As a result, McClellan’s leadership skills during battles were highly questioned by President Abraham Lincoln, who eventually removed him from command iv. President Lincoln was violently opposed to appointing McClelland commander of the Union Army prior to the Battle of Antietam. The President knew of McClellan’s opposition to his policies, anti-slavery in general. Not appointing him at this critical juncture would have been met with hostility and mistrust v. Although Lincoln well understood the danger inherent in McClellan’s hostility to his own government and policies, he also knew McClellan was the only general to get the Union…
Mr. Lincoln’s Army is in its most basic form, about the American Civil War during the early existence of the United States. This book covers the (northern) Union Army's early years and formation, the ascension and command of a young and dashing General George B. McClellan, the Peninsula…
McClellan, also known as "Lil' Mac," and "Young Napoleon," was a prestigious student at the West Point academy. He was the youngest recruit, however when he graduated he was second in his class, and the first one ended up serving…
He was a hard, smart, and commanding general for the Confederates. He was a very tough man and lost his arm, from a cannonball, and still went to the war.…
Lincoln is perhaps one of the greatest wartime presidents and his entire presidency effectively took place during the civil war. However, before taking office Lincoln had no prior experience with war as a politician or a general. When he took office Lincoln was aware of his deficiencies in knowledge of military knowledge in comparison to the confederacies leader, Jefferson Davis. Lincoln was fully aware that he had to become a knowledgeable wartime leader with adept decision making quickly to successfully reunite the states. (p. 1-11)…
The Northern armies reigned victorious, and the rebelling states were returned to the Union. Since the start of the war, the Union devised a strategy. They planned to blockade the South and drive on the Confederate capital. Even though organizing it took about four years, it was the single strategy that won the war. Lincoln and Grant cooperated well.…
George McClellan was remembered as the great General of the Union Army. His military command style put him at odds with President Abraham Lincoln, and would upset his military and political luck. McClellan began his military career after entering the United States Military Academy in 1842. He graduated second in a class of 59 in 1846, along with 20 others who would become full rank generals during the Civil War. He was appointed as a brevet second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers and served under General Winfield Scott during the Mexican-American War, helping to construct roads and bridges for the army. He was also a military observer during the Crimean War. In 1857, McClellan resigned from the military to take a position with the…
Within the Civil War, McClellan was the Major General. He was the commander of the Department of the Ohio Army of the…
On May 1863, the Confederate army led by General Lee had scored a shattering success at Chancellorsville against the army of Potomac. After Lee’s first invasion that ended at Antietam during the previous fall, he chose to go on the offensive and raid the North for the second time. Lee’s intention was to bring the clash out of Virginia, divert the northern army from Vicksburg and get acknowledgment of the Confederacy by France and Britain and therefore reinforce the cause of northern Copperheads who wanted peace to prevail. On the other side, President Lincoln named Major General George G. Meade to replace Gen. Joseph Hooker as the commander of the Army of Potomac. The president had lost confidence in Hooker, since he seemed reluctant to deal with Lee’s army after being defeated at Chancellorsville.…
As historian Gary W. Gallagher noted in The American Civil War, Stuart was "a hard-headed professional soldier who knew exactly what cavalry should do and who was as good at those tasks as anybody on either side. When it came to screening his own army, gathering information about the opposing army, and controlling the middle ground between the two armies, Stuart was unexcelled”.(Gallagher 4). This exemplifies that Stuart did have flaws and do to the lack of skills in gathering information and taking charge which caused poor decision making. In order to mask the army’s movement up the Shenandoah Valley into western Maryland and central Pennsylvania, Lee depended upon his renowned cavalry leader J.E.B. “Jeb” Stuart. Upon crossing into Maryland, Stuart loosely interpreted Lee’s ambiguous orders and began raiding Union supply trains.…
Have you heard of Bull Nelson? He was an important Civil War general for the Union. He helped to keep the states together. He was involved in many important events and an important part of them.…
General McClellan was the other leader of the union, he was judicious. Being cautious was an excellent effect for General McClellan, when things became rough he didn’t wish for anybody…
Great post this week, I really enjoyed it. I like your comment “McClellan was what seems to me as a Trojan Horse.” You are absolutely right. It makes me wonder why Lincoln selected him as the commander of the Union forces. McClellan was a passive leader and wasn’t a good tactician. What would have happened if Lee would have accepted Lincoln’s offer to command the Union forces? I believe it would have been a completely different war because Lee was aggressive and took the fight to the Union. If Lee would have commanded the Union that would have left commanding the South Jeb Stewart or Jackson, either one would have possibly made the war longer and more causalities. Thanks for you post this week!…
All the reasons have a tendency, in the author's point of view, to point to the Republican administration of the Union on the need for drastic change in the leadership of military operations, and the general approach to military and domestic policies. This is especially true of the President Lincoln, whose authority grew, and the government during the war was almost unlimited. The political analysis of the situation of the war years provided throughout the book is not the key purpose of the author of 1861: The Civil War Awakening. The real aim of Goodheart (2011) is to present it fluently as it would be frivolous and arrogant in relation to this complex, multi-dimensional process. To understand the situation of those difficult years, to understand a complex set of problems which confronted Lincoln and his administration, is possible only if a reader grasps as much as possible, in order to break through…
The South won the Civil War. History says that the North won but in my opinion that is not true. The North won the fighting but what were they fighting for? They were fighting to end slavery. They did not achieve this goal. Yes, slavery was legally abolished but it started right back up again in other forms. First there was sharecropping. Than Confederate soldiers took office. That only made matters worse. Then after they took office they managed to pass Jim Crow laws and Black Codes. The South definitely won the Civil War.…