[13], McClellan's experiences in the war would shape his military and political life. "[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. 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. Her father was of English origin, while her mother was Pennsylvania Dutch. McClellan rejected the tenets of Scott's Anaconda Plan, favoring instead an overwhelming grand battle, in the Napoleonic style. 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. "[95] This fierce discussion has continued for over a century. He told one of his generals, "He is an able general but a very cautious one. After his name was unexpectedly placed into nomination at the state convention, there was a stampede and he was nominated by acclamation. In fact, the general-in-chief position was left unfilled. [72] After the war, McClellan held to the claim that he acted immediately to put his armies on the move.[71]. 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. 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]. Lincoln, Stanton, and a group of officers who formed the "War Board" directed the strategic actions of the Union armies that spring. In. He telegraphed President Lincoln: "I have the whole rebel force in front of me, but I am confident, and no time shall be lost. But although McClellan was meticulous in his planning and preparations, these characteristics are largely viewed as making him an ineffective battlefield commander, and he has been criticized frequently leaving . In his inaugural address, he said the most urgent matter before the state was relief from the Panic of 1873. He began to write another draft of what would be published posthumously, in 1887, as McClellan's Own Story. Historian and biographer Stephen W. Sears observed that McClellan's actions would have been "essentially sound" for a commander who was as outnumbered as McClellan thought he was, but McClellan in fact rarely had less than a two-to-one advantage over the armies that opposed him in 1861 and 1862. [109], Several geographic features and establishments have been named for George B. McClellan. McClellan continued to believe intelligence reports that credited the Confederates with two or three times the men they actually had. The General took the gentle hands which were offered to him with many a kind and pleasing remark, and heard and answered the many remarks and compliments with which the people accosted him. [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. 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 [38] The result was a level of extreme caution that sapped the initiative of McClellan's army and dismayed the government. He also received an assignment to the Department of Texas, with orders to perform a survey of Texas rivers and harbors. McClellan was unable to command the army personally because of a recurrence of malarial fever, but his subordinates were able to repel the attacks. George B. McClellan was a prominent nineteenth-century American military and political leader. Working with Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott, the Army's general-in-chief, the . Traveling widely, and interacting with the highest military commands and royal families, McClellan observed the siege of Sevastopol. [1], Because of his political connections and his mastery of French, McClellan received the assignment to be an official observer of the European armies in the Crimean War in 1855. Nevertheless, McClellan received criticism from Washington for not counterattacking, which some believed could have opened the city of Richmond to capture. [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 armies struggled to a . At the end of June, Lee began a series of attacks that became known as the Seven Days Battles. His subordinate commander, William S. Rosecrans, bitterly complained that his attack was not reinforced as McClellan had agreed. 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. George B. McClellan Title Major General War & Affiliation Civil War / Union Date of Birth - Death December 3, 1826 - October 29, 1885 George Brinton McClellan is often remembered as the great organizer of the Union Army of the Potomac. [4] The couple had five children: Frederica, John, George, Arthur and Mary. On September 2, 1862, Lincoln named McClellan to command "the fortifications of Washington, and all the troops for the defense of the capital". [85] Unlike some of his fellow Union officers who came from abolitionist families, he was opposed to federal interference with slavery. He called a council of war at the White House in which McClellan's subordinates were asked about their confidence in the Urbanna plan. Such a villain as he is ought to bring defeat upon any cause that employs him. On January 27, Lincoln issued an order that required all of his armies to begin offensive operations by February 22, Washington's birthday. [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. [102] His original draft was completed in 1881, but the only copy was destroyed by fire. They were more often assigned to menial labor as some Union officers refused to . He was very popular with his men, despite having a number of serious shortcomings as a commander. [90], The concluding chapter of his political career was his strong support in 1884 for Grover Cleveland. I was born on December 3rd, 1826 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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. Military Officer and Politician. In so doing, he missed three greatly superior passes in the near vicinity, which were eventually used for railroads and interstate highways. 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". Ellen, or Nelly, refused McClellan's first proposal of marriage, one of nine that she received from a variety of suitors, including his West Point friend, A. P. Hill. "[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. George Brinton McClellan (1826-1885) - Born 3 Dec 1826 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [51], McClellan had also placed hopes on a simultaneous naval approach to Richmond via the James River. He died unexpectedly of a heart attack at age 58 at Orange, New Jersey, after suffering from chest pains for a few weeks. Rumors traveled through the capital that McClellan might resign, or instigate a military coup, if Scott were not removed. I graduated second in my class at West Point in 1846. [113], 1864 Democratic National Convention:[114], New Jersey gubernatorial election, 1877:[115], "George McClellan" redirects here. 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. Every decision he made that September 17 was dominated by his fear of counterattack by phantom Confederate battalions. [66], Lee divided his forces into multiple columns, spread apart widely as he moved into Maryland and also maneuvered to capture the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. And he was far too willing to accept cautious advice about saving his reserves, such as when a significant breakthrough in the center of the Confederate line could have been exploited, but Fitz John Porter is said to have told McClellan, "Remember, General, I command the last reserve of the last Army of the Republic."[76]. McClellan was removed from his command of Ohio volunteer armies in less than six months, becoming the Union army's leader. $65.00 + $4.75 shipping . The outnumbered Confederate forces fought desperately and well. On August 20, several military units in Virginia were consolidated into his department and he immediately formed the Army of the Potomac, with himself as its first commander. 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. The Union defeat at the minor Battle of Ball's Bluff near Leesburg in October added to the frustration and indirectly damaged McClellan. Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside assumed command of the Army of the Potomac on November 9, 1862. 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. 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. He served as the 24th Governor of New Jersey from 1878 to 1881; he eventually became a writer, and vigorously defended his Civil War conduct. An English observer remarked that it was the "stride of a giant". Despite being a tactical draw, Antietam is considered a turning point of the war and a victory for the Union because it ended Lee's strategic campaign (his first invasion of the North) and it allowed President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, taking effect on January 1, 1863. He graduating second in his class of 59 in 1846. 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. allowing approximately 200,000 Black soldiers to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War. Gen. John Gibbon, and said, "Here is a paper with which if I cannot whip Bobbie Lee, I will be willing to go home." 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. On May 14, he was commissioned a major general in the regular army. [86], McClellan was appointed chief engineer of the New York City Department of Docks in 1870. Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration. The first major battle, at Mechanicsville, was poorly coordinated by Lee and his subordinates and resulted in heavy casualties for little tactical gain. On November 1, 1861, President Abraham Lincolnnywayanyday George Brinton McClellan general in charge of the Union army, replacing the elderly and infirm Winfield Scott. [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. Relations between the two generals became increasingly strained over the summer and fall. [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. 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. Beginning in 1872, he also served as the president of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad. 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. [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. 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. Because McClellan failed to pursue Lee aggressively after Antietam, Lincoln ordered that he be removed from command on November 5, 1862. The governors of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, the three largest states of the Union, actively pursued him to command their states' militia. George B. McClellan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 3, 1826. . But he made no secret of his opposition to the Radical Republicans. 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]. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union. 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. [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. "[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. 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. Lee continued his offensive at Gaines's Mill to the east. 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. [16], Returning to the East, McClellan began courting his future wife, Mary Ellen Marcy (18361915), the daughter of his former commander. The class of '46 contributed 20 generals to the Union and Confederate armies. Son and third child of Dr. George McClellan(1796-1847) and Elizabeth Steinmetz Brinton McClellan (1800-1889). "[79], Secretary Stanton ordered McClellan to report to Trenton, New Jersey, for further orders, although none was issued. 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." He refused to give any specific details of the proposed campaign, even to his friend, newly appointed War Secretary Edwin M. Stanton. 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. 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. Bouquets, beautiful and fragrant, in great numbers were thrown at him, and the ladies crowded around him with the warmest good wishes, and many of them were entirely overcome with emotion. 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. Initially, McClellan was somewhat successful against General Joseph E. Johnston, but the emergence of General Robert E. Lee to command the Army of Northern Virginia turned the subsequent Seven Days Battles into a Union defeat. 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. 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. By August 19, he estimated 150,000 rebel soldiers on his front. 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. [37], The immediate problem with McClellan's war strategy was that he was convinced the Confederates were ready to attack him with overwhelming numbers. George B. McClellan forced the Confederates in northwestern Virginia to retreat into the Alleghenies in 1861. 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. He later wrote that had it been his place to arrange the terms of peace, he would have insisted on gradual emancipation, guarding the rights of both slaves and masters, as part of any settlement. In March 1852, he was ordered to report to Capt. 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. [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. Scott rejected both plans as logistically unfeasible. [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. Cemetery Name: Riverview Cemetery. [6] After two years at the university, he changed his goal to military service. McClellan spent the next three weeks repositioning his troops and waiting for promised reinforcements. "[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." On November 1, 1861, Winfield Scott retired and McClellan became general-in-chief of all the Union armies. Malaria would recur in later years; he called it his "Mexican disease. 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. 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