McClellan continued to believe intelligence reports that credited the Confederates with two or three times the men they actually had. 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. I have never witnessed such a scene. Relations between the two generals became increasingly strained over the summer and fall. McClellan Fitness Center is a United States Army gym located at Fort Eustis, Virginia near his Peninsula Campaign. [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. [2] His father's family was of Scottish and English heritage. However, the subsequently formed Army of the Potomac had high morale and was extremely proud of their general, some even referring to McClellan as the savior of Washington. It became standard issue for as long as the U.S. horse cavalry existed and is still used for ceremonies. 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. McClellan's wife, Ellen, died in Nice, France, in 1915 while visiting Mary at her home "Villa Antietam".[93][94]. 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. 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]. He complained that he had arrived too late to take any part in the American victory at Monterrey in September. General McClellan and President Abraham Lincoln developed a mutual distrust, and McClellan was privately derisive of Lincoln. [18] In March 1855, McClellan was promoted to captain and assigned to the 1st U.S. Cavalry regiment. I have all the plans of the rebels, and will catch them in their own trap if my men are equal to the emergency. [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. 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. This plan, which would require considerable patience of the Northern public, was derided in newspapers as the Anaconda Plan, but eventually proved to be the outline of the successful prosecution of the war. [90] McClellan's administration was marked by caution and conservatism. [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." Despite being a tactical draw, Antietam is considered a turning point of the war and a victory for the Union because it ended Lee's strategic campaign (his first invasion of the North) and it allowed President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, taking effect on January 1, 1863. 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". [113], 1864 Democratic National Convention:[114], New Jersey gubernatorial election, 1877:[115], "George McClellan" redirects here. McClellan spent the next three weeks repositioning his troops and waiting for promised reinforcements. 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. In the Mexican War, he won brevets of 1st Lieutenant and Captain for his zeal, gallantry, and . (The information was not used until 1870 when President Ulysses S. Grant unsuccessfully attempted to annex the Dominican Republic.) These associations gave McClellan what he considered to be an appreciation of the southern mind and an understanding of the political and military implications of the sectional differences in the United States that led to the Civil War. McClellan surveyed the western portion of the northern corridor along the 47th and 49th parallels from St. Paul to the Puget Sound. [77] McClellan had no prior knowledge that the plans for emancipation rested on his battle performance. 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. [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. [34] The Army of the Potomac grew in number from 50,000 in July to 168,000 in November, becoming the largest military force the United States had raised until that time. 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. Numbers vary as to the size of McClellan's force with its paper strength at 87,164. McClellan wired to Washington, "Our victory was complete. The Union victory and Lincoln's proclamation played a considerable role in dissuading the governments of France and Britain from recognizing the Confederacy; some suspected they were planning to do so in the aftermath of another Union defeat. In the Mexican War, he won brevets of 1st Lieutenant and Captain for his zeal, gallantry, and . [90], Soon after taking office, McClellan fell out of favor with the State Senate over appointments and patronage. It was a remarkable achievement, in which he came to personify the Army of the Potomac and reaped the adulation of his men. Civil War CDV General McClellan and Wife . 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. [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. Due to his experience and abilities, the Army appointed him a major general on May 14, 1861. 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. McClellan attended the University of Pennsylvania for two years, and then transferred to West Point at age 15. 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. Instead, his subordinate officers testified, and their candid admissions that they had no knowledge of specific strategies for advancing against the Confederates raised many calls for McClellan's dismissal. He was buried at Riverview Cemetery in Trenton.[92]. The first would use 80,000 men to invade Virginia through the Kanawha Valley toward Richmond. [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. The document was verified at McClellan's headquarters in Frederick on September 13. McClellan was forced to repudiate the platform, which made his campaign inconsistent and difficult. 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. But Lincoln told his secretary, John Hay, "We must use what tools we have. [1], Because of his political connections and his mastery of French, McClellan received the assignment to be an official observer of the European armies in the Crimean War in 1855. 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. [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. [74], The Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, was the single bloodiest day in American military history. George McClellan was a U.S. Army engineer, railroad president and politician who served as a major general during the Civil War. "[104], While McClellan's reputation has suffered over time, especially over the later half of the 20th century, there is a small but intense cadre of Civil War historians who believe that the general has been poorly served in at least four regards. [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). [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. [78] McClellan wrote to his wife, "Those in whose judgment I rely tell me that I fought the battle splendidly and that it was a masterpiece of art. "[95] This fierce discussion has continued for over a century. 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. 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. 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. McClellan organized and led the Union army in the Peninsula Campaign in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862. It was a scene which no one could forgetan event of a lifetime. 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. George B. McClellan. 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. [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. 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. McClellan was removed from command in November in the aftermath of the 1862 midterm elections. He told one of his generals, "He is an able general but a very cautious one. After a month of preparation, just before he was to assault the Confederate works at Yorktown, McClellan learned that Johnston had withdrawn up the Peninsula towards Williamsburg. 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 Two more crises would confront McClellan before he could implement his plans. McClellan's daughter, Mary ("May") (18611945), married a French diplomat and spent much of her life abroad. [1] He performed reconnaissance missions for Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott, a close friend of McClellan's father. [20], Before the outbreak of the Civil War, McClellan became active in politics, supporting the presidential campaign of Democrat Stephen A. Douglas in the 1860 election. McClellan Park in Milbridge, Maine, was donated to the town by the general's son with the stipulation that it be named for the general. Traveling widely, and interacting with the highest military commands and royal families, McClellan observed the siege of Sevastopol. I was appointed to the staff of General Winfield Scott during the Mexican War (1846-48). "[79], Secretary Stanton ordered McClellan to report to Trenton, New Jersey, for further orders, although none was issued. [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. 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. 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