McClellan, George Brinton (1826-1885), served for a time as the general in chief of the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861-1865). He was a brilliant organizer and trainer of troops and a scholar of military strategy. McClellan was called “Young Napoleon” after the famous French military genius Napoleon I. Some authorities rank McClellan as a great general, but most believe he was too cautious on the battlefield. In 1864, McClellan was the Democratic candidate for president. He lost to his Republican opponent, Abraham Lincoln.
Military career.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, McClellan became a major general in command of Ohio volunteers. After becoming a major general in the Regular Army, he cleared western Virginia of Confederate forces. In the summer of 1861, he took command of the Union Army in the East, which became known as the Army of the Potomac. In November 1861, he became general in chief of all armies. President Lincoln grew impatient because McClellan did not move against the Confederates. He relieved him as supreme general in March 1862. McClellan remained an Army commander.
McClellan finally advanced in the spring of 1862, moving against Richmond from the east in the Peninsular Campaign. After fighting at Williamsburg and Fair Oaks, he drew close to Richmond. The Confederates, under General Robert E. Lee, then attacked him in the Battles of the Seven Days and drove him back to Harrison’s Landing on the James River. Washington authorities then transferred his army to northern Virginia, uniting most of his troops temporarily with a force under General John Pope’s command. After Pope’s defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run, or Manassas, McClellan became head of all troops in the Washington area.
McClellan led his army into Maryland to meet a Confederate invasion. The two armies clashed in the Battle of Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862, the bloodiest day of the war. About 12,500 Northerners and almost 11,000 Southerners were killed or wounded in the battle. McClellan forced the Confederates to retreat, but he did not immediately pursue them. His delay angered Lincoln. Lincoln replaced McClellan with General Ambrose Burnside in November 1862, and McClellan’s military career was ended.
Other activities.
McClellan was born on Dec. 3, 1826, in Philadelphia. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1846, second in his class. He served in the Mexican War (1846-1848) and went to Europe in 1855 to study European military systems. In 1857, McClellan became chief engineer of the Illinois Central Railroad. He became vice president of that railroad, and later served as president of a division of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad. McClellan was governor of New Jersey from 1878 to 1881. He died on Oct. 29, 1885.
