McClellan, George B.
McClellan, George B. (1826–1885), Civil War general.McClellan was born to a wealthy family in Philadelphia; at the age of fifteen, he entered West Point and eventually graduated second in his class. During the Mexican War, he won two promotions on the field for distinguished conduct under fire, but he resigned his commission (1857), becoming chief engineer and then president of railroad companies in Illinois and Ohio.
When the Civil War broke out, McClellan received an appointment as major‐general and commanded Union forces that drove the Confederates out of western Virginia in July 1861. After the Union disaster at the First Battle of Bull Run, President Abraham Lincoln brought him east to reorganize and command the Army of the Potomac. McClellan was greeted with widespread public enthusiasm as “the Young Napoleon” who would produce a...
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