McClellan's Own Story : The War for the Union; the Soldiers Who Fought It and the Civilians Who Directed It

1887. And His Relations to It and to Them. The author's account of the Civil War. McClellan, Union general in the American Civil War, graduated from West Point, served with distinction in the Mexican War and later worked on various engineering projects, notably on the survey for a Northern Pacific railroad route across the Cascade Range. Resigning from the army in 1857, he was a railroad official until the outbreak of the Civil War. George McClellan had proven himself to be an efficient organizer with strong personal magnetism. For this reason, and some successes in West Virginia, President Lincoln approved him Major General in the regular army. He was outranked only by General-in-Chief Winfield Scott. He reorganized a disjointed and poorly disciplined army, which gained him the respect and approval of his men. However, his military operations soon became a frustrating series of lost opportunities. He consistently overestimated his opposing forces, and his carefully devised plans were lacking in execution. After the Battle of Antietam, he was ordered to turn over his command to his good friend Ambrose E. Burnside and to go home to New Jersey to await further orders. They never came. He later served as Governor of New Jersey.