The Mexican War Diary and Correspondence of George B. Mcclellan

The Mexican War Diary and Correspondence of George B. McClellan comprises the Mexican War letters and diary of Brevet Second Lt. George B. McClellan, who graduated in the West Point class of 1846, the last class to graduate before the outbreak of the war. Ranking number two in his class, he was posted to the prestigious Corps of Engineers and appointed second lieutenant of the only formation of combat engineers in the United States Army. The company accompanied Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott's army of invasion in Mexico, playing a prominent role in the siege of Vera Cruz and numerous important battles, and in the capture of Mexico City. ¶ McClellan's diary and letters to his socially and politically prominent Philadelphia family are rich in the military details of the campaign, and provide insights into the character of his fellow Engineers (including Robert E. Lee and P. G. T. Beauregard), and the friction that arose between the professional soldiers and the officers and men of the volunteer regiments that made up Scott's command. ¶ They also reveal much about the character of "the young Napoleon," reflecting the talent, the ambition, and the arrogance that characterized the engineer, businessman, soldier, and politician that he was to become.