george b mcclellan union or confederate

You have done your best to sacrifice this army. 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. [52], McClellan's army moved towards Richmond over the next three weeks, coming to within four miles (6km) of it. Dec 3, 1826 - Oct 29, 1885. Scott rejected both plans as logistically unfeasible. [65] McClellan's reception in Frederick, Maryland, as he marched towards Lee's army, was described by the correspondent for Harper's Magazine: The General rode through the town on a trot, and the street was filled six or eight deep with his staff and guard riding on behind him. 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. As noted by historians such as Stotelmyer, the significance of the Union victory at South Mountain should not be underestimated. Son and third child of Dr. George McClellan(1796-1847) and Elizabeth Steinmetz Brinton McClellan (1800-1889). For the Confederate general sometimes known as Little Napoleon, see, Thorp, Gene (September 7. McClellan's wife, Ellen, died in Nice, France, in 1915 while visiting Mary at her home "Villa Antietam".[93][94]. 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! The class of '46 contributed 20 generals to the Union and Confederate armies. The outnumbered Confederate forces fought desperately and well. 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. He also wrote a manual on cavalry tactics that was based on Russian cavalry regulations. [4] The couple had five children: Frederica, John, George, Arthur and Mary. [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). [6] After two years at the university, he changed his goal to military service. On May 14, he was commissioned a major general in the regular army. 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. [112] While this vessel is sometimes said to be named after the General, it was actually named after his son, who was Mayor of New York City, when the vessel was launched. MG George B. McClellan (1861-1862) MG Henry W. Halleck (1862-1864) . This caused him to decide on a siege of the city, which required considerable preparation. [51], McClellan had also placed hopes on a simultaneous naval approach to Richmond via the James River. On August 8, believing that the Confederacy had over 100,000 troops facing him (in contrast to the 35,000 they had actually deployed at Bull Run a few weeks earlier), he declared a state of emergency in the capital. [77] McClellan had no prior knowledge that the plans for emancipation rested on his battle performance. [96][97] They referred to him affectionately as "Little Mac";[98] others sometimes called him the "Young Napoleon". 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 . Beauregard. The governors of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, the three largest states of the Union, actively pursued him to command their states' militia. He told Ellen, "I will not fight for the abolitionists." He did not share his overall battle plans with his corps commanders, which prevented them from using initiative outside of their sectors. His administration stressed the necessity of education in the conversion of unskilled labor to skilled labor and in industrial development generally by expanding the state library and calling for trades training for young men in public schools, as suited for the local economy. 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. Beginning in 1872, he also served as the president of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad. The camp was the training grounds for recruits and a hospital for the wounded. Military Officer and Politician. 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. Appointed in 1861 by Ohio Governor William Dennison, West Point graduate George Brinton McClellan quickly rose from retired captain to major general in the Union army. 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. 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. The Confederate forces under General Joseph E. Johnston withdrew from their positions before Washington, assuming new positions south of the Rappahannock, which completely nullified the Urbanna strategy. Numbers vary as to the size of McClellan's force with its paper strength at 87,164. [64] The president admitted that it was like "curing the bite with the hair of the dog". 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. [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. allowing approximately 200,000 Black soldiers to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War. McClellan claimed he could not trust anyone in the administration to keep his plans secret from the press, and thus the enemy. The testing of battle uncovered another McClellan failing - his management of his own generals. McClellan's rapid promotion was partly due to his acquaintance with Salmon P. Chase, Treasury Secretary and former Ohio governor and senator. An English observer remarked that it was the "stride of a giant." Old ladies and men wept for joy, and scores of beautiful ladies waved flags from the balconies of houses upon the street, and their joyousness seemed to overcome every other emotion. He made no use of his cavalry forces for reconnaissance. "[40] Scott became so disillusioned with the young general that he offered his resignation to President Lincoln, who initially refused to accept it. [28] The New York Herald entitled an article about him "Gen. McClellan, the Napoleon of the Present War". McClellan surveyed the western portion of the northern corridor along the 47th and 49th parallels from St. Paul to the Puget Sound. 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." Two more crises would confront McClellan before he could implement his plans. He learned that flanking movements (used by Scott at Cerro Gordo) are often better than frontal assaults, and the value of siege operations (Veracruz). 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. Scott (as well as many in the War Department) was outraged that McClellan refused to divulge any details about his strategic planning, or even such basic information as the strengths and dispositions of his units. [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. 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. Despite his successes and lucrative salary ($10,000 per year), he was frustrated with civilian employment and continued to study classical military strategy assiduously. 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. He chafed at the boredom of peacetime garrison service, although he greatly enjoyed the social life. Lincoln won the election handily, with 212 Electoral College votes to 21, and a popular vote of 2,218,388 to 1,812,807 or 55% to 45%. Although McClellan was assuaged by supportive comments Lincoln made to him, in time he saw the change of command very differently, describing it as a part of an intrigue "to secure the failure of the approaching campaign".[48]. McClellan was removed from his command of Ohio volunteer armies in less than six months, becoming the Union army's leader. For other people with the same name, see, "Little Napoleon" redirects here. The stubborn Confederate defenses gave Lee enough time to concentrate many of his men at Sharpsburg, Maryland. Gen. John Gibbon, and said, "Here is a paper with which if I cannot whip Bobbie Lee, I will be willing to go home." This was a risky move for a smaller army, but Lee was counting on his knowledge of McClellan's temperament. George B. McClellan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 3, 1826. . 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]. [97] He has been universally praised for his organizational abilities and for his very good relations with his troops. I feel I have done all that can be asked in twice saving the country. Nevertheless, McClellan received criticism from Washington for not counterattacking, which some believed could have opened the city of Richmond to capture. [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. Relations between the two generals became increasingly strained over the summer and fall. George B. McClellan was a prominent nineteenth-century American military and political leader. Many classic histories have portrayed McClellan's army as moving lethargically, averaging only 6 miles (9.7km) a day. [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. 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. "George Brinton McClellan." What name was given to the attempt in 1860 to get southern states to stay in the Union. 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. He also received an assignment to the Department of Texas, with orders to perform a survey of Texas rivers and harbors. Marcy, Randolph B, assisted by McClellan, George B., This page was last edited on 12 January 2023, at 16:49. [36] McClellan's writings after the war were typical of many Northerners: "I confess to a prejudice in favor of my own race, & can't learn to like the odor of either Billy goats or niggers. [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. He graduating second in his class of 59 in 1846. 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]. 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. Back in Washington, a reorganization of units created the Army of Virginia under Maj. Gen. John Pope, who was directed to advance toward Richmond from the northeast. $35.00 + $5.00 shipping . 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. 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. 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]. [102] His original draft was completed in 1881, but the only copy was destroyed by fire. [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. [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. [23], On May 3 McClellan re-entered federal service as commander of the Department of the Ohio, responsible for the defense of the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and, later, western Pennsylvania, western Virginia, and Missouri. 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. George B. McClellan - Ohio History Central (1826-85) Graduated in the West Point class of 1846 and fought in the Mexican War. The Union defeat at the minor Battle of Ball's Bluff near Leesburg in October added to the frustration and indirectly damaged McClellan. I have never witnessed such a scene. At the end of June, Lee began a series of attacks that became known as the Seven Days Battles. [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. "[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. McClellan is usually ranked in the lowest tier of Civil War generals. 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. [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. [90], McClellan also applied his military experience to improve the discipline, organization, and armament of the New Jersey National Guard. 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. In doing so, Lee had assumed that the Union army would withdraw to the east toward its existing supply base and McClellan's move to the south delayed Lee's response for at least 24 hours. Historian James M. McPherson has pointed out that the two corps McClellan kept in reserve were in fact larger than Lee's entire force. Such a villain as he is ought to bring defeat upon any cause that employs him. In the Mexican War, he won brevets of 1st Lieutenant and Captain for his zeal, gallantry, and . Glendale and Malvern Hill found him at the peak of his anguish during the Seven Days, and he fled those fields to escape the responsibility. He died unexpectedly of a heart attack at age 58 at Orange, New Jersey, after suffering from chest pains for a few weeks. Isaac Stevens, governor of the Washington Territory, became dissatisfied with McClellan's performance in his scouting of passes across the Cascade Range. 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. [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. 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. [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). One of McClellan's great-grandfathers was Samuel McClellan of Woodstock, Connecticut, a brigadier general who served during the Revolutionary War. George B. McClellan (1826-1885) 1826, Dec. 3 Born, Philadelphia, Pa. 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. 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. When he discovered that the Confederates had fortified a line across the Peninsula he hesitated to attack and instead played it safe. George Brinton McClellan (1826-1885) - Born 3 Dec 1826 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. "[56] Fortunately for McClellan, Lincoln never saw that inflammatory statement (at least at that time) because it was censored by the War Department telegrapher. 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. [110] Camp McClellan, in Davenport, IA, is a former Union Army camp established in August 1861 after the outbreak of the Civil War. [90] McClellan's administration was marked by caution and conservatism. He favored a war that would impose little impact on civilian populations and require no emancipation of slaves. He called a council of war at the White House in which McClellan's subordinates were asked about their confidence in the Urbanna plan. He created a false impression of many troops behind the lines and of even more troops arriving. During the summer and fall, McClellan brought a high degree of organization to his new army, and greatly improved its morale with frequent trips to review and encourage his units. Wiki User. His nomination was largely an effort by key party members to prevent the leading candidate, Leon Abbett, from gaining the nomination. 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. 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. McClellan was called as the first witness on December 23, but he contracted typhoid fever and could not attend. Seven Days' Battles, (June 25-July 1, 1862), series of American Civil War battles in which a Confederate army under General Robert E. Lee drove back General George B. McClellan's Union forces and thwarted the Northern attempt to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. 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. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union. On May 31, as McClellan planned an assault, his army was surprised by a Confederate attack. A brilliant engineer and a great organizer, McClellan created the Army of the Potomac, the Union's . That approach failed following the Union Navy's defeat at the Battle of Drewry's Bluff, about 7 miles (11km) downstream from the Confederate capital, on May 15. [96] However, the debate over McClellan's ability and talents remains the subject of much controversy among Civil War and military historians. Upon their arrival on July 28, they were astonished to find that they had been given up for dead. However . He told one of his generals, "He is an able general but a very cautious one. If he can't fight himself, he excels in making others ready to fight."[65]. George Brinton McClellan was born into an elite Philadelphia family on December 3, 1826. [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. Civil War CDV General McClellan and Wife . 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. McClellan continued to believe intelligence reports that credited the Confederates with two or three times the men they actually had. The armies struggled to a . 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. Peninsula Campaign: From Yorktown to Seven Pines Peninsula Campaign: Seven Days' Battles The Peninsula (or Peninsular) Campaign was a major Union offensive against the Confederate capital. [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. Lincoln's order was ambiguous as to whether McClellan might be restored following a successful campaign. 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. 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. Lincoln, Stanton, and a group of officers who formed the "War Board" directed the strategic actions of the Union armies that spring. McClellan was an interesting man, full of both strengths and weaknesses. 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. 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. McClellan was also unwilling, due to Porter's opinion, to employ his ample reserve forces to capitalize on localized successes. McClellan was removed from command in November in the aftermath of the 1862 midterm elections. [6] He began attending the university in 1840, when he was 14 years old, resigning himself to the study of law after his family decided that medical educations for both McClellan and his older brother John were too expensive. It ruined Lee's plans to invade Pennsylvania and took the initiative away from the Confederate commander. 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