proposal
that he should become the Democratic candidate for the Presidency, and
with a view to this should pledge himself to certain Democratic
politicians to conduct the war in a way that should conciliate the
South, which to Lincoln's mind meant an "inefficient" way. McClellan,
after some days of unusual reserve, told Smith of this and showed him a
letter which he had drafted giving the desired pledge. On Smith's
earnest remonstrance that this "looked like treason," he did not send
the letter then. But Wood came again after the battle of Antietam, and
this time McClellan sent a letter in the same sense. This he
afterwards confessed to Smith, showing him a copy of the letter. Smith
and other generals asked, after this, to be relieved from service under
him. If, as can hardly be doubted, McClellan did this, there can be no
serious excuse for him, and no serious question that Lincoln was right
when he concluded it was unsafe to employ him. McClellan, according to
all evidence except his own letters, was a nice man, and was not likely
to harbour a thought of what to him seemed treason; it is honourable to
him that he wished later to serve under Grant but was refused by him.
But, to one of his views, the political situation before and after
Antietam was alarming, and it is certain that to his inconclusive mind
and character an attitude of half loyalty would be easy. He may not
have wished that Lee should escape, but he had no ardent desire that he
should not. Right or wrong, such was the ground of Lincoln's
independent and conscientiously deliberate decision.

The result again did not reward him. His choice of Burnside was a
mistake. There were corps commanders under McClellan who had earned
special confidence, but they were all rather old. General Burnside,
who was the senior among the rest, had lately succeeded in operations
in connection with the Navy on the North Carolina coast, whereby
certain harbours were permanently closed to the South. He had since
served under McClellan at the Antietam, but had not earned much credit.
He was a loyal friend to McClellan and very modest about his own
capacity. Perhaps both these things prejudiced Lincoln in his favour.
He continued in active service till nearly the end of the war, when a
failure led to his retirement; and he was always popular and respected.
At this juncture he failed disastrously. On December 11 and 12, 1862,
Lee's army lay strongly posted on the s