Read complete books and articles on: George B. McClellan

Mcclellan, George Brinton - 1826–85, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Philadelphia. After graduating (1846) from West Point, he served with distinction in the Mexican War and later worked on various engineering projects, notably on the survey (1853–54) for a Northern Pacific RR route across the Cascade Range. Resigning from the army in 1857, he was a railroad official until the outbreak of the Civil War. In May, 1861, McClellan was made commander of the Dept. of the Ohio and a major general in the regular army. He cleared the western part of Virginia of Confederates (June–July, 1861) and consequently, after the Union defeat in the first battle of Bull Run, was given command of the troops in and around Washington. In November he became general in chief. The administration, reflecting public opinion, pressed for an early offensive, but McClellan insisted on adequate training and equipment for his army. In Mar., 1862, he was relieved of his supreme command, but he retained command of the Army of the Potomac, with which in Apr., 1862, he initiated the Peninsular campaign. The collapse of this campaign after the Seven Days battles was charged by many to his overcaution. In Aug., 1862, most of McClellan's troops were reassigned to the Army of Virginia under John Pope. After Pope's defeat at the second battle of Bull Run, McClellan again reorganized the Union forces, and in the Antietam campaign he checked Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North. He was slow, however, to follow Lee across the Potomac and in Nov., 1862, was removed from his command. In 1864, McClellan was the Democratic candidate for President, although he rejected the party's peace platform. McClellan's candidacy caused the administration much uneasiness, but President Lincoln was reelected by a substantial majority. McClellan resigned from the army on the day of the election and afterward traveled extensively with his family in Europe. He was later chief engineer of the New York City department of docks and was governor of New Jersey (1878–81). Despite his faults "Little Mack" was an able general and was loved and trusted by his men of the Army of the Potomac. He wrote McClellan's Own Story (1887) in defense of his military record.

See The Civil War Papers of George B. McClellan: Selected Correspondence, 1860–1865 (ed. by S. W. Sears, 1989); biographies by W. S. Myers (1934), H. J. Eckenrode and B. Conrad (1942), and W. W. Hassler, Jr. (1957); T. H. Williams, McClellan, Sherman, and Grant (1962).

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8 of the Best Books and Articles on: George B. McClellan

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1.

George B. McClellan and Civil War History: In the Shadow of Grant and Sherman » Read Now
by Thomas J. Rowland. 252 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

Perhaps no other Union commander's reputation has been the subject of as much controversy as George B. McClellan's. Since the mid-point of this century, however, he has emerged as the complex general who, though gifted with administrative and organizational skills, was unable and unwilling to fight...
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Perhaps no other Union commander's reputation has been the subject of as much controversy as George B. McClellan's. Since the mid-point of this century, however, he has emerged as the complex general who, though gifted with administrative and organizational skills, was unable and unwilling to fight with the splendid army he had created.
Thomas J. Rowland argues that this interpretation rests squarely within the context of general historical verdicts of the way in which the North eventually triumphed. Civil War scholars have found the quality of Union leadership in the early years of the war wanting, and that it was not until U.S. Grant and W. T. Sherman emerged that success was ensured. On the other hand, Grant and Sherman knew failure, but were judged less harshly than was McClellan.
In George B. McClellan and Civil War History Rowland presents a framework in which early Civil War command can be viewed without direct comparison to that of the final two years. Such comparisons, in his opinion, are both unfair and contextually inaccurate. Only by understanding how very different was the context and nature of the war facing McClellan, as opposed to Grant and Sherman, can one discard the traditional "good general-bad general" approach to command performance. In such a light, McClellan's cater, both his shortcomings and accomplishments, can be viewed with clearer perspective.
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2.

George B. McClellan: The Man Who Saved the Union » Read Now
by H. J. Eckenrode, Bryan Conrad. 296 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
3.

Lincoln's War Cabinet (Book Four "The Cabinet and McClellan") » Read Now
by Burton J. Hendrick. 484 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
4.

Abraham Lincoln: A Biography (Chap. XV "McClellan in Command") » Read Now
by Benjamin P. Thomas. 560 pgs.

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5.

McClellan and Halleck at War: The Struggle for Control of the Union War Effort in the West, November 1861-March 1862, in Civil War History » Read Now
by Ethan S. Rafuse. 20 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
6.

Turning Points of the Civil War ("Antietam" begins on p. 97) » Read Now
by James A. Rawley. 240 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
7.

Death in September: The Antietam Campaign ("George B. McClellan" begins on p. 20) » Read Now
by Perry D. Jamieson. 156 pgs.

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8.

Lincoln, Master of Men: A Study in Character (Discussion of George B. McClellan begins on p. 327) » Read Now
by Alonzo Rothschild. 531 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library