The question was not whether they were right or
wrong. Assuming them to be wrong, it would still be a mistake to
withstand them beyond a certain point. If yielding to them should
result in disastrous consequences, they must be called upon to rally,
and could be trusted to do so, instructed but undismayed by their
experience. All this McClellan utterly failed to appreciate, thereby
leading Mr. Swinton very justly to remark that he was lacking in "the
statesmanlike qualities that enter into the composition of a great
general."[151]
On the other hand, no man ever lived more capable than Mr. Lincoln of
precisely appreciating the present facts, or more sure to avoid those
peculiar blunders which entrapped the military commander. He was very
loyal in living up to his pledge to give the general full support, and
by his conduct during many months to come he proved his readiness to
abide to the last possible point. He knew, however, with unerring
accuracy just where that last point lay, and he saw with disquietude
that it was being approached too rapidly. He was getting sufficient
knowledge of McClellan's character to see that the day was not distant
when he must interfere. Meantime he kept his sensitive finger upon the
popular pulse, as an expert physician watches a patient in a fever. With
the growth of the impatience his anxiety grew, for the people's war
would not be successfully fought by a dissatisfied people.
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