0
What initial advantage did Union General George B McClellan fail to take advantage of at the beginning of the Peninsula Campaign?
ChuckSiata
The first blow would have been to take Yorktown by assault , taking advantage of the great superiority in number (4 to 1). Instead, McClellan preferred to invest the weak Confederate position by conducting a regular siege operation, which led to delay the advance towards Richmond for more than a month .
Wiki User
∙ 8y ago
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoIn the opening weeks of the Peninsula campaign sixty -seventy thousand Union troops with another 30,000 on the way, gave Union General George B. McClellan with a superior chance to begin to strike a catastrophic blow to the Confederacy by capturing Richmond, the South;s capital. The brilliance of his Peninsula campaign was that his landed troops would be a mire fifty miles away from Richmond. By comparison to the Alexandria straight south route it was almost a hundred miles. With the aforementioned troops he faced no more than 15,000 Confederate troops at Yorktown. Confederate forces under the command of Joseph Johnston, approximately 45,000 troops would take three weeks to reach the scene. If McClellan had struck hard and fast, he would have found Richmond defended by fewer than 60,000 troops disorganized and confused from their march from Northern Virginia.
Wiki User
∙ 7y agoUnion General George B. McClellan's best chance to make the Peninsula campaign a real success came after the Battle of Gaine's Mill. On the night after that battle, June 27, 1862, McClellan ordered his forces to retreat. This was against the suggestions of two of his generals, Joe Hooker and Phil Kearny. What they saw was a thin line of Confederates in front of them. This ploy by Confederate General Lee did not fool Hooker and Kearny. They urged that they be allowed to assault the weak Confederate lines and march on to Richmond. McClellan refused and ordered a perfect retreat, textbook style.
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
What major development caused Union General George McClellan to believe that President Lincoln was hampering the Peninsula campaign of 1862?
As the Union's Peninsula campaign was in its early stages, General McClellan was certain that President Lincoln was hampering McClellan's war operations. Lincoln had stepped in and retained the corps under General McDowell to defend Washington DC. Lincoln believed this was a necessity.
What is mcclellan's unsuccessful attempt to capture Richmond?
peninsula campaign (left column, p. 454; American pageant 12e)
Why was McClellan's Campaign called the Peninsular Campaign?
This campaign is called the Peninsular (peninsula) Campaign because the action was fought on the peninsula of land bounded on the north by the York River, the south by the James River and extending out to Chesapeake Bay. The Battles of Yorktown (which was not a battle but a siege that produced next to no results for McClellan) Williamsburg, Hanover Court House, Seven Pines, and the battles of The Seven Days were all fought during this expedition. The thrust of the campaign was the capture of the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia but it ended in failure.
Who created the Union's Peninsula campaign of 1862?
The Peninsula campaign was the work of the Union's General in Chief, George B. McClellan. As general in chief, McClellan submitted a brilliant plan to catch the Confederates off guard and instead of attacking Richmond with a march due south from Washington DC, he convinced President Lincoln that time and distance could be saved by launching the attack against Richmond from the peninsula that lay east of Richmond. Lincoln finally agreed with the plan but as McClellan was proceeding, Lincoln thought it best to remove McClellan as general in chief so that he could focus all his attention on Richmond and not be distracted with other military operations.
What was one of the worst Confederate defeats in the Peninsula campaign of 1862?
On July 1, 1862, the Battle of Malvern Hill was fought in the Peninsula campaign. Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee suffered a serious defeat against entrench Union troops. Union commanders under General McClellan urge a counterattack, however McClellan believes he needs to retreat rather than lose more troops.
What was one advantage the proposal for the Peninsula campaign offered to the Union?
The McClellan proposal offered the Union the advantage of beginning its assault on Richmond from a point only sixty miles away from the Confederate capital. Lincoln had preferred a direct attack by the Army of the Potomac under McClellan from Washington DC. McClellan was concerned that Confederate forces at Manassas, would thwart a direct attack on Richmond. Lincoln reluctantly agreed to the Peninsula campaign if McClellan left behind a sufficient force to guard Washington DC.
What was the number of battles in the peninsula campaign under George B McClellan?
The Seven Days Battles was the number of battles in the Peninsula campaign under George B McClellan.
Who led the Union army at Peninsula Campaign?
Gen. George McClellan
What was the ironic about US Civil War generals Johnston and McClellan as they prepared to face each other in the Peninsula campaign of 1862?
The purpose of the Peninsula campaign as designed by General in Chief George B. McClellan, was to make a surprise attack from east of Richmond. This was thought to bring a quick end to the Southern rebellion. The irony of the campaign was that it would initially pit Johnston against McClellan. These men had been very close friends prior to the beginning of the war.
How close did General McClellan's army get to Richmond during the peninsula campaign?
5 miles
What role did Union General Joseph Gilbert Totten have in the Union's Peninsula campaign of 1862?
Union General George B. McClellan had plans for General Totten in the 1862 Peninsula campaign. Late in March of 1862, McClellan had requested that General Totten be made available to build fortifications on the peninsula leading to Richmond. He was an experienced engineer. McClellan understood that the experience of the Army's chief engineer, Totten would be invaluable in this campaign.
McClellan's disastrously unsuccessful attempt to end the war quickly by a backdoor conquest of Richmond?
The Peninsula Campaign
Mcclellan's disastrously unsuccessfully attempt to end the war quickly by a backdoor conquest of Richmond?
Peninsula Campaign
What were General George B McClellan's complaints as the Peninsula campaign began to unfold in 1862?
General McClellan believed he had good reasons for his ideas that Washington DC was set about to damage his plans for the Peninsula campaign. He resented his battle plans being questioned, having his army reorganized against his will, and to read in newspapers about his removal from the general in chief title he had. From that point on, he began his campaign of blaming Washington DC for his failures in the Peninsula campaign.
In the Peninsular Campaign McClellan planned to sail the to Virginia on the peninsula between the York and James rivers.?
potomac river
In the Peninsular Campaign McClellan planned to sail the to Virginia on the peninsula between the York and James rivers?
potomac river
Was US President Lincoln responsible for the Union defeat in the Peninsula campaign?
It would be unfair to blame President Lincoln for the defeat of Union forces involved with the Peninsula campaign. General George B. McClellan had many chances to take advantage of his superior numbers in troops and his advantage by forcing the South's hand by attacking Richmond from the east on the peninsula. His failures of command, especially regarding his unneeded siege of Yorktown gave the South plenty of time to react.
