George B. McClellan: The Young Napoleon

Rating:
Summary: A Puzzling Man.
Review: George B. McClellan has always been something of an enigma, both during his lifetime and since. Stephen W. Sears who is a well know author to Civil War readers decided to take on the task of doing a biography of this puzzling man in 1988 and he has, as usual, done an outstanding job. Just be aware that this is not a true biography as much as it is a military biography. There is little written record of McClellan's childhood so Sears has little to work with there but most of the General's early life is dealt with in a few chapters. His life after he leaves active duty with the army also gets little attention. Large books are written just about one campaign while Sears gives McClellan's entire presidential campaign less than fifty pages. His life after the election of 1864 gets even less attention and his time as Governor of New Jersey gets only a few pages.

Still, most readers who pick up a book about McClellan are interested mostly in his wartime service and that is exactly what they get here. Sears does an excellent job of describing various engagements without going into so much detail that he looses the reader. He also gives a very good account of how the General became the favorite of his troops. Basically, McClellan took care of his men and looked out for their welfare. So much so that his desire to avoid casualties became one of his downfalls and Sears is quick to point out McClellan's faults, of which there were many. Overall though, Sears seems to be a little hard on his subject and gives him little credit even when it is due. For example, in dealing with how quickly McClellan got his army reorganized and back in fighting form after 2nd Manassas Sears only points out that it was accomplished. In fact, I really can't see any other general on either side putting an army back together after a devastating defeat and having it on the move in such a short time.

On the other hand, as Sears points out McClellan seemed to be absolutely incapable of committing his army to battle. Of course the intelligence he was getting from Allan Pinkerton didn't help as the famous detective always over estimated Confederate strength by at least fifty percent. McClellan took these reports to heart as he did reports from officers who had obviously interviewed Confederate plants who fed them false information. Clearly these problems didn't help but some of the figures of enemy strength were just downright silly and the General should have been able to sense that. Instead he always seems to have taken the worst scenario to heart and he wasted chance after chance to inflict major defeats on the Confederates. McClellan was indeed his own worst enemy. Although John B. Magruder does get some long overdue credit in this book for his theatrical tactics that kept McClellan frozen in place several times on the peninsula. Hopefully someday, someone will do a good biography on Magruder.

Sears also deals with the General's relationship with the Lincoln Administration and he does so in an excellent manner. Both McClellan and Lincoln seem to have been a little over sensitive about each other on occasion but McClellan was much worse than Lincoln. On the other hand the General wasn't just paranoid about Secretary Stanton. Stanton was indeed out to get him, as were radical members of Congress.

The author as stated before is a little hard on McClellan but overall this is an excellent book. Sears has grown as a historian since he wrote this volume but this is still probably the definitive work on Little Mac, and probably always will be. To understand the war in the east one must try to come to grips with McClellan and his personality. This book will go a long way in helping you do just that.

Rating:
Summary: A Puzzling Man.
Review: George B. McClellan has always been something of an enigma, both during his lifetime and since. Stephen W. Sears who is a well know author to Civil War readers decided to take on the task of doing a biography of this puzzling man in 1988 and he has, as usual, done an outstanding job. Just be aware that this is not a true biography as much as it is a military biography. There is little written record of McClellan's childhood so Sears has little to work with there but most of the General's early life is dealt with in a few chapters. His life after he leaves active duty with the army also gets little attention. Large books are written just about one campaign while Sears gives McClellan's entire presidential campaign less than fifty pages. His life after the election of 1864 gets even less attention and his time as Governor of New Jersey gets only a few pages.

Still, most readers who pick up a book about McClellan are interested mostly in his wartime service and that is exactly what they get here. Sears does an excellent job of describing various engagements without going into so much detail that he looses the reader. He also gives a very good account of how the General became the favorite of his troops. Basically, McClellan took care of his men and looked out for their welfare. So much so that his desire to avoid casualties became one of his downfalls and Sears is quick to point out McClellan's faults, of which there were many. Overall though, Sears seems to be a little hard on his subject and gives him little credit even when it is due. For example, in dealing with how quickly McClellan got his army reorganized and back in fighting form after 2nd Manassas Sears only points out that it was accomplished. In fact, I really can't see any other general on either side putting an army back together after a devastating defeat and having it on the move in such a short time.

On the other hand, as Sears points out McClellan seemed to be absolutely incapable of committing his army to battle. Of course the intelligence he was getting from Allan Pinkerton didn't help as the famous detective always over estimated Confederate strength by at least fifty percent. McClellan took these reports to heart as he did reports from officers who had obviously interviewed Confederate plants who fed them false information. Clearly these problems didn't help but some of the figures of enemy strength were just downright silly and the General should have been able to sense that. Instead he always seems to have taken the worst scenario to heart and he wasted chance after chance to inflict major defeats on the Confederates. McClellan was indeed his own worst enemy. Although John B. Magruder does get some long overdue credit in this book for his theatrical tactics that kept McClellan frozen in place several times on the peninsula. Hopefully someday, someone will do a good biography on Magruder.

Sears also deals with the General's relationship with the Lincoln Administration and he does so in an excellent manner. Both McClellan and Lincoln seem to have been a little over sensitive about each other on occasion but McClellan was much worse than Lincoln. On the other hand the General wasn't just paranoid about Secretary Stanton. Stanton was indeed out to get him, as were radical members of Congress.

The author as stated before is a little hard on McClellan but overall this is an excellent book. Sears has grown as a historian since he wrote this volume but this is still probably the definitive work on Little Mac, and probably always will be. To understand the war in the east one must try to come to grips with McClellan and his personality. This book will go a long way in helping you do just that.

Rating:
Summary: The Compleat Failure
Review: George Brinton McClellan was an excellent engineer, a good businessman, an outstanding military administrator. He was also incredibly lucky.  But none of this saved him when he became commander of the Army of the Potomac.  As a general, he failed miserably.

Sears puts his finger on McClellan's weak point: his utter inability to deal with uncertainty.  In his entire Civil War career, McClellan planned and fought only one battle, Antietam.  And he only fought because Lee blindly refused the chance to run away that McClellan held out to him for two days running.  The rest of the battles fought by Union forces McC. commanded were planned and commanded by others, and in all but two cases, he wasn't even with the troops that were fighting.  In both those cases, he never gave an order once the shooting began.  This is moral cowardice of the worst sort, and utterly contemptible.

Stephen Sears goes through the details of McClellan's dismal performance as a general, showing how badly McClellan failed the Union and the Army he genuinely loved.  It's rather repititious at times, but that's because McClellan was rather repititious.  He made the same errors again and again, for the same reasons.

If you're interested in the life of George B. McClellan, Stephen Sears will take you right to the craven, bigoted, close-minded heart of his subject.  An unpleasant subject, well examined.

Rating:
Summary: If it fit...wear it.
Review: I had profound understanding of George McClellan after reading this book. Stephen Sears, I thought did a fantastic job in bring the truth about this historical character. Some readers may be slightly turned off by this biography since Sears proves to be totally unforgiving toward McClellan. His mistakes, personality and his delusions are presented here starkly, honestly and without mercy. But before anyone think this is a hack job on poor McClellan, think again. Sears presented his facts clearly, logically and with candor. Of course, McClellan wasn't a total dunderhead. He created the famous Army of the Potomac, organized it, reformed it and gave it life which lasted until the end of the war. For that, he deserves the thanks of the Union and a honor place among the heroes of the North. But what curse McClellan was his abilities as a combat leader. McClellan simply didn't know how to used this terrible swift sword, acting as if it was made of glass instead. Sears made it plain that his ineptness as the battle commander doomed McClellan's reputation forever. By far, this book will be considered as a definitive biography on George McClellan for some times to come. When you read it, you will discovered why Robert E. Lee loved him so much as his opposing commander. I would too if I was Lee!!

Rating:
Summary: Good History, but not enough analysis
Review: I picked up this biography after reading Sears' "To the Gates of Richmond" which fascinated me with it's portrait of McClellan. Always suspecting he was being conspired against or being faced with overwhelming enemy forces, General McClellan has got to be one of America's most paranoid military figures. I hoped that a book devoted to his life would add some insight regarding this failing in a supposed military genius. Unfortunately, although the book reinforces the charcter of McCLellan with further incident, I finished without getting the feeling that I understood the sources of his fears. I've loved Mr Sears' other books on the Civil War and its various campaigns. The high quality of his other histories left me a little disappointed with this outing.

Rating:
Summary: Best book written about the Young Napoleon
Review: I've been facinated with McClellan for several years now and Stephen Sears's book is without question the best ever written about the Young Napoleon. He follows Mac's life as a child prodigy at West Point, through his Civil War years and beyond.

George McClellan to me is perhaps one of the most fascinating man of the Civil War. He commanded the AOP for only 18 months but his shadow hung over it for the entire war. Very Charismatic and a brilliant administrator but also a man who suffered from bouts of paranoia and indecisiveness to the point that he would become incapable of taking any action with his army. Twice being put in charge of the Army of the Potomac he was the Civil War version of a deer in the headlights being frozen into an inability to take any action.

One thing I like about this book is it's fair. It's critical of McClellan when it needs to be such as his time on the Peninsula but also shows how brilliant he was in his whipping the Army of the Potomac into a proper fighting force. Sears makes special point for example to talk about how successful McClellan is after the war as Governor of New Jersey and as a railroad executive. At the same time Sears looks at the darker parts of McClellan, especially his paranoia which at times would lead him to see enemies at every corner and a Confederate army many times it's actual size.

Lastly with Stephen Sears you get a very well written book. No dry writing here. Sears is a talented writer whose books read like a good novel.

Rating:
Summary: No one Knows McClellan Bettter than Sears
Review: Perhaps no one was a better organizer of an Army during both sides of the Civil War than George McCellan. He took a dispirited army after the defeat of the First Bull Run and equipped it, drilled it and raised its morale to an effective unit. Unfortunately, McClellan could not mobilize into battle or effectively command when in battle. During the Seven days battles, McClellan left his army disorganized at Glendale and hugged a ship in the James letting his army fight for it's life without a commander. McClellan's initial movements outside the gates of Washington were so sloth like that Joseph Johnson's Confederates moved out of their forward positions unchallenged with the aid of their "Quaker Guns" (fake cannons). Sears captures the tremendous ego of McClellan through McClellan's letters, orders and first hand accounts. McClellan, who was so disrespectful to Lincoln personally and among his generals, is given a second chance at Antietam where he had captured Lee's
strategic dispatch only to squander his great opportunity on uncoordinated attacks allowing Lee to defend with limited resources. The popularity among his generals and his troops was a great concern to the Lincoln administration due to McClellan's
references to marching on Washington and his leniancy toward the Confederates. Fed by incompetent spys and paranoia, McClellan imagined that the Confederates had a huge numerical adventage over hhis armies when the reverse was true. Sears has made virtually a career of understanding McClellan and his command. A fascinating book and time, the fear of McClellan's military politics contributed to General John Porter's courtmartial and the oppressive Congressional Conduct on the War Committee. A great book on an extremely capable, egotistical yet limited personality. Sears captures the man and all the conspiracies in the Army of the Potomac. After reading this book, you will understand why Lincoln took a shot at having a Western Commander come east, General Pope, after dealing with McClellan.





Rating:
Summary: More biography than military history
Review: This is a very good examination of George McClellan the man. It is not, strictly speaking, a Civil War history and this should be kept in mind while reading it. Readers will find this book particularly useful keeping it in the larger context of Sears' subsequent works, "Landscape Turned Red" and "To the Gates of Richmond."

What I find particularly interesting is that the more Sears studied his subject, the more he came to dislike McClellan. "Landscape Turned Red" is the first of the three books, and while Sears was fairly harsh in his judgement of McClellan, he still was prepared to give McClellan the benefit of the doubt. By the time he wrote the biography, Sears' respect for McClellan was clearly slipping away; when he came to write "To the Gates of Richmond," his contempt for McClellan knew no bounds.

If you want a good biographical treatment of McClellan, then this book will serve you well. Sears' other books will give you more in-depth analysis of McClellan's military campaigns.

Rating:
Summary: More biography than military history
Review: This is a very good examination of George McClellan the man. It is not, strictly speaking, a Civil War history and this should be kept in mind while reading it. Readers will find this book particularly useful keeping it in the larger context of Sears' subsequent works, "Landscape Turned Red" and "To the Gates of Richmond."

What I find particularly interesting is that the more Sears studied his subject, the more he came to dislike McClellan. "Landscape Turned Red" is the first of the three books, and while Sears was fairly harsh in his judgement of McClellan, he still was prepared to give McClellan the benefit of the doubt. By the time he wrote the biography, Sears' respect for McClellan was clearly slipping away; when he came to write "To the Gates of Richmond," his contempt for McClellan knew no bounds.

If you want a good biographical treatment of McClellan, then this book will serve you well. Sears' other books will give you more in-depth analysis of McClellan's military campaigns.