Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in to episode number 227 of our

Civil War Podcast. I'm Rich. And I'm Tracy. Hello y'all. Welcome to the

podcast. As y'all recall in the last episode we looked at Abraham Lincoln's

decision to relieve George McClellan of command of the Army of the Potomac in

early November 1862. With this show we'll continue with the story of Little

Max Dismissal and the elevation of Ambrose Burnside to command the Army. One

thing we didn't mention last time but that we thought we'd better address even

if just briefly was the timing of Lincoln's removal of McClellan. When the

president sacked Little Mac pretty much everyone couldn't help but notice that

it took place right after the recent midterm elections.

Major General George Mead, a division commander in the Army of the Potomac, wrote

to his wife explaining that had Little Mac been dismissed immediately after

Antietam quote, I could have seen some show of reason on military grounds. But

Mead continued Little Mac getting the boot immediately after the elections

quote, proves conclusively that the cause is political. Mead wasn't alone in

thinking that but as our discussion last week showed Abraham Lincoln's

decision to remove Little Mac from command was not based on purely political

reasons. Having said that however it must also be admitted that the timing of

Lincoln's move was certainly influenced by politics. In his book Frederick

Spurg, Frederick Spurg, George Raeble writes quote, Lincoln had solid military

reasons to get rid of McClellan but political imperatives had momentarily

stayed his hand. Timing Lincoln well knew in both political and military affairs

...