President Lincoln did second guess himself for a while. This is because General McClellan had years of extensive industry and military experience. Lincoln, however, would soon find a replacement for the ousted General.
After US President Lincoln relieved General George B. McClellan from his position as general in chief, Lincoln created the Department of the Mississippi and put General Halleck in charge. By this action, Halleck now was in charge of most of Union troops west of the Appalachians. This included the forces commanded by General Buell.
Lincoln's response to General McClellan's command was that Lincoln relieved McClellan of Command.
President Lincoln appointed Major General George B. McClellan to general in chief on November 1, 1861. He replaced the retiring General in Chief Winfield Scott. Lincoln relieved McClellan of his title on March 11, 1862. McClellan was not in Washington DC at this time. He was in the process of organizing the Peninsula campaign. It is written that Lincoln did not believe that McClellan could hold his position as general in chief and conduct the Peninsula campaign at the same time.
It was after the Battle of Antietam. McClellan had a perfectly good opportunity to pursue and destroy Lee's army while it was in a vulnerable position, but he moved far too slowly, and Lee was able to get his army back to Virginia.
McClellan was relieved of his command on October 7, 1862, by President Lincoln for a number of reasons, including being insubordinate to the President, fighting with General Winfield Scott, and for being much too cautious with the enemy, often failing to press forward to win a battle.
General George B. McClellan's departure for his Peninsula campaign gave President Lincoln an opportunity to reorganize the Union's armies. With these plans, Lincoln also made certain changes:* He relieved McClellan as general in chief;* This left McClellan only in charge of the Army of the Potomac;* Under Henry Halleck, Lincoln created the Department of the Mississippi; and* Also, the Mountain Department was created under the command of John Fremont.Lincoln believed he was doing McClellan a favor by allowing him to focus on the major operation at hand, and one that might end the war, namely the capture of Richmond. As general in chief, McClellan would have never approved of the abolitionist General Fremont. Needless to say, McClellan was hugely disappointed with the loss of his most sought after position as general in chief.
During the Peninsula campaign, General George B. McClellan wrote to President Lincoln that General Schuyler Hamilton was not fit to command a division in the Army of the Potomac. Hamilton had been relieved of duty during McClellan's siege of Yorktown. Later, Lincoln received petitions from many members of the US congress to have Hamilton restored to active duty.
On October 13, 1862, President Lincoln sent General McClellan a long letter explaining the plans Lincoln believed were needed to defeat the South. Lincoln was almost sure that an aggressive Union response from McClellan's army would not be forthcoming. With that said, McClellan had every chance to keep his position if he even tried to execute the plans Lincoln sent to him.
On March 11, 1862, Lincoln relieved McClellan as General-in-Chief and took direct command of the Union armies. On November 2, 1862, Lincoln named Ambrose E. Burnside as Commander of the Army of the Potomac, replacing McClellan.
When General George B. McClellan returned to Washington DC on March 11, 1862, he became aware that President Lincoln removed his title of general in chief.
Major General George B. McClellan had rested his troops after the Battle of Antietam. This displeased President Lincoln who urged McClellan to pursue the Rebel army south of the Potomac River. Finally, McClellan followed the advice of Lincoln and on October 26, 1862, Union troops began their crossing of the Potomac River. General Lee had expected some degree of Federal pursuit in October, but he did not know to what exactly the plan of the Federals would be. Once Lee knew that McClellan's troops were over the Potomac, he sent General Longstreet eastward and General Jackson would keep his position in the Shenandoah Valley. McClellan's forces marched slowly, covering only 35 miles in eleven days. Lee had marched his troops quickly and joined Longstreet in Culpepper, Virginia. When President Lincoln realized that neither generals Longstreet nor Jackson moved their troops with no Union interference, he relieved McClellan of duty as commander of the Army of the Potomac.
Yes he did. The two men never liked each other and a part of McClellan's motivation was probably spite and resentment for Lincoln having relieved McClellan of command of The Army of the Potomac.
President Lincoln and General McClellan clashed because Lincoln did not agree with McClellan at all on some vital military issues.They weren't on the same page when it came time to the policies on the US Civil War. And they clashed in 1862 because it was during the Civil war and both couldn't handle one another anymore.