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On the occasion of Longstreet's visit to Antietam in 1893, a correspondent of the Washington Post recorded the General's opinions on a number of topics. In this part of the interview, General Longstreet continues his assessment in response to the question, ""What estimate do you place upon General McClellan, General Longstreet? Was he considered on your side as a man of real capacity?"
"McClellan commenced too high up, in fact. He should have begun as the colonel of a regiment. He was undoubtedly something of an organizer and a good drill master. He lost a great opportunity here on this Sharpsburg field -- no general could ask for a better. Commanding a greatly superior army, opposed to an enemy divided by the Potomac, Shenandoah and the Blue Ridge into four weak, isolated parts, whose location he absolutely knew from General Lee's written dispositions, which had accidentally fallen into his hands, McClellan's failure to not only relieve Harper's Ferry, but to destroy at least one of the segments of General Lee's army must be considered about the most disastrous failure of the war on either side.
"Properly, General McClellan should have merely threatened D. H. Hill at Turner's Pass, and poured his troops through Crampton's Gap upon McLaw's and Anderson's rear, with the Potomac River and the Harper's Ferry garrison in their front. There was no escape for them, and by this movement Harper's Ferry would have been wrested from our clutch. Instead McClellan elected to turn northward upon us and fight at Turner's Pass, where he lost eighteen hours, and then, after another delay of over thirty-six hours, to attack me in a chosen position behind the Antietam. Sharpsburg was the greatest single day's battle of the war, and involved the greatest losses on both sides."
"Properly, General McClellan should have merely threatened D. H. Hill at Turner's Pass, and poured his troops through Crampton's Gap upon McLaw's and Anderson's rear, with the Potomac River and the Harper's Ferry garrison in their front. There was no escape for them, and by this movement Harper's Ferry would have been wrested from our clutch. Instead McClellan elected to turn northward upon us and fight at Turner's Pass, where he lost eighteen hours, and then, after another delay of over thirty-six hours, to attack me in a chosen position behind the Antietam. Sharpsburg was the greatest single day's battle of the war, and involved the greatest losses on both sides."
Interview: Reprinted from the Washington Post of June 1893, the interview appeared in The Times Dispatch. (Richmond, VA.), November 12, 1911, page 3.
Image: LOC https://www.loc.gov/resource/gvhs01.vhs00118/?r=-0.073,0.03,1.447,0.628,0
Note: This post is Part 20 of a series on Longstreet's opinions of various Generals and individuals, expressed during an 1893 interview with a Washington Post corespondent. Longstreet's opinions on various individuals are posted in separate threads so they can be easily located - Bragg, Jackson, A P Hill, Early, Ewell, Pickett, Sheridan, Joe Johnston, Beauregard, Hood, Jeff Davis, Lee, Meade, McClellan, and more. Here are the links to Parts 1-19, posted previously:
Part 1 - Intro to the article
Part 2 - Longstreet on Bragg
Part 3 - Longstreet on Jackson
Part 4 - Longstreet on AP Hill
Part 5 - Longstreet on Ewell & Early
Part 6 - Longstreet on Pickett, Sheridan, Five Forks & the Timing of the Surrender
Part 7 - Longstreet on Joe Johnston
Part 8 - Longstreet on Beauregard
Part 9 - Longstreet on Hood
Part 10 - Longstreet on Lee's military attributes
Part 11 - Lee's Best Battle
Part 12 - Lee's Poorest Generalship
Part 13 - Lee's greatest weakness as tactical commander
Part 14 - Lee's tactical weakness at Gettysburg
Part 15 - Meade's Lost Opportunity
Part 16 - Gettysburg Controversies
Part 17 - Post-Gettysburg Relationship with Lee
Part 18 - Lee's Dangerous Confidence
Part 19 - Longstreet on McClellan Part 1
<Up next - Three lucky shots at Antietam>
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