President Abraham Lincoln summoned Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton and General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck to the White House at 10 a.m. on January 25. Lincoln had been given an ultimatum by Major-General Ambrose E. Burnside, commanding the Federal Army of the Potomac: either endorse Burnside’s order removing five generals from the army or accept Burnside’s resignation.
Without seeking any advice, Lincoln informed Stanton and Halleck that he was going to relieve Burnside from command and replace him with one of his harshest critics, Major-General Joseph Hooker. Burnside was then brought in and given the news. He seemed more relieved than upset. He graciously said that “neither he nor General Hooker would be a happier man than I would be if General Hooker could gain a victory.”
Burnside then said, “I suppose you accept my resignation, and all I have to do is go to my home.” Lincoln replied, “General, I cannot accept your resignation. We need you, and I cannot accept your resignation.” Lincoln offered to return him to his old command in North Carolina, but Burnside argued that he had private business to deal with. Lincoln said, “You can have as much time as you please for your private business, but we cannot accept your resignation.”
Burnside would instead be furloughed. In the meantime, Lincoln told him, “General, make your application for a leave of absence, and we will give it to you.” Burnside’s controversial General Order Number 8 removing five generals from the army was not to be made public.
After Burnside left, Lincoln directed Halleck to draw up orders relieving Burnside from command. Major-General Edwin V. Sumner, the lone grand division commander who was not openly critical of Burnside, was relieved at his own request due to “a great deal too much croaking” among army officers. Major-General William B. Franklin, another harsh Burnside critic, would be reassigned to the Department of the Gulf. The order concluded “that Maj. Gen. J. Hooker be assigned to command the Army of the Potomac.”
Before making his decision, Lincoln had weighed several options except the most popular one: reinstating George B. McClellan. Lincoln considered bringing Major-Generals William S. Rosecrans or Ulysses S. Grant from the west to command. He also considered officers within the army, but he believed Sumner was too old, and both Franklin and Major-General William F. “Baldy” Smith were too loyal to McClellan. So Lincoln reluctantly picked Hooker.
Lincoln was well aware of Hooker’s disparaging comments about his superiors, including the president himself. However, Lincoln wanted a fighter to lead the army, and his combat record on the Peninsula and at Antietam was excellent. And nobody seemed more confident in his own ability to bring the fight to the Confederates than “Fighting Joe.”
Burnside, who had managed the Federal debacles at Fredericksburg and the “Mud March,” was out. Having offered to resign several times before, Burnside could have very well welcomed this move. But he could not have been pleased to learn that Hooker, a man whom he despised, would replace him.
Nobody in the army seemed surprised about Burnside’s removal and Hooker’s appointment as army commander. Unlike Burnside, Hooker had openly campaigned for the job, and he was as brash as Burnside was modest. As Lincoln predicted, northerners reacted positively to Hooker’s promotion, despite his past insubordination. Lincoln hoped that giving command to Hooker would allow the president to tend to other pressing matters besides the Army of the Potomac.
Burnside returned to his Falmouth, Virginia, headquarters and turned command over to Hooker on the morning of the 26th. Burnside issued a farewell address to the troops, assuring them that they “under more favorable circumstances would have accomplished great results.” He urged them to be loyal to Hooker, a “brave and skillful general who has so long been identified with your organization, and who is now to command you, your full and cordial support and co-operation, and you will deserve success.”
Hooker issued his first order, announcing that he had taken command and reminding the troops that he had been with them through every victory and defeat. He declared that the enemy was no match for them, and he urged the men to “never hesitate to give him battle wherever we can find him.” To Burnside, Hooker offered “the most cordial good wishes for his future.” Hooker’s magnanimity toward Burnside did not last however, as he found a copy of General Order Number 8 and sent it to the New York Herald, despite Lincoln’s efforts to keep it private.
As Burnside packed to leave, several visitors came to bid him farewell and share champagne toasts, including Hooker. Burnside confided to an officer, “There are no pleasant reminiscences for me connected with the Army of the Potomac.”
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