Description
Mcclellan was born in philadelphia, on december 3rd 1826. The son of a prominent surgical ophthalmologist, dr. George mcclellan, the founder of jefferson medical college. His mother was elizabeth steinmetz brinton mcclellan, daughter of a leading pennsylvania family, a woman noted for her notable grace and refinement. The couple produced five children: a daughter, frederica; then three sons, john, george, and arthur; and a second daughter, mary. Mcclellan was the grandson of revolutionary war general samuel mcclellan of woodstock, connecticut. He first attended the university of pennsylvania in 1840 at age 13, resigning himself to the study of law. After two years, he changed his goal to military service. With the assistance of his father’s letter to president john tyler, mcclellan, was accepted at the united states military academy in 1842, the academy having waived its normal minimum age of 16.At west point, it was noted that he was an energetic and ambitious cadet, deeply interested in the teachings of dennis hart mahan and the theoretical strategic principles of antoine-henri jomini. His closest friends were aristocratic southerners such as james stuart, dabney maury, cadmus wilcox, and a.P. Hill. These associations gave mcclellan what he considered to be an appreciation of the southern mind, an understanding of the political and military implications of the sectional differences in the united states that led to the civil war. This claim would be dismissed by mcclellan’s critics in the post civil war environment! With his graduation in 1846, he was placed second in his class of 59 cadets. He was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the u.S. Army corps of engineers.Mcclellan’s first assignment was with a company of engineers formed at west point, but he quickly received orders to sail for service in the mexican-american war. He arrived near the mouth of the rio grande in october 1846, well prepared for action with a double-barreled shotgun, two pistols, a sabre, a dress sword, and a bowie knife. He complained that he had arrived too late to take any part in the american victory at monterrey in september. During a temporary armistice in which the forces of general zachary taylor awaited action, mcclellan was stricken with dysentery and malaria, which kept him in the hospital for nearly a month. The malaria would recur in later yearshe called it his “mexican disease.” he served bravely as an engineering officer during the war, subjected to frequent enemy fire, and was appointed a brevet first lieutenant for contreras and churubusco and to captain for chapultepec, he performed reconnaissance missions for lieutenant general winfield scott, a close friend of mcclellan’s father.Mcclellan’s experiences during the war developed various attitudes that affected his later military and political life. He learned to appreciate the value of flanking movements over frontal assaults and, the value of siege operations, such as vera cruz. He witnessed scott’s success in balancing political with military affairs, and his good relations with the civil population as he invaded, enforcing strict discipline on his soldiers to minimise damage to their property. And he developed a disdain for volunteer soldiers and officers, particularly politicians who cared nothing for discipline and training.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 downriver from philadelphia. In march 1852 he was ordered to report to captain 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 return to civilisation on july 28, they were astonished to find that they had been given up for dead. A sensational story had reached the press, which mcclellan blamed on “a set of scoundrels, who seek to keep up agitation on the frontier in order to get employment from the government. In one way or other,” that the expedition had been ambushed by 2,000 comanches and killed to the last man.In the fall of 1852, mcclellan published a manual on bayonet tactics that he had translated from the original french. He also received an assignment to the department of texas, with orders to perform a survey of texas rivers and harbours. In 1853 he participated in the pacific railroad surveys, ordered by secretary of war jefferson davis, to select an appropriate route for the upcoming transcontinental railroad. Mcclellan surveyed the northern corridor along the 47th and 49th parallels from st. Paul to the puget sound. During this assignment, he demonstrated a tendency for insubordination toward senior political figures. Isaac stevens, governor of the washington territory, became dissatisfied with mcclellan’s performance in scouting passes across the cascade range. Mcclellan was to select yakima pass 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 snow pack in that area. He also neglected to find three greatly superior passes in the near vicinity, which would be the ones eventually used for railroads and interstate highways. The governor ordered mcclellan to turn over his expedition logbooks, but mcclellan steadfastly refused, most likely because of embarrassing personal comments that he had made throughout.Returning to the east, mcclellan began courting ellen mary marcy, the daughter of his former commander. Ellen, or nelly, refused mcclellan’s first proposal of marriage, one of nine that she received from a variety of suitors, including his west point friend, a.P. Hill. Ellen accepted hill’s proposal in 1856, but her family did not approve and he withdrew.In june 1854, mcclellan was sent on a secret reconnaissance mission to santo domingo at the behest of jefferson davis, u.S. Secretory of war.. Mcclellan assessed local defencive capabilities for the secretary. The information was not used until 1870, when president ulysses s. Grant unsuccessfully attempted to annex the dominican republic 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. In march 1855, mcclellan was promoted to captain and assigned to the 1st u.S. Cavalry regiment.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. Travelling widely, and interacting with the highest military commands and royal families, mcclellan observed the siege of sevastopol. Upon his return to the united states in 1856 he requested assignment in philadelphia to prepare his report, which contained a critical analysis of the siege and a lengthy description of the organisation of the european armies. He also wrote a manual on cavalry tactics that was based on russian cavalry regulations. A notable failure of the observers, including mcclellan, was that they neglected to explain the importance of the emergence of rifled muskets in the crimean war, and how that would require fundamental changes in tactics for the coming civil war.The army adopted mcclellan’s cavalry manual and also his design for a saddle, the “mcclellan saddle”, which he claimed to have seen used by hussars in prussia and hungary. It became standard issue for as long as the u.S. Horse cavalry existed and is currently used for ceremoniesmcclellan resigned his commission january 16, 1857, and, capitalising on his experience with railroad assessment, became chief engineer and vice president of the illinois central railroad and also president of the ohio and mississippi railroad in 1860. 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. But despite his successes and lucrative salary of $10,000 per year, he was frustrated with civilian employment and continued to study classical military strategy assiduously. During the utah war against the mormons, he considered rejoining the army. He also considered service as a filibuster in support of benito jurez in mexico.Before the outbreak of civil war, mcclellan became active in politics, supporting the presidential campaign of democrat stephen a. Douglas in the 1860 election. 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.In october 1859 mcclellan was able to resume his courtship of ellen marcy, and they were married in calvary church, new york city, on may 22, 1860.At the start of the civil war, mcclellan’s knowledge of what was called “big war science” and his railroad experience implied he would excel at military logistics. This placed him in great demand as the union mobilised. 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 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. Unlike some of his fellow union officers who came from abolitionist families, he was opposed to federal interference with slavery. So some of his southern colleagues approached him informally about siding with the confederacy, but he could not accept the concept of secession.On may 3 1861, mcclellan re-entered federal service by being named commander of the department of the ohio, responsible for the states of ohio, indiana, illinois, and, later, western pennsylvania, western virginia, and missouri. On may 14, he was commissioned a major general in the regular army. At age 34 he now outranked everyone in the army other than lieutenant general winfield scott, the general in chief. Mcclellan’s rapid promotion was partly because of his acquaintance with salmon p. Chase, treasury secretary and former ohio governor and senator.As mcclellan scrambled to process the thousands of men who were volunteering for service and to set up training camps, he also set his mind toward grand strategy. He wrote a letter to gen. Scott on april 27, four days after assuming command in ohio, that was the first proposal for a unified strategy for the war. It contained two alternatives, both with a prominent role for himself as commander. The first called for 80,000 men to invade virginia through the kanawha valley toward richmond. The second called for those same men to drive south instead across the ohio river into kentucky and tennessee. However: scott dismissed both plans as being logistically infeasible. 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. This plan, which would have demanded considerable patience on the part of the northern public, was derided in newspapers as the anaconda plan, but eventually proved to be the successful outline used to prosecute the war. Mcclellan’s first military operations would concern the occupation of the area of western virginia, which had wished to remain in the union and later became the state of west virginia. He had received intelligence reports on may 26 that the critical baltimore and ohio railroad bridges in that portion of the state were being burned. 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. “notwithstanding all that has been said by the traitors to induce you to believe that our advent among you will be signalised 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.” he quickly realised that he had overstepped his bounds and apologised by letter to president lincoln. The controversy was not that his proclamation was diametrically opposed to the administration’s policy at the time, but that he was so bold in stepping beyond his strictly military role.His forces moved rapidly into the area through grafton and were victorious at the tiny skirmish called the battle of philippi races, arguably the first land conflict of the war. His first personal command in battle was at rich mountain, which he also won, but only after displaying a strong sense of caution and a reluctance to commit reserve forces that would be his hallmark for the rest of his career. His subordinate commander, william s. Rosecrans, bitterly complained that his attack was not reinforced as mcclellan had agreed. Nevertheless, these two minor victories propelled mcclellan to the status of national hero. The new york herald entitled an article about him, “general mcclellan, the napoleon of the present war.” after the defeat and, rout of the union forces at bull run on july 21, 1861, lincoln summoned mcclellan from west virginia, where mcclellan had given the north the only actions thus far having a semblance of military victories. He travelled by special train on the main pennsylvania line from wheeling through pittsburgh, philadelphia, and baltimore, and on to washington, d.C., and was overwhelmed by enthusiastic crowds that met his train along the way. 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 defence of washington. 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. During the summer and fall, mcclellan brought a high degree of organisation to his new army, and greatly improved its morale by his frequent trips to review and encourage his units. It was a remarkable achievement, in which he came to personify the army of the potomac and reaped the adulation of his men. He created defences for washington that were almost impregnable, consisting of 48 forts and strong points, with 480 guns manned by 7,200 artillerists. The army of the potomac grew in number from 50,000 in july to 168,000 in november and was considered by far the most colossal military unit the world had seen in modern historical times. However: this was also a time of tension in the high command, as he continued to quarrel frequently with the government and the general-in-chief, lieutenant general scott, on matters of strategy. Mcclellan rejected the tenets of scott’s anaconda plan, favouring instead an overwhelming grand battle, in the napoleonic style. He proposed that his army should be expanded to 273,000 men and 600 guns and “crush the rebels in one campaign.” he favoured a war that would impose little impact on civilian populations and require no emancipation of slaves.Mcclellan’s antipathy to emancipation added to the pressure on him, as he received bitter criticism from radical republicans in the government. He viewed slavery as an institution recognised in the constitution, and entitled to federal protection wherever it existed (lincoln held the same public position until august 1862). Mcclellan’s writings after the war were typical of many northerners: “i confess to a prejudice in favour of my own race, & can’t learn to like the odour of either billy goats or niggers.” but in november 1861, he wrote to his wife, “i will, if successful, throw my sword onto the scale to force an improvement in the condition of those poor blacks.” 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. But he made no secret of his opposition to the radical republicans. He told ellen, “i will not fight for the abolitionists.” this placed him at an obvious handicap because many politicians running the government believed that he was attempting to implement the policies of the opposition party.The immediate problem with mcclellan’s war strategy was that he was convinced the confederates were ready to attack him with overwhelming numbers. On august 8, believing that the confederates had over 100,000 troops facing him (in contrast to the 35,000 they actually deployed at bull run a few weeks earlier), he declared a state of emergency in the capital. By august 19, he estimated 150,000 enemy to his front. Mcclellan’s future campaigns would be 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. The result was a level of extreme caution that sapped the initiative of mcclellan’s army and caused great condemnation by his government. Historian and biographer stephen w. Sears has called mcclellan’s actions “essentially sound” if he had been as outnumbered as he believed, but mcclellan in fact rarely had less than a two-to-one advantage over his opponents in 1861 and 1862. That fall, for example, confederate forces ranged from 35,000 to 60,000, whereas the army of the potomac in september numbered 122,000 men; in early december 170,000; by year end, 192,000.The dispute with scott would become very personal. Scott along with many in the war department, were outraged that mcclellan refused to divulge any details about his strategic planning, or even mundane details such as troop strengths and dispositions. For his part, mcclellan claimed not to trust anyone in the administration to keep his plans secret from the press, and thus the enemy. During disagreements about defencive forces on the potomac river, mcclellan wrote to his wife on august 10 in a manner that would characterise some of his more private correspondence: “genl scott is the great obstaclehe will not comprehend the danger & is either a traitor, or an incompetent. I have to fight my way against him.” scott became so disillusioned over his relationship with the young general that he offered his resignation to president lincoln, who initially refused to accept it. Rumours travelled through the capital that mcclellan might resign, or instigate a military coup, if scott were not removed. Lincoln’s cabinet met on october 18 and agreed to accept scott’s resignation for “reasons of health.”on november 1, 1861, winfield scott retired and mcclellan became general in chief of all the union armies. The president expressed his concern about the “vast labour” involved in the dual role of army commander and general in chief, but mcclellan responded, with an over inflated comment, typical of the young general, “i can do it all.”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. The union defeat at the minor battle of ball’s bluff near leesburg in october added to the frustration and indirectly damaged mcclellan. In december, the congress formed a joint committee on the conduct of the war, which became a thorn in the side of many generals throughout the war, accusing them of incompetence and, in some cases, treason. Mcclellan was called as the first witness on december 23, but he contracted typhoid fever and could not attend. 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.Mcclellan received further damage 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, visiting at mcclellan’s house, by making him wait for 30 minutes, only to be told that the general had gone to bed and could not see him.On january 10, lincoln met with top generals without mcclellan 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.Two more crises would hit mcclellan before he could implement his plans. 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. Mcclellan retooled his plan so that his troops would disembark at fort monroe, virginia, and advance up the virginia peninsula to richmond, an operation that would be known as the peninsula campaign. However, mcclellan came under extreme criticism from the press and the congress when it was found that johnston’s forces had not only slipped away unnoticed, but had for months fooled the union army through the use of logs painted black to appear as cannons, nicknamed quaker guns. The 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 manoeuvre. The second crisis was the emergence of the confederate ironclad css virginia, which threw washington into a panic and made naval support operations on the james river seem problematic.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. Lincoln’s order was ambiguous as to whether mcclellan might be restored following a successful campaign. In fact, his position was not filled by another officer. Lincoln, stanton, and a group of officers called the “war board” directed the strategic actions of the union armies that spring. 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.”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 when he discovered that the confederates had fortified a line across the peninsula, causing him to decide on a siege of the city, which required considerable preparation.Mcclellan continued to believe intelligence reports that credited the confederates with two or three times the men they actually had. Early in the campaign, confederate general john b. “prince john” magruder defended the peninsula against mcclellan’s advance with a vastly smaller force. He created a false impression of many troops behind the lines and of even more troops arriving. He accomplished this by marching small groups of men repeatedly past places where they could be observed at a distance or were just out of sight, accompanied by great noise and fanfare. During this time, general johnston was able to provide magruder with reinforcements, but even then there were far fewer troops than mcclellan believed were opposite him.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. Mcclellan was thus required to give chase without any benefit of the heavy artillery so carefully amassed in front of yorktown. The battle of williamsburg on may 5 is considered a union victorymcclellan’s firstbut the confederate army was not destroyed and a bulk of their troops were successfully moved past williamsburg to richmond’s outer defences while it was waged, and over the next several days.Mcclellan had also placed hopes on a simultaneous naval approach to richmond via the james river. That approach failed following the union navy’s defeat at the battle of drewry’s bluff, about 7 miles (11 km) downstream from the confederate capital, on may 15. Basing artillery on a strategic bluff high above a bend in the river, and sinking boats to create an impassable series of obstacles in the river itself, the confederates had effectively blocked this potential approach to richmond. Mcclellan’s army cautiously inched towards richmond over the next three weeks, coming to within four miles of it. 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.On may 31, as mcclellan planned an assault, his army was surprised by a confederate attack. Johnston saw that the union army was split in half by the rain-swollen chickahominy river and hoped to defeat it in detail at seven pines and fair oaks. Mcclellan was unable to command the army personally because of a recurrence of malarial fever, but his subordinates were able to repel the attacks. Nevertheless, mcclellan received criticism from washington for not counterattacking, which some believed could have opened the city of richmond to capture. General johnston was wounded, by shrapnel in the battle, and general robert e. Lee assumed command of the army of virginia. Mcclellan spent the next three weeks repositioning his troops and waiting for promised reinforcements, losing valuable time as lee continued to strengthen richmond’s defences.At the end of june, lee began a series of attacks that became known as the seven days battles. The first major battle, at mechanicsville, was poorly coordinated by lee and his subordinates and caused heavy casualties for little tactical gain. But the battle had significant impact on mcclellan’s nerve. The surprise appearance of major general stonewall jackson’s troops in the battle when they had last been reported to be many miles away in the shenandoah valley. This arrival absolutely convinced mcclellan that he was even more significantly outnumbered than he had assumed. His report to washington, stated that he now faced 200,000 confederates. The actual number facing the union forces would only a fraction, of mcclellan thoughts, actually some 85,000.Comprised the entire confederate army. As lee continued his offencive at gaines’ mill to the east, mcclellan played a passive role, taking no initiative and waiting for events to unfold. He kept two thirds of his army out of action, fooled again by magruder’s theatrical diversionary tactics. That night, he decided to withdraw his army to a safer base, well below richmond, on a portion of the james river that was under control of the union navy. In doing so, he may have unwittingly saved his army. 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 twenty four hours. By falling back, mcclellan was also tacitly acknowledging that he would no longer be able to invest richmond, the object of his campaign; the heavy siege artillery required would be almost impossible to transport without the railroad connections available from his original supply base on the york river. In a telegram to secretary of war edwin stanton, reporting on these events, mcclellan blamed the lincoln administration for his reversals. “if i save this army now, i tell you plainly i owe no thanks to you or to any other persons in washington. You have done your best to sacrifice this army.” mcclellan was also fortunate that the failure of the campaign left his army mostly intact, because he was generally absent from the fighting and neglected to name a second-in-command to control his retreat. 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. 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.” during the engagement at glendale, mcclellan was five miles away behind malvern hill, without telegraph communications and too distant to command the army. During the battle of malvern hill, he was on a gunboat, the u.S.S. Galena, which at one point was ten miles away down the james river. During both battles, effective command of the army fell to his friend and v corps commander brigadier general fitz john porter. When the public heard about the galena, it was yet another enormous embarrassment, comparable to the quaker guns at manassas. Editorial cartoons during the 1864 presidential campaign would lampoon mcclellan for preferring the safety of a ship while a battle was fought in the distance.Mcclellan was reunited with his army at harrison’s landing on the james. Debates were held as to whether the army should be evacuated or attempt to resume an offencive toward richmond. Mcclellan maintained his estrangement from abraham lincoln by his continuous 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. He concluded by implying he should be restored as general in chief, but lincoln responded by naming major general henry w. Halleck to the post without consulting, or even informing, mcclellan. Lincoln and stanton also offered command of the army of the potomac to major general ambrose burnside, who refused the appointment.Back in washington, a reorganisation of units created the army of virginia under major general john pope, who was directed to advance towards richmond from the northeast. Mcclellan resisted calls to reinforce pope’s army and delayed return of the army of the potomac from the peninsula enough so that the reinforcements arrived while the northern virginia campaign was already underway. He wrote to his wife before the battle, “pope will be thrashed … & be disposed of [by lee]. … Such a villain as he is ought to bring defeat upon any cause that employs him.” lee had assessed mcclellan’s offencive nature and gambled on removing significant units from the peninsula to attack pope, with the newly titled army of northern virginia. Pope would be beaten decisively at second bull run in august.After the defeat of pope at second bull run, president lincoln reluctantly returned to the man who had mended a broken army before. He realised that mcclellan was a strong organiser and a skilled trainer of troops, able to recombine the units of pope’s army with the army of the potomac faster than anyone. On september 2, 1862, lincoln named mcclellan to command “the fortifications of washington, and all the troops for the defence of the capital.” the appointment was controversial in the cabinet, a majority of whom signed a petition declaring to the president “our deliberate opinion that, at this time, it is not safe to entrust to major general mcclellan the command of any army of the united states.” the president admitted that it was like “curing the bite with the hair of the dog.” but lincoln told his secretary, john hay, “we must use what tools we have. 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. If he can’t fight himself, he excels in making others ready to fight.”northern fears of a continued offencive by robert e. Lee were realised, with shock when he launched his maryland campaign on september 4, hoping to arouse pro-southern sympathy in the slave state of maryland. Mcclellan’s pursuit began on september 5. He marched toward maryland with six of his reorganised corps, about 84,000 men, while leaving two corps behind to defend washington. Lee divided his forces into multiple columns, spread apart widely as he moved into maryland and also manoeuvred to capture the federal arsenal at harpers ferry. This was a risky move for a smaller army, but lee was counting on his knowledge of mcclellan’s temperament. He told one of his generals, “he is an able general but a very cautious one. His army is in a very demoralised and chaotic condition, and will not be prepared for offencive operationsor he will not think it sofor three or four weeks. Before that time i hope to be on the susquehanna.” this was not a completely accurate assessment, but mcclellan’s army was moving lethargically, averaging only 6 miles a day.However, mcclellan soon received a miraculous break of fortune. Union soldiers accidentally found a copy of lee’s orders dividing his army, wrapped around a package of cigars in an abandoned camp. They delivered the order to mcclellan’s headquarters in frederick on september 13. Upon realising the intelligence value of this discovery, mcclellan threw up his arms and exclaimed, “now i know what to do!” he waved the order at his old army friend, brigadier gen.Eral john gibbon, and said, “here is a paper with which if i cannot whip bobbie lee, i will be willing to go home.” he telegraphed president lincoln: “i have the whole rebel force in front of me, but i am confident, and no time shall be lost. I think lee has made a gross mistake, and that he will be severely punished for it. I have all the plans of the rebels, and will catch them in their own trap if my men are equal to the emergency. … Will send you trophies.”despite this show of bravado, mcclellan continued his cautious line. After telegraphing to the president at noon on september 13, rather than ordering his units to set out for the south mountain passes immediately, he ordered them to depart the following morning. The 18 hours of delay allowed lee time to react, because he received intelligence from a confederate sympathiser that mcclellan knew of his plans. The delay also doomed the federal garrison at harpers ferry because the relief column mcclellan sent could not reach them before they surrendered to stonewall jackson. In the battle of south mountain, mcclellan’s army was able to punch through the defended passes that separated them from lee, but also gave lee enough time to concentrate many of his men at sharpsburg, maryland. The union army reached antietam creek, to the east of sharpsburg, on the evening of september 15. A planned attack on september 16 was put off because of early morning fog, allowing lee to prepare his defences with an army less than half the size of mcclellan’s.The battle of antietam on september 17, 1862, was the single bloodiest day in american military history. The outnumbered confederate forces fought desperately and well. 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, centre, and finally the right. And mcclellan was unwilling to employ his ample reserve forces to capitalise on localised successes. The reason for mcclellan’s reluctance was that, as in previous battles, he was convinced he was outnumbered.The battle was tactically inconclusive, although lee technically was defeated because he withdrew first from the battlefield and retreated back to virginia. Mcclellan wired to washington, “our victory was complete. The enemy is driven back into virginia.” yet there was obvious disappointment that mcclellan had not crushed lee, who was fighting with a smaller army with its back to the potomac river. 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. However: these were localised problems from which the full army could have recovered. 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. He made no use of his cavalry forces for reconnaissance. He did not share his overall battle plans with his corps commanders, which prevented them from using initiative outside of their sectors. And he was far too willing to accept cautious advice about saving his reserves, such as when a significant breakthrough in the centre of the confederate line could have been exploited, but fitz john porter is said to have told mcclellan, “remember, general, i command the last reserve of the last army of the republic.”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. Although lincoln had intended to issue the proclamation earlier, he was advised by his cabinet to wait until a union victory to avoid the perception that it was issued out of desperation. The union victory and lincoln’s proclamation played a considerable role in dissuading the governments of france and britain from recognising the confederacy; some suspected they were planning to do so in the aftermath of another union defeat. Mcclellan had no prior knowledge that the plans for emancipation rested on his battle performance.When mcclellan failed to pursue lee aggressively after antietam, lincoln ordered that he be removed from command on november 5. And, replaced by major general ambrose burnside who, assumed command of the army of the potomac on november 7. Mcclellan wrote to his wife, “those in whose judgement i rely tell me that i fought the battle splendidly and that it was a masterpiece of art. … I feel i have done all that can be asked in twice saving the country. … I feel some little pride in having, with a beaten & demoralised army, defeated lee so utterly. … Well, one of these days history will i trust do me justice.”secretary stanton ordered mcclellan to report to trenton, new jersey, for further orders, although none were issued. As the war progressed, there were various calls to return little mac 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, major general jubal early threatened washington in 1864. When ulysses s. Grant became general in chief, he discussed returning mcclellan to an unspecified position. But all of these opportunities were impossible, given the opposition within the administration and the knowledge that mcclellan posed a potential political threat. Mcclellan worked for months on a lengthy report describing his two major campaigns and his successes in organising the army, replying to his critics and justifying his actions by accusing the administration of undercutting him and denying him necessary reinforcements. The war department was reluctant to publish his report because, just after completing it in october 1863, mcclellan openly declared his entrance to the political stage as a democrat.Mcclellan was nominated by the democrats to run against abraham lincoln in the 1864 u.S. Presidential election. 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. He supported continuation of the war and restoration of the union, but the party platform, written by copperhead clement vallandigham of ohio, was opposed to this position. The platform called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a negotiated settlement with the confederacy. Mcclellan was forced to repudiate the platform, which made his campaign inconsistent and difficult. He also was not helped by the party’s choice for vice president, george h. Pendleton, a peace candidate from ohio.The deep division in the party, the unity of the republicans running under the label “national union party” and, the military successes by union forces in the fall of 1864 doomed mcclellan’s candidacy. Lincoln won the election handily, with 212 electoral college votes to 21 and a popular vote of 403,000, or 55%. While mcclellan was highly popular among the troops when he was commander, they voted for lincoln over him by margins of 3-1 or higher. Lincoln’s share of the vote in the army of the potomac was 70%.After the war, mcclellan and his family departed for a lengthy trip to europe from 1865 to 1868, during which he did not participate in politics. When he returned, the democratic party expressed some interest in nominating him for president again, but when it became clear that ulysses s. Grant would be the republican candidate, this interest died. Mcclellan worked on engineering projects in new york city and was offered the position of president of the newly formed university of california. Mcclellan was appointed chief engineer of the new york city department of docks in 1870. Evidently the position did not demand his full-time attention because, starting in 1872, he also served as the president of the atlantic and great western railroad. He and his family returned to europe from 1873 to 1875.In march 1877, mcclellan was nominated by governor lucius robinson to be the first superintendent of public works but was rejected by the new york state senate as being “incompetent for the position.”in 1877, mcclellan was nominated by the democrats for governor of new jersey, an action that took him by surprise because he had not expressed an interest in the position. He was elected and served a single term from 1878 to 1881, a tenure marked by careful, conservative executive management and minimal political rancor. The concluding chapter of his political career was his strong support in 1884 for the election of grover cleveland. He hoped to be named secretary of war in cleveland’s cabinet, a position for which he was well suited, but political rivals from new jersey were able to block his nomination.Mcclellan’s final years were devoted to traveling and writing. He justified his military career in mcclellans own story, published posthumously in 1887. He died unexpectedly at age 58 at orange, new jersey, after having suffered from chest pains for a few weeks. His final words, at 3 a.M., october 29, 1885, were, “i feel easy now. Thank you.” he is buried at riverview cemetery, trenton, new jersey.
