On this date 150 years ago, in issuing another major military order, "General Order Number Three", President Lincoln removed General George McClellan from his command as general in chief of the Union Army. McClellan was given the Army of the Potomac and he, along with other generals, would be under the direction of the Secretary of War.

After their flight from the military action at Fort Donelson, Generals Floyd and Pillow submitted reports to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The president did not accept the reports and removed both Pillow and Floyd from their commands.

Manassas Junction, Virginia, was investigated by Union troops, who found little of value left in the wake of retreating Confederate soldiers. At Winchester, Virginia, 4600 Confederates were under the command of General Jackson who took his troops southward.

Source: "The Civil War Day By Day" edited by John S. Bowman, page 62