With the Seven Days Battle ended, it was clear to both sides that the Union had missed its chance to capture Richmond and end the war there and then. Critics concluded that General Lee’s leadership had surpassed that of General McClellan and in just a month, with far fewer men than the Federals, he had driven the Union army, divided as it was by the flooded Chickahominy River, back towards Washington. Lincoln, exasperated that McClellan had refused to counterattack called the General’s actions “either treason or cowardice.” Meanwhile, the Union soldiers used whiskey and tobacco to fight off the effects of malaria and Lincoln hoped for a victory to announce his Proclamation for Emancipating the Slaves.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN