Had George Brinton McClellan been as good a soldier as he thought he was, the Civil War might have come to a much faster conclusion. Unfortunately, the cocky and arrogant general was prone to chronic hesitancy, allowing the enemy to retreat and rebuild time after time. President Lincoln became so frustrated by McClellan's failure to follow through on the battlefield that he eventually removed him from command of the Union army.

Major General George B. McClellan Photo courtesy of the National Archives (111-B-4624)

McClellan was born in Philadelphia in 1826, the scion of a wealthy family. He entered West Point at age sixteen and graduated second in his class. His classmates saw great things in McClellan, and he was voted most likely to succeed. Upon graduation, McClellan was appointed brevet second lieutenant in the engineer corps and shipped off to hone his military skills in the Mexican War. He fought well and received commendations for his performance in several important battles. He taught at West Point, then worked as a civilian in the railroad industry.

In 1861, McClellan was made major general of the Ohio Volunteers, then routed a Confederate army in western Virginia. After the disaster at the First Battle of Manassas, Lincoln appointed McClellan commander of the Army of the Potomac. He was well respected by the soldiers, but he was openly disdainful of Lincoln and stalled when the president urged action. Ultimately, McClellan set the Union army in motion toward Richmond via ship, beginning the Peninsular Campaign.

McClellan was never able to shake his poor reputation for caution. Yet he was an excellent organizer and is generally credited with shaping the Army of the Potomac into the fighting force that eventually defeated Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.