Democratic Sentinel, Volume 9, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 November 1885 — McCLELLAN AND STANTON. [ARTICLE]

McCLELLAN AND STANTON.

The Former’s Version of the Hostility Between Them— Treachery of the Minister at a Critical Epoch— A Victim of Vaulting Ambition.

[Boston (Mass.) Special.] An officer of the Army of the Potoinac, under McClellan, quotes the general version of the feud between him and Secretary Stanton. The conversation took place at Bar Harbor in August, 1884, when the officer visited the Gene al to request him to be Boston’s guest on the 17th of September following. The story purports to be in General McClellan’s words: “When President Lincoln reassigned me to lhe command after the second Bull Run, he said: ‘‘Now, General, before you 1 ave Washington I wish you would call upon Stanton and see if you can not have a good personal understanding with him.” “ ‘Mr. President,’ I said, ‘I wish never again to have any personal dealings with Mr. Stanton, and I speak as much through regard for the men of the army of the Potomac, their lives and welfare, as I do on account of any ill-treatment of myself.’ “ ‘Now. General,’ the President said, ‘at this crisis in the affairs of tht nation, consider what a damaging effect it would have upon the people were it known that the Commander of the Army and the Secretary of War were at swords joints. Don’t stop to consider onger, I wish you would see him lefore you leave for th© field.’ “‘Mr. President,’ I replied, ‘you are the Commander-in-Chief. As you order me, I obey; I will do so.’ “ ‘When shall I send word to the Secretary that you will be there?’ “ ‘At his office the firs u business hour of to-morrow.’ “I appeared next morning at the Secretary’s office. He opened wide his arms to embrace me. He protested that he had ever been my best of friends. Others might be my enemies, and had thwarted him in nis efforts to render me thesup-

port which was so unjustifiably withheld. ‘I have now urged that you shall be recalled again to the command,’ said Stanton. ‘You are the only one to save us. The army has unbounded trust in you, and you have confidence in it. I want you, General McClellan, to consider that I am one of your staunchest and most loyal of personal friends. Your being recalled again will now enable me, without any restriction, to back you up with all the resources of the War Department. Your enemies will no longer be able to interfered they can not, they will not, I pledge you, interfere. Go out to the field in the fullest assurance that you will have me here to strengthen your hands and supply all and every need of your army.’ “In response I rssured the secretary that in my judgment all wo’d be well for the cause if the army was cordially supported and mv efforts sustained. I left in the trust that I would now receive adequate backing from the authorities. — Well, sir, I had not gone out from the presence of that secretary two hours before he began his old style of villification of me. Stanton seemed to have a mortal hatred of every General who stood well with the army or who was s iccessful in the field. I was informed of his traducing me by a gentleman whose honor could not t e questioned.— When General Halleck was at Washington in command, government and social circles were scandalized at times and at others amused by the petty spite shown by one to the other. It was not an [ uncommon thing for Stanton to tell ■ some mean anecdote of the Gener-

al, and end off by . vowing that Halleck was the biggest liar in Washingtom Sta ton was a singular compound, and I can only account for much of the peculiar conduct of the man on the ground that he was filled with some sort of mad ambition.”