One last Entry About September, 1862

What follows is a letter from General George McClellan to William H. Aspinwall, a New York Democrat.

Head-Quarters Army of the  Potomac

Sharpsburg, Sept.  26, 1862

My dear Sir

      I am very anxious to know how you and men like you regard the recent Proclamations of the Presdt inaugurating servile war, emancipating the slaves, & at one stroke of the pen changing our free institutions into a despotism - for such I regard the natural effect of the last, suspending the Habeas Corpus throughout the land.
     I shall probably be in this vicinity for some days &, if you regard the matter as gravely as I do, would be glad to communicate with you.

In haste I am sincerely yours

Geo B McClellan

McClellan was a general who clearly was willing to express his political thoughts, and felt the president was setting up a tyranny. It gives us a way of understanding how inert McClellan was after the battle of Antietam. He was waiting for the political situation to develop, perhaps hoping President Lincoln would be impeached or overthrown, possibly thinking he might take charge of the government himself.

By behaving as he was, did he give aid and comfort to the Confederates? In my opinion, by the autumn of 1862, General McClellan was so hostile to Lincoln that he was secretly hoping for a Confederate victory. It's about as close to treason as any American army officer since Benedict Arnold.