McClellan, before Richmond, was checked in May.
Early in July, his peninsula campaign ended disastrously in the
terrible "Seven Days' Battle."
Anticipating McClellan's failure, Lincoln had already determined
to call for more troops. On July 1st, he called upon the
Governors of the States to provide him with 300,000 men to serve
three years. But the volunteering enthusiasm--explain it as you
will--had suffered a check. The psychological moment had passed.
So slow was the response to the call of July 1st, that another
appeal was made early in August, this time for 300,000 men to
serve only nine months. But this also failed to rouse the
country. A reinforcement of only 87,000 men was raised in
response to this emergency call. The able lawyer in the War
Department had still much to learn about men and nations.
After this check, terrible incidents of war came thick and fast
--the defeat at Second Manassas, in late August; the horrible
drawn battle of Antietam-Sharpsburg, in September;
Fredericksburg, that carnival of slaughter, in December; the
dearly bought victory of Murfreesboro, which opened 1863. There
were other disastrous events at least as serious. Foreign
affairs* were at their darkest. Within the political coalition
supporting Lincoln, contention was the order of the day.
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