This month’s post originally appeared on Emerging Civil War back in January 2022. I am reposting it on my Campaign Minutes page because since the article’s original appearance, I’ve managed to publish two books and several articles that have exposed a lot of new readers to my work. Many of these readers have not seen my earlier writing, so I thought it would be appropriate to put the article on my site for them to read.
Titled “A Whiff of Treason? John Hay, George B. McClellan, and the Incident with Major John J. Key,” the article deals with the most unsavory topic of potential treason in the highest ranks of the Army of the Potomac’s officer corps during and after the Maryland Campaign. In it, I discuss a lesser-known version of the Major John J. Key story that appeared in the New York Times. This version of the story contains details that other commonly referred to versions do not, which is why I decided to write about it.
For the record, I do not believe that George McClellan actively conspired against the Lincoln administration in the wake of the Union army’s victory at Antietam. I do think, however, that many of the Army of the Potomac’s senior officers wanted McClellan to do just that and turn the army against Washington to force Lincoln to agree to peace with the Confederate government in Richmond. In the end, McClellan remained true to the Union cause, and to the president. But for a while after Lincoln announced the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, the political situation remained dicey, and McClellan explored the idea of opposing emancipation publicly. Doing so would have ruined him politically and militarily, and so he declined the opportunity to become America’s version of Julius Caesar. This ensured there would be no “alea iacta est” moment in October 1862.
AR
February 22, 2024
Alex Rossino Online 