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Union generals Grant and McClellan had many different points of view concerning the prosecution of the US Civil War. One major difference was that McClellan sought to avoid causing damage to civilian property, while Grant favored doing the opposite in order to stop civilians from aiding the war effort. McClellan believed that the reunification of the US would be easier if civilian property was not harmed.

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Q: How did Union generals George B McClellan and US Grant differ on war strategy?
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How did Chinese communist strategy for political revolution differ from the soviet union communist strategy?

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What were all events surrounded relieving Union General George B McClellan of his position as head of the Army of the Potomac after the Battle of Antietam?

After Confederate General Robert E. Lee's retreat from Sharpsburg and the Battle of Antietam, Lee's extended position gave Union General George B. McClellan the opportunity to destroy the Army of Northern Virginia that he did not take. US President Lincoln along with General Halleck wanted McClellan to have a plan to cross the Potomac River while still keeping Washington DC protected. That however, was not the worst of the situation.As for McClellan, his position, privately, was that his enemies in Lincoln's cabinet should be removed. He added Halleck to the list of his enemies and McClellan believed that he should be appointed general in chief.Tactically, the deadliest battle in the history of the United States, was a draw, however, Lee had no choice but to withdraw to the safety of Virginia. As far as McClellan was concerned he had "saved" the Union.Not at all was this the opinion of Lincoln, who was astounded that McClellan had failed to pursue Lee, and allow the Army of Northern Virginia to escape back to Virginia. And, Lee's army would live to fight another day.As an aside, the failure of a victorious army to pursue was commonplace throughout the war.While McClellan rested his troops after which was indeed a horrific battle, Confederate JEB Stuart's cavalry forces conducted raids in Maryland and Pennsylvania, virtually unopposed. While it was true that these raids were not of significant importance, it only added fuel to the fire of Lincoln. It was embarrassing that these raids were not stopped at once.McClellan's dismissal was based on more than Antietam, however. There was a fundamental difference between Lincoln and McClellan on the conduct of the war in general.With fairness to each man, the differences developed as events unfolded. It should be remembered that both Lincoln and Confederate President Davis expected the "rebellion" to be short lived and total loss of 600,000 plus men in 4 years was not expected. Not only was it unexpected, it would not have been tolerated if the combatants had a crystal ball. Faced with the true extent of the destruction of life and along with it, the reduction of what was considered a part of the Union ( the South ) reasonable leaders would have found another way to salvage a situation that would have substantially weakened the United States,McClellan was not simply a military man and Lincoln was not simply a political leader. With that said, the entire reason for McClellan's dismissal was also based on his view that the war should not cause any undue harm to the civilian population of the South. He wanted to avoid battles that caused huge losses and would embitter each side against one another.McClellan believed that a war of strategy and out maneuvering the enemy would lead to the South believing it could not win and sue for peace.McClellan, in retrospect, to many historians believed that the war conducted by the British in the Revolution, which was not a blood & guts one, could be successful if done with the genius of a McClellan.The issuance of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamationin the wake of Antietam, as example, was further evidence to McClellan that Lincoln ( as the South thought all along ) was not just waging a war to preserve the Union, but for the abolition of slavery and tearing apart the fabric of Southern society.Still, Lincoln, did not yet replace McClellan. A cynical view would be that until the assurance that the off- year Congressional elections and vital races for State Governor would favor Republicans, did Lincoln fire McClellan.Historians differ on this.


How did the strategy of US President Lincoln differ from that of General Henry W Halleck?

It seems almost impossible that US President Lincoln would elevate General Henry W. Halleck to the top military position in the Union and allow there to be misinformation concerning differences in strategy to exist. Part of the problem was Lincoln's decision to plan strategy rather than creating an overall war policy. To place this in its proper perspective, imagine both General Dwight D. Eisenhower and US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, of course agreeing that Germany had to be defeated in Western Europe. Then having Roosevelt explaining to Eisenhower that the strategy for doing so, meant launching an invasion of Hamburg instead of invading Normandy. With that said, the Union Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, explained to General Halleck that the president's strategic priorities differed from those of General Halleck. Lincoln's priority was that an advance on eastern Tennessee was second only to an advance on Richmond. General Sherman's expectations of a vigorous Fall offensive fell quite short of this. All major Union forces were stalled due to poor logistical preparations, the infusion of untrained new recruits under inexperienced officers. And, Lincoln failed to understand military mentality. The US Army and even the general public were demoralized by the removal of generals Buell and former general in chief George B. McClellan. As an aside, the general public was not overly impressed with Lincoln's Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, especially in Missouri, Kentucky and Maryland. In 1862, the North was seeking to keep the Union intact, slavery could be addressed once the South gave up its rebellion.


How did the union strategy in the civil war differ from the confederate stradegy?

Davis did not have much of a strategy. It boiled down to a purely defensive policy which could be interpreted as a strategy of attrition, except it lacked a component to coordinate the resources of the entire forces, east and west. Union strategy, developed by Scott in the early days of the war, became known as the Anaconda Plan. It consisted of blockading the southern ports and sending troops down the Mississippi Valley to deny the river to the south as a source of reinforcements and supplies to bring the south to heel by starving it into submission, and allowing seceding states the chance to re-enter the Union on their own . With some variations added, and the scope expanded, this is the strategy that won the war.


How did George Washington's policy on matters at home differ from the foreign policy?

At home he wanted to be together and feared that violent divisions might tear the nation apart. But his foreign policy says that it would be best to be separate from Europe and not get entangled in the affairs of them.

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