 After the defeat of Pope at Second Bull Run , President Lincoln reluctantly returned to the man who had mended a broken army before . He realized that McClellan was a strong organizer and a skilled trainer of troops , able to recombine the units of Pope 's army with the Army of the Potomac faster than anyone . On September 2 , 1862 , Lincoln named McClellan to command " the fortifications of Washington , and all the troops for the defense of the capital . " The appointment was controversial in the Cabinet , a majority of whom signed a petition declaring to the president " our deliberate opinion that , at this time , it is not safe to entrust to Major General McClellan the command of any Army of the United States . " The president admitted that it was like " curing the bite with the hair of the dog . " But Lincoln told his secretary , John Hay , " We must use what tools we have . There is no man in the Army who can man these fortifications and lick these troops of ours into shape half as well as he . If he can 't fight himself , he excels in making others ready to fight . " 
