General in Chief Winfield Scott urged President Lincoln to have Major Anderson and his troops leave Fort Sumter rather then have an armed conflict. Scott had already let anyone who would listen that a war between the states would bloody and cause more hate between the North and the South. President Lincoln decided that this Southern rebellion had to end.
It has been written that Union General in Chief Winfield Scott was not surprised to see President Lincoln take such an active role in military operations. Scott recalled that in the Mexican War, President James Polk took such a role. There was a substantial difference however. The Mexican War was short and less complex that the US Civil War would prove to be and allot more was at stake.
General in Chief Winfield Scott and President Lincoln wanted General Fremont to raise an army and prepare them for military action against the Southern Rebels. His objective was to move down the Mississippi and focus on capturing Memphis, Tennessee.
President Lincoln's changed his commanding general several times.
US President Lincoln summoned General Henry Halleck to Washington DC to appoint him to the vacant position of general in chief. Lincoln had sought the advice of both Winfield Scott and Dennis Hart Mahan before making the announcement. It seemed only a fitting reward for Hallecks successful operations in the Western Theater.
General in Chief Scott resigned on November 1, 1861. Major General George B. McClellan was then promoted by President Lincoln to succeed Scott as general-in-chief.
General Winfield Scott
Divide and Conquer
President Lincoln appointed Major General George B. McClellan to general in chief on November 1, 1861. He replaced the retiring General in Chief Winfield Scott. Lincoln relieved McClellan of his title on March 11, 1862. McClellan was not in Washington DC at this time. He was in the process of organizing the Peninsula campaign. It is written that Lincoln did not believe that McClellan could hold his position as general in chief and conduct the Peninsula campaign at the same time.
President -elect Abraham Lincoln had chosen William Henry Seward to be the US secretary of state. Seward believed the South could be convinced to rejoin the Union and sought out General in Chief Winfield Scott as a political ally who also wanted to avoid a war.
General Winfield Scott
George washington