McClellan McClellan Staging a Coup?

[proud texan]

From Landscape Turned Red pg 38; Source McClellan Papers reel 63:
It is written that McClellan was receiving letters from in the book, unnamed people.
"I have commenced receiving letters from the north to march on Washington & assume the government" he wrote his wife on July 11th.

"turn your army towards Washington, take possession of the city".

He found the thought hard to dismiss; to his wife July 29th " If they leave me here neglected much longer, I will feel like taking my rather large military family to Washington to seek an explanation. I fancy that under such circumstances I should be treated with rather more politeness than I have been of late".
I believe his troops would have followed him, but he lacked the intestinal fortitude to do so.

 

[Copperhead-mi]

<snipped for brevity>
I believe his troops would have followed him, but he lacked the intestinal fortitude to do so.

Imho, it was more common sense than lack of cojones.

 

[proud texan]

Huge army + Megalomaniac would be the right combination for him to do so.
I had not heard of these letters; can't find a copy on line.

 

[ole]

McClellan could have tried it. I'm sure he wanted to, and thought he ought to, but McClellan was not one to make bold, decisive moves.

 

[proud texan]

McClellan could have tried it. I'm sure he wanted to, and thought he ought to, but McClellan was not one to make bold, decisive moves.

His ultimate downfall.
Ole, thanks for the book recommendation. I believe Stephen W. Sears is going to be making some money off of me soon...Great author.

 

[Stony]

No way no how. Not McClellan.

 

[diane]

Some Confederate congressmen approached Lee with the same idea. We need a dictator, they said, and we think you'd make a great one! Lee reacted as if they'd handed him a gift wrapped snake. Don't say something like that to a general with a loyal army who's sitting right outside your doorstep! Go back to eating peanuts and chewing tobacco. I don't know if was a good thing or a bad thing, but if Lee had decided darn tootin', we do need a dictator and I'm up for the job! the ANV would have followed him.

 

[proud texan]

Haven't heard this or seen it discussed. Big ideas!

If it is not departing too far from my province, I will rentt, X (?)
to suggest the policy of an ultimate alliance and cordial un-
derstanding with Mexico ; their sympathies and interests are
with us— their antipathies exclusively against our enemy's
their institutions. I think it would not be difficult to obtain
from the Mexican government the right to use, at least during
the present contest, the road from Cuavmas to New Mexico ;
this concession would very materially reduce the obstacles of
the column moving from the Pacific ; a similar permission to
use their territory for the passage of troops between the
Panaco and the Rio Grande would enable us to throw a co-
lumn of troops by a good road from Tampico, or some of the
small harbors north of it, upon and across the Rio Grande,
without risk and scarcely firing a shot.

To what extent, if any would be desirable to take into
service and employ Mexican soldiers, is a question entirely
political, on which I do not venture to offer an opinion.
http://archive.org/stream/reportofmajgenge00mccl/reportofmajgenge00mccl_djvu.txt