First, McClellan proponents say that because the general was a conservative Democrat with great personal charisma, radical Republicans fearing his political potential deliberately undermined his field operations. A graduate of West Point, McClellan served with distinction during the Mexican-American War, and later left the Army to serve as an executive . "[58] In the battle of Glendale, McClellan was five miles (8km) away behind Malvern Hill, without telegraph communications and too distant to command his army. "[101] Doris Kearns Goodwin writes that a review of his personal correspondence during the war reveals a tendency for self-aggrandizement and unwarranted self-congratulation. [74], The Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, was the single bloodiest day in American military history. McClellan worked on engineering projects in New York City and was offered the position of president of the newly formed University of California, which he declined. The effectiveness of his campaign was damaged when he repudiated his party's platform, which promised an end to the war and negotiations with the Confederacy. He did not share his overall battle plans with his corps commanders, which prevented them from using initiative outside of their sectors. But McClellan was also tacitly acknowledging that he would no longer be able to invest Richmond, the object of his campaign; the heavy siege artillery required would be almost impossible to transport without the railroad connections available from his original supply base on the York River. Lincoln, Stanton, and a group of officers who formed the "War Board" directed the strategic actions of the Union armies that spring. [7], At West Point, he was an energetic and ambitious cadet, deeply interested in the teachings of Dennis Hart Mahan and the theoretical strategic principles of Antoine-Henri Jomini. This placed him in great demand as the Union mobilized. On May 14, he was commissioned a major general in the regular army. Back in Washington, a reorganization of units created the Army of Virginia under Maj. Gen. John Pope, who was directed to advance toward Richmond from the northeast. He complained that he had arrived too late to take any part in the American victory at Monterrey in September. His closest friends were aristocratic southerners including George Pickett, Dabney Maury, Cadmus Wilcox, and A. P. Hill. And he was far too willing to accept cautious advice about saving his reserves, such as when a significant breakthrough in the center of the Confederate line could have been exploited, but Fitz John Porter is said to have told McClellan, "Remember, General, I command the last reserve of the last Army of the Republic."[76]. [32] He reveled in his newly acquired power and influence:[30]. Scott rejected both plans as logistically unfeasible. The day before, at the Battle of Antietam, Lee's force had engaged in the bloodiest one-day battle of the Civil War against the army of General George B. McClellan. Because McClellan failed to pursue Lee aggressively after Antietam, Lincoln ordered that he be removed from command on November 5, 1862. (1826-1885), Civil War general.McClellan was born to a wealthy family in Philadelphia; at the age of fiftee Union Army, The Union army grew steadily throughout the war, from 186,751 in July 1861 to 1,000,516 in May 1865. [99], There is indeed ample evidence that the terrible stresses of commanding men in battle, especially the beloved men of his beloved Army of the Potomac, left his moral courage in tatters. He made no use of his cavalry forces for reconnaissance. : Westholme Publishing, 2015. [49] The army's advance from Fort Monroe up the Virginia Peninsula proved to be slow. [36] McClellan's writings after the war were typical of many Northerners: "I confess to a prejudice in favor of my own race, & can't learn to like the odor of either Billy goats or niggers. McClellan's antipathy to emancipation added to the pressure on him, as he received bitter criticism from Radical Republicans in the government. george brinton mcclellan (december 3, 1826 - october 29, 1885) was an american soldier, civil war union general, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th governor of new jersey.a graduate of west point, mcclellan served with distinction during the mexican-american war (1846- 1848), and later left the army to serve The War Department was reluctant to publish his report because, just after completing it in October 1863, McClellan openly declared his entrance to the political stage as a Democrat. 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". Bouquets, beautiful and fragrant, in great numbers were thrown at him, and the ladies crowded around him with the warmest good wishes, and many of them were entirely overcome with emotion. I think Lee has made a gross mistake, and that he will be severely punished for it. Dec 3, 1826 - Oct 29, 1885. McClellan, not wishing to abandon his campaign, delayed the return of the Army of the Potomac from the Peninsula enough so that the reinforcements arrived while the northern Virginia campaign was already underway. Davis, Jefferson, and McClellan, George B. Leigh, Philip "Lee's Lost Dispatch and Other Civil War Controversies". He sought the position of Secretary of War in Cleveland's cabinet, but Senator John R. McPherson, who had opposed McClellan for governor in 1877, succeeded in blocking his nomination. The outnumbered Confederate forces fought desperately and well. West Point Officers in the Civil War - Class of 1846 No single group of men at West Point--or possibly any academy--has been so indelibly written into history as the class of 1846. In so doing, he missed three greatly superior passes in the near vicinity, which were eventually used for railroads and interstate highways. [43] On November 13, he snubbed the president, who had come to visit McClellan's house, by making him wait for 30 minutes, only to be told that the general had gone to bed and could not receive him. george b. mcclellan, in full george brinton mcclellan, (born december 3, 1826, philadelphia, pennsylvania, u.s.died october 29, 1885, orange, new jersey), general who skillfully reorganized union forces in the first year of the american civil war (1861-65) but drew wide criticism for repeatedly failing to press his advantage over confederate George McClellan Library of Congress Quick Facts Significance: General-in-Chief of the Union Army Place Of Birth: Philadelphia, PA Date Of Birth: December 3, 1826 Place Of Death: Orange, NJ Date Of Death: October 29, 1885 Place Of Burial: Trenton, NJ Cemetery Name: Riverview Cemetery CIVIL WAR UNION GENERAL GEORGE MEADE ~ J. E. McCLEES-PHILADELPHIA ~ c. - 1863 . Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Civil War General George B. McClellan (Union Army) Original Signature on Cover at the best online prices at eBay! $65.00 + $4.75 shipping . George B. McClellan. 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. McClellan maintained his estrangement from Abraham Lincoln with his repeated call for reinforcements and by writing a lengthy letter in which he proposed strategic and political guidance for the war, continuing his opposition to abolition or seizure of slaves as a tactic. Thank you." [81], The deep division in the party, the unity of the Republicans (running under the label "National Union Party"), the absence of a large portion of the Democrats' base (the South) from the voter pool, and the military successes by Union forces in the fall of 1864, doomed McClellan's candidacy. A brilliant engineer and a great organizer, McClellan created the Army of the Potomac, the Union's . Yet this halting between two opinions had the result that, when he had abandoned the purpose of making the turning movement, it had become too late for him to make a direct attack." The governor ordered McClellan to turn over his expedition logbooks, but McClellan steadfastly refused, most likely because of embarrassing personal comments that he had made throughout his adventures. [29], After the defeat of the Union forces at Bull Run on July 21, 1861, Lincoln summoned McClellan from western Virginia, where McClellan had given the North the only engagements bearing a semblance of victory. [102] His original draft was completed in 1881, but the only copy was destroyed by fire. McClellan was an interesting man, full of both strengths and weaknesses. Cemetery Name: Riverview Cemetery. The Union defeat at the minor Battle of Ball's Bluff near Leesburg in October added to the frustration and indirectly damaged McClellan. [9] He was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. His administration stressed the necessity of education in the conversion of unskilled labor to skilled labor and in industrial development generally by expanding the state library and calling for trades training for young men in public schools, as suited for the local economy. Even as they served their country, Black soldiers were subject to a number of discriminations. Lincoln's order was ambiguous as to whether McClellan might be restored following a successful campaign. In. "[31] On July 26, the day he reached the capital, McClellan was appointed commander of the Military Division of the Potomac, the main Union force responsible for the defense of Washington. "Prince John" Magruder defended the Peninsula against McClellan's advance with a vastly smaller force. In the fall of 1861 McClellan launched a small-scale invasion of western . McClellan surveyed the western portion of the northern corridor along the 47th and 49th parallels from St. Paul to the Puget Sound. I have to fight my way against him. In this, McClellan was perhaps influenced by his questioning of Confederate deserter Edward B. McMurdy, whose testimony was not accepted by Lincoln, Secretary of State Seward, or General-in-Chief Scott, but reaffirmed for McClellan the numbers he had convinced himself of. Such a villain as he is ought to bring defeat upon any cause that employs him. Like other observers, though, McClellan did not appreciate the importance of the emergence of rifled muskets in the Crimean War, and the fundamental changes in warfare tactics it would require.[19]. Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the U.S. Confederate States presidential election of 1861, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_B._McClellan&oldid=1133191257, American military personnel of the MexicanAmerican War, Democratic Party (United States) presidential nominees, New York State Superintendents of Public Works, People of New Jersey in the American Civil War, Candidates in the 1864 United States presidential election, Commanding Generals of the United States Army, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from November 2021, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. These associations gave McClellan what he considered to be an appreciation of the southern mind and an understanding of the political and military implications of the sectional differences in the United States that led to the Civil War. Under the pressure of his ultimate soldier's responsibility, the will to command deserted him. Traveling widely, and interacting with the highest military commands and royal families, McClellan observed the siege of Sevastopol. This plan, which would require considerable patience of the Northern public, was derided in newspapers as the Anaconda Plan, but eventually proved to be the outline of the successful prosecution of the war. On September 2, 1862, Lincoln named McClellan to command "the fortifications of Washington, and all the troops for the defense of the capital". The first would use 80,000 men to invade Virginia through the Kanawha Valley toward Richmond. Due to his experience and abilities, the Army appointed him a major general on May 14, 1861. In, Rowland, Thomas J. Admirable self-denial! His first personal command in battle was at Rich Mountain, which he also won. [39], The dispute with Scott became increasingly personal. Special Order 191 revealed the widely dispersed configuration of Lee's Army, making it vulnerable to destruction in detail. [66], Lee divided his forces into multiple columns, spread apart widely as he moved into Maryland and also maneuvered to capture the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. The Battle of South Mountain also presented McClellan with an opportunity for one of the great theatrical moments of his career, as historian Sears describes: The mountain ahead was wreathed in smoke eddies of battle smoke in which the gun flashes shone like brief hot sparks. He had received intelligence reports on May 26 that the critical Baltimore and Ohio Railroad bridges in that portion of the state were being burned. [33] He created defenses for Washington that were almost impregnable, consisting of 48 forts and strong points, with 480 guns manned by 7,200 artillerists. Union general George B. McClellan had a number of accomplishments that have gone unnoticed due to his replacement as the general in charge of Union forces early in the US Civil War .. Upon graduation, George McClellan was appointed 2nd Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. McClellan resigned his commission January 16, 1857, and, capitalizing on his experience with railroad assessment, became chief engineer and vice president of the Illinois Central Railroad, and then president of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad in 1860. 2014-05-09 14:23:23. [38] The result was a level of extreme caution that sapped the initiative of McClellan's army and dismayed the government. With the assistance of his father's letter to President John Tyler, McClellan was accepted at the United States Military Academy in 1842 at the age of 15, with the academy waiving its usual minimum age of 16. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union. Civil War CDV General McClellan and Wife . He quickly realized that he had overstepped his bounds and apologized by letter to President Lincoln.

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