But
his patience was not exhausted. McClellan had always more
soldiers than the enemy, at Antietam nearly double his numbers,
yet his constant cry was for re-enforcements. Regiments were sent
him that could ill be spared from other points. Even when his
fault-finding reached the height of telegraphing to the Secretary
of War, "If I save this army now I tell you plainly that I owe no
thanks to you or to any other persons in Washington. You have
done your best to sacrifice this army," the President answered
him kindly and gently, without a sign of resentment, anxious only
to do everything in his power to help on the cause of the war. It
was of no avail. Even the great luck of finding a copy of General
Lee's orders and knowing exactly what his enemy meant to do, at a
time when the Confederate general had only about half as many
troops as he had, and these were divided besides, did not help
him to success. All he could do even then was to fight the drawn
battle of Antietam, and allow Lee to get away safely across the
Potomac River into Virginia. After this the President's
long-suffering patience was at an end, but he did not remove
McClellan until he had visited the Army of the Potomac in person.
What he saw on that visit assured him that it could never succeed
under such a general. "Do you know what that is ?" he asked a
friend, waving his arm towards the white tents of the great army.
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