One evening in November, Lincoln and Seward called on McClellan at home. He was out at a wedding party; when he returned an hour later and learned of his visitors, McClellan ignored them and went upstairs. Half an hour later a servant informed the president and secretary of state that the general had gone to bed. Lincoln’s private secretary was furious, but the president reportedly said: “I will hold McClellan’s horse if he will only bring us success.”
