a similarity between george mcclellan and robert e lee was

A SIMILARITY BETWEEN GEORGE MCCLELLAN AND ROBERT E LEE WAS FREE

In both the North and the South, countless communities watched regiments of volunteer soldiers depart for war with a mixture of excitement and anxiety. 'One of the greatest perplexities of the government,' President Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) admitted, 'is to avoid receiving troops faster than it can provide for them.' Gradually, though, both armies learned to adjust to the heavy flow of soldiers pouring in from big towns and small farming villages alike. Neither side had enough weapons, ammunition, food, or clothing to supply all their prospective recruits, and they had not yet set up programs to train them. The large number of early volunteers completely overwhelmed both the Union and Confederate governments. Most people did not expect the war to last very long, so some volunteers worried that it would be over before they got a chance to join the action. Thousands of young men in both the North and the South volunteered to become soldiers in the weeks after the war began. This frenzy of flag-waving, parties, and patriotic speeches made it easy for both sides to recruit soldiers. I never in all my life witnessed such excitement.' A citizen of Richmond, Virginia, for example, wrote that the entire city 'seemed to be perfectly frantic with delight. After our late discords, it seems super-natural.' Similar scenes unfolded across the South.

A SIMILARITY BETWEEN GEORGE MCCLELLAN AND ROBERT E LEE WAS FREE

One observer in the North wrote that 'the whole population, men, women, and children, seem to be in the streets with Union favors and flags.' Another Northerner commented that 'I look with awe on the national movement here in New York and all through the Free States. These gatherings further inflamed each side's passionate belief that their cause was a just one. Towns and cities across the Union and Confederacy erupted in flag-waving celebrations and rallies. In the days and weeks following the Confederate seizure of Fort Sumter and the Union and Confederate calls to arms, citizens of both the North and South celebrated the coming war with amazing energy and enthusiasm. Only after the war began in earnest and the casualties began to mount did either side fully begin to appreciate their opponents' dedication to their cause. Northerners, meanwhile, viewed Southern soldiers as disorganized and undisciplined troops who would be easily overwhelmed by superior Union firepower. Southerners believed that the North would field an army of weaklings with no real appetite for fighting. This enthusiasm for the approaching war also could be traced to the confidence that both sides felt about their ability to win. Young men all across the divided nation saw the coming conflict as a chance to fight for a heroic cause. In addition, many Americans of the nineteenth century held a romantic and glamorous idea of war. People in the North and the South had been struggling against each other for so long that it seemed like a great relief when it became clear that the clash between the two sides was going to be settled once and for all. As both the Union and the Confederacy began to build their armies for the coming conflict, a strange mood of excitement rippled across the divided nation.

A similarity between george mcclellan and robert e lee was