He visited Harrison's Landing on the 24th of July to make personal inquiry into the situation, and the result was an order for the transfer of the army to Acquia Creek.

General McClellan protested earnestly, and, in the judgment of many of the most skilled in military science, wisely, against this movement.
The Army of the Potomac, he said, was "within twenty-five miles of Richmond, and with the aid of the gunboats we can supply the army by water during its advance to within twelve miles of Richmond.
At Acquia Creek we would be seventy miles from Richmond, with land transportation all the way." He thought the government had ample troops to protect Washington and guard the line of the Potomac, and he could not see the wisdom of transporting the Army of the Potomac two hundred miles at enormous cost, only to place it three times as far from Richmond as it then was.

General Halleck's position was sustained by the President, and the Secretary of War, and the argument of General McClellan, convincing and conclusive as it seems, was overruled by the peremptory mandate of his military superiors.
The failure of the Peninsular campaign will always be a subject of controversy.

At the time it was one of prolonged and angry dispute.
Where military critics so widely differ, civilians gain the right to a personal judgment.

The weakness of that great military movement was the lack of cordiality and confidence between the commander and the Administration at Washington.