See more
Was George McClellan on the north or south side?
McClellan organized and led the Union army in the Peninsula Campaign in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862. It was the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater....George B. McClellanRankMajor GeneralCommandsDepartment of the Ohio Army of the Potomac28 more rows
What side did George McClellan represent?
McClellan Runs for President In 1864, the Democratic Party nominated McClellan to run against Lincoln for the presidency.
Who was best general in civil war?
Ulysses S Grant was the supreme Union general during the civil war and then later 18th President of the United States. Grant was instrumental in the battlefield defeat of the Confederacy and then as President worked to implement Reconstruction.
Who is the Confederate general?
Robert E. LeeRobert E. Lee commanded the Army of Northern Virginia, the most successful of the Southern armies during the American Civil War, and ultimately commanded all the Confederate armies. As the military leader of the defeated Confederacy, Lee became a symbol of the American South.
Who was the first Union general?
Union ArmyCommander-in-ChiefPresident Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865) President Andrew Johnson (1865)Commanding GeneralMG Winfield Scott (1841–1861) MG George B. McClellan (1861–1862) MG Henry W. Halleck (1862–1864) GA Ulysses S. Grant (1864–1869)8 more rows
What side did Stonewall Jackson fight for?
ConfederateStonewall Jackson was a leading Confederate general during the U.S. Civil War, commanding forces at Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.
Who were the two generals who led the South in this battle?
The two Union armies in the battle were commanded by General Irvin McDowell and General Robert Patterson. The Confederate armies were commanded by General P.G.T. Beauregard and General Joseph E. Johnston.
Who was George McClellan?
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. A graduate of West Point, ...
Where did McClellan's army move?
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. Initially, McClellan was somewhat successful ...
What did Lincoln say to General McClellan?
On January 10, 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." On January 12, 1862, McClellan was summoned to the White House, where the Cabinet demanded to hear his war plans. 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 (80 km) overland to capture Richmond. He refused to give any specific details of the proposed campaign, even to his friend, newly appointed War Secretary Edwin M. Stanton. On January 27, Lincoln issued an order that required all of his armies to begin offensive operations by February 22, Washington's birthday. 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 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. Although Lincoln believed his plan was superior, he was relieved that McClellan finally agreed to begin moving, and reluctantly approved. On March 8, doubting McClellan's resolve, Lincoln again interfered with the army commander's prerogatives. He called a council of war at the White House in which McClellan's subordinates were asked about their confidence in the Urbanna plan. They expressed their confidence to varying degrees. 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).
How many men did General McClellan have in his army?
McClellan's army began to sail from Alexandria on March 17. 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. An English observer remarked that it was the "stride of a giant". The army's advance from Fort Monroe up the Virginia Peninsula proved to be slow. 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 had hoped to use the 1st Corps to capture Glouchester Point and thus outflank the Confederate position. When he discovered that the Confederates had fortified a line across the Peninsula he hesitated to attack. As Swinton notes "It is possible, however—and there is a considerable volume of evidence bearing upon this point—that 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. 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. 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 asked for the opinion of his chief engineer John G. Barnard, who recommended against an assault. This caused him to decide on a siege of the city, which required considerable preparation.
How far was McClellan from Malvern Hill?
In the battle of Glendale, McClellan was five miles (8 km) away behind Malvern Hill, without telegraph communications and too distant to command his army. In the battle of Malvern Hill, he was on a gunboat, the USS Galena, which at one point was ten miles (16 km) away, down the James River.
How did McClellan damage his reputation?
McClellan further damaged his reputation by his insulting insubordination to his commander-in-chief. 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". 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.
What did McClellan do at West Point?
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. He chafed at the boredom of peacetime garrison service, although he greatly enjoyed the social life. In June 1851, he was ordered to Fort Delaware, a masonry work under construction on an island in the Delaware River, forty miles (65 km) downriver from Philadelphia. In March 1852, he was ordered to report to Capt. Randolph B. Marcy at Fort Smith, Arkansas, to serve as second-in-command on an expedition to discover the sources of the Red River. By June the expedition reached the source of the north fork of the river and Marcy named a small tributary McClellan's Creek. Upon their arrival on July 28, they were astonished to find that they had been given up for dead. A sensational story had reached the press that the expedition had been ambushed by 2,000 Comanches and killed to the last man. 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. in one way or other."
Who was George McClellan?
McClellan, in full George Brinton McClellan, (born December 3, 1826, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.—died October 29, 1885, Orange, New Jersey), general who skillfully re organized Union forces in the first year of the American Civil War (1861–65) but drew wide criticism for repeatedly failing to press his advantage ...
What battle did McClellan take command of?
Returning to Washington as news of the Union defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run (August 29–30) was received, McClellan was asked to take command of the army for the defense of the capital. Again exercising his organizing capability, he was able to rejuvenate Union forces.
Who overestimated the number of troops opposing him?
Coming to within a few miles of Richmond, he consistently overestimated the number of troops opposing him, and, when Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee began an all-out attempt to destroy McClellan’s army in the Seven Days’ Battles (June 25–July 1), McClellan retreated.
Who was the governor of New Jersey in 1864?
In 1864 McClellan was nominated for the presidency by the Democratic Party, though he repudiated its platform, which denounced the war as a failure. On election day he resigned his army commission and later sailed for Europe. Returning in 1868, he served as chief engineer of the New York Department of Docks (1870–72) and in 1872 became president of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad. He served one term as governor of New Jersey (elected 1877) and spent his remaining years traveling and writing his memoirs.
Who was the commander of the Army of the Potomac?
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. He was charged with the defense of the capital and destruction of the enemy’s forces in northern and eastern Virginia.
Who was the young Napoleon of the West?
By July 13 the Confederate forces there were defeated, and McClellan had established a reputation as the “Young Napoleon of the West.”. 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 ...
Who was removed from command in November 1862?
But he again failed to move rapidly to destroy Lee’s army, and, as a result, the exasperated president removed him from command in November. Antietam, Battle of: Lincoln and McClellan meet in the general's tent. President Abraham Lincoln and General George B. McClellan in the general's tent, Antietam, Maryland, October 3, 1862.
What were General McClellan's qualities?
McClellan’s many qualities, such as his skills in organization and logistics, were often undone by his arrogance and cautiousness. He frequently clashed with Lincoln, privately calling him “nothing more than a well-meaning baboon.” Lincoln, frustrated by McClellan’s reluctance to attack the rebel forces in Virginia, remarked to another officer, “If General McClellan does not want to use the army, I would like to borrow it for a time.” Despite his cautious nature, McClellan engaged the enemy in the Seven Days Battles in the spring of 1862 outside of Richmond, Virginia. His forces defeated Robert E. Lee’s outnumbered Confederate forces at the Battle of Malvern Hill, but McClellan decided to retreat rather than continue the fight.
Who was the commander of the Army of Virginia?
Disappointed with McClellan, Lincoln turned to Maj. Gen. John Pope to lead a new command, the Army of Virginia. After Pope’s defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run, he was removed. McClellan and his Army of the Potomac once again became the Union’s primary field force in Virginia. He led the Army of the Potomac against Lee’s forces again at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862. Despite stiff enemy resistance, he defeated Lee’s rebel army, causing them to retreat from Maryland. This victory allowed Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, granting freedom to enslaved people in Confederate territory. However, Lincoln grew frustrated when McClellan failed to destroy the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia as they retreated. Lincoln relieved him of command on November 5, 1862.
What battle did McClellan defeat?
Following Pope's failure to capture Richmond, the subsequent Union defeat at the Battle of Second Manassas , McClellan was once again leading the army that had such strong affection for him. With Little Mac at its head, the Army of the Potomac moved to counter Lee's 1862 invasion of Maryland.
What did McClellan promise to the Confederacy?
McClellan ran on an anti-war platform, promising that he would negotiate peace terms with the Confederacy to help end the war as soon as possible. But by November of 1864, a string of Union successes had convinced many that the war was in its final phase.
Who was the leader of the Union Army of the Potomac?
George Brinton McClellan is often remembered as the great organizer of the Union Army of the Potomac. Nicknamed "Young Napoleon," "Little Mac" was immensely popular with the men who served under his command. His military command style, however, put him at odds with President Abraham Lincoln, and would ultimately upset his military ...
Who was the governor of New Jersey in 1878?
After the war, McClellan served as an administrator for a number of engineering firms and, in 1878, was elected Governor of New Jersey. In his final years, the former general penned a defense of his tenure as Commander of the Army of the Potomac, but died before he could see it published. McClellan is buried in Trenton, New Jersey.
Did McClellan thwart Lee's plan?
Though he had managed to thwart Lee's plan to invade the North, McClellan's trademark caution once again denied the northern cause a decisive victory, and the once-cordial relationship between the army commander and his Commander-in-Chief had been badly damaged by the former's lack of success and excessive trepidation.
Where did McClellan take command of the Union troops?
Lincoln summoned McClellan to Washington, D.C., to take command of the defeated Union troops there on July 26.
Who were George McClellan's classmates?
1846. George B. McClellan graduates from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, second in a class of fifty-nine. His classmates include Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson and George E. Pickett.
What happened on September 17th 1862?
September 17, 1862. In the bloodiest single day of the war, George B. McClellan attacks Confederates under Robert E. Lee at Antietam Creek in Maryland. The battle ends in a stalemate, but Lee is forced to retreat south to Virginia. November 5, 1862.
Why was Lincoln nervous about the capital's defense?
Lincoln was especially nervous about the capital’s defense—McClellan’s plan put Johnston between Washington and the bulk of Union forces— and after some initial confusion about troop numbers, the president held back a third of McClellan’s men. The general lost even more troops when Lee, in a successful attempt to divert attention away from Richmond, dispatched Stonewall Jackson to the Shenandoah Valley. All of this, combined with McClellan’s concern over a split command, led to his increasingly acrimonious relationship with Lincoln.
What was the march toward the Confederate capital?
The springtime march toward the Confederate capital was methodical and plagued by bad weather and inaccurate maps. As he did at Manassas, McClellan was tempted to see before him stiffer resistance than actually existed (a truth exploited at Yorktown by the theatrically inclined John B. Magruder).
Where was George McClellan born?
George Brinton McClellan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 3, 1826, to Dr. George McClellan and Elizabeth Steinmetz Brinton. He studied law at the University of Pennsylvania for two years, beginning when he was just thirteen years old. His father, a distinguished ophthalmologist who had founded Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1824, had good connections in the Whig Party. When young McClellan decided to abandon the law for the military, his father used those connections to earn his son an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. In 1846, McClellan finished second in a class of fifty-nine that included future Confederate generals Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson (who finished seventeenth) and George E. Pickett (who finished last).
When did McClellan take over the Army?
May 3, 1861. George B. McClellan reenters the regular U.S. Army and takes command of the Department of Ohio. May 14, 1861. George B. McClellan is commissioned a major general in the U.S. Army, second in rank only to his former Mexican War commander, Winfield Scott. June—July 1861.
What was the main issue that McClellan was a member of?
In Congress, he was a prominent member of the Ways and Means Committee. While in Congress McClellan made speeches in favor of the gold standard, an issue that divided the fiscally conservative from the agrarian wing of the Democratic Party, although he avoided committing himself on the subject in the campaign of 1896.
When was McClellan reelected?
In November 1903, McClellan defeated the sitting mayor, Seth Low (independent Fusion ), for a two-year term. He was re-elected in 1905, after the restoration of four-year mayoral terms, but not considered for a third term in 1909.
Who was McClellan married to?
McClellan married Georgiana Heckscher on October 30, 1889. McClellan died childless on November 30, 1940, one week after his 75th birthday, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Who was the mayor of New York City during the Meuse-Argonne offensive?
Meuse–Argonne offensive. George Brinton McClellan Jr. (November 23, 1865 – November 30, 1940), was an American statesman, author, historian, and educator. The son of the American Civil War general and presidential candidate George B. McClellan, he was the 93rd Mayor of New York City, serving from 1904 to 1909.
Who was the Princeton alumnus of 1889?
Princeton Alumnus of 1889 a Lecturer on Economics at Alma Mater, 1912-1930. Washington, DC, November 30, 1940. Colonel George Brinton McClellan, son of the famous Civil War general and a former member of Congress and Mayor of New York City from 1903 to 1909, died early today at his home here.
When was the heel of war published?
The Heel of War. New York: G.W. Dillingham Company, 1916 .
Who was George McClellan?
A chronology of key events in the life of George B. McClellan (1826-1885), U.S. Army officer and governor of New Jersey.
What was McClellan's report?
McClellan's report led to the U.S. Army's adoption of his proposed cavalry manual and " McClellan saddle ."
Who won the Second Battle of Bull Run?
Second Battle of Bull Run (or Manassas) near Manassas Junction, Va. Confederate forces defeated the Army of Virginia under Union General John Pope. As he informed President Lincoln, McClellan resisted sending two corps of reinforcements from the Army of the Potomac to "Pope to get out of his scrape." President Lincoln relieved Pope of command after his defeat at Second Bull Run, and the Army of Virginia merged with McClellan's Army of the Potomac. Confederate General Robert E. Lee followed up the Army of Northern Virginia's success at Manassas with his Maryland Campaign.
Where was the Army of the Potomac ordered to?
Ordered to Washington, D.C., to assume command of forces to be known (as of August 20) as the Army of the Potomac
Where was the Peninsular Campaign?
Peninsular Campaign towards the Confederate capital at Richmond, Va. Named for the Virginia Peninsula between the James and York Rivers, the campaign, which ended in Union retreat, included battles at Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, and the Seven Days' battles before Richmond.
Who was the General who was relieved of command by President Lincoln?
Relinquished the Army of the Potomac to General Ambrose Everett Burnside after having been relieved of command by President Lincoln on November 5. McClellan remained in the army until November 1864, but received no further military assignments.
Who was the Confederate General who led the army in the Seven Days?
Confederate General Robert E. Lee assumed command from the wounded Joseph E. Johnston of forces that soon became the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee would clash with McClellan's troops in the remainder of the Seven Days' battles, and later at Antietam in Maryland.
Overview
Civil War
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. This placed him in great demand as the Union mobilized. The governors of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, the three largest states of the Union, actively pursued him to command their states' militia. Ohio Governor Wil…
Early life and career
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. His father's family was of Scottish and English heritage. His mother was Elizabeth Sophia Steinmetz Brinton McClellan (1800–1889), daughter of a leading Pennsylvania family, a woman noted for her "considerabl…
1864 presidential election
Secretary Stanton ordered McClellan to report to Trenton, New Jersey, for further orders, although none was issued. 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…
Postbellum years
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. 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. McClellan worked on engineerin…
Governor of New Jersey
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. His nomination was largely an effort by key party members to prevent the leading candidate, Leon Abbett, from gaining the nomination. After his name was unexpectedly placed into nomination at the state convention, there was a stampede and he was …
Retirement and death
The concluding chapter of his political career was his strong support in 1884 for Grover Cleveland. He sought the position of Secretary of War in Cleveland's cabinet, but Senator John R. McPherson, who had opposed McClellan for governor in 1877, succeeded in blocking his nomination.
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 durin…
Family
McClellan's son, George B. McClellan Jr. (1865–1940), was born in Dresden in the Kingdom of Saxony during the family's first trip to Europe. Known within the family as Max, he too became a politician, serving as a United States Representative (1893–1903) and as Mayor of New York City from 1904 to 1909.
McClellan's daughter, Mary ("May") (1861–1945), married a French diplomat and spent much of …