George Brinton McClellan was born in Philadelphia on December 3, 1826, the son of a prominent surgeon, Dr. George McClellan, the founder of Jefferson Medical College. 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. An English observer remarked that it was the "stride of a giant." [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. This was a risky move for a smaller army, but Lee was counting on his knowledge of McClellan's temperament. His closest friends were aristocratic southerners including George Pickett, Dabney Maury, Cadmus Wilcox, and A. P. Hill. 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of preparation, just before he was to assault the Confederate works at Yorktown, McClellan learned that Johnston had withdrawn up the Peninsula towards Williamsburg.
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. McClellan selected Yakima Pass (.mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}472011N 1212557W / 47.3365N 121.4324W / 47.3365; -121.4324) 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. 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. Historian James M. McPherson has pointed out that the two corps McClellan kept in reserve were in fact larger than Lee's entire force. I was born on December 3rd, 1826 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On January 27, Lincoln issued an order that required all of his armies to begin offensive operations by February 22, Washington's birthday. Despite his successes and lucrative salary ($10,000 per year), he was frustrated with civilian employment and continued to study classical military strategy assiduously. [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. George B. McClellan was a prominent nineteenth-century American military and political leader. For other people with the same name, see, "Little Napoleon" redirects here. 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. [97] McClellan himself summed up his style of warfare in a draft of his memoirs: It has always been my opinion that the true course in conducting military operations, is to make no movement until the preparations are as complete as circumstances permit, & never to fight a battle without some definite object worth the probable loss. After the defeat of Pope at Second Bull Run, President Lincoln reluctantly returned to the man who had mended a broken army before. On November 1, 1861, Winfield Scott retired and McClellan became general-in-chief of all the Union armies. [24], 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. The Union victory and Lincoln's proclamation played a considerable role in dissuading the governments of France and Britain from recognizing the Confederacy; some suspected they were planning to do so in the aftermath of another Union defeat. 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. The Union defeat at the minor Battle of Ball's Bluff near Leesburg in October added to the frustration and indirectly damaged McClellan. [25], McClellan's first military operations were to occupy the area of western Virginia that wanted to remain in the Union and subsequently became the state of West Virginia. 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. 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. [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. [102] His original draft was completed in 1881, but the only copy was destroyed by fire. "[41], 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. McClellan had hoped to use the 1st Corps to capture Glouchester Point and thus outflank the Confederate position. He died unexpectedly of a heart attack at age 58 at Orange, New Jersey, after suffering from chest pains for a few weeks. Beginning in 1872, he also served as the president of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad. George B. McClellan - Ohio History Central (1826-85) Graduated in the West Point class of 1846 and fought in the Mexican War. The enemy is driven back into Virginia." The names are legendary: Thomas . 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."[55]. In June 1862, Union soldiers could spot the steeples of Richmond off to the distance. George Brinton McClellan (1826-1885) - Born 3 Dec 1826 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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. [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. 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. "[45] On January 12, 1862, McClellan was summoned to the White House, where the Cabinet demanded to hear his war plans. Dec 3, 1826 - Oct 29, 1885. Military Officer and Politician. The reason for McClellan's reluctance was that, as in previous battles, he was convinced he was outnumbered. Peninsula Campaign. "Prince John" Magruder defended the Peninsula against McClellan's advance with a vastly smaller force. [112] 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.
Ohio Governor William Dennison was the most persistent, so McClellan was commissioned a major general of volunteers and took command of the Ohio militia on April 23, 1861. By delaying the Union army for almost a month, the Confederates had obtained valuable time to assemble and organize the forces that eventually beat McClellan back from the gates of Richmond and thwarted the Union's Peninsula Campaign. Many classic histories have portrayed McClellan's army as moving lethargically, averaging only 6 miles (9.7km) a day. Historian Allan Nevins wrote, "Students of history must always be grateful McClellan so frankly exposed his own weaknesses in this posthumous book. 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. McClellan's antipathy to emancipation added to the pressure on him, as he received bitter criticism from Radical Republicans in the government. The stubborn Confederate defenses gave Lee enough time to concentrate many of his men at Sharpsburg, Maryland. George B. McClellan. Ellen accepted Hill's proposal in 1856, but her family did not approve and he withdrew. [39], The dispute with Scott became increasingly personal.
[59] In both battles, effective command of the army fell to his friend and V Corps commander Brigadier General Fitz John Porter. CIVIL WAR UNION GENERAL GEORGE MEADE ~ J. E. McCLEES-PHILADELPHIA ~ c. - 1863 . Civil War CDV General McClellan and Wife . When the General came to the corner of the principal street the ladies thronged around him. [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. [32] He reveled in his newly acquired power and influence:[30]. Both passed the legislature in 1878 and 1880, respectively. . 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. It became standard issue for as long as the U.S. horse cavalry existed and is still used for ceremonies. 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. 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. He proposed that his army should be expanded to 273,000 men and 600 guns and "crush the rebels in one campaign". [109], Several geographic features and establishments have been named for George B. McClellan. 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. On March 8, doubting McClellan's resolve, Lincoln again interfered with the army commander's prerogatives. 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. Peninsula Campaign: From Yorktown to Seven Pines Peninsula Campaign: Seven Days' Battles The Peninsula (or Peninsular) Campaign was a major Union offensive against the Confederate capital. It was a scene which no one could forgetan event of a lifetime. Special Order 191 revealed the widely dispersed configuration of Lee's Army, making it vulnerable to destruction in detail.
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. Such a villain as he is ought to bring defeat upon any cause that employs him. At the end of June, Lee began a series of attacks that became known as the Seven Days Battles. [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. 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. [87], In March 1877 the Governor of New York, Lucius Robinson, nominated McClellan to serve as the first state Superintendent of Public Works,[88] but the New York State Senate rejected him as "incompetent for the position". A sensational story had reached the press that the expedition had been ambushed by 2,000 Comanches and killed to the last man. 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.
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'. One of McClellan's great-grandfathers was Samuel McClellan of Woodstock, Connecticut, a brigadier general who served during the Revolutionary War. You have done your best to sacrifice this army. On January 31, he issued a supplementary order for the Army of the Potomac to move overland to attack the Confederates at Manassas Junction and Centreville. McClellan wired to Washington, "Our victory was complete. 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. Johnston was wounded in the battle, and General Robert E. Lee assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia.
Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside assumed command of the Army of the Potomac on November 9, 1862. [29], After the defeat of the Union forces at Bull Run on July 21, 1861, Lincoln summoned McClellan from western Virginia, where McClellan had given the North the only engagements bearing a semblance of victory. I attended the University of Pennsylvania and then went on to study at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. McClellan was unable to command the army personally because of a recurrence of malarial fever, but his subordinates were able to repel the attacks. .
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[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. As Swinton notes "It is possible, howeverand there is a considerable volume of evidence bearing upon this pointthat 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. Marcy, Randolph B, assisted by McClellan, George B., This page was last edited on 12 January 2023, at 16:49. McClellan's plan for a rapid seizure of Yorktown was foiled by the removal of 1st Corps from the Army of the Potomac for the defense of Washington. 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. McClellan's son, George B. McClellan Jr. (18651940), was born in Dresden in the Kingdom of Saxony during the family's first trip to Europe.
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. By June the expedition reached the source of the north fork of the river and Marcy named a small tributary McClellan's Creek. Rumors traveled through the capital that McClellan might resign, or instigate a military coup, if Scott were not removed. Many historians argue that he was talented in this aspect. Even as they served their country, Black soldiers were subject to a number of discriminations. 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. 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. McClellan was thus required to give chase without any benefit of the heavy artillery so carefully amassed in front of Yorktown. "[69], 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. I have to fight my way against him. [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. With the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861, northern civilian leaders encouraged McClellan to re-enter federal military service.
[5], 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. Yardley, Penna. He prevented the army's morale from collapsing at least twice, in the aftermath of the First and Second Battles of Bull Run. [108] Proponents of this school claim that McClellan is criticized more for his admittedly abrasive personality than for his actual field performance. He called a council of war at the White House in which McClellan's subordinates were asked about their confidence in the Urbanna plan. 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. Davis was beginning to treat McClellan almost as a protg, 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. [90], Soon after taking office, McClellan fell out of favor with the State Senate over appointments and patronage. Lincoln, Stanton, and a group of officers who formed the "War Board" directed the strategic actions of the Union armies that spring. General McClellan and President Abraham Lincoln developed a mutual distrust, and McClellan was privately derisive of Lincoln. Traveling widely, and interacting with the highest military commands and royal families, McClellan observed the siege of Sevastopol. The battle was fought between the Union Army, led by General George B. McClellan, and the Confederate Army, led by General Robert E. Lee. In 1853, he participated in the Pacific Railroad surveys, ordered by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, to select an appropriate route for the planned transcontinental railroad. Known within the family as Max, he too became a politician, serving as a United States Representative (18931903) and as Mayor of New York City from 1904 to 1909. Two more crises would confront McClellan before he could implement his plans. He attended the University of Pennsylvania but . [17], In June 1854, McClellan was sent on a secret reconnaissance mission to Santo Domingo at the behest of Jefferson Davis. McClellan would leave two corps behind to defend Washington. He was very popular with his men, despite having a number of serious shortcomings as a commander. Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration. McClellan rejected the tenets of Scott's Anaconda Plan, favoring instead an overwhelming grand battle, in the Napoleonic style. I have never witnessed such a scene. I have all the plans of the rebels, and will catch them in their own trap if my men are equal to the emergency. When Ulysses S. Grant became general-in-chief, he discussed returning McClellan to an unspecified position. [90] 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. On May 31, as McClellan planned an assault, his army was surprised by a Confederate attack. 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." If he can't fight himself, he excels in making others ready to fight."[65]. He also wrote a manual on cavalry tactics that was based on Russian cavalry regulations. When the public heard about the Galena, it was yet another great embarrassment, comparable to the Quaker Guns at Manassas.
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. But Lincoln told his secretary, John Hay, "We must use what tools we have. 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]. George B. McClellan and Mary Ellen Marcy (Nelly) McClellan McClellan resigned his commission January 16, 1857, and, capitalizing on his experience with railroad assessment, became chief engineer and vice president of the Illinois Central Railroad, and then president of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad in 1860. 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. [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.
Early in the campaign, Confederate General John B. 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. "[15] It was the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. George B. McClellan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 3, 1826. . [2] His father's family was of Scottish and English heritage. At Antietam, where there was nowhere for him to flee to, he fell into a paralysis of indecision. [49] The army's advance from Fort Monroe up the Virginia Peninsula proved to be slow. 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. 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. The testing of battle uncovered another McClellan failing - his management of his own generals. In March 1852, he was ordered to report to Capt. $65.00 + $4.75 shipping . This caused him to decide on a siege of the city, which required considerable preparation. 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 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. Lincoln's Cabinet met on October 18 and agreed to accept Scott's resignation for reasons of health.[41]. 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. Will send you trophies. Lincoln's share of the vote in the Army of the Potomac was 70%. The class of '46 contributed 20 generals to the Union and Confederate armies. It contained two alternatives, each envisioning a prominent role for himself as commander. McClellan supported continuation of the war and restoration of the Union, but not the abolition of slavery, although the party platform, written by Copperhead leader Clement Vallandigham of Ohio, was opposed to that position. 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. McClellan's pursuit began on September 5. [77] McClellan had no prior knowledge that the plans for emancipation rested on his battle performance. When he discovered that the Confederates had fortified a line across the Peninsula he hesitated to attack and instead played it safe.
But McClellan was also tacitly acknowledging that he would no longer be able to invest Richmond, the object of his campaign; the heavy siege artillery required would be almost impossible to transport without the railroad connections available from his original supply base on the York River.
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