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. His army is in a very demoralized and chaotic condition, and will not be prepared for offensive operationsor he will not think it sofor three or four weeks. He and his family then embarked on another three-year stay in Europe (187375). [2] His father's family was of Scottish and English heritage. [113], 1864 Democratic National Convention:[114], New Jersey gubernatorial election, 1877:[115], "George McClellan" redirects here. When the public heard about the Galena, it was yet another great embarrassment, comparable to the Quaker Guns at Manassas. He graduating second in his class of 59 in 1846. "[95] This fierce discussion has continued for over a century. 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. MG George B. McClellan (1861-1862) MG Henry W. Halleck (1862-1864) . Lincoln's Cabinet met on October 18 and agreed to accept Scott's resignation for reasons of health.[41]. Isaac Stevens, governor of the Washington Territory, became dissatisfied with McClellan's performance in his scouting of passes across the Cascade Range. [83], At the conclusion of the war (1865) McClellan and his family went to Europe, not returning until 1868; in this period he did not participate in politics. [59] In both battles, effective command of the army fell to his friend and V Corps commander Brigadier General Fitz John Porter. An English observer remarked that it was the "stride of a giant." [52], McClellan's army moved towards Richmond over the next three weeks, coming to within four miles (6km) of it. 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. 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. When he discovered that the Confederates had fortified a line across the Peninsula he hesitated to attack and instead played it safe. He died unexpectedly of a heart attack at age 58 at Orange, New Jersey, after suffering from chest pains for a few weeks. He telegraphed President Lincoln: "I have the whole rebel force in front of me, but I am confident, and no time shall be lost. "[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. McClellan asked for the opinion of his chief engineer John G. Barnard, who recommended against an assault. The Fifth Corps under Porter from the Army of the Potomac would serve with Pope during the campaign. I have all the plans of the rebels, and will catch them in their own trap if my men are equal to the emergency. [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. He also considered service as a filibuster in support of Benito Jurez in Mexico. McClellan organized and led the Union army in the Peninsula Campaign in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862. In the fall of 1852, McClellan published a manual on bayonet tactics that he had translated from the original French. 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. McClellan's army began to sail from Alexandria on March 17. McClellan assessed local defensive capabilities for the secretary. McClellan rejected the tenets of Scott's Anaconda Plan, favoring instead an overwhelming grand battle, in the Napoleonic style. 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]. [89], McClellan was a resident of West Orange, New Jersey in 1877 when the New Jersey Democratic Party nominated him for governor, an action that took him by surprise because he had not expressed an interest in the position. Despite his successes and lucrative salary ($10,000 per year), he was frustrated with civilian employment and continued to study classical military strategy assiduously. [73], The Union army reached Antietam Creek, to the east of Sharpsburg, on the evening of September 15. 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. Gen. John Gibbon, and said, "Here is a paper with which if I cannot whip Bobbie Lee, I will be willing to go home." Because McClellan failed to pursue Lee aggressively after Antietam, Lincoln ordered that he be removed from command on November 5, 1862. The testing of battle uncovered another McClellan failing - his management of his own generals. The governor ordered McClellan to turn over his expedition logbooks, but McClellan steadfastly refused, most likely because of embarrassing personal comments that he had made throughout his adventures. The enemy is driven back into Virginia." In, Rowland, Thomas J. He refused to give any specific details of the proposed campaign, even to his friend, newly appointed War Secretary Edwin M. Stanton. 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. 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. 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'. 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. 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. [60], McClellan was reunited with his army at Harrison's Landing on the James. Lincoln's share of the vote in the Army of the Potomac was 70%. In this, McClellan was perhaps influenced by his questioning of Confederate deserter Edward B. McMurdy, whose testimony was not accepted by Lincoln, Secretary of State Seward, or General-in-Chief Scott, but reaffirmed for McClellan the numbers he had convinced himself of. But all of these opportunities were impossible, given the opposition within the administration and the knowledge that McClellan posed a potential political threat. The reason for McClellan's reluctance was that, as in previous battles, he was convinced he was outnumbered. He married Mary Ellen Marcy, on May 22, 1860. 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. 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. "[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." 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. Although McClellan's subordinates can claim their share of responsibility for delays (such as Ambrose Burnside's misadventures at Burnside Bridge) and blunders (Edwin V. Sumner's attack without reconnaissance), these were localized problems from which the full army could have recovered. It was the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. 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 Steven R. Stotelmyer in Too Useful to Sacrifice places it at about 60,000 men, noting that the 87,000 number includes non-combat soldiers and units not immediately available. [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." Son and third child of Dr. George McClellan(1796-1847) and Elizabeth Steinmetz Brinton McClellan (1800-1889). 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. Numbers vary as to the size of McClellan's force with its paper strength at 87,164. Well, one of these days history will I trust do me justice. I have never witnessed such a scene. 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. An English observer remarked that it was the "stride of a giant". 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. 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. In June 1851, he was ordered to Fort Delaware, a masonry work under construction on an island in the Delaware River, forty miles (65km) downriver from Philadelphia. During 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. "[45] On January 12, 1862, McClellan was summoned to the White House, where the Cabinet demanded to hear his war plans. CIVIL WAR UNION GENERAL GEORGE MEADE ~ J. E. McCLEES-PHILADELPHIA ~ c. - 1863 . 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. 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 claimed he could not trust anyone in the administration to keep his plans secret from the press, and thus the enemy. He also received an assignment to the Department of Texas, with orders to perform a survey of Texas rivers and harbors. When the General came to the corner of the principal street the ladies thronged around him. 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. 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. I graduated second in my class at West Point in 1846. [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. You have done your best to sacrifice this army. McClellan was thus required to give chase without any benefit of the heavy artillery so carefully amassed in front of Yorktown. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union. 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 would leave two corps behind to defend Washington. 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. 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. [90], Soon after taking office, McClellan fell out of favor with the State Senate over appointments and patronage. [109], Several geographic features and establishments have been named for George B. McClellan. Malaria would recur in later years; he called it his "Mexican disease. 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. McClellan was unable to command the army personally because of a recurrence of malarial fever, but his subordinates were able to repel the attacks. Although Lincoln believed his plan was superior, he was relieved that McClellan finally agreed to begin moving, and reluctantly approved. [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. Every decision he made that September 17 was dominated by his fear of counterattack by phantom Confederate battalions. George B. McClellan, portrait by Mathew Brady, 1861. [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. $35.00 + $5.00 shipping . [100], One of the reasons that McClellan's reputation has suffered is his own memoirs. 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. In fact, the general-in-chief position was left unfilled. Died 29 Oct 1885 in Orange, New Jersey. [42], McClellan further damaged his reputation by his insulting insubordination to his commander-in-chief. This placed him in great demand as the Union mobilized. [74], The Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, was the single bloodiest day in American military history. [64] The president admitted that it was like "curing the bite with the hair of the dog". 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 "[101] Doris Kearns Goodwin writes that a review of his personal correspondence during the war reveals a tendency for self-aggrandizement and unwarranted self-congratulation. 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. Two more crises would confront McClellan before he could implement his plans. I think Lee has made a gross mistake, and that he will be severely punished for it. Upon graduation, George McClellan was appointed 2nd Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. [51], McClellan had also placed hopes on a simultaneous naval approach to Richmond via the James River. 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. The platform called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a negotiated settlement with the Confederacy. Nicknamed "Young Napoleon," "Little Mac" was immensely popular with the men who served under his command. This was a risky move for a smaller army, but Lee was counting on his knowledge of McClellan's temperament. 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. Place Of Burial: Trenton, NJ. He chafed at the boredom of peacetime garrison service, although he greatly enjoyed the social life. The battle was fought between the Union Army, led by General George B. McClellan, and the Confederate Army, led by General Robert E. Lee. 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. 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. He called a council of war at the White House in which McClellan's subordinates were asked about their confidence in the Urbanna plan. It became standard issue for as long as the U.S. horse cavalry existed and is still used for ceremonies. Free shipping for many products!