1850 American Gold Tycoon.

Chapter 708: More Generals

A wet rain curtain covered the entire Washington, and residents of Washington could hear the sound of cannons coming from the other side of the Potomac River from time to time.

All Washington residents should be grateful to the Potomac River. If it were not for the Potomac River, perhaps the capital of the Northern Confederacy would have changed hands by now.

In the twilight, the capital garrison stationed on the banks of the Potomac River could vaguely see Confederate soldiers on the opposite bank requisitioning civilian ships.

They seemed to be preparing to cross the river, and it seemed that the day when the Yankees would attack Washington was not far away.

"Damn it! These Pennsylvania matches are as useless as the generals appointed by Lincoln!"

Wilson, a second lieutenant of the 6th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment, who was patrolling the banks of the Potomac River with a rifle on his back, struck several matches but none of them worked. He could only put the cigarette between his lips back into the tin cigarette case in disappointment.

The damp weather and the poor quality matches from home deprived him of the few ways to relax.

"I couldn't agree more! To turn an offensive war into a defense of the capital in just one month is simply a miracle in the military history of the United States! God! I really don't know how our generals did it!"

Another veteran from Pennsylvania, Graves, strongly agreed with Wilson's remarks.

"When I was recruiting, they told me that the war would only take one or two months to end! I was worried that the war would end too quickly and I would miss such a great opportunity to make meritorious contributions!"

Stoddard, another Pennsylvania sergeant, laughed at himself.

Most of the soldiers from the Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment were incorporated into the Army of the Potomac.

During the Second Battle of Manassas, Pope and their corps commander McDowell each had their own agenda and missed the opportunity to defeat the Confederate forces one by one.

Although the outcome of the Army of the Potomac was much better than that of the Army of Pope, it preserved its basic structure and successfully retreated to Washington.

However, victory was hard to come by on the Eastern Front, leaving the surviving soldiers extremely disappointed and resentful of their commanders and even the Lincoln administration.

These surviving veterans were not completely ignorant of military affairs. Many of them knew that if McDowell had taken the overall situation into consideration and acted more decisively, the Union Army might not have won the Second Battle of Manassas, but the outcome would have been much better. At least Washington would not have been on the front line.

"We lost the opportunity to make merit, but our respected General McDowell has made great achievements! I heard from the colonel that General McDowell is now a guest of honor in the White House and is highly trusted by the President!"

Wilson sneered.

"Smart General McDowell, he lost the war but won politics!"

After the Second Battle of Manassas, the Union Army was not without winners.

McDowell was the biggest winner of the Northern Army.

Pope's Corps was almost completely wiped out by the Confederate Army in the Second Battle of Manassas. On the surface, the main responsibility for the defeat of this battle lay with Pope's greed and recklessness.

As for McDowell, although he failed to defend Centerville, he at least preserved the structure of the Army of the Potomac, so that Washington was not completely exposed in front of the powerful Confederate Army.

Three-fifths of the troops now stationed in Washington are from the original Army of the Potomac, and the remaining two-fifths are from the original capital garrison.

Under such circumstances, it would be hard for McDowell not to become a guest of honor in the White House.

Those members of Congress who settled in Washington and had not yet fled north now looked to McDowell to protect their property and personal safety. Almost no one dared to blame McDowell.

Of course, it is hard to fault McDowell's move to Centerville. That was McDowell's cleverness.

"My brother works in the telegraph office. He told me that President Lincoln has personally sent a telegram to General McClellan in Omaha, and the Omaha Corps will soon return to support Washington! By then, we will be able to defend Washington and beat the hell out of the Southerners!" Steve, a private who had just joined the army, interjected.

Steve was a pure new soldier and had never been to a real Civil War battlefield. He felt that the situation might not be as bad as these veterans said.

"Shut up! You stupid rookie! Their lies can only fool a stupid, ignorant country bumpkin like you!"

"Let's not talk about whether the Omaha Corps can get rid of the Yankees and return safely. Even if they can return, looking at the Yankees' attitude, we may not be able to hold out until the day when the Omaha Corps arrives in Washington."

"What nonsense are you talking about! Go on patrol! If you let a Southerner swim across the river, you will all be shot!" A captain who passed by them stopped their conversation.

But that was all he could do. Almost all the soldiers stationed in Washington were spreading negative words, and punishment no longer had any effect.

Punishing these soldiers at such a sensitive time will only backfire. Not to mention the soldiers, even the officers, even the senior officers, are now questioning whether they can defend Washington.

In the East Room of the White House, the crystal chandelier kept shaking in the breeze, cutting the seven pale faces in the East Room into fragmented afterimages.

Lincoln unbuttoned the brass buttons of his black woolen coat. The edge of the telegram in his hand had already been soaked by the rain.

He handed the telegram in his hand to his secretary Nicol, who read out the contents of the telegram in a very heavy tone.

"Gentlemen, the latest telegram from Omaha, the Omaha Corps failed to break out successfully, and lost 28 infantry regiments and a cavalry regiment in just one day. General McClellan requested to cancel the order to break out."

Upon hearing the news, all the cabinet members, including McDowell who was allowed to attend the cabinet meeting as an exception, found it incredible and suspected that they had heard it wrong.

"McClellan has always been very cautious in employing troops. How could he lose so many troops in one day?" Scott expressed disbelief. He repeatedly confirmed the authenticity of the telegram with Nickel.

"Nichol, could it be that the message was translated incorrectly? Or was this message deliberately sent to us by spies from the West?"

Scott knew McClellan and had some understanding of the Western Army.

Scott believed that this was true if the Omaha Corps was unable to break through the Western Army's encirclement and was defeated.

Scott believed that losing 34 infantry regiments and one cavalry regiment in one day was absolutely impossible given McClellan's combat style. McClellan was a man who knew how to stop losses.

If McClellan found that there was no hope of breaking out, he would definitely choose to gather his troops and retreat, and would never lose as many troops as 28 infantry regiments.

"The content of the telegram is absolutely true and there is no mistranslation. As for whether it was sent by a Western spy, I personally think it is unlikely. Since the outbreak of the war, the West has never interfered with our telegraph communications. Moreover, the writing style of the telegram is consistent with the telegrams sent by General McClellan before."

Nickel was deeply trusted by Lincoln, and he handled almost all the telegrams coming from the front line. Whether based on rational judgment or emotional intuition, Nickel believed that the possibility of this telegram being forged was very low.

"Could it be that McClellan didn't want to take the risk of breaking out and fabricated such a shocking telegram?" Secretary of State Seward still held out hope.

"No, McClellan would not do such a thing."

Scott and McDowell said in unison.

They all praised the moral character of their colleague.

From another perspective, it can also be interpreted that they all believed that McClellan was a timid and law-abiding person who dared not and would not fabricate the casualties of the Omaha Army and exaggerate the losses.

"General McDowell, if we immediately reorganize the army, mobilize the residents of the capital area, and mobilize all resources, can we prevent the situation from deteriorating further?" Seward looked at the frowning McDowell with expectant eyes.

The so-called prevention of further deterioration of the situation, to put it bluntly, is to ask whether McDowell can hold Washington.

A day earlier, Lincoln had handed over command of all troops in the capital area to McDowell.

"Sir Seward, this is what we have been doing all along," McDowell said in a more tactful tone. "I will do my best, but at the same time, we must prepare for the worst."

McDowell's words were as good as saying nothing. Lincoln couldn't help but shake his head secretly after hearing McClellan's words.

As a soldier, McDowell was too smooth and irresponsible.

It was impossible for Lincoln to hide McDalton's intentions in Centerville.

To be fair, Lincoln did not like, and even felt a little disgusted with, McDowell, a mediocre general who did not seek merit but only avoided mistakes and was too smooth.

Perhaps Lincoln's comments on McDowell were biased, but judging from McDowell's performance since the war began, it would be a compliment to describe him as mediocre.

Unfortunately, the Union was now short of not only soldiers but also generals. Apart from McClellan, Lincoln could not find a better candidate to take on the important task of defending the capital.

Lincoln thought that he should not only continue to mobilize citizens to join the army to make up for the losses on the front line, but also find a group of capable generals. Otherwise, it would be useless to mobilize and train more soldiers.

He summarized the reasons for the defeat on both the eastern and western fronts, and believed that the failure on the front should not be blamed entirely on the soldiers. The Northern commanders such as Mason, McDowell, Pope, and McClellan were more responsible!

(End of this chapter)