rupert822
Private
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2017
- Location
- Eastern Shore, Maryland
I was reading Andrew Gordon's The Rules of the Game: Jutland and British Naval Command last night and came across this passage, at the relevant points, in reference to Hugh Evan-Thomas:
"His wartime letters to his wife Hilda were (as is so often the case) burned by her after his death....(p)ossibly the letters which Lady Evan-Thomas destroyed were diatribes of discontent; but it is unlikely....".
It pretty much immediately occurred to me that "diatribes of discontent" pretty well sums up McCllellan's letters to Ellen. What would his reputation be like if she had burned them? As I recall, a good deal of his most offensive riffs- the original gorilla, well meaning baboon, I have become the power of the land- come out of this correspondence. His superiors, contemporaries, and his soldiers weren't privy to the letters, or the last line of his you have done your best to sacrifice this army wire. No wonder they had a different opinion of Little Mac than Stephen Sears does. Not saying he should be given a total pass for their contents, but it also does not make a lot of sense to judge his entire character on the basis of private letters to his newly wed wife.
"His wartime letters to his wife Hilda were (as is so often the case) burned by her after his death....(p)ossibly the letters which Lady Evan-Thomas destroyed were diatribes of discontent; but it is unlikely....".
It pretty much immediately occurred to me that "diatribes of discontent" pretty well sums up McCllellan's letters to Ellen. What would his reputation be like if she had burned them? As I recall, a good deal of his most offensive riffs- the original gorilla, well meaning baboon, I have become the power of the land- come out of this correspondence. His superiors, contemporaries, and his soldiers weren't privy to the letters, or the last line of his you have done your best to sacrifice this army wire. No wonder they had a different opinion of Little Mac than Stephen Sears does. Not saying he should be given a total pass for their contents, but it also does not make a lot of sense to judge his entire character on the basis of private letters to his newly wed wife.