Simple Enough
Read John 13:31-35
In the fall of 1862, the United States was reeling from one defeat after another at the hands of the Confederate Army under the leadership of General Robert E. Lee. European powers such as England and France were anxious to recognize the Confederacy, in part to discomfit the upstart United States and partly to be able to traffic in the coveted cotton needed by their textile mills.
General George McClellan of the Union, having amassed an enormous army, convinced himself over and over that Lee's forces were greater. As President Lincoln fumed, the man who was a national hero refused tio attack.
Meanwhile, Lincoln struggled over when to release his Emancipation Proclamation. The European powers wanted to recognize the rebellion, but if he could declare slaves in the rebellion states free he would be able to reframe the war as a crusade against slavery. They would have no choice but to stay neutral. For that he needed a victory for political cover, and a victory with such a general wasn't forthcoming,.
In the fall of1862, General Lee began a campaign through Maryland, hoping to destabilize a southern state that had stayed with the Union. However, on September 10, Lee's plans fell into the lap of General McClelland. A soldier found three cigars on which were written Lee's orders. McClelland crowed that with these in hand he would be able to defeat "Bobby Lee."
The forces met near Sharpsburg, Maryland. What followed was the battle of Antietam. the bloodiest single day in American history. Over 23,000 died. Photographs by James Gardner of dead bodies in the Bloody Lane or in front of the Dunker Church suddenly made the war real.
It wss a victory. Barely, but it was enough. Lincoln had the political cover he needed to release the Emancipation Proclamation, and England and France were unable to recognize the Confederacy.
And yet -- McClelland, still believing in the numerical superiority of the force he had just defeated (in reality the Confederates were always outnumbered) did not pursue the defeated Army of Northern Virginia. Many experts think that he could have ended the war by following up his advantage. The Confederates were able to limp across the Potomac River to safety, infuriating the president and leading eventually to McClelland's ouster.
McClelland had the plan. He knew what forces Lee had and where he was heading. Yet he could not follow a simple plan that would have ended the war, which then dragged on for three more bloody years.
It's easy to look back in history and see what people ought to have done. We can replay key events and point out how extremely simple the solution was and criticize those on the ground with the benefit of hindsight.
Tomorrow we will take a look at our own celestial Civil War.
Questions to Ponder:
Isn't God's plan for others to know that we are his disciples that we love one another?
Isn't this a simple plan?
Are we willing to follow it or like General McClelland determined to do it some other way?
In His Service,
Terry Phillips
