Mr.
Lincoln made no concealment of his belief that McClellan had acted badly
toward Pope and really wanted him to fail; "but there is no one in the
army who can man these fortifications and lick these troops of ours into
shape half as well as he can," he said. "We must use the tools we have;
if he cannot fight himself, he excels in making others ready to fight."
It turned out that the second battle of Bull Run had by no means so
seriously disorganized the Union army as was reported, and that
Washington had been exposed to no real danger. The Confederate army
hovered on its front for a day or two, but made neither attack nor
demonstration. Instead of this, Lee entered upon a campaign into
Maryland, hoping that his presence might stimulate a secession revolt in
that State, and possibly create the opportunity successfully to attack
Baltimore or Philadelphia.
Pope having been relieved and sent to another department, McClellan soon
restored order among the troops, and displayed unwonted energy and
vigilance in watching the movements of the enemy, as Lee gradually moved
his forces northwestward toward Leesburg, thirty miles from Washington,
where he crossed the Potomac and took position at Frederick, ten miles
farther away. McClellan gradually followed the movement of the enemy,
keeping the Army of the Potomac constantly in a position to protect both
Washington and Baltimore against an attack.
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