"

On one occasion, exasperated at the discrepancy between the aggregate
of troops forwarded to McClellan and the number of men the General
reported as having received, Lincoln exclaimed, "Sending men to that
army is like shoveling fleas across a barnyard--half of them never get
there."

Lincoln's orders to his generals are filled with the kindly courtesy,
the direct argument, and the dry humor which are so characteristic of
the man. To Grant, who had telegraphed, "If the thing is pressed, I
think that Lee will surrender," Lincoln replied, "Let the thing be
pressed."

To McClellan, gently chiding him for his inactivity: "I have just read
your despatch about sore tongue and fatigued horse. Will you pardon me
for asking what the horses of your army have done since the battle of
Antietam that fatigues anything?"

Referring to General McClellan's inactivity, President Lincoln once
expressed his impatience by saying, "McClellan is a pleasant and
scholarly gentleman; he is an admirable engineer, but he seems to have
a special talent for stationary engineering."

After a long period of inaction on the part of the Union forces a
telegram from Cumberland Gap reached Mr. Lincoln, saying that firing
was heard in the direction of Knoxville. The President simply remarked
that he was glad of it. As General Burnside was in a perilous position
in Tennessee at that time, those present were greatly surprised at
Lincoln's calm view of the case. "You see," said the President, "it
reminds me of Mistress Sallie Ward, a neighbor of mine, who had a very
large family. Occasionally one of her numerous progeny would be heard
crying in some out-of-the-way place, upon which Mrs. Ward would
exclaim, 'There's one of my children not dead yet!'"

Writing to Hooker, who succeeded Burnside, Lincoln said:

"I believe you to be a brave and skilful soldier, which, of course, I
like. I also believe you do not mix politics with your profession, in
which you are right. You have confidence in yourself, which is a
valuable, if not indispensable, quality. You are ambitious, which
within reasonable bounds does good rather than harm; but I think that
during General Burnside's command of the army you have taken counsel
with your ambition, and thwarted him as much as you could, in which you
did a great wrong to the country and to a most meritorious and
honorable brother-officer. I have heard, in such a way as to believe
it, of your recently