Major General George B. McClellan print

Reproduction of Major General George B. McClellan, ca. 1861-1865. McClellan was a prominent 19th century American military and political leader, born December 3, 1826, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1842, McClellan received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in 1846, ranking second in his class. McClellan resigned his army commission in 1857 to become involved in the railroad industry, and using his training in engineering from West Point, he served as an engineer for the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad and the Illinois Central Railroad. During this time, he lived primarily in Cincinnati, Ohio. With the beginning of the American Civil War in April 1861, McClellan reenlisted in the United States Army and played an important role in Ohio's early defense. Early in the war, General McClellan enhanced his reputation as a skillful military leader and was appointed as commander of the Army of the Potomac by President Abraham Lincoln. But after his unsuccessful assault on Richmond, Virginia, and his failure to defeat General Lee’s forces in the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln removed McClellan from his command in November 1862. McClellan never received another military command and later became one of Lincoln’s chief critics. In 1864, the Democratic Party selected McClellan as its presidential candidate to oppose Lincoln’s reelection, but Lincoln won the election by an overwhelming margin. McClellan resigned his commission in the United States Army and later became the governor of New Jersey from 1878 to 1881. He died on October 29, 1885