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Why did General George B. mcclellan did not finish off General Robert E lees troops when he had a the chance?
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Why was McClellan not an effective military commander?
It would be easy to list the reasons why most historians and people in the North who were loyal to President Lincoln, believed that Union General George B. McClellan was an ineffective commanding officer. Yet by doing so, a problem appears immediately. To which Union leading general is McClellan to be compared to? Remembering the McClellan was general in chief as well as a commander of only one army large as the Army of the Potomac was, when not holding the general in chief position, only US General US Grant appears on the radar screen. If other top Union commanders had been successful, such as generals like Philip Sheridan, George Meade, Joseph Hooker, Ambrose Burnside, John Pope and Henry Halleck, it's quite possible that General Grant would have never had the chance to display his own military credentials on a national scale. Here the discussion is among Union Generals in charge of huge Union armies, before Lincoln came upon Grant. Perhaps William T. Sherman can be mentioned, however his talents are rated he served under Grant. Historians do not seem to play an "what if" game if Sherman had commanded the Army of the Potomac or was the Union general in chief.To not ignore the obvious, yes McClellan was slow to act, was never considered to be a great field general, and caused his own problems by always over estimated the South's strength. These faults are well noted.With that said, what needs to be called to attention to are characteristics, no Union commander had compared to McClellan. No Union general has been claimed to be a better organizer of raw troops, nor better at overall military operations. Nor has any Union general, once again speaking on a large scale, had the loyalty of troops and officers that McClellan had.This does not excuse McClellan from his faults. However, if we look at each major battle of the Civil War, look at it in detail, we will see Union generals that sacrificed the lives of their troops and had significant failures.McClellan stands out because of the unused talents he had. It also cannot be ignored that his views on the war, and his politics play a major role in the manner by which his critics fault him.Since the primary player in the Union's military effort was Abraham Lincoln, with no malice intended, he is where the "buck stops" in an awkward reference to US President Harry S. Truman's famous slogan.
What happened in the war of Antietam?
After the Invasion of Maryland, General Lee made a plan for his attack on the north. But a Confederate soldier accidentally left a copy in 3 unused cigars in the camp. After they left, Union Soldiers arrived to rest. An Soldier stumble upon them and gave them to his general. Seeing that these were capture plans, McClellan finally got the chance to stop Lee's army. On September17, 1862, at Antietam Creek, near Sharpsburg Maryland, McClellan's army clashed violently with that of Lee's. This resulted in the Battle of Antietam. It is said it was the bloodiest day of American history. Neither side gained any ground by nightfall, 25,000 men were dead or wounded. Lee who lost one-third of his army, withdrew to Virginia.McClellan was too cautious to follow, missing his chance to finish of the Southern army. Lincoln was so fed up that McClellan did not finish the Southern army, he fired the general of duty in November, 1862.
Why was the union general mcclellan not effective as a military commander?
General George B. McClellan served in the US Civil War as a major general and also a general in chief. McClellan was a brilliant organizer and a highly intelligent military officer. He also was an excellent in mapping out Union strategies that impacted both Eastern and Western theaters of the war. Where he was deficient was in battle field tactics. He was over cautious, over estimated the enemy's strength, and ignored the fact that President Lincoln was his commander in chief. He did salvage some of his tactical problems by his performance at the Battle of Antietam, but not enough to keep his job.
How did general grant avoid defeat at the Battle of Shiloh?
Through a lucky chance - the Confederate General Beauregard decided to call a halt on the first evening. If he had pressed on, Grant's army would have been pushed into the Tennessee River.
Why was the battle of Antientam considered to be one of the turning points in the war?
Antietam (or Sharpsburg) is considered a turning point of the American Civil War for several reasons. The battle brought to an end the first Confederate campaign north of the Potomac River, whether one considers the movement that brought the Confederate army there an invasion, or a big raid. Another result was the battle and what followed gave Lincoln the excuse to at long last rid himself of General George McClellan. McClellan, despite outnumbering Lee three to one, failed to destroy Lee's army, when Lee was fighting with his back to the River, which was in flood stage, making escape for any part of Lee's army forced to flee from a defeat all but impossible. As Lincoln, untrained in military matters but a very quick learner, said: "He had them in the palm of his hand, and had only to close his hand about them". McClellan failed to get large portions of his army into the battle; two of his seven army corps never fired a shot all day. McClellan basically fought three separate battles, on the north end, the middle, and then the south end of the field, failing to make these efforts simultaneously, allowing Lee to move forces around to meet each individual threat. Thus Lee was able to hang on, though it was a very, very near thing several times. Lee knew his opponent, and the day after the battle remained on the field, daring McClellan to try again, and then, the River having gone down some, was allowed to depart over the River (and a River crossing in the presence of the enemy is extremely dangerous, if that enemy attacks while the army is in the midst of crossing). McClellan then crowed about having "driven" Lee out of Maryland, failing to grasp that he had left intact the Rebel army, to fight again on many more fields. McClellan truly had the chance to end the war that day, and seems not to have understood that whatsoever, so it would take two and one half more years to bring the slaughter to an end. But McClellan was an important Democrat, and Lincoln had to handle him carefully. Weeks after the battle Lincoln visited McClellan and his army, still on the field at Antietam, with no idea where Lee was south of the River, in an effort to nudge McClellan into motion, and get him going after the enemy. But McClellan could not be moved. Lincoln still had to wait until after the midterm elections in early November, 1862, but within a couple of days after those elections, McClellan was relieved of his command, and was never given another command during the rest of the war. Of the half dozen commanders of the Army of the Potomac Lincoln tried before finding Meade and Grant, McClellan lasted the longest, but finally getting rid of him started the long and painful search process, involving many failures, which finally allowed Lincoln to obtain a more competent commander for his main field army. But the most important result of the battle, and perhaps the biggest reason the battle was a pivotal turning point, was the effect overseas. Britain and France had been on the verge of intervening in the war, which would have meant the Confederacy would have achieved its aim, of establishing itself as an independent nation, and so would have basically won the war. Lee had given as one of the reasons for making this move into the north that he hoped "to conquer a peace" there, by winning a big battle on northern soil, thus encouraging Britain and France to intervene on his side. Failing to win, though he did not lose either, this did not happen, and ended the closest flirtation Britain and France had with the idea of intervention. After the battle Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation (he had been waiting, for months, for a Union victory to do so), and after that, any foreign intervention would have seemed to be an intervention in favor of slavery. Neither Britain nor France were willing to be seen in that light.
Why do you think General George mcclellan did not finish off General Robert E Lee troops when he had the chance?
cause he can take advantage of LEEs army and take him as condfederacy prison
Why do you think General George McClellan did not finish off General Robert E. Lee's troops when he had the chance?
cause he can take advantage of LEEs army and take him as condfederacy prison
Why do you think general George McClellan did not finish off general Robert e lee's troops when he had the chance?
cause he can take advantage of LEEs army and take him as condfederacy prison
Why do you think general George b. McClellan did not finish off general Robert e. lee's troops when he had the chance?
cause he can take advantage of LEEs army and take him as condfederacy prison
Why do you think general George b McClellan did not finish off Robert e lee's troops when he had the chance?
cause he can take advantage of LEEs army and take him as condfederacy prison
Why do you think general George B. McClellan did not finish off Robert E. Lee's troops when he had the chance?
cause he can take advantage of LEEs army and take him as condfederacy prison
Why didn't general george b mcclellan finish off general Robert e lee's troops when he had the chance?
If you mean at Antietam, it was because he simply moved too slowly - as he always did in the opnion of Lincoln's cabinet.
Who did george mcclellan go against?
In the General Election of 1864, he ran as a Democrat against Lincoln. (He had a good chance of winning too.)
What officials helped George B McClellan to become an officer in the US Army when the US Civil War began?
George B. McClellan wanted to return to the US Army with a high rank. When the US Civil War began he had his chance. He was sponsored by the Republican Governor of Ohio, Dennison and had the support of General Winfield Scott. McClellan was commissioned as a major general of volunteers and was assigned to command regiments being formed in Indiana and Ohio.
Was there ever a chance that General George B McClellan planned on becoming the military dictator of the US?
General George B. McClellan was not happy with President Lincoln's initial Emancipation Proclamation of September 22, 1862. He learned of it on September 24, 1862. McClellan discussed possible responses to the proclamation with his closest confidants. As this was happening, officers loyal to McClellan, were said to be speaking about a possible military dictatorship. McClellan, however, was never involved in that. What he did do was to speak to his Democratic friends in New York City to determine how New Yorkers would respond if he openly opposed Lincoln's proclamation.
Who was the Union General of the Army of the Potomac?
George McClellan, he was later fired for slow reaction time, hired back by Lincoln, then fired again for not doing anything when he had a chance to crush the Confederacy. And after he was fired I believe it was George Meade.
What was the letter President Lincoln sent to General George B McClellan in October of 1862?
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.
