t

Hooker in Command.

ment to an important | removal of General McClellan and the court
command in the west soon martial and sentence of Gen. Fitz Jobn Por-
ter." These changes were, in most instances,
necessary to restore even the outward sem-
blance of respect to superiority among officers,
and to quiet dissensions prevailing in the
ranks, since, in an army composed chiefly of
citizens of the Republic, the humblest soldier
exercised the right of discussing and criti-
cising the conduct of affairs. To reinspire
all with confidence was the President's most
anxious desire.

followed. Hooker's promotion was, in
fact, another experiment toward finding the
proper man for the great trust; and in mak-
ing that selection, Mr. Lincoln undoubtedly
had in view the necessity for hard, persistent,
bloody strokes upon the enemy's bold front-
to annihilate Lee's army by absolute sacrifice
of legions of men. With a rebellious host
thundering at the very gates of the capital,
whose battle-cry, after Burnside's repulse,
was "On to the North!" all ideas of a strate-
gical campaign and approach to Richmond
gave way to the call for the contact of steel
to steel. Hence the choice of a commander
possessed of Hooker's qualities, indicated by
his army soubriquet, of "Fighting Joe."
Brave to an unlimited degree, ardent in
temperament, impetuous in the fight, admired
by his subordinates and worshipped by his
men, the President put aside the warnings of
Sumner's friends against Hooker's rashness,
and want of comprehensive executive ability
-overbore Halleck's fears and wishes-and |
instated the late subordinate in a position of
rare responsibility.
Changes in Com-
mands.

Hooker's Reforms.

Said Swinton:* "With the appointment of General Hooker to the chief command, and under his influence, the tone of the army underwent a change that would appear astonishing, had not its elastic vitality been so often proved. Hooker's measures of reform were judicious: he cut away the root of many evils; stopped desertion and its causes; did away with the nuisance of the 'Grand Division' organization; infused vitality through the staff and administrative service; gave distinctive badges to the different corps; instituted a system of furloughs; consolidated the cavalry under able leaders, and soon enabled it not only to stand upon an equality with, but to assert its superiority over the Virginia horsemen of Stuart." Results which certainly reflected credit upon the officer, and which demonstrated the existence of great evils in

Considerable change in commands followed, as a consequence. Jan. 28th, the Secretary of War promulgated General Order No. 20, viz. : 1-The President of the United States has di- the former army system. The corps organi

rected:

First—That Major-General A. E. Burnside, at his own request, be relieved from the command of the Army of the Potomac.

Second --- That Major-General E. V. Sumner, at his own request, be relieved from duty in the Army of

the Potomac.

The Army Corps.

zation was made by Gene-
ral Order No. 6, under date
of February 5th. It was as follows:

1. The division of the army into "grand divisions," impeding rather than facilitating the dispatch of its current business, and the character of the service it is liable to be called upon to perform, being adverse to the movement and operations of heavy columns, it is discontinued, and the corps They will be

Third―That Major,General W. B. Franklin, be relieved from duty in the Army of the Potomac. Fourth—That Major-General J. Hooker be assign-organization adopted in its stead.

ed to the command of the Army of the Potomac.

The officers relieved as above will report in person to the Adjutant General of the army.

It was further announced from Washington: A list of more than eighty army officers has been prepared, who are to be summarily dismissed the service for violating the army regulations by the use of improper language in reference to their superiors and Commander-in-Chief, in connection with the

commanded as follows:

First Corps-Major-General John F. Reynolds.
Second Corps-Major-General D. N. Couch.
Third Corps-Brigadier-General D. E. Sickles.
(Temporarily.)

Fifth Corps-Major-General George G. Meade.
Sixth Corps--Major-General John Sedgwick.
Eleventh Corps--Major-General Franz Sigel. (Tem-
porarily.

*Army of the Potomac,'' page 267.