Lincoln Fires McClellan

Mary Todd Lincoln to Abraham Lincoln
Holograph, November 2, 1862
Gift of Robert Todd Lincoln, 1923
Manuscript Division

In response to Lincoln's concern about the slow pace of the Union troops under General George McClellan, the general responded "You may find those who will go faster than I, Mr. President; but it is very doubtful if you will find many who will go further." Mary Todd Lincoln, who believed her great antipathy to the general was shared by the public, advised her husband in this letter to remove McClellan from the command. Whether she influenced her husband's decision is unknown, but on November 5, 1862, Lincoln placed the Union forces under the command of General Burnside.