George McClellan
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George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier,
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
Union general, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th
governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...
. A graduate of
West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
, McClellan served with distinction during the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
and later left the Army to serve as an executive and engineer on railroads until the outbreak of the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
Early in the conflict, McClellan was appointed to the rank of
major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
and played an important role in raising a well-trained and disciplined army, which would become the
Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...
in the Eastern Theater; he served a brief period (November 1861 to March 1862) as
Commanding General of the United States Army The Commanding General of the United States Army was the title given to the service chief and highest-ranking officer of the United States Army (and its predecessor the Continental Army), prior to the establishment of the Chief of Staff of the ...
of the
Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
. McClellan organized and led the Union army in the Peninsula Campaign in southeastern
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from March through July 1862. It was the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. Making an amphibious clockwise turning movement around the
Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
in northern Virginia, McClellan's forces turned west to move up the Virginia Peninsula, between the
James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...
and York River, landing from
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, with the Confederate capital,
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...
, as their objective. Initially, McClellan was somewhat successful against General
Joseph E. Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American career army officer, serving with distinction in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia secede ...
, but the emergence of General Robert E. Lee to command the
Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most oft ...
turned the subsequent
Seven Days Battles The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, command ...
into a Union defeat. However, historians note that Lee's victory was in many ways
pyrrhic A pyrrhic (; el, πυρρίχιος ''pyrrichios'', from πυρρίχη ''pyrrichē'') is a metrical foot used in formal poetry. It consists of two unaccented, short syllables. It is also known as a dibrach. Poetic use in English Tennyson us ...
as he failed to destroy the Army of the Potomac and suffered a bloody repulse at Malvern Hill. General McClellan and President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
developed a mutual distrust, and McClellan was privately derisive of Lincoln. McClellan was removed from command in November in the aftermath of the 1862 midterm elections. A major contributing factor in this decision was McClellan's failure to pursue Lee's army following the tactically inconclusive but strategic Union victory at the
Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...
outside
Sharpsburg, Maryland Sharpsburg is a town in Washington County, Maryland. The town is approximately south of Hagerstown. Its population was 705 at the 2010 census. During the American Civil War, the Battle of Antietam, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Sharpsb ...
. McClellan never received another field command and went on to become the unsuccessful
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nominee in the 1864 presidential election against the Republican Lincoln. 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 served as the 24th
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from 1878 to 1881; he eventually became a writer, and vigorously defended his Civil War conduct.


Early life and career

George Brinton McClellan was born in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
on December 3, 1826, the son of a prominent surgeon, Dr.
George McClellan 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, McCl ...
, the founder of
Jefferson Medical College Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the univer ...
. His father's family was of Scottish and English heritage. His mother was Elizabeth Sophia Steinmetz Brinton McClellan (1800–1889), daughter of a leading Pennsylvania family, a woman noted for her "considerable grace and refinement." Her father was of English origin, while her mother was
Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spe ...
. The couple had five children: Frederica, John, George, Arthur and Mary. One of McClellan's great-grandfathers was
Samuel McClellan Samuel McClellan (January 4, 1730 – October 17, 1807) was an American brigadier general in the American Revolutionary War. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. Samuel McClellan served as Ensign and Lieutenant in the French and Indian War ...
of
Woodstock, Connecticut Woodstock is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,221 at the 2020 census. History 17th century In the mid-17th century, John Eliot, a Puritan missionary to the Native Americans, established "praying town ...
, a
brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
who served during the Revolutionary War. McClellan initially intended to follow his father into the medical profession, and attended a private academy, which was followed by enrollment in a private preparatory school for the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
. He began attending the university in 1840, when he was 14 years old, resigning himself to the study of law after his family decided that medical educations for both McClellan and his older brother John were too expensive. After two years at the university, he changed his goal to military service. With the assistance of his father's letter to
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, McClellan was accepted at the
United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
in 1842 at the age of 15, with the academy waiving its usual minimum age of 16. At West Point, he was an energetic and ambitious cadet, deeply interested in the teachings of
Dennis Hart Mahan Dennis Hart Mahan (Mă-hăn) əˈhæn(April 2, 1802 – September 16, 1871) was a noted American military theorist, civil engineer and professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1824–1871. He was the father of Ameri ...
and the theoretical strategic principles of
Antoine-Henri Jomini Antoine-Henri Jomini (; 6 March 177922 March 1869) was a Swiss military officer who served as a general in French and later in Russian service, and one of the most celebrated writers on the Napoleonic art of war. Jomini's ideas are a staple at ...
. His closest friends were aristocratic southerners including
George Pickett George Edward Pickett (January 16,Military records cited by Eicher, p. 428, and Warner, p. 239, list January 28. The memorial that marks his gravesite in Hollywood Cemetery lists his birthday as January 25. Thclaims to have accessed the baptism ...
, Dabney Maury,
Cadmus Wilcox Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox (May 20, 1824 – December 2, 1890) was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican–American War and also was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Early life and career Wilcox was ...
, and A. P. Hill. 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. He graduated at age 19 in 1846, second in his class of 59 cadets, losing the top position to
Charles Seaforth Stewart Charles Seaforth Stewart (April 11, 1823 – July 22, 1904) was a Colonel (United States), colonel in the United States Army Corps of Engineers. He graduated first in his West Point Class of 1846, which included future generals George McClellan, S ...
only because of inferior drawing skills. He was commissioned a
brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...
second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.


Mexican–American War 1846–1848

McClellan's first assignment was with a company of engineers formed at West Point, but he quickly received orders to sail for the Mexican War. He arrived near the mouth of the
Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...
in October 1846, well prepared for action with a double-barreled shotgun, two pistols, a saber, a dress sword, and a Bowie knife. He complained that he had arrived too late to take any part in the American victory at
Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...
in September. During a temporary armistice in which the forces of Gen.
Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...
awaited action, McClellan was stricken with
dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...
and
malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
, which kept him in the hospital for nearly a month. Malaria would recur in later years; he called it his "Mexican disease." He served as an engineering officer during the war, was frequently subject to enemy fire, and was appointed a brevet
first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...
for his services at Contreras and
Churubusco Churubusco is a neighbourhood of Mexico City. Under the current territorial division of the Mexican Federal District, it is a part of the borough ''(delegación)'' of Coyoacán. It is centred on the former Franciscan monastery ''(ex convento de C ...
and to
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
for his service at
Chapultepec Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is one of the largest city parks in Mexico, measuring in total just over 686 hectares (1,695 acres). Centered on a rock formation called Chapultep ...
. He performed reconnaissance missions for
Maj. Gen. Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...
, a close friend of McClellan's father. McClellan's experiences in the war would shape his military and political life. He learned that flanking movements (used by Scott at Cerro Gordo) are often better than frontal assaults, and the value of siege operations (
Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
). He witnessed Scott's success in balancing political with military affairs and his good relations with the civil population as he invaded, enforcing strict discipline on his soldiers to minimize damage to property. McClellan also developed a disdain for volunteer soldiers and officers, particularly politicians who cared nothing for discipline and training.


Peacetime service

McClellan returned to West Point to command his engineering company, which was attached to the academy for the purpose of training cadets in engineering activities. He chafed at the boredom of peacetime garrison service, although he greatly enjoyed the social life. In June 1851, he was ordered to
Fort Delaware Fort Delaware is a former harbor defense facility, designed by chief engineer Joseph Gilbert Totten and located on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River.Dobbs, Kelli W., et al. During the American Civil War, the Union used Fort Delaware as a ...
, a masonry work under construction on an island in the
Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
, downriver from Philadelphia. In March 1852, he was ordered to report to Capt.
Randolph B. Marcy Randolph Barnes Marcy (April 9, 1812 – November 22, 1887) was an officer in the United States Army, chiefly noted for his frontier guidebook, the ''Prairie Traveler'' (1859), based on his own extensive experience of pioneering in the west. This p ...
at Fort Smith,
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
, to serve as second-in-command on an expedition to discover the sources of the Red River. By June the expedition reached the source of the north fork of the river and Marcy named a small tributary McClellan's Creek. Upon their arrival on July 28, they were astonished to find that they had been given up for dead. A sensational story had reached the press that the expedition had been ambushed by 2,000
Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...
s and killed to the last man. McClellan blamed the story on "a set of scoundrels, who seek to keep up agitation on the frontier in order to get employment from the Govt. in one way or other." In the fall of 1852, McClellan published a manual on bayonet tactics that he had translated from the original French. He also received an assignment to the Department of Texas, with orders to perform a survey of Texas rivers and harbors. In 1853, he participated in the
Pacific Railroad survey The Pacific Railroad Surveys (1853–1855) were of a series of explorations of the American West designed to find and document possible routes for a transcontinental railroad across North America. The expeditions included surveyors, scientists, and ...
s, ordered by
Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...
, to select an appropriate route for the planned
transcontinental railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...
. McClellan surveyed the western portion of the northern corridor along the 47th and 49th parallels from
St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
to the
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. In doing so, he demonstrated a tendency for insubordination toward senior political figures.
Isaac Stevens Isaac Ingalls Stevens (March 25, 1818 – September 1, 1862) was an American military officer and politician who served as governor of the Territory of Washington from 1853 to 1857, and later as its delegate to the United States House of Represen ...
, governor of the
Washington Territory The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...
, became dissatisfied with McClellan's performance in his scouting of passes across the
Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...
. McClellan selected Yakima Pass () without a thorough reconnaissance and refused the governor's order to lead a party through it in winter conditions, relying on faulty intelligence about the depth of snowpack in that area. In so doing, he missed three greatly superior passes in the near vicinity, which were eventually used for railroads and interstate highways. 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. Returning to the East, McClellan began courting his future wife, Mary Ellen Marcy (1836–1915), the daughter of his former commander. Ellen, or Nelly, refused McClellan's first proposal of marriage, one of nine that she received from a variety of suitors, including his West Point friend, A. P. Hill. Ellen accepted Hill's proposal in 1856, but her family did not approve and he withdrew. In June 1854, McClellan was sent on a secret reconnaissance mission to Santo Domingo at the behest of Jefferson Davis. McClellan assessed local defensive capabilities for the secretary. (The information was not used until 1870 when President
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
unsuccessfully attempted to annex the
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.) Davis was beginning to treat McClellan almost as a protégé, and his next assignment was to assess the logistical readiness of various railroads in the United States, once again with an eye toward planning for the transcontinental railroad. In March 1855, McClellan was promoted to captain and assigned to the 1st U.S. Cavalry regiment. Because of his political connections and his mastery of French, McClellan received the assignment to be an official observer of the European armies in the
Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
in 1855. Traveling widely, and interacting with the highest military commands and royal families, McClellan observed the siege of Sevastopol. Upon his return to the United States in 1856, he requested an assignment in Philadelphia to prepare his report, which contained a critical analysis of the siege and a lengthy description of the organization of the European armies. He also wrote a manual on
cavalry tactics For much of history, humans have used some form of cavalry for war and, as a result, cavalry tactics have evolved over time. Tactically, the main advantages of cavalry over infantry troops were greater mobility, a larger impact, and a higher pos ...
that was based on Russian cavalry regulations. Like other observers, though, McClellan did not appreciate the importance of the emergence of
rifled musket A rifled musket, rifle musket, or rifle-musket is a type of firearm made in the mid-19th century. Originally the term referred only to muskets that had been produced as a smoothbore weapon and later had their barrels replaced with rifled barrel ...
s in the Crimean War, and the fundamental changes in warfare tactics it would require. The Army adopted McClellan's cavalry manual and also his design for a
saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kno ...
, dubbed the
McClellan Saddle The McClellan saddle was a riding saddle designed by George B. McClellan, after his tour of Europe as the member of a military commission charged with studying the latest developments in engineer and cavalry forces including field equipment. Bas ...
, which he claimed to have seen used by
Hussar A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely ...
s in
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
and Hungary. It became standard issue for as long as the U.S. horse cavalry existed and is still used for ceremonies.


Civilian pursuits

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 The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...
, and then president of the
Ohio and Mississippi Railroad The Ohio and Mississippi Railway (earlier the Ohio and Mississippi Rail Road), abbreviated O&M, was a railroad operating between Cincinnati, Ohio, and East St. Louis, Illinois, from 1857 to 1893. The railroad started in 1854 and paralleled the ...
in 1860. He performed well in both jobs, expanding the Illinois Central toward
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
and helping the Ohio and Mississippi recover from the
Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Because of the invention of the telegraph by Samuel F. Morse in 1844, the Panic of 1857 was ...
. Despite his successes and lucrative salary ($10,000 per year), he was frustrated with civilian employment and continued to study classical military strategy assiduously. During the
Utah War The Utah War (1857–1858), also known as the Utah Expedition, Utah Campaign, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between Mormon settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the US go ...
against the
Mormons Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
, he considered rejoining the Army. He also considered service as a
filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...
in support of
Benito Juárez Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Liberalism in Mexico, Mexican liberal politician and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. As a Zapotec peoples, Zapo ...
in Mexico. Before the outbreak of the Civil War, McClellan became active in politics, supporting the presidential campaign of
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...
in the 1860 election. He claimed to have defeated an attempt at vote fraud by Republicans by ordering the delay of a train that was carrying men to vote illegally in another county, enabling Douglas to win the county. In October 1859, McClellan was able to resume his courtship of Mary Ellen, and they were married in Calvary Church, New York City, on May 22, 1860.


Civil War


Ohio and strategy

At the start of the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, McClellan's knowledge of what was called "big war science" and his railroad experience suggested he might excel at military logistics. This placed him in great demand as the
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
mobilized. The governors of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, the three largest states of the Union, actively pursued him to command their states' militia. Ohio Governor William Dennison was the most persistent, so McClellan was commissioned a
major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
of volunteers and took command of the Ohio militia on April 23, 1861. Unlike some of his fellow Union officers who came from
abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...
families, he was opposed to federal interference with slavery. For this reason, some of his Southern colleagues approached him informally about siding with the Confederacy, but he could not accept the concept of
secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...
. On May 3 McClellan re-entered federal service as commander of the
Department of the Ohio The Department of the Ohio was an administrative military district created by the United States War Department early in the American Civil War to administer the troops in the Northern states near the Ohio River. 1st Department 1861–1862 Genera ...
, responsible for the defense of the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and, later, western Pennsylvania, western Virginia, and Missouri. On May 14, he was commissioned a major general in the regular army. At age 34, he outranked everyone in the Army except Lt. Gen.
Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...
, the general-in-chief. McClellan's rapid promotion was partly due to his acquaintance with
Salmon P. Chase Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist who served as the sixth chief justice of the United States. He also served as the 23rd governor of Ohio, represented Ohio in the United States Senate, a ...
,
Treasury Secretary The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
and former Ohio governor and senator. As McClellan scrambled to process the thousands of men who were volunteering for service and to set up training camps, he also applied his mind to grand strategy. He wrote a letter to Gen. Scott on April 27, four days after assuming command in Ohio, that presented the first proposal for a strategy for the war. It contained two alternatives, each envisioning a prominent role for himself as commander. The first would use 80,000 men to invade Virginia through the
Kanawha Valley The Kanawha River ( ) is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi (156 km) long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, its valley has been a significant industrial region of the stat ...
toward
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...
. The second would use the same force to drive south instead, crossing the Ohio River into Kentucky and Tennessee. Scott rejected both plans as logistically unfeasible. Although he complimented McClellan and expressed his "great confidence in your intelligence, zeal, science, and energy", he replied by letter that the 80,000 men would be better used on a river-based expedition to control the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
and split the Confederacy, accompanied by a strong
Union blockade The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlantic ...
of Southern ports. This plan, which would require considerable patience of the Northern public, was derided in newspapers as the
Anaconda Plan The Anaconda Plan is the name applied to a strategy outlined by the Union Army for suppressing the Confederacy at the beginning of the American Civil War. Proposed by Union General-in-Chief Winfield Scott, the plan emphasized a Union blockade of ...
, but eventually proved to be the outline of the successful prosecution of the war. Relations between the two generals became increasingly strained over the summer and fall.


Western Virginia

McClellan's first military operations were to occupy the area of western
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
that wanted to remain in the Union and subsequently became the state of
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
. He had received intelligence reports on May 26 that the critical
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...
bridges in that portion of the state were being burned. As he quickly implemented plans to invade the region, he triggered his first serious political controversy by proclaiming to the citizens there that his forces had no intentions of interfering with personal property—including slaves. "Notwithstanding all that has been said by the traitors to induce you to believe that our advent among you will be signalized by interference with your slaves, understand one thing clearly—not only will we abstain from all such interference but we will on the contrary with an iron hand, crush any attempted insurrection on their part." He quickly realized that he had overstepped his bounds and apologized by letter to President Lincoln. The controversy was not that his proclamation was diametrically opposed to the administration's policy at the time, but that he was so bold in stepping beyond his strictly military role. His forces moved rapidly into the area through Grafton and were victorious at the
Battle of Philippi The Battle of Philippi was the final battle in the Wars of the Second Triumvirate between the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian (of the Second Triumvirate) and the leaders of Julius Caesar's assassination, Brutus and Cassius in 42 BC, at P ...
, the first land conflict of the war. His first personal command in battle was at Rich Mountain, which he also won. His subordinate commander,
William S. Rosecrans William Starke Rosecrans (September 6, 1819March 11, 1898) was an American inventor, coal-oil company executive, diplomat, politician, and U.S. Army officer. He gained fame for his role as a Union general during the American Civil War. He was ...
, bitterly complained that his attack was not reinforced as McClellan had agreed. Nevertheless, these two minor victories propelled McClellan to the status of national hero. The ''New York Herald'' entitled an article about him "Gen. McClellan, the Napoleon of the Present War".


Building an army

After the defeat of the Union forces at First Battle of Bull Run, 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. He traveled by special train on the main Pennsylvania line from Wheeling, West Virginia, Wheeling through Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore, and on to Washington City, and was greeted by enthusiastic crowds that met his train along the way. Carl Sandburg wrote, "McClellan was the man of the hour, pointed to by events, and chosen by an overwhelming weight of public and private opinion." 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. On August 20, several military units in Virginia were consolidated into his department and he immediately formed the
Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...
, with himself as its first commander. He reveled in his newly acquired power and influence: During the summer and fall, McClellan brought a high degree of organization to his new army, and greatly improved its morale with frequent trips to review and encourage his units. It was a remarkable achievement, in which he came to personify the Army of the Potomac and reaped the adulation of his men. He created defenses for Washington that were almost impregnable, consisting of 48 forts and strong points, with 480 guns manned by 7,200 artillerists. The Army of the Potomac grew in number from 50,000 in July to 168,000 in November, becoming the largest military force the United States had raised until that time. But this was also a time of tension in the high command, as he continued to quarrel frequently with the government and the general-in-chief, Lt. Gen. Scott, on matters of strategy. McClellan rejected the tenets of Scott's
Anaconda Plan The Anaconda Plan is the name applied to a strategy outlined by the Union Army for suppressing the Confederacy at the beginning of the American Civil War. Proposed by Union General-in-Chief Winfield Scott, the plan emphasized a Union blockade of ...
, favoring instead an overwhelming grand battle, in the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleonic style. He proposed that his army should be expanded to 273,000 men and 600 guns and "crush the rebels in one campaign". He favored a war that would impose little impact on civilian populations and require no emancipation of slaves. McClellan's antipathy to emancipation added to the pressure on him, as he received bitter criticism from Radical Republicans in the government. He viewed slavery as an institution recognized in the United States Constitution, Constitution, and entitled to federal protection wherever it existed (Lincoln held the same public position until August 1862). 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." But in November 1861, he wrote to his wife, "I will, if successful, throw my sword onto the scale to force an improvement in the condition of those poor blacks." He later wrote that had it been his place to arrange the terms of peace, he would have insisted on gradual emancipation, guarding the rights of both slaves and masters, as part of any settlement. But he made no secret of his opposition to the Radical Republicans. He told Ellen, "I will not fight for the abolitionists." This put him in opposition with officials of the administration who believed he was attempting to implement the policies of the opposition party. The immediate problem with McClellan's war strategy was that he was convinced the Confederates were ready to attack him with overwhelming numbers. On August 8, believing that the Confederacy had over 100,000 troops facing him (in contrast to the 35,000 they had actually deployed at Bull Run a few weeks earlier), he declared a state of emergency in the capital. By August 19, he estimated 150,000 rebel soldiers on his front. 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. McClellan's feeling of facing overwhelming odds in subsequent campaigns throughout his tenure as General of the Army of the Potomac were strongly influenced by the overblown enemy strength estimates of his secret service chief, detective Allan Pinkerton, but in August 1861, these estimates were entirely McClellan's own. The result was a level of extreme caution that sapped the initiative of McClellan's army and dismayed the government. Historian and biographer Stephen W. Sears observed that McClellan's actions would have been "essentially sound" for a commander who was as outnumbered as McClellan thought he was, but McClellan in fact rarely had less than a two-to-one advantage over the armies that opposed him in 1861 and 1862. That fall, for example, Confederate forces ranged from 35,000 to 60,000, whereas the Army of the Potomac in September numbered 122,000 men; in early December 170,000; by year end, 192,000. The dispute with Scott became increasingly personal. Scott (as well as many in the War Department) was outraged that McClellan refused to divulge any details about his strategic planning, or even such basic information as the strengths and dispositions of his units. McClellan claimed he could not trust anyone in the administration to keep his plans secret from the press, and thus the enemy. In the course of a disagreement about defensive forces on the Potomac River, McClellan wrote to his wife on August 10: "Genl Scott is the great obstacle—he will not comprehend the danger & is either a traitor, or an incompetent. I have to fight my way against him." Scott became so disillusioned with the young general that he offered his resignation to President Lincoln, who initially refused to accept it. Rumors traveled through the capital that McClellan might resign, or instigate a military coup, if Scott were not removed. Lincoln's Cabinet met on October 18 and agreed to accept Scott's resignation for “reasons of health”. However, the subsequently formed
Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...
had high morale and was extremely proud of their general, some even referring to McClellan as the savior of Washington. He prevented the army's morale from collapsing at least twice, in the aftermath of the First Battle of Bull Run, First and Second Battle of Bull Run, Second Battles of Bull Run. Many historians argue that he was talented in this aspect.


General-in-chief

On November 1, 1861,
Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...
retired and McClellan became general-in-chief of all the Union armies. The president expressed his concern about the "vast labor" involved in the dual role of army commander and general-in-chief, but McClellan responded, "I can do it all." Lincoln, as well as many other leaders and citizens of the northern states, became increasingly impatient with McClellan's slowness to attack the Confederate forces still massed near Washington. The Union defeat at the minor Battle of Ball's Bluff near Leesburg, Virginia, Leesburg in October added to the frustration and indirectly damaged McClellan. In December, the Congress formed a United States Congress Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, which became a thorn in the side of many generals throughout the war, accusing them of incompetence and, in some cases, treason. McClellan was called as the first witness on December 23, but he contracted typhoid fever and could not attend. Instead, his subordinate officers testified, and their candid admissions that they had no knowledge of specific strategies for advancing against the Confederates raised many calls for McClellan's dismissal. McClellan further damaged his reputation by his insulting insubordination to his commander-in-chief. He privately referred to Lincoln, whom he had known before the war as a lawyer for the Illinois Central, as "nothing more than a well-meaning baboon", a "gorilla", and "ever unworthy of ... his high position". 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. On January 10, 1862, Lincoln met with top generals (McClellan did not attend) and directed them to formulate a plan of attack, expressing his exasperation with General McClellan with the following remark: "If General McClellan does not want to use the army, I would like to borrow it for a time." On January 12, 1862, McClellan was summoned to the White House, where the Cabinet demanded to hear his war plans. For the first time, he revealed his intentions to transport the Army of the Potomac by ship to Urbanna, Virginia, Urbanna,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, on the Rappahannock River, outflanking the Confederate forces near Washington, and proceeding overland to capture Richmond. He refused to give any specific details of the proposed campaign, even to his friend, newly appointed United States Secretary of War, War Secretary Edwin M. Stanton. On January 27, Lincoln issued an order that required all of his armies to begin offensive operations by February 22, Presidents' Day (United States), Washington's birthday. On January 31, he issued a supplementary order for the Army of the Potomac to move overland to attack the Confederates at Manassas, Virginia, Manassas Junction and Centreville, Virginia, Centreville. McClellan immediately replied with a 22-page letter objecting in detail to the president's plan and advocating instead his Urbanna plan, which was the first written instance of the plan's details being presented to the president. Although Lincoln believed his plan was superior, he was relieved that McClellan finally agreed to begin moving, and reluctantly approved. On March 8, doubting McClellan's resolve, Lincoln again interfered with the army commander's prerogatives. He called a council of war at the White House in which McClellan's subordinates were asked about their confidence in the Urbanna plan. They expressed their confidence to varying degrees. After the meeting, Lincoln issued another order, naming specific officers as corps commanders to report to McClellan (who had been reluctant to do so prior to assessing his division commanders' effectiveness in combat, even though this would have meant his direct supervision of twelve divisions in the field). Two more crises would confront McClellan before he could implement his plans. The Confederate forces under General
Joseph E. Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American career army officer, serving with distinction in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia secede ...
withdrew from their positions before Washington, assuming new positions south of the Rappahannock, which completely nullified the Urbanna strategy. McClellan revised his plans to have his troops disembark at Fort Monroe, Virginia, Fort Monroe,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, and advance up the Virginia Peninsula to Richmond, an operation that would be known as the Peninsula Campaign. Then, however, McClellan came under extreme criticism in the press and Congress when it was learned that Johnston's forces had not only slipped away unnoticed, but had for months fooled the Union Army with logs painted black to appear as cannons, nicknamed Quaker Guns. Congress's joint committee visited the abandoned Confederate lines and radical Republicans introduced a resolution demanding the dismissal of McClellan, but it was narrowly defeated by a parliamentary maneuver. The second crisis was the emergence of the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia, CSS ''Virginia'', which threw Washington into a panic and made naval support operations on the
James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...
seem problematic. On March 11, 1862, Lincoln removed McClellan as general-in-chief, leaving him in command of only the Army of the Potomac, ostensibly so that McClellan would be free to devote all his attention to the move on Richmond. Lincoln's order was ambiguous as to whether McClellan might be restored following a successful campaign. In fact, the general-in-chief position was left unfilled. Lincoln, Stanton, and a group of officers who formed the "War Board" directed the strategic actions of the Union armies that spring. Although McClellan was assuaged by supportive comments Lincoln made to him, in time he saw the change of command very differently, describing it as a part of an intrigue "to secure the failure of the approaching campaign".


Peninsula campaign

McClellan's army began to sail from Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandria on March 17. It was an armada that dwarfed all previous American expeditions, transporting 121,500 men, 44 artillery batteries, 1,150 wagons, over 15,000 horses, and tons of equipment and supplies. An English observer remarked that it was the "stride of a giant". The army's advance from Fort Monroe up the Virginia Peninsula proved to be slow. McClellan's plan for a rapid seizure of Yorktown, Virginia, Yorktown was foiled by the removal of 1st Corps from the Army of the Potomac for the defense of Washington. McClellan had hoped to use the 1st Corps to capture Gloucester Point, Virginia, Glouchester Point and thus outflank the Confederate position. When he discovered that the Confederates had fortified a line across the Peninsula he hesitated to attack and instead “played it safe”. As Swinton notes "It is possible, however—and there is a considerable volume of evidence bearing upon this point—that General McClellan, during all the earlier portion of the month before Yorktown, had it in his mind, even without McDowell's corps, to undertake the decisive turning movement by the north side of the York. In this event, it would not only be in the direction of his plan to make no attack, but it would play into his hands that his opponent should accumulate his forces on the Peninsula. 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." McClellan asked for the opinion of his chief engineer John G. Barnard, who recommended against an assault. This caused him to decide on a siege of the city, which required considerable preparation. McClellan continued to believe intelligence reports that credited the Confederates with two or three times the men they actually had. Early in the campaign, Confederate General John B. Magruder, John B. "Prince John" Magruder defended the Peninsula against McClellan's advance with a vastly smaller force. He created a false impression of many troops behind the lines and of even more troops arriving. He accomplished this by marching small groups of men repeatedly past places where they could be observed at a distance or were just out of sight, accompanied by great noise and fanfare. During this time, General Johnston was able to provide Magruder with reinforcements, but even then there were far fewer troops than McClellan believed were opposite him. After a month of preparation, just before he was to assault the Confederate works at Yorktown, McClellan learned that Johnston had withdrawn up the Peninsula towards Williamsburg, Virginia, Williamsburg. McClellan was thus required to give chase without any benefit of the heavy artillery so carefully amassed in front of Yorktown. The Battle of Williamsburg on May 5 is considered a Union victory—McClellan's first—but the Confederate army was not destroyed and most of their troops were successfully moved past Williamsburg to Richmond's outer defenses while the battle was waged and for several days thereafter. McClellan had also placed hopes on a simultaneous naval approach to Richmond via the
James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...
. That approach failed following the Union Navy's defeat at the Battle of Drewry's Bluff, about downstream from the Confederate capital, on May 15. Basing artillery on a strategic bluff high above a bend in the river, and sinking boats to create an impassable series of obstacles in the river itself, the Confederates effectively blocked this potential approach to Richmond. McClellan's army moved towards Richmond over the next three weeks, coming to within four miles (6 km) of it. He established a supply base on the Pamunkey River (a navigable tributary of the York River) at White House Landing, Virginia, White House Landing where the Richmond and York River Railroad extending to Richmond crossed, and commandeered the railroad, transporting steam locomotives and rolling stock to the site by barge. On May 31, as McClellan planned an assault, his army was surprised by a Confederate attack. Johnston saw that the Union army was split in half by the rain-swollen Chickahominy River and hoped to defeat in detail, defeat it in detail at Battle of Seven Pines, Seven Pines and Fair Oaks. McClellan was unable to command the army personally because of a recurrence of malarial fever, but his subordinates were able to repel the attacks. Nevertheless, McClellan received criticism from Washington for not counterattacking, which some believed could have opened the city of Richmond to capture. Johnston was wounded in the battle, and General Robert E. Lee assumed command of the
Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most oft ...
. McClellan spent the next three weeks repositioning his troops and waiting for promised reinforcements. As Lee recounted, McClellan was attempting to make "this a battle of posts" which would lock the Confederate army in an attritional battle with superior Union firepower. At the end of June, Lee began a series of attacks that became known as the
Seven Days Battles The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, command ...
. The first major battle, at Battle of Beaver Dam Creek, Mechanicsville, was poorly coordinated by Lee and his subordinates and resulted in heavy casualties for little tactical gain. However the battle had a significant impact on McClellan's nerve. The surprise appearance of Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson's troops in the battle (when they had last been reported to be many miles away in the Shenandoah Valley) convinced McClellan that he was even more outnumbered than he had thought. He reported to Washington that he faced 200,000 Confederates, perhaps due to a false report on the arrival of another Confederate army P.G.T. Beauregard. The number of men McClellan was actually faced varies, with Joseph Harsh in ''Confederate Tide Rising'' placing Lee's army at 112,220 men compared with the 105,857 under McClellan. Lee continued his offensive at Battle of Gaines's Mill, Gaines's Mill to the east. That night, McClellan decided to withdraw his army to a safer base, well below Richmond, on a portion of the James River that was under control of the Union Navy. In doing so, Lee had assumed that the Union army would withdraw to the east toward its existing supply base and McClellan's move to the south delayed Lee's response for at least 24 hours. Ethan Rafuse notes "McClellan's change of base to the James, however, thwarted Lee's attempt to do this. Not only did McClellan's decision allow the Federals to gain control of the time and place for the battles that took place in late June and early July, it enabled them to fight in a way that inflicted terrible beating on the Confederate army....More importantly, by the end of the Seven Days Battles, McClellan had dramatically improved his operational situation." But McClellan was also tacitly acknowledging that he would no longer be able to investment (military), 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. In a telegram to
Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
Edwin Stanton, reporting on these events, McClellan blamed the Lincoln administration for his reversals. "If I save this army now, I tell you plainly I owe no thanks to you or to any other persons in Washington. You have done your best to sacrifice this army." Fortunately for McClellan, Lincoln never saw that inflammatory statement (at least at that time) because it was censored by the War Department telegrapher. McClellan was also fortunate that the failure of the campaign left his army mostly intact, because he was generally absent from the fighting and neglected to name any second-in-command who might direct his retreat. Military historian Stephen W. Sears wrote, "When he deserted his army on the Battle of Glendale, Glendale and Battle of Malvern Hill, Malvern Hill battlefields during the Seven Days, he was guilty of dereliction of duty. Had the Army of the Potomac been wrecked on either of these fields (at Glendale the possibility had been real), that charge under the Articles of War would likely have been brought against him." In the battle of Glendale, McClellan was five miles (8 km) away behind Malvern Hill, without telegraph communications and too distant to command his army. In the battle of Malvern Hill, he was on a gunboat, the , which at one point was ten miles (16 km) away, down the James River. In both battles, effective command of the army fell to his friend and V Corps (Union Army), V Corps commander Brigadier General Fitz John Porter. When the public heard about the ''Galena'', it was yet another great embarrassment, comparable to the Quaker Guns at Manassas. Editorial cartoons published in the course of the 1864 United States presidential election, 1864 presidential campaign lampooned McClellan for having preferred the safety of a ship while a battle was fought in the distance. McClellan was reunited with his army at Harrison's Landing on the James. Debates were held as to whether the army should be evacuated or attempt to resume an offensive toward Richmond. 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. He concluded by implying he should be restored as general-in-chief, but Lincoln responded by naming Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck to the post without consulting, or even informing, McClellan. Lincoln and Stanton also offered command of the Army of the Potomac to Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside, who refused the appointment. Back in Washington, a reorganization of units created the Army of Virginia under Maj. Gen. John Pope (military officer), John Pope, who was directed to advance toward Richmond from the northeast. 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. The Fifth Corps under Porter from the Army of the Potomac would serve with Pope during the campaign. A frustrated McClellan wrote to his wife before the battle, "Pope will be thrashed ... & be disposed of [by Lee]. ... Such a villain as he is ought to bring defeat upon any cause that employs him." Lee had gambled on removing significant units from the Peninsula to attack Pope, who was beaten decisively at Second Bull Run in August.


Maryland campaign

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." Northern fears of a continued offensive by Robert E. Lee were realized when he launched his Maryland campaign on September 4, hoping to arouse pro-Southern sympathy in the slave state of Maryland. McClellan's pursuit began on September 5. He marched toward Maryland with six of his reorganized corps. Numbers vary as to the size of McClellan's force with its paper strength at 87,164. Steven R. Stotelmyer in ''Too Useful to Sacrifice'' places it at about 60,000 men, noting that the 87,000 number includes non-combat soldiers and units not immediately available. McClellan would leave two corps behind to defend Washington. McClellan's reception in Frederick, Maryland, as he marched towards Lee's army, was described by the correspondent for Harper's Magazine: 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, West Virginia, Harpers Ferry. This was a risky move for a smaller army, but Lee was counting on his knowledge of McClellan's temperament. He told one of his generals, "He is an able general but a very cautious one. His army is in a very demoralized and chaotic condition, and will not be prepared for offensive operations—or he will not think it so—for three or four weeks. Before that time I hope to be on the Susquehanna." Lee's assessment proved to be inaccurate as McClellan reacted quickly, with the Confederate leader remarking that McClellan was "advancing more rapidly than was convenient." Many classic histories have portrayed McClellan's army as moving lethargically, averaging only a day. Meanwhile, Union soldiers accidentally found a Special Order 191, copy of Lee's orders dividing his army, wrapped around a package of cigars in an abandoned camp. Special Order 191 revealed the widely dispersed configuration of Lee's Army, making it vulnerable to Defeat in detail, destruction in detail. The document was verified at McClellan's headquarters in Frederick on September 13. Upon realizing the intelligence value of this discovery, McClellan threw up his arms and exclaimed, "Now I know what to do!" He waved the order at his old Army friend, Brigadier general (United States), Brig. Gen. John Gibbon, and said, "Here is a paper with which if I cannot whip Bobbie Lee, I will be willing to go home." He telegraphed President Lincoln: "I have the whole rebel force in front of me, but I am confident, and no time shall be lost. I think Lee has made a gross mistake, and that he will be severely punished for it. I have all the plans of the rebels, and will catch them in their own trap if my men are equal to the emergency. ... Will send you trophies."


Battle of South Mountain

At the discovery of the Lost Order, McClellan's Assistant Adjutant General verified the signature and handwriting of the officer who wrote out the order, as he knew him well, so there was no doubt as to its authenticity. Within hours of receiving the order, McClellan dispatched some of his cavalry to assess whether The Confederates had moved in accordance with the order. Still, historians – including James M. McPherson in ''Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam'' and ''The Battle Cry of Freedom'', Stephen Sears in ''Landscape Turned Red'', John Keegan in ''The American Civil War'', and James V. Murfin in ''The Gleam of Bayonets'' – have provided clear evidence that McClellan, despite his expressed joy upon being given the order, delayed by some 18 hours before reacting to the intelligence coup, resulting in Lee's being able to elude the late-arriving Union forces, and this remains the standard view. However, Gene Thorp in a 2012 article in ''The Washington Post'' cited evidence that the vanguard of Army of the Potomac was in motion all day on the 13th due to orders McClellan had issued the previous day. After the war, McClellan held to the claim that he acted immediately to put his armies on the move.Murfin, James V. (2004) [1965] ''The Gleam of Bayonets'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. pp.162-163. McClellan ordered his units to set out for the South Mountain passes and was able to punch through the defended passes that separated them from Lee. The stubborn Confederate defenses gave Lee enough time to concentrate many of his men at Sharpsburg, Maryland, Sharpsburg, Maryland. As noted by historians such as Stotelmyer, the significance of the Union victory at South Mountain should not be underestimated. It ruined Lee's plans to invade Pennsylvania and took the initiative away from the Confederate commander. 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 Union army reached Antietam Creek, to the east of Sharpsburg, on the evening of September 15. A planned attack on September 16 was put off because of early morning fog, allowing Lee to prepare his defenses with an army less than half the size of McClellan's.


Battle of Antietam

The
Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...
on September 17, 1862, was the single bloodiest day in American military history. The outnumbered Confederate forces fought desperately and well. Despite significant advantages in manpower, McClellan was unable to concentrate his forces effectively, which meant that Lee was able to shift his defenders to parry each of three Union thrusts, launched separately and sequentially against the Confederate left, center, and finally the right. McClellan was also unwilling, due to Porter's opinion, to employ his ample reserve forces to capitalize on localized successes. Historian James M. McPherson has pointed out that the two corps McClellan kept in reserve were in fact larger than Lee's entire force. The reason for McClellan's reluctance was that, as in previous battles, he was convinced he was outnumbered. The battle was tactically inconclusive, with the Union suffering a higher overall number of casualties, although Lee technically was defeated because he withdrew first from the battlefield and retreated back to Virginia, and lost a larger percentage of his army than McClellan did. McClellan wired to Washington, "Our victory was complete. The enemy is driven back into Virginia." Yet there was obvious disappointment that McClellan had not crushed Lee, who was fighting with a smaller army with its back to the Potomac River. Although McClellan's subordinates can claim their share of responsibility for delays (such as Ambrose Burnside's misadventures at Burnside Bridge) and blunders (Edwin V. Sumner's attack without reconnaissance), these were localized problems from which the full army could have recovered. As with the decisive battles in the Seven Days, McClellan's headquarters were too far to the rear to allow his personal control over the battle. He made no use of his cavalry forces for reconnaissance. He did not share his overall battle plans with his corps commanders, which prevented them from using initiative outside of their sectors. 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." Despite being a tactical draw, Antietam is considered a Turning Point of the American Civil War, turning point of the war and a victory for the Union because it ended Lee's strategic campaign (his first invasion of the North) and it allowed President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, taking effect on January 1, 1863. Although Lincoln had intended to issue the proclamation earlier, he was advised by his Cabinet to wait until a Union victory to avoid the perception that it was issued out of desperation. The Union victory and Lincoln's proclamation played a considerable role in dissuading the governments of Second French Empire, France and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain from recognizing the Confederacy; some suspected they were planning to do so in the aftermath of another Union defeat. McClellan had no prior knowledge that the plans for emancipation rested on his battle performance. Because McClellan failed to pursue Lee aggressively after Antietam, Lincoln ordered that he be removed from command on November 5, 1862. Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside assumed command of the Army of the Potomac on November 9, 1862. McClellan wrote to his wife, "Those in whose judgment I rely tell me that I fought the battle splendidly and that it was a masterpiece of art. ... I feel I have done all that can be asked in twice saving the country. ... I feel some little pride in having, with a beaten & demoralized army, defeated Lee so utterly. ... Well, one of these days history will I trust do me justice."


1864 presidential election

Secretary Stanton ordered McClellan to report to Trenton, New Jersey, Trenton, New Jersey, for further orders, although none was issued. As the war progressed, there were various calls to return McClellan to an important command, following the Union defeats at Battle of Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg and Battle of Chancellorsville, Chancellorsville, as Robert E. Lee moved north at the start of the Gettysburg campaign, and as Jubal Early threatened Washington in 1864. When Ulysses S. Grant became general-in-chief, he discussed returning McClellan to an unspecified position. But all of these opportunities were impossible, given the opposition within the administration and the knowledge that McClellan posed a potential political threat. McClellan worked for months on a lengthy report describing his two major campaigns and his successes in organizing the Army, replying to his critics and justifying his actions by accusing the administration of undercutting him and denying him necessary reinforcements. 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. McClellan was nominated by the 1864 Democratic National Convention, Democrats to run against
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
in the U.S. presidential election, 1864, 1864 U.S. presidential election. Following the example of
Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...
, he ran as a U.S. Army general still on active duty; he did not resign his commission until election day, November 8, 1864. McClellan supported continuation of the war and restoration of the Union, but not the abolition of slavery, although the party platform, written by Copperheads (politics), Copperhead leader Clement Vallandigham of Ohio, was opposed to that position. The platform called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a negotiated settlement with the Confederacy. McClellan was forced to repudiate the platform, which made his campaign inconsistent and difficult. He also was not helped by the party's choice for vice president, George H. Pendleton, a peace candidate from Ohio. The deep division in the party, the unity of the United States Republican Party, 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. Lincoln won the election handily, with 212 Electoral College (United States), Electoral College votes to 21, and a popular vote of 2,218,388 to 1,812,807 or 55% to 45%. For all his popularity with the troops, McClellan failed to secure their support and the military vote went to Lincoln nearly 3–1. Lincoln's share of the vote in the Army of the Potomac was 70%.


Postbellum years

At the conclusion of the war (1865) McClellan and his family went to Europe, not returning until 1868; in this period he did not participate in politics. Prior to his return in September 1868, the Democratic Party had expressed some interest in nominating him for president again, but Ulysses S. Grant became the Republican candidate in May 1868, and this interest died. 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. McClellan was appointed chief engineer of the New York City Department of Docks in 1870. Beginning in 1872, he also served as the president of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad. He and his family then embarked on another three-year stay in Europe (1873–75). In March 1877 the Governor of New York, Lucius Robinson, nominated McClellan to serve as the first state New York State Department of Public Works, Superintendent of Public Works, but the New York State Senate rejected him as "incompetent for the position".


Governor of New Jersey


1877 campaign

McClellan was a resident of West Orange, New Jersey in 1877 when the New Jersey Democratic Party nominated him for Governor of New Jersey, governor, an action that took him by surprise because he had not expressed an interest in the position. His nomination was largely an effort by key party members to prevent the leading candidate, Leon Abbett, from gaining the nomination. After his name was unexpectedly placed into nomination at the state convention, there was a stampede and he was nominated by acclamation. In the general election, he faced William A. Newell, a Republican former governor who accused McClellan of living in New York, which he easily refuted. McClellan won the election by a large majority and Democrats gained a majority in both houses of the New Jersey legislature for the first time since 1870.


Term in office

Most likely due to his personal popularity and celebrity, McClellan's inauguration was held outdoors to accommodate the large crowd. In his inaugural address, he said the most urgent matter before the state was relief from the Panic of 1873. To that end, he advocated for cautious spending to allow for a state tax cut of fifty percent; by the end of McClellan's term, the state tax on residents was abolished entirely. Soon after taking office, McClellan fell out of favor with the State Senate over appointments and patronage. The legislature also enacted several highly partisan measures designed to ensure Democratic control, including an aggressive gerrymander of the New Jersey Assembly districts and another disenfranchising college students (who tended to vote Republican). Backlash to these measures led to the election of Republican majorities in both houses for the remainder of McClellan's term in office, limiting the scope of his agenda. McClellan's administration was marked by caution and conservatism. Few concrete measures passed and those that did, such as the abolition of the state tax and improvements to the National Guard, were widely popular. In addition to tax reduction, McClellan's economic agenda included the institution of a Bureau of Statistics of Labor and Industries and the creation of an agricultural experiment station to modernize growing and farming practices. Both passed the legislature in 1878 and 1880, respectively. 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. McClellan also applied his military experience to improve the discipline, organization, and armament of the New Jersey National Guard. During his administration, two companies were equipped with Gatling guns, a new battalion was organized, regular rifle practice was instituted, and provisions were made to supply new uniforms.


Retirement and death

The concluding chapter of his political career was his strong support 1884 United States presidential election, in 1884 for Grover Cleveland. He sought the position of
Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
in Cleveland's cabinet, but Senator John R. McPherson, who had opposed McClellan for governor in 1877, succeeded in blocking his nomination. McClellan devoted his final years to traveling and writing; he produced his memoirs, ''McClellan's Own Story'' (published posthumously in 1887), in which he stridently defended his conduct during the war. He died unexpectedly of a heart attack at age 58 at Orange, New Jersey, Orange, New Jersey, after suffering from chest pains for a few weeks. His final words, at 3 a.m., October 29, 1885, were, "I feel easy now. Thank you." He was buried at Riverview Cemetery (Trenton, New Jersey), Riverview Cemetery in Trenton, New Jersey, Trenton.


Family

McClellan's son, George B. McClellan Jr. (1865–1940), was born in Dresden in the Kingdom of Saxony during the family's first trip to Europe. Known within the family as Max, he too became a politician, serving as a United States House of Representatives, United States Representative (1893–1903) and as Mayor of New York City from 1904 to 1909. McClellan's daughter, Mary ("May") (1861–1945), married a French diplomat and spent much of her life abroad. McClellan's wife, Ellen, died in Nice, France, in 1915 while visiting Mary at her home "Villa Antietam".


Legacy

The New York New York Post, ''Evening Post'' commented in McClellan's obituary, "Probably no soldier who did so little fighting has ever had his qualities as a commander so minutely, and we may add, so fiercely discussed." This fierce discussion has continued for over a century. McClellan is usually ranked in the lowest tier of Civil War generals. However, the debate over McClellan's ability and talents remains the subject of much controversy among Civil War and military historians. He has been universally praised for his organizational abilities and for his very good relations with his troops. They referred to him affectionately as "Little Mac"; others sometimes called him the "Young Napoleon". McClellan himself summed up his style of warfare in a draft of his memoirs: Stephen Sears notes that One of the reasons that McClellan's reputation has suffered is his own memoirs. Historian Allan Nevins wrote, "Students of history must always be grateful McClellan so frankly exposed his own weaknesses in this posthumous book." Doris Kearns Goodwin writes that a review of his personal correspondence during the war reveals a tendency for self-aggrandizement and unwarranted self-congratulation. His original draft was completed in 1881, but the only copy was destroyed by fire. He began to write another draft of what would be published posthumously, in 1887, as ''McClellan's Own Story''. However, he died before it was half completed and his literary executor, William C. Prime, editor of the pro-McClellan New York ''Journal of Commerce'', included excerpts from some 250 of McClellan's wartime letters to his wife, in which it had been his habit to reveal his innermost feelings and opinions in unbridled fashion. Robert E. Lee, on being asked (by his cousin, and recorded by his son) who was the ablest general on the Union side during the late war, replied emphatically: "McClellan, by all odds!" While McClellan's reputation has suffered over time, especially over the later half of the 20th century, there is a small but intense cadre of Civil War historians who believe that the general has been poorly served in at least four regards. 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. Second, that as the radical Republicans were the true winners coming out of the Civil War, they were able to write its history, placing their principal political rival of the time, McClellan, in the worst possible light. Third, that historians eager to jump on the bandwagon of Lincoln as America's greatest political icon worked to outdo one another in shifting blame for early military failures from Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton to McClellan. And fourth, that Lincoln and Stanton deliberately undermined McClellan because of his conciliatory stance towards the South, which might have resulted in a less destructive end to the war had Richmond fallen as a result of the Peninsula Campaign. Proponents of this school claim that McClellan is criticized more for his admittedly abrasive personality than for his actual field performance. Several geographic features and establishments have been named for George B. McClellan. These include Fort McClellan in Alabama, McClellan Butte and McClellan Peak in the state of Washington, where he traveled while conducting the Pacific Railroad Survey in 1853, and a bronze equestrian statue honoring General McClellan in Washington, D.C. Another equestrian statue honors him in front of Philadelphia City Hall, while the McClellan Gate at Arlington National Cemetery is dedicated to him and displays his name. McClellan Park in Milbridge, Maine, was donated to the town by the general's son with the stipulation that it be named for the general. Camp McClellan (Iowa), Camp McClellan, in Davenport, IA, is a former
Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
camp established in August 1861 after the outbreak of the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. The camp was the training grounds for recruits and a hospital for the wounded. McClellan Fitness Center is a United States Army gym located at Fort Eustis,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
near his Peninsula Campaign. The Fire Department of New York operated a fireboat named George B. McClellan (fireboat), ''George B. McClellan'' from 1904 to 1954. While this vessel is sometimes said to be named after the General, it was actually named after his son, who was Mayor of New York City, when the vessel was launched.


Electoral history

1864 Democratic National Convention: * George B. McClellan – 174 (77.3%) * Thomas H. Seymour – 38 (16.9%) * Horatio Seymour – 12 (5.3%) * Charles O'Conor (American politician), Charles O'Conor – 1 (0.4%) 1864 United States presidential election *
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
/Andrew Johnson (National Union Party (United States), National Union) – 2,218,388 (55.0%) and 212 electoral votes * George B. McClellan/George H. Pendleton (Democratic) – 1,812,807 (45.0%) and 21 electoral votes (3 states carried) New Jersey Governor of New Jersey, gubernatorial election, 1877: * George B. McClellan (D) – 97,837 (51.7%) * William Augustus Newell (R) – 85,094 (44.9%)


Dates of rank


Selected works

*
The Mexican War Diary of George B. McClellan
' (William Starr Myers, Editor). Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1917. * ''Bayonet Exercise, or School of the Infantry Soldier, in the Use of the Musket in Hand-to-Hand Conflicts'' (translated from the French of Gomard), 1852. Reissued as
Manual of Bayonet Exercise, Prepared for the Use of the Army of the United States
'. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1862. *
The Report of Captain George B. McClellan, One of the Officers Sent to the Seat of War in Europe, in 1855 and 1856
', 1857. Reissued as
The Armies of Europe, Comprising Descriptions in Detail of the Military Systems of England, France, Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Sardinia
'. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1861. *
European Cavalry, Including Details of the Organization of the Cavalry Service Among the Principal Nations of Europe
'. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1861. *
Exploration of the Red River of Louisiana in the Year 1852
' (with Randolph B. Marcy). Washington: A.O.P. Nicholson, 1854. * ''Regulations and Instructions for the Field Service of the United States Cavalry in Time of War'', 1861. Reissued as
Regulations and Instructions for the Field Service of the U.S. Cavalry in Time of War
'. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1862. *
McClellan's Own Story: The War for the Union, The Soldiers Who Fought It, The Civilians Who Directed It and His Relations to It and to Them
' (William C. Prime, Editor). New York: Charles L. Webster & Company, 1887. *
The Life, Campaigns, and Public Services of General George B McClellan
'. Philadelphia: T.B. Peterson & Brothers, 1864. *
The Democratic Platform, General McClellan's Letter of Acceptance
'. New York: Democratic National Committee, 1864. *
The Army of the Potomac, General McClellan's Report of Its Operations While Under His Command
'. New York: G.P. Putnam, 1864. *
Report of Major General George B McClellan, Upon the Organization of the Army of the Potomac and Its campaigns in Virginia and Maryland
'. Boston: Boston Courier, 1864. *
Letter of the Secretary of War by George Brinton McClellan
'. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1864. *
West Point Battle Monument, History of the Project to the Dedication of the Site
' (Oration of Major-General McClellan). New York: Sheldon & Co., 1864.


See also

* List of American Civil War generals (Union) * Conservative Democrat


Notes


References

* Bailey, Ronald H., and the Editors of Time-Life Books. ''The Bloodiest Day: The Battle of Antietam''. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1984. . * Bailey, Ronald H., and the Editors of Time-Life Books. ''Forward to Richmond: McClellan's Peninsular Campaign''. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1983. . * Beagle, Jonathan M. "George Brinton McClellan." In ''Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History'', edited by David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2000. . * Beatie, Russel H. ''Army of the Potomac: McClellan Takes Command, September 1861 – February 1862''. New York: Da Capo Press, 2004. . * Eckenrode, H. J., and Col. Bryan Conrad. ''George B. McClellan: The Man Who Saved the Union''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1941. . * Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher. ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Doris Kearns Goodwin, Goodwin, Doris Kearns. ''Team of Rivals'', New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005. . * Robert E. Lee, Jr., Lee, Robert E. Jr.]
''Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee''
St. Petersburg, FL: Red and Black Publishers, 2008. . First published 1904 by Doubleday, Page & Co. * James M. McPherson, McPherson, James M. ''Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era''. Oxford History of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. . * McPherson, James M. ''Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam, The Battle That Changed the Course of the Civil War''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. . * McPherson, James M. ''Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief''. New York: Penguin Press, 2008. . * Allan Nevins, Nevins, Allan. ''The War for the Union''. vol. 1, ''The Improvised War 1861–1862''. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1959. . * Rafuse, Ethan S. ''McClellan's War: The Failure of Moderation in the Struggle for the Union''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005. . * Rowland, Thomas J. "George Brinton McClellan." In ''Leaders of the American Civil War: A Biographical and Historiographical Dictionary''. Edited by Charles F. Ritter and Jon L. Wakelyn. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998. . * Rowland, Thomas J. ''George B. McClellan and Civil War History: In the Shadow of Grant and Sherman''. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1998. . * Carl Sandburg, Sandburg, Carl. ''Storm Over the Land: A Profile of the Civil War''. New York: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1942. . * Stephen W. Sears, Sears, Stephen W. ''Controversies & Commanders: Dispatches from the Army of the Potomac''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1999. . * Sears, Stephen W. ''George B. McClellan: The Young Napoleon''. New York: Da Capo Press, 1988. . * Sears, Stephen W. ''Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1983. . * Sears, Stephen W. ''To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign''. Ticknor and Fields, 1992. . * Smith, Gustavus, Woodson. (2001) ''Company "A" Corps of Engineers, U.S.A., 1846–1848, in the Mexican War.'' Edited by Leonne M. Hudson, The Kent State University Press * Bonekemper, Edward H. ''McClellan and failure''. McFarland & Co, 2007 * Stotelmyer, Steven R. ''Too Useful to Sacrifice: Reconsidering George B. McClellan's Generalship in the Maryland Campaign from South Mountain to Antietam''. California: Savas Beatie, 2019.


Further reading

* Beatie, Russel H. ''Army of the Potomac: McClellan Takes Command, September 1861 – February 1862''. New York: Da Capo Press, 2004. . * Beatie, Russel H. ''Army of the Potomac: McClellan's First Campaign, March – May 1862''. New York: Savas Beatie, 2007. . * Burton, Brian K. ''Extraordinary Circumstances: The Seven Days Battles''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001. . * Cutrer, Thomas W. ''The Mexican War Diary and Correspondence of George B. McClellan''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2009. . * Davis, Jefferson, and McClellan, George B.
Report of the Secretary of War Communicating the Report of Captain George B McClellan, One of the Officers Sent to the Seat of War in Europe in 1855 and 1856
'. Washington: A.O.P. Nicholson, 1857. * Hearn, Chester G. ''Lincoln and McClellan at War''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2012. . * Hillard, George S.
Life and Campaigns of George B. McClellan, Major-General U.S. Army
'. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1864. * Leigh, Philip "Lee's Lost Dispatch and Other Civil War Controversies". Yardley, Penna.: Westholme Publishing, 2015. . * Melville, Herman. ''Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War
The Victor of Antietam
'. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1866.


External links


George B. McClellan in ''Encyclopedia Virginia''

Georgia's Blue and Gray Trail McClellan timeline

Lincoln and Lee at Antietam

Mr. Lincoln and New York: George B. McClellan




* Marcy, Randolph B, assisted by McClellan, George B., [https://web.archive.org/web/20060329165243/http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-6105 ''Exploration of the Red River of Louisiana, in the year 1852''] hosted by th
Portal to Texas History

McClellan's May 30th, 1885 Decoration Day Oration
(Lowell ''Daily Courier'', June 5, 1885)
Biography of George B. McClellan
New Jersey State Library
New Jersey Governor George Brinton McClellan
National Governors Association
"L'il Mac" George McClellan
Song parody
American Heritage on George McClellan's appointment

''The Mexican War diary of George B. McClellan'' at archive.org

Abraham Lincoln and George B. McClellan

Newspaper articles about reaction to Lincoln appointing McClellan head of the Army of the Potomac
* * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:McClellan, George B. 1826 births 1885 deaths George B. McClellan, American military personnel of the Mexican–American War American people of Scottish descent American Presbyterians Burials in New Jersey Democratic Party (United States) presidential nominees Democratic Party governors of New Jersey McClellan family Members of the Aztec Club of 1847 New York State Superintendents of Public Works People from Orange, New Jersey People from West Orange, New Jersey People of New Jersey in the American Civil War People of Ohio in the American Civil War Politicians from Philadelphia Union Army generals United States Military Academy alumni Candidates in the 1864 United States presidential election Commanding Generals of the United States Army University of Pennsylvania alumni 19th-century American politicians Bourbon Democrats