The names are legendary: Thomas . [54] Ethan Rafuse notes "McClellan's change of base to the James, however, thwarted Lee's attempt to do this. Dec 3, 1826 - Oct 29, 1885. 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. McClellan, in full George Brinton McClellan, (born December 3, 1826, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.died October 29, 1885, Orange, New Jersey), general who skillfully reorganized Union forces in the first year of the American Civil War (1861-65) but drew wide criticism for repeatedly failing to press his advantage He marched toward Maryland with six of his reorganized corps. 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. [73], The Union army reached Antietam Creek, to the east of Sharpsburg, on the evening of September 15. [90], McClellan also applied his military experience to improve the discipline, organization, and armament of the New Jersey National Guard. He proposed that his army should be expanded to 273,000 men and 600 guns and "crush the rebels in one campaign". 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. [90] McClellan's administration was marked by caution and conservatism. On January 27, Lincoln issued an order that required all of his armies to begin offensive operations by February 22, Washington's birthday. [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." A frustrated McClellan wrote to his wife before the battle, "Pope will be thrashed & be disposed of [by Lee]. 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]. Malaria would recur in later years; he called it his "Mexican disease. George McClellan Birth of the USA American Constitution American Independence War Causes of the American Revolution Democratic Republican Party General Thomas Gage biography Intolerable Acts Loyalists Powers of the President Quebec Act Seven Years' War Stamp Act Tea Party Cold War Battle of Dien Bin Phu Brezhnev Doctrine Brezhnev Era Lincoln's share of the vote in the Army of the Potomac was 70%. McClellan asked for the opinion of his chief engineer John G. Barnard, who recommended against an assault. 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. [9] He was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 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. 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! So it was that George McClellan imagined three Rebel soldiers for every one he faced on the Antietam battlefield. [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. He was very popular with his men, despite having a number of serious shortcomings as a commander. 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. On May 31, as McClellan planned an assault, his army was surprised by a Confederate attack. Early in the conflict, McClellan was appointed to the rank of major general and played an important role in raising a well-trained and disciplined army, which would become the Army of the Potomac in the Eastern Theater; he served a brief period (November 1861 to March 1862) as Commanding General of the United States Army of the Union Army. 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. 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. Such a villain as he is ought to bring defeat upon any cause that employs him. McClellan was unable to command the army personally because of a recurrence of malarial fever, but his subordinates were able to repel the attacks. By August 19, he estimated 150,000 rebel soldiers on his front. 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'. 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. 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. 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. He died unexpectedly of a heart attack at age 58 at Orange, New Jersey, after suffering from chest pains for a few weeks. "[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. Because McClellan failed to pursue Lee aggressively after Antietam, Lincoln ordered that he be removed from command on November 5, 1862. He waved the order at his old Army friend, Brig. 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 had hoped to use the 1st Corps to capture Glouchester Point and thus outflank the Confederate position. Rumors traveled through the capital that McClellan might resign, or instigate a military coup, if Scott were not removed. McClellan assessed local defensive capabilities for the secretary. McClellan wired to Washington, "Our victory was complete. 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. At Antietam, where there was nowhere for him to flee to, he fell into a paralysis of indecision. The battle was a crucial turning point in the Civil War, as it ended the Confederate Army's first invasion of the North and effectively ended General Robert E. Lee's campaign in Maryland. george b. mcclellan, in full george brinton mcclellan, (born december 3, 1826, philadelphia, pennsylvania, u.s.died october 29, 1885, orange, new jersey), general who skillfully reorganized union forces in the first year of the american civil war (1861-65) but drew wide criticism for repeatedly failing to press his advantage over confederate An English observer remarked that it was the "stride of a giant." [96] However, the debate over McClellan's ability and talents remains the subject of much controversy among Civil War and military historians. His final words, at 3 a.m., October 29, 1885, were, "I feel easy now. George Brinton McClellan (1826-1885) - Born 3 Dec 1826 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [109], Several geographic features and establishments have been named for George B. McClellan. 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. 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. "[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. Unlike some of his fellow Union officers who came from abolitionist families, he was opposed to federal interference with slavery. 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. [52], McClellan's army moved towards Richmond over the next three weeks, coming to within four miles (6km) of it. He told Ellen, "I will not fight for the abolitionists." He graduating second in his class of 59 in 1846. [18] In March 1855, McClellan was promoted to captain and assigned to the 1st U.S. Cavalry regiment. Due to his experience and abilities, the Army appointed him a major general on May 14, 1861. CIVIL WAR UNION GENERAL GEORGE MEADE ~ J. E. McCLEES-PHILADELPHIA ~ c. - 1863 . With nowhere to go, Joseph Johnston's army struck ou Date Of Death: October 29, 1885. Marcy, Randolph B, assisted by McClellan, George B., This page was last edited on 12 January 2023, at 16:49. 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. Isaac Stevens, governor of the Washington Territory, became dissatisfied with McClellan's performance in his scouting of passes across the Cascade Range. "[67] 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." [30], 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. His subordinate commander, William S. Rosecrans, bitterly complained that his attack was not reinforced as McClellan had agreed. Randolph B. Marcy at Fort Smith, Arkansas, to serve as second-in-command on an expedition to discover the sources of the Red River. [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. 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]. [38] The result was a level of extreme caution that sapped the initiative of McClellan's army and dismayed the government. He also considered service as a filibuster in support of Benito Jurez in Mexico. The testing of battle uncovered another McClellan failing - his management of his own generals. in one way or other. 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 the Utah War against the Mormons, he considered rejoining the Army. 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. Davis, Jefferson, and McClellan, George B. Leigh, Philip "Lee's Lost Dispatch and Other Civil War Controversies". 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. Johnston saw that the Union army was split in half by the rain-swollen Chickahominy River and hoped to defeat it in detail at Seven Pines and Fair Oaks. 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. George McClellan Library of Congress Quick Facts Significance: General-in-Chief of the Union Army Place Of Birth: Philadelphia, PA Date Of Birth: December 3, 1826 Place Of Death: Orange, NJ Date Of Death: October 29, 1885 Place Of Burial: Trenton, NJ Cemetery Name: Riverview Cemetery After his name was unexpectedly placed into nomination at the state convention, there was a stampede and he was nominated by acclamation. 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". "[63] Lee had gambled on removing significant units from the Peninsula to attack Pope, who was beaten decisively at Second Bull Run in August. 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. "[95] This fierce discussion has continued for over a century. 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. [2] His father's family was of Scottish and English heritage. 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". McClellan attended the University of Pennsylvania for two years, and then transferred to West Point at age 15. His nomination was largely an effort by key party members to prevent the leading candidate, Leon Abbett, from gaining the nomination. "[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. The second would use the same force to drive south instead, crossing the Ohio River into Kentucky and Tennessee. [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. See more George B. McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for CIVIL WAR GENERAL GEORGE B. McCLELLAN & WIFE ~ c. - 1863 at the best online prices at eBay! On March 8, doubting McClellan's resolve, Lincoln again interfered with the army commander's prerogatives. McClellan was thus required to give chase without any benefit of the heavy artillery so carefully amassed in front of Yorktown. 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. This caused him to decide on a siege of the city, which required considerable preparation. In the fall of 1861 McClellan launched a small-scale invasion of western . "[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. On November 1, 1861, Winfield Scott retired and McClellan became general-in-chief of all the Union armies. What name was given to the attempt in 1860 to get southern states to stay in the Union. Add an answer. 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. If he can't fight himself, he excels in making others ready to fight."[65]. He made no use of his cavalry forces for reconnaissance. On November 1, 1861, President Abraham Lincolnnywayanyday George Brinton McClellan general in charge of the Union army, replacing the elderly and infirm Winfield Scott. "[45] On January 12, 1862, McClellan was summoned to the White House, where the Cabinet demanded to hear his war plans. But he made no secret of his opposition to the Radical Republicans. George B. McClellan, portrait by Mathew Brady, 1861. McClellan surveyed the western portion of the northern corridor along the 47th and 49th parallels from St. Paul to the Puget Sound. In the battle of Malvern Hill, he was on a gunboat, the USSGalena, which at one point was ten miles (16km) away, down the James River. He created a false impression of many troops behind the lines and of even more troops arriving. He told one of his generals, "He is an able general but a very cautious one. When the General came to the corner of the principal street the ladies thronged around him. They expressed their confidence to varying degrees. . 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. Every decision he made that September 17 was dominated by his fear of counterattack by phantom Confederate battalions. Place Of Burial: Trenton, NJ. A graduate of West Point, McClellan served with distinction during the Mexican-American War, and later left the Army to serve as an executive . The first would use 80,000 men to invade Virginia through the Kanawha Valley toward Richmond. I have all the plans of the rebels, and will catch them in their own trap if my men are equal to the emergency. McClellan's army began to sail from Alexandria on March 17. Lee continued his offensive at Gaines's Mill to the east. 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. 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 Union defeat at the minor Battle of Ball's Bluff near Leesburg in October added to the frustration and indirectly damaged McClellan. 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. 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. 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. 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. He refused to give any specific details of the proposed campaign, even to his friend, newly appointed War Secretary Edwin M. Stanton. 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. [102] His original draft was completed in 1881, but the only copy was destroyed by fire. The enemy is driven back into Virginia." [90], The concluding chapter of his political career was his strong support in 1884 for Grover Cleveland. [17], In June 1854, McClellan was sent on a secret reconnaissance mission to Santo Domingo at the behest of Jefferson Davis. After the defeat of Pope at Second Bull Run, President Lincoln reluctantly returned to the man who had mended a broken army before. 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. 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. 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. In doing so, he demonstrated a tendency for insubordination toward senior political figures. Working with Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott, the Army's general-in-chief, the . [103], 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! [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. A brilliant engineer and a great organizer, McClellan created the Army of the Potomac, the Union's . [27] Nevertheless, these two minor victories propelled McClellan to the status of national hero. Upon realizing the intelligence value of this discovery, McClellan threw up his arms and exclaimed, "Now I know what to do!" 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. $35.00 + $5.00 shipping . [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. [28] The New York Herald entitled an article about him "Gen. McClellan, the Napoleon of the Present War". He complained that he had arrived too late to take any part in the American victory at Monterrey in September. [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". [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. It was a scene which no one could forgetan event of a lifetime. [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. It was a remarkable achievement, in which he came to personify the Army of the Potomac and reaped the adulation of his men. 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. 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. 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. [71], 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. He attended the University of Pennsylvania but . Nicknamed "Young Napoleon," "Little Mac" was immensely popular with the men who served under his command. McClellan was an interesting man, full of both strengths and weaknesses. Lincoln, Stanton, and a group of officers who formed the "War Board" directed the strategic actions of the Union armies that spring. 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. As noted by historians such as Stotelmyer, the significance of the Union victory at South Mountain should not be underestimated. 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. He prevented the army's morale from collapsing at least twice, in the aftermath of the First and Second Battles of Bull Run. [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. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union. 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Abolitionist families, he considered rejoining the army of the george b mcclellan union or confederate, the army of the,... National hero Grover Cleveland to take any part in the fall of 1861 McClellan a. After the defeat of Pope at second Bull Run, President Lincoln reluctantly returned to the status national! Wired to Washington, `` I will not fight for the abolitionists. the Kanawha Valley toward Richmond minor of! Well-Trained and organized army for the Union victory at Monterrey in September so carefully amassed in of...
2022-11-07