McClellan's Letter to Robert E Lee

[STS Lincolnite]

I certainly am not a great fan of McClellan, but I have serious doubts as to veracity of this claim. I don't doubt that McClellan made comments as have been quoted previously. -- "How these brave fellows love me, and what a power that love places in my hands! What is there to prevent my taking the Government in my own hands?" But the idea that he wrote an actual letter to Gen. Lee with direct overtones as to a joint overthrow of the Government is a bridge too far for me - especially without any more substantial evidence or direct corroboration. Like Gene, I am not aware of any other source that clearly presents any real credible evidence to support the claim that such a letter existed. I did a quick check of Longstreet's memoirs and he makes no mention of any such letter in his chapters that touch on the Maryland Campaign or its immediate aftermath.

(01-23-2017 09:24 PM)brtmchl Wrote:  I would think that the Confederates would use this information as propaganda to throw the Union ranks into disarray and get rid of McClellan. That is of course, had they wanted to remove McClellan. They may have viewed his slow and overcautious attitude as a better asset.

I think you are right that the Confederate Generalship would have preferred McClellan. This from Longstreet's memoir discussing McClellan's being relieved of command:

"When informed of the change, General Lee expressed regret, as he thought that McClellan could be relied upon to conform to the strictest rules of science in the conduct of war. He had been McClellan's preceptor, they had served together in the engineer corps, and our chief thought that he thoroughly understood the displaced commander."

Translation, McClellan was utterly predictable and therefore would not be a real threat.