Page:Behind the scenes, or, Thirty years a slave and four years in the White House.djvu/135

Rh The troops are raw, and the subordinate officers inclined to be rebellious. There are too many politicians in the army with shoulder-straps. McClellan is young and popular, and they are jealous of him. They will kill him off if they can."

"McClellan can make plenty of excuse for himself, therefore he needs no advocate in you. If he would only do something, and not promise so much, I might learn to have a little faith in him. I tell you he is a humbug, and you will have to find some man to take his place, that is, if you wish to conquer the South."

Mrs. Lincoln could not tolerate General Grant. "He is a butcher," she would often say, "and is not fit to be at the head of an army." "But he has been very successful in the field," argued the President. "Yes, he generally manages to claim a victory, but such a victory! He loses two men to the enemy's one. He has no management, no regard