Letter of the Secretary of War: Transmitting Report on the Organization of the Army of the Potomac, and of Its Campaigns in Virginia and MarylandU.S. Government Printing Office, 1864 - 242 pages |
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Common terms and phrases
advance Alexandria Antietam Aquia Aquia creek arrived artillery attack August bank batteries battle Bottom's bridge bridge brigade Burnside camp campaign Captain cavalry Chickahominy Colonel column corps Couch's division crossed defence depots despatch direction enemy enemy's field fire flank Fort Magruder Fort Monroe Franklin Frémont front G. B. MCCLELLAN garrison general-in-chief guard guns H. W. HALLECK Harper's Ferry HEADQUARTERS ARMY Heintzelman Hooker infantry instructions intrenched James river land Lieutenant Major General H. W. Major General MCCLELLAN Manassas Maryland miles military Monroe morning move movement necessary night occupied officers operations Peninsula Porter position possible Potomac President Quartermaster railroad re-enforcements rear rebels received reconnoissance regiments Richmond road Rohrersville Savage's station Secretary Secretary of War sent Sharpsburg soon Sumner supplies telegram telegraphed tion transportation troops United States Army United States cavalry vicinity Virginia wagons Warrenton Washington Williamsburg York volunteers Yorktown
Popular passages
Page 35 - That the heads of departments, and especially the Secretaries of War and of the Navy, with all their subordinates, and the general-in-chief, with all other commanders and subordinates of land and naval forces, will severally be held to their strict and full responsibilities for prompt execution of this order.
Page 154 - I am clear that one of two courses should be adopted: First, to concentrate all our available forces to open communications with Pope; Second, to leave Pope to get out of his scrape, and at once use all our means to make the capital perfectly safe.
Page 122 - Excellency for your private consideration my general views concerning the existing state of the rebellion, although they do not strictly relate to the situation of this army or strictly come within the scope of my official duties.
Page 46 - That any movement, as aforesaid, en route for a new base of operations which may be ordered by the generalin-chief, and which may be intended to move upon the Chesapeake Bay, shall begin to move upon the bay as early as the 18th of March instant ; and the general-in-chief shall be responsible that it so moves as early as that day.
Page 62 - I am powerless to help this. You will do me the justice to remember I always insisted that going down the bay in search of a field, instead of fighting at or ne'ar Manassas, was only shifting, and not surmounting, a difficulty; that we would find the same enemy, and the same or equal intrenchments, at either place.
Page 110 - In addition to what I have already said, I only wish to say to the President that I think he is wrong in regarding me as ungenerous when I said that my force was too weak.
Page 35 - My dear Sir : — You and I have distinct and different plans for a movement of the Army of the Potomac — yours to be down the Chesapeake, up the Rappahannock to Urbana, and across land to the terminus of the railroad on the York River; mine to move directly to a point on the railroad southwest of Manassas.
Page 93 - I am glad to learn that you are pressing forward reinforcements so vigorously. " I shall be in perfect readiness to- move forward and take Richmond the moment McCall reaches here and the ground will admit the passage of artillery.
Page 123 - This principle might be extended, upon grounds of military necessity and security, to all the slaves of a particular State, thus working manumission in such State ; and in Missouri, perhaps in Western Virginia also, and possibly even in Maryland, the expediency of such a measure is only a question of time.
Page 110 - I feel too earnestly to-night, I have seen too many dead and wounded comrades, to feel otherwise than that the government has not sustained this army. If you do not do so now, the game is lost. If I save this army now, I tell you plainly that I owe no thanks to you, or to any other persons in Washington. You have done your best to sacrifice this army.