Note 8 — Chapter XIII
Reading edition
Page 203, line 14, after the word "patriotism."
Whether the act proved his wisdom or not, the result certainly sustained and justified his course; the proceeding at least exemplified his firmness and determination in desperate emergencies. There is perhaps no act recorded in our history that demanded greater courage or more heroic treatment.
In a conversation with me shortly after this Mr. Lincoln said, "Well, I suppose our victory at Antietam will condone my offence in reappointing McClellan. If the battle had gone against us poor McClellan (and I too) would be in a bad row of stumps."
Had not the tide of success and victory turned in our favor about this time, there is little doubt that Mr. Lincoln would have been deposed and a military dictatorship erected upon the ruins of his administration. The victory at Antietam was, without doubt, the turning point for fame or for downfall in the career of Mr. Lincoln.