George B. McClellan: The Man Who Saved the UnionTHIS IS MORE THAN THE STORY OF “Little Mac.” It is the story also of that dark center of intrigue, the nation’s capital in 1862—of Washington shaking in its shoes for fear of an invasion by “gaunt hairy beings riding into Washington like Centaurs and perhaps setting fire to the Capitol”; a Washington dominated by politicians and partisans, where party strife and bitterness were so strong that some members of the government itself preferred Union defeat to a victory which might make a Democrat (McClellan) a national hero and a presidential possibility; a Washington in which even the President and his Cabinet showed a childish impatience because McClellan did not remove the threat to the capital overnight—in spite of a liquid terrain and “the greatest military combination in modern history, Lee and Jackson”; a Washington rotten with military gossip and spy-talk in back alleys.... “THIS BOOK ORIGINATED in studies made by the historians of the Conservation Commission in the Richmond battlefield area, which is comprised in the Richmond Battlefield Park, a charge of the commission. These battlefields are the best preserved and least studied (because long inaccessible) in the country. A detailed examination of the terrain convinced the historians, both of them Southerners, that McClellan was a great general and that he has been underestimated by historians. Their opinion was confirmed by a study of the records. They came to the conclusion that it was McClellan who prevented the defeat of the North in 1861-62 when the Confederacy was relatively stronger than it was at a later time. Believing that politics should not be permitted to influence military judgments, they have written this book, partly for the purpose of doing justice to a great man who has suffered at the hands of history. It is based on the ground itself and the original sources, and is believed to be a contribution to American and Virginia history.”—Foreword |
Contents
CHAPTER FOURHE SAVES THE UNION FOR THE FIRST | |
CHAPTER FIVEEMBARKATION ON A GREAT | |
CHAPTER SIXTHE FIRST GREAT BATTLE 47 | |
CHAPTER SEVENBEGINNING OF THE INFERNAL WEEK | |
CHAPTER EIGHTGAINESS MILL JUNE 2768 | |
CHAPTER NINEGLENDALE JUNE 30 76 | |
CHAPTER ELEVENTHE PLOT MATURES | |
CHAPTER TWELVEHE SAVES THE UNION IN SPITE | |
IT ANTIETAM CREEK 133 | |
CHAPTER FOURTEENCOMEDY AFTER TRAGEDY | |
CHAPTER FIFTEENEXCHANGE OF PRESIDENTIAL | |
CHAPTER SIXTEENHE SEEKS VINDICATION 188 | |
CHAPTER SEVENTEENTHE PLACID YEARS AND PEACE | |
REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 203 | |
Other editions - View all
George B. McClellan: The Man Who Saved the Union H. J. Eckenrode,Bryan Conrad No preview available - 2013 |
George B. McClellan: The Man Who Saved the Union H. J. Eckenrode,Bryan Conrad No preview available - 2013 |
Common terms and phrases
A. P. Hill advance afternoon American Antietam artillery attack August batteries battle bridge brigade Burnside Burnside’s campaign cavalry Chase Chickahominy command Confederate army corps Couch Creek cross D. H. Hill defeat defenses division enemy fell back field fighting fire flank force Fort Monroe Franklin Fredericksburg front Glendale guns Hagerstown Halleck Harper’s Ferry Harrison’s Landing Heintzelman Hooker Ibid infantry James River Johnston June June 28 Lee and Jackson Lee’s army Lincoln Longstreet lost Malvern Hill Maryland McClellan McDowell McDowell’s Mechanicsville miles military morning move movement night numbers o’clock October officers Pennsylvania pickets political Pope Pope’s Porter position Potomac President railroad Rappahannock regiments reported retreat Richmond Scott Second Manassas sent September September 18 Sharpsburg side soldiers South Mountain Southern Stanton Stuart success Sumner supplies troops Union army Union line Unionists victory Virginia Washington West White Oak Swamp Williamsburg road wired McClellan wrote