George B. McClellan

George B. McClellan
Photograph by Mathew Brady, 1861
24th Governor of New Jersey
In office January 15, 1878 – January 18, 1881
Preceded by	Joseph D. Bedle
Succeeded by	George C. Ludlow
Commanding General of the U.S. Army
In office November 1, 1861 – March 11, 1862
President	Abraham Lincoln
Preceded by	Winfield Scott
Succeeded by	Henry Halleck
Personal details
Born	George Brinton McClellan (1826-12-03)December 3, 1826 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	October 29, 1885(1885-10-29) (aged 58) West Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
Resting place	Riverview Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Ellen Mary Marcy ​ (m. 1860)​
Relatives	George McClellan (father) Randolph B. Marcy (father-in-law) George B. McClellan Jr. (son and mayor of New York City)
Education	United States Military Academy (BS)
Signature
Nicknames	Little Mac The Young Napoleon[1]
Military service
Allegiance	United States (Union)
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1846–1857 1861–1864
Rank	Major General
Commands	Department of the Ohio Army of the Potomac
Battles/wars	Mexican-American War American Civil War Battle of Rich Mountain Peninsula Campaign Seven Days Battles Maryland campaign Battle of South Mountain Battle of Antietam

George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey and as Commanding General of the United States Army from November 1861 to March 1862. He was also an engineer, and was chief engineer and vice president of the Illinois Central Railroad, and later president of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad in 1860.

A West Point graduate, McClellan served with distinction during the Mexican–American War before leaving the United States Army to serve as a railway executive and engineer until the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. Early in the conflict, McClellan was appointed to the rank of major general and played an important role in raising the Army of the Potomac, which served in the Eastern Theater.

McClellan organized and led the Union Army in the Peninsula campaign in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862. It was the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. Making an amphibious clockwise turning movement around the Confederate Army in northern Virginia, McClellan's forces turned west to move up the Virginia Peninsula, between the James River and York River, landing from Chesapeake Bay, with the Confederate capital, Richmond, as their objective. Initially, McClellan was somewhat successful against General Joseph E. Johnston, but the emergence of General Robert E. Lee to command the Army of Northern Virginia turned the subsequent Seven Days Battles into a Union defeat. However, historians note that Lee's victory was in many ways pyrrhic as he failed to destroy the Army of the Potomac and suffered a bloody repulse at Malvern Hill.

McClellan and President Abraham Lincoln developed a mutual distrust, and McClellan was privately derisive of Lincoln. He was removed from command in November, in the aftermath of the 1862 midterm elections. A major contributing factor in this decision was McClellan's failure to pursue Lee's army following the tactically inconclusive but strategic Union victory at the Battle of Antietam outside Sharpsburg, Maryland. He never received another field command and went on to become the unsuccessful Democratic Party nominee in the 1864 presidential election against the Republican Lincoln. The effectiveness of his campaign was damaged when McClellan repudiated his party's platform, which promised an end to the war and negotiations with the Confederacy. He served as the governor of New Jersey from 1878 to 1881; in McClellan's later writings, he vigorously defended his Civil War conduct.