Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Documents and Narratives, Volume 11.
Frank Moore, Ed.

On the seventh day of November, 1862, General Buckingham arrived at my headquarters at Orleans, Virginia, with the following order and letter:

war Department, Adjutant-General's office, Washington, November 5, 1862.
General Orders No. 182:

By direction of the President of the United States it is ordered that Major-General McClellan be relieved from the command of the Army of the Potomac, and that Major-General Burnside take the command of that army.

By order of the Secretary of War.

E. D. Townsend, Assistant Adjutant-General.

war Department, Washington City, November 5, 1862.
Major-General Burnside. Commanding, etc.:

General: Immediately on assuming command of the Army of the Potomac, you will report the position of your troops and what you purpose doing with them.

Very respectfully,

Your obedient servant,

H. W. Halleck, General-in-Chief.

After some consultation, it was decided that General Buckingham and myself should proceed to the headquarters of General McClellan, then at Rectortown, when the order relieving General McClellan was delivered to him, after which it was decided that the orders which had already been issued by General McClellan, directing the movements of the army for concentration near Warrenton, with a view to accumulating supplies, and for other purposes, should be carried out, and that he should remain in command of the army until we reached Warrenton.

It was understood that the army was then moving as near as possible under certain general instructions contained in a letter from the President to General McClellan, a copy of which was sent to me under cover of the following letter:

headquarters of the Army, Washington, November 11, 1862,
Major-General Burnside, Commanding, etc.:

General: Your despatch of the seventh was received last evening at nine o'clock. I telegraphed to you this morning to arrange a meeting for to-morrow. I hope to hear from you to-night.

I enclose you herewith a copy of a letter from the President to General McClellan, dated the thirteenth of last month. I wish you to carefully consider the President's views as contained in that letter, so that we may talk it over understandingly to-morrow.

General Meigs and General Haupt will accompany me.

Yours, truly,

H. W. Halleck, General-in-Chief.

On the ninth day of November, General McClellan issued an order relinquishing the command of the army; after which an order was issued from my headquarters assuming command.

The position of the different corps of the army was as follows:

First, Second, and Fifth corps, near Warrenton.

Sixth corps, at New Baltimore.

Ninth corps, with Stoneman's and Whipple's divisions, on both sides of the river, in the neighborhood of Waterloo.

Eleventh corps, at Gainsville, New Baltimore, and the Gap.

Pleasonton at Jefferson and Amissville, with advance on Hazel River.

Bayard at Rappahannock Station and neigh-borhood.

Slocum was still at Harper's Ferry and Fayetteville.