The Words of Witnesses
Author Richard Wheeler uses eyewitness accounts to tell the story of George McClellan’s failed Peninsula Campaign.
December 3, 1861, his 35th birthday, found Major General George McClellan riding high in his eponymous saddle. Since assuming command of the troops around Washington in July, he had transformed a small, demoralized Army of the Potomac into over 150,000 proud, well-drilled and well-disciplined soldiers. He believed his feat would “hereafter be regarded as one of the highest glories of the administration and the nation.”
In that, McClellan was correct; his organizational skills are deemed superb. His next endeavor, however, demonstrated that successes on the parade ground and the battleground require different skills.
In Sword over Richmond, Richard Wheeler narrates McClellan’s 1862 Peninsula Campaign largely through the words of its participants and observers. Personal accounts taken from diaries, letters, and autobiographies take readers beyond the mere facts of official reports.
Wheeler draws liberally on both Union and Confederate sources ranging from politicians, officers, and soldiers to journalists, chaplains, and private citizens to give his readers a verbal cycloramic view of the campaign. Some accounts portray the misery endured by the common soldiers; others reveal the personalities of the men at the top. Still others show the confusion of battle, the horror of field hospitals, and the uncertainty of Richmond’s residents. Wisely, Wheeler also includes stories of compassion and humor.
The eyewitness accounts contain many interesting revelations, such as the personalities of their writers. For instance, both McClellan and his Confederate counterpart, Joseph Johnston, had issues with their respective presidents. However, McClellan’s communications show him to be an egotistical whiner while Johnston’s portray him as more pragmatic, if not less self-assured.
An amazing number of references to regimental bands appear in the witness stories, attesting to musicians’ importance in the Civil War. In some accounts, they provided direction for soldiers during battle, but they performed other, less official, services as well– playing peppy tunes to inspire foot soldiers during long marches, holding impromptu concerts to relieve the boredom of a siege, providing music for funerals, and celebrating a victory with lively airs.
The destructive impact of McClellan’s campaign on the peninsula is highlighted in many of Wheeler’s selected accounts. Thousands of trees were felled to build shelters, corduroy roads, and bridges. Tons of earth were shoveled to form protective earthen forts and rifle pits. In addition, millions of dollars’ worth of supplies were destroyed to prevent their falling into enemy hands.
Richard Wheeler strings the eyewitness accounts along his own narrative thread, providing enough background material to enable newcomers to the Peninsula Campaign to understand its evolution and importance. For those familiar with its flow of events, Sword over Richmond adds a deeper, more personal level of comprehension.
Sketches, photographs, and maps complement eyewitness accounts to bring a sense of immediacy to Wheeler’s portrayal of McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign.