Concerning McClellan at Gettysburg, Bruce Catton mentioned it in his book The Army of the Potomac: Glory Road. On pages 266 and 267 he wrote: "In various moving columns that evening staff officers galloped up in mock frenzy and shouted the news: 'McClellan is in command again!' The boys cheered and tossed their hats and for half an hour the business was a sensation, yet it appears that something about the news failed to ring true, and most of the soldiers were not greatly deceived."A very queer passage: "The boys cheered and tossed their hats and for half an hour the business was a sensation, yet it appears that something about the news failed to ring true and most of the soldiers were not greatly deceived." As with much Centennial history, we have an event, we have an observable effect, and then we have "expert interpretation" to prevent us from drawing the "wrong" (obvious) conclusions.
My correspondent adds,
He gives the following sources in his footnote: "Henry Wilson's Regiment" pg 331; "Army Life:A Private's Reminiscenes", pg 101; "The Old Fourth Michigan Infantry" pp21-22; "History of the 9th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry", pg312; "History of the Sauk County Riflemen", p 70; "Battles and Leaders, Vol III", p301.
So Catton encountered this McClellan event across multiple regimental histories, none of them duplicating my own finds. Amazing. Thanks Kay, and I'll see you all at the interlibrary loan desk.
Do keep those McClellan-at-Gettysburg sightings coming.
