Nathaniel Hawthorne, 12 November 1862.

HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel (1804-1864). Autograph letter (unsigned) to "R", Concord, 12 November 1862.

One page, 155 x 112mm (irregularly trimmed along lower margin).

Hawthorne asks his correspondent for his views on McClellan's removal from command by Abraham Lincoln, adding that he "should be sorry to speak all that I think about our situation." A lifelong Democrat, Hawthorne was likely still smarting from the sharp criticism levelled at his essay, "Chiefly About War Matters," which appeared in the July 1862 issue of the Atlantic Monthly. The essay was viewed by many Northerners as too pro-southern and antiwar. Lincoln's removal of McClellan from his command of the Army of the Potomac on 5 November proved controversial as well. The disgraced commander later became the standard-bearer for the Democrats in 1864, advocating a negotiated peace with the Confederacy. Not published in Letters, Centennial Edition.