TWO PERSPECTIVES

Two Perspectives on George B. McClellan

McPherson views about George B. McClellan

Introduction

History is the greatest judge of a man's actions. Sometimes, it deals a fair hand, other times, and a raw deal. Take, for instance, the life of Union Civil War General George B. McClellan. Loved by his men, disliked by many and hated, it seems, by history. Most scholars believe this criticism is warranted, while small factions feel differently. This paper will compare and contrast two distinctive views on the life and actions of McClellan's generalship during the American Civil War and delve into Thomas J. Rowland's "George B. McClellan and Civil War History: In the Shadow of Grant and Sherman", as well as James M. McPherson's "Ordeal by Fire".

Two Perspectives

McPherson vs. Rowland

The greatest judge of man's achievements and follies in life is history. The old saying goes that "hindsight is twenty-twenty", which is absolutely true. Past conflicts like Viet Nam, World War I and II and the men who led their respective causes are so easy to judge and finger from the present.

However, there are always a handful of people who are labeled unfavorably by the press and public in their age, and those repulsive opinions seem to stick for decades. Such is the case of Civil War General George Brinton McClellan. While history has been kind to Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, William T. Sherman, Ulysses S. Grant and a host of other war leaders, McClellan has been left in the shadows and spit upon. Are the ruthless beliefs in the incompetence and failures of McClellan's generalship warranted? Many historians agree, but a small handful of historians feel McClellan was undeservingly given a sour reputation(Burlingame, 1997).

In his book "Ordeal by Fire", James McPherson feels that criticism of McClellan is well-deserved and directly points the finger at McClellan numerous times. However, Thomas Rowland, in his work "George B. McClellan and Civil War History: In the Shadow of Grant and Sherman", attempts to create McClellan as a victim of unfortunate circumstance, rather than blame him directly.

George McClellan was a native of Philadelphia, where he was born on December 3, 1826, and attended the University of Pennsylvania. In 1846 he graduated second in his class from West Point. McClellan served with distinction under Winfield Scott in the Mexican War. From 1848 to 1851 he taught military engineering at West Point. Following that assignment, he spent several years surveying routes for railroads, most significantly the path of the Northern Pacific across the Cascades.

Life and Work of General George McClellan

In 1855-56, McClellan was on assignment in the Crimea to study European warfare and submitted an exhaustive report on the siege of Sebastopol. At this time, he also designed the “McClellan saddle” by modifying European models; this saddle remained in use by American forces until the cavalry was disbanded.

McClellan resigned from the service in 1857 and became the head of engineering for the Illinois Central Railroad, an organization represented by attorney Abraham ...