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 the Mexican War, he won brevets of 1st Lieutenant and Captain for his zeal, gallantry, and . Add an answer. However, historians note that Lee's victory was in many ways pyrrhic as he failed to destroy the Army of the Potomac and suffered a bloody repulse at Malvern Hill. About 10 miles away from the capitol of the Confederacy, George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac was within striking distance of ending the year old Civil War. Despite his successes and lucrative salary ($10,000 per year), he was frustrated with civilian employment and continued to study classical military strategy assiduously. George B. McClellan forced the Confederates in northwestern Virginia to retreat into the Alleghenies in 1861. He told one of his generals, "He is an able general but a very cautious one. [39], The dispute with Scott became increasingly personal. Relations between the two generals became increasingly strained over the summer and fall. 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. Editorial cartoons published in the course of the 1864 presidential campaign lampooned McClellan for having preferred the safety of a ship while a battle was fought in the distance. The platform called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a negotiated settlement with the Confederacy. Debates were held as to whether the army should be evacuated or attempt to resume an offensive toward Richmond. He died unexpectedly of a heart attack at age 58 at Orange, New Jersey, after suffering from chest pains for a few weeks. The men cheered him until they were hoarse and some broke ranks to swarm around the martial figure and indulge in the 'most extravagant demonstrations'. He chafed at the boredom of peacetime garrison service, although he greatly enjoyed the social life. 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. Rumors traveled through the capital that McClellan might resign, or instigate a military coup, if Scott were not removed. He established a supply base on the Pamunkey River (a navigable tributary of the York River) at 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.[53]. [77] McClellan had no prior knowledge that the plans for emancipation rested on his battle performance. McClellan organized and led the Union army in the Peninsula Campaign in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862. [13], McClellan's experiences in the war would shape his military and political life. Lee continued his offensive at Gaines's Mill to the east. $35.00 + $5.00 shipping . George Brinton McClellan was born into an elite Philadelphia family on December 3, 1826. I feel some little pride in having, with a beaten & demoralized army, defeated Lee so utterly. [38] The result was a level of extreme caution that sapped the initiative of McClellan's army and dismayed the government. See more George B. McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician. They expressed their confidence to varying degrees. [44], 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. Malaria would recur in later years; he called it his "Mexican disease. 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. [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. 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. He made no use of his cavalry forces for reconnaissance. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Civil War General George B. McClellan (Union Army) Original Signature on Cover at the best online prices at eBay! Thank you." Nicknamed "Young Napoleon," "Little Mac" was immensely popular with the men who served under his command. It was the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. [50] 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. Died 29 Oct 1885 in Orange, New Jersey. Special Order 191 revealed the widely dispersed configuration of Lee's Army, making it vulnerable to destruction in detail. Free shipping for many products! McClellan was thus required to give chase without any benefit of the heavy artillery so carefully amassed in front of Yorktown. Even as they served their country, Black soldiers were subject to a number of discriminations. The document was verified at McClellan's headquarters in Frederick on September 13. They were more often assigned to menial labor as some Union officers refused to . McClellan asked for the opinion of his chief engineer John G. Barnard, who recommended against an assault. 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. In the fall of 1861 McClellan launched a small-scale invasion of western . [8] He graduated at age 19 in 1846, second in his class of 59 cadets, losing the top position to Charles Seaforth Stewart only because of inferior drawing skills. George B. McClellan was a prominent nineteenth-century American military and political leader. in one way or other. [90][91], 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. He traveled by special train on the main Pennsylvania line from Wheeling through Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and on to Washington City, and was greeted by enthusiastic crowds that met his train along the way. [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. McClellan surveyed the western portion of the northern corridor along the 47th and 49th parallels from St. Paul to the Puget Sound. "George Brinton McClellan." In so doing, he missed three greatly superior passes in the near vicinity, which were eventually used for railroads and interstate highways. With the assistance of his father's letter to President John Tyler, McClellan was accepted at the United States Military Academy in 1842 at the age of 15, with the academy waiving its usual minimum age of 16. 2012) "In defense of McClellan at Antietam: A contrarian view", Commanding General of the United States Army, Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, Learn how and when to remove this template message, The Mexican War Diary of George B. McClellan, Manual of Bayonet Exercise, Prepared for the Use of the Army of the United States, The Report of Captain George B. McClellan, One of the Officers Sent to the Seat of War in Europe, in 1855 and 1856, The Armies of Europe, Comprising Descriptions in Detail of the Military Systems of England, France, Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Sardinia, European Cavalry, Including Details of the Organization of the Cavalry Service Among the Principal Nations of Europe, Exploration of the Red River of Louisiana in the Year 1852, Regulations and Instructions for the Field Service of the U.S. Cavalry in Time of War, 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, The Life, Campaigns, and Public Services of General George B McClellan, The Democratic Platform, General McClellan's Letter of Acceptance, The Army of the Potomac, General McClellan's Report of Its Operations While Under His Command, Report of Major General George B McClellan, Upon the Organization of the Army of the Potomac and Its campaigns in Virginia and Maryland, Letter of the Secretary of War by George Brinton McClellan, West Point Battle Monument, History of the Project to the Dedication of the Site, List of American Civil War generals (Union), "This week in history: McClellan becomes the Army's commanding general", "Civil War Gen. George McClellan: Deemed a savior, then a failure", "Facts, information and articles about George McClellan", "Milbridge Historical Society Presentation", "Joint Base Langley-Eustis McClellan Fitness Center", "Around Manhattan Island and Other Maritime Tales of New York", "Our Campaigns US President D Convention Race Aug 29, 1864", "Our Campaigns NJ Governor Race Nov 06, 1877", 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, Life and Campaigns of George B. McClellan, Major-General U.S. Army, Georgia's Blue and Gray Trail McClellan timeline, Mr. Lincoln and New York: George B. McClellan, Harper's Weekly political cartoon, October 27, 1877, "All Quiet on the Hudson", McClellan caricature in the campaign for governor of New Jersey, McClellan's May 30th, 1885 Decoration Day Oration, New Jersey Governor George Brinton McClellan, American Heritage on George McClellan's appointment, Newspaper articles about reaction to Lincoln appointing McClellan head of the Army of the Potomac, Unsuccessful major party candidates for President of the United States, United States Senate Democratic Conference Secretary, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, National Democratic Redistricting Committee, List of Union Civil War monuments and memorials, List of memorials to the Grand Army of the Republic, Confederate artworks in the United States Capitol, List of Confederate monuments and memorials, Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials. In fact, the general-in-chief position was left unfilled. Upon graduation, George McClellan was appointed 2nd Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. 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. The names are legendary: Thomas . 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. In. 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. For the first time, he revealed his intentions to transport the Army of the Potomac by ship to Urbanna, Virginia, on the Rappahannock River, outflanking the Confederate forces near Washington, and proceeding 50 miles (80km) overland to capture Richmond. MG George B. McClellan (1861-1862) MG Henry W. Halleck (1862-1864) . The camp was the training grounds for recruits and a hospital for the wounded. allowing approximately 200,000 Black soldiers to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War. [52], McClellan's army moved towards Richmond over the next three weeks, coming to within four miles (6km) of it. Historian Allan Nevins wrote, "Students of history must always be grateful McClellan so frankly exposed his own weaknesses in this posthumous book. McClellan was forced to repudiate the platform, which made his campaign inconsistent and difficult. [91] 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. [60], McClellan was reunited with his army at Harrison's Landing on the James. 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. George B. McClellan, portrait by Mathew Brady, 1861. The class of '46 contributed 20 generals to the Union and Confederate armies. 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. 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%. Both passed the legislature in 1878 and 1880, respectively. 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). [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. McClellan's rapid promotion was partly due to his acquaintance with Salmon P. Chase, Treasury Secretary and former Ohio governor and senator. Glendale and Malvern Hill found him at the peak of his anguish during the Seven Days, and he fled those fields to escape the responsibility. 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. Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the U.S. Confederate States presidential election of 1861, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_B._McClellan&oldid=1133191257, American military personnel of the MexicanAmerican War, Democratic Party (United States) presidential nominees, New York State Superintendents of Public Works, People of New Jersey in the American Civil War, Candidates in the 1864 United States presidential election, Commanding Generals of the United States Army, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from November 2021, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. 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]. Will send you trophies. [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. I have all the plans of the rebels, and will catch them in their own trap if my men are equal to the emergency. [90], McClellan also applied his military experience to improve the discipline, organization, and armament of the New Jersey National Guard. Beginning in 1872, he also served as the president of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad. The reason for McClellan's reluctance was that, as in previous battles, he was convinced he was outnumbered. [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. [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. "[31] On July 26, the day he reached the capital, McClellan was appointed commander of the Military Division of the Potomac, the main Union force responsible for the defense of Washington. "Prince John" Magruder defended the Peninsula against McClellan's advance with a vastly smaller force. Nevertheless, McClellan received criticism from Washington for not counterattacking, which some believed could have opened the city of Richmond to capture. As the war progressed, there were various calls to return McClellan to an important command, following the Union defeats at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, as Robert E. Lee moved north at the start of the Gettysburg campaign, and as Jubal Early threatened Washington in 1864. It became standard issue for as long as the U.S. horse cavalry existed and is still used for ceremonies. Lincoln's share of the vote in the Army of the Potomac was 70%. When the General came to the corner of the principal street the ladies thronged around him. George B. McClellan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 3, 1826. . [4] The couple had five children: Frederica, John, George, Arthur and Mary. Such a villain as he is ought to bring defeat upon any cause that employs him. [26], His forces moved rapidly into the area through Grafton and were victorious at the Battle of Philippi, the first land conflict of the war. [61] Lincoln and Stanton also offered command of the Army of the Potomac to Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside, who refused the appointment.[62]. Scott rejected both plans as logistically unfeasible. 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. 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. I find myself in a new and strange position herePresdt, Cabinet, Genl Scott & all deferring to meby some strange operation of magic I seem to have become the power of the land. During a temporary armistice in which the forces of Gen. Zachary Taylor awaited action, McClellan was stricken with dysentery and malaria, which kept him in the hospital for nearly a month. McClellan's army began to sail from Alexandria on March 17. He attended the University of Pennsylvania but . One of McClellan's great-grandfathers was Samuel McClellan of Woodstock, Connecticut, a brigadier general who served during the Revolutionary War. He chafed at the boredom of peacetime garrison service, although he greatly enjoyed the social life were... A villain as he is ought to bring defeat upon any cause that him... 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