his country, much more a man who came to me in great
affliction. I have had a regretful night, and come now to beg your
forgiveness." He added that he had just seen Secretary Stanton, and all
the details were arranged for sending the Colonel down the Potomac and
recovering the body; then, taking him in his carriage, he drove to the
steamer's wharf, where, again pressing his hand, he wished him God-speed
on his sad errand.

Such were Lincoln's harrowing experiences; and thus did his noble and
sympathetic nature assert itself over his momentary weakness and
depression.

In August of 1862 General McClellan was ordered to withdraw his army
from the Peninsula. "With a heavy heart," says McClellan, "I
relinquished the position gained at the cost of so much time and blood."
Without being removed from his command, his troops were taken away from
him and sent to join General Pope, who had been placed in command of a
considerable force in Virginia, for the purpose of trying the
President's favorite plan of an advance on Richmond by way of Manassas.
Either from a confusion of orders or a lack of zeal in executing them,
the Union forces failed to co-operate; and Pope's expected victory
(Manassas, August 30) proved a disastrous and humiliating defeat. His
army was beaten and driven back on Washington in a rout little less
disgraceful than that of Bull Run a year before. This battle came to be
known as the "Second Bull Run."

Thus the autumn of 1862 set in amidst gloom, disorder, and dismay. Our
armies in and around the national capital were on the defensive; while
the victorious Lee, following up his successes at Manassas, was invading
Maryland and threatening Washington and the North. The President was
anxious; the Cabinet and Congress were alarmed. The troops had lost
confidence in General Pope, and there was practically no one in chief
command. The situation was most critical; but Lincoln faced it, as he
always did, unflinchingly. He took what he felt to be the wisest and at
the same time the most unpopular step possible under the circumstances:
he placed McClellan in command of all the troops in and around
Washington. It was a bold act, and required no ordinary amount of moral
courage and self-reliance. Outside the army, it was about the most
unpopular thing that could have been done. McClellan was disliked by all
the members of the Cabinet and prominent officials, and with especial
bitterness by Secretary Stanton. Secretary