The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War

The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War was formed in 1861 after the horrible Union defeat at Ball's Bluff. The Committee had to blame someone for the defeat so the blame was placed on the leader who never even set foot on the battlefield: Charles Stone. After the Committee was formed, the Union leaders ALWAYS had the Committee looking over their shoulders, searching for mistakes.

Now before I get too far into this, lets review who the members of this committee were:
In the 37th Congress, it consisted of:
Benjamin Wade (R-OH) Senator
Zachariah Chandler (R-MI) Senator
George W. Julian (R-IN) Representative
John Covade (R-PA) Representative
Daniel W. Gooch (R-MA) Representative
Andrew Johnson (D-TN) Senator
Joseph A. Wright (D-IN) Senator
Moses Odell (D-MA) Representative
In the 38th Congress, it consisted of:
Benjamin Wade (R-OH) Senator - Chairman
Zachariah Chandler (R-MI) Senator
George W. Julian (R-IN) Representative
Daniel W. Gooch (R-MA) Representative
Benjamin F. Harding (D-OR) Senator
Charles R. Bucklew (D-PA) Senator
Moses Odell (D-NY0 Representative
Benjamin F. Loan (D-MO) Representative

These men seemed to loom over every battle, looking for mistakes so that they could take down whoever they THOUGHT made mistakes. This leads to a few questions:

Was McClellan as slow in real life as he was during the battle? or was he just double-checking himself?

Would the North have won faster if the Committee wasn't always there....watching?

Did Grant care what the Committee thought? Is this why he was able to bring the war to a close?

What about Sherman?

So many questions and so little answers. I often wonder what would have happened if the Committee hadn't been formed. The Civil War may or may not have been shorter. I can't really tell what was going on in the minds of the commanding Generals. And what did the committee deem necessary for them to butt into the process? Was it just a loss? Or did it have to be a HUGE loss? These are questions that have palgued for many years and I'm sure it has bothered historians throughout the past 145 years. I wonder just what was really going on behind those closed doors of the Committee.