truth is that the ensnarlment of the Eastern mili-
tary affairs with politics made success in that field
impossible for the North. The condition made it
practically inevitable that a Union commander in
Virginia should have his thoughts at least as much
occupied with the members of Congress in the capi-
tal behind him as with the Confederate soldiers in
camp before him. Such division of his attention
was ruinous. At and before the outbreak of the
rebellion the South had expected to be aided effi-
ciently by a great body of sympathizers at the
North. As yet they had been disappointed in this;
but almost simultaneously with this disappointment
they were surprised by a valuable and unexpected
assistance, growing out of the open feuds, the cov-
ert malice, the bad blood, the partisanship, and
the wire-pulling introduced by the loyal political
fraternity into campaigning business. The quar-
relling politicians were doing, very efficiently, the
work which Southern sympathizers had been ex-
pected to do.

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