Why was George McClellan important in the Battle of Antietam?

Answer 1

General George B. McClellan was a great organizer and manager of people and his troops loved him. He was also a great military strategist. Unfortunately he did not like to fight unless he believed he had a distinct troop advantage. like to fight but he set up the defenses around Washington D.C. which discouraged any Southern attacks.

Answer 2

Raised Union morale by his energetic organising of the new armies, where he was especially popular with the rank-&-file.

When it came to conducting operations, however, he caused so many delays that some of Lincoln's cabinet began to question his loyalty to the cause.

Some of these can be explained innocently enough. He was reluctant to make a move until everything was ready. Also he was misled about enemy numbers - vastly over-calculated by Pinkerton - and was also fooled by some highly successful deception tactics by Confederate General Magruder.

However, when he failed to pursue the enemy after Antietam (Sept 1862), Lincoln said "If General McClellan does not want to use the army, perhaps I may borrow it for a while."

After being fired, he became a Democratic politician, and stood against Lincoln in the General Election of 1864. We do not know what would have happened if he had won. He claimed not to be a Copperhead (anti-war Democrat), but it is hard to see how the war could have been carried on if Lincoln had been voted out.

Answer 3

Ulysses S Grant was important to the civil war because he was the only Union general who could win major battles against the south. Every other Union general was crushed by Robert E. Lee except him and William Tecumseh Sherman. If it wasn't for those two generals the Union would have lost the war.

Answer 4

He was a popular young General who put the Army of the Potomac on a war footing. His performance in the field was disappointing, and he caused so many delays that some of Lincoln's cabinet doubted his loyalty to the cause. After failing to pursue the enemy after the Union win at Antietam, he was removed from command. In the 1864 election, he stood against Lincoln, but was defeated.

Answer 5

George B. McClellan remains a famous general of the US Civil War because he was excellent at organizing and training troops for battle. Additionally, Lincoln's appointment of him as general in chief was an important position. Also, McClellan's name remains prominent because of his involvement in the Peninsula Campaign, Second Battle of Bull Run and the Battle of Antietam. His dismissal by Lincoln was a negative for him, but it helped his image of being "famous". He added to that so-called fame by running against Lincoln in the 1864 presidential election.

Answer 6

Both as a major general and as a general in chief, George B. McClellan's role stands out as a role that dominated Union military operations until President Lincoln ousted him from the command of the Army of the Potomac. As examples he:* Organized and built the Army of the Potomac;

* His brilliant Peninsula plan to capture Richmond would most probably succeeded if another more experienced general was given command of the Peninsula campaign forces;

* He stopped General Lee's attempt to bring Maryland into the Confederacy by causing a technical draw at the Battle of Antietam; and

* Lost his bid to control the overall course of the Civil War by forcing President Lincoln to follow the "McClellan" way to win the war, which ended in his ultimate departure from command.