General George B. McClellan

Born in Philadelphia on December 3, 1826, McClellan graduated second in his class from West Point in 1846.

He earned two brevets during the Mexican War serving under Winfield Scott. Finding promotions to be slow in the army, he transferred to the cavalry, even designing a saddle that was to be widely used by the cavalry.

In 1857, he resigned from the army and took a position with the Illinois Central Railroad, and became a political supporter of Stephen Douglas in his 1858 Senate race.

He reentered the army with the rank of Major General and was appointed to head the Union Army of the Potomac in July of 1861, after the Union loss at the first Battle of Bull Run.

Almost immediately, he began a successful campaign to undermine and replace Winfield Scott as Commander in Chief of the Union Armies.

With about 100,000 troops at his command, he was pressured to advance on Richmond. He didn’t advance, and refused even to discuss his plans with civilian authorities.

In December of 1861, he contracted typhoid, which further delayed any Union advance, while calls for a Union move intensified. On January 6, 1862, President Lincoln called a special Cabinet meeting with top generals and members of the Committee on the Conduct of the War. Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase, later a strong critic of McClellan, defended him at this meeting, arguing that McClellan had taken on too much.

Finally, in March of 1862, McClellan began an advance on Richmond. Movement was slow, and McClellan suffered defeats in the Seven Days Battles, from June 25 to July 1, 1862. He was criticized for never going near an actual battle, and for having a habit of overestimating the strength of the Confederates.

While most of the battles fought during McClellan’s move toward Richmond were Union victories, but the overall result of the campaign was negative due to McClellan’s lack of aggression.

McClellan had an ability to secure the loyalty of those who served under him even as he alienated the civilians who had authority over him. The result was friction between himself, the President, and the Committee on the Conduct of the War.

Lincoln transferred most of McClellan’s men to General Pope, and named Pope as Commander in Chief of the Union Army

Animosity between the generals serving under McClellan and General John Pope was said to have contributed to the Union defeat at the second Battle of Bull Run in August of 1862, yet, with Pope defeated at Bull Run, McClellan was restored to command over the Union Army.

In the Maryland campaign, McClellan advanced to confront Confederate General Robert E. Lee in the western part of the state, assisted by information received when one of his men found a copy of Lee’s battle plans, yet he failed to pursue the Confederates, opting instead to reconcentrate his own troops.

For failing to pursue the Confederate army, McLellan was relieved of his command by President Lincoln on November 5, 1862.

As McClellan was opposed to emancipation, his loyalty came under question by the Committee on the Conduct of the War, but no charges were filed.

He was a Democratic candidate for President in 1864, even though he opposed his own party’s anti-war platform. Although popular, the split within his own party helped to secure Lincoln’s reelection. Winning only three states, McClellan resigned from the army days after the election.

He served as Governor of New Jersey in the late 1870s and early 1880s. He died on October 29, 1885.