In June of 1861, General George B. McClellan rose to national prominence by his actions in western Virginia. He commanded a small force of Union soldiers that ousted Confederates there and the South could never regain that pro-Unionist section of Virginia which eventually became the state of West Virginia. This was great news in the North and McClellan's name became known in Northern newspapers.
General George B. McClellan was the first commander of the Federal Army of the Potomac.
After the Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run, President Lincoln called Major General George B. McClellan to come to Washington DC and organize the Union army there into a well organized fighting force. Later, after the Union defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run under Major General Pope, McClellan was again asked to command Union armies in the East. Pope had failed and McClellan was put in charge again of the Army of the Potomac. He would again have to deal with the Army of Northern Virginia under the command of Lieutenant General Robert E. Lee.
Command of the Union army was given to George McLellan. The Confederate army was still commanded by Joe Johnston until he was wounded the following spring at Seven Pines, and replaced by Robert E. Lee.
On August 8, 1861 Major General George B. McClellan was alarmed that Washington DC was in serious danger. He informed General in Chief Winfield Scott that the capitol was about to face 100,000 Rebel soldiers. At this time, that was double the size of the Army of the Potomac that McClellan was training. It is believed now that the the source of this vital information was from the Pinkerton detective agency that McClellan had first contacted when he was stationed in Ohio, before President Lincoln called him to Washington DC.
His first daughter: Frederica, and his second daughter: Mary.
McClellan was a Union commander and he repelled general Lee's first Northern invasion.
General George B. McClellan was the first commander of the Federal Army of the Potomac.
Union General George B. McClellan received the battle plans for the Confederate invasion of Maryland on September 13, 1862. He recognized the value of knowing Lee's plans and the opportunity he had to catch and defeat Lee. McClellan immediately informed President Lincoln of this opportunity.
It was in late September that Union General George B. McClellan received the news of Lincoln's first Emancipation Proclamation along with the president's suspension of habea corpus. This was Lincoln's complete repudiation of McClellan's views of the war. McClellan had demanded earlier from Lincoln that slavery would be left alone. Lincoln wanted emancipation. McClellan also had demanded that there be strict limits on military actions against the rights and property of Confederate civilians. Lincoln disagreed.
George McClellan was a major civil war general, initially heading the union forces. He made the first plan for the Union and raised a competent and well trained army. His details were meticulous but unfortunately, he fell victim to aggressive opponents and overestimated enemy strength. He also had issues allocating his forces properly. In addition to his role as general, McClellan was also a candidate for president in 1864.
After the Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run, President Lincoln called Major General George B. McClellan to come to Washington DC and organize the Union army there into a well organized fighting force. Later, after the Union defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run under Major General Pope, McClellan was again asked to command Union armies in the East. Pope had failed and McClellan was put in charge again of the Army of the Potomac. He would again have to deal with the Army of Northern Virginia under the command of Lieutenant General Robert E. Lee.
General Grant, it was not McClellan because he voted against Lincoln in the election. Lincoln 212 McClellan 12.
General McDowell was the first commanding officer of the Union's Army of the Potomac. Under him the Army lost it's first major battle, the battle of Manassas or Bull Run. He was quickly replaced with General George B. McClellan.
Command of the Union army was given to George McLellan. The Confederate army was still commanded by Joe Johnston until he was wounded the following spring at Seven Pines, and replaced by Robert E. Lee.
General George B. McClellan's first noteworthy accomplishment displayed him as a military officer with a high level of ambition and an officer quite willing to accept disappointment. Four days after being commissioned as major general of the Ohio volunteers, he sent off a letter to then General in Chief, Winfield Scott. His letter of April 27, 1861 is noteworthy for being the first strategic plan by a Union general for carrying on the war on a large scale. General Scott had been one of the top military generals on the young USA, and made it clear to McClellan that it was seriously flawed. But it inspired Scott to reply to formulate a strategy of his own. This became the famous Anaconda Plan.
Based on the problems created by Union General George B. McClellan, Halleck was sent to McClellan's headquarters in Eastern Virginia. At his place of retreat, Halleck and Quartermaster General Meigs needed to determine whether the Army of the Potomac needed the 20,000 extra troops McClellan claimed were required to save the Peninsula Campaign. If not, or due some other problem, McClellan would be ordered to return to Northern Virginia.
The newly-promoted Confederate General Robert E. Lee against the Union commander George McClellan. Lee won spectacularly.