Military Reminiscences of the Civil War, vol 1 (April 1861-November 1863) | Page 8

assistance as I could render in the first enrolment and
organization of the Ohio quota. Arranging to be called to the Senate
chamber when my vote might be needed upon important legislation, I
gave my time chiefly to such military matters as the governor
appointed. Although, as I have said, my military commission had been
a nominal thing, and in fact I had never worn a uniform, I had not
wholly neglected theoretic preparation for such work. For some years
the possibility of a war of secession had been one of the things which
would force itself upon the thoughts of reflecting people, and I had
been led to give some careful study to such books of tactics and of
strategy as were within easy reach. I had especially been led to read
military history with critical care, and had carried away many valuable

ideas from this most useful means of military education. I had therefore
some notion of the work before us, and could approach its problems
with less loss of time, at least, than if I had been wholly ignorant.
[Footnote: I have treated this subject somewhat more fully in a paper in
the "Atlantic Monthly" for March, 1892, "Why the Men of '61 fought
for the Union."]
My commission as Brigadier-General in the Ohio quota in national
service was dated on the 23d of April, though it had been understood
for several days that my tender of service in the field would be accepted.
Just about the same time Captain George B. McClellan was requested
by Governor Dennison to come to Columbus for consultation, and by
the governor's request I met him at the railway station and took him to
the State House. I think Mr. Larz Anderson (brother of Major Robert
Anderson) and Mr. L'Hommedieu of Cincinnati were with him. The
intimation had been given me that he would probably be made
major-general and commandant of our Ohio contingent, and this,
naturally, made me scan him closely. He was rather under the medium
height, but muscularly formed, with broad shoulders and a well-poised
head, active and graceful in motion. His whole appearance was quiet
and modest, but when drawn out he showed no lack of confidence in
himself. He was dressed in a plain travelling suit, with a
narrow-rimmed soft felt hat. In short, he seemed what he was, a railway
superintendent in his business clothes. At the time his name was a good
deal associated with that of Beauregard; they were spoken of as young
men of similar standing in the Engineer Corps of the Army, and great
things were expected of them both because of their scientific
knowledge of their profession, though McClellan had been in civil life
for some years. His report on the Crimean War was one of the few
important memoirs our old army had produced, and was valuable
enough to give a just reputation for comprehensive understanding of
military organization, and the promise of ability to conduct the
operations of an army.
I was present at the interview which the governor had with him. The
destitution of the State of everything like military material and
equipment was very plainly put, and the magnitude of the task of

building up a small army out of nothing was not blinked. The governor
spoke of the embarrassment he felt at every step from the lack of
practical military experience in his staff, and of his desire to have some
one on whom he could properly throw the details of military work.
McClellan showed that he fully understood the difficulties there would
be before him, and said that no man could wholly master them at once,
although he had confidence that if a few weeks' time for preparation
were given, he would be able to put the Ohio division into reasonable
form for taking the field. The command was then formally tendered and
accepted. All of us who were present felt that the selection was one full
of promise and hope, and that the governor had done the wisest thing
practicable at the time.
The next morning McClellan requested me to accompany him to the
State Arsenal, to see what arms and material might be there. We found
a few boxes of smooth-bore muskets which had once been issued to
militia companies and had been returned rusted and damaged. No belts,
cartridge-boxes, or other accoutrements were with them. There were
two or three smooth-bore brass fieldpieces, six-pounders, which had
been honeycombed by firing salutes, and of which the vents had been
worn out, bushed, and worn out again. In a heap in one corner lay a
confused pile of mildewed harness, which had probably been once used
for artillery horses, but was now not worth carrying away. There had
for many years been no money appropriated