On May 31, as McClellan planned an assault, his army was surprised by a Confederate attack. Many classic histories have portrayed McClellan's army as moving lethargically, averaging only 6 miles (9.7km) a day. McClellan claimed he could not trust anyone in the administration to keep his plans secret from the press, and thus the enemy. 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. [57] Military historian Stephen W. Sears wrote, "When he deserted his army on the Glendale and Malvern Hill battlefields during the Seven Days, he was guilty of dereliction of duty. Cemetery Name: Riverview Cemetery. [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. He attended the University of Pennsylvania but . 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. George Brinton McClellan was an American soldier, Civil War Union general, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th Governor of New Jersey. "George Brinton McClellan." On November 1, 1861, Winfield Scott retired and McClellan became general-in-chief of all the Union armies. 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! George B. McClellan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 3, 1826. . Free shipping for many products! By August 19, he estimated 150,000 rebel soldiers on his front. 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. Because McClellan failed to pursue Lee aggressively after Antietam, Lincoln ordered that he be removed from command on November 5, 1862. Making an amphibious clockwise turning movement around the Confederate Army in northern Virginia, McClellan's forces turned west to move up the Virginia Peninsula, between the James River and York River, landing from Chesapeake Bay, with the Confederate capital, Richmond, as their objective. Thank you." So it was that George McClellan imagined three Rebel soldiers for every one he faced on the Antietam battlefield. George B. McClellan (1826-1885) 1826, Dec. 3 Born, Philadelphia, Pa. [97] He has been universally praised for his organizational abilities and for his very good relations with his troops. [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. [86], McClellan was appointed chief engineer of the New York City Department of Docks in 1870. McClellan attended the University of Pennsylvania for two years, and then transferred to West Point at age 15. George B. McClellan was a prominent nineteenth-century American military and political leader. Date Of Death: October 29, 1885. [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. Wiki User. 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. The document was verified at McClellan's headquarters in Frederick on September 13. [16], Returning to the East, McClellan began courting his future wife, Mary Ellen Marcy (18361915), the daughter of his former commander. The president expressed his concern about the "vast labor" involved in the dual role of army commander and general-in-chief, but McClellan responded, "I can do it all. [90], In addition to tax reduction, McClellan's economic agenda included the institution of a Bureau of Statistics of Labor and Industries and the creation of an agricultural experiment station to modernize growing and farming practices. On March 8, doubting McClellan's resolve, Lincoln again interfered with the army commander's prerogatives. 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. McClellan's wife, Ellen, died in Nice, France, in 1915 while visiting Mary at her home "Villa Antietam".[93][94]. Son and third child of Dr. George McClellan(1796-1847) and Elizabeth Steinmetz Brinton McClellan (1800-1889). McClellan maintained his estrangement from Abraham Lincoln with his repeated call for reinforcements and by writing a lengthy letter in which he proposed strategic and political guidance for the war, continuing his opposition to abolition or seizure of slaves as a tactic. 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. Ellen accepted Hill's proposal in 1856, but her family did not approve and he withdrew. Will send you trophies. An English observer remarked that it was the "stride of a giant". In his inaugural address, he said the most urgent matter before the state was relief from the Panic of 1873. I graduated second in my class at West Point in 1846. He arrived near the mouth of the Rio Grande in October 1846, well prepared for action with a double-barreled shotgun, two pistols, a saber, a dress sword, and a Bowie knife. CIVIL WAR UNION GENERAL GEORGE MEADE ~ J. E. McCLEES-PHILADELPHIA ~ c. - 1863 . He reported to Washington that he faced 200,000 Confederates, perhaps due to a false report on the arrival of another Confederate army P.G.T. By war's end, about 2 million men had served in [113], 1864 Democratic National Convention:[114], New Jersey gubernatorial election, 1877:[115], "George McClellan" redirects here. During the Utah War against the Mormons, he considered rejoining the Army. Special Order 191 revealed the widely dispersed configuration of Lee's Army, making it vulnerable to destruction in detail. [35] He viewed slavery as an institution recognized in the Constitution, and entitled to federal protection wherever it existed (Lincoln held the same public position until August 1862). 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. McClellan's army began to sail from Alexandria on March 17. 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. [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 had hoped to use the 1st Corps to capture Glouchester Point and thus outflank the Confederate position. A graduate of West Point, McClellan served with distinction during the Mexican-American War, and later left the Army to serve as an executive . He quickly realized that he had overstepped his bounds and apologized by letter to President Lincoln. "Notwithstanding all that has been said by the traitors to induce you to believe that our advent among you will be signalized by interference with your slaves, understand one thing clearlynot only will we abstain from all such interference but we will on the contrary with an iron hand, crush any attempted insurrection on their part." [74], The Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, was the single bloodiest day in American military history. "[15] 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. [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. 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. 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. [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. I was born on December 3rd, 1826 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [32] He reveled in his newly acquired power and influence:[30]. [28] The New York Herald entitled an article about him "Gen. McClellan, the Napoleon of the Present War". 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. 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. [22], At the start of the Civil War, McClellan's knowledge of what was called "big war science" and his railroad experience suggested he might excel at military logistics. [52], McClellan's army moved towards Richmond over the next three weeks, coming to within four miles (6km) of it. In, Rowland, Thomas J. 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. [85] 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. 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. In this event, it would not only be in the direction of his plan to make no attack, but it would play into his hands that his opponent should accumulate his forces on the Peninsula. 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. 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. I have all the plans of the rebels, and will catch them in their own trap if my men are equal to the emergency. Isaac Stevens, governor of the Washington Territory, became dissatisfied with McClellan's performance in his scouting of passes across the Cascade Range. Both passed the legislature in 1878 and 1880, respectively. [81], The deep division in the party, the unity of the Republicans (running under the label "National Union Party"), the absence of a large portion of the Democrats' base (the South) from the voter pool, and the military successes by Union forces in the fall of 1864, doomed McClellan's candidacy. Gen. John Gibbon, and said, "Here is a paper with which if I cannot whip Bobbie Lee, I will be willing to go home." Historian James M. McPherson has pointed out that the two corps McClellan kept in reserve were in fact larger than Lee's entire force. McClellan was removed from his command of Ohio volunteer armies in less than six months, becoming the Union army's leader. [13], McClellan's experiences in the war would shape his military and political life. He was buried at Riverview Cemetery in Trenton.[92]. It was a scene which no one could forgetan event of a lifetime. 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. However . McClellan assessed local defensive capabilities for the secretary. 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. With the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861, northern civilian leaders encouraged McClellan to re-enter federal military service. George B. McClellan (1826-1885) was an American soldier and politician, best known for his service in the American Civil War, where he was a major general in the Union Army. "[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. 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. Working with Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott, the Army's general-in-chief, the . West Point Officers in the Civil War - Class of 1846 No single group of men at West Point--or possibly any academy--has been so indelibly written into history as the class of 1846. In doing so, he demonstrated a tendency for insubordination toward senior political figures. 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. He prevented the army's morale from collapsing at least twice, in the aftermath of the First and Second Battles of Bull Run. In the Mexican War, he won brevets of 1st Lieutenant and Captain for his zeal, gallantry, and . 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. [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). See more George B. McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician. 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]. [80], McClellan was nominated by the Democrats to run against Abraham Lincoln in the 1864 U.S. presidential election. McClellan's rapid promotion was partly due to his acquaintance with Salmon P. Chase, Treasury Secretary and former Ohio governor and senator. Under the pressure of his ultimate soldier's responsibility, the will to command deserted him. Beagle, Jonathan M. "George Brinton McClellan." This was a risky move for a smaller army, but Lee was counting on his knowledge of McClellan's temperament. 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. [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. Debates were held as to whether the army should be evacuated or attempt to resume an offensive toward Richmond. 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. George B. McClellan. Lee continued his offensive at Gaines's Mill to the east. [106] Third, that historians eager to jump on the bandwagon of Lincoln as America's greatest political icon worked to outdo one another in shifting blame for early military failures from Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton to McClellan. 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. "[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. 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. 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. [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." He complained that he had arrived too late to take any part in the American victory at Monterrey in September. 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