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I say “try”; if we never try, we shall never succeed.

Abraham Lincoln, letter to General McClellan, 13 October 1862

Philosophy

The story behind the card

Lincoln wrote this on 13 October 1862 to General George B. McClellan, commander of the Union's Army of the Potomac in the American Civil War. Nearly a month earlier McClellan had stopped Robert E. Lee's Confederate army at Antietam, the bloodiest single day of the war, but had not pursued it. Lincoln reminded him of his “over-cautiousness” and urged him to follow Lee closely and at least try to reach Richmond, the Confederate capital, first. McClellan still moved slowly, and on 5 November Lincoln removed him from command.

Türkçe oku
“Deneyin” diyorum; hiç denemezsek asla başaramayız.
Abraham Lincoln, General McClellan'a mektup, 13 Ekim 1862

Lincoln bu satırları 13 Ekim 1862'de General George B. McClellan'a yazdı. McClellan, Amerikan İç Savaşı'nda Kuzey'in Potomac Ordusu'nun komutanıydı. Yaklaşık bir ay önce Antietam'da Robert E. Lee'nin Güney ordusunu durdurmuş, ama savaşın en kanlı günü olan bu çarpışmadan sonra çekilen orduyu kovalamamıştı. Lincoln ona “aşırı temkinliliğini” hatırlatır; Lee'yi yakından izlemesini ve Güney'in başkenti Richmond'a ondan önce varmayı hiç değilse denemesini ister. McClellan yine ağır davrandı; Lincoln de 5 Kasım'da onu komutadan aldı.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: George B. McClellan
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