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Thoughts on George B McClellan

Posted on 12/19/18 at 9:13 pm
Posted by athenslife101
Member since Feb 2013
20642 posts
Posted on 12/19/18 at 9:13 pm
Such an odd guy.

Listening to some of his personal writings, at times I have a hard time not believing he was purposefully being ineffectual. Almost seems like a child.

Also, for some reason, I really think it’s funny he got in trouble in Texas when he was young because he wouldn’t turn over his log book to the governor because he wrote inappropriate stuff in.

Also, had an....interesting post military career. Worked a lot of engineering jobs, but then was denied an engineering job in New York for being grossly incompetent. And then accidentally gets nominated as governor of New Jersey!
Posted by Theboot32
Mandeville/Poplarville
Member since Jan 2016
2454 posts
Posted on 12/19/18 at 9:14 pm to
Never heard of her
Posted by OweO
Plaquemine, La
Member since Sep 2009
122525 posts
Posted on 12/19/18 at 9:15 pm to
Im sure lots of people will contribute to this discussion.
Posted by soccerfüt
Location: A Series of Tubes
Member since May 2013
76135 posts
Posted on 12/19/18 at 9:16 pm to
The Little Giant?

Pass.

I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine.
Posted by athenslife101
Member since Feb 2013
20642 posts
Posted on 12/19/18 at 9:18 pm to
Well, I got banned from r/askhistorians so I have no one to talk history with on the internet anymore
Posted by athenslife101
Member since Feb 2013
20642 posts
Posted on 12/19/18 at 9:19 pm to
I think it was best said about him he put so much effort into putting the army together, he couldn’t bear to have it torn apart
Posted by Bullfrog
Running Through the Wet Grass
Member since Jul 2010
61777 posts
Posted on 12/19/18 at 9:19 pm to
His saddle was efficient but a real ball buster.
Posted by TorchtheFlyingTiger
1st coast
Member since Jan 2008
3352 posts
Posted on 12/19/18 at 9:21 pm to
So why did you get kicked out?
Posted by agdoctor
Louisiana
Member since Dec 2004
3211 posts
Posted on 12/19/18 at 9:23 pm to
The Les Miles of generals. Jackson and Lee ran RPO and got him fired
Posted by SCLibertarian
Conway, South Carolina
Member since Aug 2013
42654 posts
Posted on 12/19/18 at 9:28 pm to
Probably the only Presidential candidate in American history to publicly repudiate the platform of the political party he represented.
Posted by athenslife101
Member since Feb 2013
20642 posts
Posted on 12/19/18 at 9:28 pm to
I was short in some of my answers. Maybe a little...short. Their loss, because I asked very popular questions.

I got warned for saying “the divine comedy should be read within context of the time it was written in”

And banned for saying answering a question “why was xxxxxxx so hated for being an unreliable narrator” to which I responded “he was an u reliable narrator. That is why they didn’t like him”.


Posted by athenslife101
Member since Feb 2013
20642 posts
Posted on 12/19/18 at 9:30 pm to
Les Miles is more Burnside. Running up the guy against the Alabama front 7=Running up the middle to attack Mary’s Heights
Posted by RollTide1987
Baltimore, MD
Member since Nov 2009
71720 posts
Posted on 12/19/18 at 10:18 pm to
An excellent organizer and administrator who was too afraid to take risks on the battlefield.

Part of that was due to the constant belief that Lee outnumbered him, but I think part of it was also due to the fact that the man had become so accustomed to success in life that he was too afraid to gamble out of fear of failing.

But you do have to give the man his due. In September 1862, Lee invaded Maryland just days after routing the Union army from the field at Second Manassas. The situation was beyond dire and Confederate victory seemed imminent. He was tasked by Lincoln with a seemingly impossible situation: "To reorganize the Union army and bring it out of chaos."

Within days he had organized a ragtag force of veteran and green troops, many of whom knew not how to march or load their rifles, and marched them into the Maryland Campaign, successfully checking Lee at Antietam. Had McClellan been a little more daring, he could have turned the stalemate at Antietam into a decisive victory. Nevertheless, he took the momentum away from Lee and the Confederacy in the late-summer of 1862.
This post was edited on 12/19/18 at 10:24 pm
Posted by athenslife101
Member since Feb 2013
20642 posts
Posted on 12/19/18 at 10:30 pm to
His overestimating Confederate forces is baffling. Simply baffling. To the point o don’t even know if he believes it.
Posted by RollTide1987
Baltimore, MD
Member since Nov 2009
71720 posts
Posted on 12/19/18 at 10:33 pm to
quote:

His overestimating Confederate forces is baffling. Simply baffling.


It most definitely is baffling in hindsight, but the fog of war was real and McClellan had an intelligence service (the Pinkertons) that he relied upon for information. They were the ones telling him that Lee had the superior force.

He definitely comes off looking foolish though.
Posted by Ted2010
Member since Oct 2010
38958 posts
Posted on 12/19/18 at 10:35 pm to
My ex-wife is related to him; so frick that bitch. And frick George too.
Posted by athenslife101
Member since Feb 2013
20642 posts
Posted on 12/19/18 at 10:39 pm to
I always thought he was old school old money aristocrat, but after doing some research, while he was fairly well to do ore civil war, he was only making 10,000 dollars a year as president of a railroad. That’s about 300k now: hardly noteworthy.
Posted by Kige Ramsey
1996,1998,2012.
Member since Jul 2007
44439 posts
Posted on 12/19/18 at 10:49 pm to
And he ran for president opposing Abraham Lincoln in 1864
Posted by AU66
Northport Al
Member since Sep 2006
3314 posts
Posted on 12/19/18 at 11:45 pm to
quote:

is overestimating Confederate forces is baffling. Simply baffling. To the point o don’t even know if he believes it.


If my memory is correct didn’t Lee do a lot of marching men basically in circles to give the Union an appearance that he had a larger numbers than he actually had.
This post was edited on 12/19/18 at 11:46 pm
Posted by athenslife101
Member since Feb 2013
20642 posts
Posted on 12/19/18 at 11:48 pm to
Someone did that. Do t remember who. Don’t think it was lee. Just listened about it recently.

The confederates did have a lot of fake cannons set up outside of Washington. People were furious when they found out the guns that had been pointed at their city for weeks were fake
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