CHAPTER V.
THE wise men of Washington agreed that McDowell was not the general
we took him for, so we sent for George B. McClellan, who had been
whipping the rebels up in Northern Virginia. We felt sure that he
was the man who would whip the rebels for us, and gain us victories;
who would dispel the gloom hanging over the land, and bring us
plenty of sunshine. Indeed, my son, the nation began to feel very
happy in the possession of such a man; for, according to the
newspapers, he had displayed remarkable military traits when only a
boy, such as great attention to the study of maps, and the making of
little dirt piles. It was also added that while yet a youth he was
very obedient to his father, and affectionately fond of his mother.
And these excellent traits of character, in one so young, it was
held by our wise men, must, when improved and enlarged by manhood,
make the man, who had given his mind to the study of arms a great
general. So, my son, you see what an opportunity there is before
you.
Well, George came to us flush from the field of his glories, and we
proceeded at once to make him a hero before he had made us an army.
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