Wiki User. He performed well in both jobs, expanding the Illinois Central toward New Orleans and helping the Ohio and Mississippi recover from the Panic of 1857. 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. It ruined Lee's plans to invade Pennsylvania and took the initiative away from the Confederate commander. The class of '46 contributed 20 generals to the Union and Confederate armies. He quickly realized that he had overstepped his bounds and apologized by letter to President Lincoln. [13], McClellan's experiences in the war would shape his military and political life. "[63] Lee had gambled on removing significant units from the Peninsula to attack Pope, who was beaten decisively at Second Bull Run in August. MG George B. McClellan (1861-1862) MG Henry W. Halleck (1862-1864) . [75], 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. "[79], Secretary Stanton ordered McClellan to report to Trenton, New Jersey, for further orders, although none was issued. He graduating second in his class of 59 in 1846. [90] McClellan's administration was marked by caution and conservatism. Randolph B. Marcy at Fort Smith, Arkansas, to serve as second-in-command on an expedition to discover the sources of the Red River. He favored a war that would impose little impact on civilian populations and require no emancipation of slaves. [84] 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. A graduate of West Point, McClellan served with distinction during the MexicanAmerican War (18461848), and later left the Army to serve as an executive and engineer on railroads until the outbreak of the American Civil War (18611865). Historian Allan Nevins wrote, "Students of history must always be grateful McClellan so frankly exposed his own weaknesses in this posthumous book. Working with Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott, the Army's general-in-chief, the . In December, the Congress formed a 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. Peninsula Campaign. [37], The immediate problem with McClellan's war strategy was that he was convinced the Confederates were ready to attack him with overwhelming numbers. This was a risky move for a smaller army, but Lee was counting on his knowledge of McClellan's temperament. George B. McClellan, portrait by Mathew Brady, 1861. [9] He was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He was very popular with his men, despite having a number of serious shortcomings as a commander. McClellan's army began to sail from Alexandria on March 17. Gen. John Gibbon, and said, "Here is a paper with which if I cannot whip Bobbie Lee, I will be willing to go home." [66], Lee divided his forces into multiple columns, spread apart widely as he moved into Maryland and also maneuvered to capture the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. [36] McClellan's writings after the war were typical of many Northerners: "I confess to a prejudice in favor of my own race, & can't learn to like the odor of either Billy goats or niggers. The stubborn Confederate defenses gave Lee enough time to concentrate many of his men at Sharpsburg, Maryland. [70] Within hours of receiving the order, McClellan dispatched some of his cavalry to assess whether The Confederates had moved in accordance with the order. [1], 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. (The information was not used until 1870 when President Ulysses S. Grant unsuccessfully attempted to annex the Dominican Republic.) 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. . The testing of battle uncovered another McClellan failing - his management of his own generals. Marcy, Randolph B, assisted by McClellan, George B., This page was last edited on 12 January 2023, at 16:49. McClellan also developed a disdain for volunteer soldiers and officers, particularly politicians who cared nothing for discipline and training.[14]. McClellan revised his plans to have his troops disembark at Fort Monroe, Virginia, and advance up the Virginia Peninsula to Richmond, an operation that would be known as the Peninsula Campaign. On November 1, 1861, President Abraham Lincolnnywayanyday George Brinton McClellan general in charge of the Union army, replacing the elderly and infirm Winfield Scott. George Brinton McClellan was born into an elite Philadelphia family on December 3, 1826. I feel I have done all that can be asked in twice saving the country. Union general George B. McClellan had a number of accomplishments that have gone unnoticed due to his replacement as the general in charge of Union forces early in the US Civil War .. 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. The enemy is driven back into Virginia." He arrived near the mouth of the Rio Grande in October 1846, well prepared for action with a double-barreled shotgun, two pistols, a saber, a dress sword, and a Bowie knife. [31] 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. 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. McClellan attended the University of Pennsylvania for two years, and then transferred to West Point at age 15. 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. 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. McClellan's wife, Ellen, died in Nice, France, in 1915 while visiting Mary at her home "Villa Antietam".[93][94]. [21], 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. Because McClellan failed to pursue Lee aggressively after Antietam, Lincoln ordered that he be removed from command on November 5, 1862. Nicknamed "Young Napoleon," "Little Mac" was immensely popular with the men who served under his command. The names are legendary: Thomas . McClellan rejected the tenets of Scott's Anaconda Plan, favoring instead an overwhelming grand battle, in the Napoleonic style. George Brinton Mcclellan Jr, McClellan, George B. McClellan, George B. 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. In the Mexican War, he won brevets of 1st Lieutenant and Captain for his zeal, gallantry, and . He called a council of war at the White House in which McClellan's subordinates were asked about their confidence in the Urbanna plan. [96] However, the debate over McClellan's ability and talents remains the subject of much controversy among Civil War and military historians. "[58] In the battle of Glendale, McClellan was five miles (8km) away behind Malvern Hill, without telegraph communications and too distant to command his army. You have done your best to sacrifice this army. A sensational story had reached the press that the expedition had been ambushed by 2,000 Comanches and killed to the last man. Despite being a tactical draw, Antietam is considered a 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. He chafed at the boredom of peacetime garrison service, although he greatly enjoyed the social life. 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. [61] Lincoln and Stanton also offered command of the Army of the Potomac to Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside, who refused the appointment.[62]. He attended the University of Pennsylvania but . McClellan never received another field command and went on to become the unsuccessful Democratic Party nominee in the 1864 presidential election against the Republican Lincoln. However, the subsequently formed Army of the Potomac had high morale and was extremely proud of their general, some even referring to McClellan as the savior of Washington. Yardley, Penna. In June 1851, he was ordered to Fort Delaware, a masonry work under construction on an island in the Delaware River, forty miles (65km) downriver from Philadelphia. I think Lee has made a gross mistake, and that he will be severely punished for it. After his name was unexpectedly placed into nomination at the state convention, there was a stampede and he was nominated by acclamation. [54] Ethan Rafuse notes "McClellan's change of base to the James, however, thwarted Lee's attempt to do this. In June 1862, Union soldiers could spot the steeples of Richmond off to the distance. Will send you trophies. [106] 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. [47] The second crisis was the emergence of the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia, which threw Washington into a panic and made naval support operations on the James River seem problematic. He did not share his overall battle plans with his corps commanders, which prevented them from using initiative outside of their sectors. McClellan was also unwilling, due to Porter's opinion, to employ his ample reserve forces to capitalize on localized successes. He was buried at Riverview Cemetery in Trenton.[92]. But he made no secret of his opposition to the Radical Republicans. George B. McClellan. The first would use 80,000 men to invade Virginia through the Kanawha Valley toward Richmond. Following the example of Winfield Scott, he ran as a U.S. Army general still on active duty; he did not resign his commission until election day, November 8, 1864. Appointed in 1861 by Ohio Governor William Dennison, West Point graduate George Brinton McClellan quickly rose from retired captain to major general in the Union army. At age 34, he outranked everyone in the Army except Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott, the general-in-chief. 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).[46]. "Prince John" Magruder defended the Peninsula against McClellan's advance with a vastly smaller force. [91], 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. Seen from a longer perspective, General McClellan could be both comfortable and successful performing as executive officer, and also, if somewhat less successfully, as grand strategist; as battlefield commander, however, he was simply in the wrong profession. in one way or other. I feel some little pride in having, with a beaten & demoralized army, defeated Lee so utterly. In. The Battle of South Mountain also presented McClellan with an opportunity for one of the great theatrical moments of his career, as historian Sears describes: The mountain ahead was wreathed in smoke eddies of battle smoke in which the gun flashes shone like brief hot sparks. [90], The concluding chapter of his political career was his strong support in 1884 for Grover Cleveland. [18] In March 1855, McClellan was promoted to captain and assigned to the 1st U.S. Cavalry regiment. It became standard issue for as long as the U.S. horse cavalry existed and is still used for ceremonies. [1] He performed reconnaissance missions for Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott, a close friend of McClellan's father. "[10] He served as an engineering officer during the war, was frequently subject to enemy fire, and was appointed a brevet first lieutenant for his services at Contreras[11] and Churubusco[12] and to captain for his service at Chapultepec. 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. He had received intelligence reports on May 26 that the critical Baltimore and Ohio Railroad bridges in that portion of the state were being burned. 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