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Laci Barry Post

General George B. McClellan

Updated: Oct 13, 2020


Do you know who once called President Abraham Lincoln a “well meaning baboon?" The answer is George B. McClellan, the Civil War General for whom Fort McClellan was named. If you want to know more about the man behind the name, here are some interesting facts:

  • George B. McClellan was born on December 3, 1826 in Philadelphia, PA.

  • He graduated from West Point in 1846, ranking second in his class.

  • He fought in the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848.

  • After leaving military service, McClellan became the President of the Ohio and Mississippi River Railroad.

  • He married Mary Ellen Marcy and had two children.

  • In 1861 when the Civil War began, McClellan reentered military service and commanded Ohio’s volunteer army.

  • After winning a series of small battles in West Virginia, he was given command to organize the Army of the Potomac.

  • In November 1861, McClellan was named the General-in-Chief of the Union Army.

  • Unhappy with McClellan’s hesitancy to attack the Confederate Army, President Lincoln removed McClellan as General-in-Chief in March 1862.

  • In 1864, McClellan ran for the presidency as the Democratic Party candidate against Abraham Lincoln and failed.

  • He served one term as governor of New Jersey from 1878 to 1881.

  • McClellan died in 1885 at the age of 58.

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