Benjamnin F. Butler, Butler's Book: Autobiography and Personal Reminiscences of Major-General Benjamin Butler

“ [582] attack the loyal portions of the United States.” If yielding to that, after the paralysis of our operations against Richmond, they should attack the Northern States by marching into Pennsylvania and Ohio, and be successful or show prospect of success, then the North would arouse and probably either volunteer in sufficient numbers, or submit to a draft, which last would be a delicate and somewhat dangerous recourse.

It occurred to me, I said, that instead of expending the greater part of our means substantially to capture an unimportant city, the better way with us would be to throw an army directly into the centre of the Confederacy, or at least, into the eastern part of it, to take, overcome, and hold territory to the utmost extent, leaving troops enough in the North at least to defend itself against the incursion of the enemy. Then, if attacked in the North, we should be acting upon the defensive, and have the advantage against the Confederacy of fighting at home where we knew the ground and where we had our resources. As it was, we had been continually fighting them in one particular part of the Confederacy, where we destroyed nothing of their resources, and did not diminish their capabilities of defending themselves.

I stated that such a plan of operations could be carried on well enough, because Washington was then entrenched and fortified so sufficiently that if defended with half of the Army of the Potomac it could be held against any army that could be brought against it, especially as I thought there might be sufficient drain upon the Confederacy so that they could by no means duplicate their armies, as they certainly could not their resources.

“Therefore,” I said, “say to the Committee on the Conduct of the War, that I think that an army of sixty thousand men should be raised, properly armed, equipped, and supplied. Not to be marched through the unhealthy swamps and districts that lie immediately around the southern line of the loyal States, so that before it gets to the proper place, and before it has fired a shot, it will need reinforcements; but land it in North Carolina, or, if thought best, at Mobile, in the centre of Alabama, and move it up, letting it supply itself ruthlessly from the country wherever a smoke-house or corn-barn permits, taking all the negroes that can be collected, giving every inducement for them to accompany the army, letting them supply ”