This was the young hero of the War of 1812 and the great commander who had carried the brilliant campaign into the capital of Mexico.

He had been the first commander-in-chief of the Northern army, and, foreseeing the great scale of the coming war, had prepared a wide and cautious plan.

But the public had sneered at him and had demanded instant action, the defeat at Bull Run being the result.
Dick felt pity for the man who was forced to bear a blame not his own, and who was too old for another chance.

But he knew that the present cloud would soon pass away, and that he would be remembered as the man of Chippewa and Chapultepec.
"McClellan is already here to take his place," said Whitley.

"He's the young fellow who has been winning successes in the western part of Virginia, an' they say he has genius." Only a day or two later they saw McClellan walking down the same avenue with the President.