“I write you this letter with mixed feelings. Personal friendship and interest in your welfare, I think, predominate. I am not so blinded as not to know that it gave you pain to allow such scandal against me and to take such action as you thought the peculiar circumstances required. Much as I differ with you on the subject, I am not ready to blame you or to feel bitterly.”
Then follows that warning: “I impress upon you the necessity for your own sake of considering carefully the suggestions I have presented,” and closes with the assurance, “I shall not again address you a letter on such a subject.”
This assurance was not fulfilled. Indeed, Pope wrote several letters on the subject, as will appear. Queer letters were they, to be written by a major-general commanding a department, to his superior, the general-in-chief, to whom he administers the medicine à la cheval de trait.
To summarize: Pope makes these charges against Halleck.
(1) That the plan of campaign was Halleck’s.[15]
(2) That Pope was but an instrument in the hands of the general-in-chief.[16]
(3) That Pope faithfully executed Halleck’s plans.[17]
(4) That the latter fully approved every act of the former, thereby making himself responsible, so far as Pope was concerned, for the final result.[18]
Here a pause. These charges are fully substantiated by letters and telegrams passing between Halleck and Pope, which appear in parts II and III, of Vol. XII, of the Official Records. Pope was regularly advising Halleck of his movements, and Halleck was as regularly approving the same. And as late as August 26, 11:45 A. M., Halleck wired Pope: “Not the slightest dissatisfaction has been felt in regard to your operations on the Rappahannock,” etc.
Returning to the charges: