Portal:Philadelphia/Selected biography/October 2007

George Brinton McClellan

George B. McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the Army of the Potomac and served briefly as general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union. However, although McClellan was meticulous in his planning and preparations, these attributes may have hampered his ability to challenge aggressive opponents in a fast-moving battlefield environment. He chronically overestimated the strength of enemy units and was reluctant to apply principles of mass, frequently leaving large portions of his army unengaged at decisive points. McClellan's Peninsula Campaign in 1862 ended in failure, retreating from attacks by General Robert E. Lee's smaller army. His performance at the Battle of Antietam blunted Lee's invasion of Maryland, but allowed Lee to eke out a precarious tactical draw and avoid destruction. As a result, McClellan's leadership skills during battles were questioned by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, who eventually removed him from command. Despite this, he was the most popular of that army's commanders among its soldiers, who felt that their morale and well-being were his paramount concerns. Although the majority of modern historians assess McClellan poorly as a battlefield general, a small but vocal faction of historians maintain that he was indeed a highly capable commander, and that his reputation suffered unfairly at the hands of pro-Lincoln partisans who needed a scapegoat for the Union's setbacks.