McClellan and the Union High Command, 1861–1863

With Washington’s proximity to the Confederate capital of Richmond, Union military operations in the first two years of the Civil War focused mainly on the Eastern Theater, where General McClellan commanded the Army of the Potomac. McClellan’s “On to Richmond” battle cry dominated strategic thinking in the high command. When he failed and was sacked by President Lincoln, a coterie of senior officers sought his return. This re-examination of the high command and McClellan’s war in the East provides a broader understanding of the Union’s inability to achieve victory in the first two years, and takes the debate about the Union’s leadership into new areas.

Jeffrey W. Green is a lecturer in history at the University of Newcastle, Australia. With three decades of teaching experience, he has coauthored two other books, one on the Second World War in the Pacific and the other on the conflict in Indochina.

Jeffrey W. Green
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 224
Bibliographic Info: 6 photos, maps, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2017
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6573-3
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2709-0
Imprint: McFarland

Maps (Civil War; Eastern Theater) vi and vii
Introduction 1
One Citizens and Soldiers: The United States Military Tradition 9
Two The ­Ninety-Day War and the Struggle for High Command 28
Three “I seem to have become the power of the land” 53
Four “Now is the winter of our discontent”: Winter 1861–1862 74
Five “Walking on in the dark”: McClellan’s Attempt to Win the War with a Victory in the East 99
Six McClellan’s Shadow 132
Seven “And now, beware of rashness” 155
Conclusion 181
Chapter Notes 187
Bibliography 205
Index 211

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