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GENERA!

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GREAT COMMANDERS • • • •

GENERAL McCLELLAN

General PETER S. MICHIE

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS

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NEW YORK

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY

1901

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THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS,

Two Copies Received

SEP. 5 1901

Copyright entry

CLASS ^XXc N».

COPY 3.

Copyright, 1901, By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY.

A// rights reserved.

September^ 1901.

PREFACE.

The accomplished author of this volume com- pleted the work, with the exception of the preface md index, in December last. In the following Feb- ■uary the reading of the proof was interrupted by an llness, terminating in his untimely death on the i6th Df that month, so that the labor of proof reading de- volved upon his friend and assistant professor, Cap- ain Cornells De W. Willcox, of the Artillery Corps. 3r. Otto Plate, librarian of the Academy, prepared the elaborate index, and, under the supervision of Pro- essor Michie, the maps were made by First Lieu- enant William Ruthven Smith, of the Artillery Corps, in instructor in the Department of Philosophy.

Peter Smith Michie was born March 24, 1839, it Brechin, Forfarshire, Scotland, and was appointed o the United States Military Academy from Ohio, graduating second in the class of 1863. He at once ought active service in the field, receiving the com- nission of first lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers, md before the close of the civil war he was chief engineer of the Army of the James. For his services LS an engineer during the civil war he received three )revets, and for meritorious services in the Virginia ampaign, terminating at Appomattox Court House, le was brevetted a brigadier general of volunteers. In Vpril, 1 867, he was ordered to the West Point Academy s Assistant Professor of Civil and Military Engineer- ng, and four years later was appointed Professor of vJatural and Experimental Philosophy, performing his luties as such for almost thirty years.

It may be questioned if any instructor at the Acad- :my was ever more beloved and respected than Gen- :ral Michie, or if anv member of the educatiojial staff

vi GENERAL McCLELLAN.

ever exercised equal influence in aiding and guiding' the affairs of the MiHtary Academy. His latest thoughts were on the successful continuation of his duties there, and his dying wish as to his successor was happily gratified. Few men had more friends than the; warm-hearted Michie. He desired to live, but was- ready to go, although he had not nearly rounded outt the allotted threescore years and ten, and had muchi literary work in view that he wished to complete after his approaching retirement from the Academy.

Not yet sixty-two when he was called away, but how, full and complete was Michie's career! There was noi break in his record of service during thirty and eighti years, from the time he hastened to the field to de- fend his country's flag and then returned to devote.^ his life to the best interests of his loved alma mater. " He was a scholar, and a ripe and good one," in all that related to his profession ; and not having been connected with the Army of the Potomac during the period when it was commanded by General McClellan^ it was believed that no better person than Professor Michie could be found to write an unprejudiced biog raphy. He was by nature both honest and indepen- dent, and it would seem that he was eminently suc- cessful in preparing this volume with what Edmund Burke describes as " the cold neutrality of an inn partial judge.'' This opinion was shared by McClel lan's able corps commander. General Fitz-John Porterr who, in a letter to the writer, dated from his dying bed May 5, 1901, says: "So far as I have been able t( judge, I think it is the best work on the subject tha has been written." Another accomplished army office: who also saw the proof sheets, writes : " In my humbM opinion, this Life of McClellan is altogether the bes< piece of work done by the author, and, more than thisj it is absolutely so impartial and just as to posses>^ », almost the quality of finality, so far as McClellan'l qualities as a commander are concerned."

Jas. Grant Wilson

New York, Jitue, igoi.

I

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PAGE

I. — Ancestry. — West Point. — Mexican War . . i

II. — Exploration. — Crimean War 24

III. — Preliminary to the Rebellion .... 53 IV. — Early service in Ohio and West Virginia . 69 V. — Organization of the Army of the Potomac. —

Succeeds Scott as General in Chief . . 93 VI. — Plans of campaigns. — Ball's Bluff . . .120 VII. — Inactivity of the Army of the Potomac. — Plan

of Peninsular campaign evolved . . .151 VIII. — President's War Orders.' — Peninsular plan

adopted. — Assistance of the navy . . .186 IX. — Manassas evacuated. — Defense of Washington 221 X. — Embarkation for Fort Monroe. — Opening of Peninsular campaign. — Siege of Yorktown. — Battle of Williamsburg. — Adoption of White

House as base 231

XL — Jackson's Valley campaign. — Hanover Court

House. — Battle of Seven Pines.— Fair Oaks . 2S5 XII. — Lee's plans. — Stuart's raid. — Battle of Beaver Dam Creek. — Gaines's Mill.— Retreat to the James. — White Oak Bridge. — Glendale . .317 XIII. — Malvern Hill. — Harrison's Landing. — With- drawal of the Army of the Potomac from THE Peninsula. — Pope's campaign. — McClel-

^

LAN's restoration to command .... 359

vii

viii GENERAL McCLELLAN.

CHAPTER PAG

XIV. — McClellan and the Administration. — Lee's Maryland campaign. — Battles of South Moun- tain Gaps. — Battle of Antietam. — McClel-

lan's final removal .39^

XV. — Candidate for the presidency. — Governor. —

Military and personal characteristics . .441 Index 47;

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS.

FACING PACK

Portrait of General McClellan, engraved on steel by Girsch from a photograph by Brady . Frontispiece

Map of the battlefield of Rich Mountain .... 83

Map of Yorktown to Williamsburg ..... 233

Map of the battlefield of Williamsburg .... 259

Map of the battlefield of Fair Oaks and Seven Pines . 303

Map of the battlefield of Beaver Dam Creek . . . 331

Field of operations in the Seven Days' fight . . . 337

Map of the battlefield of Gaines Mill .... 340 Map of the battlefield of Malvern Hill . . . .361 Portrait of General McClellan, engraved on wood by

J. S. Harley from a photograph by Gurney . . 380 Disposition of Union and Confederate forces, September

13, 1862 406

Map of the battlefield of Antietam 412

GENERAL McCLELLAN.

CHAPTER I.

ANCESTRY. WEST POINT. MEXICAN WAR.

)■ CGeorge Brinton McClellan, the subject of this memoir, was born December 3, 1826, in Philadelphia, Pa. He was the third child and second son of the emi- nent physician, George McClellan, and of Elizabeth Brinton, his wife.l His mother, a daughter of John Brinton, whose family had its origin in the south of England, was a woman of gentle refinement and un- selfish disposition. Owing to her husband's peculiarly active professional life the training of the children fell almost entirely upon her, and for this loving task she was admirably adapted. Gentle in her ministrations, clear in judgment and wise in discretion, she filled home with happiness, and guided the youthful lives of her children by that wonderful intuition of a loving mother which is beyond expression or analysis. To such noble women, the loving and self-sacrificing mothers, the country owes an infinite debt of gratitude, and to them, therefore, is our first homage due. ""^ ,' In tracing back the lines of the father's ancestry we ar^ brought to the beginning of the thirteenth century. The Maclellans were anciently sheriffs of Palloway and barons of Bombie, one of whom accompanied Sir William Wallace into France after the latter was de- feated at Falkirk in i2gS.Pin the turbulent times of James H of Scotland, Sir Patrick Maclellan was car- ried oi¥ by William, the eighth earl of Douglas, to

2 GENERAL McCLELLAN.

Thrieve Castle, where, upon his refusing to join the confederacy against his»king, he was treacherously put to death by Douglas ; whereupon the Maclellans, mak- ing reprisal upon the lands of Douglas in Galloway without warrant or authority, the barony and office of sheriff became forfeited to the Crown.T'-fTradition as- signs the recovery of the barony to the following cir- cumstance: In the reign of James II of Scotland, a troop of gypsies, coming from Ireland, so infested the county of Galloway that a royal proclamation was is- sued, offering the barony of Bombie to any person who should bring the captain, dead or alive, before the king — an exploit which was accomplished by a son of the Laird of Bombie, who carried the marauder's head upon the point of his sword to his Majesty; from whence, to perpetuate the exploit, he assumed that figure for his crest, with the motto " Think on." *<^ 'Re- cording to another tradition, the famous cannon named Mons Meg, now at Edinburgh Castle, was presented by the Maclellans to James II, to aid him in battering down Thrieve Castle in 1455, and it was probably on account of this legend that the family used as a crest a mortar piece with the motto " Superba frango." j

Sir Robert Maclellan, of Bombie, gentleman of the bedchamber to the first two British sovereigns of the house of Stuart, was created a peer of Scotland with the title of Lord Kirkcudbright, granted to him and his heirs male bearing the name and arms of Maclellan, on the occasion of the coronation of Charles I at Edin- burgh, May 25, 1633. The title became extinct April 19, 1832, on the death of the ninth baron, Camden- Grey Maclellan. f

. From this county of Kirkcudbright, which lies on the northern border of the Frith of Solway in Scot- land, three brothers McClellan emigrated to America early in the eighteenth century and became the pro- genitors of the family in this country. The eldest of

* Burke's Heraldic Dictionary, p. 353.

f Dictionary of National Biography, vol. xxxv, p. 210.

ANCESTRY.— WEST POINT.— MEXICAN WAR. 3

these settled near Worcester, Mass., and here his eldest son, Samuel-, was born, January 4, 1730. In keeping with the circumstances of the time and place the young lad was brought up as a farmer, a life which in those early days led to independence of thought as well as of action. Born with a martial spirit and a patriot's heart, and invigorated by the pure air of freedom, he found ample opportunity to cultivate the one and en- gage the other in the service of his country before he had reached middle age. He served with great credit as a lieutenant in the French and Indian war, and later, in 1773, he became captain of a troop of horse which he had raised in and about Woodstock, Conn., where he had made his home.

When the news of the battle of Lexington reached him he immediately set out with his troop, and was for- tunate enough to participate in the battle of Bunker Hill. The anxiety of his wife was relieved when she heard of his safety from the perils of battle, and in her gratitude for this favor of Divine Providence she planted three elms at Woodstock in commemoration thereof, and these now noble and venerable trees have been for more than a century loving testimonials of her devotion to her patriotic husband. Although he was ^complimented by Washmgton with an invitation to join the Continental ariny, with the promise of a colonel's commission, he modestly preferred service with the Connecticut militia during the war. Ample testi- monials of his sturdy patriotism and soldierly ability are to be found in the commissions which the worthy Governor, John Trumbull, was pleased to bestow upon lim. These are : Major, Eleventh Connecticut, Octo- ber 15, 1775; lieutenant colonel, Fourth Battalion, De- :ember 2, 1776; lieutenant colonel, Eleventh Connecti- :ut, December 7, 1776; colonel, battalion of Connecti- cut militia, September 25, 1777; colonel, January 29, 1779; brigadier general. Fifth Brigade Connecticut nilitia, June 10, 1779. After a continuous service dur- ing the war he returned to his home at Woodstock upon the declaration of peace, hung up his sword, and

4 GENERAL McCLELLAN.

quietly resumed the peaceful avocations that had been so long interrupted. ♦He represented his friends and neighbors in the State Assembly for several terms, and finally, after a well-spent life, left as a legacy to his de- scendants an unsullied name worthy of emulation. Hq] died at Woodstock, October 17, 1807.*

In the direct line of descent from the Revolutionary j soldier comes James, his eldest son, followed by the two sons of the latter, George and Samuel, both of whomi were born at Woodstock — the elder, George, Decem-j ber 2^, 1796, and the younger, Samuel, September 21, 1800. Both became physicians, and each had two sonss who served in the war of the rebellion. It is, however, a curious circumstance that the sons of Samuel served on opposite sides. Carswell, the elder, after graduatingj at Williams College, became a civil engineer, and after- ward served with gallantry and distinction in the Army of the Potomac. He was severely wounded at the bat- tle of Malvern Hill, and afterward was a most efficient staff officer of General Humphreys in the Seconc Corps. He is also the author of the Personal Memoirr and Military History of Grant z's. the Record of th( Army of the Potomac. The younger son of Samuel' Henry Brainerd, also a graduate of Williams Collega served on the Confederate side as adjutant of the Thirc Virginia Cavalry, then as assistant adjutant general o the cavalry corps of the Army of Northern Virginia and as chief of staff to Generals J. E. B. Stuart anc^ Wade Hampton. He has also ventured into the fieh of military literature, as the author of the Life and Cam ? paigns of Major-General J. E. B. Stuart.

George McClellan, the distinguished physician an< surgeon of Philadelphia, was educated at Yale College and while there as a student, under the influence of th elder Silliman, he developed a taste for natural scienc which ultimately directed his studies toward the medi cal profession. After graduating from college in 181 be began the study of medicine at New Haven undc

ve!

Appletons' Cyclopaedia of American Biography, vol. iv, p. 84.

II

ANCESTRY.— WEST POINT.— MEXICAN WAR. 5

Dr. Thomas Hubbard, but received his degree from the medical department of the University of Pennsyl- vania in 1819. But even before he had obtained his degree he was elected resident physician of the hospital of the Philadelphia almshouse. During his first year of practice he performed the most important operations in surgery, such as lithotomy, extraction of the lens for cataract, and extirpation of the lower jaw. He opened a dissecting room, and here his private courses of lec- tures were so successful as to necessitate a larger room for the accommodation of his constantly increasing classes. Encouraged by this gratifying approval of his methods of instruction, he conceived the idea of founding a medical college, and in 1825 he, with oth- ers, obtained from the Legislature of Pennsylvania a charter for the Jefferson Medical College. He began his lectures in the new college as professor of surgery in 1826, and notwithstanding the professional opposi- tion which developed and the difficulty of obtaining a suitable faculty, the college grew so rapidly that within ten years the students numbered three hundred and fifty. In 1838 the faculty was reorganized, but with- out Dr. McClellan's name, and this led to the incor- poration of the medical department of the University bf Pennsylvania, mainly through his own personal efforts. He began his lectures in the new institution in November, 1839, and continued them until the spring of 1843. ^^ is credited with being the origina- tor of the extended system of medical education as it now exists in this country and of the clinical instruc- tion in such institutions. His professional practice in- creased with his growing reputation, patients coming even from the West Indies and South America to avail themselves of his skill and attainments. He was espe- cially distinguished in ophthalmic surgery, although he had undertaken with success almost every capital operation then known to the profession. By his mar- velous skill in the removal of the parotid gland he did more than any other surgeon of his time to establish it as a safe and feasible operation. He shares with

6 GENERAL McCLELLAN.

Valentine Mott, of New York, and John C. Warren, of Boston, the credit of introducing many procedures in surgery which were before new to the profession in this country. In his earher years he contributed many original papers to medical periodicals, and was one of the conductors of the American Medical Review and Journal. He also edited Eberles's Theory and Practice of Physic (Philadelphia, 1840), and left in manuscript The Principles and Practice of Surgery, which was afterward edited by his son. Dr. J. H. B. McClellan, and published in 1848. Like all other successful in- structors, he was animated by a controlling devotion to his profession and gifted w^ith an enthusiastic love for instruction, which aroused the intensest interest in the minds of his pupils. He died in Philadelphia, May 9, 1847, after a life which, though brief w^ien measured by years, was full to overflowing in remarkable pro- fessional achievements and good deeds done to his fel- low-men.

Two other sons were born, who grew to manhood and justified by their honorable lives and distinguished careers the expectations of their honored parents. The elder, John Hill Brinton, was born in Philadelphia, August 13. 1823, and died in Edinburgh, Scotland, July 20, 1874. After graduating from the University.] of Pennsylvania in 1841 he adopted the profession off medicine, in which he attained great distinction bothi in surgery and medical practice, for he inherited much of his father's skill and quickness of touch. It is said that he possessed a wonderful intuition in the diag- nosis of disease, and his gentleness of manner made him a welcome visitor in the chamber of sickness. During the war he contributed his best efforts and skill in the hospitals established by the Government in Philadelphia, and performed some notable opera-; tions which have been found worthy of record in the Medical and Surgical History of the War, published by the United States Government. He edited and pub- lished in 1848 the manuscript on The Principles and Practice of Surgery which his father left in 1847. Th€'

ANCESTRY.— WEST POINT.— MEXICAN WAR. 7

younger brother, Arthur, served as aid-de-camp on the staff of his brother George, during the Peninsular and Maryland campaigns, and ended his military service when the general was relieved from the command of the Army of the Potomac, November 7, 1862.

Overburdened by the many exactions connected with the life of a successful practitioner of medicine, and engrossed with the care and anxieties pertaining to the establishment of the new medical coUege, Dr. McClellan could only give a limited attention to the education of his children. Fortunately his wife was particularly well fitted to supply this deficiency. Under her loving guidance George spent a happy childhood and grew to be a healthy and robust lad. Before he had reached his teens he was sent for his preliminary instruction to a school in Philadelphia, kept by Sears Cook Walker, a Harvard graduate, where he remained for four years ; then to Dr. Samuel Crawford's prepara- tory school of the University of Pennsylvania, receiv- ing at the same time some private instruction in Latin and Greek from an excellent German teacher named SchefTer, with whom he read Virgil and Homer. In 1840 he entered the university, but continued there only two years, because he then received an appoint- ment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Up to this time he had not exhibited any un- usual talents, although he had attained high class rank ; he was neither brilliant nor precocious, but was rated rather as a good student making steady progress. His habits of mind tended rather to thoroughness of detail than to fertility of imagination.

When this young lad reported himself at West Point it was found that he was below the required age for admission, he being then only fifteen years and seven months old. Owing doubtless to his good health, fine physique, and thorough mental prepara- tion the regulation as to age was suspended in his case, and he was admitted to the Academy in the summer of 1842. It is an instructive sight to look upon the earnest countenances of these youths, coming together

I

8 GENERAL McCLELLAN.

for the first time from all sections of the country to enter upon a military 'career, and who for the time being may be taken to be the truest type of the young manhood of our country. The dress, appearance, j| stature, manners, and dialect of its various sections are ! fairly well represented in such a gathering, but after they have passed through their setting-up drill and are ,, put into their uniforms, the barriers due to differences || of previous condition are soon broken down, and those human qualities that make for association and friend- ship prove stronger than the accidents of birth or the influences of wealth or station. The strongest asso- ciations are at first those of classmates, but in later years these include members of other classes, for the deprivations, hardships^ and sacrifices of the military service naturally cement these friendly associations into the love and affection of a great brotherhood.

Because of the dominating influence that the West Point training had on McClellan's public career it may be well to refer briefly to some of its salient features. Foreign military visitors have frequently expressed great surprise that it has been possible to maintain in the military school of a democratic people a regimen so exacting and a discipline so rigid as is found at West Point. An attentive study of its early history, and of the circumstances attending its complete re- organization in i8i7,will remove this difficulty, and will show, in addition, that the application of sound prin- ciples of education, the establishment of wise regula- tions for discipline, and the inculcation of a patriotic ambition are sufficient reasons for its continued pros- perity.

Major Sylvanus Thayer, the great superintendent, to whom the country is mainly indebted for the vitality with which his personality revivified the Military Acad- emy, was himself a graduate of the class of 1808, and an officer of the corps of engineers. Called to assume command of the institution in 1817, after a brief in- vestici^ation of the military schools of Europe, he was enabled by the firm support of the Secretaries of War

I

ANCESTRY.— WEST POINT.— MEXICAN WAR. g

of two administrations to carry into effect his well- devised plans for the reformation and reor^^anization of the institution. Enjoying the full confidence of the War Department for the sixteen years of his adminis- tration, he was enabled to select from among the graduates of the Academy such officers for its future administration as were imbued with a sturdy faith in the efffcacy of his ideals, and were capable of improv- ing the studies and discipline that had already pro- duced such gratifying results. As examples of his remarkable perspicacity, it is only necessary to name Davies, Mahan, Courtenay, Bartlett, Church, and^ Bailey, who became famous professors, distinguished for their sound learning, eminent ability, and great teaching capacity, and whose labors have bridged the intervening period from Thayer's time to the present with undoubted success. And of still greater impor- tance to the country was the beneficent influence of these ideals upon the tone and discipline of the army by the influx into its commissioned ranks of the five hundred and seventy young officers who as pupils had been trained under his guidance.

" To the discharge of his important functions," says one of his former pupils, " he brought eminent personal qualifications, uniting decision with courtesy, authority with kindness, knowledge with consideration for igno- rance, strict discipline with paternal admonition, un- faltering integrity to unflinching firmness, fidelity to his trust, and loyalty to his country, and with a rest- less energy and an untiring industry that never left anything unfinished or to chance." *

This magnificent encomium has been amply justi- fied by the records of the graduates of West Point. But it would be a grave mistake to imagine that training alone can supply deficiencies of inherent possession or that institutions can create genius. Schools are estab- lished not for the few rare geniuses that flash upon the 'world, but for the many possessing talent, who through

* Cullum's Biographical Register, vol. iii, p. 655.

I

lO GENERAL McCLELLAN.

the helping hand of training and education come finally to be intrusted with th^ business of the world, so that it may be conducted conservatively and civilization pro- gress by an orderly evolution.

The Military Academy experienced a rather pre- carious existence for the first fifteen years of its life, but at the time of young McClellan's admission it had had the benefit of twenty-five years' able management of the corps of engineers upon the lines laid down by Major Thayer. As a result, it had attained a well-de- served reputation among the educational institutions of the country, and its high standards in the physical, in- tellectual, and moral essentials of education had been rigidly maintained. But hidden as it was in the high- lands of the Hudson, out of the usual lines of travel, it was scarcely known to the general public. No great war had arisen to test the efficiency of its methods and demonstrate its value to the nation. Many public men, with pardonable optimism, foreseeing no possibility of future war and thoroughly engrossed in developing the wonderful commercial facilities of the country, were lukewarm in its support. Indeed, on one occasion, just before the Mexican War, the change of a single vote in the House of Representatives would, have de- feated the bill for its support. Nevertheless Congress continued to appropriate annually the modest sum re- quired for its maintenance, and its graduates were sent to the distant frontier, where the little regular army was engaged in a continuous struggle with the hostile In- dians. There was another equally important service ' ^. to the country that the graduates of West Point were able to render. When, in 1827, the railroad mania began, there were only a few short and insignificant local roads, aggregating in length less than twenty miles, and there were but few educated civil engineers in the country capable of conducting larger works. Under these circumstances the Government adopted the wise policy of loaning officers of the army, scien- tifically educated at the Academy, to assist railroad companies in carrying out more ambitious projects.

ANCESTRY.— WEST POINT.— MEXICAN WAR. n

In this way West Point graduates became the pioneers in railroad construction, and the educators of an able body of civil engineers, who to this day have con- tinued the inherited traditions, methods, discipline, esprit de corps, and high bearing of their distinguished predecessors. It is within the limits of probability that the great success of such able engineers as McNeil, Wliistler, Tyler, Barney, Swift, and many others who followed their example in engaging in civil engineer- ing, may have influenced many young men to seek the advantages of the West Point education, and who would not otherwise have been attracted there by vi- sions of military glory. The profession of arms is not, in time of peace, especially engaging, and it would be an interesting circumstance to ascertain whether young McClellan's steps were guided to West Point by his inherent military instincts, derived from his revolution- ary ancestor, or by the desire of his parents to secure for him a good scientific education.

In the summer of 1842 his class began their student life at West Point, and although he was but a young lad at the time, he cheerfully complied with all the exactions of his new environment, for he was inherently a lover of order and of discipline. He had acquired at school habits of application and a remarkable facility in the use of language for one so young, so that it was not long before he was transferred to the upper part of his class, and in honest rivalry was able to main- tain his position during the whole of his academic career. At the dreaded examination in January, when the new class comes before the academic board for their first arrangement in scholarship, McClellan came out second in a class of one hundred and one members, being first in mathematics and eighth in French. At the end of his first year he was third in the class, which was then reduced to eighty-three members ; the second year he held his own, then dropped one file the third year, but recovering during the last year, he came out second in general standing on final graduation, the class then numbering but sixty, and having lost in its

12 GENERAL McCLELLAN.

four years of struggle forty-eight of its original mem- bers. The first honors* of the class fell by just right to a brilliant scholar, Charles Seaforth Stewart, who had held his position against all competitors during the whole four years of his cadet life. In this honorable rivalry for scholastic distinction nothing occurred to mar the mutual regard of Stewart and McClellan or to disturb their friendship. In recalling the memories of their cadet days Stewart says of McClellan : " He was a noble, generous-hearted, clear-headed enthusiastic, able fellow. There w^as not a mean thought in him. He was well educated, and, when he chose to be, bril- liant. In every point, so far as I can recall, he was true and honorable, and our personal relations wxre always very pleasant as cadets." In after years, so strange are the fortunes of war, Stewart served as major of engineers during the Peninsular campaign in the army commanded by his classmate, McClellan.

Among McClellan's comrades there were many who afterward gained considerable distinction in their profession. In the senior, or first class, were Grant, Franklin, Ingalls, and Augur ; in the second, Pleason- ton, Buckner, Sackett, and Hancock ; in the third, W. F. (Baldy) Smith, Fitz-John Porter, Stone, Wood, Clitz, D. A. Russell, and Granger ; and in his own class were Foster, Reno, Couch, Seymour, Sturgis, Stone- man, Palmer, Gibbs, Gordon, Davis, Pickett, and T. J. (Stonewall) Jackson. In the succeeding classes, with "the members of which he had more or less intimate association during his cadet life, were A. P. Hill, Burn- side, Gibbon, Ayres, GrifBn, Heth, Trowbridge, Duane, Tidball, Buford, Gillmore, Parke, and Holabird. Little did these young cadets then imagine that they would be called upon in the near future to lead great hosts into battle, and, through the valor of their soldiers, be- come famous generals in the war of the rebellion.

Too much importance can hardly be attached to the regular habits of life which are enforced upon these young and growing lads by the proper division of the twenty-four hours of the day for study, recitation, drill,

!i

ANCESTRY.— WEST POINT.— MEXICAN WAR. 13

recreation, and sleep. McClellan came to the Academy an immature boy, and left it a vigorous, sturdy young man, of medium stature, with broad shoulders and deep chest; he had, however, such a well-proportioned fig- ure that it concealed rather than displayed his great muscular strength and physical activity. With an ac- tive brain, a clear mind, a pure heart, and a body well trained in all athletic exercises, it could well be said of him that he possessed lucns sana in corporc sano. Upon his graduation he was recommended by the academic board to the War Department for promotion into any corps or arm of the service.

The cadets at West Point, coming as they do from every congressional district in the country, reflect with very great fidelity the various shades of political opin- ion that for the time being are there prevalent. It is true, however, that their views undergo modification to some extent through the influences of association and education, but, nevertheless, West Point represents in miniature the whole country more accurately than does any other institution of learning in the land. And so when the election of President Polk, in 1844, fore- shadowed the war with Mexico, the divided sentiment of the country was accurately portrayed among these youthful representatives. As the prospects for war be- came more certain, the members of McClellan's class, then on the eve of graduation, gave themselves up to the more thorough study of tactics, strategy, and the art of war, for, independently of whatever opinion they entertained as to the justice of the war, they knew that they would soon be called upon for immediate service. And when the news of the successes of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, gained by General Taylor's little army of regulars on the 8th and 9th of May, 1846, reached West Point, every youngster of the graduating class was anxious for orders that would carry him to the seat of war.

McClellan, having been commissioned a brevet sec- ond lieutenant of engineers upon graduation, was im- mediately assigned to the company of sappers and

H

GENERAL McCLELLAN.

miners, which had been authorized by the act of May 15, 1846, and was then being organized at West Point by Captain A. J. Swift, of the corps of engineers, as- sisted by Lieutenant G. W. Smith of the same corps. This company was the first of its kind in the army, and the men and officers, with the exception of the captain, who had studied its requirements in Europe, were igno- rant of the details of its duties. And as the company was under orders to proceed to the seat of war at the earhest practicable moment, the officers studied at night and drilled their men by day in the preparation of siege material and the laying out of batteries and lines of field fortification. McClellan soon mastered the details and won the respect of his soldiers by the ability with which he developed their manual skill and dexterity in the construction of gabions, fascines, and other revetments. Early in September the company sailed from New York, and on October nth it landed at Brazos San- tiago with a strength of seventy-two officers and men.

From this place it was sent to Camargo for a short time, and thence to Matamoras ; attached then to Gen- eral Patterson's command, it was assigned to Twigg's division of regulars, and in January, 1847, marched with it in advance to Tampico, two hundred miles dis- tant, repairing roads, making bridges, and doing other pioneer work while on the march. After a month's delay at Tampico it was re-embarked, and with the first troops of Scott's army landed, March 9th, to engage in the siege of Vera Cruz.

The duties of an engineer officer in active service, which McClellan was now called upon to perform, are extra hazardous and of an importance entirely beyond the rank which he holds. Required by the functions of his office to get as near the enemy's line as possible, often without regard to personal safety, he must re- connoiter the enemy's front, coolly judge of the strength of his defenses, and obtain reliable information that will govern the commanding general in his plan of battle. To be properly equipped for such delicate and responsible duties, he must possess clear perception,

I ANCESTRY.— WEST POINT.— MEXICAN WAR. jc

malytical judgment, and personal bravery free from -ashness.

Colon^ljrjillmi*Jii€--abl€--Ghi-ef.Qf,^^^ :he plan of the_siegej3l VeraXruz, and the location of ;lTe"tratfeTres of attack and lines of investment ; and the nformation upon which this was based was derived Tom the reconnoissances and study of the relations of ;he ground made by the engineer officers, only ten in lumber, then with the army. McClellan, though the y^oungest in age and, excepting Foster, the junior in -ank, displayed such devotion, ability, and zeal in the hazardous duty devolving upon him as to demonstrate [lis fitness for membership in this corps (Tclitc of the American army. The marvelous success of the siege, -esulting in the capitulation of Vera Cruz and the Castle of San Juan d'Ulloa, March 29, 1847, brought deservedly great credit to the engineers and artillery, :he science of the one being ably supplemented by the skill of the other.

In the series of brilliant actions which characterized the subsequent campaign McClellan bore an honor- able part. As a subaltern officer of the company of sappers and miners, he shared with them all the dangers to which it was exposed by reason of the advanced position which its duties assigned to it, and, in addi- tion, he was frequently called upon to engage in the hazardous duty of personal reconnoissance. In order to escape the poisonous hot winds of the tierra calicntey now daily impending, it became a matter of supreme importance to the commanding general to hasten the advance of the army into the interior as soon as pos- sible after the terms of capitulation had been effected. But owing to the deficiency of transportation, it was not until April 17th that the rear division of the army reached Plan del Rio, about sixty miles from Vera Cruz. It was at the Cerro Gordo, a few miles beyond, that the Mexican General Santa Anna had collected his Forces to dispute the farther advance of Scott's army. A.fter a careful study of the position, based upon some daring reconnoissances of the engineers. General Scott

1 6 GENERAL McCLELLAN.

determined to turn the Mexican left, which rested o the hill Telegrafo, and was strongly defended by in^ fantry and artillery behind artificial defenses. At th same time General Pillow was directed to make a tenta^ tive front attack against the Mexican right to distrac their attention from the movements on their left. Thi position of the Mexican right was practically unassail able, defended as it was by twenty-three guns in posi tion, with strong infantry supports. McClellan, havin been detached with ten of his men from the enginee; company, was directed by General Pillow to clear ou the obstructions and open up the roads for the advanc of his brigade. Under the severe artillery and musketr fire of the enemy, the tangled undergrowth and felle timber formed an impassable abatis, and prevented 3! successful assault, but in the meanwhile the Telegrafo on the right was gallantly carried and the enemy's line of retreat secured. As a result, the enemy in Pillow's front was obliged to surrender to the brigade they had successfully repulsed but a short time before. In this afifair both Tower and McClellan were complimented in Pillow's of^cial report for the great zeal and activity they displayed in the execution of their duty.**^ Besides^; being an active participant, McClellan was also an in-l terested student in the operations of the campaign, andil? Scott's brilliant tactical maneuver by which he gained jjr the pass of Cerro Gordo made such a deep impression! 1(

it ii re bi m

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on him, that in after years, in the West Virginia cam- paign, he attempted it at Rich Mountain with gratify- ing success. ^

The capture of Cerro Gordo insured the advance of the American army into the highlands of the interior and escape from the sickly climate of the coast. The march was resumed on the morning of the 19th, Worth's division leading, and after making camp thai night at Encero, it reached Jalapa early the next day So disastrous had been the defeat of the Mexicans anc so prompt the advance of our army, that several difHcull positions which might have been strongly held b} the enemy under other circumstances, were left unde-

ANCESTRY.— WEST POINT.— MEXICAN WAR. 17

ended and were passed in safety. The town and castle f Perote were occupied April 22d, without resistance, vhere many guns and other munitions, abandoned by he enemy, fell into our hands. As the army advanced oward Puebla its progress was delayed only by its imited transportation, which was entirely insufficient o supply its needs over the long line from its prin- cipal depot at Vera Cruz. The enemy, however, offered 10 serious resistance to its progress. On May 14th, ,vhile our troops were in bivouac near Amozoc pre- paring to make an imposing entrance into Puebla the lext day, the Mexicans attempted a surprise, but with- Dut success. In this affair McClellan distinguished limself by his coolness and daring in the capture of a iVIexican cavalry officer, whom he brought in a prisoner after a lively chase.

Puebla was occupied May 15th, and here a long delay was obligatory to await the arrival of the neces- sary re-enforcements for the prosecution of the cam- paign, since the little army was depleted by the dis- charge of seven regiments of twelve months' volun- teers. May 4th, at Jalapa, their terms of enlistment having nearly expired. The Government had been in- excusably dilatory in providing re-enforcements for Scott's army, which, having fought its way into the interior of the enemy's country, had suffered such