the nation, hesitation and self-distrust may well accompany the assumption of so vast a responsibility; but confiding, as I do, in the loyalty, discipline, and courage of our troops, and believing, as I do, that Providence will favor ours as the just cause, I cannot doubt that success will crown our efforts and sacrifices. "The army will unite with me in the feeling of regret that the weight of many years, and the effect of increasing infirmities, contracted and intensified in his country's service, should just now remove from our head the great soldier of our nation-the hero who, in his youth, raised high the reputation of his country in the fields of Canada, which he sanctified with his blood; who, in more mature years, proved to the world that American skill and valor could repeat, if not eclipse, the exploits of Cortez in the land of the Montezumas; whose whole life has been devoted to the service of his country; whose whole efforts have been directed to uphold our honor at the smallest sacrifice of life ;—a warrior who scorned the selfish glories of the battle-field, when his great qualities as a statesman could be employed more profitably for his country; a citizen who, in his declining years, has given to the world the most shining instances of loyalty in disregarding all ties of birth, and clinging to the cause of truth and honor. Such has been the career of Winfield Scott, whom it has long been the delight of the nation to honor as a man and a soldier.

"While we regret his loss, there is one thing we cannot regret -the bright example he has left for our emulation. Let us all hope and pray that his declining years may be passed in peace and happiness, and that they may be cheered by the success of the country and the cause he has fought for and loved so well. Beyond all that, let us do nothing that can cause him to blush for us. Let no defeat of the army he has so long commanded embitter his last years, but let our victories illuminate the close of a life so grand. "GEO. B. MCCLELLAN, “Major-General Commanding U. S. A.” .

PRESENTATION OF A SWORD BY THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA.

On the following day, General McClellan was presented with a costly sword by the City Councils of Philadelphia, a deputation of which body had proceeded to Washington to make the presentation. In responding to the complimentary remarks of the donors, he said:

"I ask you, sir, to give my warmest and deep thanks to the honorable body you represent for this entirely unmerited compliment. I could thank you better if I thought that I deserved it, but I do not feel that I do. Nothing that I have yet accomplished would warrant this high compliment. It is for the future

to determine whether I shall realize the expectations and hopes that have been centred in me. I trust and feel that the day is not far distant when I shall return to the place dearest of all others to me, there to spend the balance of my life among the people from whom I have received this beautiful gift. The war cannot last long. It may be desperate. I ask in the future, forbearance, patience, and confidence. With these we can accomplish all; and while I know that, in the great drama which may have our hearts' blood, Pennsylvania will not play the least, I trust that, on the other hand, she will play the highest and noblest part.

I again thank you, and ask you to my most sincere thanks for the sword. be my ambition to deserve it hereafter.

mac

convey to the Councils Say to them that it will I know I do not now."

AN UNUSUAL HONOR.

On the twelfth of November one of the most signal manifestations of the esteem in which "Little Mac" was held by the officers and soldiers of the Army of the Potowas witnessed-General Blenker's Division that night having marched from their camping-ground to General McClellan's residence in Washington, and tendered him a most delightful serenade. The line of the procession was illuminated throughout its length by thousands of torches; and while the offering was in every way creditable to the participants, and complimentary to the distinguished man they honored, it was one of the most enthusiastic displays ever witnessed at the Capital.

THE OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH. On the twenty-seventh of November, General McClellan issued an additional order in regard to the observance of the Sabbath by the army. Fighting in a holy cause, he believed it to be the duty of his men to deserve the favor of the Almighty by resting from their labors and, whenever practicable, attending Divine service. One day's rest in a week he considered necessary for man and animal, and, to use his own language, "The observance of the holy day of the God of mercy and of battles is our sacred duty." To facilitate the chaplains in their Sunday duties,

the hour of company inspections was changed, and officers were notified to see that all persons connected with their commands, when not engaged on important service, should have the opportunity to attend the religious services. Respectful deportment towards the chaplains and a hearty co-operation with them was also enjoined.

MILITARY MOVEMENTS PROJECTED.

An organization of troops for occupying the coast line of the South on the middle Atlantic, which had been suggested by General McClellan in September, 1861, took shape in January, 1862, as an expedition under General Burnside, designed to facilitate the movements of the main body in Eastern Virginia by an occupation of the coast line of North Carolina, General Burnside being ordered, when he should have seized Newbern, to occupy and destroy the Weldon and Wilmington railroad as far west as Goldsboro', and should circumstances favor, to push as far as Raleigh, Wilmington being, however, his ultimate objective point.

At the same time letters were sent to General Halleck, (appointed to the command of the Department of Missouri), to General Buell (in command of the Department of the Ohio), to General Sherman (commanding in South Carolina and Georgia), and to General Butler (commanding the Department of the Gulf). General Halleck was charged with the duty of "reducing chaos to order." respect to military operations, he was ordered to hold the State by fortified posts and concentrate his force on the Mississippi, in readiness for ulterior operations.

General Buell was instructed as to the vast importance of the military occupation of Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee. In Kentucky itself he was advised, “the conduct of our political affairs is perhaps more important than that of our military operations," and he was urged

to bear in mind "that we shall most readily suppress this rebellion and restore the authority of the government by religiously respecting the constitutional rights of all.". In accordance "with the feelings and opinion of the President," General McClellan requested General Buell to assure "the people of Kentucky, that their domestic institutions will in no manner be interfered with ;" and "to allow nothing but the dictates of military necessity," to cause him to " 'depart from the spirit of his instructions." In respect to Tennessee, General Buell was ordered to throw the mass of his troops "by rapid marches, by Cumberland or Walker's gap, on Knoxville, in order to occupy the railroad at that point," and "cut the communication between Eastern Virginia and the Mississippi." General Buell was further counselled to avoid "widening the breach existing between us and the rebels," by "causeless arrests and persecutions of indidividuals." “I have always found," adds General McClellan, "that it is the tendency of subordinates to make vexatious arrests on mere suspicion."

General Sherman was advised that the favorable moment for a coup de main against Savannah had been lost, and that the best course before him would be to "isolate and reduce Fort Pulaski." But the "reduction of Charleston and its defences," was held up as the great moral advantage to be sought for, and this was stated to be an object for which General McClellan was actively maturing his combinations. General Butler was instructed as to the obstacles to be encountered in reducing New Orleans, and was ordered, as soon as possible after the fall of that city, to "seize all the approaches leading to it from the east," and particularly "Jackson, in Mississippi," with an ultimate view, as well to the capture of Mobile, as to the opening of the Mississippi.

The instructions thus issued to the Generals named,

comprehend the entire scope of the plans of General McClellan, of which plans the movement of the Army of the Potomac under his own orders was the central feature. It was considered by him necessary to the success of these plans, that they should be carried out simultaneously, or as nearly so as possible, and the advance of the Potomac army upon Richmond by the lower Rappahannock was kept in hand by him, to be delivered as the decisive blow, in conjunction with all the rest of the general movement.

"ON TO RICHMOND."

On the 27th of January, 1862, President Lincoln assumed command of all the armies prepared and preparing for these general movements. He issued on that day his "War Order No. 1," prescribing that on the 22d of February, 1862, a general movement of all the land and naval forces of the United States should be made against the insurgent forces. This order was followed four days after by a second order, commanding the Army of the Potomac to occupy a point "southwestward of

Manassas Junction."

On the 3d of February, General McClellan received a note from the President, reasoning with him on the choice he had made of a route to Richmond. General McClellan replied substantially, in a letter to Secretary Stanton, reciting what had been done with the Army of the Potomac, and what remained to be done with that and with all the other armies of the Republic; stating his reluctance to "waste life in useless battles," and his desire "to strike at the heart;" and pointing out the military reasons for preferring the base of the lower Chesapeake, to that of Washington, for operations against the army intrenched at Manassas.

"For many long months," he said, "I have labored to