Gen. George Brinton McClellan (1826-1885)
Commander-in-Chef of the Union Army (1861-64) & Governor of New Jersey
He was born in Philadelphia and excelled at the University of Pennsylvania before entering West Point Military Academy at age 15, graduating second in his class in 1846. He served with distinction in the Mexican-American War (1846-48), earning brevets for gallantry at Contreras, Churubusco, and Chapultepec. After the war, Lt. McClellan worked on various engineering projects and he served as an official observer of the Crimean War (1853-56) after Russia invaded Ottoman territories which prompted Britain and France to come to the Ottoman's defense. He resigned from the army as a Captain in 1857 to become Chief Engineer and then Vice-President of the Illinois Central Railroad before being named President of the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad in 1860.
On the outbreak of Civil War (1861), he was appointed a Major-General in the Union Army. He achieved early (and politically significant) military victories in western Virginia, which led Lincoln to appoint him Commander of the Army of the Potomac in July 1861, and then Commander-in-Chief of all the Union armies in November. He proved brilliant at organization and training but was criticized for excessive caution and reluctance to engage the enemy. His Peninsula Campaign of 1862 failed to capture Richmond despite numerical superiority, and after the Battle of Antietam (1862), his failure to pursue General Lee's retreating army infuriated Lincoln and he was relieved of his command.
On the outbreak of Civil War (1861), he was appointed a Major-General in the Union Army. He achieved early (and politically significant) military victories in western Virginia, which led Lincoln to appoint him Commander of the Army of the Potomac in July 1861, and then Commander-in-Chief of all the Union armies in November. He proved brilliant at organization and training but was criticized for excessive caution and reluctance to engage the enemy. His Peninsula Campaign of 1862 failed to capture Richmond despite numerical superiority, and after the Battle of Antietam (1862), his failure to pursue General Lee's retreating army infuriated Lincoln and he was relieved of his command.
Controversially, in 1864 McClellan ran as the Democratic Presidential candidate against Abraham Lincoln, but lost decisively with Lincoln winning all but three states, 55% of the popular vote, 212 of 233 electoral votes, and most damaging to McClellan, 78% of the Union Army's vote. Afterwards (1865-1868), he spent three years travelling with his family around Europe, predominantly in Germany, France, and Italy. After his return, he served as Chief Engineer for the New York City Department of Docks (1870-72) and in 1877 was elected the 24th Governor of New Jersey, serving one term. In 1860, in New York City, he married Ellen, daughter of Randolph Barnes Marcy, Brigadier-General in the Union Army, and a maternal granddaughter of General Jonas Mann, of the New York State Militia. They were the parents of only two children (both childless), and he died suddenly in 1885, age 58, at his home "Maywood" (see images), named for his daughter in Orange, New Jersey.
