar. G. B. McCLELLAN, Major General. SDWIN jj. grr ANTON, Secretary of Wevr. » ^oH" 1 waB a S ree * u ?°°- , The tro °P s were speedily moved, and before the 6th ©f Aprd, 121,600 men were embarked, (see the sworn statement of Hon. John Tucker, Assist- ant Secretary of War, and who had charge of the transports, Vol. 1., p. 295, of report en conduct of the war ) and according to Gea McClellan' s report in writing, filed with the Ad- jutant General,he had left for the defences of Washington, some 76,000 troops (Vol 1 p 34M On the very next day, Gen. Wadsworth reported in writing, to the Secretary 'of War that fre had but 19,022 men for duty, and that he was ordered by Gen. McSelkn to send rTn y m^ reg r en ?^ th ^ number - . ( Vo1 - h P. 316.) The matter was forthwith referred to Gen. Hitchcock and Gen. Thomas, who made a full report, which closes in these words : *>£ Z?!!T5? the °- pi ? io .? ex P u reS8ed *>y th e council of commanders of army corps of the force necessary for tho £»T, e tw ihe CaP *'' ^"Bh not nnmericaUj stated, and of the force represented by General McCUllan^t left for that purpose, we are of op.nion that the requirements of the President that the city shall be left » Pn ™S»?2£ e U?» ?K y to thC P™ ?** the general-in-chicf, but those of the » commanders of the army' corpe" also, has not been complied with. All of which is respectfully submitted. uomm