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|resting_place= [[Riverview Cemetery (Trenton, New Jersey)|Riverview Cemetery]]
|party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|spouse = {{marriage|
|relatives = {{plainlist|
* [[George McClellan (physician)|George McClellan]] (father)
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'''George Brinton McClellan''' (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American military officer
A [[United States Military Academy|West Point]] graduate, McClellan served with distinction during the [[Mexican–American War]] before leaving the [[United States Army]] to serve as a railway executive and engineer until the outbreak of the [[American Civil War]] in 1861. Early in the conflict, McClellan was appointed to the rank of [[Major general (United States)|major general]] and played an important role in raising the [[Army of the Potomac]], which served in the [[Eastern Theater of the American Civil War|Eastern Theater]].
McClellan organized and led the [[Union Army]] in the [[Peninsula campaign]] in southeastern [[Virginia]] from March through July 1862. It was the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. Making an amphibious clockwise turning movement around the [[Confederate States Army|Confederate Army]] in northern Virginia, McClellan's forces turned west to move up the Virginia Peninsula, between the [[James River]] and [[York River (Virginia)|York River]], landing from [[Chesapeake Bay]], with the Confederate capital, [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]], as their objective. Initially, McClellan was somewhat successful against General [[Joseph E. Johnston]], but the emergence of General [[Robert E. Lee]] to command the [[Army of Northern Virginia]] turned the subsequent [[Seven Days Battles]] into a Union defeat. However, historians note that Lee's victory was in many ways [[Pyrrhic victory|pyrrhic]] as he failed to destroy the Army of the Potomac and suffered a bloody repulse at [[Battle of Malvern Hill|Malvern Hill]]. McClellan and President [[Abraham Lincoln]] developed a mutual distrust, and McClellan was privately derisive of Lincoln. He was removed from command in November, in the aftermath of the [[1862 United States elections|1862 midterm elections]]. A major contributing factor in this decision was McClellan's failure to pursue Lee's army following the tactically inconclusive but strategic Union victory at the [[Battle of Antietam]] outside [[Sharpsburg, Maryland]]. He never received another field command and went on to become the unsuccessful [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] nominee in the [[1864 United States presidential election|1864 presidential election]] against the Republican Lincoln. The effectiveness of his campaign was damaged when McClellan repudiated his party's platform, which promised an end to the war and negotiations with the Confederacy. He served as the governor of New Jersey from 1878 to 1881; in McClellan's later writings, he vigorously defended his Civil War conduct.
==Early life and
[[File:Julian Scott - George Brinton McClellan - NPG.65.35 - National Portrait Gallery.jpg|thumb|The [[Julian Scott]] portrait of McClellan in the [[National Portrait Gallery (United States)|National Portrait Gallery]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]]]
▲George Brinton McClellan was born in [[Philadelphia]] on December 3, 1826, the son of a prominent surgeon, Dr. [[George McClellan (physician)|George McClellan]], the founder of [[Thomas Jefferson University|Jefferson Medical College]].<ref name="Appletons" /> His father's family was of Scottish and English heritage.<ref name="wL02N" /> His mother was Elizabeth Sophia Steinmetz Brinton McClellan (1800–1889), daughter of a leading Pennsylvania family, a woman noted for her "considerable grace and refinement." Her father was of English origin, while her mother was [[Pennsylvania Dutch]].<ref name="m2RIm" /> The couple had five children: Frederica, John, George, Arthur, and Mary. One of McClellan's great-grandfathers was [[Samuel McClellan]] of [[Woodstock, Connecticut]], a [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] who served during the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]].<ref name="dAssB" />
McClellan initially intended to follow his father into the medical profession, and attended a private academy, which was followed by enrollment in a private preparatory school for the [[University of Pennsylvania]].<ref name="Kelley">{{cite book |last=Kelley |first=Brent |title=Famous Figures of the Civil War: George McClellan |year=2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mUe9DaeeVCAC |location=Philadelphia, PA |publisher=Chelsea House Publishers |pages=11–13 |isbn=978-1-4381-0273-3 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> He began attending the university in 1840, when he was 14 years old, resigning himself to the study of law after his family decided that medical educations for both McClellan and his older brother John were too expensive.<ref name="Kelley"/> After two years at the university, he changed his goal to military service. With the assistance of his father's letter to [[President of the United States|President]] [[John Tyler]], McClellan was accepted at the United States Military Academy in 1842 at the age of 15, with the academy waiving its usual minimum age of 16.<ref name="dBI0b" />
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At West Point, he was an energetic and ambitious cadet, deeply interested in the teachings of [[Dennis Hart Mahan]] and the theoretical strategic principles of [[Antoine-Henri Jomini]]. His closest friends were aristocratic southerners including [[George Pickett]], [[Dabney Maury]], [[Cadmus Wilcox]], and [[A. P. Hill]]. These associations gave McClellan what he considered to be an appreciation of the southern mind and an understanding of the political and military implications of the sectional differences in the United States that led to the Civil War.<ref name="DPK2u" /> He graduated at age 19 in 1846, second in his class of 59 cadets, losing the top position to [[Charles Seaforth Stewart]] only because of inferior drawing skills.<ref name="PcZIe" /> He was commissioned a [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] [[Second Lieutenant#United States|second lieutenant]] in the U.S. Army [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Corps of Engineers]].<ref name="Eicher371" />
==Career==
===Mexican–American War 1846–1848===
McClellan's first assignment was with a company of engineers formed at West Point, but he quickly received orders to sail for the Mexican War. He arrived near the mouth of the [[Rio Grande]] in October 1846, well prepared for action with a double-barreled shotgun, two pistols, a saber, a dress sword, and a [[Bowie knife]]. He complained that he had arrived too late to take any part in the American victory at [[Battle of Monterrey|Monterrey]] in September. During a temporary armistice in which the forces of Gen. [[Zachary Taylor]] awaited action, McClellan was stricken with [[dysentery]] and [[malaria]], which kept him in the hospital for nearly a month. Malaria would recur in later years; he called it his "Mexican disease."<ref name="UHeh4" /> He served as an engineering officer during the war, was frequently subject to enemy fire, and was appointed a brevet [[First Lieutenant#United States|first lieutenant]] for his services at [[Battle of Contreras|Contreras]]<ref name="ZZECN" /> and [[Battle of Churubusco|Churubusco]]<ref name="Ciy8T" /> and to [[Captain (U.S. Army)|captain]] for his service at [[Battle of Chapultepec|Chapultepec]].<ref name="Eicher371" /> He performed reconnaissance missions for Maj. Gen. [[Winfield Scott]], a close friend of McClellan's father.<ref name="Sa644" />
McClellan's experiences in the war would shape his military and political life. He learned that flanking movements (used by Scott at [[Battle of Cerro Gordo|Cerro Gordo]])
===Peacetime service===
McClellan returned to West Point to command his engineering company, which was attached to the academy for the purpose of training cadets in engineering activities. He chafed at the boredom of peacetime garrison service, although he greatly enjoyed the social life. In June 1851, he was ordered to [[Fort Delaware]], a masonry work under construction on an island in the [[Delaware River]], {{convert|40|mi|round=5|spell=in}} downriver from Philadelphia. In March 1852, he was ordered to report to Capt. [[Randolph B. Marcy]] at [[Fort Smith, Arkansas|Fort Smith]], [[Arkansas]], to serve as second-in-command on an expedition to discover the sources of the [[Red River of the South|Red River]]. By June the expedition reached the source of the north fork of the river and Marcy named a small tributary [[McClellan Creek|McClellan's Creek]]. Upon their arrival on July 28, they were astonished to find that they had been given up for dead. A sensational story had reached the press that the expedition had been ambushed by 2,000 [[Comanche]]s and killed to the last man. McClellan blamed the story on "a set of scoundrels, who seek to keep up agitation on the frontier in order to get employment from the Govt. in one way or other."<ref name="hA5hO" />
In the fall of 1852, McClellan published a manual on bayonet tactics that he had translated from the original French. He also received an assignment to the Department of Texas, with orders to perform a survey of Texas rivers and harbors. In 1853, he participated in the [[Pacific Railroad survey]]s, ordered by [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] [[Jefferson Davis]], to select an appropriate route for the planned [[First transcontinental railroad|transcontinental railroad]]. McClellan surveyed the western portion of the northern corridor along the 47th and 49th parallels from [[St. Paul, Minnesota|St. Paul]] to the [[Puget Sound]]. In doing so, he demonstrated a tendency for insubordination toward senior political figures. [[Isaac Stevens]], governor of the [[Washington Territory]], became dissatisfied with McClellan's performance in his scouting of passes across the [[Cascade Range]].
McClellan selected Yakima Pass ({{coord|47.3365|-121.4324}}) without a thorough reconnaissance and refused the governor's order to lead a party through it in winter conditions, relying on faulty intelligence about the depth of snowpack in that area. In so doing, he missed three greatly superior passes in the near vicinity, which were eventually used for railroads and interstate highways. The governor ordered McClellan to turn over his expedition logbooks, but McClellan steadfastly refused, most likely because of embarrassing personal comments that he had made throughout his adventures.<ref name="CY569" />
Returning to the East, McClellan began courting his future wife,
In June 1854, McClellan was sent on a secret reconnaissance mission to Santo Domingo at the behest of Jefferson Davis. McClellan assessed local defensive capabilities for the secretary. (The information was not used until 1870 when President [[Ulysses S. Grant]] unsuccessfully attempted to annex the [[Dominican Republic]].) Davis was beginning to treat McClellan almost as a protégé, and his next assignment was to assess the logistical readiness of various railroads in the United States, once again with an eye toward planning for the transcontinental railroad.<ref name="cH6xJ" /> In March 1855, McClellan was promoted to captain and assigned to the 1st U.S. Cavalry regiment.<ref name="Eicher371" />
The Army adopted McClellan's cavalry manual and also his design for a [[saddle]], dubbed the [[McClellan Saddle]], which he claimed to have seen used by [[Hussar]]s in [[Prussia]] and Hungary. It became standard issue for as long as the U.S. horse cavalry existed and is still used for ceremonies.{{cn|date=March 2024}}
===Civilian pursuits===
[[File:McClellan+Wife.jpg|thumb|
McClellan resigned his commission January 16, 1857, and, capitalizing on his experience with railroad assessment, became chief engineer and vice president of the [[Illinois Central Railroad]], and then president of the [[Ohio and Mississippi Railroad]] in 1860. He performed well in both jobs, expanding the Illinois Central toward [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]] and helping the Ohio and Mississippi recover from the [[Panic of 1857]]. Despite his successes and lucrative salary ($10,000 per year), he was frustrated with civilian employment and continued to study classical military strategy assiduously. During the [[Utah War]] against the [[Mormons]], he considered rejoining the Army. He also considered service as a [[Filibuster (military)|filibuster]] in support of [[Benito Juárez]] in Mexico.<ref name="XcWIh" />
Before the outbreak of the Civil War, McClellan became active in politics, supporting the presidential campaign of [[United States Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[Stephen A. Douglas]] in the [[1860 United States presidential election|1860 election]]. He claimed to have defeated an attempt at vote fraud by [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] by ordering the delay of a train that was carrying men to vote illegally in another county, enabling Douglas to win the county.<ref name="YAAWx" />
In October 1859, McClellan was able to resume his courtship of
==Civil War==
===Ohio===
At the start of the Civil War in 1861, McClellan's knowledge of what was called "big war science" and his railroad experience suggested he might excel at military logistics. His old report from his tour in the Crimean war was quickly rushed for publication. This placed him in great demand as the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] mobilized its militia and its armies. The governors of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, the three largest states of the Union, actively pursued him to command their states' militia. McClellan expressed desire to command the state militia of his home state of Pennsylvania, but when the despatch did not arrive to him as early as he expected it, he departed Illinois for Pennsylvania with the intent of commanding its state militia. On his way there, he stopped at Columbus to discuss the military situation in the Ohio valley with Ohio governor [[William Dennison Jr.|William Dennison]]. Dennison was impressed with McClellan and offered him command of the state militia on the spot, which he accepted. [[Andrew Gregg Curtin|Pennsylvania's governor]] had in fact already sent a wire to McClellan offering him command of the Pennsylvania state militia, but he did not receive this until the next day. McClellan was commissioned a major general of volunteers and took command of the Ohio militia on April 23, 1861. Unlike some of his fellow Union officers who came from [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionist]] families, he was opposed to federal interference with slavery. For this reason, some of his Southern colleagues approached him informally about siding with the Confederacy, but he could not accept the concept of [[secession]].<ref name="GB5P3" />
On May 3 McClellan re-entered federal service as commander of the [[Department of the Ohio]], responsible for the defense of the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and, later, western Pennsylvania, western Virginia, and Missouri. On May 14, he was commissioned a major general in the regular army. At age 34, he outranked everyone in the Army except Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott, the general-in-chief. McClellan's rapid promotion was partly due to his acquaintance with [[Salmon P. Chase]], [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|Treasury Secretary]] and former Ohio governor and senator.<ref name="MGy5D" />
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Governor Dennison encouraged and pressured McClellan to conduct offensive operations in Northwestern Virginia, where unionist sentiment was strong and West Virginians were clamoring for secession from east Virginia. Dennison's office was barraged by many letters from northwestern Virginians requesting military occupation of Northwestern Virginia to protect from potential reprisals from secessionists. McClellan's first military operations were to occupy the area of western Virginia that wanted to remain in the Union and subsequently became the state of [[West Virginia]]. He had received intelligence reports on May 26 that the critical [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] bridges in that portion of the state were being burned. He quickly implemented plans to invade the region. Confederate general [[George A. Porterfield]] was in charge of defending western Virginia with most of the rebel forces based at [[Grafton, West Virginia|Grafton]]. McClellan triggered his first serious political controversy by proclaiming to the citizens there that his forces had no intentions of interfering with personal property—including slaves. "Notwithstanding all that has been said by the traitors to induce you to believe that our advent among you will be signalized by interference with your slaves, understand one thing clearly—not only will we abstain from all such interference but we will on the contrary with an iron hand, crush any attempted insurrection on their part." He quickly realized that he had overstepped his bounds and apologized by letter to President Lincoln. The controversy was not that his proclamation was diametrically opposed to the administration's policy at the time, but that he was so bold in stepping beyond his strictly military role.<ref name="73OsU" />
As his forces moved rapidly into West Virginia across the Beverly-Fairmont turnpike towards [[Grafton, West Virginia|Grafton]], Confederate forces under the command of General Porterfield retreated quickly before McClellan's superior forces towards [[Philippi, West Virginia|Philippi]], where Porterfield ordered his forces into a momentary rest before continuing the retreat. McClellan planned to encircle Porterfield's command at Philippi through a complex plan that required coordination between three separate forces. This coordination failed, and the bombardment of the village commenced with a false signal. [[Battle of Philippi (1861)|The
After a long time without receiving news from Rosecrans, McClellan grew nervous and dispatched an order to call off this attack, but the orders never reached Rosecrans. Finally, after an exhausting march, Rosecrans took up positions south of the Hart home and launched a vigorous attack up the hill to the Hart farm. Confederate troops, who were under the overall command of general [[John Pegram (general)|John Pegram]], attempted a defense and moved two guns to the road to repulse this attack, which was well east of the main McClellan was obliged to absorb all credit for the victory at Rich Mountain, and lent no credit to Rosecrans' performance during the battle. These victories propelled McClellan to the status of national hero.<ref name="fSfGg" /> The ''[[New York Herald]]'' entitled an article about him "Gen. McClellan, the Napoleon of the Present War".<ref name="Z7uIL" /> After the defeat of === Building an army ===
After the defeat of the Union forces at [[First Battle of Bull Run|Bull Run]] on July 21, 1861, Lincoln summoned McClellan from western Virginia, where McClellan had given the North the only engagements bearing a semblance of victory. He traveled by special train on the main Pennsylvania line from [[Wheeling, West Virginia|Wheeling]] through [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|Pittsburgh]], [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]], and [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]], and on to [[Washington City]], and was greeted by enthusiastic crowds that met his train along the way.<ref name="Sears95" />
[[File:George B. McClellan Patriotic Cover 1861.jpeg|thumb|Patriotic cover honoring the arrival of
[[Carl Sandburg]] wrote, "McClellan was the man of the hour, pointed to by events, and chosen by an overwhelming weight of public and private opinion."<ref name="Sandburg62" /> On July 26, the day he reached the capital, McClellan was appointed commander of the Military Division of the Potomac, the main Union force responsible for the defense of Washington. On August 20, several military units in Virginia were consolidated into his department and he immediately formed the Army of the Potomac, with himself as its first commander.<ref name="W4tpx" /> This Army became the primary force in the Union army in the Eastern Theatre that protected the Capital and the North. He reveled in his newly acquired power and influence:<ref name="Sears95" />
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At the end of June, Lee began a series of attacks that became known as the Seven Days Battles. The first major battle, at [[Battle of Beaver Dam Creek|Mechanicsville]], was poorly coordinated by Lee and his subordinates and resulted in heavy casualties for little tactical gain. However, the battle had a significant impact on McClellan's nerve. The surprise appearance of Maj. Gen. [[Stonewall Jackson]]'s troops in the battle (when they had last been reported to be many miles away in the [[Shenandoah Valley]]) convinced McClellan that he was even more outnumbered than he had thought. He reported to Washington that he faced 200,000 Confederates, perhaps due to a false report on the arrival of another Confederate army P.G.T. Beauregard. The number of men McClellan was actually faced varies, with Joseph Harsh in ''Confederate Tide Rising'' placing Lee's army at 112,220 men compared with the 105,857 under McClellan.
[[File:Battle of Gaines' Mill.png|thumb|left|Federal troops under heavy attack at the [[Battle of Gaines's Mill]], sketched by [[Alfred R. Waud]] and published in ''[[Harper's Weekly]]'', July 26, 1862]]
Lee continued his offensive at [[Battle of Gaines's Mill|Gaines's Mill]] to the east. That night, McClellan decided to withdraw his army to a safer base, well below Richmond, on a portion of the James River that was under control of the Union Navy. In doing so, Lee had assumed that the Union army would withdraw to the east toward its existing supply base and McClellan's move to the south delayed Lee's response for at least 24 hours.<ref name="SR0wF" /> Ethan Rafuse notes "McClellan's change of base to the James, however, thwarted Lee's attempt to do this. Not only did McClellan's decision allow the Federals to gain control of the time and place for the battles that took place in late June and early July, it enabled them to fight in a way that inflicted terrible beating on the Confederate army....More importantly, by the end of the Seven Days Battles, McClellan had dramatically improved his operational situation."<ref name="Xr7Wg" />
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===Maryland campaign===
[[File:McClellan riding through Frederick, MD army.mil-2008-09-10-145411.jpg|thumb|An illustration of McClellan riding through [[Frederick, Maryland]], September 12, 1862,
[[File:Maryland Campaign 1862.pdf|thumb|Maryland campaign, actions September 3–15, 1862]]
After the defeat of Pope at Second Bull Run, President Lincoln reluctantly returned to McClellan. On September 2, 1862, Lincoln named McClellan to command "the fortifications of Washington, and all the troops for the defense of the capital". The appointment was controversial in the Cabinet, a majority of whom signed a petition declaring to the president "our deliberate opinion that, at this time, it is not safe to entrust to Major General McClellan the command of any Army of the United States".<ref name="FgntF" /> The president admitted that it was like "curing the bite with the [[hair of the dog]]". But Lincoln told his secretary, John Hay, "We must use what tools we have. There is no man in the Army who can man these fortifications and lick these troops of ours into shape half as well as he. If he can't fight himself, he excels in making others ready to fight."<ref name="Bailey15" />
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Still, historians—including [[James M. McPherson]] in ''Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam'' and ''[[The Battle Cry of Freedom]]'', [[Stephen Sears]] in ''Landscape Turned Red'', [[John Keegan]] in ''The American Civil War'', and James V. Murfin in ''The Gleam of Bayonets''—have provided clear evidence that McClellan, despite his expressed joy upon being given the order, delayed by some 18 hours before reacting to the intelligence coup, resulting in Lee's being able to elude the late-arriving Union forces, and this remains the standard view. However, Gene Thorp in a 2012 article in ''[[The Washington Post]]'' cited evidence that the vanguard of Army of the Potomac was in motion all day on the 13th due to orders McClellan had issued the previous day.<ref>Thorp, Gene (September 7. 2012) "In defense of McClellan at Antietam: A contrarian view" ''The Washington Post''</ref> After the war, McClellan held to the claim that he acted immediately to put his armies on the move.<ref name=murfin162>Murfin, James V. (2004) [1965] ''The Gleam of Bayonets'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. pp. 162–63. {{isbn|978-0-8071-3020-9}}</ref>
[[File:Battle of South Mountain.jpg|thumb|Battle of South Mountain by [[William Waud]]]]
McClellan ordered his units to set out for the South Mountain passes and was able to punch through the defended passes that separated them from Lee. The stubborn Confederate defenses gave Lee enough time to concentrate many of his men at [[Sharpsburg, Maryland|Sharpsburg]], [[Maryland]]. As noted by historians such as Stotelmyer, the significance of the Union victory at South Mountain should not be underestimated. It ruined Lee's plans to invade Pennsylvania and took the initiative away from the Confederate commander. The Battle of South Mountain also presented McClellan with an opportunity for one of the great theatrical moments of his career, as historian Sears describes:{{blockquote|The mountain ahead was wreathed in smoke eddies of battle smoke in which the gun flashes shone like brief hot sparks. The opposing battle lines on the heights were marked by heavier layers of smoke, and columns of Federal troops were visible winding their way up the mountainside, each column ... looking like a 'monstrous, crawling, blue-black snake' ... McClellan posed against this spectacular backdrop, sitting motionless astride his warhorse Dan Webster with his arm extended, pointing Hooker's passing troops toward the battle. The men cheered him until they were hoarse ... and some broke ranks to swarm around the martial figure and indulge in the 'most extravagant demonstrations'.<ref name="qaFQ3" />}}
The Union army reached Antietam Creek, to the east of Sharpsburg, on the evening of September 15. A planned attack on September 16 was put off because of early morning fog, allowing Lee to prepare his defenses with an army less than half the size of McClellan's.<ref name="dXxot" />
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====Battle of Antietam====
[[File:Antietam Overview.png|thumb|Overview of the Battle of Antietam]]
[[File:Lincoln and generals at Antietam.jpg|thumb|Lincoln with McClellan and staff after the Battle of Antietam. Notable figures (from left) are 5. [[Alexander S. Webb]], Chief of Staff, V Corps; 6. McClellan;. 8
The Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, was the single bloodiest day in American military history. The outnumbered Confederate forces fought desperately and well. Despite significant advantages in manpower, McClellan was unable to concentrate his forces effectively, which meant that Lee was able to shift his defenders to parry each of three Union thrusts, launched separately and sequentially against the Confederate left, center, and finally the right. McClellan was also unwilling, due to Porter's opinion, to employ his ample reserve forces to capitalize on localized successes. Historian James M. McPherson has pointed out that the two corps McClellan kept in reserve were in fact larger than Lee's entire force. The reason for McClellan's reluctance was that, as in previous battles, he was convinced he was outnumbered.<ref>McPherson, ''Crossroads'', pp. 129–30.</ref>
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Because McClellan failed to pursue Lee aggressively after Antietam, Lincoln ordered that he be removed from command on November 5, 1862. Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside assumed command of the Army of the Potomac on November 9, 1862.<ref>Sears, ''Young Napoleon'', pp. 238–41.</ref> McClellan wrote to his wife, "Those in whose judgment I rely tell me that I fought the battle splendidly and that it was a masterpiece of art.... I feel I have done all that can be asked in twice saving the country. ... I feel some little pride in having, with a beaten & demoralized army, defeated Lee so utterly.... Well, one of these days history will I trust do me justice."<ref>McPherson, ''Battle Cry'', p. 545.</ref>
==1864 presidential election==
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The deep division in the party, the unity of the [[United States Republican Party|Republicans]] (running under the label "National Union Party"), the absence of a large portion of the Democrats' base (the South) from the voter pool, and the military successes by Union forces in the fall of 1864, doomed McClellan's candidacy. Lincoln won the election handily, with 212 [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]] votes to 21, and a popular vote of 2,218,388 to 1,812,807 or 55% to 45%.<ref name="Sx07R" /> For all his popularity with the troops, McClellan failed to secure their support and the military vote went to Lincoln nearly 3–1. Lincoln's share of the vote in the Army of the Potomac was 70%.<ref name="xPUgo" />
==
At the conclusion of the war (1865) McClellan and his family went to Europe, not returning until 1868; in this period he did not participate in politics.<ref name="RmtMN" /> Prior to his return in September 1868, the Democratic Party had expressed some interest in nominating him for president again, but Ulysses S. Grant became the Republican candidate in May 1868, and this interest died.<ref name="ad9Oy" />
McClellan worked on engineering projects in New York City and was offered the position of president of the newly formed [[University of California]], which he declined.<ref name="xY3iE" />
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McClellan was appointed chief engineer of the New York City Department of Docks in 1870. Beginning in 1872, he also served as the president of the [[Atlantic and Great Western Railroad]]. He and his family then embarked on another three-year stay in Europe (1873–75).<ref name="xtfcA" />
In March 1877, the Governor of New York, [[Lucius Robinson]], nominated McClellan to serve as the first state [[New York State Department of Public Works|Superintendent of Public Works]],<ref name="59Zc2" /> but the [[New York State Senate]] rejected him as "incompetent
==Governor of New Jersey==
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==Family==
McClellan's son, [[George B. McClellan Jr.]] (1865–1940), was born in [[Dresden]] in the [[Kingdom of Saxony]] during the family's first trip to Europe. Known within the family as Max, he too became a politician, serving as a [[United States House of Representatives|United States Representative]] (1893–1903) and as [[Mayor of New York City]] from 1904 to 1909. McClellan's daughter, Mary ("May") (1861–1945), married a French diplomat and spent much of her life abroad. Both remained childless.
McClellan's wife, Ellen, died in [[Nice]], [[France]], in 1915 while visiting Mary at her home "Villa Antietam".<ref name="td4W3" /><ref name="CFBmX" />
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==Legacy==
[[File:McClellan Memorial.JPG|thumb|''[[Major General George B. McClellan]]'' on [[Connecticut Avenue]] in Washington, D.C.]]
[[File:Gen George B McClellan.JPG|thumb|McClellan statue in front of [[Philadelphia City Hall]]]]
The New York [[New York Post|''Evening Post'']] commented in McClellan's obituary, "Probably no soldier who did so little fighting has ever had his qualities as a commander so minutely, and we may add, so fiercely discussed."<ref name="2mkwm" /> This fierce discussion has continued for over a century. McClellan is usually ranked in the lowest tier of Civil War
{{blockquote|It has always been my opinion that the true course in conducting military operations, is to make no movement until the preparations are as complete as circumstances permit, & never to fight a battle without some definite object worth the probable loss.<ref name="b7IzB" />}}
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Stephen Sears notes that {{blockquote|There is indeed ample evidence that the terrible stresses of commanding men in battle, especially the beloved men of his beloved Army of the Potomac, left his moral courage in tatters. Under the pressure of his ultimate soldier's responsibility, the will to command deserted him. Glendale and Malvern Hill found him at the peak of his anguish during the Seven Days, and he fled those fields to escape the responsibility. At Antietam, where there was nowhere for him to flee to, he fell into a paralysis of indecision. Seen from a longer perspective, General McClellan could be both comfortable and successful performing as executive officer, and also, if somewhat less successfully, as grand strategist; as battlefield commander, however, he was simply in the wrong profession.<ref name="fvXEP" />}}
One of the reasons that McClellan's reputation has suffered is his own memoirs. Historian [[Allan Nevins]] wrote, "Students of history must always be grateful McClellan so frankly exposed his own weaknesses in this posthumous book."<ref name="dtQ2L" /> [[Doris Kearns Goodwin]] writes that a review of his personal correspondence during the war reveals a tendency for self-aggrandizement and unwarranted self-congratulation.<ref name="SPMJ0" /> His original draft was completed in 1881, but the only copy was destroyed by fire. He began to write another draft of what would be published posthumously, in 1887, as ''McClellan's Own Story''. However, he died before it was half completed and his literary executor, William C. Prime, editor of the pro-McClellan ''New York
Robert E. Lee, on being asked (by his cousin, and recorded by his son) who was the ablest general on the Union side during the late war, replied emphatically: "McClellan, by all odds!"<ref name="i8sYo" />
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==Electoral history==
'''[[1864 Democratic National Convention]]''':<ref>{{Cite web |last=Holland |first=Keating |title=All The Votes...Really |url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/conventions/san.diego/facts/weird.facts/votes.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000930224301/http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/conventions/san.diego/facts/weird.facts/votes.shtml |archive-date=2000-09-30 |website=CNN}}</ref>
* George B. McClellan –
* [[Thomas H. Seymour]] – 38 (
* [[Horatio Seymour]] – 12 (5.3%)
* [[Charles O'Conor (American politician)|Charles O'Conor]] – 1 (0.4%)
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* George B. McClellan/[[George H. Pendleton]] (Democratic) – 1,812,807 (45.0%) and 21 electoral votes (3 states carried)
'''[[New Jersey]] [[Governor of New Jersey|gubernatorial]] election, 1877''':<ref>{{Cite
* George B. McClellan (D) – 97,837 (51.7%)
* [[William Augustus Newell]] (R) – 85,094 (44.9%)
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|[[File:Union army 1st lt rank insignia.jpg|75px|class=noviewer]] || [[First lieutenant|1st Lieutenant]] || [[Regular Army (United States)|Regular Army]] || July 1, 1853
|-
|[[File:Union army cpt rank insignia.jpg|75px|class=noviewer]] || [[Captain (United States O-3)|Captain]] || [[Regular Army (United States)|Regular Army]] (resigned January 16, 1857) || March 4, 1855
|-
|[[File:Union army maj gen rank insignia.jpg|75px|class=noviewer]] || [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] || [[Volunteer military|Volunteers]] || April 23, 1861
|-
|[[File:Union army maj gen rank insignia.jpg|75px|class=noviewer]] || [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] || [[Regular Army (United States)|Regular Army]] (resigned November 8, 1864) || May 14, 1861
|}
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<ref name="dyukk">{{cite web|url=http://www.milbridgehistoricalsociety.org/previous/mcclellan.html|title=Milbridge Historical Society Presentation|work=milbridgehistoricalsociety.org|access-date=September 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025142/http://www.milbridgehistoricalsociety.org/previous/mcclellan.html|archive-date=March 4, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="Jp9CS">{{cite web|url=http://new.jbleforcesupport.com/fort-eustis-mcclellan-fitness-center|title=Joint Base Langley-Eustis McClellan Fitness Center|work=jbleforcesupport.com|date=March 17, 2014|access-date=December 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817213712/http://new.jbleforcesupport.com/fort-eustis-mcclellan-fitness-center/|archive-date=August 17, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}
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* [http://www.newsinhistory.com/feature/after-defeat-first-bull-run-lincoln-turns-mcclellan Newspaper articles about reaction to Lincoln appointing McClellan head of the Army of the Potomac] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617082335/http://www.newsinhistory.com/feature/after-defeat-first-bull-run-lincoln-turns-mcclellan |date=June 17, 2013 }}
* {{Librivox author |id=12709}}
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