"[63] Lee had gambled on removing significant units from the Peninsula to attack Pope, who was beaten decisively at Second Bull Run in August. 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. McClellan spent the next three weeks repositioning his troops and waiting for promised reinforcements. 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, mcclellan served with distinction during the mexican-american war (1846- 1848), and later left the army to serve Cemetery Name: Riverview Cemetery. [54] Ethan Rafuse notes "McClellan's change of base to the James, however, thwarted Lee's attempt to do this. In. McClellan revised his plans to have his troops disembark at Fort Monroe, Virginia, and advance up the Virginia Peninsula to Richmond, an operation that would be known as the Peninsula Campaign. The Fifth Corps under Porter from the Army of the Potomac would serve with Pope during the campaign. As he quickly implemented plans to invade the region, he triggered his first serious political controversy by proclaiming to the citizens there that his forces had no intentions of interfering with personal propertyincluding slaves. 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. McClellan was removed from command in November in the aftermath of the 1862 midterm elections. 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. The platform called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a negotiated settlement with the Confederacy. $35.00 + $5.00 shipping . McClellan was also unwilling, due to Porter's opinion, to employ his ample reserve forces to capitalize on localized successes. 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. 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. 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 had hoped to use the 1st Corps to capture Glouchester Point and thus outflank the Confederate position. The camp was the training grounds for recruits and a hospital for the wounded. [90] McClellan's administration was marked by caution and conservatism. Although he complimented McClellan and expressed his "great confidence in your intelligence, zeal, science, and energy", he replied by letter that the 80,000 men would be better used on a river-based expedition to control the Mississippi River and split the Confederacy, accompanied by a strong Union blockade of Southern ports. [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. [99], There is indeed ample evidence that the terrible stresses of commanding men in battle, especially the beloved men of his beloved Army of the Potomac, left his moral courage in tatters. This placed him in great demand as the Union mobilized. He telegraphed President Lincoln: "I have the whole rebel force in front of me, but I am confident, and no time shall be lost. George B. McClellan forced the Confederates in northwestern Virginia to retreat into the Alleghenies in 1861. 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. "[79], Secretary Stanton ordered McClellan to report to Trenton, New Jersey, for further orders, although none was issued. McClellan also developed a disdain for volunteer soldiers and officers, particularly politicians who cared nothing for discipline and training.[14]. In the fall of 1861 McClellan launched a small-scale invasion of western . "[95] This fierce discussion has continued for over a century. It ruined Lee's plans to invade Pennsylvania and took the initiative away from the Confederate commander. Place Of Burial: Trenton, NJ. A sensational story had reached the press that the expedition had been ambushed by 2,000 Comanches and killed to the last man. However the battle had a significant impact on McClellan's nerve. "[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. "[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. He performed well in both jobs, expanding the Illinois Central toward New Orleans and helping the Ohio and Mississippi recover from the Panic of 1857. 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. 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. 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. [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. The names are legendary: Thomas . They were more often assigned to menial labor as some Union officers refused to . 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. He made no use of his cavalry forces for reconnaissance. 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! 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. [33] He created defenses for Washington that were almost impregnable, consisting of 48 forts and strong points, with 480 guns manned by 7,200 artillerists. Beagle, Jonathan M. "George Brinton McClellan." 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 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 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. 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. 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. The Battle of Williamsburg on May 5 is considered a Union victoryMcClellan's firstbut the Confederate army was not destroyed and most of their troops were successfully moved past Williamsburg to Richmond's outer defenses while the battle was waged and for several days thereafter. Gen. John Gibbon, and said, "Here is a paper with which if I cannot whip Bobbie Lee, I will be willing to go home." Yardley, Penna. 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. [25], McClellan's first military operations were to occupy the area of western Virginia that wanted to remain in the Union and subsequently became the state of West Virginia. Every decision he made that September 17 was dominated by his fear of counterattack by phantom Confederate battalions. McClellan's army began to sail from Alexandria on March 17. I was born on December 3rd, 1826 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [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. [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. After the defeat of Pope at Second Bull Run, President Lincoln reluctantly returned to the man who had mended a broken army before. Bailey, Ronald H., and the Editors of Time-Life Books. 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. He prevented the army's morale from collapsing at least twice, in the aftermath of the First and Second Battles of Bull Run. I attended the University of Pennsylvania and then went on to study at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. As Lee recounted, McClellan was attempting to make "this a battle of posts" which would lock the Confederate army in an attritional battle with superior Union firepower. 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. McClellan was an interesting man, full of both strengths and weaknesses. His first personal command in battle was at Rich Mountain, which he also won. 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. 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. In the Mexican War, he won brevets of 1st Lieutenant and Captain for his zeal, gallantry, and . A brilliant engineer and a great organizer, McClellan created the Army of the Potomac, the Union's . I find myself in a new and strange position herePresdt, Cabinet, Genl Scott & all deferring to meby some strange operation of magic I seem to have become the power of the land. (The information was not used until 1870 when President Ulysses S. Grant unsuccessfully attempted to annex the Dominican Republic.) McClellan rejected the tenets of Scott's Anaconda Plan, favoring instead an overwhelming grand battle, in the Napoleonic style. The class of '46 contributed 20 generals to the Union and Confederate armies. [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. The enemy is driven back into Virginia." (1826-1885), Civil War general.McClellan was born to a wealthy family in Philadelphia; at the age of fiftee Union Army, The Union army grew steadily throughout the war, from 186,751 in July 1861 to 1,000,516 in May 1865. 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]. McClellan surveyed the western portion of the northern corridor along the 47th and 49th parallels from St. Paul to the Puget Sound. 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. 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. 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. If he can't fight himself, he excels in making others ready to fight."[65]. Such a villain as he is ought to bring defeat upon any cause that employs him. McClellan's daughter, Mary ("May") (18611945), married a French diplomat and spent much of her life abroad. 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