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. Add an answer. 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. [113], 1864 Democratic National Convention:[114], New Jersey gubernatorial election, 1877:[115], "George McClellan" redirects here. Peninsula Campaign. The armies struggled to a . Unlike some of his fellow Union officers who came from abolitionist families, he was opposed to federal interference with slavery. In June 1862, Union soldiers could spot the steeples of Richmond off to the distance. His subordinate commander, William S. Rosecrans, bitterly complained that his attack was not reinforced as McClellan had agreed. 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. Despite his successes and lucrative salary ($10,000 per year), he was frustrated with civilian employment and continued to study classical military strategy assiduously. Well, one of these days history will I trust do me justice. However, Gene Thorp in a 2012 article in The Washington Post cited evidence that the vanguard of Army of the Potomac was in motion all day on the 13th due to orders McClellan had issued the previous day. Upon realizing the intelligence value of this discovery, McClellan threw up his arms and exclaimed, "Now I know what to do!" He telegraphed President Lincoln: "I have the whole rebel force in front of me, but I am confident, and no time shall be lost. [4] The couple had five children: Frederica, John, George, Arthur and Mary. 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. In the battle of Malvern Hill, he was on a gunboat, the USSGalena, which at one point was ten miles (16km) away, down the James River. The surprise appearance of Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson's troops in the battle (when they had last been reported to be many miles away in the Shenandoah Valley) convinced McClellan that he was even more outnumbered than he had thought. During his administration, two companies were equipped with Gatling guns, a new battalion was organized, regular rifle practice was instituted, and provisions were made to supply new uniforms. [68], Meanwhile, Union soldiers accidentally found a copy of Lee's orders dividing his army, wrapped around a package of cigars in an abandoned camp. 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. 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. George B. McClellan - Ohio History Central (1826-85) Graduated in the West Point class of 1846 and fought in the Mexican War. He began to write another draft of what would be published posthumously, in 1887, as McClellan's Own Story. George B. McClellan, Ambrose Powell Hill, Darius Nash Couch, George Edward Pickett, Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox, and George Stoneman. Thank you." "[34] 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." McClellan supported continuation of the war and restoration of the Union, but not the abolition of slavery, although the party platform, written by Copperhead leader Clement Vallandigham of Ohio, was opposed to that position. He complained that he had arrived too late to take any part in the American victory at Monterrey in September. 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. [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. 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 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. 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. 2014-05-09 14:23:23. McClellan's wife, Ellen, died in Nice, France, in 1915 while visiting Mary at her home "Villa Antietam".[93][94]. McClellan would leave two corps behind to defend Washington. Not only did McClellan's decision allow the Federals to gain control of the time and place for the battles that took place in late June and early July, it enabled them to fight in a way that inflicted terrible beating on the Confederate army.More importantly, by the end of the Seven Days Battles, McClellan had dramatically improved his operational situation."[55]. He created a false impression of many troops behind the lines and of even more troops arriving. 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. McClellan's daughter, Mary ("May") (18611945), married a French diplomat and spent much of her life abroad. "[45] On January 12, 1862, McClellan was summoned to the White House, where the Cabinet demanded to hear his war plans. At age 34, he outranked everyone in the Army except Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott, the general-in-chief. Many historians argue that he was talented in this aspect. McClellan's pursuit began on September 5. This placed him in great demand as the Union mobilized. 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. The governors of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, the three largest states of the Union, actively pursued him to command their states' militia. 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. He called a council of war at the White House in which McClellan's subordinates were asked about their confidence in the Urbanna plan. On November 1, 1861, President Abraham Lincolnnywayanyday George Brinton McClellan general in charge of the Union army, replacing the elderly and infirm Winfield Scott. 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. [61] Lincoln and Stanton also offered command of the Army of the Potomac to Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside, who refused the appointment.[62]. On May 31, as McClellan planned an assault, his army was surprised by a Confederate attack. His nomination was largely an effort by key party members to prevent the leading candidate, Leon Abbett, from gaining the nomination. MG George B. McClellan (1861-1862) MG Henry W. Halleck (1862-1864) . 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". 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. [102] His original draft was completed in 1881, but the only copy was destroyed by fire. [6] After two years at the university, he changed his goal to military service. Gen. George B. McClellan, his wife, infant daughter, nurse, and mother-in-law at his headquarters near Alexandria, Va.Courtesy Brian C. Pohanka, Alexandria, VA. After the disastrous Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run the same month, McClellan was placed in command of what was to become the Army of the Potomac. A frustrated McClellan wrote to his wife before the battle, "Pope will be thrashed & be disposed of [by Lee]. Upon graduation, George McClellan was appointed 2nd Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. allowing approximately 200,000 Black soldiers to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War. [90], Most likely due to his personal popularity and celebrity, McClellan's inauguration was held outdoors to accommodate the large crowd. [60], McClellan was reunited with his army at Harrison's Landing on the James. He graduating second in his class of 59 in 1846. He served as the 24th Governor of New Jersey from 1878 to 1881; he eventually became a writer, and vigorously defended his Civil War conduct. 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. 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. George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 - October 29, 1885) was a major general during the Civil War, famous (and notorious) for organizing and commanding the Army of the Potomac. Bailey, Ronald H., and the Editors of Time-Life Books. 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. [90] McClellan's administration was marked by caution and conservatism. CIVIL WAR UNION GENERAL GEORGE MEADE ~ J. E. McCLEES-PHILADELPHIA ~ c. - 1863 . On November 1, 1861, Winfield Scott retired and McClellan became general-in-chief of all the Union armies. Beginning in 1872, he also served as the president of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad. 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