The camp was the training grounds for recruits and a hospital for the wounded. But all of these opportunities were impossible, given the opposition within the administration and the knowledge that McClellan posed a potential political threat. 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. I almost think that were I to win some small success now I could become Dictator or anything else that might please mebut nothing of that kind would please metherefore I won't be Dictator. [23], On May 3 McClellan re-entered federal service as commander of the Department of the Ohio, responsible for the defense of the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and, later, western Pennsylvania, western Virginia, and Missouri. [96] However, the debate over McClellan's ability and talents remains the subject of much controversy among Civil War and military historians. George B. McClellan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 3, 1826. . [43] On November 13, he snubbed the president, who had come to visit McClellan's house, by making him wait for 30 minutes, only to be told that the general had gone to bed and could not receive him. Like other observers, though, McClellan did not appreciate the importance of the emergence of rifled muskets in the Crimean War, and the fundamental changes in warfare tactics it would require.[19]. They expressed their confidence to varying degrees. [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. 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. What name was given to the attempt in 1860 to get southern states to stay in the Union. Well, one of these days history will I trust do me justice. Free shipping for many products! [13], McClellan's experiences in the war would shape his military and political life. 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. [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. [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. Despite his successes and lucrative salary ($10,000 per year), he was frustrated with civilian employment and continued to study classical military strategy assiduously. The stubborn Confederate defenses gave Lee enough time to concentrate many of his men at Sharpsburg, Maryland. The second would use the same force to drive south instead, crossing the Ohio River into Kentucky and Tennessee. The New York 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. 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". 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 obstaclehe will not comprehend the danger & is either a traitor, or an incompetent. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly (November 1861 to March 1862) as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. [6] 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. The Army adopted McClellan's cavalry manual and also his design for a saddle, dubbed the McClellan Saddle, which he claimed to have seen used by Hussars in Prussia and Hungary. He chafed at the boredom of peacetime garrison service, although he greatly enjoyed the social life. McClellan is usually ranked in the lowest tier of Civil War generals. 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." George Brinton Mcclellan Jr, McClellan, George B. McClellan, George B. The class of '46 contributed 20 generals to the Union and Confederate armies. 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. [34] 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. He learned that flanking movements (used by Scott at Cerro Gordo) are often better than frontal assaults, and the value of siege operations (Veracruz). "[34] 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." George McClellan was a U.S. Army engineer, railroad president and politician who served as a major general during the Civil War. [80], McClellan was nominated by the Democrats to run against Abraham Lincoln in the 1864 U.S. presidential election. [90] McClellan's administration was marked by caution and conservatism. McClellan wired to Washington, "Our victory was complete. "[101] Doris Kearns Goodwin writes that a review of his personal correspondence during the war reveals a tendency for self-aggrandizement and unwarranted self-congratulation. 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. [107] 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. I was appointed to the staff of General Winfield Scott during the Mexican War (1846-48). 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. He sought the position of Secretary of War in Cleveland's cabinet, but Senator John R. McPherson, who had opposed McClellan for governor in 1877, succeeded in blocking his nomination. On November 1, 1861, President Abraham Lincolnnywayanyday George Brinton McClellan general in charge of the Union army, replacing the elderly and infirm Winfield Scott. [3] His mother was Elizabeth Sophia Steinmetz Brinton McClellan (18001889), daughter of a leading Pennsylvania family, a woman noted for her "considerable grace and refinement." 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. 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. Making an amphibious clockwise turning movement around the Confederate Army in northern Virginia, McClellan's forces turned west to move up the Virginia Peninsula, between the James River and York River, landing from Chesapeake Bay, with the Confederate capital, Richmond, as their objective. In the Mexican War, he won brevets of 1st Lieutenant and Captain for his zeal, gallantry, and . CIVIL WAR UNION GENERAL GEORGE MEADE ~ J. E. McCLEES-PHILADELPHIA ~ c. - 1863 . Lincoln won the election handily, with 212 Electoral College votes to 21, and a popular vote of 2,218,388 to 1,812,807 or 55% to 45%. 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".[48]. Upon graduation, George McClellan was appointed 2nd Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. [105] 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. He favored a war that would impose little impact on civilian populations and require no emancipation of slaves. [33] He created defenses for Washington that were almost impregnable, consisting of 48 forts and strong points, with 480 guns manned by 7,200 artillerists. [90], 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. The battle was fought between the Union Army, led by General George B. McClellan, and the Confederate Army, led by General Robert E. Lee. 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. One of McClellan's great-grandfathers was Samuel McClellan of Woodstock, Connecticut, a brigadier general who served during the Revolutionary War. McClellan's antipathy to emancipation added to the pressure on him, as he received bitter criticism from Radical Republicans in the government. On May 14, he was commissioned a major general in the regular army. Ellen accepted Hill's proposal in 1856, but her family did not approve and he withdrew. He was buried at Riverview Cemetery in Trenton.[92]. 2014-05-09 14:23:23. Rumors traveled through the capital that McClellan might resign, or instigate a military coup, if Scott were not removed. (The information was not used until 1870 when President Ulysses S. Grant unsuccessfully attempted to annex the Dominican Republic.) Beauregard. [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. On May 31, as McClellan planned an assault, his army was surprised by a Confederate attack. McClellan spent the next three weeks repositioning his troops and waiting for promised reinforcements. [78] 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. 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. The names are legendary: Thomas . Traveling widely, and interacting with the highest military commands and royal families, McClellan observed the siege of Sevastopol. He also was not helped by the party's choice for vice president, George H. Pendleton, a peace candidate from Ohio. [74], The Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, was the single bloodiest day in American military history. Upon graduation, George McClellan was appointed 2nd Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. [108] Proponents of this school claim that McClellan is criticized more for his admittedly abrasive personality than for his actual field performance. McClellan's wife, Ellen, died in Nice, France, in 1915 while visiting Mary at her home "Villa Antietam".[93][94]. McClellan asked for the opinion of his chief engineer John G. Barnard, who recommended against an assault. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union. 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. [97] He has been universally praised for his organizational abilities and for his very good relations with his troops. $65.00 + $4.75 shipping . This caused him to decide on a siege of the city, which required considerable preparation. Date Of Death: October 29, 1885. Was general george b mcclellan union or confederate? After the defeat of Pope at Second Bull Run, President Lincoln reluctantly returned to the man who had mended a broken army before. Wiki User. [2] His father's family was of Scottish and English heritage. A graduate of West Point, McClellan served with distinction during the Mexican-American War, and later left the Army to serve as an executive . In June 1862, Union soldiers could spot the steeples of Richmond off to the distance. 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. An English observer remarked that it was the "stride of a giant". McClellan was also unwilling, due to Porter's opinion, to employ his ample reserve forces to capitalize on localized successes. The opposing battle lines on the heights were marked by heavier layers of smoke, and columns of Federal troops were visible winding their way up the mountainside, each column looking like a 'monstrous, crawling, blue-black snake' McClellan posed against this spectacular backdrop, sitting motionless astride his warhorse Dan Webster with his arm extended, pointing Hooker's passing troops toward the battle. He made no use of his cavalry forces for reconnaissance. 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. 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. [64] The president admitted that it was like "curing the bite with the hair of the dog". Upon realizing the intelligence value of this discovery, McClellan threw up his arms and exclaimed, "Now I know what to do!" Lincoln's share of the vote in the Army of the Potomac was 70%. [68], Meanwhile, Union soldiers accidentally found a copy of Lee's orders dividing his army, wrapped around a package of cigars in an abandoned camp. 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. 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 outside Sharpsburg, Maryland. Yardley, Penna. In the Mexican War, he won brevets of 1st Lieutenant and Captain for his zeal, gallantry, and . "[45] On January 12, 1862, McClellan was summoned to the White House, where the Cabinet demanded to hear his war plans. "[31] On July 26, the day he reached the capital, McClellan was appointed commander of the Military Division of the Potomac, the main Union force responsible for the defense of Washington. Died 29 Oct 1885 in Orange, New Jersey. McClellan was removed from command in November in the aftermath of the 1862 midterm elections. [7], At West Point, he was an energetic and ambitious cadet, deeply interested in the teachings of Dennis Hart Mahan and the theoretical strategic principles of Antoine-Henri Jomini. On January 27, Lincoln issued an order that required all of his armies to begin offensive operations by February 22, Washington's birthday. Due to his experience and abilities, the Army appointed him a major general on May 14, 1861. 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. McClellan's daughter, Mary ("May") (18611945), married a French diplomat and spent much of her life abroad. McClellan's army began to sail from Alexandria on March 17. 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. "[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. McClellan was unable to command the army personally because of a recurrence of malarial fever, but his subordinates were able to repel the attacks. [39], The dispute with Scott became increasingly personal. [54] Ethan Rafuse notes "McClellan's change of base to the James, however, thwarted Lee's attempt to do this. Thank you." This placed him in great demand as the Union mobilized. General McClellan and President Abraham Lincoln developed a mutual distrust, and McClellan was privately derisive of Lincoln. 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. The enemy is driven back into Virginia." McClellan claimed he could not trust anyone in the administration to keep his plans secret from the press, and thus the enemy. [49] The army's advance from Fort Monroe up the Virginia Peninsula proved to be slow. A brilliant engineer and a great organizer, McClellan created the Army of the Potomac, the Union's . McClellan assessed local defensive capabilities for the secretary. I have never witnessed such a scene. This put him in opposition with officials of the administration who believed he was attempting to implement the policies of the opposition party. He attended the University of Pennsylvania but . 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 propertyincluding slaves. [4] The couple had five children: Frederica, John, George, Arthur and Mary. George B. McClellan (1826-1885) was an American soldier and politician, best known for his service in the American Civil War, where he was a major general in the Union Army. The first major battle, at Mechanicsville, was poorly coordinated by Lee and his subordinates and resulted in heavy casualties for little tactical gain. 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. 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. Gen. George B. McClellan, his wife, infant daughter, nurse, and mother-in-law at his headquarters near Alexandria, Va.Courtesy Brian C. Pohanka, Alexandria, VA. After the disastrous Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run the same month, McClellan was placed in command of what was to become the Army of the Potomac. At the end of June, Lee began a series of attacks that became known as the Seven Days Battles. 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. 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