JULY 7, 1862:
Fresh from his ignominious defeats in the Seven Days’
Battles, Major General George B. McClellan U.S.A. takes an opportunity to
instruct his Commander-in-Chief on the conduct of the war:
“This rebellion has
assumed the character of a War: as such it should be regarded; and it should be
conducted upon the highest principles known to Christian Civilization. It
should not be a War looking to the subjugation of the people of any state, in
any event. It should not be, at all, a War upon population; but against armed
forces and political organizations. Neither confiscation of property, political
executions of persons, territorial organization of states or forcible abolition
of slavery should be contemplated for a moment. In prosecuting the War, all
private property and unarmed persons should be strictly protected; subject only
to the necessities of military operations. . . . Military power should not be
allowed to interfere with the relations of servitude, either by supporting or
impairing the authority of the master; except for repressing disorder as in other
cases. Slaves contraband under the Act of Congress, seeking military
protection, should receive it. The right of the Government to appropriate
permanently to its own service claims to slave labor should be asserted and the
right of the owner to compensation therefore should be recognized. . . . Unless
the principles governing the further conduct of our struggle shall be made
known and approved, the effort to obtain requisite forces will be almost
hopeless. A declaration of radical views, especially upon slavery, will rapidly
disintegrate our present Armies. . . .”
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