When the Civil War erupted, McClellan re-enlisted and, after proving himself to be an efficient organizer and some success in West Virginia, President Lincoln named him Major General commanding the Army and Department of the Potomac. He successfully reorganized a disjointed and poorly disciplined Army of the Potomac gaining the respect and approval of his men.
Unfortunately, like many engineers whose design tolerances far outstrip any real stresses, he was reluctant to put his army into action even when it vastly outnumbered its opposition. After defeating General Lee at the Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862, he refused to follow up and chose to halt the Army of the Potomac and allow it to recover from the bloodiest single day battle in US history. Lincoln removed McClellan of his command believing McClellan’s reluctance to use the army he had been given was snatching defeat from jaws of victory and drawing out the war. McClellan was sent home to New Jersey to await orders that never came.
In 1864, the Democrats nominated him for President. He lost, receiving only 21 of the then 233 electoral collage votes. He was elected and served as governor of New Jersey from 1878-1881.
NPS Antietam Battlefield
NPS Bio of McClellan
Even in 1864 we had cut-and-run Democrats whose own party was torn apart by disagreement.
The Democratic candidate for president in 1864, he was hampered by the party's plank calling for an end to the war, which was labeled a failure. He himself denounced the plank and was for the rigorous pursuit of victory. At first it appeared that he would defeat Lincoln, but Union victories in the field diminished the public's war weariness. Winning in only three states, he resigned from the army on election day.(Emphasis mine.)
American Civil War: George B. McClellan
No comments:
Post a Comment